White Tiger

by Kylie Chan

  ‘You must recentre it.’ She helped him to the end of the hall. ‘Don’t want to kill yourself now that you’ve finally gained the skill.’

  ‘Did you hear what the Dark Lord said?’

  ‘Which part?’ She was obviously amused. ‘The part about trying it alone again and he’ll throw you out, or the part about being one of the best energy students he’s had in a while?’

  They turned to go into the student rooms, saw me and clammed up completely.

  I stood speechless, wondering. She’d called him the Dark Lord. One of the titles for Xuan Tian Shang Di was the Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens.

  I returned to my room and flipped open the book. I referred to another one. Yep, definitely Dark Lord.

  No way.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Over the next few months the weather grew hotter and the Hong Kong summer arrived. I had to keep my air conditioner on day and night to stay comfortable. Monica replaced my traditional silk bed quilt with a lighter polyester-filled ‘air-con’ quilt.

  I was still enjoying Mr Chen’s and Simone’s company, although I didn’t see as much of him as I would have liked. Leo’s promise of telling me about Mr Chen’s ‘secret’ in three weeks had stretched into a vague ‘later’, and eventually I gave up.

  I didn’t really mind not knowing. Simone was a delight to be with—creative and good-natured. And Mr Chen was a caring and considerate employer, always concerned that I spent too much time with Simone and didn’t take enough breaks. Eventually I had to explain to him that I didn’t consider being with Simone as work.

  His dark eyes wrinkled up when he smiled, and sparkled with intelligence and good humour. He was always interesting to talk to over the dinner table, and I occasionally skipped dinner with the girls to spend time with him.

  I often found myself wondering what it would be like to have his strong arms around me, but he was older than me and he was my employer. Not going to happen, I was way too professional for that.

  But he really did have very lovely eyes.

  By the middle of August I was sick to death of staying inside in the air conditioning. Most of the time it was too hot and humid to go out, but the continued confinement wore me down and eventually I gave up.

  ‘Can someone escort us to the beach tomorrow?’ I asked over the dinner table.

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Leo said.

  ‘I’ll come too,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Some time beside the sea would be good.’

  Simone jiggled with happiness so much that she fell off her chair and took her apple juice with her.

  ‘“Did a Simone”,’ Leo said.

  Simone’s face popped up over the edge of the table. ‘I’m okay. Can you dry it up, Daddy?’

  ‘Not here, sweetheart, you know that.’

  ‘All right.’ Simone went into the kitchen and returned with Monica, who wiped the spill up for her.

  ‘If she keeps doing this, the carpet will be ruined. Take it out,’ Leo said.

  ‘No,’ Mr Chen said. ‘She’ll grow out of it.’

  ‘It’s not too bad,’ Monica said. She rose and smiled around the table. ‘Are you finished?’

  ‘Thank you, Monica,’ Mr Chen said, and Monica cleared the dishes. ‘Which beach would you like to go to, Miss Donahoe?’

  ‘How about Repulse Bay? We can look at the statues.’

  Leo’s head snapped around and he studied me carefully.

  Mr Chen smiled. ‘Do you know anything about the statues? Some of the Chinese deities are very interesting.’

  Leo looked from me to Mr Chen and back to me.

  ‘Absolutely nothing at all,’ I said. ‘You’ll have to tell us all about them.’

  His smile widened and his eyes wrinkled up. Delightful. ‘It would be my pleasure,’ he said.

  Leo parked the car and we all piled out. The minute we were on the sand Mr Chen pulled his shoes off. He wore a pair of tatty black shorts and a faded black T-shirt. Simone raced towards the water with her bucket and spade.

  It was a weekday, so the beach wasn’t too busy. On the weekend it was often so packed that the sand was hardly visible.

  Leo followed Simone down to the water and watched her as she fell into the sand and dug a hole, spraying sand everywhere. He shook it off his smart polo shirt and moved away slightly.

  I unfolded the bamboo beach mat and lay it on the sand. Mr Chen and I sat on the mat together.

  Simone jumped up, took her bucket to the water and filled it. The bay had no waves at all; the water was completely flat. A line of buoys marked the swimming area and the location of the shark net.

