Robert Gulik - The Haunted Monastery

"If you confess as readily in my tribunal as you do now," Judge Dee said dryly, "you'll make things very easy for me." Sun raised his tufted eyebrows.

"In the tribunal?" he asked, astonished. "What on earth are you talking about, Dee?"

"Well," the judge replied, "You committed five murders, not to speak of rape and abduction. You weren't thinking I would let you get away with that, did you?"

"My dear fellow!" Sun exclaimed. "Of course you'll let me get away with it — if you insist on using that vulgar expression. Your only witnesses against me were our good abbot and Mrs. Pao — and neither of them is with us any more. After the instructive experiences I had with the two girls in the old abbot's time, I never showed myself before the girls were completely under control. All the blame for the treatment Miss Kang underwent will go to True Wisdom and Mrs. Pao." As Judge Dee shook his head emphatically, Sun exclaimed: "Come now, Dee, I think you are a clever man, don't disappoint me! Of course you could never initiate a case against me. What would the higher authorities think if you accused me, the famous Taoist sage and former Imperial Tutor Sun Ming, of a string of fantastic crimes, and that without a shred of proof? Everybody would think you had gone raving mad, Dee. It would break your career! And I would be genuinely sorry for that, for I really like you, you know!"

"And if, in order to substantiate my case, I referred to that unsavoury affair in the Palace you just told me about?"

Sun Ming laughed heartily.

"My dear Dee, don't you realize that the said little mishap is a closely guarded Palace secret, involving most illustrious names? As soon as you breathed one word about that, you would find yourself demoted and sent to a far-away place — if they didn't put you in jail, in solitary confinement for the rest of your life!"

Judge Dee thought for a while, slowly stroking his beard.

"Yes," he said with a sigh, "I am afraid that you are quite right."

"Of course I am right! I quite enjoyed this conversation, it's nice to be able to discuss one's hobbies with such an understanding person as you. But I must ask you to forget all about this, Dee. You'll return to Han-yuan with the personal satisfaction that you solved for yourself some knotty problems, and got the better of me in the case of little Miss Kang. And I'll continue my peaceful life here in the monastery. Of course you won't try to restrain either directly or indirectly my future activities. You are much too clever for that — you are doubtless aware of the fact that I still have considerable influence in the capital. You have now learned the valuable lesson, Dee, that law and custom are only there for the common people; they don't apply to exalted persons like me. I belong to that small group of chosen people, Dee, who because of their superior knowledge and talents are far above ordinary human rules and limitations. We have advanced beyond such conventional notions as ‘good' and ‘bad.' If the storm destroys a house and kills all the inmates, you don't summon the storm to your tribunal, do you? Well, this lesson you'll find very useful later, Dee, when you have been appointed to a high post in the capital, as doubtless you will be. Then you'll remember this conversation, and you'll be grateful to me!" He rose and clapped the judge on his shoulder. "We'll go down to the hall now," he added briskly. "The monks'll be starting the preparations for breakfast by and by. This mess here I'll clean up later. First of all we need a good meal. Both of us had rather a strenuous night, I dare say!"

Judge Dee also got up.

"Yes," he said wearily, "let's go down." Noticing that Sun was going to take his wide cloak he said politely, "Allow me to carry that for you, sir. The weather has cleared."

"Thank you!" Sun said, handing him the cloak. "Yes, it's funny with these mountain storms; they'll start suddenly, rage for a time with incredible vehemence, then as suddenly subside. I don't complain, though, as they occur only at this time of the year. Generally the climate here suits me very well."

Judge Dee took up the lantern. They passed through the cupboard. As Sun turned the disk to close the secret door he said over his shoulder: "I don't think I need to change this lock, Dee! There aren't many persons like you who are observant enough to notice that the design of the Two Forces is in an unusual position!"

Silently they walked through the corridor, then descended a steep flight of steps that brought them to the portal of the temple. Sun looked outside and said with satisfaction: "Yes, it is indeed dry now and the wind has gone down. We can walk to the refectory across the courtyard."

When they were descending the steps leading down into the paved court, grey in the morning twilight, Judge Dee said: "What did you use that other secret room for, sir? Up there, above the store-room? I saw a small round window there, barely visible. Or shouldn't I ask that?

Sun halted in his steps.

"You don't say!" he exclaimed astonished. "I never knew about that one! Those ancient architects were up to all kinds of tricks! You are a useful fellow to have around, Dee! Show me where you saw that window!"

Judge Dee took him over to the high gate that closed the space between the east wing and the building of the store-room. He put the lantern and the cloak on the ground, lifted the heavy crossbeam from the iron hooks, and pulled the door open. When Sun had gone inside, Judge Dee stepped back and closed the door. As he replaced the crossbar, he heard Sun knocking on the panel of the peephole. Judge Dee took up the lantern and opened it. The light shone on Sun's astonished face.

"What do you mean by that, Dee?" he asked perplexed.

"It means that you shall be judged inside there, Sun Ming. Unfortunately you were right when you explained to me that I could never initiate a case against you in my tribunal. I therefore now leave the decision to a Higher Tribunal. Heaven shall decide whether five foul murders shall be avenged, or whether I shall perish. You have two chances, Sun, whereas your victims had none. It is quite possible that your presence there shall be ignored. Or, if you are attacked, you may be able to draw the attention of the one man that can save you."

Sun's face grew purple with rage.

"One man you say, you conceited fool? In an hour or so there'll be scores of monks about in the yard, they'll set me free at once!"

"They'll certainly do so — if you are then still alive," the judge said gravely. "There is something with you in there."

Sun looked round. Indistinct sounds came from the darkness.

He grabbed the bars of the peephole. Pressing his distorted face close to them he shouted frantically: "What is that, Dee?"

"You'll find out," the judge said. He shut the panel.

As he entered the temple building again, a scream of terror rent the air.

Judge Dee slowly climbed the stairs to the landing over the temple. There was still no sign of Tao Gan. He went into the corridor leading to the store-room, and opened the second window on his right. Deep down below he heard weak moans, mixed with angry growling. Then there were dry, snapping sounds as of dead branches breaking. He raised his eyes to the windows in the guest-building opposite. All of them remained as they were, the shutters securely closed. He heaved a deep sigh. The case had been decided.

He laid Sun's cloak on the low window sill, then quickly turned away. After breakfast he would draw up the document about Sun's accidental death, which occurred when he leaned too far out of the low window while watching the bear down below.

With a sigh he retraced his steps to the landing. He heard quick footsteps, then saw Tao Gan who came rushing round the corner. His lieutenant said with a contented smile: "I was just going to look for you, sir! You needn't search for Mo Mo-te. I have got him!"