CHAPTER 83

Lei Ming and Chen Liang rob the robber; a journey through clouds leaves no footprints

“MY surname is Yen,” began the man, “and I am called Wenhua. I came from Danzhou prefecture. From an early age I was poor at book learning. I was only able to learn to paint. This year, because of the lawlessness in the provinces, I came here and stayed at an inn, going out to peoples’ houses and painting pictures for them.

“One day I went to the home of the Wu family. A senior member of the family, Wu Kun, known as the Shadow-Seizing Shining Star, called to me and asked what kind of pictures I could paint. I said that I was able to paint landscapes, people, animals, trees, birds, and flowers. He asked if I could paint people fleeing from fires. I said I could do that, too, and he asked me to paint several pictures of that sort.

“As soon as he saw the pictures, he was very pleased and asked how much I wanted for all of them. I asked for a string of cash. ‘Tomorrow I will come to see you in your hotel,’ he said. The next day he came riding on a horse. I had only a single room at the inn and no other place to go. When he came in, he saw my wife and daughter. My daughter turned seventeen this year and is rather attractive. Who would have thought that he had a secret evil plan in mind when he began to talk to me about my opening a shop! He let me have two hundred silver pieces to get started. I thought it was a fine idea at first, and opened a picture shop on the north side of the village street. We lived behind the shop and I sold him a great many paintings.

“Yesterday, after the shop had been open for two months, he came there again on his own horse. He had a golden coronet and a pair of golden bracelets. He asked me to keep them in my shop until he came to pick them up a little later on. ‘What does it matter?’ I thought. He did not come in again yesterday and I put the three pieces in a cabinet in the shop. This morning he came to get the things. I opened the cabinet and they were gone. Nothing else had been touched.

“His manner immediately changed. He said that I had taken them, and he had his men beat me. He took my wife and daughter away as security. ‘Go and buy the things back,’ he ordered. Otherwise, he said that he would not return my wife and daughter. I certainly had no intention of taking his things. I did not dare to provoke him. This is why I decided that death is better than living.”

As the three listened, they became more and more angry. “Do not die,” said Chen Liang. “Take us with you to your home. We have a way to solve your difficulty.”

The artist Yen nodded his head in agreement and went with the three friends to his shop. “Put your things in order here,” said Chen Liang. “Tonight we will go and get your wife and daughter and bring them back to you. We will also give you some money. Would you then be able to run away from here?”

“If you could bring back my wife and daughter, I would be glad to leave this place.”

“You must wait until the third watch,” said Liu Rui, “and then we will see you.”

The three left and went to have a look at the walls surrounding the Wu household property. The estate was very large. Each of the four sides was about four li long. Sharp spikes topped the walls. Outside the walls was a moat with willow trees planted at the edge. The gate in the south wall was open. Inside they could see several evil-looking servants. Outside the gate was a drawbridge. On the north side was another small gate.

Having memorized the approach to the estate, the three returned to their inn and called for food and wine. After dinner they waited until the second watch, when everyone in the inn was asleep. The three then put on their black clothing. Each one carried at his waist a bag tightly packed with a set of ordinary clothing. Then they stealthily left the inn.

Three li away from the village they arrived at the Wu estate. They used a flexible ladder to scale the wall. Once on the rooftops they could see the entire estate. Everything was arranged in the best of taste. Creeping cautiously about, they came at last to a courtyard with buildings on each of its four sides. On the north and south there were buildings with three sections each and matching two-section buildings to the east and west. In the west-end windows of the northern building they could see the light of a lamp and a person’s shadow.

Through small holes made in the paper covering of the lattice windows they could see a woman of about fifty years old seated on a brick platform bed. Beside her was a girl not more than seventeen or eighteen years old and unusually beautiful. Standing about the room were four old women dressed as servants. On a square table, usually called an “eight-immortals” table, there lay, as if ready for the girl to wear, a cap of golden leaves and flowers and two golden bracelets.

One of the old women was talking. “It’s for your own good that I am telling you this. You should not be thinking about the fact that you are not able to escape. If you were back at your home, you would be drinking tea made from the cheapest tea leaves and wearing coarse, cheap clothing. Here you will have both fine food and clothes, but you must tell your daughter to stop crying and put on a little powder. Didn’t our master really scheme to get you here! If you make the Shining Star angry with you, he will fly into a rage and kill you, both mother and daughter. Whenever Shining Star says, ‘Take her!’ his people just take whomever he wants. One that was brought here was very bright and lovely. I think he offered her a good many ounces of silver to submit to him. She said, ‘I would rather die! Then I would become a ghost.’ When she refused him, he became furious and killed her. He buried her in a back courtyard.”

As Lei Ming and Chen Liang heard this and understood what was in store for the young girl, one of them pulled Liu Rui close and said, “Come with us.” Knives drawn, they burst into the room. The four old women trembled with fright.

