Dream of Three Lifetimes Beneath the Moon - Volume Three: Bringing weapons into the chamber, lying in ambush with swords at hand

Two more days passed. That evening, it was Xing Yan's turn to patrol through the night.

As it happened, Xing Yan still worked chiefly as a musician in the ensemble; guarding the premises was only a sideline. Aunt Xia, the madam, had originally intended the post merely as a reward for his meritorious service-another excuse to give him some extra silver. Thus, many days would pass before his turn on night watch came around.

To the boy, who had decided to take up his old tiger-fighting trade again, this chance to patrol meant something different from before. When he learned two days earlier that he would be on duty tonight, Xing Yan resolved to seize the opportunity and settle, one way or another, the matter of that heartless fellow deceiving his sister Rui!

Like the other guards on night patrol, Xing Yan carried a windproof lantern and walked back and forth among the buildings of the Flower Moon House, checking for anything amiss.

Though the Flower Moon House had a modest frontage, its grounds stretched a considerable distance behind it. As Raozhou's foremost brothel, it was no small establishment: halls and buildings stood facing one another in long rows, interspersed with ornamental gardens and pools, covering quite an expanse.

He looked up at the sky. Drifting clouds veiled it, and the moonlight was hazy-hah! An auspicious hour indeed for doing something rather shady!

After making several rounds through the brothel, calling out as he went, Xing Yan seized an opening and slipped into the kitchen. The cook had long since gone to bed, leaving the room deserted. He scooped a handful of ash from beneath the stove, mixed it with a little water, and smeared it haphazardly across his face to conceal his features.

Once he had finished, he started outside. His foot had barely crossed the threshold when he hesitated and shuffled back into the room. Meticulous as he was, Xing Yan still felt uneasy. Tonight was unlike his earlier escapades; he might well come face-to-face with someone he knew. Better to take extra care!

He rummaged through the kitchen again and found a reasonably clean black cloth. Undoing his usual headcloth, he let his hair fall loose behind him, then bound the black strip tightly around his hairline, covering his forehead. Before setting out on patrol tonight, he had already changed into clothes he seldom wore; after this further transformation, he looked nothing like himself.

In the dim night, even if an acquaintance ran into him, they would surely struggle to recognize this figure at a glance as that habitually honest, good-natured boy!

With his disguise complete, Xing Yan wasted no time. Keeping low and treading softly, he hurried straight toward Lady Rui's quarters.

It was almost midnight now, and the darkness lay thick and deep. Even here at the Flower Moon House, most people had already entered the tender country of dreams. Besides, the autumn night was as cold as water, and no one remained outside idling about. Despite his strange appearance, Xing Yan made his way without a scare or mishap; everything went smoothly.

What the boy, secretly congratulating himself, failed to notice was that a dark figure followed close behind him without a sound as he did his best to creep along unseen!

For some unknown reason, the pursuer did not cry out upon witnessing Xing Yan's strange behavior, but simply followed in silence.

When Xing Yan stepped softly onto the corridor outside Lady Rui's room and pressed cautiously against the diamond-latticed window to listen, the dark shape behind him suddenly began to dissolve and fade, as though melting into the boundless night, until not the slightest trace remained!

Indeed:

The cicada sensed the autumn wind before it stirred, yet never knew when death slipped silently near!

Leaving aside the strangeness outside, within the room, its occupants had not yet gone to sleep, though midnight was approaching. A red candle burned on a carved table. Young Master Hu Shi'an had yet to retire; he sat before the table holding a small pewter wine cup, sipping one cup after another. Beside him, the bean-sized flame danced and swayed, stretching his shadow into all manner of bizarre shapes upon the wall.

A little while later, a soft call came from within the red gauze bed curtains behind the screen:

"Dear Hu... it's so late. Why not come to bed?"

Xing Yan heard her clearly. It was his sister Rui, tenderly urging her lover to rest.

At the beauty's invitation, Young Master Hu Shi'an merely answered indifferently:

"You sleep first. This autumn night is chilly. I'll have a few more cups to warm myself."

Despite his answer, he was inwardly vexed and drinking to drown his sorrows.

Lately, an itch to try his luck had revived the fellow's old habits from back home. He spent his days wallowing in gambling dens, lingering so long he forgot to leave. Unfortunately, his luck had been poor: in just a few days, he had lost over forty taels of silver. His gambling companions, normally so friendly, were now pressing him hard for payment. That in itself should have been no trouble. Though his purse had long since emptied, his romantic tricks had made this sincere, lovesick courtesan utterly devoted to him. Coaxing some silver out of her to pay his debts ought to have been quick and easy.