  I looked back towards the hills behind the bay. Luxurious low- and highrise apartment buildings clung to the hillside. This was one of the most exclusive residential areas in Hong Kong. And then I realised: I lived in one of the other exclusive areas, up on the Peak. It felt strange.

  Mr Chen stretched his long legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands. His legs were much whiter than his arms; he obviously spent most of his time in long pants.

  He saw me watching him and smiled.

  ‘You know, I’ve been working full-time for you for nearly six months now,’ I said.

  He seemed surprised. ‘Is it that long already?’

  ‘Yes. I started at the beginning of the year, right after Chinese New Year.’

  He sat up, pulled his hair from its tie and shook it. I watched, fascinated, as the shining black curtain flew around him. He tied it back and leaned on his hands again.

  ‘So you can tell me what you do for a living now,’ I said.

  ‘I suppose I should.’ ‘Well?’

  He moved to sit cross-legged, put his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand. He appeared to think about it. ‘You’ve seen the students come in, and you’ve seen me teaching Leo.’

  ‘I don’t know how you can afford your lifestyle just by teaching martial arts.’

  He smiled sideways at me. ‘That’s just a small part of my job.’

  ‘What is your job?’

  He put both elbows on his knees and looked down. ‘I do government work. Some administration, some management. Occasionally fieldwork, but not since Simone was born.’

  I stared at him. What an idiot I’d been, thinking the secret was something supernatural, that he might be more than human. He was a secret agent. That explained everything: I worked for a spy.

  And then I couldn’t control my huge grin. I worked for a spy.

  ‘Which government? China or Hong Kong?’

  ‘Same thing now. Truth is, neither. A much higher government than both.’

  An agent for the UN! ‘Wicked! Tell me more.’

  He glanced sharply at me. ‘No. That’s all I can say about it.’

  ‘Oh, come on. I’m in the household, I need to know.’

  ‘Maybe later I’ll tell you more. Now is not the time.’

  ‘Later? You’ll tell me all about it?’

  ‘Later. I promise. I will.’

  ‘So teaching martial arts is a part of it?’

  ‘Yes. A very large part. I go out to teach as well.’

  So that was what he did. He went out to give international spies their basic training in martial arts. How cool was this. ‘Can you teach me?’

  He studied me carefully. ‘You want to learn?’

  ‘Yes!’

  He watched me silently for a while. Then he turned away. ‘No. I won’t teach you.’ I opened my mouth to object.

  He spoke before I had a chance to. ‘I won’t teach you. Don’t bother asking again, because the answer will always be no.’

  ‘Why on earth not? Is it because I’m a woman?’

  ‘Here they come. They’re both soaked.’

  He was right. Simone was full of smiles, but Leo was miserable. He gestured at the bottom of his smart designer slacks. ‘Ruined.’

  ‘I’m all wet too,’ Simone said. She pulled at her T-shirt. ‘Leo hates it, Daddy, can you fix it for him?’

  ‘Simo
ne…’ Leo said, warning.

  Mr Chen rose. ‘Could you fold up the mat for us please, Miss Donahoe?’ ‘Sure.’

  When I’d finished folding the mat, both Simone and Leo were perfectly dry. Mr Chen took Simone’s hand and led her down the beach towards the statues. Leo followed. I brought up the rear, holding the mat and wondering.

  The government had concreted the little peninsula at the end of the beach, and local rich people had donated statues of the various deities to be placed there. Most of them were life-sized, but some were enormous.

  The two largest statues were of goddesses: one stood wearing flowing white robes and holding an urn; the other sat on a throne, wearing brightly coloured robes.

  ‘Is that Kwan Yin?’ I asked Mr Chen, pointing at the standing goddess.

  ‘Yes, it is,’ Mr Chen said.

  ‘I’ve heard about her, and seen her on temple tours.’ Everybody who’d spent any amount of time in Asia quickly learned to recognise Kwan Yin. People put statues and images of her everywhere, from small roadside altars to the front panels of taxis. The Goddess that Hears the Cries of the World. She was depicted in both Buddhist and Taoist temples, and was the only deity that the temple guides would talk about in detail. Everybody loved her; she was the spirit of mercy. She even had her own type of tea.