“Whichever of you screams will be the first to die!” exclaimed Liu Rui.

“We will obey your order and not scream,” said one of the old women.

Liu Rui wrapped the gold jewelry into a bundle. Then the men tied and gagged two of the old women. They ordered the other two to help carry the mother and daughter away. “One scream and I will kill you,” Liu Rui warned them again. The two nodded their heads. “We will first take these two home and then return here.” Lei and Chen agreed, leading the mother and daughter, while Liu carried the bundle.

They went out through the back gate and straight to the picture shop, where the artist Yen was anxiously waiting. At the sound of a knock at the door Yen came out and saw Liu Rui. Liu had the old serving women bring the wife and daughter inside. He said to the old women, “Originally I had thought of killing you, but since you carried the two captives here, I will not kill you but tie you up and gag you instead. Yen Wenhua, take your wife and daughter and flee. Take this bag of gold jewelry with you. I will also give you thirty silver coins. Be off! I am going back to kill that evil old man.”

The artist thanked him, but Liu Rui said, “Do not thank me. While mountains remain and water flows, I shall hope to see you again another year. Until then, the best of luck!” The artist and his family then hurried away.

Liu Rui went back to the Wu estate with Chen Liang and Lei Ming. They looked around for some time until they came to a courtyard containing a large hall of five sections. Inside, lamps were burning. When they looked through the holes in the paper window, they saw in the brightly lit room a man in an embroidered robe sitting beside a table. His oily-looking face had an unusually evil expression. He was holding a fan in his hand.

This was indeed the wicked Shadow-Seizing Shining Star, Wu Kun. He had originally been a native of Four Rivers. His nickname was a term used to describe the North Star on the night when it seemed at its brightest during the year. He had come to this village with his ill-gotten wealth to live a life of ease, and he had not changed his evil ways. Outwardly he made connections with officials and attended the yamen, all the while killing men and carrying off women. There was nothing bad that he would not do.

On this night, while Lei Ming, Chen Liang, and Liu Rui secretly watched and understood the nature of the man, they heard Wu Kun say, “Well, my children,” as he called his ruffians, “How late is it?”

A servant answered, “It is not yet the third watch.”

Just as this was said, the three watchers saw a rough-looking serving man enter and heard him say, “Master, outside is your old friend the Four Rivers rat, Cloud Dragon Hua. He has come to visit you.”

When Wu Kun heard this, he said, “Second Brother Hua? I was just thinking about him. Open the big gate, my children, and lead me forth to meet him.”

On the roof Lei Ming and the two others listened carefully. In a little while they saw Cloud Dragon Hua enter.

After Cloud Dragon Hua had fled from the Veiled Mountain, he could think of no place to stay. He thought of going back to Four Rivers, but he had no nest there. He also thought of going back to Jade Mountain prefecture, but he feared that Yang Ming would not accept him. He regretted that his use of poisoned darts had made him such an object of hatred. He felt foolish and dissatisfied. Whatever he did, he felt as if ants were biting him.

Suddenly he thought of Wu Kun and his estate. He liked the idea of spiked walls around the place and thought he could safely take refuge there. He did not dare to go there in the daylight for fear that someone would see him. Therefore he approached the estate this night seeking Wu Kun, and asked the servant to go and announce him.

Wu Kun asked him to come in and sit down, then asked him, “Second Brother Hua! Where did you come from?”

“I can hardly tell you in one word,” replied Cloud Dragon. “Since we brothers parted at Four Rivers, I have been through many adventures. I was in Jade Mountain prefecture at the invitation of Yang Ming, where I made a number of friends. Then I was strolling about and I got into such a scrape that now I have nowhere I can go.”

“What happened?” asked Wu Kun.

Cloud Dragon then recounted the entire story of how he had stolen the pearl coronet and the jade pendant from the prime minister’s estate, how he killed the restaurant manager, and how he had gone to rape the nun but had killed two nuns instead.

“You must live here at my place,” said Wu Kun. “If anyone comes to take you, I will be here. You also have an intimate friend who has made his fortune. Did you know that?”

“Who is that?” asked Cloud Dragon.

“Mountain Leopard Dian from a little town in Four Rivers—and now he is rich. He is the close friend of officials and is connected with the yamen. He has many men under him. I hear that he is to be linked to Prime Minister Qin’s family by marriage. I know that you were close friends.”

“If you don’t mind,” said Cloud Dragon Hua, “I will trouble Brother Dian with my presence for a while and then I will come back and live with you—but I need some money for expenses.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Wu Kun reassured him. “Children, go to my strong room and get some silver.”

Listening on the roof, Lei Ming was thinking that he might take Cloud Dragon and be avenged for all that he had done to them. At the same time, he knew that this was a matter for Ji Gong. Yet he clutched his knife and wanted to kill this foul criminal.