Adventures of the Mad Monk Ji Gong

by Guo Xiaoting

  Protector Zhao said, “I am your younger brother, Zhao Fengshan. No doubt you did not know me.” The two men had been fellow students as children and had remained close friends throughout their lives. At night, seeing Protector Zhao dressed as he was, the master had not recognized him.

  Hearing Protector Zhao speak this time, Yang Zaitian said, “Dear brother, let me take you into the guest hall. Why are you dressed in this way? Is it possible that you have lost your official title and been demoted? Tell me about your situation, and I will make sure that it is corrected.”

  “Elder Brother,” said Zhao Fengshan, “you do not understand. It is all because the wife of Prime Minister Chin had her phoenix coronet and other jewels stolen. Senior Monk Ji Gong of the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat captured one robber named Liu Cheng. Interrogating him, we learned about two more robbers named Cloud Dragon and Wang Tong. Because of this, I changed my clothes and came here to catch the robbers.”

  Yang Zaitian heaved an audible sigh of reproval. “Dear younger brother, indeed! You and I are educated people. How could you be led into believing such things? This business of strange powers and unruly spirits is the sort of thing that monks’ stories cause the populace to believe.”

  “Do not act like this, Elder Brother,” said Protector Zhao. “Ji Gong came with me to help solve the case!”

  At this point Ji Gong stepped forward and said, “Protector Zhao, can we not go in and sit down?”

  “I must hear what news my elder brother has,” said Protector Zhao. “Let these men wait outside.”

  Yang Zaitian said, “Please do come in.”

  The two friends went on inside, with the monk following behind. In the courtyard a large building of three sections had a pair of smaller matching buildings, one on the east and one on the west. The monk looked all about as he went in and sat himself down in the seat of honor.

  Yang Zaitian was quite displeased at seeing this, and said to himself, “From the emperor down to the common people, each man has his proper place. This ragged fellow does not even care about his own person.” But although he was unhappy about the monk, Yang Zaitian did not want to say anything aloud, and went and sat down.

  Protector Zhao said, “I have forgotten to introduce you two.”

  “Do not introduce us. I already know,” retorted Yang Zaitian. He then instructed a servant to bring tea.

  “Don’t pour tea for me,” said the monk. “Pour wine!”

  Yang Zaitian purposely acted as if he had not heard, and was asking Protector Zhao about Liu Chang, how they caught the robber, and the robber’s origin.

  Again the monk said, “Pour wine!”

  Protector Zhao and Yang Zaitian went on talking until the monk had asked for wine more than ten times.

  Finally, Protector Zhao could stand it no longer and said, “Elder Brother, I am a little hungry. Do you have anything to eat that could be prepared?”

  “I heard the monk say something also,” said Yang Zaitian, “but because there is not much around in my poor home, I hesitated to offer it—but if my dear brother is hungry, come! Let us have something.” With a word from Yang Zaitian, food and wine appeared.

  The monk immediately picked up the wine pot and said, “We are like old friends at first sight. Away with ceremony!” Then he drank three bowls of wine, one after the other, without so much as a toast.

  Yang Zaitian decided to test the monk and said, “Monk, with your powers of goodness can you tell about things past and things yet to come? I have something I would like to ask you. I have forgotten my birthday and can remember neither the year or the month. I beg you to calculate it for me.”

  The monk said, “That is easy. You were born in such and such a year and such and such a month and this year you are fifty-eight years old.”

  When Yang Zaitian heard this, he knew at once that the monk was right, but it was not his nature to believe in anything supernatural, even though the monk had given the correct answer. Again he asked, “Monk, can you tell by looking at my face what I should best do?”

  The monk replied, “You had best not make a nuisance of yourself.”

  Yang Zaitian said, “I ask you this as a scholar and a gentleman. Simply speak the truth as you see it.”

  Ji Gong answered, “Your aura is not good, Great One. There are shadows and your eyes grow dim. At the third watch your head will fall, severed at the neck!”

  Hearing this, Yang Zaitian asked, “What proof do you have that I will die at the third hour?”

  “Even now,” said Ji Gong, “one of your household people has admitted a robber who is your enemy and who comes to kill you.”

