The Book and The Sword (22 page)

"That's very good," Wu Chen said, still smiling. "Now continue with a 'Gold Wheel' stroke".

As he spoke, Chu did indeed attack with a 'Gold Wheel' stroke. "How did he know?" he wondered, startled. The priest also guessed his next two moves correctly, just as if he was a teacher instructing a pupil. Chu retreated two paces and stared at him, embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Zhao had grabbed Long and was pressuring him to hand over the antidote. Long, however closed his eyes and said nothing. "Just as long as I don't give in, the Emperor will surely reward me when we get back," he thought.

Priest Wu Chen continued his game of forcing Bodyguard Chu to counter with the moves he called out. Qian Long, although a mediocre fighter himself, had a thorough knowledge of kung fu and was amused by the spectacle. But he felt the chill of anxiety too.

" Chu is one of the top Imperial Bodyguards," he thought. "What use are they if these bandits can play with them in such a fashion?" He watched for a few more moves and then decided he had had enough.

"Tell him to come back," he said to Bai.

"Brother Chu," Bai shouted. "The Master asks you to come here."

Chu breathed a sigh of relief. The Emperor's order was like a reprieve from the death sentence, and he prepared to jump away. Priest Wu Chen, however, had other ideas.

"Just a moment," he said. He struck forward with his sword and Chu felt a cool breeze course across his face and body as the sword flashed about him. The courtesan Beautiful Jade suddenly laughed out loud, and Chu looked down and saw that his clothes had been cut to shreds by the priest's sword. Not only that: he felt his head and found his hair and queue had been shaved completely off. As he shook with fear and shame, his trousers suddenly fell down.

"These friends of yours are extraordinarily skilled in the martial arts, Master Lu," Qian Long said to Chen. "Why don't you all offer your services to the court? It is a pity to waste such talent."

Chen smiled. "We would prefer to do just as we please," he said. "But thank you. We are very grateful of the offer."

"Since that is the case, I will take my leave. It is getting late." Qian Long looked meaningfully over at Bodyguard Long in the other boat.

"Brother Zhao," Chen called. "Let Master Dongfang's servant come back."

"Absolutely not!" Luo Bing answered. "Xin Yan has poisoned by him and he refuses to hand over the antidote."

Qian Long whispered some instructions to Commander Li, then turned to Long. "Give him the antidote," he ordered.

"I deserve to die," Long replied. "I didn't bring the antidote with me. I left it in Beijing."

"Brother Zhao, give me two of those spiked balls," said Xu. Zhao pulled them out of his bag and handed them over. Xu ripped Long's gown off his chest and drove the balls into him. Long cried out in panic.

"Master Lu," Xu shouted. "Please send over some wine. We want to drink a toast with our friend here to seal our friendship, and then we will let him go."

"All right," said Chen. Beautiful Jade filled three cups with wine, and Chen threw them one by one over to the other boat. Zhao calmly stetched out his hand and caught them without a drop being spilled.

Xu took one of the cups. "Master Long, let us drink a toast," he said. Long knew that the alcohol would greatly speed up the effects of the poison and clamped his mouth shut.

"Go on, have a drink. There's no need to stand on ceremony," said Xu with a smile. He grabbed Long's nose between his third and little fingers then pressed strongly on his cheeks with the thumb and forefinger, forcing Long to open his mouth, and poured all three cups of wine into him.

Long decided his life was more important than his reputation. "Let me go," he said. "I…I…I'll get the antidote," Zhao laughed and loosened his grip. Long pulled three packets of medicine from his bag.

"The red one should be taken orally, the black one sucks out the poision and the white one closes the wound," he said and fainted away.

Zhao hurriedly poured the red medicine into one of the wine cups, mixed it with some lake water and gave it to Xin Yan to drink, then spread the black medicine onto the wound. A moment later, black blood welled out of the gash. Luo Bing wiped it up as it appeared, and gradually the blood turned red. Xin Yan cried out in pain as Zhao administered the white medicine.

"Please forgive my friends," Chen said to Qian Long. "They are very unrefined."

Qian Long laughed. "It has certainly been an interesting day. I will take my leave now."

"Master Dongfang wishes to go home," Chen called. "Head back to the shore!"

The flotilla glided slowly off, and soon reached the lakeside. Commander Li jumped ashore and helped Qian Long across onto land as the bodyguards formed a protective semi-circle. Li pulled out a pipe and blew three sharp notes on it, and several hundred Imperial troops appeared.

"You insolent wretches!" Li shouted at the Red Flower Society fighters. "You are in the sight of the Emperor and still you don't kowtow?"

