by Don Bosco
I swallowed hard and jumped off the crate, but I lost my balance and ended up flat on the ground. To make things worse, my left hand landed in a warm and squishy pile of dung. Yuck!
I couldn’t decide whether to run or to try and face them. Maybe I could chuck some dung in their direction and perhaps make them keep their distance?
But the thugs grabbed me before I could do anything, and they dragged me to Dr. Woo.
I kicked and yelled.
“Hey, you bullies! Get — ”
What happened next was unbelievable. One of the thugs interrupted me by shrieking loudly, as if he was in pain. Then the other thug did the same too.
After which the chief thug joined in, just half a heartbeat later, with what sounded like a scream at first but quickly turned into a long and helpless groan.
The thugs released me and stumbled around in pain, clutching their bottoms, almost running into one another.
I stared at them and shook my head.
What in the name of Sang Nila Utama was going on?
CHAPTER 16
It wasn’t long before I noticed the cause of the commotion.
Remember the old woman that I met outside the mansion, where the Scroll of Greatness was on display? The one who was blind?
There she was, right in the middle of everything, beating off the thugs and keeping them away from me, armed with just a Chinese folding fan!
“Hyah! Hwah! Hooi!” she grunted as she delivered each blow, moving elegantly like a performing acrobat from some great Teochew opera troupe, her fan darting about so quickly that it was a blur.
First, she moved deftly from side to side, like a snake that was preparing to attack its prey. Then she suddenly swooped over like a crane and hit the bad men between their eyes with a series of lightning fast strikes. And then she repeated this again and again, until the thugs were thoroughly defeated.
I recognised her moves from an old martial arts manual that I’d found in Pa’s library. She was using the Wing Chun style of kungfu, which according to legend was invented by the daughter of a beancurd seller in order to protect herself from bandits.
The old woman might have been blind, but she wasn’t handicapped. The thugs didn’t stand a chance!
In the distance, I saw Aisha hurrying towards us, with my father, Constable Flint and two Indian patrolmen.
I was relieved to see them. Aisha had a look of concern on her face. I waved to let her know that I was fine.
Constable Flint blew on his whistle. He shouted something to his men, and they pulled out their thick batons from their holsters.
Dr. Woo didn’t like any of this. He hurried to the basket and pulled out the wooden box.
And then he dashed off with it, into the crowd!
CHAPTER 17
Without a second thought I pursued Dr. Woo down the riverbank.
He was an excellent runner, with a talent for squeezing between people and dodging around obstacles.
I stumbled a few times and twice, I tripped over something but I quickly regained my balance and carried on. I wished that I had paid more attention and done a better job practising the kungfu exercises that Pa taught me. It would have made me a lot more nimble and swift.
That was when I spotted a man loading a box of purple mangosteens onto a cart. Aha! I had an idea.
Without slowing down, I grabbed two mangosteens and tossed them into the air quickly, to test their weight. They were perfect.
I took a deep breath and tried to speed up, until Dr. Woo was just five or six feet in front of me.
I had practised this at home so many times before with the crimson marble balls that my tutor Miss Priya gave me, although never with a moving target, and never with the intention of hurting someone.
But this was an urgent mission. I had a villain to stop.
So I fixed my attention on a spot right in the middle of Dr. Woo’s back, and threw the first mangosteen.
It went spinning through the air, quite like a nicely tossed cricket ball. But to my horror it missed Dr. Woo completely and instead hit a poor coolie who was just passing by! It was quite a rude shock for him.
“Oi!” the coolie shouted in fury. He pushed up his sleeves and raised his fists. “Come back here and say you’re sorry!”
Of course I ignored him and kept on running.
I had one mangosteen left.
My feet hurt, and I was panting desperately. There was so much at stake. I was eager to bring this scoundrel to justice and clear my name. So that Pa could be proud of me again!
This time I had a different plan. I didn’t aim the mangosteen at Dr. Woo’s back. Instead, I threw it at his foot.
“Please, please,” I chanted anxiously to myself, “let me save the Scroll of Greatness!”
CHAPTER 18
I was delighted to see the mangosteen hit Dr. Woo’s ankle!
He stumbled, and the long wooden box went spinning up in the air.
There were so many people watching. I noticed an Indian man in military uniform, a European woman scribbling in a notebook, and two Chinese monks whispering behind their sleeves. But I ignored them and just concentrated on what I had to do.
As the wooden box came down, I leapt into the air and reached out to catch it.
A moment later, the box was in my hands. It felt smooth and warm, and even tingled lightly under my touch. I stood there cradling it carefully, lost in a daze, until I heard Aisha clapping and cheering as she ran towards me.
We walked back together. She helped me along as I had twisted my ankle and was limping a little.
