We also need to talk about these few performances.
These two performances of the stump show are purely humorous. The monkey's imitation of human actions is very funny, and since the monkey is very intelligent, the monkey riding a horse and the monkey climbing a pole do not require much technical ability and can win applause. The Flowing Meteor Dance looks spectacular, but in fact, it does not require any technical ability. Anyone who plays with a rope for a few days can do it decently. The Golden Spear Piercing the Throat looks very dangerous, but it is actually not dangerous at all. The spearhead is blunt, and the spear shaft is made of cork. It will bend with a little force, and the spearhead is not against the throat, but against the collarbone under the throat. There is also a trick to the stool balancing act. All of the porcelain bowls are specially made, and there is a magnet in the groove on the bottom of the bowl. The legs of the stool have iron plates, and when the legs touch the bottom of the bowl, they are firmly sucked in. Therefore, there is no danger for a person standing on the highest stool.
Among the circus performances, only walking on the tightrope requires long-term and arduous training, as well as courage and meticulousness, and is also the most dangerous. The person who walks on the tightrope is called the wire walker.
The wire walker does not have much status in the circus, at most higher than me. I can tell from the way others point and order him around. When setting up or taking down the stage, I am too busy to do everything, and I can always hear others shouting: "Wire walker, where have you gone, come and help!" Wire walker, where are you hiding, come and help!"
The wire walker does not dare to talk back to anyone and comes over with a smile, as if he is very pleased.
I have no idea where the people in this circus come from or what their backgrounds are.
There is a monkey king in the monkey group who has the mating rights to all female monkeys in the group, and the circus leader, Gaoshulin, also has the mating rights to Qing'er and Cui'er.
When we stayed overnight, we all slept in the same room. In northern guesthouses, they all have large traditional kang beds, which can accommodate several people, even up to a dozen people. Qing'er and Cui'er slept in the innermost part of the bed, followed by Gao Shulin, and then the rest of us. Because of my low status, I always slept on the edge of the kang bed or at the foot of the bed. Only when Gao Shulin wanted some privacy would he rent another room and invite Qing'er and Cui'er to keep him company.
If we could find a guesthouse, we would all stay there. If we missed it or there were no guesthouses available, we would stay in the wilderness. We have lived in dilapidated houses, abandoned caves, and collapsed temples.
When we stayed in the wilderness, it was fine on sunny days, but we were afraid of rainy days. If it rained, we couldn't find a dry place to stay. At this time, we would put up a tarp and huddle under it. Since the tarp didn't have much space, I could only stand in the rain.
Later, I thought that sleeping together on the same bed every night, squeezing together, and sticking together must have been torture for these strong men like Gao Shulin. Qing'er and Cui'er were like two pieces of fat meat hanging in front of them. They were so close yet so far, and all they could do was watch Gao Shulin enjoy his meals.
One night, we all slept on a large kang bed in a guesthouse, and I slept on the floor under the bed, which is called the foot of the bed. Some guesthouses had tiled floors, while others had dirt floors.
In the middle of the night, I suddenly heard a scream that woke me up from my sleep. The sharp scream pierced my eardrums like a needle, and I didn't know if it was Qing'er or Cui'er who screamed. Then I heard Gao Shulin scolding and Yaotou defending himself weakly. The sound lasted for a while and then stopped. I fell asleep again. At that time, I was still a child, and children tend to be sleepy.
The next morning, on the carriage, Gao Shulin and Yaotou argued again. Gao Shulin looked righteous and angry, while Yaotou's eyes were swollen, indicating that he hadn't slept well last night.
I didn't understand what happened last night, but now I do. Gao Shulin blamed Yaotou for wanting to sleep with Qing'er or Cui'er, but Yaotou denied it. Gao Shulin said, "No? Then why did she scream?" Yaotou replied, "I bumped into her foot when I got up at night." Gao Shulin said, "She slept in the innermost part of the bed. How could you bump into her foot?" Yaotou said, "She was rolling around in her sleep."
