Water Margin, Volume Two, page 35
"I often thought of bringing him here," said Wu Yung, "but owing to other affairs I forgot about him. I will find a means of getting him to join us."
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"Your reputation as a Clever Star rests upon a firm foundation," said Sung Chiang. "But how can you induce him to join us here?"
Wu Yung then explained his plans in detail.
A hero leaves his comforts,
Meets dangers face to face.
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CHAPTER 60
WU YUNG SCHEMES TO GET HOLD OF
THE JEWELED CHILIN; CHANG SHUN
UPSETS A BOAT AT GOLDEN SAND BANK
I rely on my small tongue," said Wu Yung, "to go to the Northern Capital and get the Jeweled Chilin to join us here just as easily as I take an article out of my pocket. But it would be necessary that a man of strange appearance should accompany me there."
Li K'wei heard this, and said, "Elder brother, I am willing to go with you."
"You keep quiet," said Sung Chiang. "I shall need you if there is any incendiarism, murder, looting, to be done. But this requires artfulness, and your nature is not suitable for such work."
"But am I not an ugly strange person?" said Li K'wei. "Why not make use of my strange appearance?"
"I do not dislike you," said Sung Chiang, "but if you go to the Northern Capital and they found out your name, your life would be in danger."
"Never mind that," said Li K'wei, "I think that Wu Yung will see that I am suitable."
"You must listen to my three conditions," said Wu Yung. "If you do not agree to them then you must stay here."
"Three conditions will not stop me," replied Li K'wei. "If there were thirty conditions I would agree to them."
"The first condition," said Wu Yung, "is that you should abstain from wine because when you take it you have a violent temper. Second condition, you must dress as a Taoist acolyte, and obey my orders implicitly. The third is difficulty. From to-morrow you must not speak a single word, but act like a dumb person. If you will observe these three conditions you may go with me."
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"The first two I can observe, but the third is very hard," said Li K'wei.
"If you open your mouth mischief is bound to happen," said Wu Yung.
"I shall have to do it," said Li K'wei. "I can keep my mouth closed by having a copper cash on my tongue."
There was general laughter at this. It was agreed to let Li K'wei go, and that evening a farewell banquet was held in the Loyalty and Justice Hall.
Early the next morning Li donned the priest garb, and left the mountain with Wu Yung. For five days these two traveled along the road to the Northern Capital, Ta Ming Fu, and rested each night at inns on the way. Li K'wei kept his word, but found it very difficult at times to keep quiet when he had lost his temper. Upon reaching the capital they staved at an inn, and one evening when Li K'wei was in the kitchen cooking food he lost his temper and struck one of the servants. The servant went and complained to Wu Yung of this. Wu Yung offered apologies, and gave the servant ten strings of cash in compensation.
The next morning after breakfast Wu Yung called Li K'wei and said, "You have begun to annoy me with your temper. Let us have no more of this. To-day you must accompany me and keep out of mischief. If there is any trouble to-day you may endanger my life. I will now give you a secret signal. When I wag my head you must not move."
They both then left the inn and went into the city. Wu Yung was dressed as a priest, and carried a small bell; Li K'wei was dressed as an acolyte, and carried a stick over his shoulder to which was attached a piece of paper with a text written on it, "Tell fortunes, and give advice on any matter for one ounce of silver."
At that time there were many soldiers in Ta Ming Fu because in the country around were many bandits and thieves. It was also the headquarters of Grand Secretary Liang, the commander in chief of the armies north of the Huang Ho. Wu Yang and Li K'wei came to the city gate where there was an officer of the guard. Wu Yang saluted him, and the officer asked "Sir, where are you from?"
"My name is Chang Yung," replied Wu Yung "and this is my assistant named Li. I am a fortune teller."
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An inspector of passports was looking at Wu Yung's paper, when a soldier remarked, "This acolyte has the appearance of a thief." Li K'wei was angry and would have hit the fellow, but Wu Yung wagged his head, and so Li K'wei curbed his temper and hung down his head.
