by Guo Xiaoting
Several followers accompanied him. Just behind him was an elegant young man with a military bearing named Ma Jun. The two men were from the same province, and the younger, who was devoted to his parents, had come to Linan because he had heard that the eyesight of his friend’s mother had been helped. “How did that monk cure the old lady’s eyes?” he asked. The yuanwai told him the whole story about Ji Gong.
“If this monk from the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat can cure eye problems, would you go with me to ask him to cure the eyes of my own mother?” he asked. The yuanwai agreed, and the two men went to the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat to inquire, but found that Ji Gong was not there. They heard that he had gone to the province of the Great Protector for some reason, and after making several more inquiries without success, Ma Jun was thinking of returning home.
“Let me go back with you,” said the yuanwai. After they had purchased a considerable number of things in the city to take with them, they set out. A light rain was falling as they were journeying along the road. Seeing an inn before them, the yuanwai said, “Why not stop for some refreshment?”
Just as they entered the door, they heard voices, and as the yuanwai looked he recognized Ji Gong. Going up to him he asked, “My teacher, how have you been?”
The two headmen Chai and She, seeing the yuanwai, asked, “What brings the great one here?”
The yuanwai, recognizing them in return, asked, “What are you two headmen doing dressed like this?”
“We are on a secret mission,” explained Chai and She.
The yuanwai again turned to Ji Gong and asked, “How is my teacher?”
“Ah! Ah!” said the monk, “they are annoying me to my very death.”
“Who dares to annoy you?” asked the yuanwai.
The monk pointed to the waiter. The frightened waiter ran from the room. “Before you get excited, you must ask why they are annoying him,” said Chai and She.
“My teacher, why are they annoying you?” asked the yuanwai.
“After I had finished eating,” replied the monk, “they wouldn’t let me go. They care only about money.”
At that the yuanwai began to laugh, “If people have their things eaten, who doesn’t want money in return? That is not considered to be annoying. Whatever it was, I will pay it. But Teacher, why don’t you carry money with you when you go out?”
“But I did take money,” said the monk. “I had two hundred ounces of silver.”
“Yes,” broke in Chai, “and he gave all that two hundred ounces away. There is not a cash left.”
“Teacher,” said the yuanwai, “If you have no money, you must not simply sit down and eat. This time you were lucky. But what would have happened if I had not arrived?”
“If you had not been about to arrive, I would not have eaten,” replied the monk. The yuanwai thought for a moment and realized that he was probably right. He paid the bill and ordered more food for the party.
While they were all sitting there with Chai and She, two more men entered. The first was a studious and refined young man in the simple attire of a bachelor graduate. The one who followed was in blue traveling clothes. He had a pale face with somewhat squinting, snakelike eyes and a crooked mouth. He had a lean, rough look. Ji Gong, upon looking at him, decided at once that he was not a good man.
Now the young man who had entered first was named Gao Guangrui, and was from the Youlong district. He was the heir of a family that had a famous money exchange outside the north gate at Youlong. The family was wealthy, and marriages had been arranged so that he had three wives, with the understanding that whoever first gave birth to a son would become the first-ranking wife. His uncle was a prosperous dry-goods merchant in Linan, and for some time he had been with his uncle, learning the business. But on this day he had asked to go home.
His uncle said, “If you leave, you need not come back.”
“It is not my intention to leave you and return home for good,” said Gao Guangrui, “but last night I had a frightening dream. In my dream I saw my mother dead. Let me go home and see her and I will return.” His uncle gave Gao Guangrui ten ounces of silver for expenses in addition to the several tens of ounces he already had intended to take.
Upon reaching the Village of the Thousand Gates, he stopped to eat in a restaurant where an old man came over to him, saying, “Great sir, grant me a few cash that will let me eat a little something.”
Gao Guangrui was moved to pity as he looked at him and said, “You may eat your fill of meat and the rest, old fellow, and I will pay the bill.”
