Water Margin, Volume One

by Shi Nai-An

  He had not gone far when he saw two tigers emerging from the dry grass. "Ai Ya!" he said. "That's all gone now." But he noticed that the two tigers now stood up on their hind legs,

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  and looking closely he saw that they were two men who had fastened tiger skins very closely on their bodies, and carried in their hands five-pronged forks.

  They were surprised at seeing Wu Sung, and said, "You...you...you..., you must have eaten the heart of a wolf, the gall bladder of a leopard, and have the legs of a lion so that your whole body becomes a mass of courage. How dare you to cross the ridge during the night without a single weapon in your hand. You...you...you...are you a man or a devil?"

  "But who are you?" asked Wun Sung.

  "We are native hunters," replied the men.

  "And what are you doing on this mountain?" asked Wu Sung.

  The men were surprised at such a question and asked, "Do you mean to say that you do not know? On this mountain there is a dangerous tiger which attacks men at night, and has already injured eight hunters, and numerous travelers have been killed. The district magistrate has order us, and also the village headman, to come here to catch the tiger. But its strength is so great that it is difficult to come near it. Who dare face it? The magistrate has beaten us repeatedly for not catching the tiger, but it makes no difference. To-night we have come here, accompanied by ten men from the villages, and we are all over the mountain, armed with poisoned arrows, waiting for the tiger. Just here we lay in ambush when we saw you coming from the mountain as bold as brass, and it gave us quite a start. Who are you? Have you seen the tiger?"

  "I am a Ching Ho Hsien man, and my name is Wu Sung. When I got up the mountain I met the tiger, and killed it with my fist and foot."

  "It is impossible," said the hunters aghastly.

  "You do not believe," said Wu Sung. "But do you see the bloodstains on my clothes?"

  "But how did you kill it?"

  Wu Sung then gave them all the details of his fighting with the tiger.

  The hunters were both amazed and amused, and then summoned the ten villagers. The villagers soon arrived and armed with pronged forks, crossbows, swords, and spears.

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  "How is it that these men did not stay with you here!" asked Wu Sung.

  The hunters said, "The animal was very fierce, so how could they dare, to come on the mountain?"

  When the villagers had all assembled in front of them, the hunters asked Wu Sung to recite to them how he had killed the tiger. He did so, but they did not believe what he said.

  "Well," said Wu Sung, "if you do not believe then I will go, and show you the dead animal."

  The villagers had flint and steel, and they then used them to strike lights and ignite torches. They went with Wu Sung, and soon came to the top of the ridge where they were shown the dead tiger. They were highly delighted, and immediately sent men to report the matter to the headman of the district. The men who were left behind, tied up the carcass and carried it on their shoulders down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain there were already about eighty men waiting for them, and they made an uproar when they saw the dead tiger. They carried the tiger in front and put Wu Sung in a sedan chair. The whole party then started off to the nearest village reporting to the headman there.

  Upon arriving there, there were two headmen waiting outside the village to welcome them. The party was con, ducted to the main room of a cottage where the other hunters of the village and about thirty other men all came to have an interview with Wu Sung. He then told them in detail his recent adventure.

  They all declared that he was a very brave hero, and brought him some food and wine. But Wu Sung was very tired, and wanted to rest. So the servants were told to prepare a bedroom for him where he slept that night.

  The next morning a messenger was dispatched to report the matter to the district magistrate and a litter was prepared to carry the tiger's body to the town.

  When Wu Sung got up and had washed his face, he found in front of the building a large number of men bringing a sheep and a jar of wine which they offered to him as their gifts. They said, "We do not know exactly how many people that beast has killed, or how many bamboo blows our hunters have received, but now you have killed the

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  tiger, and our trouble has come an end. We are very happy indeed. Moreover, the travelers can go without danger, and all this is due to your bounteous action."

  "It was not, due to my skill but was owing to your fortune," replied Wu Sung.

