Yu Yu’s face was flushed as she came into the room. ‘I’m as hot as a chilli pepper from Chongqing,’ she said, fanning herself furiously with her loose sleeve.
She plonked down on Jax’s bed. ‘I’ve been sparring with Lao Bing. I nearly beat him!’ she glowed. ‘Hey, I saw you talking to the Abbot. He looked serious. What did he say?’
Jax hesitated, afraid to tell her.
‘Shenme shi? What’s wrong, Mingzi?’
‘The Abbot said I have to leave tonight.’
‘Tonight!’ Yu Yu cried, sitting up. ‘But why?’
‘The silver wind is close now and it’s heading straight for the mainland.’
‘So what has that got to do with you?’
‘I’m a Peng Master now. I have to work with Peng to balance the violence in Nature. That is my destiny. It’s what all my training has been about. If the hurricane isn’t stopped, it will cause terrible devastation.’
Yu Yu was silent, picking at a piece of flaking plaster on the wall. Then she turned to Jax. ‘Let me come with you, Mingzi. I want to belong to a family. I want a real mother and father like you have, and a little sister. I want to see what it’s like on the outside.’ Yu Yu’s words poured out of her as if she had kept them bottled up for years. She looked away, her lip trembling.
A big smile spread across Jax’s face. He had always dreamt of Yu Yu coming with him, but was scared to ask in case she said no. Now he no longer had to worry about that.
‘Does that mean yes?’ Yu Yu said excitedly.
‘I’ve thought about it often,’ said Jax, ‘but didn’t know if you wanted to leave Whispering Cloud Monastery. Won’t you miss it here?’
‘The Abbot is like a father to me, and the monks are wonderful, too, but… well, I know it’s not the same as a real family.’
‘Do you think the Abbot will let you go?’
Yu Yu wiped her eyes. ‘Don’t worry about him,’ she said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. ‘I always get my own way with the Abbot. And besides,’ she stuck her head in the air, ‘I’m twelve years old. That’s plenty old enough to make up my own mind, don’t you think? Deng yi deng, Wait here, I’ll go and tell him right away.’ She rushed out of the room.
Jax let out a deep breath. Now leaving Whispering Cloud Monastery didn’t seem so scary, with Yu Yu beside him.
He knelt down on the ground and pulled out a bamboo box from under his bed. His jeans felt uncomfortable, so stiff and tight after the loose temple clothing. Funny how they still fitted him perfectly, though. Jax thought he had grown in the monastery. He certainly felt taller.
Jax folded his pale yellow robes up for the last time and was just laying them on the bed when Yu Yu entered the room. Five minutes ago not even steel wool could have scrubbed the smile from her face. Now she brought back with her a heavy grey cloud.
‘He won’t let me go,’ she said angrily. ‘He said I’m too young.’
Jax felt a great weight settle back on his shoulders. He put his arm around Yu Yu. ‘I’ll come and get you, I promise. As soon as the Abbot says you’re old enough, I’ll come back.’
Yu Yu began to cry. It was the first time Jax had seen her cry out loud; she was always so brave. ‘You’ll forget about me when you’re outside,’ she sobbed.
‘Wo bu hui, I won’t, I promise.’
‘Yes you will. You have your family and friends.’ Yu Yu buried her head in her hands.
Jax didn’t know what to say to comfort her. He offered her a cup of hot water. But suddenly she stopped crying. She lifted her head and looked at Jax, her eyes sparkling through the tears.
‘What are you thinking, Yu Yu?’ Jax asked. He had seen that look of mischief many times before.
‘Of running away,’ she replied.
‘You mean, not tell the Abbot or Lao Bing or anyone?’
She smiled. ‘Sometimes when you want to do something badly enough, you have to just go ahead and do it. Otherwise you miss the chance, right? And besides, I know in my heart that it’s the right thing to do.’
Jax wanted to hug Yu Yu. ‘It feels right to me as well,’ he said, a bit nervous about their rebellion but relieved and happy.
Yu Yu wiped her tears on her sleeve. ‘When do we leave, Honourable Peng Master?’ she grinned.
