Riding the Snake (1998) (27 page)

The Incense Master spoke softly to the initiates, describing important symbols in the City of Willows. "Before us, farthest from the altar, is the Heaven and Earth circle," he said, pointing to a large symbolic circle on the floor, farthest away from the huge, beautifully decorated altar. "It blends the mortal qualities of the earthbound with our great spiritual ancestors. Beyond that is the fire pit, which you will soon cross and which will symbolize your lack of fear and pain. Then, closer to the altar, you see the large stepping-stones that symbolize the righteous path of the Brethren of the Chin Lo. Finally, the two-planked bridge that leads to the altar. Only the most surefooted traveler can cross this bridge to experience the true power of life," the Incense Master said. "You undoubtedly will wonder at the trials before you. You may even question their value, but as a muddy river will one day become clear, so will the wisdom of these trials. To be persistent in this task, from start to finish, is a virtuous thing," he told them.

Fu Hai couldn't believe the splendor of the place. Great sayings hung from ornate banners on the walls all around the hall. But more important than the splendor or the spectacle was the way the Incense Master spoke to them. It was as if they were important guests, valued additions to this place. No powerful person had ever before addressed Fu Hai in this fashion.

The Incense Master pointed to one thing after another, giving them brief descriptions of everything and explaining what each object stood for. He pointed to the engraved tablets on the walls which honored other Triad chapters.

On the huge, festooned altar he pointed out each of the symbolic articles. The Tau, which was a large wooden tub filled with rice, each grain said to represent a society member, all equal in size, shape, and importance. He pointed out the flags of the ancients, including the Five Tiger Generals, and the flags of the Four Great Faithful Ones. The current Shan Chu's own flag was there-- the beautiful gold warrant banner of the most high and holy leader. In a large holder near the front of the altar was an ugly red club, which the Incense Master told them was the symbol of Triad punishment. Also adorning the altar was the Sword of Loyalty and Righteousness, which he said represented the sword of Kwan Kung, God of War. It was used only for initiation of the holy and execution of Triad traitors. He went on pointing out everything: the yellow umbrella, signifying the Ming Emperors who had allowed the first Triads to flourish in the 1500s; a large white paper fan, constructed of bamboo with thirteen ribs, representing the administrative divisions of China under the Ming Dynasty; the abacus, which once calculated the sins and debts of the Chinese people, and now represented the economic power of the Triad; and the beautiful, ornate scales of justice to weigh and guarantee the equality of all Triad members. The banners that hung over the altar preached great wisdom in glorious gold-threaded Chinese symbols. Fu Hai read as many as he could see:

FAITHFUL ONES MAY JOIN THE SOCIETY.

DISLOYAL ONES MUST OFFER INCENSE HERE.

THE HEROES ARE SUPREME.

THE BRAVE HAVE NO EQUAL.

Then the doors opened on the north gate and a man with a hood over his head was led into the hall. He walked slowly and seemed to be in great pain. He was led by a very thin, ugly man who limped badly when he walked. The limping man wore a magnificent white robe adorned with beautiful gold thread. It was the only robe in the Pavilion that had any decorative symbols. The Incense Master whispered that the man in the hood was a traitor to the Triad, and that the skinny man in the beautiful embroidered robe was the most powerful Shan Chu, President and Supreme Leader of the Chin Lo. He pointed to another man who was standing on the platform of elders and whispered that he was the Vice President of the Society, the most powerful White Fan.

The Shan Chu led the hooded man to the altar and pushed him down before it. Then the Shan Chu reached down and snapped off the hood. The kneeling man had been severely beaten; his face was bloody and there were only a few teeth left in his mouth. Stranger still was the fact that the man was covered with scars. He had once been horribly burned. His face and bald head were grotesquely altered by flames. Several of his fingers had been burned off. His yellow lips were stretched thin in pain and resignation.

