Robert Gulik - The Chinese Bell Murders

They rented sedan chairs in the street and had themselves carried to the crossing near the Temple of Transcendental Wisdom. There they paid off the bearers and continued on foot.

In the yard in front of the temple it was pitch dark, and very still. Evidently the warden and the constables had done their job well, Sheng Pa and his vagabonds had left.

Judge Dee said to Tao Gan in an undertone:

'You'll force the lock of the side door, on the left of the main gate. Don't make more noise than is strictly necessary!'

Tao Gan squatted down and wrapped his neckcloth round his lantern. When he had struck his flint and lighted it, only one thin ray shone through, sufficient for guiding his steps as he went up the broad stairs. – -

When he had located the locked side gate he carefully scrutinised it by the light of his lantern. His failure to discover the secret panel in the Temple of Boundless Mercy had wounded his pride, he was determined to execute this order quickly and expertly. He took a set of thin iron hooks from his sleeve and set to work on the lock. Soon he could open it and take down the crossbar. When he gave the door a gentle push it swung open. There was no second crossbar on the inside. He hurriedly went down the steps to report to Judge Dee that they could enter the temple.

All of them climbed up the stairs.

Judge Dee waited a few moments in front of the gate, listening intently for sounds within. But everything remained silent as the grave. Then they stole inside, the judge leading the way.

Judge Dee whispered to Sergeant Hoong to light his lantern. As he held it high they saw that they were in the large front hall of the temple. On the right they noticed the inside of the triple front gate, provided with heavy crossbars. Evidently the side door through which they had just come in was the only means by which one could enter without breaking down the thick doors of the main gate.

On the left stood an altar, almost ten feet high, carrying three enormous gilded statues of the Taoist Triad. One could see their hands raised in benediction, their shoulders and heads remained hidden in the darkness on high.

Judge Dee stooped and scrutinised the floor. The wooden boards were covered with a thick layer of dust, showing only the tiny traces left by rats.

He beckoned his companions and walked round the altar, into a dark corridor. When Sergeant Hoong raised his lantern, Ma Joong uttered an oath. The light shone on a severed woman's head with distorted features and dripping with blood. It was held up by a claw-like hand clutching its hair.

Tao Gan and Chiao Tai stood stock-still in horrified silence. But Judge Dee remarked in a calm voice:

'Don't get excited! As is usual in a Taoist temple, the walls of this corridor show a panorama of the Ten Courts of Hell, with all its horrors! It is live men we should be afraid of!'

Despite Judge Dee's reassuring words his lieutenants were deeply shocked by the fearful scenes an ancient artist had sculptured in wood along both walls of the corridor. They were life-size, luridly coloured representations of the punishments meted out to the souls of the wicked in the Taoist Nether World. Here blue and red devils were sawing people asunder, impaling them on swords, or removing their entrails with iron forks. There a number of unfortunates were thrown into cauldrons of boiling oil or had their eyes plucked out by infernal birds of prey.

Having traversed this corridor of horrors, the judge slowly pushed a double door open. They looked out on the first courtyard. The moon had come out, its rays shone on a neglected garden. A bell tower stood in the centre, near a lotus pond of fanciful shape. The tower consisted of a stone platform of about twenty feet square, and raised about six feet above the ground. Four thick red-lacquered pillars supported a graceful pointed roof, decked with green-glazed tiles. The large bronze bell, ordinarily suspended from the cross-beams under the roof had now been let down on the platform, as is usually done when a temple is vacated, in order to preserve it from damage. This bell was about ten feet high, the outside was covered by intricate ornamental designs.

Judge Dee silently surveyed this peaceful scene. Then he led his assistants along the open corridor that went round the courtyard.

The rows of small rooms along this corridor were completely empty, the floors were covered with dust. When the temple was still in use these rooms had served for receiving guests and for reading the holy books.

The gate at the back led to the second courtyard, surrounded by the empty cells of the monks. At the back there was a large, open kitchen.

This seemed to be all there was to see in the Temple of Transcendental Wisdom.

By the side of the kitchen Judge Dee noticed a narrow door.

'I assume,' he said, 'that this is the back door of the compound. We might as well open it and see which street runs behind this temple.'

He gave a sign to Tao Gan, who quickly opened the rusty padlock that secured the heavy iron crossbar.

They saw to their amazement that there was a third courtyard, about twice as large as the others. It was paved with flagstones and surrounded by high, two-storied buildings. They seemed completely deserted, a deep silence reigned. There were signs, however, that this courtyard had been inhabited till recently, no weeds grew among the flagstones, and the buildings seemed in good repair.

'This is strange indeed!' Sergeant Hoong exclaimed. 'This third courtyard seems quite superfluous. What could the monks have used it for?'

Just as they were debating this question a cloud obscured the moon and all went dark.

Sergeant Hoong and Tao Gan quickly started to relight their lanterns. Suddenly the silence was broken. From the farther end of the courtyard came the sound of a door falling shut.

Judge Dee hurriedly took the Sergeant's lantern and ran across the courtyard. There he found a heavy wooden door. It opened noiselessly on well-oiled hinges. Holding his lantern high the judge saw a narrow corridor. There was a faint sound of hurried footsteps, then the thud of a door being slammed shut.

Judge Dee ran inside but found his progress barred by a high, iron door. He quickly scrutinised it, Tao Gan looking over his shoulder. As he righted himself the judge remarked:

'This door is quite new, but I fail to see any lock, and there is no handle or knob for opening it from this side. You'd better have a good look at it, Tao Gan!'

Tao Gan eagerly examined the polished surface of' the door inch by inch, then went over the doorposts. But he could locate no sign of the mechanism for opening it.

'If we don't force this door right now, Your Honour,' Ma Joong said excitedly, 'we'll never know what bastard has been spying on us! If we don't catch him now he'll escape!'

Judge Dee slowly shook his head. He rapped the smooth iron surface with his knuckles, then said:

'Barring a heavy battering-ram we can never force this formidable door. Let's inspect those buildings!'

They left the corridor and surveyed the dark buildings surrounding the courtyard. Judge Dee selected a door at random and pushed it. It was unlocked. They entered a large room, empty but for the mats that covered the floor. After a quick glance around Judge Dee walked over to the ladder standing against the back-wall. He ascended and pushed the trapdoor in the ceiling up. Climbing through he found himself in a spacious loft.

When his four lieutenants had joined him, they all curiously looked around. The loft was in reality a long hall, thick wooden pillars supported the high ceiling.

Judge Dee said, astonished:

'Has any one of you ever seen a similar arrangement in a Taoist or Buddhist temple?'

Sergeant Hoong slowly pulled his frayed beard.