Wu Yung offered apologies for his assistant's quick temper, and then all being in order they went their way. As he went along the street Wu Yung rattled his bell and sang a ballad:
Kan Lu a mandarin, when young
Tsu Ya when old;
Unlucky Yen Hui died in youth,
Peng Tzu when old;
Fan Tan was always poor from birth,
Shih Chung was rich.
Some men just prosper, smiling,
Seem destined for the best of fate;
For others, graves are yawning,
Unlucky and unfortunate.
From me nothing is hidden,
Of life and death or poverty;
Beware of fatal omen,
Consult me now, avoid delay.
Having finished this he rang his bell again. He was soon followed by a crowd of boys who laughed at him. When he reached Lu Tsun-i's house he walked backwards and forwards there, singing the funny song, and ringing his bell, and being ridiculed by the crowd of boys.
Lu Tsun-i heard the noise, and asked a servant what it was about.
"It is very funny!" said the servant. "There is a fortune teller who asks for an ounce of silver to tell one's horoscope. He is accompanied by a strange-looking acolyte who is very uncouth, and his antics amuse the people."
"As he asks for so much he must be a well-educated man," said Lu Tsun-i. "You go and ask him to come here."
The servant went and asked Wu Yung to come to his master. "What is your master's name?" asked Wu Yung. The servant told him, and then Wu Yung agreed to go. Upon reaching the room the servant gave Li K'wei a chair
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on the veranda and asked him to wait there. He then lifted the door curtain, and showed in Wu Yung who saluted Lu Tsun-i.
"What is your honorable village and name?" asked Lu Tsun-i.
"I am Chang Yung, and my nickname is Heaven's Mouth, and I am a Shantung man. I am familiar with the book on 'Nativity and Fate,' and can foretell the future. My fee is one ounce of silver."
Lu Tsun-i asked him to enter a smaller room at the back, and there sat down.
The host ordered tea, and also an ounce of silver to be given to Wu Yung. He then asked Wu Yung to tell his fortune.
Wu Yung asked for the date, hour, etc. of his birth, but Lu Tsun-i said he did not want to know much of his good fortune but whether any mishap would happen to him. "This year I am thirty-two years old, and was born in the last month of the year."
Wu Yung shook his box, and throwing out the cash exclaimed, "How strange!"
Lu Tsun-i was startled and asked, "Is it auspicious or inauspicious?"
"I cannot be straight with you," replied Wu Yung, "because you would not like it."
"If I have gone astray I hope that you will tell me," said Lu Tsun-i, "and never mind what I say."
"In the near future," said Wu Yung, "you will meet some bloody disaster, and you will be killed. Your family possessions will all be lost."
Lu Tsun-i laughed at this and said, "I am afraid that you have made a mistake. I was born in this town, and have always had plenty of money. In our family we have never had a lawbreaker, nor have we had a criminal. Our women folk have always been chaste. Moreover my affairs have always been well done; nothing irregular, and no ill-gotten gain. How could I now get into some bloody disaster?"
Wu Yung changed his countenance, handed back the money he had received, and said, "Everywhere people like to be flattered. Enough! I speak the truth and yet my words are taken in an ill purpose. I must go now."
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"Do not be annoyed at what I said," replied Lu Tsun-i, "I was only jesting. Please tell me exactly what you think will happen."
"It is always hard to believe unpleasant truths," said Wu Yung.
"I ask you to conceal nothing from me, and I will hear the worst," said Lu Tsun-i.
"Your fate has been propitious up to now," said Wu Yung, "but this year there will be a change for the worst. Within a hundred days your body will lose its head. Your fate has been fixed by Heaven, and there is no way of escape."
"Is it not possible to avoid this trouble?" asked Lu Tsun-i.
Wu Yung again shook the cash in his box, and throwing them out examined them with apparently great care. He said, "It appears that if you went from here about three hundred miles to the southeast you might get out of the reach of this coming disaster. You might still have some trouble there, but it would not be so serious."
