by Ben Stevens
‘As my lord’s personal physician, he would certainly have come to me for treatment, had he received any scratch or bite from any animal. But he did not, and certainly he did not complain of any such thing.’
‘You’ll permit me to examine lord Saji’s body, as he sleeps?’ requested my master.
‘I tell you there is nothing to find!’ returned the physician a little hotly. His confidence seemed to be returning, in almost direct correlation to my master’s evident feeling of slight confusion.
‘Let Ennin-sensei do whatever he feels is necessary,’ commanded the samurai who’d fetched us from the inn. ‘That is why he has been brought here, after all.’
And so there, in the lamplight (darkness had already fallen outside), my master commenced his examination. The luxurious silk sheets were pulled back from the daimyo’s unconscious form, and a careful study begun of his stout body.
From what had been said just a few moments before, I supposed my master was looking for some sign of a scratch, sting or bite. And yet, if something like this had been received while Saji had been in China, surely it would have healed completely by now? Also, why the delay in these symptoms showing themselves, if some strange sickness had been somehow transmitted to the daimyo while he’d been in China?
Not that I was any sort of medical expert – hardly so! – yet even I knew that some fever or such, transmitted by scratch or bite, quickly made its presence known. It did not first linger for weeks in the body, without displaying any symptoms.
‘Why, may I ask, did lord Saji need to make a trip to China?’ asked my master, his examination finished and the silk sheets thus pulled back over the aging daimyo’s body. My master had apparently found nothing – the reason for the obvious look of satisfaction now on the physician’s face.
‘None of us here may tell you that, Ennin-sensei,’ said the burly samurai quickly. ‘Only my lord should answer such a question, if he chooses to. And, of course, if he is in a sufficiently lucid state of mind to be able to do so.’
‘I will remain at this castle until lord Saji does awake,’ declared my master. ‘I would appreciate the use of a room for myself and my servant, while we wait.’
‘Of course, Ennin-sensei,’ returned the samurai at once. ‘I shall have you escorted there, and refreshments brought to you.’
3
‘I was already well aware of this daimyo named Saji,’ said my master, after we had been left alone in a small but opulent room of the castle. ‘He has long had a reputation for cruelty. There is a story concerning how he once desired the beautiful wife of one of his samurai. So he raped the woman, and then had her husband executed on some trumped-up charge, in case that man should seek revenge.
‘He was an enthusiastic participant in several battles which occurred in his younger years, receiving in one such altercation the loss of an eye. In fact, the samurai who gave Saji this injury was actually captured, after the force commanded by Saji had won that particular battle. Saji himself cut off that man’s hands in punishment, and then mocked him as he bled to death in the castle dungeon.’
I exhaled slowly. I could see now why, back at the inn, my master had been reluctant to come to this castle, so to try and help this vicious and merciless daimyo.
‘And this trip of Saji’s to China, master,’ I said then. ‘You knew about this already?’
‘Yes,’ nodded my master. ‘The threat to the security of Japan has hardly ended with the events culminating in the story you entitled The Black Death, Kukai.
‘Saji was a close acquaintance of the so-called ‘Demon King’, and would certainly have served under the insane monk Sesshu – had Sesshu actually succeeded in deposing the Empress from the Chrysanthemum Throne.
‘As such, Saji, along with several other powerful men – and, I may say, one powerful woman – are people I continue to observe closely, using my own methods to keep informed of their movements.
‘And, as I suspect that the next major threat to Japan’s security will come from abroad, I paid particular attention to this trip of Saji’s to China. Yet, other than the fact that this daimyo and his retinue were somewhere in the vicinity of Shanghai, I confess that I know absolutely nothing concerning the reason for this trip.
‘A secret meeting with sinister forces, to discuss what might be even an attempted invasion of Japan – or is there actually some other, perhaps rather more prosaic explanation?’