Gao Shulin angrily said, "You're fucking lying." Then he pointed at Qing'er and asked, "Did you find your pocket untied?" Qing'er blushed and nodded. Gao Shulin turned to Yaotou and said, "Did her pocket untie itself? Didn't you untie it? Who did?"
Yaotou looked panicked and remained silent. Gao Shulin said, "Well, Your wings have hardened, find a hole in the wall and do it, You damn bastard, you've eaten leopard gallbladder. "
The sparrow hawk is more attractive than the tall trees, both in appearance and figure. However, Qing'er and Cui'er only allow Gao Shulin to sleep with them and not anyone else. Even when the two white faction members tried to strike up a conversation with them, they ignored them. What's the reason behind this?
It's said that there's a type of medicine in the martial world that, when given to a woman, will make her love you forever. However, this medicine is now lost. There are many strange medicines in the martial world, some of which will cause slow death, some will cause sexually frigid women to become sexually aroused, some will make a person remain youthful, and some will cause loss of sexual desire. Traditional Chinese medicine has been in decline in recent times, and many mysterious Chinese herbs have been lost.
It's very likely that Gao Shulin fed Qing'er and Cui'er this mysterious medicine.
At dusk, when we arrived at another town, Gao Shulin said to the sparrow hawk, "Let's go for a walk. There are some important things I need to say."
The sparrow hawk didn't dare to refuse, so he followed behind Gao Shulin and left the town.
When it was almost midnight, Gao Shulin came back alone. He accidentally stepped on my neck and woke me up. In the thick darkness, I smelled a strong smell of blood.
The next day when I woke up, I didn't see the sparrow hawk.
Gao Shulin said to everyone, "Wire Pole, you will take over the sparrow hawk's position. Stay Dog, you will take over Wire Pole's position." I was about to ask where the sparrow hawk had gone, but I swallowed my words when they reached my lips.
Gao Shulin probably saw the doubt in everyone's eyes, so he said, "The sparrow hawk left us and went solo."
Before Wire Pole became the sparrow hawk, he was humble and respectful to everyone, and he never scolded me. But after he became the sparrow hawk, he immediately changed his attitude and started to scold me like everyone else.
One time, when I was setting up the stage, I didn't tie the rope properly. Wire Pole quietly came over and kicked me in the butt, sending me face first into the mud. Qing'er laughed at me, but Cui'er scolded Wire Pole, "You piece of garbage, have you grown some balls? You dare to hit people now?"
Wire Pole smiled apologetically to Cui'er and said, "No, no."
After Cui'er left, Wire Pole glared at me and said, "Don't think you have Cui'er's mother to back you up. I'm not afraid of you."
I turned around and continued coiling the rope, feeling grateful towards Cuier in my heart.
The wire-walking act was a purely technical performance. To become a wire-walker, I had to go through a long and difficult journey.
I tightened the rope between two trees and walked up holding a long pole that helped me balance. The wire-walker guided me from above while holding a willow branch under the rope. Whenever my legs wobbled, he would fiercely hit my calves with the willow branch. I fell off the rope in pain, and he stepped on my rib-cage with his feet.
I hated the wire-walker so much that sometimes when I stood on top of him, I wanted to pull out my penis and pee on his head.
As the rope rose higher, my skills improved too. Despite falling numerous times, including once when I fainted, I finally managed to walk on the rope with my arms extended. It only took me two or three months from the first time I stepped on the rope to being able to perform wire-walking in the circus.
After that, I became obsessed with wire-walking. Walking on the rope, I saw birds perched in front of me, whispering to me as if I were one of them. Clouds floated above my head, pure white and soft as cotton, seemingly within reach. I also felt the wind passing through my body, whispering words only I could understand. I stood on the rope, feeling transcendent and lost in the moment. I stepped on the high tree forest, feeling higher than anyone else, and no one could control me.
It was said that it takes over six months for a person to learn wire-walking, but I only took two or three months. I thought I had talent for acrobatics.
