Part III
Every Man’s Poison
News travel very fast in the world of Wulin, tales of any act of bravery or a glorious fight between two famous personalities would be told and retold all over the land. Groups of idle travelers in isolated inn and taverns would be swapping stories on the latest exploits of famous Wuxia’s across the land.
When these travelers reached the cities they would again spread these tales in the city’s busy inns and restaurants. Some of these tales were exaggerations and some were outright fabrications, but some were true eyewitness account of the event. Our adventure at Sunrise Inn all the way to Huang Long city was the hot topic for a long while in all the inns and taverns across the land.
If you were an eye-witness to such a colourful event, you might find yourself invited to banquets specially organized for the re-telling of the stories. Many famous personalities in the Wulin world would be falling over each other to get to you to hear the firsthand account of the event. It was sometimes hilarious to watch many respectable figures sitting there listening to some tall-tales and being taken in like little children.
The accounts of our adventures in Sunrise Inn was spread in part by the silly young man (the young swordsman who was at Sunrise Inn) and the rest was told by the people of Huang Long City. Very often such stories by the time they reach the big cities back in the Central Plains would have already been magnified many folds. Many people would have been told that we had single handedly defeated a Xi Xia army of hundreds of thousands.
Such unwanted attention was beyond our control, the only thing we could do was not to add to the fire of gossips by adding to the already outrageous accounts. We had an agreement among us to deny everything when we were asked about it.
While these stories were spreading across the Central Plains we decided to stay back in Huang Long City to help the Ding family and the General to organize his city to defend against future invasion. We were also reluctant to return to the Central Plains when the stories of our exploits were still on everybody’s lips.
We spent much of our times up in the mountains to try and undo the harm that Black Bear had done to the environment. With the help of the Ding family we continued the tree planting program in a smaller scale and we cleared the poisoned trees from the forest to make way for new ones. The Grandmaster of the Enlightened Gu had taught us the formula of a potion that was able to neutralize the poison that was introduced to the ground. We were not able to save the poisoned trees but we were able to clear the soil for new trees to survive.
The Grandmaster also performed many cleansing rituals for the forest to invite positive energy back into the vicinity. These rituals were also a form of atonement on behalf of the entire humanity, we were asking nature to forgive us for the sins that Black Bear had committed. Having allowed Black Bear to do what he did, we were instrumental in the crime.
After months of work on this restoration program, we began to notice the forest coming back to live. Animals and plants started to strive in the new healthy environment, even the sun seems to shine brighter than before. The air was fresher and the leaves were greener, the dark sickly overcast that once enveloped the forest was replaced by a new crisp freshness.
It was incomprehensible that one single evil individual had been allowed to do so much harm to our environment and nobody had stood up to him before. I believe the reason was because such malicious practices were carried out in a slow and gradual process, the people around was slowly being acclimatized to the darkness. We tend to get use to subtle changes in our environment, as more and more gentle disruptions were introduced we would not even remember what it was before.
I quietly reminded myself that I have to be forever vigilant about the living environment around me. I had never been very conscious of it before, I had always taken for granted that nature would always be there for us. This little episode with Black Bear had shown me that we could do much to the balance of nature, we could harm it and we could help it flourish.
After our forest restoration program, we returned to Huang Long City and we were told the disappointing news that the Imperial Court had once again dismissed the invasion of Xi Xia as a misunderstanding. The General was ordered to release the captured prisoners and to humbly apologize for the mistake.
The Imperial document also questioned the Ding family about them forming their own militias; hinting that private armies points to rebellious intents. This development was very demoralizing for the Ding family and the people of Huang Long, the Imperial authority clearly did not care about the city and its people.
When we met up with the Grand Old Lady of the Ding family, I could see the strain on her face. However she was not deterred by the news, she told me, “Dear Mister Yan, the Ding family was here to help the people of Huang Long City; nothing will stop us from doing that. As long as our intentions are clear, and we have a pure heart, nothing can stop us. We will continue to do what we need to do, as long as there is one member of the Ding family is around the city will be defended. Meanwhile we hope the Emperor will be able to see through the cloud of deceit surrounding him soon, if not our Empire is finished.”
