Chapter Twenty-Three: Seeking the True Culprit

At that moment, all five mice simultaneously raised black beans in unison.

Even without Lei Ren’s “translation,” I sensed some of the meaning behind this gesture.

In the superstitions of the “Five Organs Temple,” black beans symbolize... “wartime calamity,” or “enemy,” or “ominous misfortune.”

In short, the presence of black beans in food carries a grim connotation, evoking death and slaughter.

Perhaps for this reason, in the past, people generally avoided eating black beans, and foods made from them were rare. Most often, black beans were ground into bean cakes used as concentrated feed for livestock. They were, at best, considered taboo in Han Chinese cuisine, comparable to beef in their rarity and avoidance.

The ominous reputation of black beans likely stems from an ancient legend—one about “scattering beans to summon soldiers,” a tale entwined with death and warfare.

It is said that in ancient times, there was a king named Yao, a wise and beloved ruler, regarded as one of the sage monarchs of early China.

During Yao’s reign, there was a minister named Wu Cao, a scholar well-versed in many books and a master strategist trusted deeply by King Yao. Wu Cao was known for his fairness and humility, adept at planning and maneuvering, embodying the scholarly virtues that later Confucianism would extol.

Wu Cao’s talents were remarkable, especially his extraordinary skill in commanding armies.

Legend holds that before each campaign, Wu Cao would create a “sand table” marked with the geography of the battlefield—the mountains, rivers, passes, and cities involved.

Once the sand table was prepared, Wu Cao would “use beans as soldiers” to conduct multiple war simulations, rehearsing possible maneuvers and outcomes.

During these exercises, he adhered to the principles of the Five Elements, representing soldiers with five distinct beans: black, red, white, green, and yellow.

Among these, black and red beans held pride of place as the “main forces.”

Specifically, black beans symbolized enemy troops; red beans, his own forces; white beans, foreign soldiers; green beans, reinforcements; and yellow beans, allied troops. Each type was clearly assigned, and on the sand table, they would attack, surround, and counterattack one another repeatedly until Wu Cao had a firm grasp of the battle’s potential.

After these thorough preparations, combined with his intimate knowledge of the terrain and enemy numbers, Wu Cao’s campaigns were nearly always victorious, with few defeats.

Despite his prowess, Wu Cao remained modest. When asked about his secret, he would humbly claim to have learned little in life and that his repeated victories over barbarians were merely thanks to a table of beans.

Though Wu Cao’s words were originally modest, over time, especially by the late Eastern Han period amidst the chaos of the bandits and Yellow Turban rebels who dabbled in superstition, his statement transformed into legends of magical power—claims that Wu Cao could summon soldiers by scattering beans, command the winds and rains, call upon heavenly armies, or even beckon ghostly troops to fight alongside him.

Later, Wu Cao shared his methods with King Yao, who, wishing to preserve this strategic wisdom for posterity, simplified Wu Cao’s war game by retaining only the red and black beans to represent opposing forces and formalized rules mimicking battle formations.

In time, Yao passed this technique to his son, and successive generations further abridged Wu Cao’s “bean game,” gradually evolving the sand table into what we now know as the game of Go. This legacy also preserved the association of black stones with “death,” “enemy,” and “war.”

Thus, even today, in some regions, black beans are called “inauspicious beans,” though the exact nature of their ill omen remains unknown to me.

Because of my ignorance, I was puzzled when facing the five mice holding up beans.

In my urgency, I asked Lei Ren, “Our squad leader faces a great enemy... does he have to die? Who is the enemy, and why must he die?”

My question displeased Lei Ren.

He shot me a sharp glance, then loudly scolded, “Nonsense! Of course I’ll ask that myself! I don’t need your amateur input to educate me!”

I couldn’t believe he got mad just because I said a few words. Lei Ren’s temper was really petty...

Resigned, I forced a smile to signal him to continue.

Lei Ren looked up at the sky, then turned back to the mice and asked, “Who is the great enemy?”

As usual, the five mice whispered among themselves, but this time, unexpectedly, they did not raise their beans.

What happened next astonished us all.

The five mice began to wag their tails and knocked their heads repeatedly against Lei Ren, as if pleading for mercy.

Then, they crawled onto the table and lay motionless, as though begging him for clemency.

None of us, except Lei Ren, could decipher the meaning behind their posture.

Helpless, my master’s uncle Zhao Haikun quietly asked, “What... does this mean?”

Lei Ren did not answer but frowned deeply, muttering to himself, “How could this happen... this... this...”

As he spoke, he glanced upward once more.

By then, the white clouds shielding the blazing sun were beginning to disperse; the breeze had ceased, and the entire ancestral hall and the Zhao family estate were enveloped in an inexplicable silence.

Lei Ren lowered his gaze and spoke to his nephew Lei Wangcai, “Time is short! Wangcai! Go to the kitchen and fetch five grains and red dates—hurry!”

Obedient, Lei Wangcai promptly waddled off to the kitchen.

A short while later, he returned with a bowl of five grains and several red dates.

The “five grains” refer to the staple cereals.

There are two traditional definitions: one includes rice, millet, glutinous millet, wheat, and beans; the other substitutes hemp for rice. What Lei Wangcai brought back was clearly the first set.

Regardless of which, in ancient times, these grains were essential offerings for rituals and prayers.

Moreover, in the Five Organs Temple, they bear special symbolic significance...

In rural areas, especially northern villages, these five grains are common staples; nearly every household has two or three varieties, but gathering them all is quite a challenge.

Fortunately, today is the day of my old squad leader’s grand wedding and mourning ceremony; since a banquet is underway, basic grains and flour are readily available.

After Lei Wangcai handed Lei Ren the bowl of mixed grains and a handful of red dates, Lei Ren inspected them, then swiftly selected one grain of each type alongside a red date, arranging them neatly in a row.

“Time is running out!” Lei Ren said, sweating profusely, addressing the five mice, “Who is the enemy? Is it a traitor within our Five Organs Temple, or some other foe? Choose for yourselves.”

As Lei Ren spoke, the fattest of the five mice stepped forward in single file and slowly approached the row of grains and dates.

Under our watchful eyes, it sniffed carefully, as if selecting one of the offerings...