by Guo Xiaoting
Li Ping spent a good deal of time practicing feats of strength, sometimes with the spear. After a time there was one among the group, who was nicknamed “the General,” who asked: “In this area of ours, who would you say is the most famous?”
“To tell the truth,” the others answered, “The Black Tiger, Ma Jing, is the best.”
The General asked, “Then why shouldn’t we invite the great Black Tiger Ma to come out here and practice with us?”
“Well said,” the rest thought, and so, after more discussion, they came to a decision. Early the next morning, they went to Black Tiger Ma’s gate, knocked, and handed the servant a fancy red-and-white card with their names.
The servant went in, and as soon as Black Tiger Ma saw the card, he came out. Everyone spoke at once. “An early good morning to you, Ma Jing!”
“And why have you all come to see me?” Ma Jing asked.
“We have long heard of the great Black Tiger’s fame,” they cried, “and have come to invite you to visit us, as a great favor, at our practicing ground at the temple of the Three Worthies, and teach us the martial arts.”
Black Tiger Ma looked at them and thought to himself: “If I associate with you scoundrels, it will drag my family down into the dust.” He could not say that because they were all local residents, so instead he said, “It was kind of you to come, but my old mother is not well and I am not able to leave her. Please wait until she is better, and then I certainly must visit you.”
Everyone was very disappointed and criticized the General for making a suggestion that exposed them to embarrassment. “Don’t criticize me yet,” said the General. “If I don’t get Li Ping to ask him out, you can stop calling me the General! You can call me the Toy Soldier! How is that?”
“Very well then,” they all agreed. Just then Li Ping arrived at the ruined temple.
“Teacher Li Ping,” said the General, “I guess there is someone who is ashamed to say they know you.”
“Who is ashamed to say they know me?” asked Li Ping, the Red Panther.
“It’s Ma Jing,” said the General.
“You’re talking nonsense,” said Li Ping. “I know him very well as a friend, as well as my own hand or foot. We see each other constantly. He would never be ashamed to say he knows me.”
“Li, my good sir,” said the General, “don’t say that. You are always saying that Ma Jing, the Black Tiger, is a good friend of yours, but today, when I met Ma Jing and I mentioned your name and said that he no doubt knew you, he stopped and thought for quite a while. I said, ‘Li Ping of New Moon Village.’ He said, ‘Oh, yes, I know of him, but there is no friendship between us.’”
Upon hearing this Li Ping became quite angry. “I tell you we know each other intimately! There is nothing false about our friendship!”
“My most respected sir,” said the General, “If you two are really such good friends, perhaps you might get him to come here and give us a demonstration of his skill in martial arts. I would certainly believe you then.”
“What does that amount to?” replied Li Ping. “I’ll ask him and see. If he won’t come, that’s it.”
“Very well then,” said the General.
Li Ping was upset and angry. He went straight to Ma Jing’s house and walked inside without knocking. “Where did you come from, dear brother?” asked Ma Jing, upon seeing him.
“Elder Brother,” asked Li Ping, “is it true that there is no friendship between us? Did you tell that fellow we call the General that there is nothing between us?” Li Ping repeated what the General had said.
“Dear brother,” said Black Tiger, “He was trying to upset you. You mustn’t listen to such talk.”
“Then would you go with me tomorrow and tell him that to his face?” asked Li Ping.
“Yes, tomorrow I will go with you,” Black Tiger Ma answered him.
The next day Li Ping met Black Tiger and together they went to the ruined Temple of the Three Worthies. As soon as the others saw Black Tiger Ma, they were overjoyed. They were saying, “We had hoped you might come.” One was pouring tea; another was running off to buy pastries. They showed him the things they used in their exercises and had him sit in the seat of honor.
One of them, named Hu, nicknamed “the Blackhearted Fox,” said to him, “Ma Jing, let me give you a demonstration.” He then took the heavy iron cutlass and went through several exercises, after which he asked Black Tiger to criticize his performance. Black Tiger made a number of comments, and then another man took a spear and went through the appropriate movements. Ma Jing praised the man’s abilities, which pleased him very much.
