The Faith and Salt

Heavy rain had clearly trapped many travelers inside. None of these men looked happy to welcome David for a drink.

This old tavern felt incredibly dark and heavy.

A strong smell of wet clothes, cheap tobacco, and dirty sweat filled its small room.

People only talked in low whispers. Many kept a very careful eye on this tall foreigner.

Since he carried strange weapons and looked exactly like pure trouble.

He had absolutely no other choice. He picked a dark corner and simply stood there.

He stood perfectly still like a solid stone statue. He felt deeply awkward and uncomfortable, but what else could he possibly do?

That innkeeper soon noticed him. He yelled something loudly in Chinese.

Everyone stopped talking and looked straight at him.

David felt his chest tighten. He found it very hard to breathe. He understood absolutely nothing.

The limping waiter slowly walked over. He gently patted David's shoulder and pointed a dirty finger at an empty wooden chair nearby.

Oh, he wants me to sit down.

David quickly moved to take that seat.

However, he kept his nervous eyes fixed on those local men instead of looking down. His body missed that wooden surface completely.

That chair flipped over backward. David fell hard onto solid dirt. His simple stone spear rolled away.

Small items spilled right out of his wet travel bag. His heavy shotgun even swung around its leather strap and hit him straight in the chest.

This loud crash grabbed every single eye in that room. Even those who were ignoring him before now turned their heads.

David just sat there on cold dirt.

He paused for two full seconds.

He looked at his own terrible mess and actually found it a little funny.

Letting out a helpless, dry laugh. He raised one empty hand and dragged out a long, single sound:

"Hao——"

People sitting around their tables looked at each other. A second later, they all burst into loud laughter.

David picked up his fallen dictionary from the dirty floor. He suddenly realized something.

Acting like a drunk man, he jumped straight onto a solid wooden table and let out a loud shout.

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While everyone was still surprised, David started to dance.

He held his spear tight in his arms, pretending it was a real person.

In his mind, he was miles away, swept back into a bustling London dance hall as Beethoven's Minuet in G major thundered through his head.

He danced wildly across those thick wooden boards.

It wasn't just his feet that moved; he hummed the classic tune aloud, occasionally exaggeratingly hoisting his broken missionary robe.

Mimicking a shy dancing girl and doing a deep curtsy, he bent his knees and dropped his body low.

Every time he made a move, loud cheers erupted from below.

These local men watched him like paying customers watching a circus monkey.

They had never seen such strange steps or heard such a funny song before, and fully believed David was nothing but a complete joke.

But this is much better than being an invader, David thought to himself. I am perfectly willing to become a joke.

A dancing fool on a table was actually great entertainment during a heavy rainstorm.

Life is already so hard for everyone right now. Why not just laugh a little?

At least that heavy, cold tension inside this room was completely gone.

He enjoyed himself more and more as he danced. He even started using some Chinese opera moves he had seen back in Yangzhou.

His hands and feet copied those actions perfectly without any trouble.

That tavern boss and his wife watched with great interest from behind their front counter.

David had no idea what they were thinking. He still could not understand a single word besides their loud cheers.

However, this rainy evening turned out to be his most comfortable and happiest night so far.

He danced his waltz until dark rain clouds completely swallowed that dying sun. He felt a bit out of breath.

That limping waiter asked him to come down for a rest and brought him a large bowl of water.

When David stepped off that wooden table, the men inside this tavern let out loud groans of disappointment.

They clearly treated him like a professional clown now.

David did not mind at all. He smiled, made a standard Western bow, and said, "Xie Xie."

While he drank his water, men sitting near him reached out to touch his hair and pinch his nose.

They pointed at his face and laughed out loud.

Slowly, a large crowd gathered around him just to watch the fun.

He welcomed all of it.

He even shook his hair loose on purpose so these men could get a better look at his strange curls.

Finishing his water, David felt even more excited after grabbing everyone's full attention.

He used his hands to draw fake shapes in empty air, borrowing a piece of black charcoal from the owner.

Nobody knew what he wanted to do next.

Then, he started drawing right on a dirty wall. He began with the British home islands.

He moved down to France, covering Europe, North Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula, and India.

Looking at this long route, his mind filled instantly with a strong, salty smell of ocean water.

His charcoal piece moved past Malaya. He almost saw Singapore again in his head. He remembered hot trading streets, crowded wooden docks, and endless trade ships.

He kept drawing upward.

Korea, Japan, Siberia...

Finally, his black marks met together back at Normandy. This village's very first world map now stayed permanently on the wall of this shaking, storm-beaten tavern.

People stared at this giant drawing in deep confusion.

To them, its rough shape looked exactly like a huge, strange monster.

They understood absolutely nothing.

David pointed a dirty finger at Europe. He then repeated a short part of his waltz dance from before.

He completely forgot about their heavy language barrier. Looking at his crowd for a response, he said, "Look. Europe. Europe."

Those local men still did not really understand.

He pointed his finger at Africa next. He copied a loud elephant cry and crawled slowly across a wooden table.

A moment later, he grabbed his stone spear and made wild "hi-hi-hou-hou" sounds.

People inside this tavern probably thought this was his second show of the night.

They started pointing randomly at his black map.

David did not disappoint them at all. He kept acting and dancing exactly like this for that entire evening.

He only stopped when his audience finally felt sleepy, and his own body was completely out of energy.