Zhang Jian didn't move. He waited for a painfully agonizing five minutes and then out of the blue, the pile shook up again and this time he caught a glimpse of a golden coat shuffling around. Zhang Jian reached out and grabbed the nearest object he could find and waited for the animal, (whatever it was ) to emerge. Judging by its size and its shifty nature, Zhang Jian half expected it to be a fox or a wild cat at best. Soon enough, it was bound to reveal itself. And so, wary of any surprise, he gingerly edged closer to the pile, and with his pitchfork stretched out in defense mode, he poked the pile and a small furry dog came out wagging its tail. Zhang Jian was relieved for he had thought the worst of his strange visitor. He realized how silly he looked with a pitchfork. If indeed it had been a wild beast, it would have done very little for him in the way of defense or attack.
Zhang Jian looked at the canine beast curiously. It did not have a threatening vibe. In fact it looked like a puppy. The dog's fur coat was a neat blend of light brown and gold. Its beady eyes looked up at expectantly at him and Zhang Jian was ashamed of himself for even thinking about harming it in the first place. Zhang Jian became enamored by the dog at first sight. Not wanting to scare it away, he set down his pitchfork carefully and with his right hand, he extended an offer of friendship to it as he approached the dog carefully. The tiny dog didn't move an inch. Apparently it was not scared of him. Zhang Jian had never really owned a pet before, well, except a gold fish he had when he was eight. Since then, he had always dreamed of having a pet but for ostensible reasons, he never really got round to it.
"There there little one. Do not be afraid." He spoke to it in a reassuring tone. The dog warmed up to him in turn as he picked it up and Zhang Jian was pleased that he had found a new companion. As he stroked its fur, he discovered to his dismay that it had been injured.
"Poor dog. How long have you been wandering about like this?" It whimpered as if to say 'A really long time bro.'
Zhang Jian observed its injury and deduced that it had to be taken care of immediately. "Okay buddy, let's go home," With that, the two turned around and both of them headed home after meeting in the most unconventional way.
The next day, Zhang Jian examined the dog thoroughly and noted that it didn't have the wild look that was typical of stray dogs. So Zhang Jian assumed it must have (or had) an owner. He spoke to it as he brushed its handsome coat,
"So I'm guessing your owner isn't a nice guy. He banged you up pretty good." It barked in agreement and Zhang Jian laughed.
"Well, you are safe here. Until we find your master as least." It didn't skip Zhang Jian's prudent eyes that even though it was small in stature, the puppy excelled in physical strength. It was a pretty impressive quality given its size. Later in the day, Zhang Jian carried his new friend down into the valley with the hope of finding its owner. By his calculation, since he had found it so close to his home, the the owner must probably be close. He went from door to door asking if anyone had lost a puppy. But he received the same uniform answer wherever he went; "NO."
After a full day of running around with the hope of 'magically' stumbling into the owner, the exhausted Zhang Jian resolved to keep the puppy to himself.
"Heaven knows I tried! Everyone I met today can testify to the fact that I tried to seek out your owner."
Arf! arf! The dog barked as though it understood him. Zhang Jian smiled. "Excellent." And further added; "Now the only thing left would be to give you a befitting name." Zhang Jian squinted his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows as he thought of the perfect name for it.
"Jack's a great name, but I don't know though. I'm not really sensing a Jack vibe from you."
He paused as he thought again; "How about Prince? You feeling the name Prince?"
The puppy barked.
"Yeah me too. I don't know what I was thinking there." A light bulb suddenly flashed on his head as he exclaimed out loud the name in his head. "CERBERUS!"
He remembered the name from one of the history books he had read in the past. It was the name of a vicious three headed dog that guarded the intimidating gates of hades. It was just perfect and a little satirical given the glaring gap in the size of his own Cerberus and the mythical guard dog. Zhang Jian enjoyed the irony for a while as he mulled over it. It was perfect for his new friend who was also his new guard dog.
Like the proverbial rabbit's foot which pirates believed brought luck and good fortune, Cerberus' presence in the house caused a turn around in Zhang Jian's business and brought him luck. Over the next couple of days, customers started to roll in like never before. Left, right and center, he was bombarded on all sides by buyers that were more than eager to purchase his services as a writer and as a painter.
Before then, Zhang Jian had been discouraged by the lack of patronage of his services. One evening, as he sat outside with Cerberus' he lamented openly to the hearing of the dog about he was about to give up on selling his paintings and take up fishing or farming or some other work like that. He knew that the people of this time could not really be referred to as 'art savvy' but he had hoped that some rich nobles would be interested in his calligraphy at least.
One can easily picture Zhang Jian's shock when the demand for his work increased dramatically and suddenly overnight. A lot of people sought him out, young, old, rich and poor. But of all the people that came to him, one particular buyer stood out amongst the throng of customers. Because he had no stall nor spot at the main market, Zhang Jian had to compromise and find the next best position that would put him in full view of potential customers. So he stayed by the roadside that led to the market place. It had proven to be a wise and tactical decision. With an umbrella to shield him from the blazing summer sun, Zhang Jian took his place and entertained customers. That was where he met the dignified old man with a handsome white mane. His head was crowned with white long hair that was revered by the people of this time as an old person's badge of honor.