So it went on until each of the group had performed, except Li Ping himself. As Ma Jing had watched, he had thought to himself, “The sword is not treated like a sword; the spear is not treated like a spear. There is no force behind either.” Then he turned and said to Li Ping, “Why don’t you go through the exercises and let them watch?”
Then Li Ping began moving in the true style with his body and weapon in the correct positions, making no mistakes and smoothly going through all the classic sequences. Everyone felt completely satisfied and all in unison uttered an exclamation of approval. Afterward they turned to Ma Jing. “We have heard that you excel at brandishing a pair of double-ended maces. Please let us see an example of your skill.”
“Well, I will give them an eye-opener,” he thought, and taking the two maces he said, “Stand clear of the road from here to the gate.”
Then he began a whirlwind of movements so fast that the eye could hardly follow them. Everyone was amazed and delighted. There was loud applause at the end. In the silence that followed it, a voice spoke from outside the gate. “Well performed!” Ma Jing turned to see who it was and a look of fright passed over his face.
CHAPTER 45
Ma Yuanzhang warns his nephew; Ma Jing asks a favor
WHAT Ma Jing saw in the gateway of the ruined temple was a tall, elderly monk with a round face like a full moon. He was dressed in a dark-saffron-colored robe, and a rosary with 108 beads hung from his neck. Ma Jing quickly put down the pair of maces and ran out through the gateway, saying, “Excuse me, everybody.”
“Where are you going, Ma Jing?” they cried.
Li Ping remarked, “How unfortunate. That was Ma Jing’s uncle.”
Now the old monk was in reality the robber known to respectable people as the Far-Traveling Bachelor, Ma Yuanzhang. He had just returned home from one of his long absences. When he had asked where his nephew Ma Jing was, Ma Jing’s wife said that he had been invited to a martial-arts practice. Hearing that, Ma Yuanzhang was furious. “A good boy he is! We members of the Ma family have lived here all these years and none of the people around here know that we are members of the Greenwood. Perhaps he was afraid that others might not know about us, shaking things in the air like that! I will go and find him!”
And it was because of this that the old monk arrived at the gateway of the ruined temple. At first he thought that he would go inside and call his nephew, but with all those people present it did not seem convenient, and so he called from outside with a cold laugh in his voice. As soon as Ma Jing saw him, he hurried outside and fell down in a kowtow, knocking his head on the ground before his uncle.
Ma Yuanzhang turned about and walked quickly home. Upon arriving he said to his nephew, “Ma Jing, you really don’t care about yourself, do you? After all these years that we have lived here in New Moon Village without people knowing that we are members of the Greenwood, you go out and make a display of yourself, doing martial arts for everyone to see!”
“Uncle, you don’t know the whole story. It was because one of them was making my friend, Li Ping, lose face.” And so he told the story from beginning to end.
Ma Yuanzhang’s anger evaporated as if he were coming out of a bad dream. “I understand, but don’t associate with them any more.”
Ma Jing agreed. The two had a drink of wine together and Ma Yuanzhang said, “Tomorrow I am goin
g off again. While I am gone, if the people who watch my temple need money, give them a little silver.” Again Ma Jing agreed. The next day Ma Yuanzhang went away.
After two or three weeks, Ma Jing noticed while taking care of his mother that the old lady seemed to be getting a little worse, and thought to himself, “Perhaps it might help her if she had some fresh mountain bamboo shoots to eat—and besides, we are a little short of ready money. We also need to think about giving some silver to the people who take care of the temple. I think I will leave here for a while to do some selling. I can make some money and also bring back some fresh bamboo shoots. I can ask Li Ping to watch over things while I am gone.”
After he had thought it over, he went to Li Ping’s wine shop. He knocked and Li Ping immediately came out and asked him to come back into the office. There he saw Li Ping’s brother, Li An, lying in bed, making no sound or movement.
