by Guo Xiaoting
Having finished speaking, the monk leapt over the wall of the inn and walked to the east gate. There he waited until the sun came up and he saw four men carrying a coffin, with an old man walking behind. The monk went up to them and stopped them, saying, “Where are you taking this?”
“Into town,” answered one of the men.
“Is this coffin meant to store clothing inside, or keep money in?” queried the monk.
The owner of the shop that sold coffins was nearby. “Monk, you are crazy!” he exclaimed. “Where do people buy coffins to store their clothes? This is to put a dead person in.”
“If it’s for a dead person, then a live person should get in and see if it’s the right length,” said the monk. “Put it down and I’ll get in and try it out.”
“We don’t want you to try it out,” said the shop owner.
The monk gave the coffin a kick and broke it into several pieces. The shop owner was in a rage, and called upon his apprentices to beat the monk.
CHAPTER 54
Ji Gong foretells misfortune; Cloud Dragon Hua wounds two friends
WHEN Ji Gong kicked the coffin and it fell to pieces, the owner of the coffin shop was furious and ordered his assistants to beat Ji Gong. But why had Ji Gong done this? It was because the shop owner was only interested in property and not community. His idea was to let the buyers watch out for themselves. The old man who came to buy the coffin was a neighbor of the Lius, the same one who had gone out with the young wife to beg. Since she had no one else to help her, she had given the forty ounces of silver that she had received from Lei Ming and Chen Liang to the old man, who had then gone to buy the coffin on her behalf. When he reached the shop at the east gate and saw this coffin—which was five or six feet long and quite big enough for the dead woman—he bought it, not realizing that the wood was completely rotten and simply held together by the paint that covered it. Indeed, the price was only fifteen ounces of silver. The shopkeeper had said that it was very good quality and had offered to deliver it. The old man handed the money over, and the shopkeeper told four of his assistants to deliver it. Who would have thought that, as soon as they set out, a ragged monk would appear and ask to try it out—and then, when the shopkeeper refused to allow him to do so, would kick the coffin to pieces? The old neighbor, Li, said, “I won’t take it.”
But the shopkeeper already had the fifteen ounces of silver in his hand and did not intend to give it up. After all, the monk had kicked the coffin apart. The shopkeeper was angry at the monk, and the four assistants were about to attack him as the shopkeeper had ordered. But the monk pointed and said the six true words, “Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum!” The four shop assistants who had been carrying the coffin promptly seized the shopkeeper and began to beat him, thinking him to be Ji Gong as the result of the monk’s spell.
The shopkeeper cried, “Don’t beat me! It’s me!”
“Of course it’s you,” said one of the assistants. “Who did you think we were beating? Why do you interfere with our business?”
“I am owner Wang,” the shopkeeper said. Then the four assistants slowly began to come to themselves and saw that they had been beating their employer, and again turned toward the monk.
At this time, however, Lei Ming and Chen Liang stepped forward, demanding, “What is this all about?”
The shopkeeper, seeing that they were dressed like young gentlemen, said, “Oh sirs, this has nothing to do with you. My quarrel is with the monk.”
At the same time, the old man named Li, who had bought the coffin, recognized the two from the day before and approached them.
“Why did all this happen?” Chen Liang asked him.
Old man Li told the whole story and ended by saying, “It was because I was too old to manage things well.”
Ji Gong took out some medicine and said to him, “When you go back to the Lius, tell the young man to apply this to the ulcer and his leg will heal.”
“Who is this monk?” asked the old man.
“He is Ji Gong, the senior monk at the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat,” said Chen Liang. Then he turned and told the shopkeeper, “You were in the wrong. You should not be in the business of cheating people. You must give this man something better than rotten wood for the money. Otherwise I will leave my card with you.”
The shopkeeper, not knowing how important Chen Liang might be, promptly brought out a sound coffin and sent it off to the Liu family. The young man recovered. The old woman received a proper burial and the family further spread the fame of Ji Gong.
But when Ji Gong saw Chen Liang and Lei Ming, he asked, “Where have you two been?”
