Hidden Monastery

by Gabrielle Wang

  ‘Ever since you found Yu Yu that day on the steps, I have been training her. Every Peng Master must have a spirit watcher to protect him. And I had to know if she could live up to that challenge. I am certain of it now.’

  Lao Bing smiled sadly. ‘I will miss the little one very much,’ he said. ‘And the boy too.’

  ‘Ai…’ the Abbot sighed as he watched the two figures disappear into the trees. ‘I have never heard of such a young Peng called to fight a storm so strong with a Peng Master as inexperienced as Mingzi. He has great things to do, Lao Bing. Let us just hope he is ready, and strong enough to face them.’

  The Stench from the Outside

  Jax stood nervously outside the monastery gates waiting for Yu Yu. The feeling of tension in the air was like a tightrope about to snap. He sniffed at the night. It had the stench of rotting things.

  ‘It always smells on the outside,’ said Yu Yu, dropping down silently beside him.

  Jax looked at her in surprise. ‘You’ve been out before?’

  ‘Lao Bing opens the gate for me then lets me back in later. I’ve only walked as far as the lake, and only at night. But I do love it out here. I feel so free.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  Yu Yu shrugged. ‘I guess it’s always been a secret… between Lao Bing and me.’ She looked down at the ground and her lip trembled. ‘I will miss him. Let’s go! Quickly!’

  Jax and Yu Yu crossed the clearing in silence. A lone drum and bamboo flute drifted over the temple walls and was swallowed up in an angry gust of wind.

  Jax’s shoes squelched in the mud. Soon his feet were soaked through, and a small pool of water formed in each footprint he left behind. ‘It must have been raining really heavily out here,’ he said.

  Jax caught Yu Yu giggling at him behind her hand. ‘What’s so funny?’

  ‘Why don’t you use qing gong like me?’ she said.

  Jax looked down at Yu Yu’s feet. They were only slightly touching the ground. And completely dry.

  ‘You could have reminded me before I got wet,’ he said, giving her a playful shove. He didn’t feel resentful like he used to when Yu Yu told him what to do or beat him in a friendly fight. The Abbot once said, ‘Yu Yu is like a mirror, reflecting back to you what knowledge you lack. Do not let your pride get in the way of learning.’ He smiled at her, thankful that he had someone he could share so much with. He lifted his feet out of the muddy holes he was sinking into and began to use his qi to help him walk above the ground.

  Once through the rainforest, they walked towards the lake. A sharp wind blew against their faces and Jax could see the water dancing with flashes of light. The ancient banyan tree, its top like a thundercloud filling the dark sky, drew him towards it.

  Suddenly, they heard loud shouting. They glanced at each other, silent and alert.

  ‘Let’s take a look,’ Jax said.

  They ran quickly and quietly up the grassy bank. At the top of the rise they saw a wooden rotunda surrounded by a wrought-iron-lace fence. Loud voices were picked up by gusts of wind and the red glow of cigarettes stabbed holes into the night.

  Jax thought he recognised Buzzy’s voice. But how can I be sure? he thought. Maybe it’s the fox spirit again. Then he heard other voices. They belonged to the boys he had seen Buzzy skateboarding with by the bridge.

  Jax and Yu Yu crept closer to the rotunda, the force of the wind stinging their eyes as they strained to hear what the boys were saying.

  ‘Great idea, Macka,’ said one boy.

  ‘Yeah, the reservoir’s at a record high,’ said another. ‘As soon as we open the flood gates… it’ll be awesome!’

  ‘Bye bye scho… ool. Probably flood the town as well!’

  ‘But what about the monster hurricane everyone’s talking about?’ Buzzy’s voice was thinned by the wind. ‘They say it’s going to be a killer storm.’

  ‘You’re not afraid of a little bit of wind and rain, are you?’ mocked another voice.

  Jax looked at Yu Yu. They knew at once that it was the fox spirit. He had now taken the shape of a big rough boy wearing thick black boots.

  ‘What are they saying?’ Yu Yu asked, unable to understand the English.

  Jax translated the words into Chinese.

  ‘I’ve got stuff to do,’ said Buzzy. ‘I’m going home.’

  ‘Oh no you don’t,’ said the fox spirit. ‘We need you to be our lookout, don’t we Scully?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ Scully replied.