The Ding family ignored the Imperial orders and continued organizing the militias in anticipation of the Xi Xia threat. They did all this at the risk of infuriating the authorities; they had put their personal wellbeing aside to care for the people of the land, it was indeed a noble act.
My intention was to stay in Huang Long city as long as possible to help the Ding family, but events took a sudden turn to make it impossible for me to remain in the city…
The Bad News Arrives (Yan Ching’s narrative)
I received a message via the Swallow syndicate (Please refer to the Case of the Jade Statue). It was a short message, but it drove a stake through my heart; it said,
“Your teacher Godly Fist Hong Er (please refer to Case of the Jade Statue) was murdered in Suzhou. Go to Ching Long monastery in the south of Suzhou city for more information.
A Friend”
I was devastated; I had not seen my teacher for the past three years and now I would never see him again. He had saved me from certain death and had taught me my fighting skills and had taught me the value of Wulin. He was my dearest person in the world.
But I was having doubts about the message, it was anonymous and the city of Suzhou was on the other end of the Empire, could this be a ploy to lure me away from Huang Long City? It would take me at least fifteen days of travel without rest to reach Suzhou, would I be falling into a trap if I rush off just because of this message?
I decided to use the Swallow network to do the initial investigation for me; I sent a message via them to Ching Long monastery in Suzhou asking for information about my teacher. I spent the next four anxious days waiting for the answer…
The reply from Ching Long Monastery arrived in the evening of the fourth day, it was from the head of the monastery, and his name was Priest White Crane. His message said,
“Dear Mister Yan, I knew your teacher well, he was a guest at my humble monastery during winter for two months. He left after the spring festival; he came back twenty days later, he was badly injured. We treated him for his injuries; he was recovering when he was brutally murdered on the second day of the third month. He was killed by an assassin who had come into our monastery. As all my disciples and I were not skilled in martial art we were not able to defend your teacher. I am sorry.
Even though I had known your teacher for many years, he did not tell me about his family or disciples. We did not know who to inform when he was dead, thus we did a simple ceremony and had him buried in our monastery grounds. He had some belongings which we can hand over to you if you wish.
I hope you would come to us soon, I had some information that I want to give you personally.
Priest White Crane”
I wept bitterly for my beloved teacher, next day I went to the General to explain my situation, he was sad that I had to leave. My three frie
nds River Ghost, Night Owl and Xiao Miao decided to stay behind to help Huang Long city. We agreed that I would go to Suzhou by myself, if I needed them, I would send for them.
My teacher’s murder in Suzhou was still unclear, could meant many things; the killer might be an ordinary robber or he could be from an enemy organization. I had to be there to investigate it myself before I make any conclusion. If it was a petty criminal, I would have no problem finding the culprit, but if it was an organized professional’s work, it would more difficult to find the murderer. But whatever it was, my teacher’s death would be revenged.
I set off the following day, and I sent a message to an old friend in Suzhou informing him of my visit and I requested him to check on my teacher’s activities in Suzhou before his death. His name was Li Yi Bao which meant the treasure of the Li family; his nickname was the Iron Abacus. He was native of Suzhou city; his family runs a small but successful trading business there.
Iron Abacus was a multi-talented person; he was skilled in martial art and at the same time a very sharp business man. During his younger days Iron Abacus had joined us for our youthful adventures, he left us reluctantly when his elder brother died from smallpox and he had to take over the responsibility of the family’s business.
I arrived in Suzhou
My mad dash to Suzhou was accomplished in record time; twelve days, without a pause I rode to the Ching Long Monastery. It was night fall when I was shown to the Head of the Monastery, Priest White Crane.
White Crane was an old man in his eighties; I was shown into his personal quarters as instructed by him. This was unusual as visitors were traditionally received at the main hall; only close intimate friends were admitted to personal quarters. I believe he had something important to tell me.