The old man ate and was about to leave, but Gao Guangrui opened his purse and gave him a silver coin. Afterward, he paid the bill and was ready to leave the restaurant when a man wearing a a complete suit of dark-blue traveling clothes approached, saying, “What is the guest’s honorable name?”
Gao Guangrui answered, “I am from the Youlong district and my name is Gao.”
“My name is Wang,” said the man, “Wang Gui. I am from Youlong as well. We are fellows in our district origins. However, when you gave some silver to that fellow just now, I could see that he was not an honest man. He is a member of a gang of mountain robbers. He saw that you have silver. Later he will lie in wait for you along the road. Not only will you lose your silver, he will also want your life. Let us walk together, you and I.”
Gao Guangrui had never really been on his own before, and hearing this, he became frightened, so he went on his way with Wang Gui. When they had reached the Country Hill Inn, a light rain had begun to fall. Wang Gui said, “Well, my friend, let us have something to eat and then go on.”
As the two entered, the monk knew with one look that Wang Gui was not a reliable person. Ji Gong stared straight at him, and as a result all the rest turned and looked. “Brother,” said Wang Gui, “let us go somewhere else for refreshments.” The two left and went on their way.
When they reached a wooded area where no one could be seen on any side, Wang Gui suddenly said, “You stop here.”
“To do what?” asked Gao Guangrui.
“This is your old lady’s home,” said Wang Gui. “Now listen to your old man! What do I do? My surname is Wang and my personal name is Gui, but I am called the Spirit of the Green Sprout. When the sprout is short, I am not on the road. When the sprout is long, I am on the great highway doing business. You may now give me your silver and all your clothing, and then I will kill you!”
As Gao Guangrui listened, his face turned pale from fright. “Elder Brother Wang,” he said, “you and I are fellow district men. I will give you the silver. Let me keep my life.”
The Spirit of the Green Sprout, Wang Gui, laughed loudly. “You may forget that idea. For as many years as I have done this business, I have never left a living mouth to speak. If I spare your life today, tomorrow you will point your finger at me and you will want my life. You would point your finger and say, ‘You are the highway robber who did those things to me.’ Now! Do as I say and hand me your clothing as you take it off, one piece at a time. If not, I will kill you all the more quickly with this knife. Clothing also brings in a little money. Then thrust your head out for me to kill you. If not, I will simply stab you anywhere.”
Hearing this, Gao Guangrui began to tremble violently. Almost speechless with fear, he began to beg. “Good sir, I am giving you my money,” he said as he handed it over. “I will give you all my clothing. Just let me keep my pants. Just let me keep my life. I wish the best for you, sir.”
Wang Gui laughed his cold laugh as he listened. “There is no need to talk so much, little fellow,” he said. “I never leave a living voice.”
Gao Guangrui, seeing that his pleas were useless, suddenly found his anger rising. Picking up a rock, he was about to hit the robber with it. Wang Gui laughed loudly. “Your gall must be as big as the world if you dare to stir up the ground in front of the almighty. Now you will feel the teeth inside the tiger’s lips.” With that he moved in with his scimitar for the kill.
Wang Gui turned his head to look and saw two men coming toward him. The foremost had bright red hair and the lower part of his face had been colored blue. It was none other than Lei Ming, and the person with him was Chen Liang.
The evening before, Lei Ming had experienced the force of Ji Gong’s hypnotic power. Later the two had been running back and forth through the woods, fleeing Ji Gong and hearing his voice again and again, first behind them, then just before them. After this night of terrors, they had slept through the day, sinking upon the ground to rest. Upon wakening, they had looked out of the woods and had seen two men coming along the road.
“Look at those two men, my brother. They seem to be an unlikely pair. One is a scholarly, refined young gentleman and the other has the face of a robber with the body of a ruffian. There must be a reason for this.”
Then Lei Ming and Chen Liang had watched until just after the point where the road entered the woods, when Wang Gui called out, “Stop.” They noticed Gao Guangrui’s confusion and fear. They had heard every word that was spoken and understood completely.
