THE SILK TREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The next afternoon an imperial herald arrived. ‘Where’s Beastmaster Yi?’ he demanded.

‘Oh, he’s indisposed.’

‘Message from His Celestial Majesty. Performance tonight – he wants it clear it had better be funny, he’s got guests.’

‘Yi sheng is not well. Can we not-?’

The herald gave a cynical smile.

‘Without him…’

There was no response from the man.

‘Message from the Grand Chamberlain,’ a voice piped up behind him.

‘Get away, young ’un,’ the imperial herald grunted. ‘Emperor before Grand Chamberlain, mate.’

‘Oh, let him deliver his message,’ Nicander said in desperate hope.

‘Master Kuo wants you to present your costumes to him for approval,’ the youth said. ‘Right now, he means.’

‘Ah, yes. Of course.’

His heart began pounding but Nicander managed to tell the imperial herald that the Emperor’s wishes would be obeyed for the performance.

Their escape was on!

In the matter of belongings there was no difficulty. They had lost all they owned to the pirates and apart from their sycees had little to show for their time at court.

At the Grand Chamberlain’s residence they were quickly brought inside and the gate firmly shut.

A servant hurried them to the meditation chamber. Kuo was leaning on his staff, serene and calm. Wang stood close by.

‘This night you shall be made free. Are you prepared?’

‘Master Kuo. There are things that are not clear to us. For instance-’

‘All will be revealed to you in good time. I must first ask you – will you truly do this? As a father, the placing of my daughter in the protection of another is a matter I cannot take lightly. Do you both give me your word that you will stand by her until she reaches sanctuary?’

Satisfied with their response, Kuo continued, ‘This is the plan. The Emperor will be exceedingly angry at her departure – we are both confined here under penalty of death, but more important, she would be seen as a focus for any popular rebellion, and would be hunted down mercilessly throughout the kingdom. It is my fervent desire that my dear daughter is safely quit of a land that is fast descending into a pit of chaos, therefore I ask that you conduct her to the only place where I can be certain she will be, heart and soul, safe from his reach.’

‘Where is this, sir?’

‘Out of China to the lands beyond the mountains – to your own country.’

‘B-but…’

‘In this way you will not only be able to depart from here, but also gain the means to return to your native soil. This is my assurance that you will have every reason to stay by her.’

Nicander fought a torrent of doubts. Just how realistic was Kuo being – did he know where the Byzantine Empire actually was, seeing that nobody here was aware it existed? Had he taken into account the pirates, outer barbarians, the incredible distances?

‘Master, how do you plan we do this?’

‘I desire you should journey to Chang An, where my brother is a merchant. From there caravan argosies of silks go west, into the setting sun to Ta Ch’in as of old. The precious cargoes are passed hand to hand, but where goes the silk, so may a traveller, I’m persuaded.’

‘It will probably cost much, sir. A very great deal, I fear. And if-’

Kuo fumbled for a chest on a nearby table and laid his hand on it. ‘In this coffer is enough to see you through to Chang An. There my brother will make arrangements for you to draw upon his account with his agents along the route. He is a well-established man and may be relied upon.’

A tidal wave of hope threatened to undo Nicander’s cool while he rapidly brought Marius up to date.

He turned to Kuo, ‘Sir, you may rely on us, too.’

There was one last detail. ‘My country is not renowned for its charity, sir. If your daughter-’

‘She will be given the means to subsist there independently as a lady of nobility. Your mission will be accomplished the day you set foot on your native soil, for you will understand it can never be permitted that my daughter finds herself reliant on the charity of holy men, however well disposed.’

Against all reason… a miracle was happening! In a very short time they would be free – and on their way…

Nicander felt a gush of warmth toward the older man. ‘Master – what will happen to you? I mean, after-’

‘Do not concern yourself. I am condemned the instant it is known that both you and my daughter have fled. I shall leave at the same time with you, but part to go elsewhere. My plans are well advanced. Master Wang and I together will fly at the utmost speed to a sanctuary I long for with all my soul, the Temple of Shaolin, where I ask nothing more than to end my life in the contemplation of the sublime.

‘Timing is crucial. In a short while it will be dark. As the Hour of the Snake is sounded we leave, going by separate ways to meet again with my daughter and her lady-in-waiting – at the imperial stables. There, we will be told what to do. Have you any questions?’

‘What is the nature of our journey once we are outside these walls?’

‘In the chest are all requisite passes and documents. In these you are holy men accompanying a lady on a perilous journey, for you will be hiring a conveyance to take her on an urgent visit on my behalf to her uncle in Chang An, who lies sick.’

‘A lady on her own? Will not this-’

‘You are holy men accompanying her, it is a well-understood custom. However, at this point I must remind you that under no circumstances should you admit to coming here from over the mountains. You will be suspected of being a spy and would never be allowed to leave China.’

