CHAPTER 79

Lei Ming hears a third cry for help; Chen Liang closely questions a woman’s evidence

WHAT Lei Ming saw through the hole in the paper was a brick platform bed on the north side of the room. Next, on the east wall, was a tall clothes cupboard. In front of it was an “eight immortals” table with some chairs. Everything in the room was neatly arranged. On the bed lay a woman a little over twenty years old. She was wearing a simple blue gown and slippers. She had no powder or rouge on her face.

Nearby stood a young man about twenty years old, with his hair dressed in the “beef-heart” style. He was wearing white clothing. His yellowish face was somewhat ugly in features and expression. His left hand held the woman by her hair and in his right hand he held a sword. He was saying, “You must tell me the truth. If you don’t tell me the truth, I will kill you slash by slash.”

Lei Ming heard the woman say, “A fine one you are, Second Tiger! I was burning paper and I called up a demon! What have I done to you to make you take a sword to me?”

Lei Ming grew more and more angry as he listened. He wanted to go into the room, but he thought to himself, “I must not be too rash. Chen Liang is always telling me to be more prudent. I will go back and talk it over with him and ask him whether we should do something about this or not.” Having decided, he went back over the roof and returned to their room.

There he nudged Chen Liang, saying, “Wake up.”

“What are you waking me for?” asked Chen Liang.

“I saw something just now. I went up on the roof because the weather was so hot. I had been in the courtyard trying to cool off, but it was hot there, so I climbed on the roof to catch the breeze. Just as I did, I heard someone call out, ‘Murder!’ I thought that it was a highway robbery and I followed the sound until I reached another courtyard. There I saw a man threatening a woman. She said something, but I didn’t understand what she meant. I thought of going in, but I was afraid you would say I was rash. I wanted to ask you whether we should pay attention to the matter or not. What do you say?”

“Lei Ming,” responded Chen Liang, “you were wrong. You had no reason to go up on the roof and let the inn people see you, but that doesn’t matter. About this other business—if you didn’t know about it, it wouldn’t bother us. Since we do know, however, if we don’t do something about it, we will regret it. Let us go and see what’s happening.” Chen Liang got dressed and the two went out together without waking anybody in the inn. They crossed the roofs to the other courtyard.

Again there was a cry for help. The two went down into the courtyard, crouched by the lighted window, and looked inside. Then they heard someone say, “Second Tiger, you have cheated me and now you want to kill me. I really did burn paper and bring up a devil! Why don’t you let me go? Help, someone, quickly!”

“If you shout,” the man said, “I will kill you!” Bringing the sword closer, he scratched the woman’s face, which became bloody. She began to cry and again called, “Help!”

Seeing this, Chen Liang jumped up and said to Lei Ming, “Come with me!” The two men pushed the door open and sprang into the room. “My friend,” Chen Liang asked, “Why are you threatening this woman with a sword at the third watch near midnight?”

The man turned his head and seeing what kind of men the two were, as well as Lei Ming’s red hair and blue face, he lowered his sword and asked, “What are your honorable names?”

Chen Liang answered, “Chen” and Lei Ming said, “Lei.” As the man heard their names, he seemed more reasonable. “We two are originally from Jajiang,” continued Chen Liang. “We are escorts passing through. We heard the call, and at first thought there was a robbery. Because we have always been helpful to other people, we burst into the room. My friend, what is your name and why are you threatening this woman with your sword?”

“So you are escort officers,” commented the man. “Since you ask, my name is Son and I am called Second Tiger. Our home is in the Son Family Village, a small place of about eighty homes with the Son name. There are few outsiders. This woman is my sister-in-law. My brother had a medicine shop. He died three years ago and she was childless, but look at her big stomach now! I want to know how this came about. She cried out. It was for this reason that you two officers were disturbed.”

“This is other people’s business. Why should we be disturbed?” thought Chen Liang. He said, “We are all ordinary people. Let’s just forget about this.”

“Since you have no wish to call others, I’ll be off and leave you two here,” said Second Tiger.

When Chen Liang heard this, he thought, “How can this be? That is no way for the rascal to speak.”

“Don’t leave,” said Lei Ming. “Why should you go and leave us here? That is no way to talk.”

Looking at the two, Second Tiger did not dare to argue or seem to take offense. “Then let us leave together,” he quickly said.

