28. The Lord's Letter
"Alright, the fire's out," Ling announced, crushing the last embers with his foot.
In front of them was a pile of ash, eerily quiet and lifeless.
"Now what?" Ling wanted to know.
The old goat got up from the stone. "Now, after this is over, don't call me Soothsayer anymore. Call me Ān-Mā."
"Ān-Mā?" Ling looked at his great-aunt in surprise. "You haven't had that name since the day you..."
"That's right. Not since I left my job at the orphanage. The kids liked calling me that." She smiled slightly. "And maybe the little ones will like it, too."
Ling raised an eyebrow. "You mean Shen's children?"
She nodded. "But not just for the little ones." She turned away. "So I'll do that now, too."
"Mmm? What will you do?"
"What I should have done years ago."
Slowly, she moved a foot forward and walked away, while Ling looked after her helplessly. "Uh, what should you have done years ago?"
"I don't mean to sound curious," Ling murmured. They were back in the house in the city while his great-aunt rummaged through a shelf for something. "But don't you want to explain to me exactly what you're planning to do now?" Ling asked further.
"We are no longer looking in the future," Ān-Mā announced in a slow voice, "but in the past."
With these words, she held up a long peacock feather.
Ling's eyes widened. "Uh, who's that from?"
"By Lord Liang," the old goat said. "He gave it to me as a gift many years ago."
She remained silent, prompting Ling to continue to pierce her with questions. "And what exactly do you intend to do with it now?"
Ān-Mā went to the door. "Come with me."
Ān-Mā had no problem finding the relevant stone in the wall that opened the gate to the family archive. She was so familiar with royalty that there was almost nothing she didn't know. And as soon as the gate was open, she and her grandnephew walked down the long corridor that led diagonally down. When they reached the large door in the next wall, the old goat placed the long peacock feather on a flat long slab of stone on the floor, which set the mechanism in motion. The painted peacock on the stone slab, which representing the door, rose majestically before them, like a silent sentinel, and suddenly, it came alive as it slid aside. The room beyond was in complete darkness and smelled of old paper and cold stone.
"Now what?" Ling asked. "What exactly are we looking for here?"
Ān-Mā lifted the lantern higher and illuminated the small hall, which was lined with shelves of scrolls. Then she swung the light onto the portrait of Shen's parents. "Ling, I can't get my mind off what Shen's father watched years ago before he died," she said quietly. "Something which he kept so under wraps that he didn't want anyone ever to find out. And if he hasn't removed it yet, then..."
She put the lantern down on the ground and rested her hooves on the corner of the portrait. Then she pressed against it with all her strength, so that the picture was pushed slightly into an inclined position. Ān-Mā paused as the hole in the wall behind appeared in front of her. Holding her breath, she looked inside and let out a deep sigh of relief. "It's still there. – Ling, hold the picture, please."
Ling did her the favor. As he held the large portrait at the other corner, the old goat reached into the niche with trembling hooves and pulled out something black boxy.
Ling eyed the black box curiously. "Uh, what's that?" he asked, releasing the painting.
Ān-Mā wiped over the box, which a thick layer of dust had formed. She blew hard on it once and the cloud of dust swirled around her in the lantern light.
Ling had to cough briefly. Then she put it down on the ground and looked at it thoughtfully. Ling didn't want to disturb her and kept his mouth shut.
Ān-Mā looked up at the painting of Lord Liang and Lady Ai. She looked down ruefully. "Please forgive me this." With that, she knelt down and opened the box. Ling craned his neck. Inside lay a rolled up piece of paper. The goat took it out carefully, as if afraid it might fall apart.
"Uh, what's that?" Ling narrowed his eyes and nudged the lantern closer. A feather lay on the bottom of the box. More precisely, a small blue feather.
"That's what I want to find out, Ling," Ān-Mā explained. She was totally excited inside. For one thing, she felt guilty about snooping around in the former lord's private belongings, but what the lord kept hidden here would not let her rest until she died. "I just couldn't shake the feeling that those two things were connected."
She took another deep breath, then she unrolled the paper and scanned the first few lines.
Ling looked at her curiously. "So, what is that?"