"You have betrayed the oath and you must pay the price of sin against your brothers," the Shan Chu said loudly in the hushed Temple. Then he pulled the Sword of Loyalty and Righteousness out of its ornate scabbard. Five muscular vanguards from the Triad's honored Red-Pole fighting section moved forward and tied thongs around the scarred man's hands and feet, then he was pushed down to the floor. His clothing was removed by the vanguards, cut from his body with short knives. Fu Hai could see that the rest of the man's body was also horribly scarred.

What happened next was a riot to Fu Hai's senses. He watched in fascination and horror as the most powerful Shan Chu performed the Death by a Myriad of Swords on the horribly scarred man, slowly drawing the Sword of Loyalty and Righteousness across the man's body, first here, then there. With each cut, the man screamed in pain. The five vanguards held him down as his bloody body bucked, arched, and jerked in agony, but the scarred man was held firmly in place before the altar.

It went on for almost a half-hour until the traitor was covered in his own blood and his horrible screams had died to whimpers. When he was finally silent, Fu Hai knew he was most surely dead.

It was ghastly and inhumane, yet it was also somehow spectacular and awe-inspiring, because it demonstrated the immense power of the Shan Chu. That he could commit this horrible criminal act in front of hundreds of witnesses, without fear of discovery, certainly displayed his supreme power.

Fu Hai wondered who the scarred man was and what he had done to deserve such a terrible death.

They came for him in darkness. He was lying on a grass mat in the garden pavilion of the great Temple building. They shook him awake as, nearby, the other initiates slept, unaware. They led him silently, under a quarter moon, out of the garden pavilion into the main building, just inside the Temple entrance. The red-robed Incense Master was waiting for him in candlelight, holding a large, magnificent yellow gauze quilt embroidered with Chinese calligraphy. Fu Hai was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, but his heart began to beat faster.

"This is the Sha Tz'u Pei," the Incense Master said, holding up the quilt for him to see. "It contains all of the sacred oaths of the Chin Lo society. Even though you are just an initiate, tonight you have been chosen for a great mission, but you must swear that you are worthy of our trust. . . . Can you do this?"

"Yes," Fu Hai said.

"You have been chosen because you have already received a tremendous gift from the Society. We have given you a new life and asked for nothing. No member of your family has been pledged to us if you default. You have been embraced as few have and given a long journey for which you owe us a great accounting. Tonight you must begin to repay. As our proposed brother and one who has asked to join our number, we have trusted you for many million yuan. But you must do certain extra things to repay our great trust and generosity. For this reason, you have been chosen. Tonight is the beginning," the Incense Master said. "Do you understand your duty?"

Again Fu Hai nodded.

"Before you go on this mission, you must read one oath of fealty and four oaths of allegiance and you must swear to each oath. These oaths must not be taken lightly. To fail in this will bring dishonor and terrible death. Do you understand?"

Fu Hai nodded. He did not want to end like the scarred man in the Red Flower Pavilion. The Incense Master took the gauze quilt and placed it on a low table before Fu Hai. He gently pushed Fu Hai to his knees and pointed to the thirty-sixth and last oath. "Read and swear," he said softly.

"After entering the Chin Lo gates, I shall be loyal and faithful," Fu Hai read aloud. "I shall endeavor to overthrow the Ching and restore the Ming by coordinating my efforts with those of my sworn Brethren. Our common aim is to avenge our five great ancestors."

"This is a historic oath of fealty. It deals with our great and bloody past, with the historic plight of the Five Tiger Generals. To appreciate the past is to see into the future," the Incense Master told him. "This morning you will perform a work of honor for your Brethren... but there is some risk. Should things go badly, the Brethren must know you can be trusted. For this reason, you must swear the four oaths of allegiance." He pointed to the fifth oath embroidered on the Sha Tz'u Pei. "Read and swear," he instructed.

"I swear I shall not disclose the secrets of the Chin Lo family, even to my parents, my brothers, or my wife. I shall never disclose the secrets for money. If I do, I will be killed by a Myriad of Swords." Fu Hai read these words in a soft voice, again shuddering at the memory of the horrible ceremony he had witnessed just a few hours before.

