Peach Blossom Pavilion (39 page)

Then we spotted a dark object partly hidden in the shrubbery. Teng Xiong suggested, "Precious Orchid, let's go and take a look."

When we drew closer, we realized it was a huge bronze bell turned a deep green and covered with ancient characters.

Teng Xiong traced the inscription with her finger, "Look, Precious Orchid, it was donated to honor a high monk who lived.. . one hundred and twenty years. So maybe it will bring us longevity, too. "

"Please, Teng Xiong, it's getting dark, and I'm scared!"

"Don't worry. The bell must mean there's a temple somewhere near here."

I looked around but didn't see a roof or a pagoda's tip. "Then where is the temple?"

"Be patient, it must be close by, hidden by mist or trees. Now let's-" She suddenly stopped, then spoke in a whisper. "Listen."

I strained my ears, then murmured back to her. "I think I hear footsteps."

"Me, too," she paused, her voice tense, "and they're getting closer."

"That's good, should we shout to them for help?"

Teng Xiong slapped a hand tightly against my mouth. "No! Precious Orchid. We have no idea who these people are, they may be monks ... or they may be bandits."

"Oh my heaven, then what are we going to do?"

Before Teng Xiong had a chance to respond, we heard laughter and loud curses drifting from behind the bushes.

Teng Xiong said in a heated whisper, "Now I'm sure they're bandits."

Just then I spotted shadows flickering here and there within the foliage.

Teng Xiong's suppressed whisper rose again right next to my ear. "It's too late to run now. We'd better hide. Maybe we can get inside the bell. Here, help me try to lift it up." She laid the qin on the ground, then we got our fingers around the rim of the bell and, as if suddenly aided by some supernatural power, managed to lift it above the ground.

Teng Xiong hissed, "Get in, quick!"

I hesitated.

She crawled under the bell and reached out for me. I tried to grab the qin but my hand slipped. The bell fell with a loud clatter.

Inside the bell, Teng Xiong's voice sounded urgent yet muted. "Let's lift it again, quick! "

But too late. I saw two huge heads poking out from a nearby bush.

I picked up the qin and started to sprint.

Trees and bushes flew past me. Instead of golden lotuses blossoming under my dainty steps, now twigs, sands, and small stones were crushed under the soles of my brutalized feet. The air slapped hard against my cheeks. Low branches tore at my arms until I felt blood trickling down my skin. The qin kept drumming against my back, bruising my ribs. Then, to my horror, it slipped off my shoulder and crashed onto the ground.

I let out a sharp cry and kept running. But alas, in a moment, I was grabbed from behind. Though I tried to kick and chop, two muscular arms locked around me so tightly that my martial art prowess was as lost as my qin. I screamed and screamed.

To my surprise, instead of pressing his hand over my mouth, the bandit burst into laughter. Meanwhile his companion moved in front of me and scrutinized me hard and long. He had a strangely evil-looking face with sharp bones sticking in all directions under taut skin. When he spoke, his voice came out high-pitched like a young girl's. I almost laughed despite my alarming situation.

"Even if you scream until your lungs burst, do you think in this no-man's-land your lover boy will hear and come to your rescue?"

Then the one grasping me from behind said, his voice harsh and mean, "What's a pretty girl like you doing here alone in the woods, eh?" With one arm still tight around me, he grabbed my hair and wrenched my head back to stare hard at me. I could see bulging eyes as big as copper coins above a full, rumpled beard.

My mouth remained tightly shut. At least they hadn't spotted Teng Xiong.

Sharp-Bones hollered, "Search her!"

From behind, Bulge-Eyes rubbed, squeezed, and pressed all over me, lingering on my breasts and yin place, "Fuck, nothing, this bitch has nothing!"

Sharp-Bones threw me a sharp, questioning look. "Nothing?"

"Yes. Absolutely nothing. No money, no jewelry."

A long silence. Then Sharp-Bones piped up again, his eyes aiming licentious glances at me while his crude hand caressed his equally crude face. "Hmmm, but she has something better than money and jewelry. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Bulge-Eyes joined him in laughing. "You're damn right."

Having said that, he threw me onto the ground, tore open my top, and yanked my pants down. As Sharp-Bones laughed, BulgeEyes dropped his own filthy pants and clambered on top of me.

