by Guo Xiaoting
Together the five men with the monk all went into the restaurant. Ji Gong observed that it was a two-story establishment. His heart leaped, and he said, “If we are to catch Cloud Dragon Hua, we must wait for him here.”
CHAPTER 38
Ji Gong finds a private room; Cloud Dragon Hua meets an opponent
AS Ji Gong entered the wine shop, the manager noticed that Ji Gong’s clothing was that of a very poor monk and did not welcome him with a greeting. Yang Meng, Chen Xiao, and the rest of the five went in, and the manager quickly came forward and said, “Come in, gentlemen, and be seated.”
Ji Gong stood outside and said, “Manager, I am also here.”
The manager said, “Monk, you are welcome. Please come in and sit down,” and so the six went in.
When they reached the rear hall, a waiter came over to them and said, “You six men go upstairs. That is still part of the same establishment.”
“Do you have private rooms?” the monk asked.
The waiter answered, “We only have one private room. Just now three gentlemen entered it and called for food and wine. You six go upstairs.”
The monk did not go upstairs, but said, “I will not go upstairs. How will it be if I go into the private room and make those three go out?”
“You cannot do that,” said the waiter.
When the monk pulled aside the curtain and stepped inside the private room, he saw three men drinking together. They were newly sworn brothers, and the eldest had invited the two younger brothers for drinks. They were in the midst of a private talk when they saw a monk enter who said, “You three drinking here—the wine will be at my expense, and please order several kinds of dishes.”
Two of the men stood up. The elder brother supposed that the monk was a friend of the other two, and the two newly sworn thought that the elder brother knew him. All together the three said, “The monk need not pay the check. Have some food and wine with us.”
The monk said, “Please, please, go ahead,” and backed out of the room.
The elder brother asked, “What temple does the monk come from, my two brothers?”
The two replied, “We do not know. Is he not our elder brother’s friend?”
“No, he is not,” the elder brother answered. They all laughed and sat down to drink again. But as they sat down, they all immediately stood up with an exclamation.
The elder brother said, “Just as I sat down, something pierced my backside.”
The others said, “Quickly, call the waiter and we will change to a table outside.”
When the waiter had moved them to another place and Ji Gong saw the three men come out, the others went in. Once they were seated they ordered food and wine. After they had drunk several of the small cups, they heard someone speaking with a rather musical voice. The words were clearly and quite loudly spoken, but they did not convey any meaning.
“Reasonable and sincere, gnaw scatter cave. Reasonable and sincere, cave seek monkey.” When the person speaking had finished, three robbers entered the wine shop.
Now among these three was Cloud Dragon Hua. When he had parted from Wang Tong and left Linan City, they had agreed to meet at the Happy and Comfortable Inn. Cloud Dragon Hua said that he would not leave until they saw each other. While he was at the Happy and Comfortable Inn, everyone thought that he was one of the many travelers’ armed escorts. During those days he had stayed in one of the best rooms in an inner courtyard. But on the evening before, his spirit had begun to feel uneasy, as if someone had seized him by the hair or was catching hold of his flesh. He called a servant of the inn and asked to have his bill prepared, saying, “I am going to leave now. If a Four Rivers man named Wang Tong comes to find me, tell him I have already left and will meet him at his home.” The servant said he would, and Cloud Dragon Hua went out through the inn gate. It was then in the middle of the first watch. He walked outside the village. There was a bright, unclouded moon and the sky was filled with stars.
When he had walked about five or six li, he came to a grove of trees, and from among them a man leaped out saying:
From the very time that I was born,
I was a stupid lad.
I loved to learn of knives and clubs
But was not inclined toward books.
I roamed and grew wise
In the ways of the world
Not harming the little folk.
Where the ripples and waves
Of the rivers and lakes
Meet their borders of rushes and grass,
Whenever I meet with
Another good fellow,
I beg for his good will.
But greedy officials
And other such men
I make it a point to kill.
How can the emperor’s laws apply
To this little inch I occupy?
