Chapter Eight: Entering the Hotel

Of course I know you—I would recognize you even if you were reduced to ashes. Liu Sanjun said, “What I don’t understand is, how have you come crawling back to me again?”

The turtle replied, “I have come to deliver a message. If you do not save me, your child will die. The day I am butchered by the chef will be the day your child passes away. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see!”

This time, not only did the turtle stretch out its head, but it also extended its tail, swaying arrogantly as if openly defying Liu Sanjun.

Anxiously, Liu Sanjun asked, “What exactly do you want me to save you from? You’ve already escaped—did you get away from that seafood stall?”

The turtle said, “You don’t understand. How could I have escaped from that seafood stall? The vendor had us turtles tightly covered with a net over the basin where we were kept. No one could escape. Even if one managed to get out, it wouldn’t take more than a few steps before being caught and cooked as a delicacy.”

The more Liu Sanjun listened, the more bewildered he became. The turtle had been speaking to him for quite some time before he realized that this turtle before him was not a real turtle but the spirit of a turtle negotiating with him: if you don’t save me, your child will surely die.

Liu Sanjun thought of his own child, who had been seriously ill these past few days with no sign of improvement, and panic gripped his heart. He realized it must be that turtle they had bought to release but ended up returning to the seafood vendor that was causing the trouble. He asked, “How can I save you? Where do I need to go?”

The turtle’s spirit said, “The day you returned me to the seafood vendor, I was immediately sold to a seafood merchant in Guangdong. Of course, the merchant bought a whole truckload of coastal seafood to be transported to a wholesale seafood market in Guangzhou, where it was distributed to various stall owners. Because I was large and conspicuous, I was quickly purchased by a customer—a procurement officer for the kitchen of a five-star hotel. After buying me, he did not kill me right away, instead keeping me in a transparent glass container. After fourteen days, I am to be taken out, slaughtered, and chopped into pieces to be cooked into a special dish served to a group of VIP guests who had reserved seats at the hotel’s banquet. Seven days have already passed; I have seven days left to live. If you, Liu Sanjun, can rescue me from that five-star hotel in Guangzhou and set me free, your child’s illness will be cured without medical treatment.”

Liu Sanjun said, “There are so many five-star hotels in Guangzhou. I don’t know which one you’re in. Could you please be more specific and tell me the name of the hotel, so I can find you and rescue you?”

The turtle did not answer immediately. In the blink of an eye, it vanished.

Liu Sanjun searched everywhere in vain, then looked up at the sky in melancholy, repeatedly asking, “What is the name of the five-star hotel?”

After the seventh time, a voice finally said, “Liu Sanjun, as long as your heart is sincere, you will find me in Guangzhou. But you need to bring 8,000 yuan; only then will the hotel owner agree to sell me.”

The voice ceased, and Liu Sanjun suddenly woke up, realizing it had all been a dream.

He saw the tube inserted in his child’s head, the intravenous drip running, and leaned toward his wife sitting by the bedside, saying, “Zhong Sheng, let’s stop the treatment for Haisheng. Once the drip is finished, let’s take him home.”

Cai Zhongsheng cast a strange look at him and scolded, “Are you talking nonsense?”

Then she took out a tissue and threw it to Liu Sanjun. “Clean the crust from the corner of your left eye—it’s disgusting.”

Liu Sanjun took the tissue and wiped his eye, whispering, “I just had a dream—about that turtle we bought a few days ago to release, but didn’t, and then returned to the vendor. As the saying goes: turtle (ghost), turtle (ghost)—a turtle is a ghost. Our child’s illness is caused by that turtle.”

***

Cai Zhongsheng shuddered after hearing about the dream.

That afternoon, Liu Sanjun returned home and recounted the strange dream to his parents. They were skeptical but agreed on one thing: better to believe it than not. They decided to continue medical treatment for their grandson Liu Haisheng while also sending Liu Sanjun to Guangzhou to find the turtle and buy it back to release it.

To verify whether the dream was real or just fantasy, before Liu Sanjun set off, Ye Huiqiong went to the seafood stall at the market to ask the vendor and learned that the turtle they had returned had already been sold. This only strengthened her belief in Liu Sanjun’s dream.

