Mingmei Yip - Song of the Silk Road

I remained silent.

“Did you see a doctor for your fits?” He looked at me, eyes filled with concern.

I nodded. “But they couldn’t figure out anything wrong. So finally my mother took me to an herbalist who gave me a mixture of herbs and magic spells written on paper. She cooked both and pushed them down my throat.”

“Did it work?”

“Yes. I haven’t had that for a long time until tonight. So it must be triggered by the unfamiliar environment here. Oh, Master Floating Cloud, please don’t let me have another attack tonight!” I buried my face into his warm chest and sobbed.

He caressed my head. “Do you remember what those herbs were?”

“Yes,” I said, then wrote down on a piece of paper the long list I’d learned from my missing Uyghur friend Lop Nor.

He studied them with a serious expression, then asked, “Why don’t you carry the medicine with you?”

“I never expected this would happen again.”

A few seconds passed before the monk spoke again. “I’ll go get these herbs for you. But I can’t leave you here in case…”

I smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine by myself. I’d rather you get me the herbs, if you don’t mind. Then we don’t have to worry that I’ll have another fit.”

I pointed outside the window at the fish-belly white sky. “See? Dawn has broken, so all the spirits should have gone back to the other realm where they belong. You don’t have to worry if you make it back here before the yin world opens up at midnight.”

“All right then, I won’t be long. At most five, six hours. But are you sure you’ll be OK here?”

I nodded emphatically. “Yes, believe me, I’ll be fine.”

After Floating Cloud got dressed and was about to leave, he said, “In case Pure Wisdom comes back before me, just tell him what happened. Be careful and get some rest.”

I walked the monk to the gate. After watching him descend the path and vanish from sight, I rushed to my room, took my backpack, then dashed down the long stairs to the basement. I had not the slightest idea how Floating Cloud made the wall open with a push of his finger, so I kicked violently at the wall with all the force I could muster. It worked.

Under the dim light of my flashlight, the secret chamber appeared surreal with the yellowish, thousand-year-old manuscripts soundlessly watching my every move. Now, all by myself, I felt overwhelmed by the vibrations emanating from the room. All the words in the sutras seemed to join together in whispering their ancient wisdom to my modern, unreceptive ears. Or to overpower my vulnerable psyche with their thousand-year-old qi .

I took deep breaths to calm and focus myself. I couldn’t afford to fail, not having come this far. If caught, would I be killed here? Or simply gone with the wind, like Floating Cloud’s master? Would anyone think about me after I was gone? Probably not for long. Chris would still be with his wife and kid, and Alex, if his young mind would still remember his older lover, might occasionally reminisce about our affair as one of his many Silk Road dalliances.

Forcing my mind to focus back on the task at hand, I surveyed the room until my eyes lighted upon the two embroidered boxes that stored the bloody Diamond Sutra and Gold Buddha. I took both down and pushed them into my backpack.

Although I was not a Buddhist, I muttered a prayer to the Buddha to understand and forgive what I’d just done and, I hoped, to protect me. Since I needed all the help I could get, I also said prayers to God, Jesus, and Mary, even though I doubted they’d listen to my prayer about their rival scripture and god.

I knew I would regret it later, but I couldn’t take any time to channel my yin energy to see if there were spirits who could tell me what other secrets were hidden in this forbidden, ghostly silent room. I cast a last glance and closed the door behind me.

Fearful that Floating Cloud or Pure Wisdom might return at any moment, I rushed upstairs, dashed outside the temple threshold, and began the long descent downhill. In my haste, my feet slipped a few times and I had to grab onto vines or rocks to prevent myself from falling. The coolie’s gloves proved to be a smart purchase; otherwise the bleeding from my hands might have led the two monks to think I’d had an accident and start searching for me. I wished nothing more at this moment than to disappear from their sight and from this temple forever.

Just as I was struggling down a slippery section, suddenly I saw movement in the distance. My heart knocked violently against my ribs. Whether it was a monk or a ghost, it would be equally disastrous! Panicked, I slipped and fell into a hole. Fortunately the hole was not deep and I just scraped my knee. I peeked from above the rock and looked. The figure was moving fast as if he was taking long strides. When it got closer, I realized, to my utter fear, it was Pure Wisdom! I had not forgotten that Pure Wisdom was a floating martial artist who could walk on walls and glide between trees. However, to my great relief, he failed to spot me, so a few minutes later I climbed out from the hole and practically rolled down the hill, ignoring the burning pain on every part of my body.

Back in the seeming safety of my desert cottage, the first thing I did was to hide the treasures. I pulled open one of the tires and stuffed the box containing the Gold Buddha inside. Since the box with the scroll was too long for the other tire, I put it underneath my mattress. Not a very subtle hiding place but the best I could manage at that moment. Relieved, l fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up the sky had already turned dark and the clock next to my bed read 10:30 PM. I’d been so tired that I’d slept through most of the day. I got off the bed, washed my hands and face, then took out the two treasures and examined them. The Gold Buddha gleamed under the kerosene lamp, as if dying to tell me the story of his adventures on this Red Dust. Under a gentle push of my finger, the base spat out the small tray holding the numerous crystals, supposedly leftover ashes of the Buddha.

Suddenly it occurred to me that the two monks might try to track me down. The only safe thing was to return the two objects to the museum as soon as possible. Then I told myself that the monks’ chances of finding me were close to zero. After all, they did not even know who I was—Lily Lin, not Violet Chen as I had told them. Besides, my village was almost a hundred miles from the mountain monastery, and it was not even shown on the map. However, these were not ordinary monks but kung fu experts who managed to live on a mountain with no path.

I went to boil water and brew tea. After taking several sips of the hot, fragrant liquid and feeling more relaxed, I sat up straight, unrolled the scroll, and braced myself to study the Diamond Sutra. According to Floating Cloud, this was one of the most powerful, profound scriptures in the world. Respect and awe rose up in me as I began to read.

All living beings, whether egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born or spontaneously-born, whether formed or formless, whether sentient or non-sentient; whether they are aware or unaware, not aware or not unaware, all these beings will be led by me to Nirvana and released from the cycle of birth and death….

When my eyes landed on the single character for death, my heart sank as words shot out involuntarily from my mouth. “Lop Nor is dead!”

I fell back onto the bed and waited for my heart to stop pounding. Then I reached to turn off the lamp. I began to channel my energy until I sank into a trancelike state and felt my yin eye open. Dimly, I sensed that recently someone had entered my cottage, someone from another realm. The being, apparently male, had lingered for a long time, anxiously waiting for me. Now in the tender of the night, its residual vibrations still seemed to be palpitating, vibrations that seemed to come from someone recently departed to the yin world.