Redemption (25 page)

Sanfeng contemplated Namara’s agony.

“Nothing like mortal pain to convince a man, don’t you think?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“You asked for it,” he said, mimicking his earlier words.

Sanfeng rolled Danny onto his stomach and delivered two palm hits to his back, instantly relieving his pain. He stayed on his back, completely exhausted by his ordeal.

“Jesus christ, what the hell was that,” he muttered as he caught his breath.

“I told you, Dim Mak! But only a small part. That was only a little demonstration, nothing dangerous, do not worry. You will not relapse. You are privileged to have lived through it. I felt generous today.”

“You call that a privilege!?”

Sanfeng laughed again and helped him sit back on the bench.

“So?” he asked as he took another bite of his hamburger.

“I want to understand whatever it is you do. I’ve never seen anything like that!”

Sanfeng stared at him very seriously and fixedly for several seconds.

“I need to see if you are capable… I am as yet uncertain. However, to admit we know nothing is the first step to knowledge. I can’t refuse a man who wants to learn. The universe allows no accidents. If you crossed my path, it is because it must be so. I would have preferred that you were Chinese, but we all must be accepting of imperfections! You come see me, I’ll see what I can do! You know, you will have to learn to trust not what you see, but what you feel. We will talk again another time, if you like. Everything in time. See me tomorrow morning, we will begin. It’s been a long time since I’ve had company! And now, we part.”

Awkwardly, Danny left the park. At the crossroads, he looked back, expecting Sanfeng to have disappeared. But no – he had risen from the table to begin his meditation. He stood under the tree with closed eyes. His hands were held at heart level and his arms were round, as though he were hugging a beach ball.

He thought back to what had just happened to him and wondered if the old man wasn’t a little supernatural. There didn’t seem to be any other rational explanation.
Or maybe he’s telling the truth
. He became more and more confused by what he saw next: the trees, both the mature titanic ones and the little saplings, swayed lightly in the wind. And, matching their rhythm and motion, Sanfeng swayed with them.

CHAPTER 34

Sanfeng’s apartment was in fact behind his shop that sold medicinal herbs, different roots, and multitudes of varieties of tea. They were all neatly organized into sachets and pots. The shop was basically a series of old wood shelves that rose to the ceiling. The place was full of Chinese calligraphy and pottery; it looked like a veritable cave of wonders. The store was in an underground mall beneath a huge office building where any number of other businesses operated throughout the day.

The back of the shop gave into a vast room resembling a warehouse. This was where he lived. It was completely bare. Inside, there was a tiny kitchen, a wooden table and a lamp, but for light he preferred the candles nailed up everywhere. There was no radio or television – instead, huge stacks of books everywhere. The rest was empty.

“Welcome!” said Sanfeng.

“Thank you!”

“You have come to learn my art, the art of the monks at the
Lingdao
temple. You wish to learn real martial arts?”

“Are you saying that what I learned
isn’t
…”

“Answer the question!”

“Yes, I want to learn and understand what you do.”

Sanfeng smiled under the light of the candles.

“Very well, let’s begin with Dim Mak. Know that the term means ‘to press the artery’, and not ‘touch of death’. This art demands great knowledge of the human anatomy. You must learn how the human body functions in harmony with the energies around you. The human body is composed of meridians, each of which represents an organ in the human body. They are the same meridians we use in acupuncture, but knowledge of acupuncture is not equal to knowledge of Dim Mak! You will learn to touch the points that affect the organ, to know the energy channels that circle in a human body and to use certain, secret points that lead to devastating attacks. But before all that, you must open your sprit to admit that such energy exists, do you agree?”

“Yeah, I can admit that there’s something bigger than me at play…”

“Very good!”

Sanfeng moved toward one of the bookshelves and selected two huge books, each hundreds of pages long. They dropped heavily on the table in front of Danny.

“What are these?” he asked, disappointed.

“These are what will teach you everything at an acupuncture level. Then we’ll go deeper,” said Sanfeng with a grin.

