CHAPTER 64

Ji Gong sends a gift of pickled eggs; the Painted Lame Man walks into a trap

AS the two outlaws emerged from the fire chamber under the brick platform bed and collected themselves, they drew their swords and prepared to attack Ji Gong, but the monk simply pointed his finger and paralyzed them. At the same time, the bamboo blind hanging at the door was lifted and the four headmen and two Daoist novices burst into the room. The four headmen were indeed Chai Yuanlo, She Jengying, Yang Guodong, and Yin Shixiong.

Now, a short time before, the four headmen and the two Daoist novices had been walking along the road. The Daoist Ma Xuantong had flown off, taking Ji Gong with him and leaving the six others behind.

“Tell us,” said Headman Chai, “from which shrine do you novices come?”

“We are from the Kaihua district North Rising Shrine,” said one of the novices.

“And is the Daoist who was here just now your teacher?” asked Chai.

“No, he is not our teacher, but our teacher’s elder brother,” the same novice answered.

“Well, since our monk has gone with your teacher’s elder brother to your temple,” said Chai, “let us go together.”

“I’m afraid,” said the novice, “that your four headmen will not be able to keep up with us. We are going to walk on air.”

“We four headmen can almost fly over the ground,” said Chai. “If you two will only go a little slower, we will go faster so that we can go together.”

“Very well,” agreed the novice. And the six of them followed the road and quickly arrived at the North Rising Shrine. “Here we are,” said the novice. “Just wait till I knock at the gate.”

“Don’t bother with that,” said Chai. “I will go in and open it.” And as he spoke, Chai and She both leapt over the wall. They had seized this opportunity to show off their skills to the other two headmen, as if to say, “We were sent to capture the great outlaw Hua Yun Long and are not without some special abilities.”

The novices hardly expected the local headmen, Yang Guodong and Yin Shixiong, to be able to jump over the wall just as well as they did. Without actually saying so in words, their actions implied that they, though only local headmen, were not completely without skill. After this bit of unspoken rivalry among the four headmen, they opened the gate. The two novices entered, closed the gate, and with the four headmen got into the room just as Ji Gong brought the two outlaws to a standstill.

“Teacher,” asked Headman Chai, “which of these is Cloud Dragon Hua?”

“We have no Cloud Dragon Hua,” replied the monk.

“Then,” asked Chai, “which of them is the robber who stole the warrant?”

“Nor do we have the thief who stole the warrant,” answered the monk. “But first, put these two in chains. Even though they’re not the ones we want most, don’t let them escape.”

Chai and the others fastened cuffs and chains on the two outlaws and Yin Shixiong asked the two novices to get some refreshments. The four headmen then politely greeted their Daoist hosts and all sat down to eat and drink.

“Now, my Daoist friends,” said Ji Gong, “while it is still light, we should get these outlaws to the magistrate’s yamen and send him word that I am going to exorcise the Iron Buddha Temple. Tell the commander of the guards also. But, my Daoist friends, we cannot do any of this openly. If we let the word out, not only will the outlaws get away, but you two Daoists will be in danger of their revenge and may lose your lives.”

“But how can this be managed, teacher?” asked Headman Yin Shixiong.

“Wrap these two outlaws in quilts so they will not be recognized and say that the shrine is sending a present to His Honor, the magistrate.”

The Daoists agreed. It was now midday. When the bound and gagged outlaws had been made into unrecognizable bales, four strong porters were called in. They picked up one of the bales and asked, “What’s this?” The Daoists said nothing.

“Pickled eggs,” said Ji Gong.

“We never saw pickled eggs packed like this,” commented one of the porters.

“Never mind that,” said the monk. “Just carry them carefully.” The two Daoists then went off with the porters to the Magistrate’s yamen.

“Headman Chai,” said the monk, “you four men first go to the guard office nearest the Iron Buddha Temple and say that I will be there soon.”

The four headmen went quickly to the guard office and reported. The supervisor of the guard, named Liu Guoshen, immediately invited the four headmen inside. When asked about their mission, Headman Chai said that they were working on a case with Ji Gong.

“Ah,” said Supervisor Liu, “so the saintly monk is coming here to solve a case. But why is he not here yet?”

“He will be here presently,” said Chai.

In a short time Ji Gong did arrive at the gate. “I would like to ask a favor of the manager,” said the ragged monk.

The officer who heard this said, “There is no manager here, Teacher. This is a yamen.”

“If there is no one to manage the yamen, what do you have?” asked the monk.

“We have an honorable supervisor,” replied the officer.

“Is he your uncle?” asked the ragged monk.

“Are you asking for a beating?” countered the officer.

“Just tell your old gentleman that the old man is here,” said the monk.

“Who are you, monk?” asked the officer.

“Oh, I am Mad Ji from the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat,” replied the monk.

At once someone was sent inside to announce him. Soon Supervisor Liu came out, and hurrying over to him, said, “Ah! the saintly monk has arrived! Please come inside and sit down.”