‘Then where do we say we’re from?’

‘Some kingdom or other, it doesn’t signify. Only that you do not come from far parts of the west.’

‘Yes, Master. Your daughter. She’s a… lady and we are both men. Do you not think that-’

‘You are men, but holy men. I understand your concern over her female needs but rest your fears; she will be accompanied throughout by her lady-in-waiting, Lai Tai Yi, who is a most loyal and determined individual.’

‘Ah.’

‘The chest will be in her charge, for you holy men should not be burdened with the cares of this world.’

‘Only one more question, sir. Could you be clear as to who exactly you consider to be in command for the journey?’

‘My daughter has been instructed to take wise direction from which of you shall be foremost in the making of decisions.’

He motioned to Wang. ‘Now, might I suggest you prepare by putting on these monkish robes? They will allow those of my country to know you as holy men and will give you a certain protection. The divines in China shave their heads, but your beards identify you as foreign. These are not unknown, passing to and fro from Tibet and the outer world on their search for knowledge and you will have no trouble.’

He reflected a moment then added, ‘And I’ve been giving some thought to your Chinese name. I rather fancy “Ni K’an Ta” for you, sir. It is by way of meaning “One who is able to distinguish great ventures”. Is it to your liking?’

‘Indeed, Master.’

‘Then so shall it be, Ni hsien sheng. Now your friend. How does he like, “Ma Lai Ssu” do you think? It has the meaning “Earth god who tames wild horses”. Will you explain to him?’

While Marius – Ma hsien sheng – gloried in his new name, Nicander said gravely, ‘Master, we thank you with all our heart! If we could ever-’

‘You have lifted a burden from me that has been monstrous these last months, and I go rewarded by being the instrument of restoring two brave and worthy seekers after truth to the land of their birth.’

A stone chime sounded softly.

It was time.

‘Are we then ready? You gentlemen to the left, Master Wang and I go to the right. Then let us depart!’

In a thrill of hope they stepped out into the stillness of the night. Over in the palace there was the usual revelry and Nicander imagined the explosion there would be when the Emperor called for his performers.

He and Marius walked as quickly as they could to the stables, close by their own quarters.

They entered the dank and stifling building and stood in the darkness listening. There was a creak and the door at the end opened. Four figures; two men, two women. Nicander recognised Kuo and Wang, who motioned them into the courtyard.

There, the rising moon provided just enough light to make out features. Wang was holding the chest. One woman carried two bags. The other, standing tall and still, was the Ice Queen!

‘I may have omitted to make introduction. This is my daughter, the Lady Kuo Ying Mei. My dear, this is Ni K’an Ta and Ma Lai Ssu.’

Taken aback at the identity of his charge, Nicander nevertheless managed a bow, returned with a distant inclination of the head.

Kuo spoke urgently, ‘We must not delay. Master Wang, is…?’

‘This way, everyone!’

They hurried over to the stalls where a large cart hitched to two horses waited. It was filled with animal dung.

‘Aboard quickly, please!’ the driver hissed, his eyes showing white.

Wang ducked under the cart and pulled a bolt. A trapdoor swung down. ‘Get in!’ There were gasps from the ladies.

Kuo was first, disappearing up into some recess. He was followed by the reluctant women and then it was Nicander’s turn. He scrambled under the cart, then looked up – nothing but darkness. Guiding hands pulled him over to the side where he wedged himself in, gagging at the smell. Marius followed, then the chest.

Wang shot the bolt, gave a muffled farewell and they jerked into motion.

‘Only a short distance and then he will let us out,’ Kuo said in a shaky voice, adding that this was the usual run for the dung cart to the village, done at night to avoid offending smells while the palace was at work. The regular crew had been told that they were given leave to drink the Emperor’s health that night and trusty men had prepared and loaded the vehicle.

It was well thought out: an internal box under the dung, invisible from the outside.

The cart slowed, then stopped. The tension was unbearable.

But soon it started swaying forward again. After a few minutes Nicander sensed a definite downward angle.

‘We’re through the gates!’ Kuo’s voice came weakly. ‘Only a little while to the river.’

They heard a horse drawing near and the cart stopped. There was a knock, then the bolt slid across and the trapdoor swung free with a sudden intoxicating blast of clean night air.

Wang helped them out and they stood disoriented for a moment.

Behind was the black mass of the city walls, studded with lights. A little way in front of them glittered the river gliding past in the moonlight.

‘This way, quickly!’

He led them to a meadow. In the dark it was difficult to make out shapes and he frantically looked about. ‘There! A boat waits!’

They made their way through the thick turf, stumbling against grass clumps. Out of the dimness came animal noises as they pressed on in a fever of excitement.

