CHAPTER 53

Seeing lovely ladies arouses wicked thoughts; three outlaws plan an abduction

AS Chen Liang and Lei Ming watched and waited, Chen Liang whispered, “You have seen these beautiful young ladies. It would not surprise me if Cloud Dragon Hua would try to kidnap one.” Then they saw away to the east three black shadows that seemed to be flying across the rooftops. “Brother,” Chen Liang said, “You see those three. The one in the center is Cloud Dragon Hua; the one in the front is from Four Rivers; the other I do not know.”

“I know the one at the back,” said Lei Ming. “He is called the Flying White Lotus Master.” As Chen Liang and Lei Ming spoke, the three arrived at the rooftop on the east side of the courtyard.

Now, after Cloud Dragon Hua had left the home of Ma Jing, he had been followed by Ji Gong throughout the night. So Cloud Dragon Hua returned to Youlong town and at the north gate met two men. One had a somewhat military appearance, and the other looked more like a young gentleman. They were both actually famous Four Rivers robbers who had long been friends and associates in crime with Cloud Dragon Hua. Seeing him today, the two went forward and greeted him. “Brother Hua,” said one, “how are you and what brings you here today?”

“Dear brothers,” said Cloud Dragon Hua, “today I hardly dare show my face to the world.”

“How can you say such a thing?” asked the one who was called Han Xiu.

“Since we parted in Four Rivers,” explained Hua, “I’ve been doing all sorts of things. I”ve been all over the Phoenix Hill section of the capital. I stole the Phoenix Coronet from Prime Minister Qin, killed a couple of women in a nunnery, and also killed a man in a restaurant.” And so from beginning to end he told his story to the two men.

“Well, good!” exclaimed Han Xiu. “All these things our good brother has been doing to startle heaven and shake up the earth in the capital are certainly extraordinary! Where will you be going now?”

“I have no particular place in mind,” replied Cloud Dragon Hua.

“Are you able to work with drugged incense?” asked Han Xiu.

“To do what?” queried Cloud Dragon Hua.

“Let me talk to you, brother,” said Han Xiu. “We have been here in the Grand Hotel at the crossroads for about ten days with nothing to do, just amusing ourselves. There is a wealthy man named Zhao who lives on Xing Liu Street. The estate has a flower garden with a two-story building. One day, we looked through a hole in the window and saw three beautiful young women, truly the prettiest on earth.

“We two had none of that drugged incense, and so we could not abduct them. There are too many people there to do it any other way. We have been thinking about them ever since we saw them that day, but there was nothing we could do. If we had not met you, we would have given up the idea. If you have any of the incense that makes people sleep, we could do something together about these lovely young women.”

As Cloud Dragon Hua heard this, his wicked heart was stirred. “Easily managed,” he said, “but first let us have a few drinks together.” They then went back inside the town to the Meeting Place of the Immortals Inn, ordered food and drink, and happily began to develop their plot. When the three had eaten and drunk to their satisfaction, the waiter added up the amount. The three called for their bill, paid it, and left. When they had first arrived, Chen Liang had seen Cloud Dragon Hua with the other two, but they did not know that Chen Liang and Lei Ming were upstairs.

As the three men left the restaurant, Han Xiu said, “Brother Hua, come back with us to our hotel. There is no need for you to wait in the street.”

“Good,” said Hua.

They went together to the Grand Hotel at the street corner, where the servant greeted them. “Ah, the two gentlemen have returned.”

“We met a friend,” said Han Xiu, “and so we shall not be leaving for another few days. Would you open up the room?” The servant assented and brought them a pot of tea. The three were all a little drunk.

“Since there is nothing to do now, we might as well have a nap,” said Cloud Dragon. The three lay down and slept until after dark. Then they called for food and drink. All three joined in eating a light supper.

At the first watch Han Xiu said, “Shall we go now?”

“You two are in a great hurry,” said Cloud Dragon Hua. “Where do people go this early? Everybody is still awake and we would be caught. How would that be? If you want to go kidnapping, the third watch is the time. Not many people are on the street. People will be sleeping and the sleep-producing incense will do its work.”

The two robbers were so impatient that they could hardly keep still. All three were ready to leave at the third watch. They changed into their suits of darkness and left the room. Everyone in the hotel was asleep and so they went over the wall and on their way, flying over the rooftops.

Arriving at the flower garden, they saw that all was quiet. All seemed deserted. There was no sound of people talking, no barking dogs. One of them threw a pebble and they listened for a response. Then the three robbers immediately approached the pavilion and came to the outside of the windows. Cloud Dragon Hua took out six rolls of material and the three put the drugging incense in place. Cloud Dragon took out a device called the buzzard’s beak and the buzzard’s ribs. He placed the beak in a small hole that he had made in the paper window. The beak was attached to the ribs, which unfolded to make a tube or duct. This he attached to a small box. As soon as the incense was properly lighted, he put out the flame, but the incense continued to smoke. Placed in the box, the smoke and fumes went through the duct and the buzzard’s beak into the room. It was an operation that required a little time and patience. Soon the people inside would be unconscious and know nothing.