“After you,” the monk said. Together they went into the library, where the four headmen were waiting. As soon as the monk came in and sat down, tea was served.

“Honorable Supervisor Liu,” the monk began, “would you send someone to the Iron Buddha Temple and ask the chief monk to come here. Explain that there is a rich man who lives very nearby who wishes to make some repairs to the temple and who would like to ask how much in silver the repairs would cost. I would like to get the thief who stole the warrant and question him. Afterward I will go and exorcise the temple.”

Supervisor Liu nodded his head in answer. Then he immediately sent some underlings to the Iron Buddha Temple with his card and an invitation to the monk there.

Now it happened that Golden Eye Jiang had only Cloud Dragon Hua and the Painted Lame Man with him, plus two other men. The two men Jiang had sent to kill the Daoist had not yet returned, and all the other friends of the Greenwood who had been staying at the temple had gone off on their business. Therefore, altogether there were just five men at the temple at noon.

Meanwhile, at a little hamlet to the west some knowledgeable people had been talking with other well-to-do gentry there about what was happening in the eight hundred or more villages in Kaihua. Household after household was coming down with a strange illness that not even the most famous doctor was able to cure. The only thing that helped was to go to the Iron Buddha Temple. There had to be some reason for this. In seeking help from the Iron Buddha, a poor family had to give a string of cash, but a wealthier family had to give an ounce of silver. Perhaps, people said, if they could talk with the chief monk at the temple and arrange to repair the temple with a substantial fund collected from the wealthy families, this epidemic might cease? After talking it over, the people in the hamlet sent some people with an invitation to the chief monk at the Iron Buddha Temple.

Golden Eye Jiang and Cloud Dragon Hua hurried off to the little west hamlet. They had just left when the men arrived with an invitation from the supervisor of the guard, saying that there was a rich man who wanted to discuss repairs to the temple with a monk from the temple. The Painted Lame Man, Ping Yuanzhi, said, “I will go.”

When he arrived at the guard office with the men sent by the guard supervisor, he was shown into the library. “Ah, the monk has arrived,” said Supervisor Liu. The false monk, Ping Yuanzhi, went up to him and greeted him politely. Ji Gong at this time was behind the lattice in the east section of the library, while the four headmen were waiting behind the partition in the west section. Supervisor Liu, asking Ping Yuanzhi to sit down, said, “What is the monk’s honorable name?”

The Painted Lame Man replied, “At home I was named Ping. My Buddhist name is Yuanzhi.”

“And how many years has it been since you left the world?” queried Liu.

“I am really halfway along the road because of an accident in which I injured my leg,” answered the Painted Lame Man.

“Just now there is a man who desires to repair a temple,” said Supervisor Liu. “Your temple is greatly in need of repair. How much will be needed?”

Ping, the Painted Lame Man, was only an outlaw who knew nothing about repairing temples. There was not much that he could say.

“You seem unable to say very much about the subject. Let me introduce you to another monk,” said the supervisor. “Saintly monk, will you come out now?”

As soon as Ji Gong came into the room, he exclaimed, “You rascal, Ping Yuanzhi! How dare you steal our warrant? I have had my eye on you!”

Ping Yuanzhi was shocked, and started to stand up to run outside. Ji Gong pointed and the outlaw was unable to move. The monk then reached inside the robber’s clothing, taking out the warrant for Cloud Dragon Hua. The monk handed it to Headman Chai, saying, “Take it, Headman Chai, and look it over.” Naturally it was the same as before. “Your honor,” said the monk, “first call your officers and have them keep this outlaw locked up in your yamen. Now I am going to the Iron Buddha Temple to exorcise the evil spirit. Keep this outlaw in chains, Your Honor.” Supervisor Liu had his guard officers lock up the robber until the time that he would be called for in the examination room.

The four headmen left the guard station and went off with Ji Gong. When they reached the temple, they noticed first that the crowd in the temple gateway was so thick that people could hardly move. There were people selling food to the temple visitors, and other vendors with all sorts of goods for sale. Inside the temple, as well as outside, throngs of worshippers were packed together, coming and going. Countless good men and pious women were there to burn incense and to beg for medicine to cure their illness.

The door of the main gate and the two smaller gates on each side were all open wide. Inside there was a flagstaff with two flags flying. Above the entrance was a signboard, into which were carved the words: The Iron Buddha Temple, established by Imperial Command. The monk with his four headmen went in through the gate on the east side. Straight to the north was the great hall with five sections, and to the east and west were two accompanying buildings, each with five sections.

On the east side of the great hall were four green panels of a high wooden screen-like wall. Two of these panels were open and two closed. They entered the second courtyard. The central hall here was five stories high. There were more than one hundred sections in the temple.

The Iron Buddha was within this main hall. A great cloud of smoke from burning incense poured out of the doors. “O Mi To Fu. Goodness!” It would be here that the lohan would use his Buddhist arts to exorcise the demon spirit within this great temple.