The old man moved with the dignity of someone important. Though his physical appearance looked old, the atmosphere that came along with his presence was one of authority. His powerful presence was augmented by his fiery eyes that blazed with the fire of wisdom and knowledge. As the old man made his way towards him that day, Zhang Jian noticed as the people cleared a path for him. He moved gracefully as if time itself was subject to his command. Zhang Jian never forgot the way the old man looked at him that day. He couldn't explain it. He looked at Zhang Jian as though he was the only one there. He looked at him as if he could see through the bag of bones and flesh that housed his soul. Zhang Jian never forgot the eerie feeling that accompanied the old man's intense gaze that day, for though he was fully clothed, he had never felt so naked before in his life. The old man didn't say a word. After subjecting Zhang Jian to his fiery gaze, he simply pointed to one of his works that was on display and beckoned him to bring it.
Zhang Jian wasted no time and eagerly handed the calligraphy to the important looking fella that stood before him. The old man stared at it for a longtime without blinking. He stood transfixed to the spot as he read and re-read the text that Zhang Jian had artfully crafted with dazzling finesse. The text read thus;
"THE SAGE HIDES IN UNFATHOMABILITY SO HIS FEELINGS CAN NOT BE OBSERVED."
Though Zhang Jian didn't know it at the time, the words on the text struck the old man like lightning. The old man stood still for so long that Zhang Jian thought he had slept off on his feet. Then slowly he lifted up his eyes and Zhang Jian thought for a minute that he saw new found respect in his eyes. Then old man quickly paid him and scurried off in the direction he had come from. No one seemed to have noticed the exchange for it was busy road. No one but Cerberus.
Zhang Jian didn't even think too much on it. The first thing he noticed was that the weight of the coins in the money bag which the old man handed him was significantly heavier than usual. He opened it gingerly and opened his mouth in disbelief as he stared at the glowing contents within. Zhang Jian had never handled or seen gold before in his life, but he was sure that the bag holding the money in his hands was bursting with loads of it. He lifted up his gaze to scan the busy crowd with the hope of seeing the old man who had overpaid for the calligraphy. But the stranger had disappeared mysteriously into the background.
Zhang Jian looked at the money in his hands and couldn't believe it! Was it dumb luck or was the old man senile? He didn't like any of the options and decided that the stranger was just another rich guy with money to spare. Though he hadn't worn any fancy jewelry, Zhang Jian remembered the air of spiritual royalty that accompanied the old man.
"Maybe he is some rich dude after all." Zhang Jian said to himself as he rechecked the contents again to see if his eyes had deceived him, "This is way too much! The profit margin much be in the region of about ten thousand percent!"
Zhang Jian couldn't say that the old man had been condescending, in fact he really couldn't say much about him as well.
"This money is way too much. This should be enough to take care of a large family for two generations! I think I need to stop selling to nobles for now."
He packed up his wares and retreated back to his quarters in the mountain.
Early the next day, Zhang Jian received a surprise in the form of an unexpected guest. It was an anomaly for many reasons but majorly because he didn't have any friends and also because no one knew where he lived. So understandably, he was startled when the heard the soft but firm and persistent knock at his door that morning. He stirred in his sleep and waited for the knock to come again, just to be sure that he hadn't been dreaming. And sure enough, it came a second time, harder than the first but with the same persistence. Zhang Jian jumped out of his bed. He hadn't been dreaming after all! Who could it possibly be? No one knew him or where he lived. Zhang Jian thought that there was no other possible explanation and therefore assumed it was probably an acquaintance of the previous owner of this house. As he stood up groggily and made his way to the door, a disturbing thought nagged him;
"How come Cerberus hadn't barked?" He frowned as an even more disturbing thought crossed on his already ; "I swear that damn dog better not be sleeping! What's the point of having a guard dog if the damn dog can't guard!"
Zhang Jian knew Cerberus and could say that the dog was extremely playful. The only thing he really loved to guard was his food and toys, Cerberus defended those things with impossible energy. So, Zhang Jian planted his feet firmly on the ground and opened the door. He never expected what came next.
Zhang Jian stood holding the door handle with a look of astonishment on his face as he stared aghast at the figure that stood before him. It was the same person who had occupied a good portion of his thoughts the previous night; the white haired old man from the previous day! If Zhang Jian had been half asleep a few moments ago, he was fully awake now! The shocking reality that now stared him in the face was the wakeup call he really needed.
"What was the old man doing here?" Zhang Jian thought to himself, "Was he here because he had realized too late that he paid too much? Did he think I cheated him?" Zhang Jian had a lot of questions, chief among them being; "How in heavens name did he find me?"