“Your brother is not well!” exclaimed Ma Jing.
“No, his illness is getting more serious,” replied Li Ping. “We have invited several doctors to see him, but they have not helped.”
“You must find someone with greater skills and help him to recover soon! I came to see you today because I must ask a favor. I am thinking of leaving for a while and my old mother is at home sick. My wife will have no one to turn to. After I have gone, would you go in the morning and evening, before and after the shop is open, and look in on them? If they are short of money, give them a little. After I return, I will repay you.”
“Of course, I will,” said Li Ping. “We are intimate friends. Don’t think about repaying me. You need not worry about it. I will carry out your wishes. Where are you thinking of going and when are you leaving?”
“I will leave tomorrow,” replied Ma Jing.
“If you leave tomorrow, then I will go on the day after tomorrow to see that everything is all right, and I will give them money every day as they need it. Just tell your wife to let me know what she needs. If you are gone three or even five months, do not be concerned.”
“Very good,” said Ma Jing. “Then I will say good night.” He returned and told his wife, He Shi: “When I come back I will repay any money that my friend Li Ping gives you. Just keep a record of everything. Until I return, just borrow anything you need from Li Ping and I will repay that, too. I will probably be gone only two months. If anyone asks where I’ve gone, just say I went to collect the rents.” He Shi nodded her head. The next day Ma Jing got up and left.
But Li Ping, after one day, thought to himself: “Ma Jing put his trust in me. I must go and see that all is well.” Leaving one of his servants to watch his shop, he took two ounces of silver and went out. Ma Jing’s house was directly to the east. Coming out of Ma Jing’s gate, he saw a woman, and looking at her from a little distance, he recognized He Shi, Ma Jing’s wife. She was dressed in a flowered robe and was wearing jewelry. He thought to himself, “Whenever I have been in the house, everything has been very plain and his wife never went beyond the gate. Yet today, just after Ma Jing has left, she goes out dressed like that. I had better go and ask about the old lady’s health.”
But just as he was about to go up to the gate, he heard someone calling his name: “Li Ping, sir! Li Ping, sir!” He turned and saw one of the shop apprentices.
“What is it?” Li Ping asked.
“Someone is in the shop asking for you.”
Li Ping went back to the shop and found that it was a man named Yang Wanian, the proprietor of a clothing store on East Street.
When he saw Li Ping, he said, “Oh, Li Ping, sir, I have been waiting for you for some time. At the time when I first started in business, the building was rented from you through a guarantor who acted as the middleman, and now he has rented the property to another man who wants to take possession. If you give the lease to another man, he can open up the same business where I started up with my shop. The guarantor who acted as your middleman must give me a chance to renew my lease. Otherwise I will bring a lawsuit against him.”
Li Ping said, “Brother Yang, do not get excited. Just tend to your store and let me find this middleman. I will talk to with him. There are ways of handling such affairs.” Li Ping immediately went off, found the middleman, and came to an agreement, but the affair was time-consuming. By the time he was finished it was already late. “Tomorrow then I will go to the Ma family home,” he decided.
The next day he again took some money and instructed his clerk, saying, “Watch the business carefully. I must visit the Ma family.” But when he got to the crossroads, he again saw the two leaves of the great gate open and Ma Jing’s wife in her finery and jewels stepping out. Li Ping quickened his step. Again she turned toward the eastern part of the village. Li Ping hurried after her, thinking to ask her about things, but she was going so rapidly that he could not catch up. As she disappeared into the distance, Li Ping thought to himself, “Well, I will ask the old lady where she has gone.”
But just as he approached the gate of Ma Jing’s house and was about to knock, a little apprentice came running and calling his name, “Li Ping, sir! Li Ping, sir! This time it is terrible! There is a drunken man in the shop hitting another man. Come quickly! The man’s head is bleeding and we don’t know whether he is alive or dead. One of the officers has come from the yamen. You must come back at once!”