“Don’t ask,” replied Chen Liang, “but neither of us cares about Cloud Dragon any more.”
“Good,” said Ji Gong. “Let us go and have something to eat.”
They walked through the gate into town and found a restaurant, where they went into the rear hall and sat down. After they had had some refreshments, the monk sat looking at them and let out a long sigh.
“Why this sigh, teacher,” asked Chen Liang.
“I sighed because something strange is going to happen. What time is it?” he asked.
“It is still early in the morning,” answered Lei Ming.
“At noon you two may die,” said the monk.
Chen Liang knew that Ji Gong could foretell the future, and he was startled. “Teacher, since you know that we will be in mortal danger, can we do anything to avoid certain death?”
“If you two are to escape your fate,” the monk replied, “at exactly noon you must be outside the limits of the Youlong district. Then you may be out of harm’s way.”
Chen Liang did not know how great an area the district of Youlong covered. “How large is Youlong district?” he asked a waiter.
“If you go west, it is about ten miles. If you go east, it is more than eighteen miles. To the north or south it is twenty-six miles,” answered the waiter.
Chen Liang decided to go west. “Teacher,” he said, “We fly for our lives.”
“Go, then,” said Ji Gong. “Whatever you do, when noon comes, be far away.”
“Yes,” they said. They paid the bill, left the restaurant, and went straight west. But just as they passed out through the west gate, Lei Ming called out, “Second brother, I truly cannot go on. I had no sleep last night and I cannot keep my eyes open. My feet will not move.”
“We must go quickly, brother,” urged Chen Liang. “We must believe what Teacher told us.”
And so they went on until they saw before them a large wood. Then Lei Ming said again, “I cannot go on.”
“If you don’t go,” said Chen Liang, “perhaps we will lose our lives.”
“There is no one here. Let me rest.” As he said that, Lei Ming simply sat down on the ground, leaned against a tree, and went to sleep. Chen Liang was uneasy. He sat down beside him but did not dare to sleep. It was not long before he saw a man coming from the south. It was Cloud Dragon Hua.
Now, after Cloud Dragon Hua had run from the Zhao Towers, the three robbers had returned to the hotel. Cloud Dragon Hua was secretly feeling angry with Han Xiu and Yun Fei and said, “If it were not for you two, I would not have put myself in danger.”
“Don’t be angry with us,” said Yun Fei. “You evidently wanted to go. Now we two are going to Lin An. You can go where you like.” In the morning, Yun Fei and Han Xiu arose early and left.
Cloud Dragon Hua was vexed and in low spirits. He went out and ambled about. Just as he came to the woods and saw Chen Liang and Lei Ming, his heart seemed to move. He thought to himself, “Last night at the Zhao family estate the one who attacked me looked like Lei Ming. Perhaps it was he.”
Chen Liang was clever. He immediately stood up and said, “Brother Hua, how are you? Where do you come from, and why haven’t you gone safely away yet?”
“And where do you two come from?” asked Cloud Dragon Hua.
“We came from New Moon Village,” answered Chen Liang.
While they were
speaking, Lei Ming awoke and said, “Greetings, Brother Hua. Congratulations. I wish you happiness.”
“And where would my happiness come from?” asked Hua.
Lei Ming was hot-blooded and unable to carry on the deception. “You were at the Zhao home to get a wife,” he replied. “Isn’t that great happiness?”
“How did you know that?” asked Cloud Dragon Hua.
“If the people who were there didn’t know, who would know?” replied Lei Ming.
“Good,” said Cloud Dragon. “Last night you were the rascal who raised his hand against me! Why did you do it?”
Because your mother was a dog!” shouted Lei Ming. “You called me a rascal—I’ll take my knife and run you through!” and he drew out his dagger and stabbed at the other.
Cloud Dragon Hua took out his own dagger and engaged in combat. Chen Liang, seeing that the two were about to kill each other, called out, “Brother Hua! Brother Lei! Don’t fight over two or three words. We are all brothers of the Greenwood. If we kill each other, people will laugh at us.” But Lei Ming would not listen, and kept stabbing again and again without being able to get a thrust home. Cloud Dragon Hua’s art was more than equal to Lei Ming’s strength. The two were covered with sweat. Chen Liang drew his knife and said, “Lei Ming! Step back!” and then said, “Brother Hua! You also step back! We are brothers sworn to eternal friendship, and we are supposed to help each other. Brother Hua, go your own way!”