"It's a letter from Lord Liang to his wife Ai," the old goat stated. "Probably some kind of farewell letter, in case he dies before her."
Lin frowned. "But Lady Ai died before him. Accordingly, she had never read this document. But why did the lord keep it if it was only meant for his wife?"
Ān-Mā made no reply. Her eyes darted over the graphic characters on the old letter, but then her reading speed slowed and she even seemed to read a few lines twice or even three times. Ling waited patiently; pretty sure she was about to read it to him.
"Good gracious!" the goat cried. Her eyes looked shocked.
"What is it?" Ling wanted to know.
"We have to go to the Valley of Peace right away!" Hurriedly, the goat ran to the exit and even forgot to take the lantern with her.
"What is it?!" Ling called after her. "What is written there?! Hey! Wait a moment! What are you running for?" His eyes fell on the box. "Do you want to take the box with you?"
When he still didn't get an answer, he grabbed both things and raced outside after his excited great-aunt.
"I thought we were going to the Valley of Peace," Ling gasped. Today, his great-aunt really surprised him. Not just name changes and resolutions, but she was even faster than him now. They had already run a long way through the dense forest. If only she could tell him what was in the letter at least. But the old lady was so gasped that she was not able to give any information on the way.
"Why are we running to the doctor?" Ling wanted to know when they took a short breather by a big old tree.
"If my suspicion is correct," the old goat choked out, "then we need something else. However, I do not hope that we will need it."
Ling took a deep breath. "Could you tell me what this is about at least?"
"Later, Ling, later," his great-aunt dismissed him. "It's… very private. Until I know for sure, it shouldn't be said."
Ling stuck out his lower lip in a huff. "I'm not a stranger."
"Come on." With that, the old lady started moving again. Sighing, her grandnephew followed her further down the path.
Finally, they had reached Dr. Wu's house.
"Mm, the lights are still on upstairs," Ling stated after they stepped through the gate. "Apparently he hasn't gone to sleep yet."
To his amazement, his great-aunt immediately ran to the front door and pushed it open without knocking.
"Dr. Wu?" Ān-Mā called into the hallway. But she received no answer.
"Maybe he's working hard on an experiment right now," Ling suggested, though he didn't particularly want to know what it was.
His great-aunt shrugged. "However. Then we have to disturb him for a moment, for better or for worse."
Ling swallowed hard. "I hope, he doesn't ask us to do his work."
They climbed the stairs and entered the corridor with the many doors. The old goat looked around for a light. Where did it come from? A few doors down, they saw a halo of light glowing under the door slot.
Hurriedly, Ān-Mā approached it and knocked. "Dr. Wu? Are you in there?"
"Maybe we really should come back later," Ling said hopefully.
But his great-aunt shook her head resolutely. "It can't wait."
She pushed the door open, revealing the doctor's office. But no sooner had she stepped over the threshold than she was thrown to the ground. Ling felt himself grabbed by the collar and strong paws pulled him up.
"Look at that," a dark, accented voice sounded. "What kind of visitors do we have here?"
The old goat looked up. At the desk sat Dr. Wu. But from the look on his face, it didn't look like they were patients standing around the room. On the contrary, he sat trembling in his chair, to his left and right two panthers dressed in dark, one of which was still roughly gripping his shoulder.
Finally, one of the panthers reared up menacingly in front of the old goat and scowled down at her. But before Ān-Mā could ask anything, two other black panthers hauled her up by the shoulders and forced her to her feet. Beside her, she saw Ling, struggling helplessly in the air while still being held by the collar. "What do you want?" Ling complained.
"I'm asking the questions here!" the larger panther snapped at him and his eyes wandered back to Ān-Mā. "Judging by the descriptions of others, you must be the soothsayer aunt here. Then you surely know a white peacock, don't you?"
Ān-Mā suspected who she was dealing with her, but she acted clueless at first. "What do you want?"
"Don't ask such a stupid question!" Ravan snapped at her. "We took a very close look at the area. Then you know those feathery creatures from this pompous dump best, don't you?"
The old goat swallowed hard. Ravan didn't look like he would hesitate to hurt even an old lady.
"So, where is he?!" Ravan demanded menacingly. "And don't ask again who I mean. But if you're already that mentally ill, then I'll help you with your shriveled memory: Where is this Shen and his brother Tori?"