  The people all saluted him. After an exhilarating feast which lasted all the morning they placed the tiger's body on the litter which was ready. They made garland of silk and red flowers for Wu Sung. They were about to start off from 'the village. A deputy of the district magistrate had already arrived to conduct Wu Sung to the court. Four men were sent with a cool sedan chair to convey Wu Sung to the court. The litter with the tiger's carcass was in front of the procession and it was also decorated with red flowers and pieces of silk. When the people of the town heard of the great hero who had killed a tiger on the mountain they all crowded to see him, and made such a noise that it could be heard all over the district. Wu Sung in his chair saw all the streets were blocked with noisy crowds which were eager to have a look at the tiger. Upon reaching the yamen gate, he saw the district magistrate waiting in the hall. The litter and the sedan chair were carried to the court, and laid in the corridor in front of the door.

  The magistrate noticed the manner of Wu Sung, and also the size of the tiger. He thought that Wu. Sung was the only person who could kill such a tiger. He summoned Wu Sung to come forward. Wu Sung approached and called out "ngo." The magistrate invited him inside where Wu Sung recited his adventure. There was a large crowd of men both inside and outside the hall. They all listened to Wu Sung and were greatly astonished. The magistrate offered several cups of wine to Wu Sung, and also a gift of one thousand strings of cash which had been subscribed by the wealthy families of the district.

  "I am grateful to you for this blessing, sir," said Wu Sung. "I was fortunate in killing the tiger, and as it was not due to my own abilities, how dare I accept such generous presents! I have heard that these hunters have been beaten with the bamboo, so why not compensate them with these strings of cash?"

  "As you, the hero, suggest this, it can be done as you

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  wish," said the magistrate.

  So Wu Sung took the strings of cash, and distributed them among the hunters.

  When the magistrate saw the noble, virtuous, and benevolent character of Wu Sung he wished to recommend him for an official post. So he said to him, "You are a Ching Ho Hsien man, and as that place is quite close here I offer you the position of lieutenant in this yamen. What do you say about that?"

  Wu Sung knelt down and said, "As you wish to reward me in this way I shall be obliged to you for my life."

  The magistrate instructed his secretary to make out the necessary papers, and Wu Sung received his commission in the army as a lieutenant.

  The rich families saluted him, and offered their congratulations, and during the following five days they continually entertained him with wine.

  Wu Sung meditated that, at first, he had the idea to find big elder brother, but it was detained by being made a lieutenant at this place. The magistrate liked him, and his fame was widespread in every village.

  One day when he was strolling outside the yamen he heard a voice behind him calling, "Lieutenant Wu! As you are an official now, can you not assist me?"

  "Ai Ya!" exclaimed Wu Sung when he turned round. "What are you doing here?"

  If these heroes had not met,

  Many men would not have died;

  Swords would not have chopped off heads,

  Nor blood have flown like water.

  We will now see who that man was who had stopped Wu Sung.

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  CHAPTER 23

  MRS. WANG
BEING COVETOUS SPOKE

  SEDUCTIVELY; ELDER BROTHER YUN

  MAKES A ROW IN A TEA SHOP

  WU SUNG turned round, and when he saw that the man who was speaking to him, was his elder brother Wu Ta-lang, he knelt down and kotowed. He said, "I have not seen you for more than a year. But why have you come here?"

  "You have been away for a long time," replied Wu Ta-lang, [4] "but why have you not written to me? Although I did not like you yet I never forgot you."

  "Why were you annoyed, and why did you think of me so often?" asked Wu Sung. "When you were in Ching Ho Hsien you often got drunk and fought with other men," said Wu Ta-lang. "You were often brought before the magistrate. And when at last you ran away, I had to go to the court repeatedly about your affairs. That was what made me annoyed. And what made me to think of you was that I recently married a Ching Ho Hsien woman, and many men came to insult me about that matter, and there was no one like you to assist me. When you were at home who dared to come and insult me? I could not live in peace there so I removed here, and found a house where I now live. That trouble made me to think of you."