Halfway across they heard sounds from the direction of the city walls: distant cries, a powerful war drum starting an urgent beating.

‘We’ve been discovered! Go for your lives!’

They ran – the boat was not a hundred yards away up the river by the bank. A figure stood nearby.

A line of torches flickered to life along the city walls and a trumpet bayed out.

‘No!’ screamed Wang as their boatman, now just fifty yards away, panicked and shoved off without them.

‘The slivey bastard!’ Marius shouted and waded into the water, making for the fast-moving boat to intercept it.

It came on but he was up to his neck and the man had not seen him. As it passed by, a hand shot up and seized his ankle, pulling hard. The man gave a despairing cry and toppled into the water. Marius lost no time hauling himself in. He found the steering oar and brought the boat safely in to nudge into the shallows.

‘Move!’ he roared.

Falling over each other they scrambled aboard. The women disappeared into a shelter aft while Kuo and Wang squatted in the middle.

Marius seized one of the boat oars, gesturing to Nicander to take the other. Wang clambered up to the steering oar.

‘Go!’ Marius bellowed. They heaved mightily and the boat came off the mud.

Nicander stroked in time with Marius and the boat swung to face downstream.

They began to move out and away. Wang found the main channel and soon the banks were slipping past. Dare they hope?

Nicander did not have Marius’s brute strength but with his best efforts he pushed and heaved, his lungs bursting, the ill-balanced oar a burning weight.

As they slid around a curve in the river, to their horror, they saw a squadron of cavalry on the bank. A challenge came to pull in.

Orders cracked out ashore. Half the soldiers reined in, extracted their crossbows and opened fire while the others kept pace. Bolts hissed past, some skittering in the water nearby. Two made a solid thunk into the hull.

‘Keep down!’ Marius gasped. Wang steered the boat away but another squadron came into view on the opposite bank. There was nothing for it but head midstream.

The river widened; they were out of range. But the cavalry squadrons either side cantered along effortlessly, waiting for their chance.

Nicander felt sickened. They would never lose their pursuers, and at some point the river would narrow or become shallow enough for horses, and then…

‘The Four Pheasants Gorge – we cannot go around now!’ Wang said grimly.

‘What do you mean?’ Nicander gasped.

‘Ahead, around the bend the river narrows through a cliff chasm, goes over rocks. We cannot go on!’

They would be forced to land the boat.

On the banks the two squadrons slowed to a trot, the glitter of unsheathed steel appearing as they waited to see which side their prey would choose.

They heard the first dull roar of the gorge, a dark cleft through an escarpment of broken rocks that stretched across from either side. Flecks of white showed at its maw.

‘We must go through – who’s with me?’ Marius roared.

Kuo spoke for them all. ‘Better death in the cataract than at the hands of Wen Hsuan!’

Marius elbowed Wang aside and gripped the steering oar tightly. His eyes fixed on the approaching terror, calmly judging distances, angles.

Small whirlpools appeared and their onward velocity increased as they were gripped by the current. ‘Get the oars in,’ he rapped. ‘Everyone, low as you can get – we’re going through!’

Angry shouts came from the banks.

The thunder of water increased but even in the rising moon the narrows were in shadow – there could be anything waiting for them.

Nicander glanced at the shore. ‘Look!’

On either bank the horses were being reined in, baulked by the craggy escarpment across their track, their riders brandishing weapons in frustration.

He peered into the darkness ahead in cold fear. They had escaped from one fate but were hurtling to another.

The sides of the gorge whipped past and a heavy roar battered their ears in the confined space. As his eyes got used to the gloom Nicander made out the figure of Marius, standing on the afterdeck, heroically straining to keep the boat from splintering against some lethal rock.

Their speed was now dizzying – vague black masses flicked by and the odour of churning water and pungent weed rose up.

Kuo and Wang crouched with Nicander in the middle of the boat. Ying Mei and Tai Yi huddled in the little shelter.

They plunged on. It was impossible to make out much ahead; the very next instant could see them smashed to their deaths.

The gorge seemed endless, the darkness near impenetrable. White lathering over deadly rocks showed as Marius slewed the fragile craft this way and that to avoid them. Nicander could only imagine the burning pain in his body.

The lip of the chasm was still relentlessly high. How much further?

Then a massive buttress jutted out from one side, obscuring what was ahead. It was also constricting the waters – and the little craft gathered speed into the roaring chaos.

Nicander knew it was beyond even Marius to take them through alone and hauled himself up beside him, grabbing at the oar.

‘Tell me!’ he yelled against the noise.

Marius nodded. ‘Left!’

They thrust against the shuddering haft, the frightful strength of the shooting water transmitted directly to them.

‘Right!’

It was working: they were slipping past the vicious hazards in the narrowing channel, but then the buttress loomed close. There was no sight of the river ahead which seemed to be curving around it.