  ‘And he might open his big mouth and blabber. Can’t let him do that, can we?’

  Buzzy turned to walk away.

  ‘Hey, Macka, grab him!’ the fox spirit yelled.

  Jax tensed. He felt Yu Yu’s hand on his arm. ‘Careful, Mingzi. It might be a trap.’

  But then Buzzy cried out in pain. ‘Ow… my arm…’

  Jax couldn’t wait any longer. He exploded out of the bushes and ran towards the rotunda. The two boys, Scully and Macka, were holding Buzzy down on the ground and the fox spirit was standing over him. Needles sat on the railing, playing with a flick knife.

  ‘Get away from him!’ Jax shouted.

  Yu Yu was at his side in an instant, her eyes darting from one boy to another.

  ‘Jax?’ Buzzy gasped, weakly.

  ‘Check out these little kids.’ Needles laughed. He was tall with a mullet.

  Scully released Buzzy. He wore his hair in a ponytail and was even taller than his friend. When he stood up, he towered over Jax.

  ‘Who do you think you’re messing with?’ Macka sneered. He began unbuckling his silver-studded belt, pulling it through the belt loops then winding it around his hand.

  Jax glared at both boys. The fox spirit was standing to one side, his arms crossed over his chest, smiling an evil smile.

  ‘Let’s get ’em!’ Scully yelled. He lunged at Jax, but Jax stepped smoothly aside, and grabbed the boy’s ponytail as he rushed past. With a strong tug, he yanked Scully’s head backwards, then stomped his foot onto the back of Scully’s leg below his knee. The boy collapsed to the ground with a groan, his leg bent awkwardly beneath him.

  Jax stood over him, looking down, when his sharpened hearing picked up a weird sound.

  Whoosh!

  Jax’s nights of ear training at the temple with Lao Tan and the swinging bag of dirt now paid off. It was Macka! He was swinging his silver belt viciously at Jax’s head from behind.

  ‘Look out!’ Yu Yu cried, but Jax had already dropped, swirling low with one leg extended. It caught the boy at the ankles, sweeping his legs straight out from under him so he fell flat on his back, winded. Jax completed his circle and stood up, placing his foot on the fallen boy’s chest. He grabbed the end of the belt and pulled it tight, trapping both Macka’s arms.

  Jax pointed down at him. ‘There. You just stay planted.’ He turned to see Yu Yu facing Needles in the rotunda.

  She was on her toes, shifting her weight agilely from foot to foot. She measured her distance, hesitating only a second as the boy drew the flick knife out of his pocket, his eyes sharp and fierce.

  He laughed and sneered, ‘Little girls shouldn’t be out this late at nigh–’ but before he could finish the sentence, Yu Yu’s toe had caught him at a slight angle to the point of his jaw. He dropped, out cold before he hit the ground, the flick knife spinning away over the floor of the rotunda towards the fox spirit.

  ‘That was a bit rough, but I hate knives!’ she said grimly, glancing at Jax.

  At the look on Jax’s face she froze, then whirled around to see the fox spirit advancing on them with the knife in his hand. Shooop! Her Flying Star shot out toward the fox spirit’s hand but he jerked it away, laughing darkly. Her weapon rebounded backwards, and Yu Yu smoothly circled it around to sweep at the creature’s legs, trapping them together. The fox spirit struggled to keep his balance as Jax leapt towards him. Grabbing the creature’s knife hand, Jax pushed the palm forward towards the elbow, forcing open the fox spirit’s grip.
The knife clattered harmlessly away over the wooden floor, and dropped off the edge of the rotunda.

  With the fox spirit’s legs hopelessly entangled in the Flying Star, Jax easily threw him down to the floor. Both he and Yu Yu jumped on the creature to pin him down, then they looked around, alert for other dangers. But Scully and Macka were dragging their unconscious friend out of the park, scurrying away like whipped rats as the wind thrashed the trees around them.

  Just then Jax heard Buzzy groaning from the side. ‘What’s happening?’

  But they had no time to go to him. Under them, and before their eyes, the fox spirit began to change, his clothing becoming scaly, squirming under their hands as a great bluish-green dragon took shape, writhing around them.