It wasn't until I started performing wire-walking in the circus that I learned about the hidden secret of the group.
The circus performance was fake, and theft was the real thing.
Gaoshulin was very imposing, and he rarely spoke to us, but we were all afraid of him.
When I was learning wire-walking, Gaoshulin's attitude towards me changed. I could feel him looking at me with a smiling gaze because I had become one of them. Sometimes, he would pat my shoulder and praise me with lofty words like "you have a bright future."
However, I didn't know if Gaoshulin was good or bad to me. Just when I thought he was good to me, one time when I fell off the rope and was beaten up by the wire-walker, he turned his back and pretended not to see. Just when I thought he was bad to me, he would put a piece of tofu from his own bowl into mine, saying "you are growing up, eat more."
In short, I felt that Gaoshulin was unpredictable.
Walking on a tightrope is a technical skill. Not only do I have to learn to walk on the rope with my arms outstretched, but I also have to learn how to whistle. I don't know what whistling has to do with walking on a tightrope, so I don't bother to learn it properly. The whistles I produce are always dull and sound like I have a cold.
One time, Linetan stuffed a stick into my mouth and stirred it around vigorously. He said, "Knock out all your teeth, and your whistle will be loud." My mouth was full of blood foam, which flowed out of my mouth. I saw Gaoshulin standing in the distance, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, and Cuier ran over to try to stop Linetan, waving her hand to block him.
My mouth was full of wounds caused by the stick stirring, and it hurt too much to swallow when I ate. Cuier comforted me and said, "Anyone who walks on a tightrope has to learn how to whistle. If you learn how to whistle well, no one will hit you again."
Later, to avoid getting beaten again, I learned how to walk on a tightrope and how to whistle. Walking on the high tightrope, I repeatedly blew a string of whistles that were fluttering and bright, startling the birds perched on the branches.
I think I am a bird.
The night before my first appearance on the tightrope, Gaoshulin invited me outside the inn. There was a big ditch outside the inn, where dead pigs, dogs, cats, and rats were dumped, and a strong odor wafted in the air. We sat by the ditch.
Gaoshulin gave me some advice.
He asked, "Do you like living a rich life or a poor life?"
I thought of my previous life of luxury at home and said, "I want to live a rich life."
He said, "Our circus is meant to help everyone live a prosperous life in the future."
I didn't say anything and didn't know what to say.
He said, "You must be skeptical of what I'm saying and think that we can't live a rich life by wandering around like this, right?"
I hadn't answered yet when he said, "When you walk the tightrope tomorrow, remember two things: First, see which family in the village has money; Second, report the location of the rich families to me."
I asked, "How do I see? How do I report?"
He said, "From up high, you can see clearly who has a mule tied up in their courtyard, who has silk hanging on a wooden stick, those are the ones who have money. You need to report it to me."
I asked, "How do I report it?"
He said, "We'll set up two wooden poles with a rope in between, the direction of the rope always aligning with the direction of the village. When you walk on the tightrope, your left hand represents the houses on the left side of the village road, your right hand represents the houses on the right side of the village road. When you raise which arm, I will know where the rich family is. The direction you walk on the tightrope is the same as the direction of the village road. Counting from back to front, the number of the house where the rich family is, you whistle that many times."
I vaguely understood the reason why Gao Shulin asked me to do this. They wanted to steal, right?
Gao Shulin asked me, "Do you understand?"
I said, "Yes, I understand. But what if there's someone in the courtyard?"
Gao Shulin said, "The village rarely has a circus come around. When there's a circus, everyone in the village will go watch. Who would stay at home?"
I hesitated for a moment and asked carefully, "What if we get caught?"
Gao Shulin said, "If they find out, we'll be long gone. We'll go from north to south, only visiting each village once in our lifetime. Even if they find out, there's nothing they can do."
Then he continued, "Don't tell anyone, and when we get rich, I'll get you a wife and a courtyard."
I happily agreed.