The Haunted Monastery

IX

They descended the winding staircase together. It was cold and damp in the stairwell. Judge Dee was glad when they entered the refectory on the ground floor, which was well heated by numerous braziers.

The small prior came to meet them, nervously blinking his eyes. He fell over his words in a frantic attempt to be exactly as polite to Master Sun as he was to Judge Dee. He conducted them to the main table in the rear of the refectory, where the abbot was waiting for them. Judge Dee wanted Master Sun to sit on the abbot's right side, but Sun protested that he was only a retired scholar without official rank, and that the judge as representative of the Imperial Government ought to sit in the place of honour. At last the judge had to give in, and the three men seated themselves. The prior, the almoner and Tsung Lee sat down at a smaller table next to theirs.

The abbot raised his cup and toasted his two distinguished table companions. This was the sign for the crowd of monks, seated at four long tables in front of them, to take up their chopsticks, which they did with alacrity. Judge Dee noticed that Kuan Lai, his wife, and the two actresses were sitting at a separate table near the entrance of the hall, where Tao Gan had joined them. Mo Mo-te was nowhere to be seen.

The judge stared dubiously at the cold, fried fish the abbot placed on his plate. The bowl of glutinous rice with raisins did not look very attractive either. He had no appetite at all. In order to conceal his lack of enthusiasm he remarked: "I thought that in Taoist monasteries no meat or fish were served."

"We do indeed strictly observe the monastic rules," the abbot said with a smile. "We abstain from all intoxicants — my wine cup is filled with tea. Not yours, though! We make an exception for our honoured guests in this one respect, but we keep strictly to a vegetarian diet. That fish is made of bean curd, and what looks like a roasted chicken over there is moulded from flour and sesame oil."

Judge Dee was dismayed. He was not a gourmet, but he liked at least to know what he ate. He forced himself to taste a small morsel of the bean curd fish, and nearly choked. Seeing the abbot's expectant look, he said quickly: "This is indeed delicious. You have excellent cooks!"

He quickly emptied his cup; the warm rice wine was not bad. The make-believe fish on his plate stared up at him mournfully with its one shriveled eye, which was in fact a small dried prune. Somehow or other it made Judge Dee think of the embalmed abbot. He said: "After the banquet I would like to see the temple. And also the crypt under the Sanctum, to offer a prayer for the soul of your predecessor." The abbot put his rice bowl down and said slowly:

"This person shall be glad to show Your Honour the temple. But the crypt can unfortunately be opened only on certain days during the dry season. If we open it now, the air down there might get humid, and that would adversely affect the condition of the embalmed body. The intestines have been removed, of course, but some of the organs that remain are still susceptible to decay."

This technical information robbed the judge of the little appetite he had been able to muster. He quickly drank another cup of wine. The bandage around his head was lessening his throbbing headache, but his body was stiff and painful all over, and he felt slightly sick. He looked with envy at Sun Ming who was eating with a hearty appetite. When Sun had emptied his bowl, he wiped his mouth with the hot towel a novice handed to him, then said: "The late abbot, His Reverence Jade Mirror, was a talented man. He was completely familiar with all the most abstruse texts, wrote a beautiful hand, and he was also a good painter of animals and flowers."

"I would like to see his work," Judge Dee said politely. "I suppose the library here has many of his manuscripts and pictures?"

"No," the abbot said, "unfortunately not. It was his express instruction that all his paintings and writings were to be buried with him in the crypt."

"Commendable modesty!" Master Sun said with approval. "But listen, there's that last painting he did of his cat! It is hanging now in the side hall of the temple. I'll take you there after the meal, Dee!"

The judge didn't feel the slightest interest in the late abbot's cat, and the temple hall would doubtless be stone-cold. But he murmured that he would be delighted.

Sun and the abbot started with relish on a thick, brown broth. Judge Dee poked suspiciously with his chopsticks at the unidentified objects that floated on its surface. He could not muster sufficient courage for tasting the broth. He cudgelled his brain for some more conversation, and at last managed to formulate some intelligent questions about the internal organization of the Taoist church. But the abbot seemed ill at ease. He disposed of the subject with a few brief explanations.

The judge felt relieved when he saw the prior, the almoner, and Tsung Lee come to their table to offer a toast. Judge Dee rose and walked back with them to their table to return the courtesy. He sat down opposite the poet, who had apparently partaken liberally of the hot wine. His face was flushed and he seemed in high spirits. The prior informed the judge that two lay brothers had already replaced the broken axle. The grooms had rubbed down and fed the horses. Thus the distinguished guest would be able to continue his journey the next morning. Unless he decided, of course, to prolong his stay — which would delight the prior.

