Gold Tiger King - Ch. 8

The Plight of Madame Houwang

Rated E Everyone

Yen-shu awoke under a coarse blanket. On his head was a cold, wet rag covering the wound Chen gave him. To his right hovered a young girl not too much younger than him. Her smile was like a heavenly crescent.

“Who…?” Yen-shu said hoarsely. “Where am I?”

“You are in my home,” said the girl. “My name is Yuyan. I took care of you after you fell from your horse.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

Yuyan nodded and rose to exit the small room.

Yen-shu sat up and realized quickly that he was still naked. “Miss Yuyan”

“Yes?" She twisted with a look of suppressed elation.

“Do you have any spare clothes I could have?”

“Oh, um...yes. Right away.” Yuyan scurried out of the room, sliding the door closed behind her.

Yen-shu took in his immediate surroundings. Tokens and trinkets were laid out around him in specific patterns. He could smell incense burning close by. He raised a brow with wide eyes. Suddenly, he heard bickering right outside the room. It was Yuyan and an older man. His voice sounded familiar.

“The One would be made imperfect with such rags,” the man growled.

“He requested I bring him clothes.” By Yuyan’s voice, she didn’t seem intimidated by her elder.

“Our savior is meant to remain bare for his beauty to be an example.”

“I’m going in now. He is waiting for me.”

“You impetuous woman. I--”

And the paper door slid open. Yuyan grinned as if the previous argument was a distant memory. She entered and the man shuffled in sneakily behind her.

“Here.” Yuyan placed a slightly worn set of commoner’s hanfu gently on Yen-shu’s lap; a muted tunic with dark shoes and a brightly colored belt. She looked into Yen-shu’s eyes longingly.

He smiled. “Thank you very much, Yuyan. I don’t mean to be any more of bother, but I’m in need of directions--”

“If your heavenly grace would be so kind,” interjected the older man, “Excuse this wretch for misinterpreting your desires.” He bowed.

“I don’t mean to be rude, sir,” Yen-shu said, slipping the tunic onto his torso, “But what kind of wretch brings a stranger clothes after taking care of him for the night?”

“Your politeness is a blessing but unnecessary, oh holy One.”

With that, Yen-shu remembered the man’s voice. It was the same voice he heard before passing out once he entered the town.

“What is this? Why are you speaking to me like I’m the emperor or something?” Yen-shu asked assertively.

The older man looked up. His face was frozen like he’d forgotten how to speak. He looked at Yuyan then back at Yen-shu.

“Don’t mind him,” Yuyan said. “He’s just very excited that you’re finally here. We all are.”

Yen-shu’s jaw dropped slightly. He shook his head and cocked his neck forward with a squint in his eye.

“Alright.” Yen-shu tapped on the pants in his lap. “I need to finish putting on these clothes. Would you both excuse me for a moment?”

“At once, holy One,” the man and Yuyan said together. They both scuttled out of the room. However, Yen-shu could see their shadows standing just outside the door.

“What have I gotten myself into?” he said under his breath.

After he was finished changing, Yen-shu was led back to Shandian and instructed by a scrawny fellow that he was to ride through the back alley of town where “his people” would await him. He reluctantly obliged and was met by a group of about forty, both young and old. They boisterously cheered him on, and an old lady opened her window above to toss a bucket of water into the crowd.

“Cào nǐ zǔ zong shí bā dài!” she cursed, insulting their ancestors to the eighteenth generation.

Some of her victims began throwing rocks in retaliation. The grumpy geezer slammed the window shut before she was met with the crowd’s volley.

A boy, no older than twelve and veiled to the mouth, stepped forward from the front of the congregation.

“The One came last night riding bare on the back of Chenghuang.” The veiled boy turned to the crowd and continued preaching. “Just as Madame Houwang foretold, he has returned to her to save the realm!”

The people’s jubilation resumed as Yen-shu exasperatedly dismounted Shandian. They gasped at this and went silent.

“I apologize for the misunderstanding, everyone,” Yen-shu said. “I appreciate the hospitality, but I’m just looking for directions to the Shaolin temple.”

“It’s just as Madame Houwang prophesied,” a voice came from the crowd.

“The One seeks to combine his magic with martial arts to achieve enlightenment!” said another.

“No, no,” Yen-shu groaned. “I’m not who you think I am.”

“Has he forgotten his meeting with Madame Houwang?” “He’d remember if he saw her.” “Is this a test?”

“Can somebody just tell me how to get to Shaolin? I got lost. I just need directions.”

The veiled boy took Yen-shu by the hand. “Quickly. You must meet with Madame Houwang at once.”

“Wha--?” Yen-shu was dragged away as the crowd applauded him. “Who is this Madame Houwang?”

“So you really don’t remember,” the boy said. “She met you in the deserts of the west. You told her you would meet again as you came last night to save the realm.”

“Look boy, if I did any of that, it was in a past life.”

They approached a maroon painted wood shack on the other side of town. The entrance was covered by a silk cloth flanked by paper lanterns. On the cloth was painted the symbol 桥 meaning “bridge”.

The veiled boy let go of Yen-shu’s hand, bowed, and motioned for him to enter. Yen-shu sighed, sliding the silk door over with his arm. Inside the cylindrical room sat a heavyset woman dressed in red and orange robes with golden accents. Surrounding her were totems and cushions while smaller lanterns hung from the ceiling. Her face was caked in a simple style of makeup; scarlet markings on the forehead and cheeks with eyebrows as thin as hay needles.

Her eyes were closed and she was already frowning. Then, she opened them to look at Yen-shu.

“Madame Houwang?” Yen-shu said.