The Incense Master then pointed to oath number six: "I swear I shall never betray my sworn brother," Fu Hai read. "If through a misunderstanding or mistake I have caused the arrest of one of my brothers, I must give my life to attempt to release him. If I break this oath, I will be killed by Five Thunderbolts." Then the Incense Master pointed to oath number eighteen: "If I am arrested after committing an offense, I swear I will accept my punishment and not try to place blame upon my sworn Brethren. If I fail this oath, I will die by Five Thunderbolts."

Then the Incense Master pointed to the last oath he wanted Fu Hai to read. It was oath number twelve:

"If I have supplied false information about myself for the purpose of joining the Chin Lo secret society, I will die by a Myriad of Swords," Fu Hai said softly.

Suddenly, he was pulled to his feet and embraced by the Incense Master. Fu Hai could smell the soft, sweet fragrance of flowered soap on the old man. Then the Incense Master held him at arms' length and looked at him as a father would a beloved son.

"There will be many trials for you, Fu Hai," he said. "This is but your first. It is the first step along the path of true believers."

Fu Hai was taken out of the Temple to the grass park. On all four sides, he could see the backs of buildings that made up the inside of the Walled City. Four young men dressed in black waited for him. Two were holding Russian AK-47s. Fu Hai looked at the ugly machines of death and wondered what he was supposed to do. Then, one at a time, all four men embraced Fu Hai and called him brother. They again placed a blindfold over his eyes. He was spun three times in a circle until he lost his bearings, then they put his hand on the belt of the man in front of him. He was led out of the grass park and into a building a short distance away. He could not smell the stench of the Walled City, but he knew he was inside one of the buildings that backed up to the central park. Then he was being led down a set of stairs. The sounds of their footsteps echoed in a narrow stairwell. He could no longer smell the sweet cherry blossoms. Damp air now filled his nose. Then Fu Hai was helped into some kind of vehicle. Once it was in motion, he knew it was an electric cart. It hummed as they sped along. Cold, musty air filled his nostrils and blew past his ears. Fu Hai thought they were underground.

After only a few minutes, they stopped and he was helped out of the cart. They climbed another set of stairs. Fu Hai heard several men speaking in low tones. He was frightened and yet very exhilarated. It was like being part of some huge adventure. For the first time in his life, Fu Hai was part of the group; he was no longer a peasant sweating in a silkworm factory while supervisors yelled at him, cursing his stupidity. These men talked to him softly and with respect. He was treated as if he possessed great Guan-Xi.

He was placed in the back seat of a car. He heard men talking about street directions, and then he heard an electric garage door open. Fu Hai felt the car start, and it began to move out of a garage. They were driving now. He heard traffic and buses. One of the men in the car told him, politely, to remove his blindfold. He took it off and saw that he was still with the men who had embraced him in the park. The same two were still holding the Russian machine guns. Fu Hai's heart leaped with conflicting emotions, excitement and fear. He wondered what he would be asked to do. More than anything, he wanted to go to America, but a new feeling had been sweeping over him, coloring his thoughts, making him proud. For the first time in his life, Fu Hai belonged. For the first time, he was part of something much larger than himself.

Chapter
24.

Johnny, We Hardly Knew You

It was just eight o'clock in the morning and they were in Victoria Park, near the swimming pools. Julian said it was best to do your planning outside the People's Police Building, where one didn't have to worry about listening devices. Off to the west, they could see the cars streaming along the elevated causeway. A new workday had begun in the oxymoronic Communist Democracy of the Special Autonomous Region known as Hong Kong. Julian Winslow was looking at his hands as he sat on the wooden bench under an elm tree, deep concern creasing his round, cherubic face.

"Why would they search his apartment? What's going on here, Julian?" Tanisha asked. She was trying to read the cagey nuance in his watery blue eyes. She had sensed something was wrong between Johnny Kwong and Julian Winslow, despite Julian's overwhelming praise of the scarred inspector. Now, before going on, she wanted to find out exactly what it was.

"He was on to the blighters," Julian said, his eyes focused on the distant traffic. "Had been for years. Caused a ruckus for bad cops and criminals alike. Johnny liked putting the cat among the pigeons. The Triads and some of our own bent coppers wanted Johnny dead, you can bet on it."