The Faith and Salt

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," David said.

The waiter poked his head inside. He spoke a quick line of Chinese.

David only recognized a single word. It was "Ren", meaning people.

"Someone is here for me?" David asked.

The waiter ignored the English and simply turned and went downstairs.

David followed him down in a daze. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Xiao Yan stood right by the wooden front counter.

The hunter's face looked clearly in a bad mood.

David felt his stomach drop.

Oh no.

He had to communicate with this man again. The sheer thought of it was exhausting.

His Chinese was completely useless. While Xiao Yan knew absolutely zero English.

Even holding a dictionary would not help them exchange more than two broken sentences.

The heavy pressure of this language wall made David highly anxious.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan had no desire to talk either. The hunter skipped the awkward guessing games completely.

He pulled a small object from his belt and dropped it onto the nearest table.

He tapped it once with his finger, gave David a sharp look, and tilted his head toward the open door.

David felt disappointed all of a sudden, since he could at least have warned Xiao Yan about the threat of Hong Xiuquan, but all the way from that river-tavern to here, words just somehow didn’t come out of his mouth.

He walked closer to look.

It was a small folded letter. Inside, it held a single piece of paper.

He brought this letter back to his room. Using his dictionary, he slowly checked the characters one by one.

"Please... help... get backup... army... save people... Within seven days, find me there."

It follows an address.

The broken words David put together were enough to show Xiao Yan's intention.

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He frowned. First, he did not understand why Xiao Yan would suddenly ask him for help. Second, he had absolutely no idea how to help.

Since arriving in Huai'an, David had only joined local officials for drinks and prostitutes or stayed locked inside his room.

The only time he went out on his own, trying to send out a warning, he caused a fisherman's death and almost lost his own life.

Acting like such a fool, how could he possibly help Xiao Yan?

But since Xiao Yan asked, he must have a good reason.

Besides, Dr. Parker, that American doctor in Guangzhou, once told David his main job here was to be sort of a military advisor for local officials.

Could it be that he actually had the power to command army troops, but he simply did not know it?

This sudden thought shocked David, making him feel highly excited.

He quickly ran downstairs to find Archie.

This old Scot was not inside the inn's tavern. David went across the street to search for another one.

Inside that noisy, dark room smelling of cheap tobacco and opium, Archie sat among a group of Chinese merchants. They were all talking and laughing loudly.

Seeing David walk in, Archie stood up.

“Me sweet parson!”

"I need to talk to you about something."

"Hold on a wee second, let me introduce ye to..."

But David did not give him the chance. He grabbed Archie's arm and pulled him right out into the street.

"What is this for?" Archie complained.

"I have something very important to talk about."

"What is it, lad?"

"Xiao Yan, that Chinese warrior. He is asking us for backup troops."

"Troops?" Archie was not sober at all. His head was clearly still spinning in a drunken fog.

"Yes. And I suspect it means something."

"I suspect his bloody brain is broken. What troops do we have?"

"Maybe we actually hold some kind of real power?"

"Oh, me sweet parson. I think we are absolutely nothing in their eyes."

"But what if?" David lowered his voice, acting as if anyone around them could actually understand English. "What if we really can command the army, and these officials are just fooling us?"

"Alright, even if yer right, why in God's name should we help him?" Archie said. "I'm having a grand old time right now."

"Because he saved my life," David said.

"What?"

"It is a long story," David said. "I know you speak a little Chinese. Can you help me? If we succeed, I will definitely give you a large amount of money."

Archie shook his head.

"How much do you want? Just name a number," David pressed. "I can write you a proper contract."

"No," Archie continued. "Why do ye need me? Ye can just write a letter yourself to some bigshots, find the man in charge, and get the whole thing done."

There was no time for writing to Liang and waiting for authorization from Beijing. Besides, it wouldn’t be fun at all.

"No, that is far too slow; we have only seven days," David said. "And from what I know about these local officials so far, they might not obey a written order."

"Then what is yer plan?"

"First, you have to agree to work with me," David replied. "Just name a price."

"I don't want yer silver."

"Then what do you want?"

"If this actually works out, I need ye to owe me a favor," Archie said. "If it fails, then I need nothing at all."

"You are being this generous?"

"Old Archie has always been a fair man."

David knew what this old Scot was thinking. If he really had the power to move army troops, then his favor would be worth far more than silver.

Archie might look old and stupid, but he was actually cunning.

Besides, David strongly suspected the old man never just wanted retirement and travel.

China has so many safe places to visit. Why would he keep following David right into the dangerous Salt Rot?

David stayed silent, thinking hard about what this old Scotsman truly wanted.

But then again, it was just a favor.

Whether he actually fulfilled it later was completely up to him, wasn't it? If this Scotsman asked for something too far, he could say no.

"Deal." David reached out his hand.

Archie grabbed his hand firmly. "A man's word is his bond, aye?"

"My word is my bond."