I screamed, this time not to fake pleasure, but from pain, anger, revulsion.

Bulge-Eyes slapped my face and banged my body onto the ground. I screamed louder, flailing my limbs under his bulky torso. He hit again, his hand thrusting as hard as his filthy stalk. I lay on the ground, paralyzed, unable to stop his slime from pouring into me.

Sharp-Bones watched with knowing nods and an evil smile.

After Bulge-Eyes' stalk turned soft, he pulled up his pants and hollered to his comrade. "Now your turn!"

Just as Sharp-Bones was about to pull down his pants, we heard the sound of footsteps rustling on leaves. Bulge-Eyes with one huge hand pinned me to the ground, while his other was held tightly against my mouth.

Thank heaven, it must be Teng Xiong! But how did she have the strength to lift up the bell all by herself?

The two bandits were now straining their ears and eyes, heads turning to follow the sound.

Then all of a sudden, a face thrust itself out from a bush. The evil duo let go of me, then snatched out knives and flicked them open. The sharp blades glittered like elongated eyes blinking in hell.

Although the moonlight was dimmed by the mist, I could still make out a pair of alert eyes taking in the scene. I snatched up my shredded clothes to cover my nakedness while a cry escaped from my mouth and rolled out into the darkness. I tried to stand up, but my feet wobbled and my muscles throbbed so hard that I collapsed back onto the ground. The two bandits ignored me.

Sharp-Bones hollered to the stranger in his woman's voice, "You've just come to see your own death, you fuck-seeded bastard!"

Bulge-Eyes spat, "Or you want to have a share of this slut, you embryo-fucked son of a bitch!"

To my disbelief, instead of turning away and running for his life, the man stepped forward. He wore a black top and pants and his hair was hidden under a black scarf. The lantern in his hand cast an eerie, yellowish light, illuminating his face, which was unexpectedly smooth and intelligent.

When he spoke, his voice was calm and low, "I'm afraid you two will have to let this lady go."

Sharp-Bones burst into a shrill laugh. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Don't tell me you feel no desire for such a beauty! What are you, a turtle egg or a eunuch?"

The young man's expression turned grave, his voice now even lower. "As I said, you must let her go."

"Ha! Little bastard," Sharp-Bones spat, "what's your rank? Don't you tell us what to do!"

The two exchanged a meaningful glance. Then Sharp-Bones said to his comrade, "Should we teach this eunuch a lesson?"

"Sure."

"Wait a minute." The young man spoke again in his calm voice. "Let me first ask you a question."

Sharp-Bones scratched his pointed head and roared with laughter. "A question? What's the matter with you, now trying to play scholar instead of bastard?"

Seemingly undisturbed, the young man replied, "Can you two read? "

Bulge-Eyes looked amused. "Ha, Ha, do we need to?" He swung the weapon in his hand. "We have our knives!"

Sharp-Bones chimed in with a licentious sneer, shaking his hips. "And our stalks! Ha, ha, ha!"

Suddenly the young man flipped open a scroll. I strained my eyes and saw a mystical diagram with tiger, sword, dragon, and rows of unintelligible calligraphy.

The two bandits, probably illiterate, looked puzzled.

Just then the young man snatched out a horn and started to blow, the ear-splitting sound spreading in myriad directions. With the harsh buzz still resonating in the air, he dropped the horn and took out a small bell which he started to shake vigorously, while his mouth muttered some unintelligible phrases. Next he flashed something long and soft-a dragon-headed whip! It flicked and snapped in the air like an attacking snake. Finally, as if in a magic show, he drew out a long sword, split the scroll into two, and with his lantern set it on fire. I let out a gasp.

The two bandits looked stunned; big beads of perspiration oozed from their creased foreheads. Their faces shone red in the glaring fire. Their mouths, hanging open, emitted no word.

The most extraordinary sight was yet to come. Now the fire sprang into the shape of a huge tiger and, with full force, leaped toward the twosome.

The two bandits held their heads and screamed as if they had just been brought before the King of Hell. Instantly, they vanished into the darkness.

Instead of chasing after them, the young man started to walk toward me, then stopped when he was about ten feet away. He spoke, his voice now gentle yet cautious. "Miss, are you all right?"