But Lei Ming’s anger had not yet begun to cool and again he started toward Cloud Dragon Hua. Again Chen Liang urged them to behave as brothers, and at length Lei Ming’s anger began to cool.
Cloud Dragon Hua also seemed willing to stop. “Good! Good!” he said. “Now listen to me. Lei Ming was the one who first raised his hand against me, and you two are the ones in the wrong.” Then he turned and began to run, and Lei Ming followed him. Cloud Dragon suddenly turned and shouted, “Poisoned dart coming!” Lei Ming saw him throw a miniature spear with an iron point. Lei Ming tried to avoid it, but it struck him in his left armpit. Instantly he turned and fell to the ground in great pain. He realized that the dart was indeed poisoned, as his whole body began to tremble and weaken.
Chen Liang ran to him and asked, “What is the matter, brother?”
“I am finished,” said Lei Ming. “I have been poisoned by his dart. In twelve hours I will be dead. Go away. When you reach the Jade Mountain district, go to the Phoenix Cliff and ask how to find Yang Ming. Then tell Yang that Brother Cloud Dragon Hua has killed me with a poisoned dart. Ask him to call a meeting of the brothers of the Greenwood and tell them to punish Cloud Dragon Hua. In that way my death will be avenged.”
Meanwhile, Cloud Dragon Hua stood not far away listening to Lei Ming, and thought to himself, “If that happens, I am finished.” He then threw a second poisoned dart, which struck Chen Liang in the back.
Chen Liang laughed and called out, “Hua, you have finished me. All the Greenwood knows that where Lei Ming was, Chen Liang could also be found. While we lived, we were like one person, and when we are dead, we will be like one corpse.” At that point he ceased to speak. He and Lei Ming could only utter sounds of pain.
Cloud Dragon Hua, looking at them, thought to himself, “For a little while they were like younger brothers to me. The least that I can do is stop their suffering.” With that thought in mind, he drew his dagger and prepared to end their lives.
CHAPTER 55
Cloud Dragon makes a false accusation; Yang Ming is wounded by a poisoned dart
JUST as Hua Yun Long approached the two young men he had poisoned with a knife in his hand, he heard a voice behind him say, “Dear Brother Hua, who are those men you are about to kill?” He turned his head and saw approaching him a tall, handsome man of middle age who nevertheless seemed much younger. He was slender, muscular, and filled with energy. His bright eyes especially gave him a look of compassionate intelligence. He was dressed in clothing appropriate to a man of action, rugged clothing made from fine quality silk. This was none other than Yang Ming, a man respected by men of the Greenwood throughout the region for his character, kindness, and generosity.
Cloud Dragon was thinking to himself, “This is most inconvenient. I had not wanted to be connected with their deaths.” Aloud he said, “I had to use the poisoned darts to defend myself. Now I am thinking of ending their suffering.”
“But when I described the poisoned darts to you, I never thought that you would use such things. It is wrong to use such weapons on another human being.” Yang Ming stepped forward to look at the two men. “Who are they?” he asked.
Then, as Yang Ming recognized them, Cloud Dragon said, “Lei Ming is, in fact, a desperate robber who stole the pearl coronet from the house of the prime minister. He killed a man in a restaurant in Linan because he became angry with him. Lei Ming also tried to abduct a young nun from a nunnery outside Linan. When she resisted, he killed her. This other fellow, Chen Liang, is his accomplice. They don’t deserve to live.”
Yang Ming had walked forward and was looking at Chen Liang and Lei Ming. Cloud Dragon Hua was behind Yang Ming, who suddenly felt the sharp iron head of a dart enter his upper arm. Cloud Dragon had thrown it. Yang Ming fell to the ground.