As the two friends stepped out of the woods, the Spirit of the Green Sprout, Wang Gui, recognized their faces and was shocked with fright. “I know, of course, your honorable names,” he said. “You are my young uncle, Borne by the Wind, Lei Ming, and this gentleman is the famous White Monkey, Chen Liang.”
As the two heard these words, they opened their eyes wide and raised their eyebrows. “I will knock the ball back to you,” said Chen Liang. “You might be his little uncle, but he is your grandfather!”
“My great-grandchildren,” answered Wang Gui insultingly, but half under his breath. Chen Liang gripped his knife. “You are my great-grandparents,” said Wang Gui, suddenly becoming respectful. “I said my grandparents.”
“We heard very clearly the first time just now,” said Lei Ming. “Hand over that silver.” Wang Gui handed him the silver that he had taken from Gao Guangrui. “Give me the rest of the silver you have hidden there in your clothing,” said Lei Ming. Wang Gui took it out as he was asked. “And now take off your clothing.”
“Dear grandfather, how can this be?” asked Wang Gui, suddenly pleading. “We are all pieces of the same puzzle. We all fit together!”
“But your mother was a dog!” cried Lei Ming. With one slash of his knife he completely cut off one of Wang Gui’s ears.
“Someone else is coming, grandfathers,” cried Wang Gui. The two friends turned their heads, and though they saw no one, they felt a chill.
CHAPTER 42
Two heroes are almost killed in the Dong Family Hotel; the Chan monk brings retribution to robbers
JUST when Lei Ming and Chen Liang were about to kill the robber Wang Gui, he had pointed and said someone was coming. Then, as the two turned their heads to look, he ran into the woods, with the two running after him.
“Run, you slippery scoundrel,” they shouted. “You thought we were no better than you.”
At a little distance away there was a swift-running creek that was quite deep and about nine feet wide. Wang Gui jumped into the water and swam to the other side. Lei Ming and Chen Liang thought of following him, but Chen Liang said, “That’s enough of him,” and they turned back.
Gao Guangrui, the young man whom they had saved, came up to them saying, “If it had not been for you two great sirs, I would certainly have lost my life at the hands of that robber.”
“What is your name, who are you, and why were you traveling along the highway with such a ruffian?” asked Chen Liang.
“My name is Gao Guangrui. I had stopped at a restaurant in the Village of a Thousand Gates…” and so he went on to tell the whole story.
“We are not men of the Greenwood,” Chen Liang told him. “We are giving you back these thirty ounces of silver.” With that he handed the young man his silver.
Gao Guangrui could not praise their kindness enough. “You two saved my life. I live just in the next village, Youlong. We have a famous money exchange. Please come and see me there, or at my uncle’s in Linan.”
The two then drew aside. Chen Liang, who was especially warm-hearted, said, “Let us watch him until he is safely home. We are not in a hurry. Later, we will find a place, somewhere to pass the night.” So they followed Gao Guangrui until they saw him reach home.
By this time they were beginning to feel hungry and a light rain was falling. At last Chen Liang said, “We must find an inn where we can eat and sleep. It is getting late.”
“Just ahead there is an inn where I once stayed,” Lei Ming responded. “It is the Dong Family Inn. They are very friendly. About a year ago I stayed there while I was sick and the manager, a man named Dong, was most helpful. But I do not know whether that old man is still there or whether the manager has changed.”
Chen Liang agreed. “We will stay at this Dong Family Inn.”
When they came to the next village, one street ran from north to south. “This is it,” said Lei Ming.
On the east side of the street they entered the gate of an inn. Facing them was a large standing screen of masonry that completely blocked the view from the gateway. Going around the screen they found themselves in a large courtyard. The main building, a large one-story structure with a veranda, was on their left to the north. There were two smaller buildings at right angles to it, on the east and west.