All this time Chen Liang and Lei Ming were lying on the roof just above, watching and wondering what would happen and what they should do.

Han Xiu peeped in through a hole he had made in the window and whispered, “Look, Brother Hua, aren’t they beautiful?”

“Of course they’re beautiful,” whispered Cloud Dragon. “We will each take one and we needn’t fight about them.”

“That would be all right—I like them all,” whispered Han Xiu.

“I think the simplest thing to do would be to draw lots for them,” whispered Cloud Dragon, “after we get them away from here. Then we will have no problems.”

“That’s good, too,” said Han Xiu. “Any of the three would be all right with me.”

While the three robbers were filled with excitement at the thought of the success of their plan, the two young men on the roof were growing more and more angry and indignant. Chen Liang was thinking of raising the alarm, but Lei Ming could restrain himself no longer and leapt down among the three men below. Cloud Dragon Hua was still kneeling, tending the poisonous buzzard. Lei Ming struck him a blow to the side of the head and knocked him over. Then he turned and struck Han Xiu and knocked him down as well. But both men were back on their feet in an instant.

Chen Liang could see that the odds of the three older and stronger men against the two of them were hopeless. He stood up on the rooftop and shouted, “Robbers in the flower garden! Come now quickly, everyone, or it will be too late!” As the watchmen began to pound their hollow wooden gongs in another part of the estate, others, waking and thinking it might be a fire, began to beat upon pans and to seize buckets of water. Most, however, came with weapons, knives, clubs, and even heavy soup ladles and pokers.

The three robbers fled over the wall and onto the roofs away to the south, abandoning their buzzard box.

Lei Ming joined Chen Liang, and the two went speedily over the rooftops to the west until they were well away from the clamor. Then they changed into their ordinary clothes. “Brother,” said Chen Liang, “after this, you and I can stop worrying about whether Ji Gong takes Cloud Dragon or not.”

“Right!” said Lei Ming, “just never mind about him. Those three are really detestable villains with no sense of right and wrong, the kind of people that should be beheaded.”

The two rested until morning. As day broke and the red sun appeared in the east, Chen Liang said, “Let us go and find our teacher.”

They started walking slowly forward, talking together. Ahead they saw two men coming toward them, one of whom said to them, “You should see all the excitement just outside the east gate. Some men bought a coffin and were just about to take it away when a ragged monk appeared. The monk asked whether they were going to store clothes in the coffin or keep money in it. Someone said that they would do neither, but instead put a corpse in it. Then the monk wanted to get in the coffin and try it out. They didn’t want him to try it out. Then the monk kicked the coffin and broke it up. Then there was a fight. You should take a look.”

“Brother,” said Chen Liang, “the monk must be Ji Gong. Let’s go and see.”

When the two arrived at the east gate and looked, naturally they saw Ji Gong. Now, after Ji Gong had sent Lei Ming and Chen Liang off with the young graduate Jiang Wenkui, he left the restaurant with the two head-men, Chai and She. “Teacher,” said Headman Chai, “some time ago you said that if we came to the Village of a Thousand Gates, we would catch Cloud Dragon Hua. Yet how are things now?”

“Just come with me to Youlong and prepare to take Cloud Dragon Hua,” said the monk.

The two headmen then walked with Ji Gong to the north gate of You-long. It was already dark, so they found a place to stay the night. They ordered dinner, ate and drank, and asked for quilts.

Before they went to sleep, Chai asked, “Teacher, what about money for food and lodging tomorrow?”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” replied the monk. “It’s all on me.” They slept until the fourth watch. Then the monk awoke and looked around. Out in the courtyard he slapped the window and said, “Headman Chai and Headman She, I will see you in Longyou. I don’t have the money for our food and lodging, and I don’t care. I’m off!”

Having finished speaking, the monk leapt over the wall of the inn and walked to the east gate. There he waited until the sun came up and he saw four men carrying a coffin, with an old man walking behind. The monk went up to them and stopped them, saying, “Where are you taking this?”

“Into town,” answered one of the men.

“Is this coffin meant to store clothing inside, or keep money in?” queried the monk.

The owner of the shop that sold coffins was nearby. “Monk, you are crazy!” he exclaimed. “Where do people buy coffins to store their clothes? This is to put a dead person in.”

“If it’s for a dead person, then a live person should get in and see if it’s the right length,” said the monk. “Put it down and I’ll get in and try it out.”

“We don’t want you to try it out,” said the shop owner.

The monk gave the coffin a kick and broke it into several pieces. The shop owner was in a rage, and called upon his apprentices to beat the monk.