My Asian Dragon

Joy sat forward, intrigued by Billy’s story. “And?”

“And in a really old map, I mean at least two hundred years old, there is a place that matches up. Get this though, the name is going to make you chuckle.”

“Okay. I’m game. What’s the name?”

“Long Xue Yu. It means Dragon Blood Fields.”

Joy smiled, enjoying the implication. “Come on, Billy. Don’t tell me that you, with your church background and your UCLA diploma are a believer in those old myths? I mean, really? Dragons?”

Billy smiled cryptically and folded his fingers under his chin. “Well, there are some translations of the Bible that include the mention of dragons. Who knows? Either way, it could be an interesting story, and you could afford to get out of Shanghai for a while. The smog isn’t good for you, and you’re not as invisible as you might think. There are some in Shanghai who are paying attention to you that you do not want attention from.”

“That’s a lot of words to say I’ve got Triads interested in me, Billy.”

“Not just Triads, Joy. All of the Triads you’ve exposed are replaceable men, minor flunkies. The government men though, they’re a little more valuable.”

Joy thought it over for a moment. If Billy was correct, the trip could make a great story, maybe even a series of stories and give her another angle to work on how China could defeat the Triads. If it wasn’t, it would probably still give her enough for a few human interest stories, and some necessary time away from Shanghai to get some perspective. “All right, I’m in. Let me file the paperwork with the Beijing main office, get the travel money, and we can hit the road.”

*****

For Joy, getting out of Shanghai was more enjoyable than she had imagined. For about the first two hundred kilometers, the drive was pleasant and enjoyable. Billy had agreed to use his van to take her, picking her up in the early morning. Joy had been surprised to see two other people, a man and a young woman sitting in the back of the van when she slid into the front passenger seat. “They’re coming along to help,” Billy said casually. “From what I understand, this village has a really unique dialect of Chinese, and they both come from around the area.”

Joy just nodded. She had come to accept the fact that for a country that supposedly had one official language in “Chinese,” the seemingly endless number of dialects, regional variations, and flat out different grammar structures meant that it was really a country with as many languages as the United States. Perhaps the only unifying element was the use of Chinese characters, but even then there seemed to be regional differences. While Joy was decent with daily use of Mandarin, she was hopelessly lost with almost any other dialect. “Nice to meet you,” she said, looking back. “You guys okay if I use English?”

“My uncle has very poor English, but I can speak okay,” the young woman said timidly. “My name is Tang Wen.”

“Nice to meet you. I am very sorry, but my Mandarin is rather poor. I will try my best though, if your uncle would like.”

“It is no problem. If you do not mind, I would like to practice my English with you as we drive.”

Joy agreed, and for most of the drive enjoyed pleasant if sometimes boring conversation with Tang Wen. She was apparently a student in Shanghai, whose goal currently was to finish school and get a good job working for a computer company. Joy relaxed as the kilometers rolled by, until the first refueling stop.

Getting out of the van and stretching her legs, Joy saw Billy and the older man, who so far she only knew as “Uncle,” pointing at a map and getting into a relatively heated discussion. Joy waited until Uncle walked away before approaching. “What’s up?”

“Oh, he is just saying that the roads get a lot rougher from here on out, and that we should have brought a different vehicle. What I keep explaining to him is that while I may have more funds than your average village goer, I’m still just a missionary, and I don’t exactly have access to a Range Rover on a daily basis.”

“Are you worried?”

Billy shook his head. “Not really. The van has four wheel drive and the tires are meant for all terrain travel. I’ll be honest the shocks and springs aren’t the best, but other than a bumpy ride, I’m pretty sure we’ll get there eventually.”

Eventually turned out to be seven hours, as the roads degenerated to the point that Joy was at times not sure if they were even on a real pathway. Billy stopped three times to ask for directions, with Tang Wen acting as a translator as the local dialects strayed further and further away from Mandarin. The sun was going down by the time Billy approached the village of Long Xue Yu. Looking around, Billy shrugged. “Not a lot here.”

That was an understatement, in Joy’s opinion. Long Xue Yu was the epitome of a country village. The main street was dirt, although the ruts were shallow compared to some of the roads they had traveled over getting there. Most of the houses were relatively ramshackle, made of wood and scavenged corrugated metal, and Joy wasn’t sure but she thought she could see a few thatched roofs on the outer edges of the village. Off in the distance, obscured by the low light of sunset was another, larger building, but Joy couldn’t tell what it was. “I don’t suppose they have a Hyatt or even a Motel 6?”

“This is China, not likely,” Billy replied. “Why do you think I brought the van? We pop the back, shut off the lights, and it’ll sleep three people.”

“But we have four.”

Billy shrugged. “I like to sleep outdoors. I have ever since I went camping as a kid. If I need to, I can use the front passenger seat, lean it back and I’ll be fine. Seriously, you two get some sleep in the van.”

Joy nodded, looking around. “Well, where do we park then?”

Billy laughed. “Right where we are. I don’t see any gas stations, and at least the shoulder of the road is technically public use. First, let’s get the lay of the land, maybe we can find a place to eat. If we’re lucky, they may even have a tavern or some sort of lodge or temple we could use, instead of worrying about who’s going to sleep in the van.”

Billy put the van in gear and drove slowly though the village. There were no streetlamps, and from what Joy could see, none of the houses even had electricity. While there were a few lamps burning in windows, most of the houses were dark. Obviously in this village, people rose and went to sleep with the sun itself. Finally, in the distance Joy could see the large building that she had spied earlier. Approaching, it became clear that it was some sort of temple, with stone buildings and a wall running around it. Unfortunately for them, the gate was closed, and Billy’s knocks went unanswered.