  ‘Hold onto my hands and don’t let go!’ said Yu Yu. ‘The Abbot told me fox spirits could do this. We just have to hold our grip, remain together, no matter what he changes into! As long as we do, he can’t hurt us.’

  The dragon reared up as lightning flashed from the east, struck the wooden rotunda with a shattering thundery BOOOM and set its roof ablaze. As the fire roared, the dragon scales turned feathery, and became the flapping red wings of a huge vermillion bird with scraping talons and snapping beak. The heat from the blaze on the roof scorched them from above but still they held on, each gripping the other’s hands around the rapidly changing body, their eyes squeezed tight. Then under their fingers, they felt the scratchy feathers transforming into soft fur covering a muscular body. The beast lay quiet, breathing calmly and slowly.

  Peeking cautiously through still-slitted eyelids, Jax and Yu Yu saw the fur of the creature was now pure white, and beautiful. They turned together and looked up, meeting the angry golden eyes of a huge tiger, who stared fiercely down at them. Then suddenly it roared with such a ferocious blast of sound that their whole bodies shook, and they almost lost their hold on each other.

  Just as the tiger roared, a chill wet gust of wind from the west extinguished the fire on the roof and drenched them with spray. Then they felt the fur change again to the rough scaly surface of a monstrous tortoise, around which twisted a giant python, whose huge mouth loomed over them, threatening to swallow them both, the tortoise, and itself as well. Up and up its body coiled, lifting them bodily, while they struggled to keep their feet on the ground and their hands joined. Then suddenly it collapsed, and became just a tired old fox, lying panting and exhausted on the ground between them.

  As Jax and Yu Yu rushed to press it down, with one last effort, the fox transformed into a tiny yellow fly, which slipped between their fingers and buzzed tiredly off away from the lake.

  ‘Quick, Jax. He’s getting away.’ Yu Yu started to follow.

  ‘There’s no time for that now. We have to take care of Buzzy, and I have to find Peng! I can feel the silver wind growing in strength.’

  As they looked around, they saw dawn had come with a stark grey light, reflecting off the clouds scudding by above the trees.

  Jax went over to Buzzy and knelt down. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s my arm. I think it’s –’ Buzzy winced in sudden pain.

  Jax inspected it. ‘It doesn’t look broken.’

  ‘I’ll make a splint,’ said Yu Yu, motioning for Buzzy to lie still. She pulled down a tree branch and broke it off. Then, finding the flick knife, she began paring away the twigs on either side to make a strong support. Gently, she tied Buzzy’s arm snug against his body with her sash. ‘That will keep it from moving,’ she said.

  Buzzy smiled painfully at Yu Yu. His face was ashen.

  Jax stood up and looked towards the lake. A shimmer of light ran across its agitated surface. He turned to Yu Yu. ‘I have to go now. Take Buzzy back to the monastery.’

  ‘No, Mingzi, I can’t leave you alone,’ protested Yu Yu.

  ‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.’

  Yu Yu hesitated, not sure what to do. A bolt of lightning struck a tree, splitting the trunk in two and a giant shaft of wood peeled away, spearing into the ground.

  ‘Yu Yu, there’s no time to argue. Just go!’ Jax shouted, as the wind howled around them.

  She squeezed his hand. ‘Xiao xin. Be careful, Mingzi.’

  Yu Yu helped Buzzy to his feet. She looked at Jax one more time, her smile unable to hide the worry behind it. Then she turned and headed back to Whispering Cloud Monastery.

  The Peng

  Jax dashed towards the lake, the wind screaming like a banshee in his ears. Daggers of lightning split the sky in two, illuminating the park in a ghostly pale light.

  As he neared the ancient banyan tree, his heart pounded in his chest. Feelings of exhilaration and fear gripped him as he wondered if he was ready, truly ready, to meet this creature that he had known, and yet not known, all his life.

  He was so close to Peng now. He could feel him in every muscle and organ of his body, as if he was inside Peng’s skin and Peng was inside his.

  It was like a sanctuary under the ancient banyan tree, quiet and still, reminding Jax of the feeling inside the monastery. But out on the lake, the wind whipped the water’s surface into a boiling frenzy. Jax took out the small cloth bag the Abbot had given him and loosened the top. He began to sprinkle the protective herbal powder on the ground in a circle around him.