After serving me tea and some light food, the Priest dismissed all the disciples and closed the door and windows. He closed his eyes and listened for a long time before he was satisfied that we were indeed alone. He said, “I did not want to put too much information in the letter to you as I was not familiar with the Swallow organization, I did not want anybody to learn what I am about to tell you.”
He continued, “I had known your teacher Hong Er for a long time, even though I am not a martial art person and I had never involve myself in the matter of the Wulin, your teacher had confided in me certain very important information.
During his first stay here in winter, he told me that he came to Suzhou because he had heard of a strange plot by someone who was trying to control some important people in the Wulin. And this plot had worked very well, this group of famous personalities in Wulin had indeed became the agent of this secret organization; doing their dirty work for them.”
I was puzzled, as I knew from experience that most Wulin individuals were proud people, and they do not readily submit themselves to any authorities, not even the Emperor. How did this ‘secret organization’ control them? Most Wuxias’ would rather fight to their death than to be subjugated by someone and furthermore who would be powerful enough to threaten a whole group of this skilled martial art fighter?
I asked the Priest, “Master White Crane, who is this organization? And how did they manage to control this proud people?”
White Crane replied, “Hong Er did not tell me who they were, but he had noticed a pattern. In recent years, Wulin had this mysterious invitation letter in circulation, this invitation were delivered from an unknown party.
The invitation claimed that the guest will be brought to an island of paradise, the best food, finest wine, most beautiful women would be provided for the guest’s entertainment. And all the guests would be given the best herbal tonic to improve their martial art skill and internal strength. The promise of wine, food and women was not the appealing factor as most of the Wuxia’s were righteous people, but the promise of improving their martial art skills and internal energy was very tempting.
In the beginning, most people thought this invitation was a hoax or an elaborate scam, but a few of the invitees took up the invitation and came back to confirm the existence of this island. They claimed that everything mentioned in the invitation was true and indeed they were tested by others and found to have vastly improved in their martial arts. They were much more powerful than they were before they went on the trip. The trip took them only fifteen days.”
I said, “How could that be possible? Martial art and internal strength could only be attained through training and hard work. How did they attain such improvement within such a short period?”
White Crane agreed, “That was the same question that your teacher was asking. But he felt that was not important as there are many things in this world that we did not understand, they might have some special techniques or herbs that could achieve that. Your teacher felt that he did not have the right to question the moral of that.”
He took a sip of tea and continued, “Soon the entire Wulin in the region was captivated by this Special Invitation, everybody was talking about it and everybody was hoping that he would be invited next. But the Invitations were very secretive; all those that received it were instructed to keep mum about it. It was until these people suddenly left and reappear fifteen to twenty days later that the people around them knew that they went on the trip.
Everybody who came back would not tell where the island was and they refused to talk about their experience on the island, but one thing was for sure, their fighting skills improved tremendously. There were some stories that they were brought onto a ship and the ship was totally sealed up on all sides, therefore they were not able to see where they were sailing to.”
He continued, “But all this was not what your teacher was concerned with, he was alarmed only when these returnees started behaving strangely. That was when he suspected that there was plot to subjugate these people.
Let me give you one example. The head of the biggest shipping network along the Yangtze River was a righteous Wuxia, his name was Wang Liang; he was famous for his fighting skill and navigation knowledge. He was a much respected member of the Wulin community in the region; he was loyal to the Song Empire and its people. Wang Liang had refused to serve any merchant who had business dealing with the Liao Kingdom in our northern frontier. Even the Emperor of Song dynasty did not dare to openly declare this but Wang Liang did.
As you would know our Song dynasty and the Liao Kingdom had been fighting along our border for decades, but the trade between the two still flourishes, they were dependent on us for many commodities. Our Emperor did not dare to cut off the trade for fear of infuriating the Liao further and he was also worry that it would hurt our merchants. Wang Liang declared his personal war against the Liao kingdom and refused to serve the merchant trading there. He was a hero and a righteous man. But all this changed after he accepted the invitation.