"If you help me to escape this coming disaster I will recompense you liberally," said Lu Tsun-i.
"I will express your fate in four lines of poetry which you may write down on the wall," said Wu Yung, "and when things happen to you, you will realize the accuracy of my prognostication."
Lu Tsun-i summoned a servant to get a writing brush, and wrote on the white wall of the room the following stanzas as Wu Yung dictated:
On bank a gallant hero strolls,
His boat is hidden in the reeds;
The end is destined by fate
No sorrow if be takes rest.
After Lu Tsun-i had written this Wu Yung picked up his box and was about to depart but Lu Tsun-i requested him to wait a little. Wu Yung, however, said he had some business to attend to, but he would come again some other day. Lu Tsun-i accompanied him to the door, and both Wu Yung and Li K'wei departed. Upon reaching the inn they packed up their baggage, paid their bills, and left at once. When they were on the road again, Wu Yung said, "That business
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is finished. We can now quickly go back to Liang Shan Po, and await there for the arrival of Lu Tsun-i."
When Wu Yung had left, Lu Tsun-i kept going over what he had said. He kept looking at the sky and was restless. One day he sent for all his employees to discuss matters. His chief steward was named Li Ku, and was a Tung Ching (Eastern Capital) man. Previously he had come to the Northern Capital to see a friend, but as that man had left he found himself stranded. One winter day he was starving, and Lu Tsun-i saw him, and took pity on him, and gave him employment. He had proved his abilities in his work, and very soon he was promoted. Step by step he had become chief steward, and managed all the affairs of the estate. Under him were about fifty servants.
When all the employees had assembled Lu Tsun-i did not notice another confident steward so he asked where he was. Just as he spoke a big man presented himself. He was about twenty-five years of age, but had a moustache. He had broad shoulders, but a slim waist. He wore a white silk gown, and had a hat shaped like a melon. He had a red decorated belt, and wore yellow leather boots. A metal ring was hanging at the back of his head, and a flower war, stuck in the side of his hat. He was a native of the town, and had been succored by Lu Tsun-i as he had neither father nor mother. His skin was quite white, and had been tattooed all over with numerous designs. He played well on the flute and the guitar, and was also good at singing and acting. In fact there was hardly anything he could not do, and do well. He knew all dialects, and spoke them fluently. He also knew the expressions used in every trade and profession. A skilled archer and good at all games, he was always a successful champion in whatever he took up. His name was Yen Ch'ing, and he was known by his nickname Beau. He was the confident of his master Lu Tsun-i. It was he who now entered the room along with Li Ku, the steward.
When be saw them enter Lu Tsun-i spoke, "The other day I had my fortune told, and within a hundred days I shall meet a bloody disaster. In order to avoid that fate I must go about three hundred miles to the southeast. The likely place I know is Tai Shan in Tai An Chou, Shantung, where there
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is a temple dedicated to the Supreme God, who controls the births, deaths, and calamities of the people. I will go there and offer incense to redeem my sins. I can take refuge there until this threatening danger has passed by. While there I can buy and sell things, and also seethe views. Li Ku, I want you to get ten carts for me, and load them with suitable goods for sale there. You can accompany me on this trip. You can hand over to-day all my household affairs to Yen Ch'ing who will take your place. I want to start in three days from now."
"Sir, I am afraid that you are making a mistake," replied Li Ku. "There is a saying, 'Divinations can be forged in any form.’ You better not believe what fortune tellers say. If you remain here there will be no fear of any danger."
"My life is decided by fate," said Lu Tsun-i. "Do not hinder my movements, because if the calamity happened it would be too late for regret."
"Sir, will you please listen to me," interposed Yen Ch'ing. "If you go to Tai Shan you must pass close to Liang Shan Po, and there the brigands are very powerful under a leader named Sung Chiang. Soldiers have failed to suppress the brigands. If you must go to offer incense at Tai Shan, it would be better if you waited here until the affairs in that quarter are more settled. You need not believe what that fortune-teller told you. It may be that he was sent by the brigands to delude you, and so get you into their net. I am sorry that the other day I was not here and did not see the man. I could have found out his game after asking him a few questions."