When he had finished these sentences, he drew his sword and said, “Ha! He who approaches on the road will now put down his passage money in gold or silver if you are not prepared to die!”
Cloud Dragon Hua replied, “You are the Reasonable One.”
His opponent laughed and said, “Ha ha! I am called many names. I am also called the Helpful One.”
Cloud Dragon Hua queried, “Are you not one of the Greenwood fellows called Reasonable?”
The man said, “I do not understand,” and, as he spoke, he advanced with a sword, making several thrusts as if to kill the other.
Cloud Dragon Hua noticed the man’s height, the kingfisher blue turban and scarf hiding a part of his bluish face, his sandy hair, and his closely clipped red beard. There was an odor of wine about him and his face was as ugly as that of the statue of the god of pestilence. Altogether he looked ferocious and savage.
Cloud Dragon Hua was not aware that the man had returned his sword to his scabbard until he said, “Why, it is Brother Hua. Where did you come from, and why are you out upon the road in the night?”
Cloud Dragon Hua looking at him closely said, “So it has been Brother Lei all along! Words can hardly express my pleasure.” Cloud Dragon then told the whole story of what had taken place when he left Jiangsi and went to Linan. However, he did not mention the matter of how he had tried to pluck the flower at the nunnery and what happened there.
Now the man who had approached Cloud Dragon Hua in the woods was called Lei Ming. He originally came from the walled Dragon Well Village in the Tanyang district. He was a close friend of Chen Liang, one of the heroes of the Greenwood who had recently hoped to become a novice instructed by Ji Gong. The two, Lei Ming and Chen Liang, had parted company more than a year earlier without having seen each other since. Lei Ming had gone to the Chen family village looking for Chen Liang a short time earlier. The family had told him that Chen Liang had gone to the capital, Linan. Lei Ming became worried about Chen Liang and decided to go to Linan to find him. He was about halfway there when he saw a man in dark clothing approaching and he purposely leaped out of the woods to surprise him. When the two recognized each other, they politely exchanged greetings.
“Lei Ming,” Cloud Dragon Hua asked, “did you compose those lines that you spoke just now by yourself?”
“No,” answered Lei Ming. “They were composed by our elder brother, Yang Ming. Brother Hua, when you were in Linan did you see Chen Liang? I was just going there to look for him.”
“I did not get to see Chen Liang,” said Hua Yun Long, “but, if I may say, you should not go to Linan. Since I killed a man in the Qin Hill Restaurant and stole the pearl coronet from the residence of Prime Minister Qin, if you go there, I am afraid that someone would notice you and arrest you. That would be very inconvenient.”
Lei Ming said, “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to me when I get to Linan, and in case I lose my way I ask you, Elder Brother, to do one more thing. Go with me to Linan. We will look for him for one month. Then I will go back to Jiangsi with you without further delay.”
Cloud Dragon was not a person unprepared for a challenge. When he heard Le
i Ming’s proposal, he was excited and said, “Well, so we will! Brother Lei, we will go together!”
The two walked on for a short distance talking until they saw someone coming toward them. They blocked the road, and then they saw it was none other than the White Monkey, Chen Liang himself.
Now at the time that Ji Gong had boiled the water in the monastery kitchen and had been about to shave Chen Liang’s head with the big vegetable chopping knife, Chen Liang had become frightened and run away. Afterward, he had found a quiet inn and stayed there. He had learned about all the things that Cloud Dragon Hua had done: the capture of the Chicken Thief, Liu Chang, and the fact that Ji Gong had been dispatched to solve the case. Chen Liang was looking for Hua with a message urging him to leave the province. Chen Liang did not expect to meet Lei Ming and Cloud Dragon Hua on the road at all, let alone together.
The three greeted each other and sat down where they were on the ground, exchanging their stories until it grew light. Chen Liang said, “Why not go on to the Thousand Family Village to refresh ourselves, eat something, and discuss our plans, and then go on?”
Cloud Dragon Hua nodded. “The three of us can go to the Thousand Family Village, bathe, eat some pastries, and drink tea.”