"Uh, you mean Dao?" Ling corrected, and immediately, he got a withering look from Ravan. However, he did not receive an immediate answer.
Ān-Mā's eyes wandered desperately to Dr. Wu, but he didn't know what to say either.
Ravan's eyes darted between the two. "I see we're going to need a few more dead bodies in this house, aren't we?!"
Ān-Mā ducked her head and thought of the letter, which she was hiding under her shirt. Whatever happened, she had to deliver this message. There was so much at stake. Something like that couldn't be covered up.
"Well," Ravan continued with a spiteful undertone. "Which one of you should we kill first until there's only one left and starts singing?"
Ān-Mā's thoughts turned to Shen and his family. But the Dragon Warrior was with him. And anyway, it was the largest seat of kung fu students.
Finally, she took a deep breath. "If we tell you, won't you harm us?"
Ravan grinned. "I promise."
Ān-Mā prayed that she would not regret the next words that came out of her mouth.
"He is in the Valley of Peace."
The big black panther narrowed his eyes and looked at her inquiringly. "And that's not a ruse either? I hate feints."
She shook her head violently. "No, he's there. Together with his brother."
Everything was quiet for a moment. Then Ravan snapped his fingers. Ān-Mā only felt a hard hit on the head and she collapsed unconscious. Same to Dr. Wu, who was also hit hard and collapsed in the chair.
Horrified, Ling stared down at the two unconscious figures. "Hey, it wasn't meant to be like that!"
"You're coming with us," Ravan announced firmly.
Ling looked at him in horror. "What? There was never talk of it."
"If one of you lied, then we're going to soften you up, aren't we?"
"But it was the truth."
Raven laughed. "Then all the healthier for you." His gaze wandered to the old goat and the lizard goanna. "Lock them up and then set the rooms on fire."
Ling thought he had misheard. "You said, you wouldn't hurt them!"
"We just promised we wouldn't kill them," Ravan corrected his word. "But the fire will do it for us. Nobody makes fun of us with impunity."
Ling couldn't believe what he was hearing. But all his pleading and protesting was useless. The panthers caged Ān-Mā and Dr. Wu in a small chamber on the first floor, with no windows. Then they locked the door and set about making a fire. In the room with the chemicals, the ninjas found enough combustible material. They dumped some of it on the floor, and just one small candle was enough to turn the whole thing into an inferno. The flames quickly ate across the floor and climbed up the walls. Then Ravan and his followers fled.
Liang. How could you hide that? It could have ended so badly.
She still saw the old blue peacock in front of her. She tried to look into his eyes, but his form was blurry.
Laing. Why? Why did you never tell?
The old lord turned away from her and disappeared somewhere in the distance.
Liang – Dao – Shen –
Shen.
The old goat coughed violently. Her head hurt terribly. She struggled to get up. But all around her was pitch dark. At first, she didn't know what was going on. But as the smoke rose up her nose more and more, she sensed the danger she was in. She groped around until she felt another body next to her. After a while, she recognized the shape of the lizard goanna and shook his shoulders. "Doctor? Doctor?"
But the doctor just let out a muffled murmur. At least, it signaled to her that he wasn't dead. She left the doctor and continued to feel the area. The room where they were in was only at least two meters wide and long. Probably some kind of closet, but it was completely empty. Finally, she got to the door. She groped for the doorknob and tried to open the door. But it was closed. No matter how hard she shook it, it didn't open. Meanwhile, the smoke was getting more and more aggressive. It was tight, but she couldn't see a glow of fire under the door slot, obviously the fire was still burning in the neighboring rooms. But the old goat knew that even if the fire didn't reach them, the next worst thing was that they would die of smoke inhalation.
Again she turned to the doctor. "Doctor, wake up!"
Dr. Wu mumbled something in his semi-consciousness. "Do you have an appointment?"
Ān-Mā had to realize that the doctor wasn't quite receptive at the moment.
She searched his pockets, hoping to find a bunch of keys, but she couldn't find. Either he never carried one, or the ninjas had taken it from him.
