A Stranger at the Gate
Leaves scratched, branches groaned, sounding a warning into the night. Peng sniffed the air, sensing something warm close by. A strong acrid smell came to his nostrils. He snorted, once, twice, then sank beneath the water.
Seconds later, a boy with scraggly red hair, in baggy jeans and T-shirt and carrying a skateboard, emerged from the undergrowth. His eyes glinted in the moon’s light as he stretched his lips into a half-human smile. Standing tall and straight, he extended his long limbs and shook them out as if they were brand new. Then he looked around, dropped his skateboard on the ground, and pushed off towards Whispering Cloud Monastery.
Jax and Yu Yu were sparring, blindfolded, in the Courtyard of Imaginings. Dust swirled around their feet in the dark, and the air cracked with the sound of their long staffs crashing together above their heads.
Jax leapt up as he felt Yu Yu swing her staff low to sweep his legs out from under him. He brought his stick straight down towards her head. She blocked, pushing her whole staff upward to catch his. Then they pushed each other away and stood poised and silent, each listening intently for any trace of movement that would give away the other’s position.
In the sudden quiet, they heard a tapping at the front gate.
Yu Yu stiffened, cocking her head towards the sound. Lifting her blindfold, she sniffed the air like a dog. Then she jumped onto the carved stone wall and somersaulted into the front courtyard.
Jax followed, his body light and agile, almost weightless. He landed without a sound. ‘Careful, Yu Yu,’ he whispered.
Yu Yu ran quietly to the main gates. ‘Gui, zou kai, Go away, ghost!’ she said in a steely voice that cut through the night air.
‘Ah… excuse me,’ came a voice speaking in English, ‘but I’m looking for my friend Jax.’
‘Buzzy?’ said Jax in surprise. ‘Is that you?’
‘Hey, man! Ha ha! Found you at last. Open the gate and let me in.’
Smiling, Jax stepped forward to lift the heavy beam but Yu Yu blocked his way.
‘Ta shuo shenme? What did he say?’ she asked Jax, unable to understand the English words.
‘It’s my friend, Buzzy. You know, the one I told you about.’
‘How can you know for sure?’ she cautioned.
‘It’s him. I can tell by his voice.’
Yu Yu whispered in Jax’s ear. ‘He smells.’
‘So?’
‘He smells like a fox.’
‘Foxes can’t talk, you know,’ Jax said, annoyed at Yu Yu for being so stupid. He unplugged the small hole and peered through it.
‘Fox spirits can,’ said Yu Yu. ‘If a mind is open like yours has been lately, a fox spirit can tap into it. He’s obviously seen Buzzy and has made himself into an exact replica of your friend.’
‘I don’t believe in fox spirits, that’s ridiculous. I’m going to let him in.’
Yu Yu spread her arms wide and pushed back against the wooden gate.
‘Hey man, stop mucking around, will you? Open up. It’s freezing out here,’ came the shivery voice.
‘Please, Yu Yu,’ said Jax, putting the plug back in. ‘You let me in and I turned out okay, didn’t I?’ He grinned at her pleadingly.
‘That was different. You weren’t in my mind and you didn’t smell foul like he does.’
‘But I could have been a hungry ghost.’
Yu Yu didn’t answer.
‘I’ll never fight stick with you again,’ Jax threatened jokingly, knowing how much Yu Yu loved to compete with him. ‘And Buzzy can tell you so much more about the world outside. Look, it’s him for sure and if it’s not…’ he glanced back at the main hall where the Abbot and the other monks were meditating, ‘… you can blame me, ok?’
Yu Yu sighed. ‘Well, all right then. But keep on your guard. If you see him doing anything strange…’
‘Like what?’
She shrugged. ‘He’s your friend, you’ll know.’
‘I’ll keep my eye on him, in fact I’ll keep two eyes on him, I promise.’
Yu Yu stepped back into the shadow of the wall as Jax lifted the wooden beam and turned the handle.
‘About time,’ said Buzzy, sounding annoyed.
Jax was about to speak, but as soon as his old friend stepped through the gate, something strange happened. Everything came back to him – how small he felt, how he envied Buzzy for being good at sport, for being tall and popular. It was as if a net had been pulled tightly around him. But wait a minute, he told himself, this is crazy. That’s the old me. I’m different now.