She even reproached Liu Sanjun a bit, saying, “Last time, I told you to release that turtle with the writing on its shell into the sea—it didn’t cause any trouble and was even a good deed. Now look, this has become a disaster. Even if you manage to find that turtle in Guangzhou and buy it back, according to the turtle’s dream message, it will cost 8,000 yuan. You’ll need money for travel and expenses. A round trip will cost over 10,000 yuan. And if you don’t find the turtle in a few days, you’ll have to keep looking, spending more.”

Liu Sanjun said nothing upon hearing this; he was inwardly filled with regret.

If he failed to find that turtle in Guangzhou before the deadline, and if the turtle’s prophecy were true, his child’s life would be in grave danger. That would be tragic.

As he boarded the train, Liu Sanjun felt heavy-hearted.

Liu Jiaju handed his son 20,000 yuan in cash, divided into three parts: some in his bag, some in the pockets of his underwear, and some loose change in his outer jacket.

He accompanied his son to the station and repeatedly reminded him not to show the money to strangers.

Liu Sanjun simply nodded.

The train gave a long whistle, stretched out its long body, and started moving.

Liu Jiaju’s heart tightened. Since it was his son’s first long journey, he was uneasy and even a bit regretful for not accompanying him to Guangzhou to find the turtle.

But it was too late for regrets now. The train carrying his son and many other passengers rumbled away until it vanished from sight.

***

Upon arriving in Guangzhou, Liu Sanjun first asked around for the location of five-star hotels. Most people didn’t understand him. Although he spoke Mandarin loudly, his accent was thick, and people still had trouble understanding him, often shaking their heads and walking away.

But Liu Sanjun had a plan. After leaving the train station, he bought a reliable ballpoint pen from a stationery store. Pressing the pen’s tail made the tip pop out; pressing again retracted it.

This made him smile, reminding him of the turtle he knew well—when frightened, it would withdraw its head into its shell, and when it sensed calm, it would extend its head again.

Now he needed to quickly find that turtle, which he knew from the dream had been sold to a five-star hotel in Guangzhou. Which one exactly? He was puzzled but resolved to search hotel by hotel.

***

But as a newcomer, everything was unfamiliar to Liu Sanjun. He couldn’t find even a single five-star hotel, and asking for directions didn’t help.

At that moment, he pressed the tail of the pen, and the tip popped out.

Holding it in his right hand, he wrote on his open left palm: “Comrade, please tell me where there is a five-star hotel?”

Liu Sanjun was too tired to speak. Whenever he saw a stranger walking slowly, he would approach and hold out his hand, showing the written message.

Strangers often looked at his appearance and demeanor, guessing he was an outsider, and would respond perfunctorily: “There are five-star hotels everywhere. Walk a few hundred meters down this street, and you will surely see several. It depends on whether you can afford to stay.”

Though the people he met were strangers, their Mandarin was clear and understandable to Liu Sanjun.

Following their directions, he walked along the bustling street for about 300 meters and saw a hotel. He went inside to inquire whether the kitchen kept turtles as reserve ingredients.

Often the staff did not understand his heavily accented dialect, so he had to write down his questions on scraps of paper to show them, hoping for some guidance. But sometimes, the directions were confusing.

Liu Sanjun had such an experience twice—he visited two hotels, both stocked with various live seafood, but not a single turtle.

This frustrated and discouraged him. He even cursed himself for being foolish, controlled by a ridiculous dream. How could all that be true?

Thinking this way, he lost confidence and decided to return to the train station to buy a ticket back home.

He walked to a temporary city bus stop, felt the urge to urinate, but couldn’t find a restroom. Looking around, he spotted a five-star hotel across the road.

He thought, “There must be a restroom inside the hotel.”

But when he reached the front desk and asked the receptionist wearing a name tag, he was told, “Our restrooms are only for guests. You’re not staying here, so I can’t tell you where it is.”

Suddenly, Liu Sanjun had an idea. “I really need to go urgently. After I’m done, I will come back to check in.”

The receptionist then pointed casually, “Go through the lobby, turn left, and it’s just a few steps ahead.”