The Past of Xu’s Duck

Abstract

Twenty years ago, the narrator ran a successful duck shop in Nanjing. When a friend told him that his wife was having an affair with Manager Yang, he went to confront Manager Yang to seek revenge. They had a violent altercation at Manager Yang’s house. Manager Yang suggested that in compensation, the narrator should sleep with Manager Yang’s wife, a nurse. The narrator stayed at the house till the wife returned later that afternoon, and willingly offered herself to him. Repelled by her debasement, the narrator slit her throat instead, and tried to make it look like a burglary gone wrong. Ultimately, his crime was uncovered, and he was arrested, found guilty, and executed. From Issue 2 of Chinese Arts and Literature, published by Xanadu Press, 2016; reprinted by permission of Chinese Arts and Literature.