These flashes of memory were like wedges splitting his mind apart, forcing him to be the old Jax – the small and insignificant and incomplete Jax. His head was in such a muddle he didn’t know what was happening to him.
‘And who’s she?’ Buzzy turned and pointed his chin towards Yu Yu who was standing in the shadows making strange hand signals behind Buzzy’s back.
‘Oh … um… sorry. This is my friend, Yu Yu. She can’t speak English, though.’
Yu Yu eyed Buzzy suspiciously, and said nothing.
Jax could see how much Buzzy and Yu Yu distrusted each other and it hurt. They were both his best friends and he wanted them to be friends, too. But it was funny how Yu Yu made him feel strong, an equal to her in mind and spirit, while Buzzy somehow made him feel small and weak. He couldn’t understand why he should still feel like that. After all, hadn’t he trained hard? Didn’t he now possess the three treasures: the vigour, the breath and the spirit? Or did he still lack this last treasure?
Buzzy looked around the temple grounds then yawned. ‘Hey, this is a cool place. Gotta check it all out tomorrow. But look, Jax, it’s late and I’m tired. Is there anywhere I can crash?’
‘I’ll have to put you in the storeroom,’ Jax replied. ‘The Abbot will be mad if he knows I’ve let you in.’
‘That’s cool, man. I can hardly keep my eyes open so anywhere will do.’
Jax led the way to a room at the bottom of the drum tower with Yu Yu trailing warily behind, still making hand signs at Buzzy’s back.
‘Hope it’s all right for you in here,’ said Jax, turning on the bare light bulb.
Buzzy shrugged. ‘Looks okay to me.’ As Buzzy moved into the light, Jax stared at his hair. It was flame red in colour. Jax couldn’t imagine his friend dyeing it. Maybe Yu Yu was right. Could he really be a fox spirit?
‘How did you know where to find me, Buzzy?’ Jax asked, his suspicions growing.
‘Just followed my nose.’ Buzzy sat down on a sack of rice. Then he yawned again. ‘I need to go to sleep, mate. We can talk in the morning.’
‘Lai ba, kuai yi dian, hurry up,’ said Yu Yu, tapping her foot impatiently. ‘Can’t you see he’s tired?’
‘Oh… yeah, sure,’ said Jax. ‘Night, Buzzy.’
‘Yeah, man. See you tomorrow.’
Jax closed the door and walked in silence across the courtyard.
‘Can’t you just smell him? He’s a fox spirit for sure.’ Yu Yu’s voice broke into his thoughts.
Jax stopped and rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the throbbing in his temples. ‘I… I don’t know…. sorry… I feel so confused at the moment.’
‘I’m so mad at myself,’ Yu Yu said. ‘A long time ago, the Abbot taught me a series of hand signs that can weaken a fox spirit’s power. But I can’t remember them now.’
‘I’m sure they’ll come back to you,’ said Jax.
She frowned then looked thoughtful. ‘Why would a fox spirit want to come inside this monastery? We don’t keep any gold here.’
Jax shot her a glance. ‘What do you mean?’ The thought of Ma’s missing gold necklace immediately came to his mind.
‘Fox spirits crave gold. That’s what they draw their power from. Most have a stash of it in their dens. The more gold they steal, the stronger they become.’
‘What do they do… with the power they collect, I mean?’
‘That depends on the fox spirit.
Some are just naughty and want to have a bit of fun, but others want the power to do great harm. I have a bad feeling about that thing in there.’ Yu Yu pointed her chin towards the storeroom.
‘But you don’t know for sure it’s a fox spirit.’ Jax’s voice was edged with doubt. ‘It could be my friend, Buzzy…’ But even as he said this, Jax felt a growing fear. If that wasn’t Buzzy inside the storeroom, then what was it and what did it want? Had he let a monster into the monastery?
Crunching Cockroaches
As Jax and Yu Yu walked back to the monks’ dormitory, they heard a strange scuffling and scrabbling sound from behind them.
‘Quick, Jax, hide.’ Yu Yu yanked his sleeve and dragged him behind the large iron cauldron filled with burning incense sticks.