Yet somehow, these past few days, Lady Rui had seemed less ready to hand over silver than before. Even now, more than half his debt remained unpaid. Not only were his creditors hounding him, but, more infuriating still, he had no gambling stake left and thus no chance to turn his fortunes around. How maddening!

Ah! I'll have to think of another way to coax more silver out of her...

As he busily calculated, the door creaked, apparently blown open by the wind.

Ah, Lady Rui really isn't a proper, virtuous woman... she didn't even bolt the door before going to bed...

He was already somewhat tipsy and muddleheaded, so he thought little of it, merely blaming Lady Rui inwardly for her carelessness.

Soon, however, the night breeze slipped into the room and made the candle flicker. Though the wind was not strong, its chill seeped into him. It cleared Hu Shi'an's head considerably. He glanced toward the door, then prepared to rise and bolt it.

"Hm?!"

Though his drunken eyes were blurred, Hu Shi'an suddenly sensed something wrong. Checking his movement before he could stand, he hastily looked toward the doorway again-and that second look sent his hair standing on end!

There, in the dim patch of moonlight just inside the door, stood a motionless figure, apparently staring coldly at him!

At the sight, most of Hu Shi'an's drunkenness vanished at once. The fellow was quick-witted enough to recognize hostile intent immediately. He snatched up his wine cup to hurl it at the dark figure, only to feel a sudden chill at his neck: something was already pressed firmly against it.

The uninvited guest had moved faster than lightning. Before Hu Shi'an could throw his cup, a blade was already laid against his neck!

With his life in danger, Hu Shi'an's limbs instantly stiffened, and he dared not move. Silence seemed to settle over the room once more.

Only after a long while came a clang-Hu Shi'an finally lost his grip on the wine cup, and it slipped onto the blue-brick floor.

The falling pewter cup at last startled Lady Rui. Sensing something strange in the room, she called in a trembling voice:

"Dear Hu?"

No answer came from her lover. Instead, she heard an unfamiliar voice:

"My sharp sword's at your lover's throat. Don't shout!"

"If you do, I'll kill him with one stroke!"

The deliberately lowered voice was not loud, but its effect was remarkable. Lady Rui immediately understood the situation. These two carefully arranged lines, planned well in advance, successfully stifled the involuntary scream of a frightened woman.

Though Lady Rui lay beneath warm bedding, those words sent cold through her whole body, as though she had fallen into an ice cellar in the depths of winter!

"M-may I ask... g-great chief, what brings you here so late?"

Hearing the intruder speak, Hu Shi'an judged from his tone that he had not come expressly to kill him, and relief stirred in his heart. For all his handsome, dashing appearance, the fellow was strong outside and hollow within. His gambling debts had kept him fretting these past few days, leaving him suspicious of every shadow. When the blade first touched his neck, he had nearly wet himself with fear-he thought some creditor who cared nothing for the usual rules had lost patience and sent someone to take his life!

Once the intruder spoke and seemed to leave room for negotiation, the heart that had leaped into Hu Shi'an's throat settled halfway back down. Though he initially stammered, his tongue soon grew nimble again.

Still in bed, Lady Rui also grasped the situation upon hearing her lover speak and hastily said:

"Please tell us whatever you wish, great chief! Dear Hu and I will do everything we can-only... please don't hurt him!"

Her words were followed by rustling. Lady Rui was putting on her clothes, preparing to get out of bed and join her lover in begging mercy from this intruder who had arrived in the dead of night.

"You there, woman in the bed! Don't move. Stay right where you are!"

This supposed "bandit" was none other than the boy Zhang Xingyan. Having failed to persuade Lady Rui with kind words, he could only play the villain, hoping this fright would make Hu Shi'an leave of his own accord and never return to swindle her out of her money and possessions.

Seeing that Lady Rui actually intended to get out of bed, Xing Yan quickly roughened his voice and stopped her. He feared that if she saw him face-to-face and recognized him, he truly would not know how to bring this affair to an end!

Hearing the bandit stop her, Hu Shi'an also hurriedly barked toward the screen:

"Stay in bed! Do everything the great chief says!"

Though his tone was urgent, he kept his voice quite low. The dreadful cold against his neck never ceased reminding him that his life still hung in another man's hands.

After saying this, Hu Shi'an vaguely sensed that the bandit beside him seemed to nod. The fellow immediately felt as though his bones had grown two ounces lighter. He was about to continue flattering him with humble words when the intruder spoke again:

"At least you know what's good for you. I don't mind telling you: I'm an outlaw from Great Solitary Mountain on Poyang Lake! I've come for nothing else today. Just offer up plenty of gold and silver, and I won't touch a hair on your head!"

His words left the other two both frightened and pleased. Frightened, because they had no idea when they had attracted such a fierce bandit from Great Solitary Mountain; pleased, because he wanted only money, so their lives should be safe. The hearts of Hu Shi'an and Lady Rui, both suspended in midair, immediately returned to their proper places.