Again she had to cough heavily. In her distress, she pulled out two handkerchiefs. She held one over her mouth and laid the other over the doctor's face. They had to inhale the smoke as little as possible.
Now she noticed a faint bright glow under the door. Fear rose under her skin as the fire outside drew ever closer to her. But the smoke would soon be their undoing. Ān-Mā looked through the door lock, but could see nothing. Apparently, the key was still inside. She couldn't even see how the fire had spread by now.
She banged on the door in desperation. But she had no hope that anyone would hear her. Her thoughts went back to Shen. If anything happened to him, she would never forgive herself, even in her grave. She felt for the letter again. If only she could keep it safe somewhere at least. But it seemed they would die from the smoke first, and eventually burn up later. And Liang's letter with it. Nobody would ever know his secret...
Ān-Mā paused. She pulled out the letter and thought quickly. Then she unrolled the paper and pushed it forward under the door slot. Then she took out the blue feather which she had been carrying for several years and put it through the door lock.
"Please, make it work," she pleaded.
A metallic sound made her hope again. She pulled the letter back under the slit in the door. She felt the paper. When she finally felt the key, she clung to it like an anchor pulling her out of the deep sea.
As quickly as she could, she tucked the letter and feather back under her shirt and put the key in the door lock. After a few turns, the door was finally open.
She backed away as flames hit her. In front of her was the corridor that went left and right. The fire came from the left, but it had not reached them yet.
Hastily, she helped Dr. Wu to his feet, supporting him from the side. As soon as they left the chamber, Ān-Mā could not start running at once. She couldn't see anything because of the smoke, only the firelight from the left illuminated the hallway surrounded by thick fog. Since it was night outside, it made it difficult for her to find her way again. In addition, she did not know exactly in which part of the house they were. She felt her way along the wall. She suspected that several rooms were already on fire and she hoped that they would not be trapped in the fire. Next to her, she heard the loud crackling, as if she could hear the fire breathing for air and wanting to eat everything in its greed. The pent-up heat was almost unbearable and the dense smoke frightened her. She struggled through the smoke-filled hallway with the doctor, hoping to get to the stairs. But as if the universe had heard her plea, her hooves felt the banister. Still coughing heavily, they almost stumbled down the stairs. It was difficult for them to breathe, but she knew not to fall asleep or faint from the smoke or they would suffocate. She tried to keep herself awake with all sorts of thoughts, but her motivation to get the letter out safely gave her renewed impetus. Although she was practically blind, she walked with Dr. Wu down the hallway. Finally, she managed to push open the front door. She breathed in the fresh air with relief. Then she ran a few more steps, then she threw herself forward and dropped to the ground.
With half-open eyes, she saw the pitch-black smoke rising above the house into the dark night sky. Even the flames had made their way through the windows and were now raging over the roof.
There was a great turmoil around Wu's house, which had probably never happened before. All the animals from the area had gathered there to put out the fire. Not out of neighborly love, but nobody wanted to risk the fire spreading to the forest. The city fire brigade struggled to get the fire under control, even the water chain was not enough to extinguish the fire immediately.
Dr. Wu had settled down a little further from the house with Ān-Mā. At least the doctor had a clear head again and could take care of the old goat. She was wrapped in a blanket next to the wall and still looked a bit exhausted.
Worried, the lizard goanna bent over her. "It would be best if you rested for one more day at least," he advised.
But the old goat shook her head. "No, I have to go to the Valley of Peace as soon as possible."
Dr. Wu raised his scaly eyebrows in wonder. "Why on earth do you have to go there now? The kung fu council will know what to do. I'll just send a message there."
Ān-Mā reached under her jacket and held out the letter to him. "Read this."
Dr. Wu grabbed the letter from her hooves and scanned the lines. Meanwhile, Ān-Mā's gaze wandered to the house, where the upper floors were still partly on fire. "Oh, no." If her suspicions were correct, the doctor would have to perform a miracle to prevent a tragedy.
After a while, Dr. Wu lowered the letter. But instead of commenting on it, he could only say one word: "Amazing."
"Ān-Mā" is a combination of "ān" [peaceful] and "mā" [mother].
I kept the lines over the letters, because otherwise it could be misinterpreted in Chinese if you pronounce it differently.