Lei Ming and Chen Liang started to step outside, but the woman spoke up saying, “Don’t go yet, gentlemen. He is not telling the truth.”

Chen Liang stopped to listen and asked, “What is not true?”

“My husband was named Son and kept a well-known medicine shop. He did die three years ago. When we were first married, I never heard anything about Second Tiger. Then something was said about a younger brother. He did not often come to see the family when my husband was alive. It was like burning paper and calling up a devil unexpectedly. One day in October, I was standing in the gateway and I saw him. He had hardly anything to wear and I asked, ‘Second Tiger Son, why don’t you have any warm clothing?’ He replied, ‘Sister-in-law, I don’t have the money to buy clothes.’ I thought that it was pitiful. I asked him in. Then I wrapped up my husband’s clothing and gave it to him. I also gave him some money and told him to set himself up as a small merchant. Afterward, he was always out of money and he came to borrow some again and again. You open your door to do a good deed, and it goes on from there. He wanted me to sell the house to get more money. I cursed him and drove him out. Today my servant had asked leave to go home and Second Tiger came and threatened me. As for my big stomach, that is caused by illness. I called out, but no one came until you did. I don’t even think he is my husband’s actual brother.”

Just then a woman said, “Did you call, mistress? What is it?”

Chen Liang saw an old gray-haired woman. Her face was covered with scars from smallpox. Her eyes were squinting and she had a misshapen nose. Some of her yellow teeth were missing.

“Second Brother Son,” said Chen Liang, “come in and sit down.”

“You two go back your hotel room,” said Second Tiger. “I’ll be off and thank you another day.”

“You need not thank us,” said Chen Liang. “Just go home.”

“I still want to go into the city,” said Second Tiger.

“How can you go through the city gate at this time of night?” asked Chen Liang.

“The wall has a weak spot,” the man replied. “I can go in.” Saying this, he left.

Chen Liang and Lei Ming did not knock at the inn gate, but returned to their room by the same route that they had left it.

“Well, we saved a person,” said Chen Liang, “and tomorrow we will be on our way, though I fear that there may be consequences.”

“It is nothing,” said Lei Ming and so they both slept peacefully.

The next morning when they got up Chen Liang said to the porter, “We are going to Dianzhou prefecture. Is this the highway?”

“Yes,” replied the porter.

“Quickly bring us something to eat and drink,” said Chen Liang. “As soon as we finish eating, we will be on our way.”

After they had finished eating and had paid their bill, they were about to leave. Meanwhile, outside two headmen had arrived bringing with them eight underlings. They were officers of the Changshan yamen. “Greetings,” they had said to the manager of the inn. Then they asked, “Do you have staying in a room in your inn one named Lei and one named Chen?”

“They are in the north room,” replied the manager.

“Would you call them?” asked the officer.

“Honorable Lei, Honorable Chen,” the manager called out. “There is someone asking for you.”

“Who is it?” the two asked as they came out.

“Are you two gentlemen named Lei and Chen?” asked the officers.

“Yes,” they answered.

“You two have been accused,” said the officer.

“Who accused us?” asked Chen Liang.

“You need not ask,” said the officer. “Just now the prefect gave us a warrant ordering you to appear. Whatever you have to say you can say in the yamen.”

The manager of the inn stepped forward and asked, “Can you tell what this is all about? I am concerned, too. These two are guests at my inn. It is my affair also. Don’t leave yet.”

“We cannot stay,” said the headmen. “The prefect has issued a warrant. We have no choice. These two must come to court. You can find out about it later. Honorable Lei and Honorable Chen, we must go.”

Lei Ming and Chen Liang still did not know what this was about. However, they were brave men and not afraid of anything that might happen to them, and they knew that one could not bargain with fate. “Manager,” said Chen Liang, “you need not worry. We are not guilty of murder. There are all sorts of affairs. We don’t know what this is about. There must be some mistake. Whatever it is, it will not involve your inn.”

“Since you are willing to go, I will not worry, but take good care of them, headmen!”

“Yes,” replied the headmen.

They left the inn and in a short time were at the yamen, where they were taken into the audience hall. The two headmen, Zhou Rui and Lo Biao, who might have recognized them, had taken leave and therefore were absent. Lei and Chen bowed to the prefect, who looked at the two angrily.