  Wu Sung and Wu Ta-lang were brothers to the same mother. Wu Sung was over six feet in height, and he could lift about three hundred weights. If he had not been so strong how could he have killed the tiger?

  Wu Ta-lang was nearly four and half feet in height, and his countenance was ugly. The shape of his head was conical. The people of Ching Ho Hsien looked upon him as a dwarf, and had therefore given him two nicknames: "Three Inch Nail" and the "Rice Straw."

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  Now in Ching Ho Hsien there was a big family which had a maidservant named Pan Ch'in-lien who was about twenty years of age, and was quite good-looking. Her master made base suggestions but she told her mistress about it and said that she was not willing to agree to his advances. Because of this the master disliked the maidservant, but offered her in marriage to Wu Ta-lang, and also gave her some presents, but he declined to receive any money from Wu Ta-lang.

  Shortly after the marriage there were quite a number of loose profligates who came to Wu Ta-lang's house to disgrace his wife. In fact as Wu Ta-lang was only a small man his wife looked upon him as being of rough nature, and quite unsuitable as a lover. Everything she did was bad, even consorting with other men.

  Wu Ta-lang was rather a quiet fellow and would not dispute with what these loose fellows did; they shouted out at his street door, "What a nice piece of mutton is fallen in a cur's mouth!" As a result of this Wu Ta-lang did not care to stay in Ching Ho Hsien, and removed to a house in Purple Stone Street, Yang Ku Hsien. Every day he acted as a hawker selling cakes on the street. On this day he had been selling cakes when he happened to see his brother Wu Sung.

  "The day before yesterday," said Wu Ta-lang, "I heard a great many people talking about a man named Wu who had killed a tiger on Ching Yang Ridge, and who had been given a commission as lieutenant by the district magistrate. I guessed that it was you, but how could I expect to meet you to-day? I will not sell any more cakes just now, and will go with you to my home." "Elder brother, where is your home?" asked Wu Sung.

  "It is near the Purple Stone Street," replied Wu Ta-lang pointing with his finger.

  Wu Sung carried the load of cakes, and Wu Ta-lang led him round many corners to his home. He stopped at a house near a tea shop, and called out, "Wife, open the door."

  The screen at the door was lifted and a woman appeared who asked, "Elder brother, why have you returned so soon?"

  "Your brother-in-law has arrived," replied Wu Ta-lang, "please come out to meet him."

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  Wu Ta-lang now took the load from Wu Sung, and entering the house said, "Brother, come inside and let me introduce you to my wife."

  Wu Sung lifted up the screen and entered, and was duly introduced.

  Wu Ta-lang said, "Wife, the man, who killed the tiger on Ching Yang Ridge, and was given a commission as lieutenant in the army, is none other than my younger brother."

  She at once saluted by folding her arms and said, "Ten thousand blessings (wanfu), uncle" (Chinese way of calling in son's position).

  Wu Sung asked her to be seated. He kotowed, and it was as magnanimous as the fall of a golden mountain and a jade pillar.

  The woman raised up Wu Sung and said, "Uncle, by doing this you lessen the prospects of my life."

  "I only ask you to receive my respects," replied Wu Sung.

  "My adopted mother, Mrs. Wang, told me that a big man had killed a tiger and that I must go and see him," replied the woman. "And you are that man. I request you to come upstairs and sit down."

  They all three sat down upstairs, and when the woman had had a look at Wu Sung, she said to her husband, "I will keep company with your brother, while you go and prepare some food and wine in order to entertain our uncle."

  Wu Ta-lang agreed to this and promised to return soon.

  When he had gone, his wife looked more closely at Wu Sung, and was pleased with his appearance. She thought that if she had married a man like him, all her life would not have been wasted. Her husband was only three parts a man, and seven parts an imp. What bad luck she had had. As Wu Sung had killed a tiger he must be enormously strong. "I think he has no wife, so why should I not ask him to stay here! I think that I shall now find my marriage affinity here after all."