  ‘Who’s the other one?’ I said.

  ‘That’s Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea.’

  ‘The same one as the MTR station?’

  ‘Yes. The station is called “Tin Hau” because there’s a temple nearby. Tin Hau has many temples in Hong Kong; the people here are traditionally seafarers, and she cares for them. Both of these ladies care for the sailors.’

  ‘What about the god in the temple on Cheung Chau island? He’s supposed to be a water god as well.’

  ‘Pak Tai? He’s very boring,’ Mr Chen said. He raised his voice to call to Simone. ‘Don’t go too far, sweetheart.’ He grinned at me. ‘You said you didn’t know anything about the deities.’

  ‘I thought I didn’t,’ I said.

  ‘Look at the dragon, Daddy,’ Simone called from a statue a short distance away. ‘It’s blue! Dragons are supposed to be green!’

  ‘Dragons can be any colour they like, darling,’ he said.

  I stopped to look at a statue of an old man smiling with his arms raised. He wasn’t in the book they’d so conveniently left in my room. ‘Who’s this?’

  ‘That’s the Old Man Under the Moon,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Yuexia Laoren in Putonghua. He makes sure everybody finds the right partner. Bang on the rock next to him and ask him to find you a good man.’

  I just grinned at him. We moved further on.

  ‘Why does this one have a rabbit? And what’s the rabbit doing?’ The woman wore flowing brilliantly coloured robes, and the rabbit next to her seemed to be pounding something in a mortar and pestle. This goddess wasn’t in the book either.

  ‘You never stop asking questions, do you?’ Mr Chen said with amusement. He raised his hand to stop me before I could apologise. ‘This lady is very interesting. Her husband fought a great battle and was rewarded with the Elixir of Immortality. She stole it and drank it. Her husband was furious and she ran from him, to the moon. She’s lived on the moon ever since, cold and alone.’

  ‘That’s really sad. But what does the rabbit have to do with it?’

  ‘When we look at the full moon we see a rabbit pounding beans to fill rice cakes. If you know what to look for, it’s quite obvious.’

  ‘We see the face of a man.’ Then my mouth flopped open as I realised: ‘Oh my God. Sailor Moon. She has long hair like rabbit ears, and her English name in the manga is Bunny.’

  ‘I bought some of those videos for Simone.’ He turned to walk on. ‘Now she pesters me all the time to buy her the complete set.’

  ‘I know. I’ll have to introduce her to some other good anime. I think she’ll love Cardcaptors.’

  ‘Having you as a nanny becomes more and more expensive all the time,’ he said, smiling. ‘How many books did you order from that online bookstore anyway? The bill was enormous.’

  ‘Hey, I checked with you first. And you know there isn’t a great selection of English books here.’

  He stopped and gazed into my eyes. ‘I appreciate what you’re doing for her. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

  I smiled up at him. ‘It is absolutely my pleasure. I’ve never enjoyed working with anyone as much as I’ve enjoyed working with you and Simone.’

  Suddenly he stiffened and his eyes turned inward. He snapped back and looked around. ‘Leo! We need to move. Get Simone.’

  ‘What’s the matter?’ I said, but he was distracted.

  Leo picked Simone up and came quickly over.

  ‘What’s happening, Daddy?’ Simone said from Leo’s arms.

  ‘Bad people, Simone, we have to move.’

  ‘Where?’ I said, but he ignored me. I looked around. Everything seemed perfectly normal. A couple of families with children wandered around the statues. A Taiwanese tour group piled off a bus nearby, talking loudly to each other in Putonghua.

  ‘Where, sir?’ Leo said. ‘Which direction?’

  ‘Hold.’ Mr Chen was still looking around.

  ‘My Lord, we should move,’ Leo said quietly.

  ‘I’m not sure which direction. Hold, Leo.’

  I silently watched them both. This was way weirder than any spy stuff.

  ‘You should see Ms Kwan, my Lord,’ Leo hissed under his breath. ‘You’re leaving it very late. You’re very weak. You can’t even tell where they’re coming from.’

  ‘Wait, Leo. They are a good distance away. I will be able to pick the direction soon…There.’ Mr Chen turned to look up the beach, away from the tourists. ‘The young couple halfway up the beach. Let’s go.’