I was still too stunned to respond.

"I won't hurt you. Do you want me to help you up?"

I shook my head and he turned around-so I could pull on my clothes. I sighed inside. Did he imagine that my body had never been touched nor even seen by a man? But he must know that I'd just been raped.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. My hands clumsily buttoned up my tattered top while my eyes studied the back of this stranger who had just witnessed my unsightly nudity and saved my life.

He asked softly, "Have you finished?"

"Yes," I said, my voice emptied of strength.

Now he turned around and I got a closer look at his face; his eyes seemed compassionate. Approaching slowly, he said, "I want to help you, but you have to tell me how."

He was tall. I looked up and blurted out, "My friend is trapped in a bell!"

"A bell, where?"

"I believe it's somewhere not far from here, but I'm not sure. I ran a long way before the bandits caught me."

He looked at me with great concern. "I'm so sorry; I hope they didn't-"

"But they did." I swallowed hard. "I mean one of them . . ." Despite my recent catastrophe, I noticed that I was the one who had been raped but he was the one who seemed more upset.

A long, awkward silence. Finally he spoke. "I think you better look for your friend now before it's too late. I'll help."

I told him I also needed to look for my musical instrument, which I'd discarded during my flight.

He took a good look at me. "Do you think you can walk now?"

Again I felt pain all over. Suddenly I realized that with my torn clothes, disheveled hair, and bruises on my face, I must look like a hag!

I lowered my head. "Yes."

He inched closer and held his lantern up. "You have some bruises on your face but no cuts and no bleeding, so don't worry. It's nothing serious. The marks will go away in a few days." After that, he took off his jacket and handed it to me. "Please put this on.

I blushed, suddenly noticing one of my breasts was peeking through a big tear in my top.

He looked away. "Please hurry, I worry about your friend."

Now I had no idea where to find the bell. So we just looked around at random. He walked in front of me, parting leaves and pushing away branches to make way. The lantern cast eerie, flickering shadows like dancing phantoms.

"Teng Xiong!" I called, straining ears and eyes.

The young man asked, "So your friend's a man?"

"No, a woman. She just has a man's name." Suddenly I realized that "Teng Xiong" might not be Teng's real name. She had to use a fake name-Xiong means heroic, a common man's name-to disguise herself. The same reason I'd changed from Xiang Xiang to Precious Orchid.

So who was this young man who dressed strangely, performed magic, had seen my nudity, and now walked with me so closely in a dark forest? I hadn't even yet learned his name, let alone his background. Even if I did, how would I know that it was not just another disguise?

Although disheartened by this reflection, I gathered up my strength and continued to shout at the top of my voice, "Teng Xiong! Teng Xiong!"

But there was no response except echoes of my own voice, the blowing wind, and the crunching of leaves under our feet.

Finally, after almost two hours' search, we gave up.

The young man said, "It's too dark to look for anything now and I'm sure you're exhausted. So let's try again tomorrow."

I nodded.

He looked at me with concern. "Do you think you can walk more?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll walk slowly." He paused, then spoke again, measuring his words, "Or if you don't mind, I can carry you."

"Thank you for your kindness, but I think I can manage." Though I ached everywhere and wanted desperately to accept his offer, I had to refuse. I wanted him to think that I was a shy, decent woman who'd rather hang herself than have any physical contact with a strange man. In ancient times, it was said, that to display their virtue, some women would even chop off their hand after it had been accidentally brushed by a man.

Hesitantly, he spoke again. "Are you staying somewhere on the mountain?"

"I don't ... I ... I just arrived here."

He said gently, "If you don't have a place to stay, you can come to my temple."

"Temple?" I looked up and caught his gaze.

"Yes. I'm a monk, Taoist."

Suddenly things fit together-the scarf, the strange outfit, the lantern, the calligraphic scroll, the magic stunt. Of course, a Taoist monk! I almost cried out aloud. Then, as my initial shock had waned, I felt a sudden disappointment, as well as color rising to my cheeks. Such a handsome man, why would he want to be a monk?

He spoke again. "The trip back to my temple will take some time. Are you sure you can manage?"

"I'll be fine," I said stubbornly.

In silence, I followed him and his dangling lantern until finally my legs were so wobbly and my body so pained that I collapsed on the ground.