Wang Liang was one of those went on this Special Invitation, when he came back he seemed normal, but within days he started to reverse his policy of not serving ships bound for the north. He even allocated a big portion of his shipping assets to exclusively serve the enemy. When his business partner who was also his sworn brother voiced his disapproval about the change there was a big argument and there was a fight and Wang Liang killed his sworn brother. These two men had been friends and later business partner since their childhood, they were closer than family. This killing was very uncharacteristic of Wang Liang. This was just one example; there were many others.”
I asked, “Could it be that he was bought off by the Liao merchants?”
White Crane replied, “No, Wang Liang would never be bought by money, the merchants had tried to buy him before, it did not work. It must be something more than money, it must be a strangle hold on him that he had no choice but to submit to it. There were a few other cases that your teacher told me about that upright characters in the Wulin had turned to unscrupulous and uncharacteristic crimes.
There was this case of the two brothers in Dragon Gate protection agency turning on their fellow agencies by ro
bbing their cargo, ruining several businesses. These two brothers from Dragon Gate agency were much respected in Wulin; they were the head of their guild. They had often helped the fellow protection agencies when they were in trouble.
But since they came back from their trip to the island, they had been quietly robbing the other agencies of the cargo under their protection. So far nobody had been able to prove that they were the robbers, but there were eye-witnessed account of their deeds, but the eye witnesses were too scared to come forward.
Too much of what happened recently had been unexplainable, and this group of returnees simply refused to tell anything about the island. They denied totally that they were working for someone behind the scene, and when they were pressed for answers they tend to become very violent.”
I asked, “Did my teacher talk to any of them?”
White Crane replied, “Yes, he went to several that he knew personally, but all of them refused to give any answers. And two of them committed suicide after his visit. He noticed that all these people that he had talked to looked very normal on the surface, but he could detect a certain anxiety in them, and they were very irritable and distracted, there was something different about them.”
White Crane continued, “He did not have the chance to talk to Wang Liang and the two brothers from Dragon Gate Agency, these two were very senior people in Wulin and they had refused to meet your teacher who was relatively unknown in this region.”
I asked, “So can I conclude that this Special Invitation organization was behind the murder of my teacher?”
White Crane closed his eyes and thought for a moment, finally he said, “Your teacher had passed away too suddenly, he did not leave me any guidance as to what he wishes to be done. I believe this organization is made up of very dangerous people; I do not want to see you ending up dead like your teacher. I have heard stories of your brave deeds in the Shu region, I know you will seek revenge for your teacher, and I know that there is nothing I can say to stop you.
Finally I shall answer your question; Yes, I believe the Special Invitation was behind your teacher Hong Er’s murder, if you intend to seek revenge, I will pray for your safety, but I believe you alone would not be able to accomplish much against such a vast organization, I believe it is better off leaving it to the Imperial authority to deal with it.”
I appreciate his predicament; on one hand he was duty-bound to reveal the truth to me, but on the other hand he knew that by telling me the truth it would send me on the path to seek revenge against this mysterious group. White Crane would inevitably hold himself responsible for my death.
I consoled him, “Dear Master, you are right that I will seek revenge for my teacher’s death, it is my duty to seek justice for my beloved teacher. On top of it all, I also have the responsibility to protect the people from such evilness, I have to stand up and expose the plot. I must not allow more ignorant Wuxia’s to go on this trip to the paradise island and end up working for the enemy.
All this decision are mine to make, you are in no way responsible for what happen to me after this. You had done your duty as a friend to my teacher to tell me all this. You had done this at great personal risk, I am sure my teacher would be eternally grateful to you.
Dear Master, there is one last thing I request of you. Please give me a list of the people my teacher had spoken to before he was murdered, I will conduct my investigation from there.”
He gave me a list of five names and addresses. He told his disciples to bring my teacher’s belonging to me; it consisted of some clothing and a few jars of medicine. I thank them and went on my way.