My master fell quiet. He was clearly deep in thought, and so I did not disturb him. I was also troubled by this talk of another ‘major threat’ to Japan. Along with the recent attempts on my master’s life (described in the stories entitled The Forty-Eighth Ronin and The Touch of Death), it made me fully appreciate that the destruction of Sesshu and the Demon King had only ended one particular source of danger to Japan. There were still others – that much, at least, was obvious...
The sliding door of the room was abruptly opened, and the burly samurai of before presented himself.
‘Ennin-sensei,’ he began, a little breathlessly. It was clear he had just run down the several stone staircases leading from the daimyo’s opulent chamber to this small room. ‘My lord is awake – and he is lucid. Please, come quickly.’
With a nod, my master immediately stepped out of the room, and I hastened to follow.
4
‘So it’s you, is it, Ennin?’ wheezed the aging daimyo, looking at my master with his solitary eye. There seemed something strange about it; some slight flaw in its appearance around the actual pupil itself. And yet, of course, I could hardly stare directly at this eye for anything longer than a moment. I was but a mere servant, after all.
‘I was sent for in the belief that I may be able to help you,’ returned my master, his face expressionless as he stared back at the bedridden man. ‘And yet, some facts are being withheld from me that might make this very assistance impossible to give...’
‘Such as?’ demanded Saji, his face damp with sweat. I noticed that now the servant stood beside the bed was no longer wiping it with a damp cloth; I recalled this strange fear of water the daimyo allegedly had...
‘Such as the reason for your recent visit to China,’ declared my master.
There was a silence in the luxurious room – a silence disturbed only by the daimyo’s harsh breathing.
Finally, Saji said –
‘Everyone here, leave us. Only Ennin and I will stay in this room.’
‘And my servant, Kukai,’ said my master.
‘Ah yes – the one who relates these ‘cases’ of yours. And possibly embroiders them slightly, too,’ wheezed the daimyo, a spiteful smile momentarily twisting his face.
‘Very well, he may stay too. As for everyone else here – go!’
Reluctantly, the samurai, physician, servant and several others left. When only the three of us remained, Saji continued –
‘Ah, Ennin, you should be grateful I am so sick, and not my usual self! You of course know where my allegiances have lain in the past, and you are indeed directly responsible for the deaths of several of my friends and acquaintances.
‘I may just call out now, and have you taken down to my castle dungeon! There, perhaps, you may best be accommodated...’
These last couple of sentences, so charged with emotion as they were delivered, left the daimyo exhausted, and his head sank back onto the cushions. I thought he might lapse back into unconsciousness... But then, in what was clearly an almost superhuman effort, his single eye again opened, burning with rage as it stared at my master.
‘What happened in China?’ said my master simply, seemingly oblivious to everything that had just been said.
‘So the great Ennin does not know everything, then...’ rasped Saji, that spiteful smile again twisting his fat lips. (Often, as he spoke, his words were interrupted by violent coughing fits, wheezing and pained breathlessness. In order not to weary the reader, I shall pass over all of this, just setting down the actual words that were said.)
When
my master did not reply, but merely stood looking down at him, Saji continued –
‘You know the name – Weiyong Hu?’
‘Yes,’ nodded my master. ‘I do. One of the finest of all physicians. And, yes – he lives in Shanghai.’
‘Which is why I sailed there, after I began to develop severe trouble with my remaining eye. I was told I had something called a ‘cataract’, which would eventually leave me blind. It could be removed – along with the entire lens – but this was a risky operation which, even if successful, would still leave me with only limited sight.
‘But the eye-doctor who I had brought here – Kotaro Hattori, purportedly the finest physician in all of Japan – freely confessed that he was but a mere novice, when compared to the great Weiyong Hu. Moreover, Hattori informed me that Hu had developed and refined some ancient and mysterious technique from the Middle East, whereby the affected lens of the eye was actually replaced – meaning that vision stayed largely unaffected...’
‘Ah...’ murmured my master, in what was almost a sigh of sudden understanding – or at least, this was how it seemed to me.
