A Case of Two Cities

might not necessarily be a man of high intelligence, but he was definitely not a gullible one. Chen had to risk being seen as a quack—or worse, as a disguised cop. It would then no longer be a matter of facing the possibly armed bodyguard standing in the background. The exposure of Chen’s secret police activity here—under the cover of the government delegation—could lead to diplomatic troubles. But so far he had succeeded in tricking the old woman, and he might be able to do so with Xing. He could always try to give Xing’s reading in metaphysically ambiguous sentences. A fortune-teller didn’t have to be responsible for his superstitious claptrap. What really mattered was fishing something crucial out of Xing. For this to work, he had to include the old woman in the talk too.
     
    “As madam has demonstrated, a character arising from the heart of her hearts will tell. The choice of the character is simply made by you, but more by the divine power of the universe, so it contains the qi from you, as well as from everything else, including this great temple, including your great mother.”
     
    “That’s right. The temple makes a difference too,” the old woman said, nodding vigorously. “Write your character. It’s too good an opportunity for you to miss.”
     
    “Well, the same character then.” Xing wrote it on the paper. “Xing.”
     
    “Now, is it about yourself?” Chen said, studying the character anew.
     
    “Yes, it’s about myself.”
     
    “The same character, but with all the different qi from your heart,” Chen said. “Let me say one thing first. Your handwriting is bold and powerful. The shape of the character bears a certain resemblance to dragon. Very impressive, like in a proverb often used to describe Chinese calligraphy, ‘like a dragon moving and like a tiger walking.’ It’s in line with the meaning of the character xing too. So I would say there is something of a dragon in you.”
     
    Chen knew Xing had been born in the dragon year. A dragon was generally considered a lucky, masculine symbol in traditional Chinese culture, with the connotation of great power. It was a compliment Xing would snatch up, Chen supposed, and Xing nodded approvingly.
     
    “You are no ordinary man,” Chen pushed on. “In your case, the double person radical may not be just about two. Your movement concerns a lot more. It’s difficult to see the direction for the moment. Also, the character xing for you means, among other things, a sort of a business center, possibly with a great deal of money at your disposal, as in yinghang.”
     
    Chen watched Xing’s reaction. He had to convince Xing of his authenticity by throwing out information unavailable to an ordinary quack, but at the same time he should not go so far as to arouse Xing’s suspicions. His interpretation had to remain open, ambiguous, yet specific enough for Xing to think in the way Chen had planned. Only through that could Xing let out some information, unwittingly, in his anxiousness to obtain “divine” advice.
     
    “More and more interesting!” Xing said composedly. “What else can you read in the same character?”
     
    “What time period do you want to know about?”
     
    “The near future, I think.”
     
    “If it’s about traveling, the people with water element in them may not be good for you.”
     
    “What do you mean by water element?”
     
    “Wuxing —five elements, as you know. For instance, those with their names containing water radical in them, like Jiang.”
     
    “Names containing water radical, like Jiang,” Xing repeated without making an immediate response.
     
    “Yes. Don’t you remember the man in charge of land development in Shanghai, Xing?” the old woman said, growing pale. “His name is Jiang— river, water radical, no mistake. Both you and Ming have met him a number of times. He’s in trouble now, you have told me.”
     
    “Mom, you don’t have to believe too much in those things,” Xing said, frowning. “What else, Master Chen?”
     
    Chen restudied the character for another two or three minutes, resting his forehead on his hand, with his eyes half closed, before he resumed, “There’s something strange. It is a very complicated situation.”
     
    “A man asks about misfortune, not about fortune,” Xing said. “Don’t worry. Go on with your interpretation.”
     
    “I’ll be frank. There’s another character: xing plus the plant radical. Also pronounced xing,