‘We take it in the middle!’

In a nightmare of speed and terror they shot past and into the void beyond – it opened up wide but just ahead, spreading right across their track was a continuous chain of white.

There was nothing they could do except scream a warning.

The boat hit and reared up before dropping with a rending crash on the other side: Nicander felt himself flung into the air and then plunging into the water. He was rolled and tossed, choking and helpless until it quietened and he managed to get his head above water. Thrashing about he saw that the boat had entered a broad patch of placid water and Marius was levering it towards a sandy outcrop.

He struggled towards it and was hauled in as the others scrambled, damp and trembling, on to the sand.

‘Got to check the boat,’ Marius croaked.

The craft was fast filling from a splintered plank. Without tools there was no possibility of repair.

‘We can’t wait here,’ Kuo said through chattering teeth. ‘The soldiers will find a way around before long – we must leave!’

‘Then get in and bail – every last bastard!’ Marius ordered.

They found whatever they could to use and when the boat was refloated even Kuo, feeling for the gunwale, bailed as hard as he could.

‘Oars again,’ growled Marius at the steering oar.

Nicander and Wang took up their labour once more. They were keeping pace with the leak – they had a chance!

The night wore on until, imperceptibly, delicate light stole in to lift the darkness.

Ahead, Wang spotted a familiar fork in the river. ‘Heaven be praised!’ he gasped. ‘Ye Ching!’

At a rickety bamboo landing place their little craft came to its rest and they scrambled thankfully to the shore.

Wang made off quickly down the river path to the village while Kuo, clinging to his staff with weariness, called the rest together.

‘It has been a cruel experience for us all, but as so often in our mortal existence, with a hidden gift. In the usual way we should have disembarked before the gorge, made our way across country to the tributary and in another boat followed it down the longer way to this conjunction. Instead we went by a more direct, and you will no doubt agree, a faster route.’

He straightened painfully. ‘By this, we have broken through the search cordon and have arrived here at Ye Ching well on schedule. They have no proof that a single fleeing boat held their quarry and therefore they cannot afford to relax their pursuit in other directions. I’m certain that if we move without delay we will stay ahead of them.’

Wang met them at the inn. ‘Sir, we are desired to wait in the private room while our transport is prepared.’

‘We have little time to waste,’ Kuo said briskly once they were inside. ‘Thus I will tell you now what must be done.

‘You will head as rapidly as possible for the north-west. You will be safe there after crossing the mountains at the Wu Tsen Pass; on the other side you will reach the Yellow River. From there it is a simple journey to Chang An and the rest of your adventure.’

‘And you, sir?’

‘Master Wang and I will be taking horse in the opposite direction, to Shaolin.’

‘Then…’

‘Yes,’ Kuo said with infinite gentleness. ‘It is therefore here that we must part.’

Ying Mei’s features remained blank.

‘First, I give over to you the chest. It contains sufficient means to get you to Chang An, together with required passes and documents.’

Tai Yi firmly took it in charge.

‘Next, I ask my daughter to accept this staff of mine that has done me such service.’

‘F-Father…?’

‘I do so for a reason. It is this.’ From inside his robe he brought out an extraordinary object, a thick length of black hair, shiny with lacquer. He looped it over the tip of the staff.

‘It is the tail of the yak, a beast not seen in China but much esteemed by the western barbarians. It is a sign to them that you are of noble birth and you will be respected. Receive it with my blessing.’

‘And to you gentlemen – staffs also for your journey, but more than that, I now give my daughter into your protection.’

‘My Lord, we…’ Nicander struggled for words.

‘I take that to be your accepting. Then… then if you will permit me, I would desire to take farewell of my daughter in private.’

Nicander motioned for the others to leave and they went outside into a bright early morning. There was a small carriage waiting, with gauze veils over the window spaces. Behind were four mules, two with saddles, two with packs.

A pair of birds began singing among the blossom of a nearby tree. The sweetness of their song brought a lump to his throat as he thought of the anguish that now must be in Ying Mei’s heart.

Then she emerged. Pale but erect she stood and blinked, eyes overbright but her face a mask of control. Without a backward glance she went toward the carriage.

Impulsively Nicander pressed forward. ‘Miss Ying Mei, do please understand how much I feel for you in this-’

She stopped… and looked into the distance, her chin lifting defiantly.

‘How dare you!’ Tai Yi thrust herself between them, her face pinched with anger. ‘This is the Lady Kuo Ying Mei! Ni sheng – know that any communication from the likes of you goes through me, and me alone!’

Struck dumb, Nicander watched Ying Mei enter the carriage and draw the veil.

‘In the future I’ll thank you to remember your manners, foreign devil,’ Tai Yi said icily.