  “Which of my household people is this?” asked Yang Zaitian.

  “I can tell that as soon as I see him,” answered the monk.

  Yang Zaitian immediately ordered all the people in the household to assemble. In this home there were twenty-seven male household members and nine old women and young serving maids. The men all gathered outside the library, all standing together. As soon as the monk looked at them, he laid his hands upon one of the men, thirty-five or thirty-six years old with handsome features.

  “What is your name?” asked the monk.

  “I am called Yang Liangsheng.” He was indeed an honest and loyal person, a son of the old master, Yang Shun.

  Ji Gong said, “You have let a robber in this house from outside, and tonight he has come to kill the master of the house.”

  Yang Liangsheng’s face fell as he heard this and he protested, “What proof of this have you, monk? You are simply slandering me. I have always received every kindness from the head of our household. How could I do such a thing against all the rules of propriety? You are saying this with no evidence whatsoever!”

  “Do not become angry,” said Ji Gong. “This morning, when you were sweeping the gate, was there not a man who looked into the gate? You asked him who he was looking for. He asked you whether this home was that of former District Magistrate Yang in the capital of Four Rivers. You answered, ‘Yes.’ Is that not right?”

  Yang Liangsheng thought for a moment after hearing the monk’s words, and then said, “You are right, that did happen this morning. However, I did not let any robber into the house to kill the master.”

  “As soon as you told him that the master had been the district magistrate of the capital of Four Rivers and that his name was Yang, you opened the door of the house to your master’s enemy. Tonight, without your knowledge, he came seeking revenge.”

  Yang Zaitian had half believed and half disbelieved. Now, as he listened to the monk questioning Yang Liangshang, he realized that this was not simply slander, and he was afraid. “Saintly monk,” he said, “What should be done about this?”

  “Magistrate Yang need not worry. It was simply because the robber came here that we came! Call the four headmen that we brought with us. I have some instructions for them.” Yang Zaitian immediately sent someone to call the four headmen inside. “Headman Chai and Headman She, stand under the eaves of the house on the east side of the door,” said Ji Gong. “Headman Lei and Headman Ma, you two stand under the eaves at the west side of the door. Wait until after the third watch. The robber will come over the roofs from the east. Wait until he leaps down in front of the door. You four men will then come at him with your weapons. Surround and capture him. Magistrate Yang will reward you.”

  The four stepped outside and separated into pairs. Lei Siyuan then said, “Brother Ma, we serve in the same yamen as Chai and She, but today those two got fifty ounces of silver. They should have turned over even shares to you and me as a matter of course. Not only did they not share with us, but they never even said a word about it. Tonight when the robber comes, they will approach him, but we will not. If they arrest the robber, let them go in and get the reward. If they cannot make the arrest, then you and I will arrest him and we two will share the reward equally, and not share it with those two.”

  “That is reasonable,” said Ma Anjie. “We will
do just as you say.” The two followed their secret plan, and without their realizing it the third watch came with no movement seen.

  On the other side, Chai and She had also been speaking softly. “The night has almost passed, but how is it that we have seen no robber? Could it be that Ji Gong did not foresee this? If the robber does not appear, what will happen to Ji Gong?”

  The two had just finished speaking when they heard the sound of something striking, as an exploratory pebble fell into the courtyard. Then a tall man dressed in the dark clothing of a thief leaped down from the roof above. Chai Yuanlo and She Jengying sprang forward, shouting: “Stop, outlaw! We two have been waiting for you. Tonight you say goodbye to heaven and hello to hell,” as they pointed their swords at him.

  The robber laughed a cold laugh and said, “Good, Yang Zaitian, you have a guard. You may be guarded for a year, but sooner or later I or my brother will come to take your head!” Then he drew his sword and came at Chai and She as if to kill them then and there.

  The two headmen found that the robber’s swordsmanship was extraordinary. They truly could not take him; their swords could not reach him, nor could they afford to put down their guard. Both were covered with sweat. They could not see any movement from Lei Siyuan or Ma Anjie. Headman Chai was hard pressed and called out, “Ji Gong, come out! We two cannot manage it.”