‘You... have heard of all this?’ demanded the sick daimyo. ‘Hattori seemed vague about exactly how this other ‘lens’ was manufactured... It seemed almost to be like some sort of magic miracle, and yet Hattori was at least certain that Hu could perform such an operation...’
‘Kindly continue with your explanation,’ returned my master curtly.
‘Well, obviously it seemed worth my while to risk a sea-crossing to China, and specifically Shanghai, to search for this Weiyong Hu. I took a number of men with me, including one who speaks fluent Chinese.
‘It took scarcely any time at all to locate Hu, who operates a surgery near the Old Walled City. There was a long line of patients waiting to see him – many wretched men and women, of the type who labor like animals on the land – but my retinue ensured that I was seen quickly, at least.
‘Through the interpreter, I explained what I needed done... And this Hu, a Chinaman, refused me! I offered him more money than he’d probably ever seen before in his life – a chest full – yet still he said no!
‘One pathetic excuse followed the other – it was far too risky an operation... He had only a partial understanding of the actual technique... It could result in total blindness for the patient – that is, a one-eyed man such as myself – if even the slightest error was made in the delicate two stitches required...
‘I pressed him for details concerning exactly how this operation was conducted; how a new lens was obtained for the eye – something which seemed far beyond the realms of medical science... But Hu would say nothing, merely repeating over-and-over that he could not help me, no matter how much money I offered him...
‘Of course, I realized – I was being refused because I am a Japanese noble! A superior being from a superior land, now forced to grovel to this Chinese serf for the chance of retaining my one good eye... Hu could give all the excuses he wanted, but I knew the real reason why he would not treat me!
‘And then a delicate young woman entered, perhaps aged only fifteen, carrying tea. Hu addressed her warmly, and the interpreter quickly informed me that this was Hu’s daughter. It was then I realized exactly how I could force this surgeon to treat me...
‘Delighting in my sudden plan, I quickly made my excuses and left. I explained what I needed doing to some of my men and later, as evening fell, they waited discreetly outside of that surgery. They saw as the young woman left – they pounced, grabbing her and carrying her off before she’d even a chance of crying out!
‘A cave was found in a mountainside nearby – there the young woman was held, as accompanied by my translator and a few other men I returned to see Hu.
‘I told him that I had his daughter. Therefore, if he wished to see her alive again, he would perform this strange, near-miraculous operation for me. And there could be no room for error – if I was left blind for any reason, just as if he contacted the authorities about his missing daughter, her lifeless body would be delivered to him. Although the girl would be killed only after I, and all my men, had first had our fun with her. If I was going to become blind soon anyway, one of the finest visual memories to have would certainly be that of a young virgin being deflowered – and also to share in this deflowering myself...’
Again, I say that I pass over all the coughing, wheezing and so on which accompanied this appalling narrative. My master and I listened, sickened, as Saji continued –
‘Well, this Chinese doctor’s jaw shook as he heard all this, and his eyes blazed with rage – but he knew that he could do nothing except what I was demanding! Furthermore (upon condition of the operation being a complete success), I would only advise him of where his daughter was being held – tied hand and foot and gagged – once my ship had left Shanghai Harbor. I would pay some coolies in advance, to deliver a message to him at a time I specified.
‘He thought for a while... And then, in a toneless voice, he said that he would need at least three days to prepare. As it turned out, he needed four. My head was placed upon several cushions during the operation, and so deft and steady were Hu’s hands that I scarcely even felt anything. Not even when – as he told me – two minute stitches were used to hold this new lens in place.
‘My eye was then bandaged for several days, so that I was completely blind for a time and then – oh, joy! My eyesight almost the same as it was before this cataract appeared; truly this Chinese eye-doctor had worked an absolute miracle. I even paid him at least some of the sum I’d promised him before – not that he seemed to appreciate my kindness, I must say.