There was another man with Yang Ming whom Cloud Dragon Hua had not noticed, an old man named Kang Deyuan. He now stepped forward and said, “If you are going to kill him, please kill me as well. My wife died long ago, and the daughter who had been my only happiness for many years has been taken from me. I no longer wish to live. This kind gentleman said that he might be able to find her and told me to come along with him. Now there is no hope for me, and I am ready to die with him. If you kill me, there will be no witness to your crimes.”
For a moment Cloud Dragon Hua was ready to do as Kang Deyuan wished, but then he hesitated. Killing the old man seemed disgusting to him. Just then he heard a soft rustling sound, like a continued sighing, as though someone were brushing the grass with his straw sandals and his cloak. It was Ji Gong.
CHAPTER 56
Ji Gong surprises an outlaw in the forest; headmen meet the holy monk in a wine shop
“GOOD, Cloud Dragon Hua,” the monk said. “Where have you been?” The poisoner looked as if he would like to flee in his terror.
Now, where had Ji Gong been? After he had risen halfway through the night and left the inn, the two headmen, Chai and She, did not dare to go back to sleep. They were afraid of what might happen the next morning when they would have to pay the bill, because they had no money. Therefore, they also got up and climbed over the courtyard wall. Arriving at New Moon Village in the morning, they entered the town and noticed a teahouse nearby. They walked in and saw a number of local headmen sitting and drinking tea. “We are trying to find a monk,” said Chai. “Have any of you seen him?”
“His case just passed the magistrate’s desk this morning,” one of the local headmen said.
“What for?” asked Chai.
“Isn’t that the monk who was secretly married?” asked the headman.
“No,” replied Chai. “The one I’m asking about is a poor monk in rags.”
Then another headman spoke up. “Just now I heard that outside the east gate there was a poor monk who stopped some people carrying a coffin. Why don’t you go there and look?”
The two, Chai and She, hurried to the area outside the east gate and looked, but Ji Gong had left. They went back and forth, looking in restaurants everywhere, but with no success. Finally, in a small wine shop that also sold food, they found him.
“Good enough, you’re here,” said Headman Chai. “You ran off during the middle of the night. We two men don’t deserve this kind of punishment. Explain yourself.”
“Just sit down, you two,” said the monk. The two sat down and the monk called for food and drink. When it was brought, the two hungry men fell to eating. After a few moments, the monk stood up and said, “Excuse me,” and walked out.
He passed through a door on the west si
de of the wine shop and went straight out. A little later he was walking along a towpath on a narrow strip of ground between a stream and a canal. Coming from the opposite direction was a mule with a young woman riding on it its back. A man was leading the mule. He was an ugly-looking man with a head shaped like a rabbit’s, and eyes like a snake’s. This man was Kang Cheng, and the woman was Kang Deyuan’s daughter. The evil-hearted rascal had decided to sell his niece for several hundred ounces of silver and use the money to buy a wife for himself.
That morning while his uncle was away, Kang Cheng had tied the mule in the alley near her father’s shop and then told the girl that her father wanted her to wait for him there. Then he simply picked her up and seated her upon the mule. She was afraid to get down by herself, and he had walked off along the towpath leading the mule. The girl was unwilling to go, but her uncle said, “Your father is waiting further along.”
Of course, Ji Gong knew all this and stood still in the middle of the towpath, blocking the way.
“Go back, monk,” said Kang Cheng.
“You go back,” countered the monk.
“We’ve a mule here,” said Kang Cheng.
“I’m a man here,” said the monk.
“Haven’t you noticed that we have a guest of the hall here?” asked Kang Cheng. Now the homes of wealthy Chinese often had a large room, called the guest hall or library, in a separate courtyard to the east. To the west, the first courtyard usually included the servants’ quarters, while the family lived in a courtyard further back to the north, and sometimes even further to the west from there. Guests of the hall were usually not invited into the family’s quarters, and sometimes the guests included women from outside who filled the men’s wine cups and made themselves pleasant company.
Kang Cheng thought that he would impress the monk by saying that they were going to a wealthy home, but the monk replied, “I myself have been the guest of great officials.”
“But we cannot turn around,” said Kang Cheng.