Danny didn’t say a word. He opened the first book and scanned the contents. Every page was detailed and written in tiny characters, explaining the points and meridians that the body could contain. He was at the time fascinated and daunted by the weight of the task awaiting him. He certainly hadn’t expected this… but he told himself he was here, he might as well read. The apprenticeship continued somewhat-daily, in which they shared long discussions on vital points. He gradually learned how to locate every point on the human body and how to make those touches efficiently. He learned the effects, the variants, how one used them in combat. Sanfeng set him simple exercises to increase the power and speed of his hits.

“Your hits must be extremely powerful, with surgical precision, like open heart surgery, for Dim Mak to work. Only a seasoned and experienced martial artist could accomplish it.”

He realized that, little by little over the days, he had begun to completely ignore everything he’d learned of martial arts; and that with Sanfeng, his knowledge and abilities improved at lightning speed. He had come to know exactly where to find each bone, each side, and where to hit to create a precise result, unique to any man on the street. He became more than he had ever been, that is, a warrior with abilities for which there were no words.

*     *     *

One evening, after Danny had snuck past the building’s locks and made it to Sanfeng’s store, he found him on his knees on the wood floor, dead centre in the room. Before him, he had laid out a rug and place settings for a meal. Another place was let for him, and he knelt across from Sanfeng.

“What’s all this?” he asked, squinting through the candlelight at the tradition Chinese meal Sanfeng had obviously taken pains to prepare.

“We’re celebrating a big moment. You have completed you training with me! I have taught you all I can. Now, it’s time for you to continue on your own,” he said, smiling, the candlelight reflecting off his teeth and his long dark-blue shirt.

“What do you mean, completed? We’ve only worked on Dim Mak!”

“Yes, precisely.”

“The first thing you told me was that Dim Mak was only part of it. Remember when I tried to push you over? You were fixed to the earth. You were moving like a tree in the wind. That wasn’t Dim Mak. I’m not an idiot. It’s powerful, what you taught me, but there’s something else!”

“Maybe…”

“I thought you’d agreed to teach me.”

Sanfeng sipped his hot tea and made no reaction to Namara’s commentary, as though he was alone in the room.

“There
is
more. But as I explained from the beginning, we had to see how far you could take yourself, what were your abilities. You went to your limit. It is impossible for me to teach you anymore, not in this the actual sense.”

“Chrissake, I never understand a damn think you say!”

Sanfeng sighed as though he was disappointed in Danny’s stupidity.

“Very well! You want to know, I will explain! Our universe is constituted of an element that surrounds us, called
chi
. The Chinese name means, really, the universal energy that we find in everything, like you, me, this table, this floor. In opening yourself to the universe, you can accomplish things most men would call impossible.”

“And you’re saying I’m not open, is that it?”

“Not necessarily… but you need to understand that, to attain such an openness, only isolation, and meditation can lead you to your deepest self to find what you can really accomplish. It would be completely whacky to tell you that you can succeed in the western world, that never stops moving, and in which your spirit is nothing but vagabond. Never could you understand that which I explain in this world you live in, Danny. It is no accident that we crossed paths and I feel things that you may or may not believe. I saw the darkness you carry within you. I do not judge you, believe me… I understand. You must also understand, however, the suffering you carry in you will mean your downfall if you do not purge it. You must eliminate them, empty yourself, make peace. You are an integral part of the universe and you are not excluded, whatever you might think. There are circumstances that made you what you are, but accept the fact that you are a part of all of us. At this moment, you can use the universe to your will by the force of your spirit. At this moment only, you can move mountains and do unimaginable things. The real power is at the heart of yourself. Open your eyes and see! Accept the order of things and the only limit you have is that of your openness toward the universe. Can you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes.”

“The reason I’m here is no accident. I spend the majority of my time digging deep within me, exactly that which you lack. However, you succeeded in becoming powerful in a world that is, to me, completely unknown. We are perfect opposites, truly. I am the yin, so you, my friend, are the yang! However, none of us can attain equilibrium staying in our respective sides. Our meeting leads to equilibrium and therefore, invincibility! You learned how to beat the outer world, understand it, respond to its hostilities and survive. However you ignore all of yourself and you interior force. As for me, I’m here to test my spirit and force against all experiences, hostilities and temptations. Every new experience for me is a gift, because it lets me attain each time a little more of that which we call perfection. Of course, when I see myself naked in a mirror, I have to admit that I’m already pretty close.”