On the veranda a small table was set, and on it was a gauze lantern. A man was sitting at the table eating and drinking. As he saw Lei Ming and Chen Liang enter, he extinguished the light with a single motion of his hand. Lei Ming and Chen Liang did not pay any attention to this and did not see who it was. The waiter called to them to come into the building on the east side and seated them.
Now this inn was no longer the same Dong Family Inn that it had once been. This was because the old manager had died and the two young managers who succeeded him had no interest in the business. They spent most of their time with a certain Wang Gui, drinking and gambling. One day Wang Gui said, “You two young managers should entrust the business to me. Every year I could give you several strings of cash for doing nothing.”
This Wang Gui was an unmarried man and unsociable by nature. He gathered about him several men of the Greenwood as waiters and men of all work. Whenever there were solitary travelers with valuable luggage, they would murder them. The group was already becoming wealthy with their ill-gotten gains.
Wang Gui liked to brag to the others about his exploits and spoke of himself as a famous member of the Greenwood, but this was mostly empty talk. No one really knew anything about his abilities. Tonight he had returned with his clothing soaked and an ear gone. Indeed, the bleeding could not be entirely stopped. One of the waiters who loved to joke asked: “How come there’s an ear missing and the clothes are all wet?”
“I was in a restaurant, eating,” said Wang Gui, “when a fight broke out. In the confusion a fellow with a knife cut off my ear. The man with me ran after him and the fellow jumped into the river. I went in after him, but he escaped and I got my clothing wet. A number of people helped me out of the water, so I had to stand drinks all around. Some of them will probably be here tomorrow to see how I am doing and wish me well. Give me some dry clothes and something in the way of hot food to put inside me.”
The waiters believed him and did not inquire further. They brought him a change of clothes and made him two dishes of food. Wang Gui was sitting at the table drinking, and the more he thought, the more he regretted his adventure. “It was lucky that I made two flying leaps—otherwise Lei Ming and Chen Liang would have killed me.”
Just as these thoughts were going through his head, he heard voices outside. He thought of telling the waiter to bar the door, but the man was already inviting the two gu
ests inside. When he saw them, he almost took to his heels again. He put the lantern out and went quickly into the north building. Once inside, his heart was still beating wildly as he wondered whether the two had gone into the east building or whether they were still in the courtyard.
After a while he called one of his helpers inside. “Did you recognize the two men who just arrived?” he asked.
“No,” the waiter replied, “I didn’t.”
“One of them is called Borne by the Wind, Lei Ming,” Wang Gui explained. “The other, the one with the light complexion, is the White Monkey, Chen Liang.”
“The names are famous among us,” said the waiter. “We must treat them well and not ask them to pay the bill when they leave.”
“Let me tell you,” said Wang Gui, “These two men are my enemies.”
“What could you have against them?” asked the waiter.
“Today I was traveling from the Village of a Thousand Gates with a merchant. I was coming through the woods with him. Just as I was about to make my move, Lei Ming and Chen Liang came up and said, ‘How are you, Uncle Wang?’ I asked, ‘What are you to rascals up to?’ They answered, ‘Just looking things over.’ I did not say anything, and then they both came at me and wouldn’t stop. They cheated me out of the money I would have gotten, and I not only lost the money, but they made me lose an ear. Now we will kill them and it will serve them right. I will have my revenge. You can divide whatever silver there is. I don’t want it.”
“That’s it, then,” the waiter said.
Wang Gui whispered in his ear. “Do this and such and so forth.”
The waiter nodded his head.
When he arrived at the east building, the waiter asked, “What will you two men eat?”
“What do you have here?” asked Chen Liang.
“We have fried bean curd, boiled bean curd, and dried bean curd.”
“We don’t eat bean curd. Do you have anything else?” asked Chen Liang.
“Nothing,” replied the waiter. “Our manager took everything to somebody’s wedding, including most of the help. He even lent them the cooking utensils. We can roast two chickens with some cabbage. We have no little wine pots to warm the wine. We have wine in two-catty bottles.”