  From inside the room Ji Gong answered, “I am coming,” and rushed out.

  The outlaw lost his confidence and retreated, saying, “Tonight I will not kill you two after all, but we will meet another day.” Then with a flying leap he was on the roof.

  Chai and She said, “No good, our robber has escaped!”

  Ji Gong had been saying something under his breath. He pointed and spoke the six true words, “Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum!” and the robber fell from the roof into the courtyard. Chai and She quickly went forward, laid hands upon him, held him down, and took his sword.

  When he was brought into the room, Yang Zaitian looked at him, and noticing his heroic figure, asked, “Outlaw, I have never done you any wrong and so you should not hate me now. Why did you come to kill me and what is your name? Speak!”

  The robber looked at him in amusement for some time. Then he lifted his head and exclaimed, “I hate you! I hate you! There is no more to say. It was predestined.”

  Yang Zaitian again asked, “Why do you hate me enough to kill me? Quickly answer me! If you do not, I will have you beaten.”

  The outlaw said, “Do not beat me. I will talk.” Then he told how his brother had been imprisoned for an unpaid note and had died in prison, and how he had come to Linan to avenge his brother’s death.

  CHAPTER 36

  The prime minister questions a false dragon; Chai and She find a hanging man

  IN the library when Yang Zaitian asked the assassin’s name, the outlaw replied, “My name is Hua and I am called Cloud Dragon. My nickname is Robber Rat of the Universe, and I am, indeed, from Four Rivers.”

  “Do not ask further, Elder Brother,” Protector Zhao said. “I will have him taken to the residence of Prime Minister Qin and follow the prime minister’s instructions.”

  Yang Zaitian went over to Ji Gong and thanked him. “If it were not for the help of the saintly monk, I would now be beneath the Yellow Springs. From now on I will never dare to doubt the words of Buddhist and Daoist monks.”

  There was a knock at the library door and a gatekeeper entered to report that the men had come from the yamen of the Great Protector. A moment later Zhao Fu and Zhao Lu came in, bringing a parcel of clothing. Protector Zhao at once changed into his usual attire. “Who knew that I was here and sent for my things?” he asked as he dressed.

  “It was the watchman at the entrance of Rui Lane,” Zhao Fu replied. “He came at Ji Gong’s orders. He brought the news very early and told us to bring the clothing to the home of Yang Zaitian.”

  When he heard this, Protector Zhao understood for the first time what had been happening. After he had finished dressing, he asked Ji Gong whether he wished to return on horseback or in a sedan chair.

  Ji Gong said, “Protector, why don’t you go to see that the robber is locked up. I will follow after you.” Yang Zaitian came out to the gate to see everyone off. The protector then said farewell. The four headmen—Chai Yuanlo, She Jengying, Lei Siyuan, and Ma Anjie—transferred the prisoner under guard to the estate of Prime Minister Qin, and word was sent on that they had arrived.

  The night before, after the monk had left with the Great Protector, Prime Minister Qin had waited in the library until after the fourth watch. When he failed to see the monk return, he began to feel tired and went to sleep in his clothes on the kang in the library. In a little while it grew light. He rose, drank some tea, and ate some pastries. Then one of the household people came in to report: “Protector Zhao is now at the gate, bringing with him some headmen who are guarding an outlaw they captured. They await your pleasure.”

  Prime Minister Qin said, “First invite the Great Protector in; after a little while bring the robber before me.”

  The household person went out and said, “The prime minister has invited Great Protector Zhao to come within.”

  When he arrived in the library, Great Protector Zhao explained in detail the events that had occurred at Rui Lane, including the capture of the robber, praising Ji Gong for his part in the capture.

  Prime Minister Qin immediately asked that the outlaw be led in. When the robber was brought before him, the prime minister noticed that in his black thief’s clothing this robber was much more impressive than Liu Chang had been.

  Angrily the prime minister addressed the prisoner: “What is your surname and your personal name? Where do you come from and what did you do with the pearl coronet and the jade pendants? Speak the truth and save your flesh from much pain!”

  The outlaw kneeling before him said, “You need not apply the extreme questioning, Great One. I am a man of Four Rivers called Cloud Dragon. I did steal the jades and the pearl coronet.”