Xu gestured with his hand, and Master Ma and his son fired flares up into the air above the lake. A moment later, a huge roar went up from all sides, and men rushed out from the trees, from behind buildings and from under bridges, each one with a red flower on his lapel and a sword in his hand.

"Brothers!" Xu shouted. "The Great Helmsman has arrived!" The society men roared their approval and surged forward.

The Imperial Bodyguards and troops drew their swords, fixed arrows to bows, and the two sides confronted each other, each determined not to yield. Commander Li mounted a horse and waited for Qian Long's order to seize the Red Flower Society fighters.

Chen walked calmly over to an officer of the Imperial Bodyguard and pointed at the horsewhip he was holding. Hypnotised by Chen's gaze, the officer meekly dismounted and handed the whip over. Chen then leapt onto his horse and pulled a red flower from his pocket which he fixed to his gown. The flower was made from the finest silk stitched with gold thread and the green leaves around it were studded with jewels which glittered and sparkled in the torchlight. It was the badge of the Great Helmsman and the Red Flower Socety heroes bowed before him in respect.

Suddenly, a large number of the soldiers broke from the Manchu ranks and swarmed forward despite shouts from their officers. They raced over to Chen, bowed, then ran back to their ranks as another batch ran out to pay their respects. The Red Flower Society's power was so great in the south that many soldiers in the Manchu armies, especially those in units under Chinese command, were members.

Qian Long was flabbergasted at the sight of so many of his own troops breaking ranks to bow before Chen. The Imperial Guard units he had brought with him from Beijing were clearly the only ones he could trust, and considering the danger of his position, he decided a fight had to be avoided at all costs.

He turned to Commander Li.

"So these are your trusted soldiers," he said coldly. "Tell them to retire."

"Yes sir," replied Li, stunned with fear. He ordered the troops back to camp.

"Brothers!" 'Mastermind' Xu shouted when he saw the Manchu troops were retreating. "Thank you all for your trouble. Please go now."

An answering roar went up from the mass of the Society followers: "Great Helmsman, goodbye!" The thunderous cry echoed out over the lake.

Qian Long raised his hands towards Chen. "Thank you for a very pleasant outing on the lake," he said. "We will meet again."

C
hen and the heroes returned to the boats and ate and drank to their hearts' content. They had handed out a crushing defeat to the Imperial Bodyguard, and were in good spirits.

"Brother Ma," Xu said to the society's Hangzhou Helmsman. "After such a setback, the Emperor certainly won't let matters rest. Advise all the brothers in Hangzhou to be very careful, especially those in the Manchu ranks."

Ma nodded, finished off his cup of wine and departed with his son.

Chen also drained his wine cup and sighed as he watched the broken reflection of the moon floating on the lake between the lotus lily leaves.

"What date is it today?" he asked Xu, looking up. "We have been so busy lately, I have completely lost track of time."

"It's the seventeenth. It was the mid-Autumn festival the day before yesterday. Don't you remember?"

Chen was silent for a moment, then said: "Brothers, please go and rest now, all of you. I will stay here for a while. Tomorrow, I have some private business to attend to, but the day after that we will begin preparations for rescuing Fourth Brother."

"Would you like anyone to accompany you?" Xu asked.

"No, there's no need. There is no danger. I just want to be by myself and think about things quietly."

The boats moved over to the shore, and the heroes bade farewell to Chen. Some of them were already half drunk, and they joined arms as they walked through the deserted streets of Hangzhou, singing loudly into the darkness.

Chen watched them go, then jumped into a small sampan and skulled the boat out over the mirror-smooth surface of the lake. The shore receded, and he stowed the oar and stared up at the moon. The next day was his mother's birthday. For ten years, he had been away from home, and now that he was back in southern China, his mother was already dead. He thought of her kindly, smiling face and of the common fate that awaits all men, and tears began to trickle down his face.

The first light of day began to spread across the sky. Chen plucked the red flower off his gown and placed it in his bag, then strolled towards the eastern gate to the city. The guard on duty stared at him, then saluted: he was a Red Flower Society man. Chen nodded to him.

"Since you are leaving the city, do you need a horse, Great Helmsman?" the guard asked.

"Yes, thank you," answred Chen. The guard went jubilantly off and came back a short time later with a horse. Following behind were two minor officials who both bowed respectfully before Chen. They felt fortunate to have had an opportunity to render a service to the Great Helmsman.

Chen mounted up and galloped off. The horse was fast and he reached the western gate of Haining city by noon. It had been ten years since he left his home town, but everything was still as it had been. Afraid of meeting someone who would recognise him, he turned his horse northwards and rode two or three miles further on. He stopped at a farmhouse and ate lunch, then lay down to sleep. Having been up the whole previous night, he slept very deeply.