  With her smiling face she asked Wu Sung how long he had been in that district, to which Wu Sung replied that he had been there about ten days.

  "Where do you stay then?" asked the woman.

  "I am staying temporarily at the yamen," replied Wu Sung.

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  "That cannot be very comfortable and convenient," remarked the woman.

  "As I am by myself that does not matter," replied Wu Sung. "Besides I have soldiers to wait upon me."

  "But how can those men look after you properly," said the woman. "Why not come and live here? When you want hot water or food, whether early or late, I can always get the same ready for you, and that would be much better than depending on those dirty men. When you want clear soup you need have no worry about it."

  Wu Sung thanked her very much for her suggestion.

  "But have you an aunt (a wife) living in some other place?" asked the woman. "If so then ask her to come here to live with us."

  "I have not married yet," replied Wu Sung.

  "How old are you?"

  "I am twenty-five years of age," replied Wu Sung.

  "So you are three years older than I. Where have you come from this time?"

  "I lived at Tsangchou for more than a year," replied Wu Sung, "and then decided to come to visit my elder brother at Ching Ho Hsien. I did not know that he had removed here."

  "To explain that removal it would take a long time. Since I married your elder brother so many men have insulted him owing to good nature that we could not live any longer at Ching Ho Hsien, and therefore we removed to this place. If such a brave man as you had been there who would have dared to say a word against us."

  "My brother was always law-abiding and good-natured, and was quite different from me as I always make disturbance," said Wu Sung.

  "Why do you make such a false accusation againt yourself?" asked Mrs. Wu. "There is a common saying, 'Men of yielding nature cannot have a stable foothold in society.' I am of a precipitous nature, and cannot bear to see a man who does not even turn his head after being abused three times, and who runs away at the fourth attack."

  "My brother does not like to provoke unpleasantness so that there is no need for you to be distressed," said Wu Sung.

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  While they were still talking about him, Wu Ta-lang returned with the meat, wine, and fruit, and placed them in the kitchen below. He then came upstairs and said, "Wife, you go downstairs and get things ready.

  "You see that fellow does not understand things. Here is my uncle and I am told to leave him alone and go to the kitchen," said Mrs. Wu.

  "Please suit your own convenience
, my sister-in-law," said Wu Sung.

  "But why not ask my adopted mother Mrs. Wang, who lives next door, to do this?" asked Mrs. Wu. "If I have to do the work that will not be very nice."

  So Wu Ta-lang went to the next door, and requested Mrs.Wang to come and prepare the food for them -- fish, meat, fruit, and vegetables. He also warmed some wine, and put it on the table. All three sat down -- Mrs. Wu sat opposite to Wu Sung, in a hostess position, and Wu Ta-lang, at the side. Wu Ta-lang poured out the wine for all the party.

  "Uncle," said Mrs. Wu (picking up a cup of wine), "I hope you won't mind our rough ways. Please drink a cup of wine.”

  "I am deeply grateful," replied Wu Sung, "you need not talk in that manner."

  Wu Ta-lang did not appear to take notice of anything except serving the wine.

  "Uncle, why don't you eat a little fish or meat?" asked Mrs. Wu with a smiling face. So saying she selected some of the best bits and placed them on his plate.

  Wu Sung was a very straightforward man, and looked upon this great compliment as merely the expression of a real sister-in-law's desire to please. But he did not know previously that Mrs. Wu had been a maidservant, and had acquired the habit of coquetry. As Wu Ta-lang was an honest and weak-natured man how could he know to entertain a guest?

  Mrs. Wu drank several cups of wine, and gazed steadily at Wu Sung, but he appeared to take no notice of this and simply bowed his head. After he had drunk about ten cups of wine he rose from the table.

  "Brother, please drink another cup of wine before you go," said Wu Ta-lang.