When it was just about noon, the three decided to drink some wine and went to the Meeting Heroes Inn. Cloud Dragon Hua said, “Brother Lei and Brother Chen, be careful and watch out for any monkey catchers,” using the outlaw language of the river and marshes. Ji Gong heard him speak but did not come out of the private room. Upstairs, the three saw that the place was clean and ordered several kinds of dishes with hot wine, saying, “Just let it be good and don’t worry about the price.”
Immediately, the waiter went down to tell the manager, and in a short time food and drink were prepared. The three enjoyed themselves eating and drinking. There seemed to be just the right amount of wine and conversation.
Lei Ming remarked to Cloud Dragon Hua, “There is no need to go if there are no detectives from Linan. That is the end of it. If they come, I will recognize them. If one comes, I will take care of him; if two come, I will take care of the pair of them.”
Chen Liang heard this and said, “Second brother, do not be careless. Even now Senior Monk Ji Gong with two detectives is coming to take Hua Yun Long. That Ji Gong’s supernatural powers exceed anything known before.”
Lei Ming laughed loudly at this. “You may be afraid of a monk, old Chen, but I am not afraid of any monk. As to whether those three people can take Cloud Dragon Hua, I am not boasting when I say that two hundred officers and men could not take him.”
“Brother,” said Chen Liang, “you do not understand. I will tell you. That Ji Gong’s powers of understanding and his invisible arts are beyond normal limits. If he points with his hand, no one can move.”
Lei Ming pounded on the table with his hand and cried out, “Old Chen, you are killing me! Let’s not get excited. If this monk does not come, that is the end of it. If he comes, I will kill him. If he does not come, I will go the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat and find him and kill him. That will end what I feel about him.”
Chen Liang replied, “The sooner you stop talking like this, the better. Do not talk as if this is nothing. Even while you are speaking, Ji Gong may decide to come looking for you, and if he comes, we cannot escape.”
“Drink your wine, my two friends,” said Cloud Dragon Hua. “Even though we are alone up here, if anyone heard you, it would be inconvenient. We must be careful when we talk.”
“Brother Hua,” Lei Ming said, “Brother Chen is afraid of monks and their invisible arts. I am not afraid of monks.”
Just as he said this, someone downstairs let out an exclamation and said: “Well my good robbers, I am the monk that came to take Cloud Dragon Hua, but today I will take all of you. Not one of you will escape!”
Now the monk had been in the private room sitting with Yang Meng and Chen Xiao, together with the two headmen and Juan Yoting. Just as they were eating and drinking, they heard a voice speaking in the black language of the Greenwood. The monk knew that the person speaking was Cloud Dragon Hua, the man they were looking for. The monk then left the private room saying to Yang Meng and the rest, “I am going out to the convenience.” When he reached the foot of the stairs, he heard Lei Ming’s boast. The monk answered and started up the stairs to catch the Robber Rat of the Universe, Cloud Dragon Hua.
CHAPTER 39
Ji Gong introduces two followers; Lei Ming brings wine to the forest
AT the time when Ji Gong answered from downstairs, Cloud Dragon was like a person haunted by some experience from his past. His courage humbled, he leaped from a window and escaped. When Chen Liang heard, he said, “You see how it is, brother. I told you not to talk. You see, he has come.”
Lei Ming seized his sword and hurried to the door at the top of the stairs. Looking down, he saw the monk in his unsuitable ragged and torn garments, with two inches of hair on his unshaven head and his face oily and dusty. Lei Ming raised his sword, thinking that when the monk came up the stairs, he would cleave the monk’s head from his shoulders. Ji Gong had raised his head and as he saw Lei Ming, the monk pointed and recited the six true words, “Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum.” With his hypnotic powers, the monk stopped Lei Ming so that he was motionless. Ji Gong then came up the stairs, passing by the side of Lei Ming.
When Chen Liang saw him, he asked, “Teacher, how have you been?”
The monk inquired, “Liang, my child, are you well?”
Chen Liang replied, “Your disciple has waited a long time. Come and have a drink of wine, Teacher.”