‘And I was true to my word; I paid some of the low, wretched types you find in such cities by the sea to deliver the message, but only when they saw my ship leaving the harbour. Then there would be no chance of the Chinese doctor attempting to obtain any sort of ‘revenge’ on me; and in any case, he would have back his daughter, alive and relatively unharmed.’
As obviously sick and exhausted as this repellent daimyo was, still something like pride burnt in his solitary eye with its mysterious new ‘lens’ as he stared at both my master and I in turn. I had to confess, this was a quite extraordinary story. Never would I have believed that such a surgical procedure would be possible!
‘So, Ennin, what have you to say about that?’ demanded Saji then. ‘A display of wits – my wits – to equal your own, eh?’
‘Except you are now sick – desperately so,’ returned my master tonelessly.
‘Ah yes – this sickness...’
It was strange, but as Saji said these words his expression changed. No longer did he appear so triumphant, but instead almost pleading.
‘I will give you half my fortune, even, if you can cure me,’ said the daimyo then. ‘I heard you told my samurai that you know only a few basic remedies. Liar! Everyone knows how you saved the Empress from almost certain death, after she’d been repeatedly poisoned by Sesshu; and how you successively treated your own servant for the plague!’
‘Listen to me well, Saji,’ said my master, moving slightly towards the daimyo’s bed as the shadows on the surrounding walls seemed suddenly to lengthen.
‘I would not save your squalid life for all the gold in the world – and in any case, I know what disease you have, and it is hopeless,’ continued my master. ‘There is no cure for it – just a long and drawn-out death, with much pain and suffering still to come. The worst has already started for you, with this fear of water you have.’
‘What – what do you mean?’ demanded the daimyo, his voice now a poisonous hiss.
‘Yes, I have heard of the superb Chinese surgeon named Weiyong Hu, and of all the work he does for all his patients – not just the rich. In fact, often he gives his services for free to the most desperate of people, giving them a fresh chance at life, at least. As such, he is barely out of poverty himself; his family assist him, including his daughter, who I can only hope was returned to him unharmed.’
/> ‘I give you my word I did not touch her, Ennin. As I say, she was to be re – ’
‘Quiet,’ snapped my master. ‘In any case, you were smugly congratulating yourself on your ‘wits’, for having the daughter kidnapped and thus forcing Hu to perform his fantastic operation for you – but you do not know the details, as I do. Such as where exactly this replacement ‘lens’ comes from.’
‘I...I assume it is manufactured, somehow. Delicate glasswork, those two minute stitches holding it in –’
‘It comes from a corpse, Saji. It is taken from a recently-deceased cadaver and placed into a still-living body. Often – for reasons no one knows – this ‘transplant’ does not succeed; the lens is ‘rejected’ and the operation is a failure. But sometimes, it is successful. As it was in your case.’
The daimyo – who’d appeared horrified at what my master had just said (as was I) – now attempted to recover a little of his previous smugness.
‘Well, lucky for me, Ennin, wouldn’t you say?’
My master gave a tight smile.
‘Sadly not. It would actually have been better for you had your eye immediately rejected this ‘new’ lens from a dead body, thus leaving you blind. That way, at least, you may have remained unaffected.’
“Unaffected’ – what are you talking about?’ stammered the daimyo.
‘With the type of sickness the doctor named Hu – and several other leading physicians in China – have long been studying, but have as yet been unable to find a cure for. The sickness that commonly affects agricultural workers, and other men and women who work out in the open and so are commonly exposed to attacks by infected wild animals.’
‘Wha – what is this? What are you saying?’
‘The three Chinese characters describe it as ‘Mad Dog Sickness’. It is an appropriate title, because often wild dogs are infected with it and become wholly vicious as a result. But also cats can commonly be carriers, and bats. As yet, we do not have it in Japan – the advantage of being an island nation! – but in China, this ‘Mad Dog Sickness’ kills thousands of people each year, despite the best attempts by such skilled and devoted physicians as Weiyong Hu to finding a cure for it.’