Through the grey smoke, something that looked like an animal on all fours scratched around in the dirt.
No, wait.
A breath of wind lifted the smoke, clearing the air for a moment, and Jax saw Buzzy, down on his hands and knees, grabbing at something in the dirt. It was large and brown and shiny. A cockroach!
Jax watched in disgust as Buzzy stuffed the wriggling insect into his mouth then chewed noisily, spitting out legs and wing bits. When he finished, he grinned and looked around, his yellow eyes glinting like a demon’s.
‘What have I done?’ Jax whispered, horrified.
‘Let’s just think how we’re going to get him out of here,’ Yu Yu replied. Then without warning, she jumped out from behind the cauldron waving her arms in the air yelling, ‘Wei! Huli, huli! Foxy, foxy over here!’
The fox spirit spun around at the sound, then lowered his head and growled, glaring menacingly at her.
‘Lai ba! Come on!’ Yu Yu called.
‘No, Yu Yu!’ Jax whispered as loudly as he dared. ‘What are you doing?
But Yu Yu didn’t stop to answer him. She dashed across the courtyard and up onto the stone fence, beckoning the fox spirit to follow. Jax watched in horror as the creature, in the form of Buzzy, stood up and chased after her. Yu Yu reached the gates and tried lifting the heavy wooden beam, but the fox spirit was upon her. She struggled desperately, but the animal was too powerful and knocked her to the ground.
Jax cowered behind the cauldron, watching helplessly. He wanted to go to Yu Yu’s aid, but his legs trembled with fear. Where had all his training gone? He couldn’t have forgotten it so soon. Jax felt weak and empty. It was as if his insides were being sucked out by this creature. Then all the old memories came flooding back on a huge wave of emotion – the death of Ruby, stealing the gold necklace, Ma and Ba and Mai, all his insecurities – making him weaker and weaker.
Suddenly Jax realised what was happening to him. The fox spirit had tapped into the old Jax, making him forget the boy he had become since arriving at Whispering Cloud Monastery – a boy that was now wise and strong and fearless.
Fight, Jax, fight! he silently screamed. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind as the Abbot had taught him to. Don’t hold onto these emotions. Let them go. Let them float away…
An intense battle began inside Jax – his new self, fighting against his old. He had to take control, not let the fox spirit weaken him by using his old self against him. Every time he looked at the fox spirit in Buzzy’s form, his old self would dominate and the creature would be winning. Then, when he looked across to the gingko tree where he had trained so hard, the new Jax would be on top. It was a bitter battle. His head throbbed and the creature mark on his palm was on fire.
Then suddenly the Abbot’s wise words seemed to be all around him. ‘Let the old self go, Mingzi, release it and let it float away… Don’t hold onto things that have passed…’
And at that moment, it was as if a window had opened up in his mind. Jax watched as his old self floated away, growing smaller and smaller… until it was gone.
Jax could now feel every muscle in his body come alive, alert and ready to obey him. As quick and graceful as a panther, he picked up his staff and charged at the fox spirit, ramming the end hard into the creature’s back. But the staff was like a brittle toothpick, it first buckled then snapped easily in two. The fox spirit let go of Yu Yu and wheeled around, glaring at Jax.
He smiled. ‘Give up, Mingzi. Ni bu shi wo de dui shou. You are too weak to fight me.’
‘What do you want?’ Jax shouted, suddenly shocked to hear the Chinese words coming from Buzzy’s mouth. But this is not Buzzy, he had to remind himself. This is not Buzzy.
‘I want you,’ the fox spirit laughed.
Jax stared at the creature, seeing the greed in his eyes.
‘If I gain power over a Peng Master, then the great beast will be under my control,’ he said, scowling menacingly.
Jax knew he was in grave danger, but so were Yu Yu, the Abbot and the other monks. He had to get the fox spirit out of the monastery.
In Buzzy’s form, the fox spirit was more powerful and more agile than Jax, but there were some things that Jax could do now that not even Buzzy could do. Jax could see in the dark as if it was day. He could leap high in the air, use qing gong to climb walls, and move silently as if he was walking on a cushion of air. And he knew his way around the temple grounds, even if he was blindfolded. Using these skills, he would get ahead of the fox spirit, then maybe, just maybe, he might have a chance of opening the gates and luring him to the outside.