‘A little respect if you don’t mind,’ Jax laughed, then his face grew serious. ‘We will have to wait until dark. The Abbot said I must leave at the exact moment I arrived at the monastery. So as soon as I’m through the gates you come over the wall. I’ll wait for you on the other side.’
‘I feel funny,’ said Yu Yu, fiddling with the chain of her watch. ‘Like I have worms crawling around inside my stomach.’
‘That’s just nerves.’ Jax squeezed her hand. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.’
The rest of the day Jax spent saying goodbye to all the monks. Yu Yu followed after him like a lost dog. She longed to say goodbye, too, especially to Lao Bing who had taken her in as a baby and remained her loyal friend ever since. But she had to pretend it was only Jax who was leaving.
After lunch, as Jax was leaving the dining hall, he saw the bully coming towards him. The boy sneered and Jax remembered that first day they had met and how humiliated he had felt when he was pushed to the ground. Now he only felt pity for this boy.
The bully cocked his head to one side. ‘Humph! Leaving us so soon?’ he said coldly.
Jax was about to ignore him and walk past, when to his surprise, the boy smiled and his whole face softened, losing all the lines of meanness. Somehow he looked familiar.
Slowly the bully began to change. He straightened his body and took off a wig, leaving a clean, bald head underneath.
‘Lao Bing!’ Jax cried, hardly believing his eyes. ‘How… what…’
Lao Bing chuckled.
‘So you have discovered who the bully is at last,’ said Lao Tan, patting Jax on the back. ‘Lao Bing used to be a mime artist before he came to Whispering Cloud. Disguise is another one of his weapons.’
Jax laughed and hugged the fat monk. ‘Lao Bing, you’re so clever. I’m going to miss you.’
‘Yi lu ping an. Safe journey, my friend, safe journey.’
Jax thanked both Lao Bing and Lao Tan for teaching him gongfu. And then Cook Fan came out of the kitchen and presented him with a plate of special sweet potato dumplings he usually only cooked for New Year.
The candles flickered in the great hall as Jax stood with the Abbot in the Courtyard of Imaginings. The old man reached inside his patched robe and drew out a small cloth bag.
‘When you reach the ancient banyan tree, Mingzi, stand by the lake and make a circle around yourself with this powder. Then wait for Peng to come. The magic circle will protect you from any evil spirits that might be lurking.’
Jax wished he could tell the Abbot about the fox spirit and how dangerous and powerful he had become. But how could he mention it without telling him that he had let this creature into the monastery? He was a Peng Master now, not an ordinary person. Surely a Peng Master was not supposed to make mistakes.
‘Make sure you are completely sealed inside the circle,’ the Abbot went on, ‘and that there are no breaks in it. The tiniest crack could put you in grave danger.’
‘Yes, Abbot.’
‘On Peng’s forehead, just below his horn, will be a diamond pattern of scales. Place your left palm there. You will know what to do after that.’ The Abbot handed Jax the small bag.
‘Will I ever see you again?’ Jax asked.
‘Maybe one day,’ the Abbot replied. ‘But you are a Peng Master now. You don’t need me any more.’
Tears welled in Jax’s eyes as he said goodbye to the Abbot. He had grown to love the old man so much.
‘Peng is waiting for you,’ said the Abbot gently. ‘Go.’ The Abbot’s voice stilled the sadness in Jax’s heart and he began to feel stronger at the thought of meeting Peng. He was not going to be alone and Yu Yu would be there beside him.
Jax walked across the empty courtyard. As he went through the gates, he glanced back one last time to wave, but the Abbot was already gathering his patched robes around him and walking up the steps of the main hall.
A few minutes later, the Abbot and Lao Bing stood on the upstairs balcony watching as a dark shadow slipped over the wall and landed lightly beside Jax.
‘Little Yu Yu has grown into a beautiful being,’ said Lao Bing. ‘But why did you not willingly let her go?’
The Abbot said, ‘I had to pretend that I did not want her to go. I needed to know whether she could take risks and be true to her own heart. Only then would I be sure that she would fulfil her destiny as a spirit watcher.’
Lao Bing cocked his head to one side. ‘Master, what is this spirit watcher you talk about?’
‘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.’