Chapter 5 — Hoa Mi Revenge of Vengeance

On the fifth night after the nightingale was brought, right at the hour of the Rat, I climbed the wall and left the Su family's courtyard. It's not quite right to say he climbed the wall, in fact he sneaked out from a side door in the back yard. The Su family's main courtyard occupies half of the street, the back courtyard's side door connects to a small alley, the alley's end is the river wharf, on the other side of the river is the west side of the city. Mother Vuong had already prepared a small boat at the wharf. She rowed in less than half an hour and arrived at Thien Truc alley. At the foot of Thiet Nguu Bridge, Taoist Thanh Hu was already waiting there. He looked to be in his fifties, with a thin and short physique, wearing a faded, washed cotton robe, grass shoes, and holding an incense fan in his hand. He didn't look like a noble man with enlightenment, on the contrary, he looked exactly like some wandering gangster selling dog paste in the market. But Mother Vuong said that three years ago, Patriarch once invited him to read feng shui for the To family. After watching it, the Patriarch broke his custom and personally sent him to the door, standing on the steps and watching him disappear halfway down the street before returning to the house. All his life, the Patriarch was only polite to two types of people: those who helped others earn a lot of money, and those who helped others sleep peacefully.
“Miss Su family?”
Taoist Thanh Hu looked at me from top to bottom, using his incense fan to point at the rock under the bridge, "Sit down. If you have any problem, say it directly." I sat down on the stone and got straight to the point: "Have you ever seen a five-colored nightingale?" The incense fan in Taoist Thanh Hu's hand paused for a moment.
“Is this toy in your house?”
“Five days ago.”
“Who gave it?”
“My husband.”
Taoist Thanh Hu "tsk" and the fan continued to wave, but the frequency was much faster.
"The five-colored nightingale is not an ordinary bird. This breed grows in the deep mountains and valleys of the Nam Linh region. It only hatches once every hundred years. It has innate innate skills to capture luck."
"To put it bluntly, it knows how to attract, it can attract anything, from wealth, luck to longevity."
“As long as you put someone's eight characters at the bottom of the cage, it will target that person and suck.”
“At the bottom of the cage?” I quickly inquired.
"That's right, under the cage board, according to the rules, a golden talisman must be pressed, and on the talisman, write the eight characters of the person being sucked."
"That bird will follow these eight characters to find people, singing during the day and looking for food at night."
“Singing is to gather energy, eating is to swallow the destiny.”
My hand suddenly pressed tightly against the jade hanging on my side.
“So where will the luck that is sucked away go to?”
"Where to move back, we still have to see the tricks of the bird breeder."
“Usually they will add a guidance talisman, write the beneficiary's eight characters on it, and stick it on the inside of the dome of the birdcage.”
"The fortune that is sucked away will follow that guiding talisman and flow to the beneficiary."
In the darkness, I slowly closed my eyes. It turned out that at the bottom of the nightingale's cage were the eight characters of the To family, while the inside of the dome had the eight characters of Tham Thanh Van and his stepson stuck on it. Our To family's hundreds of years of fortune were sucked up by this bird, sip by gulp, and fed to the mother and daughter of the mistress hidden in Lieu alley.
“Daoist,” I opened my eyes and said in a steady voice, “What if I swap the talisman below and change it to someone else's eight characters?”
Taoist Thanh Hu stopped fanning and used the moonlight to carefully look at me.
“Do you want your stick to hit your back?”
"If I want to make this bird eat something, I have to vomit it out. It's up to me to decide who to vomit on."

