Empress Orchid - Anchee Min [166]
The head monk changed the subject when I asked to be shown around the temple. He took us to the main hall so we could light incense for the gods and then took us right back to this room to sleep. When I asked him about the history of the carvings on the walls, he changed the subject again. His tongue also lacked a preacher’s polish when telling Tung Chih the story of the one-thousand-hand Buddha. He didn’t seem familiar with the basic styles of calligraphy, which I found hard to believe, for monks made their living copying sutras. I had asked him how many monks he housed in the temple, and he had said eight. Where would we get help if bandits should attack?
The more I thought about this dubious man, the more restless I grew. “Li Lien-ying,” I whispered.
My eunuch didn’t answer. This was unusual. Li Lien-ying was a light sleeper. He could hear a leaf falling from a tree outside the window. What was wrong with him? I remembered that he had been invited by the head monk to have tea after dinner.
“Li—Li Lien-ying!” I sat up and saw him in the corner.
He was sleeping like a rock. Could there have been something in the tea the head monk had served?
I slipped into my robe and crossed the room. I shook the eunuch, but he responded with loud snoring. Maybe he was just too tired.
I decided to go out and check the courtyard. I was fearful, but it was scarier to be kept in doubt.
The moon was bright. The courtyard looked like it had been spread with a coat of salt. The scent of laurel was carried by the wind. Just as I thought how peaceful it was, I saw a shadow duck behind an arched door. Had my eyes been fooled by the moonlight? By my nerves?
I went back to the room and closed the door. I climbed into bed and peeked through a window. In front of me was a tree with a thick trunk. In the dark, the trunk kept changing its shape. One moment it looked like it grew a belly, the next an arm.
My eyes weren’t fooling me. There were people in the courtyard. They were hiding behind the trees.
I woke Nuharoo and explained what I saw.
“You see a soldier behind every blade of grass,” Nuharoo complained, putting on her clothes.
While I dressed Tung Chih, Nuharoo went to wake Li Lien-ying. “The slave must be drunk,” she said. “He won’t wake up.”
“Something’s wrong, Nuharoo.”
I slapped Li’s face and eventually he woke up. When he tried to walk, however, his legs wobbled. We were shocked.
“Get ready to run,” I said.
“Where can we go?” Nuharoo panicked.
We had no knowledge of the area. Even if we managed to get out of the temple, we could easily lose our way on the mountain. If we weren’t caught, we might starve to death. But what would happen if we remained here? By now I had no doubt that the head monk was Su Shun’s man. I should have insisted on keeping the bearers near.
I told Tung Chih to hold on to me when I opened the door.
The mountain was beginning to show its shape in the predawn light. The wind in the pines sounded like a rushing tide. The four of us walked down a hallway and passed through an arched gate. We followed a barely visible path. “This should lead us to the foot of the mountain,” I said, although I was not sure.
We didn’t get far before we heard the sounds of pursuit.
“Look, Yehonala, you’ve gotten us in trouble,” Nuharoo cried. “We could have called the monks for help if we had stayed in the temple.”
I pulled Nuharoo along with me as Li Lien-ying struggled to stay on his feet while carrying Tung Chih on his back. We walked as fast as we could. Suddenly the path was blocked by a group of masked men.
“Give them what they want,” I said to Nuharoo, assuming they were bandits.
The men made no sound but moved in