  “Where did you sell them?” Prime Minister Qin asked.

  “I sold them to a traveling merchant whose name I do not know for thirteen ounces of silver, which I spent wastefully eating and drinking.”

  When Prime Minister Qin heard these words, he became very angry and shouted, “You took my family heirlooms and wasted them like that!” In his fury he was about to strike the robber.

  Just then a servant entered with a message: “Ji Gong, the Chan master, has arrived. The prime minister ordered that he be invited in.”

  Now, why had Ji Gong arrived so late? It was because when he left Yang Zaitian’s house, he walked through Rui Lane into the main street and saw a man with a wicker case of fruit, who immediately bowed and addressed him: “Teacher, my old friend, how have you been?”

  Ji Gong stepped forward at once and took him by the hand. It was Zhao Bin, a young peddler who had been helped by Ji Gong several times and who in return had helped Ji Gong. “Come with me, my disciple,” said the monk. “I have something to say to you.”

  Zhao Bin answered, “I have just been to the wholesale market today to buy fruit that I was going to peddle. What is it, Teacher?”

  “Come with me to a wine shop for a cup of wine,” Ji Gong said. Zhao Bin nodded his head. At the wine shop, Ji Gong ordered two pots of wine and then said, “Zhao Bin, there is a darkness in the space between your eyebrows and your color is poor. I will give you eight golden ingots if you will take them home, buy food, and rest for one hundred days until you are well. Then go back to business.”

  Zhao Bin thanked the saintly monk and paid for the wine. Then the two left the wine shop together. Ji Gong then hurried on to the prime minister’s residence. When he reached the gate, a household person announced him and returned to say, “Prime Minister Qin invites you inside.”

  Inside, the monk saw the prime minister in the midst of questioning the robber. Ji Gong asked, “Is everything clear now after the great man’s questioning?”
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  “Yes, it is all clear now,” said Prime Minister Qin. “He is called Cloud Dragon Hua. He stole my jade pendants and the phoenix coronet and sold them to some unknown person. My two great treasure are simply lost!”

  Ji Gong looked at the outlaw and said, “A robber named Cloud Dragon! You should be ashamed of yourself. A person like you, without even a name of your own! You say your name is Hua. Well, that is indeed a rich name.”

  The outlaw rolled his eyes upward towards Ji Gong and said, “Monk, you are truly my match as an enemy. I was thinking that if I used the name of Brother Hua it would close the case, since I would die anyway for my crimes. I never imagined that a monk would recognize me.”

  The prime minister asked, “What is the meaning of this? What is your surname and what are you called? Explain!”

  “My name is Wang Tong,” said the robber. “I am truly from Four Rivers, and my home was in the capital. My younger brother at home was a book publisher. Because he failed to pay a note for two hundred ounces of silver, he was thrown into prison by a dishonest, venal official and died there. At that time I was roaming around away from home and only learned what had happened when I returned. When I found out how my younger brother had died, I decided to take vengeance upon the grasping magistrate, Yang Zaitian. I was surprised to find that the magistrate had returned home to mourn his late mother. This is why I came to Linan.

  “I met Cloud Dragon here in a wine shop. He was also from Four Rivers and we had been friends in the Greenwood. After we two met, we stayed in the home of Liu Chang. Walking on City God Hill, we saw a young woman who had cut off her hair and was taking it to a nunnery, wishing to become a nun. Cloud Dragon desired her at first sight. That night he went to the Bird and Bamboo Nunnery, intending to pluck the flower of her virtue. Unexpectedly, he failed to seduce the young lady and so he killed her after wounding the old nun. When he returned to the house and told me what he had done, I warned him that he had made a mistake.

  “The next day we two went to the Qin Hill Restaurant to drink wine. Because of an argument, he killed the ruffian Qin Lo with one chop of his sword. Then I went with him to a wine shop to drink. I advised him that he could not behave in this wild manner without being arrested. Was he not concerned about losing his own life, I asked. He said that my gall was too small and therefore I lacked courage. He wanted to do something that would shock heaven and earth. He even wanted to kill the prime minister. Again I urged him not to do such a thing.