Jax turned and ran towards the main building, then up the stairs. He heard a yelp of triumph as the animal chased him. But suddenly Jax swerved and headed down the side, where it was dark and overgrown with thick bamboo. Like a lizard, he jumped onto the side of the building, then climbed the wall up onto the roof. As he peered over the edge, he saw the fox spirit just below him, confused, his nose in the air sniffing for a scent.
While the animal was still searching the bamboo, Jax crept over the roof of the main hall and leapt onto the outer wall, a bat shadow against the night sky. With silent feet, he ran along the tiles until he came to the gates. Dropping silently to the ground, he landed beside Yu Yu.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked.
She nodded, brushing the dust off her clothes and rubbing her arm.
‘Stay here and be ready to shut the gates as soon as the fox spirit is outside,’ he whispered.
‘What are you going to do?’ Yu Yu asked.
‘Don’t worry. Just do as I say.’ Jax lifted the wooden beam and opened the gates without making a sound. Then he shouted at the fox spirit as he backed out into the park.
The creature stiffened and spun around to face Jax. He snorted angrily then charged across the courtyard towards him. White flecks of foam sprayed from the animal’s mouth and his eyes looked as though they were on fire.
As soon as the fox spirit was through the gates, Jax shouted, ‘Now, Yu Yu!’
Yu Yu slammed the gates shut and Jax heard the beam drop into place. The monastery was safe.
Jax and the fox spirit circled one another warily. Jax knew that he couldn’t defeat the creature. Not yet, anyway. Not when this beast could draw power from the gold he had stored in his den.
‘You are a clever one,’ the fox spirit snarled. ‘But you are just a human being and human beings are weak. The old one has not taught you enough to be a match for me.’
The fox spirit stood up tall, towering over Jax. Even though he was in Buzzy’s form, he was much bigger than the real Buzzy. His hand darted out to grab Jax’s throat but before he could take hold, Jax leapt away over the beast’s head. By the time the fox spirit had spun around, Jax was already up on the monastery wall and down the other side.
Jax and Yu Yu pressed their ears against the wooden gates waiting to see what the fox spirit would do next. A few seconds later they heard an angry cry, then a growling mutter that disappeared into the distance. They relaxed and the tension in the air dissipated.
‘Duibuqi, I’m sorry, Yu Yu,’ said Jax, sitting down to rest on the stone wall.
Yu Yu shrugged then asked, ‘What did he want?’<
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‘He wants to control Peng and he thinks he can do it through me.’
‘How?’ Yu Yu sounded alarmed.
‘I don’t know. Did you feel how strong he was though? He must have a huge stash of gold in his den.’
‘Then we have to find him before he gets any stronger.’
‘What do you mean “we”?’ said Jax. ‘It’s my problem, not yours.’
‘No. You’re not doing anything alone any more. You’re my best friend now and I’m going to protect you.’
‘It will be dangerous,’ said Jax.
‘I know. That’s what we’ve been training for, isn’t it?’ Yu Yu brought her feet up onto the wall and sat hugging her knees to her chest. She gazed out across the courtyard, deep in thought.
In that moment, Jax realised that Yu Yu was like the other side of his being. How could he ever leave her behind? But one day, at the coming of the silver wind, the Abbot would say that his temple training was over, and it was time for him to go into the outside world again. Now he wished that day would never come.
The Mark Comes Alive
A breathless hush lay over the world, like that moment of silence just before a thunderstorm. Jax couldn’t sleep. He rose from his bed and padded softly down the corridor and out onto the verandah. The monks will soon be up, he thought. Might as well do some qing gong before breakfast.
At the back of the monastery, past the Abbot’s chambers, was a place on the cliff where he and Yu Yu would often go and practise the walking on air technique. They could use the narrow ledges and different size footholds to leap from one place to another.
Jax trod the narrow flagstone path through the tall bamboo. As he passed, they seemed to be whispering to him, Mingzi… Mingzi… it is time… it is time… And they bowed their long black stems as if he was a prince returning home.
Hidden Monastery Page 8