“You are not the One,” Houwang stated, her voice so deep it rattled the floorboards.

“I agree. I appreciate your uh...friends’ help. I got lost on my way to Shaolin and was ambushed in the forests up near the exit of the mountain.”

“Chen, I presume.”

“Yes, actually.”

“That man is but an insect, but unfortunately, he is one whose sting is venomous.”

“Yeah, I felt that sting first hand.” Yen-shu pointed cheekily at the healing wound on his head.

Houwang seemed to never blink. “Where do you hail from, lost boy?”

“Chang’an.”

“The imperial city? Your sense of direction must be cursed to find yourself on this side of the mountains.”

“I suppose so.”

“I know all too well what it’s like to be cursed.” Houwang hoisted herself up with a long grunt. “I apologize for the confusion of my fellow believers.”

“Honestly, I couldn’t thank them enough. A girl named Yuyan cared for me well in my time of need.”

“Yuyan is a fine young lady. You should take her as your wife.”

Yen-shu chuckled. “She’s a little young for me don’t you think?”

“I am beyond thought,” Houwang said with a wave of her hand as she exited the shack. “Come with me, lost boy.”

Yen-shu hesitated to speak and followed Madame Houwang with slumped shoulders.

Back in the alley, the crowd awaited on their knees. Houwang stood in front of them with Yen-shu in tow.

“Attention my fellow disciples of the One,” Houwang declared, “This man is not our savior.”

Anxious chatter and mumbling erupted amongst the people. Yen-shu noticed Yuyan near the front of the crowd. She appeared to be holding in a laugh.

Houwang continued. “Therefore, I hereby resume the cycle of ritual offerings so that the One’s return is as swift as possible.”

The crowd moaned and muttered complaints to one another. Yen-shu looked over to Houwang with a puzzled expression.

“I know, but hold on to your faith.” Houwang bowed her head. “And know, this is harder for me than it is for you. I saw the One’s beauty with my own eyes. To have to wait this long in a world where everything is ugly now in comparison is a burden I alone choose to bear for all of us.”

From where Yen-shu was standing, he could clearly see through her attempt to cry on command. He looked back at Yuyan who was covering her mouth. Their eyes met, and she proceeded to draw down her cheeks with her fingers. Her exaggerated pout was what forced a short laugh out of Yen-shu.

Houwang shot a glare at him. He coughed and raised his brows as if to ask “what is it”.

“You are all dismissed.” Houwang directed her final words to the crowd. “Please deliver this week’s offerings to the Chapel of Mediation by the end of the day.”

Yen-shu’s face tightened with determination. He stepped forward, beaming with surprise. “Oh wait! I finally remember. I actually am the One.”

The congregation gasped. “His memory has returned!” “But Madam Houwang just said…” “I knew it, I knew it.”

Houwang leaned in behind Yen-shu. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Shutting down your little scam,” Yen-shu whispered in reply.

“My fellow disciples! This man is a deceiver! An enemy of the One!”

“Nope. Actually, when I returned bare on my noble steed Chenghuang, I was so overwhelmed by your treachery that I became unconscious and temporarily forgot who I was.”

Houwang looked toward the crowd. Scowls and wide eyes met her frightened gaze.

“My children, I have come to set you free,” Yen-shu said. “When I met this woman all those, uh...all that time ago, I thought I saw my prophet. But in reality, she has been living off of your hard work with these ritual offerings I never instructed her to take on my behalf.”

The commotion became uproarious. Yuyan started backing away. Yen-shu’s face suddenly became possessed with worry.

Houwang sniggered. “I know you must all be very confused and upset.”

A cry came out from the crowd. “You tricked us, Madame Houwang.”

“I always knew there was something suspicious about all this, hú li jīng,” yelled another, likening Houwang to a fox spirit with dark intentions.

“Let us put this man to the test, then.” Houwang smirked toward Yen-shu. “We will do battle. With his magic, it should be easy for the One to defeat a mere mortal like myself.”

After a moment of silence, the people began to shout in acceptance. Yuyan looked nervously at Yen-shu. He shrugged.

“I accept.” Yen-shu stood proud.

The crowd cheered as he mounted Shandian. The veiled boy leapt out from the group and told everyone to follow him to the battlegrounds.

Just as the sun began to set, everyone had gathered around an open space in the plains a hundred yards southeast of the town. The veiled boy stood between Yen-shu and Madame Houwang.

“Please take your positions ten steps away from me in opposite directions,” commanded the boy.

Yen-shu and Houwang complied.

“Let the battle for the truth begin!” The veiled boy scampered off into the surrounding crowd.

Yen-shu assumed a modified version of the sword fighting stance he learned in his martial training with Shimin. Instead of his hands in position to hold a blade, his fists were separated; one under his chin, the other extended out in front of his hip.

Madame Houwang pulled out a ceramic bowl with two dumplings and a pair of chopsticks.

Yen-shu’s brows furrowed in bewilderment.

Houwang reached for a dumpling and ate one whole. As she chewed, she drove the sticks into the ground and balanced the bowl on top. She stepped forward and growled as her muscles started to expand. She grew about a foot before hair sprouted out from her arms, legs, and around her face. Her nose and upper lip elongated into a short snout, and her shoes ripped apart to reveal feet with newly grown opposable thumbs. Out from underneath her dress slithered an unkempt monkey tail. When her transformation was complete, she’d grown three more feet.

Yen-shu swallowed what seemed like a boulder as he trembled in his curved-toe slip-ons.

Madame Houwang beat her chest and screamed like a wild chimpanzee. “What was once my curse shall be my blessing on this day. Prepare to meet your end, deceiver.”

TO BE CONTINUED