But after turning the bandit's words over in his mind, Hu Shi'an said with a woeful expression:

"Well... to tell you the truth, great chief, I really haven't any gold or silver on hand..."

"Hm?!" The bandit seemed quite enraged by this answer. Hu Shi'an immediately felt the chill against his neck grow more intense.

"Lady Rui! How much gold and silver have you got? Hurry and bring it all out for the great chief!" Quick-witted as ever, Hu Shi'an craned his neck and urgently called to her.

Even after saying this, the fellow felt it was not assurance enough and hastily added:

"Don't worry. I'll pay it all back!"

"Keep your voice down!" Xing Yan snapped.

Startled, Hu Shi'an immediately fell as silent as a cicada in the cold, while squeezing a ingratiating smile onto his face-though he had no idea whether the bandit beside him could see it.

"Please don't be angry, great chief! As long as you don't hurt my dear Hu, I'll do anything you ask. I'll get out of bed and fetch the silver now." From the sounds that followed, she seemed about to dress and rise.

"Stay there!"

Xing Yan hastily stopped her. After all, he had not come tonight specifically to commit robbery.

"...???"

Both were bewildered by the bandit's refusal, unable to tell what medicine he was selling in his gourd. Hu Shi'an was more frightened still, wondering how the intruder meant to torment him. If the fellow did not want money, could it be... that a creditor really had sent him to take his life after all?!

Just as Hu Shi'an's suspicions ran wild and his legs began to weaken, the intruder spoke again:

"Don't try fooling me! I've been watching you for days. You spend freely and are always hanging around the Pleasure-Seeking House, yet now you're crying poverty to me?! Are you deliberately..."

"No, no, no! Great chief!" Hearing the threatening turn in Xing Yan's words, Hu Shi'an hurried to swear an oath:

"Actually..." He was about to explain, but suddenly seemed tongue-tied, mumbling for ages without getting any further.

Xing Yan's purpose was precisely to force him to tell the truth. Seeing him hesitate and stall, he applied a little more pressure with his hand and demanded:

"No more hiding things. Tell me the truth at once! I've been watching you for a long time. If you tell so much as half a lie... hmph, one stroke will finish you!"

At the bandit's threat, Hu Shi'an hurriedly poured out every detail of the mountain of gambling debts he had lately amassed, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube. With Xing Yan adding timely threats throughout his confession, the fellow had no choice but to give a brief account of how he had tricked Lady Rui into handing over her private savings for his gambling stake, only to lose every last coin.

After hearing him out, Xing Yan deliberately raised his voice:

"You look human enough, but who'd have thought you were such a worthless wretch, taking a woman's money to squander!"

Behind the bed curtains, Lady Rui had heard her lover's confession perfectly clearly. In an instant, her vision seemed to darken, and her heart sank deeper and deeper...

When Hu Shi'an had coaxed her private savings from her, he had merely told her that a business venture undertaken to buy her freedom had lost money. He needed her to provide fresh capital so he could earn enough to redeem her sooner-and cover his expenses at the Flower Moon House as well...

"Dear Hu..." After a short while, a woman's grief-stricken voice came from behind the screen.

"Hmph!" Though he had already known the truth, hearing the fellow confess it himself still stirred Xing Yan's anger. He rubbed the back of his sword twice against this "dear Hu's" neck.

Feeling something strange against his neck, Hu Shi'an was utterly terrified. He was about to drop to his knees and beg for mercy when the bandit beside him spoke again:

"Ah! I've always acted openly and honorably. Taking a woman's money is beneath me. What am I to do?"

Xing Yan said this to provoke a confrontation and give the faithless fellow who had deceived his sister Rui a beating, so that he would recognize the difficulty and retreat, disappearing for good. All the courtesans in the Flower Moon House had sold themselves to Aunt Xia, and the greater part of their earnings had to be handed over to the brothel. Under such circumstances, putting aside private savings was no easy matter. Even a leading courtesan like Lady Rui found it difficult to amass a respectable sum. Raozhou was no great provincial metropolis or major crossroads; the patrons who came here for pleasure rarely tipped much. Often, the women could only save a little from their regular allowance for rouge and powder. Money painstakingly scraped together like this was meant to provide for their old age. How could a courtesan's private savings simply be swindled away like that?!

Yet while Xing Yan was making these hopeful calculations, he failed to anticipate just how full of wicked schemes Hu Shi'an was. Hearing the Great Solitary Mountain outlaw beside him say this, the fellow immediately rolled his eyes in thought and shamelessly replied:

"Please don't trouble yourself, great chief! Why not hear a suggestion from your humble servant? You could simply do this..."