Noting his gentleman's attire and the fact that he spoke the local dialect, the farmer and his wife treated Chen with great courtesy, and killed a chicken for dinner. Chen questioned them about events of the past few years and the farmer said: "The Emperor has ordered that the whole of Haining county be exempt from taxes for three years. It's all because of his respect for Minister Chen."

Chen thought about how many years it had been since his father had passed away, and wondered again why the Emperor had suddenly begun to bestow such handsome favours on his family. When he had finished dinner, he gave three taels of silver to the farmer in thanks and rode towards his family home in the northwest of the city.

As he reached the gate of the house, he stopped in surprise. In the old days, it had been named ' Secluded Garden ', but the old name board had been taken down and replaced with one which read ' Peaceful Pool Garden '. The characters were rounded and flowing, and he recognized the calligraphy as being that of the Emperor Qian Long himself. perplexed, he leapt over the wall into the compound. Next to the old house, new structures had been erected with endless pavilions and platforms, mansions and chambers.

He passed along a covered walkway towards the Jade Bracelet Hall, but again found a new name board over its door inscribed 'Beloved Days Hall', also written in Qian Long's hand. Chen frowned. The words 'Beloved Days' referred to the filial affection of children for their parents. What was the Emperor doing writing such a thing here?

He emerged from the hall and walked across a zig-zag bridge with red railings into a thick bamboo grove towards the 'Fragrant Bamboo Lodge', the former residence of his mother. This name board had also been changed, this time to read 'Spring Sunshine Hall'. Chen sat down on a rock, greatly confused. 'Spring Sunshine' was a poetic allusion used to describe a son's gratitude for his mother's love. It had no other meaning.

"Why has Qian Long placed this name board on my mother's house?" he wondered. "Even if he is more stupid than I think, he would not have been so thoughtless. Could it be he knew I would come back here and wrote out these name boards in an attempt to befriend me?"

He tiptoed up the steps, and looked through a window, into the main room of the lodge. It was arranged exactly as it had been when his mother was alive, with redwood furniture, a large carved bed, a clothes chest inlaid with gold, all as he remembered them from ten years before. A red candle flickered on the table. Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps from an adjoining room and an old woman entered. It was his mother's personal maid, Nanny Huan. The woman had reared him, and Chen felt closer to her than to any of the other servants.

He jumped into the room and hugged the old woman.

Greatly frightened, she opened her mouth to scream, but Chen covered it with his hand and whispered: "Don't shout, it's me." She stared at him, too shocked to speak. In fact, his appearance and manner had changed so much in the ten years since he had left that she did not know who he was.

"It's me, Jialuo. Don't you recognize me?" he asked.

"You…you are Jialuo? You've come back?" the woman asked, completely confused.

Chen smiled and nodded. She gradually recovered her senses and vaguely discerned the features of the mischievous child she had known. Suddenly, she threw her arms round him and began to sob loudly. Chen hastily restrained her.

"Stop crying! No-one must know that I've returned," he said.

"It doesn't matter," she replied. "They've all gone to the new section. There's no-one else here."

"What new section?"

"Of the mansion. It was built earlier this year. Heaven knows what it cost, or what it's for."

Chen knew she had little understanding of such matters. "How did my mother die? What illness?" he asked.

The woman pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes. "Mistress was very unhappy, I don't know why. She hadn't had a good meal for days, and she become ill. It dragged on for more than a week before she passed away." She began to cry quietly again. "She kept calling for you. 'Where is Jialuo? Hasn't he come yet? I want to see Jialuo!' She was shouting like that for two days before she died."

Chen began to weep too. "Where is her grave?"

"Behind the new Sea Goddess temple," she replied.

"Sea Goddess temple?" Chen echoed.

"Yes, they built that in the spring too. It's huge, right on the sea embankment."

"I'm going to have a look. I'll be back in a while," he said.

"No…no, you can't!" She interrupted hastily, but he had already leapt out through the window.

He knew the path down to the embankment well and was there in a moment. Looking west, he saw a huge structure that had not been there before, and decided it must be the Sea Goddess temple. He ran towards the main entrance.

Suddenly, he heard the patter of light footsteps and hid behind a willow tree. Two men dressed in black clothes emerged from either side of the temple wall, saluted each other and continued on in opposite directions around the temple. Chen was mystified. Just then, two more men appeared dressed the same as the first pair and followed the same path round the temple wall. Even more curious, Chen waited for them to disappear around the corners, then jumped silently up onto the wall. Another pair passed him down below. He waited for a while and counted about forty men constantly circling the temple, all of them alert and silent, and obviously kung fu experts. Could this be a religious ceremony, he wondered? Full of curiosity, he jumped quietly down into the courtyard and crept into the main temple building to investigate.