Under the bridge, there was silence for a few breaths. The river water gently lapped against the stone embankment, and from afar came the startled cry of a night bird. Thanh Hu Dao kindly pulled out a yellow piece of paper from his sleeve and spread it flat on his knee.
"If you change it, you can change it. But when you swap, you have to tear off the old talisman and the other guidance talisman and burn them, then force this new talisman in."
“I will draw a new talisman for you, but the eight characters that need to be filled in above, you have to take care of yourself.”
"I don't care whose land it is, and I don't want to know either."
He gave me the yellow paper. The paper is covered with cinnabar patterns, leaving two empty rectangular frames in the middle. Next to one frame write the word "Dam" (Damage), the other frame write the word "Ich" (Compensate). In the "Damage" box, fill in someone's name, the bird will attract that person's luck. If the "Ich" box is left empty and unfilled, the fortune will be sucked out and will disappear, no one can have it. If the "Ich" box also contains a name, that luck will flow to the person whose name is written. I stared at those two empty frames for a long time.
“Thank you so much, Daoist.”
I folded the yellow paper neatly and carefully tucked it into the innermost layer of my shirt in front of my chest.
"Last question. Does the old talisman at the bottom of the cage and in the dome have to be changed by me?"
"It's useless for anyone else to touch it. Whoever's life falls on that cage, the bird will only recognize that person."
"When you tear off the old talisman, the bird will hurt and scream."
“The scream will be very loud, you have to think of a way to make sure no one hears.”
I nodded, stood up and walked away. On the way back, the small boat glided silently on the river surface. I sat at the back of the boat, reached into my shirt, my fingertips caressing that sturdy yellow paper. We already know whose name must be filled in the "Damage" box. Tham Thanh Van, along with his stepson whom he hid in Lieu alley. But of those two eight-character miracles, I only know of Tham Thanh Van's. That child's eight characters are hidden in the monastery in Lieu alley, there is absolutely no way for me to get in. When the small boat reached the shore, the eastern horizon had just begun to dim, revealing a light as white as a fish's belly. Mother Vuong welcomed me ashore and helped me brush away the water stains on my shirt.
“Miss, what did the Daoist say?”
“Mommy,” I lowered my voice, “Please help me do something.”
“Think about a way to find out the eight-character birth of the child in Lieu alley.”
"No matter what method is used, it must be received within three days."
The corners of Vuong's mouth were tightly pursed. She didn't ask what it was for. She just said softly:
"The house in Lieu alley is very strictly guarded, the door is always guarded by two servants brought by the Tham family, it is very difficult to get in."
“Then don't enter through the main door.”
I pondered, "That child is two or three years old, he has to go out and play in the yard during the day."
"I found an excuse to loiter around the Lieu alley area, observing to see if the child was wearing a jade tag or longevity lock."
"When a small family gives children a long life lock, the lock usually has eight characters engraved on it."

Mother Vuong nodded and took me through the side door back to the West courtyard. I returned to my room, had just finished changing my clothes, and had just sat down in front of the dressing table when the nightingale in the yard started singing. In the early morning sunlight, its iridescent feathers were so bright it was dazzling, its sharp song was like a small blade swirling in the air. I stared at it for a moment, then slowly lowered the curtain covering the bronze mirror. Old Lady Tham came again. This time she did not come alone, but also brought along a "distant relative". Just in time for the good afternoon, as soon as I sat down in the lobby, Mrs. Tham led a young woman in. That woman was wearing a plain, elegant cotton dress, with only a silver hairpin on her bun, and her appearance was delicate and gentle. She lowered her eyebrows and followed Mrs. Tham's back, one hand was reaching out but it was empty. I say an empty outstretched hand is because that hand is clearly used to the position of holding something, the five fingers are slightly bent, but today it is not holding anything.
“Van Ngam, come here, let me introduce you a bit.”
Old Mrs. Tham leaned on her cane and sat on the chair, waving at the other woman.
"This is my niece from my mother's side of the family, her name is Bach To To."
"The girl was miserable. Her husband passed away last year, leaving her child alone with no one to rely on."
“I told her to come stay at the palace for a few days, do you mind?”
Bach To To. I stared at this face, my hand slowly placed flat on the dining table. In my previous life, it wasn't until I died that I learned of her existence. It turned out that Mrs. Tham had already brought people into the Su family, but she was only using the title of "distant relative" to cover her eyes.
“Young lady, you are strong.” I spoke up, still wearing a polite smile on my face.
“To… Mrs. To is very strong.” Bach To To bowed, his voice as small as a mosquito, "I'm bothering you, ma'am."
“You cowardly girl, don't scare people.”