"Do not talk nonsense, " said Lu Tsun-i. "Who can cheat me? I do not care a rap for those fellows at Liang Shan Po because they are hardly worth a straw, and I myself could easily arrest them. Since my youth I have practiced all kinds of military drill, and am well known everywhere as a skilled fighter."
When he had finished speaking his wife came from behind the screen and said to him: "Husband, I have been listening to all you have said. There is an ancient saying, 'One mile away from home, and things are not like home.' Do not listen to what the fortune teller said. Stay at home and look after our own affairs instead of going to
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places where you will meet with danger. It would be better to prepare another room where you can purify your heart and diminish the passion. Live there in solitude and nothing will of course happen to you."
"You woman do not understand affairs," replied Lu Tsun-i. "I have decided what I must do, and it is useless for you to interfere."
"I will go with you. I will Dot boast of my skill," said Yen Ch'ing, "but if on the way we are attacked by brigands I will stand by you. I can defeat fifty such men myself."
"I do not understand trading matters," said Lu Tsun-i, "and that is why I want Li Ku to accompany me. You can stay behind and take care of the house."
"In the last few days I have been suffering from some foot trouble," said Li Ku, "and I cannot very well go with you.
Lu Tsun-i was angry at this, and said, "'Maintain troops for a thousand days, and use them only one day,' I want you to accompany me, and yet you offer excuses. If anyone places obstacles in my way I shall have to land out with my fist."
Li Ku was afraid, and looked helplessly at the wife who seeing the position withdrew behind the screen. Yen Ch'ing even did not care to say another word. All the servants took their leave. Li Ku smothered his annoyance, and left the room to make arrangements for the journey. He got ten carts and fifty men to pull them.
Three days later all was ready, and after sacrificing to the home gods they took leave of all the household who assembled to see them off. After the first day Lu Tsun-i arranged for Li Ku and two men to go in advance, and make arrangements for the party to stay in the inns.
On the journey Lu Tsun-i enjoyed the scenery and the pleasure of traveling. He said that if he had stayed at home he would have missed all this.
They had traveled for several days without any untoward incident happening. One morning, however, as they were about to leave, a waiter of the inn spoke to Lu Tsun-i, "Sir, I have something to tell you. You are only seven miles from Liang Shan Po, and your road will take you close to that place. The chieftain of the brigands there is Sung Chiang, and though he does not wish to injure travelers yet
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you must go quietly on your way without any anxiety."
Upon hearing this Lu Tsun-i had a box unlocked, and taking out four white flags wrote seven characters on each, "The Generous Lu Tsun-i of the Northern Capital." He then displayed these on sticks, and stuck them on the carts. His men upon seeing these flags were downcast as they were afraid. The inn waiter also was surprised and asked, "Are you a relative of Sung Chiang at Liang Shan Po?"
"No!" replied Lu Tsun-i, "I am a wealthy man from the Northern Capital; I come here to capture that fellow."
“Don't speak so loudly here." said the waiter, "because I do not want to be implicated in your affairs. I am not joking. If you had a thousand men with you, you could not capture any brigands here."
"Shut up!" said Lu Tsun-i, "I expect that you are in league with them."
The waiter covered his ears and ran away. Lu Tsun-i's men were now almost frightened out of their wits. Li Ku knelt down, and said, "Master, have pity on us. If you would let us go home alive, it will be very kind of you.”
"What are you talking about!" said Lu Tsun-i. "Should an eagle be afraid of a sparrow? I have been well trained in physical drill since my youth, and I have never yet met a man who could defeat me. To-day I shall perhaps have an opportunity of showing off my skill. I have placed on the top of that cart a sack of ropes. While I kill the men with swords you can pick them up and bind them on the barrows. Then we can cart them off to the capital, and the emperor will reward us for our enterprise. If any of you are unwilling to go with me I will kill you on the spot."