Incense smoke curled up from in front of the central altar as candles flickered and danced. He wondered which god the altar was dedicated to, but when he looked up to see, he gasped out loud involuntarily. The handsome-faced statue was a likeness of his father.

He spotted an open door to the left and crept over. Looking out, he saw a long covered walk-way paved with white flag-stones. He knew that if he went along the white-stoned path he would easily be spotted, so he leapt onto the roof of the walkway and flitted silently down to its end. In front was another altar hall outside which was written in huge characters: 'The Palace of the Empress of Heaven.' The doors to the hall were open and he went inside. As he caught sight of the statue on the central altar, he started again, even more violently. It's face was that of his mother.

It was as if he was in a thick fog of bewilderment. He ran back outside, looking for his mother's grave and saw a long yellow tent behind the hall. He shrunk into a corner as a sturdy black-clothed man passed by on patrol.

The things he had seen that evening beggared the imagination, and despite the strict guard being kept, he resolved to get to the heart of the matter. He crept slowly over to the tent and crawled inside.

He lay absolutely still and listened carefully. There were no sounds outside, and he concluded that he had not been discovered. He looked round and saw the vast tent was completely deserted. The ground had been carefully flattened and the grass cleanly cut. The tent was joined to a string of others so that they formed a long tunnel stretching back from the temple buildings. Two large lanterns burned brightly in every tent, and looking down the tunnel, the two rows of lights stretching away looked like fiery dragons. He stood up and walked forward, as if in a dream.

Suddenly he heard the rustle of clothing in front and quickly hid to one side. After a moment, he continued forward again and spotted a man seated in front of two graves at the end of the tunnel. The graves were those of his mother and father. He was about to run forward and prostrate himself when the man stood up, gazed at the graves for a while, then knelt down and bowed several times. Chen saw the man's back shaking as if he was crying.

Faced with such a scene, all of Chen's suspicions disappeared. This man was either a relative or one of his father's former subordinates. He walked quietly over and tapped the man on his shoulder.

"Please get up," he said.

The man jumped in fright, but did not turn round.

"Who is it?" he shouted harshly.

"I have also come to pay my respects," Chen replied. He knelt before the graves and began to cry uncontrollably.

"Mother, father," he sobbed. "I have come too late. I will never see you again."

The man gasped and Chen turned to find it was none other than the Emperor, Qian Long.

"What…what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Qian Long asked in surprise.

"Today is the anniversary of my mother's birth," Chen replied. "I have come to pay my respects to her. And you?"

Qian Long ignored the question. "You…you are the son of Chen Shiguan?" he exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes. Didn't you know?"

Qian Long shook his head.

In the past few years, Qian Long had been bestowing extraordinary favours on the Chen family of Haining, and although some of his ministers were aware that the new leader of the Red Flower Society was a son of Minister Chen, none dared to mention it because of the Emperor's unpredictable temper.

Chen wondered why on earth the Emperor would come secretly to kneel and cry before the grave of a former minister. It was completely inexplicable.

Qian Long took Chen's hand. "You must think it strange, seeing me here paying my respects in the middle of the night," he said. "Your father and I had great affection for each other, so I took advantage of this visit to the south to offer my thanks to him."

Chen made a sound, half believing, half not.

"If word of this should get out, it would be extremely inconvenient," Qian Long continued. "Can you give me your word that you will not reveal it to anyone?"

Chen was deeply moved by Qian Long's reverence for his own mother and father. "Don't worry," he replied. "I will not mention this evening to anyone."

Qian Long immediately breathed easier. The two men shook hands, one the Emperor of China, the other the leader of the country's largest secret society. They were silent for a while, each with his own thoughts. Far off, they heard a low roar like thunder.

"The tide is coming in," said Chen. "Let us go to the embankment and watch. It has been ten years since I saw it."

"All right," replied Qian Long, still holding Chen's hand. They walked out of the tent.

The guards outside the tent spotted the two as they emerged and rushed forward to wait on the Emperor, wondering how his companion could have entered the tent without them being aware of it. Then Bodyguard Bai Zhen and the other officers noticed that it was the Great Helmsman of the Red Flower Society, and they shook with fear. One of the guards led the Emperor's horse across to him.

"Take my horse," Qian Long said to Chen. The guards hurriedly lead over another horse and the two rode out of the temple gate.

The roar of the ocean filled their ears and they gazed out at the pale moonlight reflecting off it in silvery shades.

Qian Long stared at the waves for a long time, then said: "Fate seems determined to throw us together. Tomorrow, I will return to Hangzhou, and after three more days there, will continue back to Beijing. Why don't you come with me? It would be best if you were always by my side. Seeing you is like seeing your father."