Judge Dee thanked him warmly. The prior muttered some self-deprecatory remarks, then rose and excused himself. He and the almoner had to make preparations for the evening service.

When he was alone with the poet, the judge remarked: "I don't see Mrs. Pao and her daughter here."

"Daughter?" Tsung Lee asked with a thick tongue. "Do you seriously sustain the thesis, sir, that such a refined and slender girl can be the daughter of such a vulgar, fat woman?"

"Well," Judge Dee said noncommittally, "the passing of the years sometimes effects astonishing changes." The poet hiccoughed.

"Excuse me!" he said. "They are trying to poison me with their filthy food. It upsets my stomach. Let me tell you, Magistrate, that Mrs. Pao is no lady. The logical conclusion is that White Rose isn't her daughter." Shaking his forefinger at the judge he asked with a conspiratorial air:

"How do you know that the poor girl isn't being forced to become a nun?"

"I don't," the judge replied. "But I can ask her. Where would they be?"

"Probably taking their meal up in their room. Wise precaution too, for a decent girl shouldn't be exposed to the leers of those lewd monks. The fat woman acted wisely, for once!"

"She didn't prevent the girl from being exposed to your gaze, my friend!" Judge Dee remarked.

The poet righted himself, not without difficulty.

"My intentions, sir," he declared ponderously, "are strictly honourable!"

"I am glad to hear that!" the judge said dryly. "By the way, I would have liked to see the crypt you spoke of. But the abbot informed me just now that it can't be opened at this time of the year."

Tsung Lee gave the judge a long look from his bleary eyes. Then he said:

"So that's what he told you, eh?"

"Have you been down there yourself?."

The poet looked quickly at the abbot. Then he said in a low voice: "Not yet, but I am going to! I think the poor fellow was poisoned! Just as they are trying to poison you and me now! Mark my words!"

"You are drunk!" Judge Dee said contemptuously.

"I don't deny that!" Tsung said placidly. "It's the only way to stay sane in this mortuary! But let me assure you, sir, that the old abbot wasn't drunk when he wrote his letter to my father, the last one before he died — I beg your pardon, before he was translated." The judge raised his eyebrows.

"Did the old abbot say in that letter that his life was in danger?" he asked.

Tsung Lee nodded. He drank deeply from his wine beaker.

"Who did he say was threatening him?" Judge Dee asked again.

The poet set down his beaker hard. He shook his head reprovingly and said: "You shouldn't try to tempt me to lay myself open to the charge of bringing a false accusation, Magistrate! I know the law!" Leaning over to the judge he whispered portentously: "Wait till I have collected proof!"

Judge Dee silently caressed his side-whiskers. The youngster was a disgusting specimen, but his father had been a great man, widely respected in both official and scholarly circles. If the old abbot had indeed written such a letter to Dr. Tsung before he died, the matter deserved further investigation. He asked: "what is the present abbot's opinion?"

The poet smiled slyly. Looking at the judge with watery eyes he said:

"You ask him, Magistrate! Perhaps he won't lie to you!" Judge Dee got up. The youngster was very drunk.

When he had returned to his own table, the abbot said bitterly: "I see that Mr. Tsung is drunk again. How different he is from his late father!"

"I gather that Dr. Tsung was a patron of this monastery," the judge remarked. He took a sip from the strong tea that indicated the end of the banquet.

"He was indeed," the abbot replied. "A remarkable family, Your Honour! The grandfather was a coolie in a village down south. He used to sit in the street under the window of the village school, and learned to write by tracing in the sand the characters the teacher wrote on the blackboard. After he had passed the village examination, a few shopkeepers collected the money for letting him pursue his studies, and he came out first in the provincial examinations. He was appointed magistrate, married a girl from an impoverished old family, and later died as a Prefect. Dr. Tsung was his eldest son. He passed all the examinations with honours, married the daughter of a wealthy tea merchant, and ended his career as Provincial Governor. He invested his money wisely, and founded the enormous family fortune."

"It is because every man of talent can rise to the highest functions, regardless of means or social position, that our great Empire will flourish for ever and ever," Judge Dee said with satisfaction. "To come back to your predecessor, what disease did he die of?"

The abbot put down his cup. He replied slowly: "His Holiness Jade Mirror did not die of a disease. He was translated; that is he chose to leave us because he felt that he had reached the limit set for his stay on earth. He departed for the Isles of the Blest in good health and in full possession of his mental powers. A most remarkable and awe-inspiring miracle that left a lasting impression on all of us who had the privilege of witnessing it."

"It certainly was a memorable experience, Dee!" Sun Ming added. "I was present at it, you know. The abbot summoned all the elders and, sitting on his high seat, delivered an inspired sermon of nearly two hours. Then he folded his arms, closed his eyes and passed away."