Of course, there was nothing he could do but return. Naturally it turned out to be two drunken men fighting. They had exchanged insults and blows. Everyone was trying to help and the man from the yamen had a lot of questions before he would leave. Then things had to be put right in the shop.
By that time it was already late in the afternoon, but Li Ping started back to the Ma residence with the money. He left the wine shop and when he was at the crossroads, he again saw He Shi entering the east section of the village. “Strange,” he thought, “that she should spend all this time away from home just when Ma Jing is absent.” He could not help thinking terrible thoughts. “A man never knows what his wife or his children may do.” He did not want to talk with her and hear her say things he might not believe. He let out a deep sigh. “I wish that Ma Jing were not my friend.”
There was only one road by which she could return. “I will wait here until she appears and see what time she returns.” He waited until late at night. At the second watch she had still failed to reappear. At last Li Ping returned to his shop and never went to the home of Ma Jing again.
Before Ma Jing realized it, two months had flown by since his departure. He had accomplished all he had hoped to do. It was as if he had met the fairy Fortune herself, killed her protecting dragon, and stripped off its precious skin. Now he was returning satisfied, laden with gold and jewels that he had stolen. He had bought a number of things back, and like his uncle, rode a mule and led a donkey with a pack behind.
When he reached his home at New Moon Village, he lifted off the pack and went in to see his mother, whose illness had grown worse while he was gone. As soon as his wife He Shi saw him, she prepared some tea and pastries. “Wife,” asked Ma Jing, “how much money did Li Ping lend you while I was away and how many times did he visit you altogether?”
“A great friend you made with him,” she said. “After you were gone, he did not come a single time, nor send any money. I managed to get a few ounces of silver by pawning things, and I don’t know how many times he has eaten a meal here in the days before you left. He must be the kind who forgets all his friends have done for him.”
As Ma Jing heard this, he could feel his anger building up inside. After he had finished eating, he took several presents, saying, “I am going to pay a social call on Li Ping and see what he has to say.”
He went out through the big gate and went to Li Ping’s wine shop at the west end of the block. As soon as he was inside, Ma Jing asked a servant, “Is your proprietor at home?”
“Yes,” said the servant. Ma went straight into the back room.
As soon as Li Ping saw him, he quickly bid him welcome. Ma
Jing was not without a certain dignity, and he could conceal his emotions. He smiled and began to talk pleasantly. “I have brought you a few things from my trip, dear brother, all things I know you like to eat.”
“And how is my elder brother?” asked Li Ping. “Please have a seat.” He took the things and the two sat down together. Li Ping was silent for a long time, while Ma Jing looked at him.
Finally Ma Jing asked, “And how is business?”
“About ready to shut down,” said Li Ping.
“And how is my younger brother, Li Ping?” asked Ma Jing.
“About ready to die,” responded Li Ping.
“Does Younger Brother have something to say that is difficult to put into words?” asked Ma Jing. “Tell me and I will listen.”
Slowly, and with great reluctance, Li Ping told him the whole story. As Ma Jing listened, he felt a shock as if an explosion had blown a door open. He left the shop hardly able to make his way home.
CHAPTER 46
Ma Jing waits in the darkness; a dragon hides behind a scroll
NOW, when Li Ping saw Ma Jing, Li Ping was unable to speak. He just sat looking at him for a long time and thought, “If I don’t speak, I will lose his friendship, and if I do, it will be most difficult to open my mouth.”
And then Ma Jing had said, “Whatever you have to say, just say it. Don’t hold it in.”
So Li Ping told what had happened from beginning to end. How he had taken the silver and started toward Ma Jing’s home only to see Ma Jing’s wife in strange finery leave her house and go east, how he’d run after her and was called back. Then of the second and third day, when the same thing happened.
Then Ma Jing had laughed, “Ha! Ha! Today I came thinking to bring our friendship to its end. I don’t know how to say it. Whether this is true or not I cannot say, but I am leaving now.”