The monk came to him and sat down. Chen Liang poured him a cup of wine—the monk picked it up and drank. Chen Liang came closer and said, “Teacher, manifest your mercy and loosen your power. If someone sees, how will it be?” The monk nodded.
Just as this was happening, they heard sounds from downstairs. “Aiee yah! Gu lo lo. Hwaaa! La! La! Yang dong! Yang dong!” It was the waiter bringing the tray with the dishes. He had been thinking, “Those three gentlemen upstairs are men of wealth and influence. If I serve them well, I will get a large tip.” Just as he started up the stairs carrying the tray, he lifted his head to look and saw the man with the blue face and red hair holding a sword high in the air as if he wanted to kill him. As the waiter took fright, his arms and legs grew weak. The tray fell and he turned and made his way uncertainly downstairs.
Upstairs, Chen Liang heard and again begged Ji Gong to loosen his power: “Teacher, quickly remove your hypnotic spell. Do not let people see this. It is not proper.”
Accordingly, the monk released Lei Ming, who came and sat down at the table as if nothing had happened. Inwardly Lei Ming was shocked and frightened. “Don’t worry, Teacher,” said Chen Liang. “My brother is a coarse, unrefined person, but he would not dare to do anything improper to our teacher.”
The monk said, “I know that also.”
While they were speaking, the waiter came upstairs, and going to Lei Ming, said, “Oh sir, I have wronged you. When I saw you with the sword, I was frightened. I dropped the tray and ruined the food.”
“Never mind,” Lei Ming said. “In a little while I will come down and pay for it anyway, so that you will not lose anything. It was because I thought I heard an enemy of mine speaking below that I drew my sword and started downstairs. I did not hate you. Just let us keep this between ourselves.”
Looking again at the monk, Lei Ming saw that he seemed to be only paying attention to Chen Liang as they talked and did not look over his way. Without warning, he again drew his sword and came at the monk as if he were about to kill him. The monk pointed and again stopped Lei Ming so that he was motionless. The monk then slapped the table and laughed loudly. “My good robber, you really want to kill the monk!” Then he called downstairs. “Will the two headmen come quickly and take the robber? There is a robber upstairs.”
Below, in the private dining room, everyone heard. Chai Yuanlo and Sh
e Jenying said, “You two travelers’ guards can assist us. There is a robber upstairs.”
The two headmen took their iron-tipped staves and dashed out of the room toward the stairs. Chen Xiao had no sword, only an axe handle with an iron socket into which an axe could be fitted. Yang Meng was also without a sword, but looking around as he came out, he saw a length of water pipe that the manager was holding. Yang Meng seized it from him and rushed to the stairs. Other guests had crowded around the foot of the stairs in a disorderly fashion. When the two headmen came upstairs with Chen Xiao and Yang Meng, they saw the monk sitting down between a handsome, refined-looking young man and another man with a bluish face, red hair, and staring eyes, who was holding a sword. The waiter stood beside them. Otherwise there was no one else.
Headman Chai asked, “Holy monk, where is the robber?”
The monk replied, “As soon as I called, the robber fled. These are my two followers. Let me introduce them to you.” Pointing toward Chen Liang, he said, “This is my son Liang.”
Headman Chai politely said, “Master Liang.”
Chen Liang said, “My surname is Chen.”
Headman Chai corrected himself, “Oh, then it is Master Chen Liang.”
The monk then pointed to Lei Ming, saying, “This is also my follower, my son Ming.”
At this time Lei Ming was also able to move, but his heart was pounding. The two headmen approached him and said, “Master Ming.”
Lei Ming said, “My surname is Lei.”
“Ah, Master Lei Ming,” the two headmen said.
The monk then introduced the two headmen by name and told them, “You four men may now go down and wait for me in the private room.” There was nothing else the four could do.
As they came down, the manager took Yang Meng aside, saying, “I did not provoke you, sir, but when you took that pipe away from me with your flying somersault, you knocked my tooth out.”
Chen Xiao immediately apologized on his friend’s behalf with a great many words, then the four went into the private dining room and sat down.