Judge Dee nodded. The dissolute youngster had evidently been indulging in drunken fantasies. Or perhaps he was repeating false rumours. He said: "Such a miracle is liable to excite the envy of other sects. One could imagine that the black-robed Buddhist crowd would use it for spreading malicious rumors."

"I certainly wouldn't put it past them!" the abbot said.

"Anyway," Judge Dee resumed, "if evil-minded persons ever made slanderous allegations, an autopsy would soon prove them unfounded. Signs of violence can be detected, even on an embalmed body."

"Let's hope that it'll never come to that!" Sun said cheerfully. "Well, it's time I returned to my studies." Getting up he added to the judge: "I'll first show you that picture of the old abbot's cat, though! It's a relic of this temple, Dee!"

The judge suppressed a sigh. He thanked the abbot for the lavish entertainment, then followed Sun to the exit. While passing the actors' table he said quickly to Tao Gan:

"Wait for me in the portal here! I'll be back soon."

Master Sun walked with the judge through the side-corridor, and took him to the west hall of the temple.

Against the back wall stood a simple altar with four burning candles. Sun lifted one of them and let its light fall on a medium-sized scroll-painting suspended on the wall, mounted with a frame of antique brocade. It was a picture of a long-haired grey cat, lying on the edge of a table of carved ebony. Next to it was a woolen ball, behind it a bronze bowl with a piece of rock of interesting shape, and a few bamboos.

"That was the abbot's favourite cat, you know!" Sun explained in a low voice. "The old man painted it countless times. It's rather good, isn't it?"

Judge Dee thought it was very mediocre amateur's work, but he understood that its value lay in its association with the holy man. The side hall was very cold, just as he had feared. "A remarkable picture!" he said politely.

"It was the last picture he did," Sun said. "He painted it up in his room, on the afternoon of the day he died. The cat refused to eat and died a few days later. And then to think that people say that cats don't attach themselves to their masters! I advise you now to have a look at the statues of the Taoist Triad in the main hall; they are more than ten feet high — the work of a famous sculptor. I'll be off now. I hope to see you tomorrow morning before you leave."

Scroll-painting of the Old Abbot's Cat

Judge Dee respectfully conducted him to the gate of the front hall, then he went back to the refectory. Since the statues had been there for two hundred years, they would be standing there a little longer, he presumed. He could see them when he revisited the temple at some later date.

He found his assistant waiting for him in the portal. Tao Gan reported in a low voice: "Mo Mo-te is still missing, sir. Kuan told me that nobody can say when or where he'll turn up, for he likes to go his own way. The director and the others were garrulous enough at table, but they really know very little about what is going on here, and care less. It was a pleasant meal, though. The only discordant note was an altercation at the table of the lay brothers. The brother in charge of the refectory maintained that the others hadn't put enough covers on the table. One monk was complaining that he didn't have a bowl and chopsticks."

"You call it a pleasant meal?" Judge Dee asked sourly. "I only had a few cups of wine and some tea, the rest made my stomach turn!"

"I had a very satisfactory dinner," Tao Gan said contentedly. "And all that good food gratis, for nothing!"

Judge Dee smiled. He knew that Tao Gan was inclined to be parsimonious. The gaunt man resumed: "Kuan invited me to come up to his room for a few more drinks, but I think I ought to have a look around for our mysterious actor first."

"Do that!" the judge said. "I'll go now and pay a visit to Mrs. Pao and her daughter. Their relation to Miss Ou-yang puzzles me. Tsung Lee suggested that White Rose isn't Mrs. Pao's daughter, and that she is being forced to become a nun, against her will. But the fellow was drunk. He also maintained that the former abbot had been murdered, but I asked the abbot and Master Sun, and that proved pure nonsense. Do you know where Mrs. Pao's room is?"

"On the second floor, sir, the fifth door in the second corridor, I would say."

"Good. Let's meet again in Kuan's room. I'll join you there after my talk with Mrs. Pao. I don't hear the rain any more, so we can go to the east wing directly by crossing the courtyard."

But a drenched novice who just came in informed them that although the storm had abated somewhat, it was still raining. The judge and Tao Gan made the detour through the front hall of the temple, now crowded with monks. They parted in front of the assembly hall on the ground floor of the east wing.

Judge Dee found the second floor completely deserted. The narrow, cold corridors were scantily lit by an occasional lantern. It was very still; he only heard the rustling of his brocade robe.

He was just about to start counting doors when he thought he heard whispered voices. He stood still and listened. He heard a swishing of silk behind him and at the same time smelled a sweet, cloying perfume. He was about to turn around when suddenly a searing pain shot through his head and everything went black.