We saw Constable Flint and his men arrest Dr. Woo’s gang, with some help from the workers along the river. The thugs had their hands tied together and were made to squat by the side of the road, until Constable Flint was ready to march them to the police station.
In the meantime he took down the names of those witnesses who were willing to make a report.
My father stared at me for some time before he finally smiled and gave me a hug. He was glad that I wasn’t hurt.
“Those men are dangerous!” Pa said. “Never do anything like this again. You must promise me!”
Then Pa reached into his pocket and pulled out my two crimson marble balls. “Constable Flint returned them to me this morning,” Pa explained with a sigh. “He didn’t think it was right to throw them away like that.”
I grinned at him and took the balls back. My heart felt so light and free. I was relieved that the incident was over and that the Scroll had been recovered.
One of the Chinese monks even approached me. He was impressed by what he saw, and wanted to know if I could teach him my special throwing technique.
Pa just laughed and shook his head. But as we walked off together, I suddenly realised that there were some questions yet to be answered.
Like, who was the blind woman, the astonishingly skilled fighter, who had appeared in time to save me?
CHAPTER 19
That evening we had a special guest over for dinner.
Pa had invited the blind woman to join us. She turned up with a big jar of pickled cabbage. Ma was delighted with the delicious gift.
The old woman introduced herself as Madam Bao. She mentioned that she had an apprentice right here in the colony, but she wouldn’t tell us the young woman’s name.
We settled down at the dining table, and Madam Bao told us her story. She was a member of the Great Scroll Sisterhood, an ancient organisation formed during the Qin Dynasty, two thousand years ago, when some brave women came together and swore an oath to protect the Scroll of Greatness with their lives.
She had lost her sight when she was eight years old, after an accident. But there was a school near her village that was run by some monks. They taught Madam Bao and helped her memorise many old books. Madam Bao was such an exceptional student that people came from all over the kingdom to hear her explain the teachings. And when she was just sixteen years old, the Great Scroll Sisterhood invited her to join their o
rder.
I was mesmerised by Madam Bao’s tale. I wondered if Aisha might one day be just as elegant and wise and skilled in beating off thugs and thieves. And zombies too, if they should ever show up in this colony.
After dinner, we all went into Pa’s study. Madam Bao took out the Scroll and showed it to us. I will describe what I saw as accurately as I can.
Inside the wooden box, the Scroll was wrapped up in three layers of soft red silk. There was a red string tied around it, with small rings of green jade attached to both ends.
After untying this string, Madam Bao unrolled the Scroll from right to left. Each end of the Scroll was attached to a strip of dark wood, the right one with a dragon engraved along its length, and the left one with a phoenix.
Every section of the Scroll featured one particular stretch of the Great Wall of China, illustrated with great detail. There were also smaller panels that showed how to make bricks, how to create stone walls, how to construct watchtowers, how to design moats, and so on.
I noticed some rows of strange characters in the margins. These notes were not in Chinese, or any other language that we could recognise. They were written in a strange code made up of squares, dots and circular symbols.
Madam Bao was not able to tell us how to decipher it.
“Some say this Scroll was given to our people by visitors from beyond the clouds,” Madam Bao admitted. “Perhaps wise ones from another kingdom somewhere in the heavens. Who can tell what really happened so many thousands of years ago?”
Did she mean aliens from another planet? I was bursting with so many questions about the Scroll. But Pa put his hand lightly on my shoulder and took me aside.
“When you are older, you must go and explore the Great Wall for yourself,” he said softly. “Then you will understand its secrets. No matter how perfect a wall might be, it is the steadfastness of the people that provides protection against enemies. The Scroll’s true message is hidden in plain sight. It actually provides instructions for building a strong character, so that you will be protected against the evils of this world.”
Madam Bao suddenly laughed. Even though she was standing on the far side of the room, she must have overheard Pa’s words.
“Truly,” she mumbled with a smile, “Master Hong possesses a superior mind.”
Fellow members of the International Order of Young Seekers, I hope one day we’ll discover exactly what the words on the Scroll of Greatness mean. And then we can use this knowledge to build an enlightened city for everyone. This is what we’re supposed to do with our lives. This is our destiny.
Do write to me if you have questions about any of this. Surely the future belongs to us, the young and brave!
Goodnight, my friends. Sleep well and dream of all our fantastic adventures ahead.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Don Bosco describes himself as “geeky, cheeky and magicky”. His books include the Sherlock Hong series and the Time Talisman series. These stories are full of fun, adventure and mystery, all inspired by Asian history and culture. Don is also the author of the bestselling Lion City Adventures. He lives in Singapore. To find out more, visit his website: http://www.SuperCoolBooks.com