  The young couple looked perfectly normal to me.

  ‘I was having fun, Daddy,’ Simone said.

  ‘You know we have to go, sweetheart,’ Mr Chen said sadly. ‘There are bad people here.’

  Simone kicked her legs into Leo with frustration.

  ‘Chen See Mun!’ Mr Chen barked softly. ‘Discipline.’

  Simone subsided and made a face.

  ‘Let’s go, Leo.’ Mr Chen was unruffled. ‘Walk right past them. Ignore them. They will not go for us, this place is too public. They were probably hoping to catch us in the shelter of the statues.’

  ‘My Lord.’ Leo turned and walked up the beach. Mr Chen gestured for me to follow.

  ‘What’s going on, Mr Chen?’

  ‘I’ll tell you later, Emma. Right now we need to go home.’

  As we approached, the young couple saw us and moved to intercept us. Leo and Mr Chen both tried to walk around them, but they stopped in front of us, blocking our way.

  Leo took my arm and pulled me behind him. He lowered Simone and pushed her behind him as well. ‘Hold Simone there, Emma.’

  I took Simone’s hand and held her next to me. I wasn’t afraid of the two people; whoever they were, they were probably no match for the men in front of me.

  Leo readied himself in front of Simone and me. Mr Chen stood quietly, apparently relaxed. ‘What do you want?’

  The couple were an ordinary-looking pair of Chinese in their early twenties, wearing jeans and plain T-shirts.

  ‘We’re not here to hurt anybody,’ the young man said.

  Mr Chen didn’t say anything, he just waited.

  ‘What’s the little girl’s name?’ the young woman said. ‘She’s very pretty.’

  Leo hissed under his breath and shifted slightly.

  ‘Hold, Leo,’ Mr Chen said without moving. ‘Is there a point to this?’

  ‘There is a price on your head,’ the young man said. ‘A very rich prize.’

  Mr Chen went completely still. He even seemed to stop breathing. ‘I know they are after me. What is the prize?’

  ‘To be Number One.’

  ‘Why are you telling me this?’

  The
young man saluted Mr Chen Chinese-style, holding his closed fist in his open palm and shaking his hands in front of his chest. ‘Protect us.’

  The woman saluted as well.

  ‘Leo,’ Mr Chen said without moving, ‘take Simone and Miss Donahoe back to the car.’

  ‘No more than these, sir?’ Leo said.

  Mr Chen concentrated. ‘No others. Just these. Go back to the car.’

  ‘Come on, Emma,’ Leo said, hoisting Simone into his arms again. ‘Let’s go.’

  I glanced back to see Mr Chen as we walked to the car. The young couple had knelt in front of him. When I reached the car, I looked back again. They were gone. The entire beach was deserted, except for Mr Chen’s lone dark figure walking back to us.

  No way could the couple have walked off the beach in the time between my glances. But I couldn’t see them anywhere. They’d disappeared completely.

  I didn’t ask about them in the car on the way home; I didn’t want to frighten Simone. Leo and Mr Chen were quiet and subdued; Simone was wide-eyed and silent.

  Later that evening, after I’d bathed Simone and put her to bed, I went to Mr Chen’s office to ask him what was going on. He and Leo were talking inside his office, and Leo’s voice was so loud it made the door rattle.

  ‘They know exactly how weak you are!’ he shouted.

  I had to strain to hear Mr Chen’s voice. ‘Those have been tamed. They won’t be back.’

  ‘You need to see Ms Kwan now!’

  Mr Chen said something, but I didn’t hear it.

  ‘I don’t know why you keep delaying it!’ Leo yelled. ‘You let yourself run down and you can’t protect her! They’re moving in!’

  ‘Leo.’ Mr Chen spoke louder now, irritated. ‘I can only do this a limited number of times. I will only last a maximum of four, five years. Then I’m gone.’

  Leo’s voice softened. ‘What?’

  ‘Even with Mercy’s help, eventually I will not be able to hold it together any longer and I will be gone.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Leo bellowed. His voice softened. ‘Oh my God.’

  ‘I must delay as long as possible between each feed.’