  Jax had almost completed the circle, but a sudden cry from behind made him turn around. No, don’t get distracted, Jax, he told himself, remembering the Abbot’s words of warning. He quickly went back to sprinkling the herbs. When he had finished, he looked out over the lake. Then he concentrated on calming his mind as he waited for Peng to come.

  Soon the air filled with a sweet fragrance as Peng rose out of the water. Jax watched in awe while the great beast came towards him. As Peng lifted his head, beads of water like falling stars trickled from his beard. Jax touched the scales on Peng’s neck. Each one was edged in fine gold hairs and shimmered as if they had been bathed in rainbows. He ran his fingers over the velvet fur on Peng’s ears, then stroked the silver mane that glistened like rolling mercury. ‘Peng,’ he whispered.

  As Jax looked deep into Peng’s emerald eyes, he saw mountains and valleys, rivers and plateaus. He saw planets and stars and the vastness of the universe and beyond. And at that very moment, hidden from the eyes of the world, the secret life between a boy of the earth and a creature of the stars was set into motion.

  Mingzi.

  Jax was surprised. Peng wasn’t actually speaking to him in words, but rather transferring his thoughts. Strangely, Jax felt them as if they were his own.

  You are of the earth, Mingzi, I am of the stars. My power is nothing without yours. Inside and out, we are each other.

  As Peng spoke, Jax felt the power of this great creature grow inside him, but he also felt his own strength growing and expanding.

  Peng lifted his head in the direction of the sea.

  There is a mass of dark energy out there. We must stop it before it reaches land.

  Yes, the silver wind, Jax said in his mind. But how can we stop something so strong? We are both still young.

  We can try, we must try. Come, Mingzi. We have to prepare ourselves.

  Jax hesitated, wondering what to do next. Then he remembered the Abbot’s words, ‘On Peng’s forehead just below his horn, will be a diamond pattern of scales. Place your left palm there.’ Peng lowered his head and Jax touched the spot with the palm of his hand. At once, to Jax’s astonishment, his hand became transparent like clear jelly and he could feel himself melting into Peng’s body.

  Jax drew his hand back quickly, afraid.

  No, Mingzi. To become a Peng Master, you must continue.

  Jax looked into Peng’s eyes again and as he did he saw himself reflected in them, swimming in them. He saw the turmoil under the sea, and the rains and the floods that were storming down on the earth. He saw the sky over the ocean and the dark energy gathering, and he felt the incredible destructive power it possessed. He saw what Peng had seen. Jax now knew w
hat he had to do, what he was born to do.

  Without hesitating this time, Jax placed his hand back on Peng’s forehead. He felt himself melting into Peng, their minds, their souls, coming together. And then he began to see through Peng’s eyes as if they were his own. They were separate entities, the creature from the stars, the boy from the earth, and yet they were as one.

  Peng raised his silver mane. Like the waves on the sea, it rose and fell, gathering momentum. His great tail streamed out behind him and he took off majestically into the sky.

  As Jax looked down, he saw his body, small and defenceless, lying by the roots of banyan tree as if in a deep sleep. His only protection was the magic circle. For a moment, he wondered if he would ever wake up in that body again. But Peng’s voice filled his head.

  We must be as one mind if we are to engage in this battle, Mingzi.

  A Hole in the Magic

  Weeping clouds spread in great folds across the sky and the air tasted like cold metal. Jax could feel every movement Peng made, as if Peng’s body was his own. The sweep of his stallion tail, the rise and fall of the mane that propelled them forward, the strength in his muscles and legs as they moved in a great galloping motion.

  As daylight appeared above the horizon, Jax saw in front of them an amazing sight, a scene that looked like it came from the pages of the Arabian Nights. A huge palace, with rows of tremendous white pillars holding up an ebony roof. The white pillars were water spouts, funnels of spinning air, sucking water up into the clouds. It was one of the most beautiful sights Jax had ever seen.

  Concentrate your mind, Mingzi. The great storm lies beyond.

  Jax gathered his thoughts, making them more powerful, preparing himself for the battle that lay ahead.

  As they approached the rising pillars, Peng’s reflexes were quick and alert. He dodged the water spouts, weaving in and out, and soon they were through to the other side.

  I can see it! Jax was staring into the distance at a huge wall of rolling dark energy.