“Pffffffff! I’m going to go ahead and pretend I never heard that last part.”

Sanfeng guffawed and took a bit of the glazed chicken.

“You know, I told you that I would go as far as I could. Let’s say I want to go further… what’s the next step?”

Sanfeng stood and disappeared for a few seconds, to return with a bronze medallion on which was engraved a fire-spitting phoenix. He deposited it in Danny’s right hand.

“Well… What follows will be that you take this medallion and go to China, to the
Lingdao
monastery at Mount Emei. When you find the monastery, give this to the monk Chao Heng. He will know who sent you. But your path, you must take it alone. I cannot help you more than this. Now, eat, before it gets cold!”

He saluted Sanfeng. “Thank you for everything,” said Danny.

“The pleasure is mine. Thank you for putting you confidence in this old fool. You are a being full of goodness. I saw it from the start, even if you ignored it, warrior. That your quest will lead you to climb amongst the stars, so that you radiate from one continent to the other, my friend,” he said, full of conviction, as he raised his glass.

CHAPTER 35

Mount Emei region, Sichuan, China.

“Damn macaques,” Namara growled – his canteen had just been stolen by one of the wild monkeys that populated Mount Emei.

Knowing that he’d have to walk so many kilometers in the dense forest to get to
Lingdao
, he’d gone and bought hiking boots and a pack, which he’d filled with only that which was necessary. It had been hours since he’d arrived, and he hadn’t stopped walking in the little narrow trails, slowly edging up the huge mountain. Upon his arrival at Emei, he’d met an old lady on the side of a country road. She sold hard eggs in a vinegar solution that boiled in a bowl on a counter in her cabin. He had taken care to buy some for the ascension. He knew that the old lady was the last possible source of supplies for him. Then, he would be by himself in the mountains. Ignorant as to the fauna of the forest, he thought tying his canteen to his bag would be sufficient.

The climate surprised him. The forest was dense and varied, the climate cool but comfortable. A constant humidity hung in the air and the fog stuck. The trail continued unceasingly. The countryside was breathtaking, following the path that plowed into deep valleys. He stopped several times to admire the huge mountains that surrounded him and whose summits disappeared into the opaque fog. Birds hovered and swirled around the peaks and cried, as though to wish him well. The more he walked, the higher he rose. After some time, breathing became more difficult as air pressure lowered. He quickly realized that he was not as alone as he thought in the green, humid forest. Hundreds of wild monkeys hid all around him. They were like miniature grey gorillas, the size of a little kid, and moved as a group. When he felt the presence of the little beasts, he was worried they would attack him, but they seemed content to watch, study, follow. They never attacked.

When he thought he was finally rid of companions, he glanced up and saw yet another, who had come out of the forest to perch on a raised branch and watch him walk, scratching its white goatee. Not realizing that the canteen on his pack would be interesting to a macaque, he learned soon enough – a monkey lurched toward him like lightning and seized it. The knot broke and he fell backward, but he got his balance while his proud little friend cried in satisfaction, scaling a tree, holding his loot.

*     *     *

Namara couldn’t feel his legs. It had been six hours of straight uphill trek. Despite his fatigue and the humidity that drenched his clothes, he wouldn’t slacken his pace. He arrived in a deep valley surrounded by narrow, high mountains. They looked like huge stalagmites covered in vegetation, only their peaks showing rocky relief. Deep in the valley, he could make out the little monastery in the shelter and camouflage of the mountains. There were five rudimentary wood constructions, blackened by the mountain humidity. The structures surrounded a huge pare expanse of interlocking brick. Only a giant bronze cauldron sat in the centre. A thick plume of incense smoke swirled from the cauldron into the sky to mingle with the fog.