Presently a movement in the trees without betrayed a presence, and the story-teller was on the point of disclosing himself at the shutter4 when the approaching one displayed an unfamiliar5 outline. Instead of a maiden of exceptional symmetry and peach-like charm an elderly and deformed6 hag drew near. As she might be hostile to his cause, Kai Lung deemed it prudent7 to remain concealed8; but in case she should prove to be an emissary from Hwa-mei seeking him, his purpose was to stand revealed. To combine these two attitudes until she should declare herself was by no means an easy task, but she looked neither near nor far in scrutiny9 until she stood, mumbling10 and infirm, beneath the shutter.
“It is well, minstrel,” she called aloud. “She whom you await bid me greet you with a sign.” At Kai Lung’s feet there fell a crimson11 flower, growing on a thorny12 stem. “What word shall I in turn bear back? Speak freely, for her mind is as my open hand.”
“That will appear in due time,” replied the aged14 one. “In the meanwhile I have her message to declare. Three times foiled in his malignant15 scheme the now obscene Ming-shu sets all the Axioms at naught16. Distrusting you and those about your path, it is his sinister17 intention to call up for judgment18 Kai-moo, who lies within the women’s cell beyond the Water Way.”
“What is her crime and how will this avail him?”
“Charged with the murder of her man by means of the supple19 splinter her condemnation20 is assured. The penalty is piecemeal21 slicing, and in it are involved those of her direct line, in the humane22 effort to eradicate23 so treacherous24 a strain.”
“That is but just,” agreed Kai Lung.
“Truly. But on the slender ligament of a kindred name you will be joined with her in that end. Ming-shu will see to it that records of your kinship are not lacking. Being accused of no crime on your own behalf there will be nothing for you to appear against.”
“It is written: ‘Even leprosy may be cured, but the enmity of an official underling can never be dispelled,’ and the malice25 of the persistent26 Ming-shu certainly points to the wisdom of the verse. Is the person of Kai-moo known to you, and where is the prison-house you speak of?”
To this the venerable creature replied that the cell in question was in a distant quarter of the city. Kai-moo, she continued, might be regarded as fashioned like herself, being deformed in shape and repellent in appearance. Furthermore, she was of deficient27 understanding, these things aiding Ming-shu’s plan, as she would be difficult to reach and impossible to instruct when reached.
“The extremity29 is almost hopeless enough to be left to the ever-protecting spirits of one’s all-powerful Ancestors,” declared Kai Lung at length. “Did she from whom you come forecast any confidence?”
“She had some assurance in a certain plan, which it is my message to declare to you.”
“The keeper of the women’s prison-house lies within her hollowed hand, nor will silver be wanting to still any arising doubt. Wrapped in prison garb31, and with her face disguised by art, she whose word I bear will come forth32 at the appointed call and, taking her place before Shan Tien, will play a fictitious34 part.”
“Alas! dotard,” interrupted Kai Lung impatiently, “it would be well if I spent my few remaining hours in kowtowing to the Powers whom I shall shortly meet. An aged and unsightly hag! Know you not, O venerable bat, that the smooth perfection of the one you serve would shine dazzling through a beaten mask of tempered steel? Her matchless hair, glossier35 than a starling’s wing, floats like an autumn cloud. Her eyes strike fire from damp clay, or make the touch of velvet36 harsh and stubborn, according to her several moods. Peach-bloom held against her cheek withers37 incapably38 by comparison. Her feet, if indeed she has such commonplace attributes at all, are smaller—”
“Yet,” interrupted the hag, in a changed and quite melodious39 voice, “if it is possible to delude40 the imagination of one whose longing41 eyes dwell so constantly on these threadbare charms, what then will be the position of the obtuse42 Ming-shu and the superficial Mandarin43 Shan Tien, burdened as they now are by outside cares?”
“There are times when the classical perfection of our graceful44 tongue is strangely inadequate45 to express emotion,” confessed Kai Lung, colouring deeply, as Hwa-mei stood revealed before him. “It is truly said: ‘The ingenuity46 of a guileless woman will undermine nine mountains.’ You have cut off all the words of my misgivings47.”
“To that end have I wrought48, for in this I also need your skill. Listen well and think deeply as I speak. Everywhere the outcome of the strife49 grows more uncertain day by day and no man really knows which side to favour yet. In this emergency each plays a double part. While visibly loyal to the Imperial cause, the Mandarin Shan Tien fans the whisper that in secret he upholds the rebellious50 banners. Ming-shu now openly avers51 that if this and that are thus and thus the rising has justice in its ranks, while at the same time he has it put abroad that this is but a cloak the better to serve the state. Thus every man maintains a double face in the hope that if the one side fails the other will preserve him, and as a band all pledge to save (or if need be to betray) each other.”
“This is the more readily understood as it is the common case on every like occasion.”
“Then doubtless there are instances waiting on your lips. Teach me such a story whereby the hope of those who are thus swayed may be engaged and leave the rest to my arranging hand.”
On the following day at the appointed hour a bent52 and forbidding hag was brought before Shan Tien, and the nature of her offence proclaimed.
“It is possible to find an excuse for almost everything, regarding it from one angle or another,” remarked the Mandarin impartially53; “but the crime of destroying a husband—and by a means so unpleasantly insinuating—really seems to leave nothing to be said.”
“Yet, imperishable, even a bad coin must have two sides,” replied the hag. “That I should be guilty and yet innocent would be no more wonderful than the case of Weng Cho, who, when faced with the alternative of either defying the Avenging56 Societies or of opposing fixed57 authority found a way out of escaping both.”
“That should be worth—that is to say, if you base your defence upon an existing case—”
“Providing the notorious thug Kai Lung is not thereby58 brought in,” suggested the narrow-minded Ming-shu, who equally desired to learn the stratagem59 involved.
“Weng Cho was the only one concerned,” replied the ancient obtusely—“he who escaped the consequences. Is it permitted to this one to make clear her plea?”
“If the fatigue60 is not more than your venerable personality can reasonably bear,” replied Shan Tien courteously61.
“To bear is the lot of every woman, be she young or old,” replied the one before them. “I comply, omnipotence62.”
There was peach-blossom in the orchards64 of Kien-fi, a blue sky above, and in the air much gladness; but in Wu Chi’s yamen gloom hung like the herald65 of a thunderstorm. At one end of a table in the ceremonial hall sat Wu Chi, heaviness upon his brow, deceit in his eyes, and a sour enmity about the lines of his mouth; at the other end stood his son Weng, and between them, as it were, his whole life lay.
Wu Chi was an official of some consequence and had two wives, as became him. His union with the first had failed in its essential purpose; therefore he had taken another to carry on the direct line which alone could bring him contentment in this world and a reputable existence in the next. This degree of happiness was supplied by Weng’s mother, yet she must ever remain but a “secondary wife,” with no rights and a very insecure position. In the heart of the chief wife smouldered a most bitter hatred66, but the hour of her ascendancy67 came, for after many years she also bore her lord a son. Thenceforward she was strong in her authority; but Weng’s mother remained, for she was very beautiful, and despite all the arts of the other woman Wu Chi could not be prevailed upon to dismiss her. The easy solution of this difficulty was that she soon died—the “white powder death” was the shrewd comment of the inner chambers69 of Kien-fi.
Wu Chi put on no mourning, custom did not require it; and now that the woman had Passed Beyond he saw no necessity to honour her memory at the expense of his own domestic peace. His wife donned her gayest robes and made a feast. Weng alone stood apart, and in funereal70 sackcloth moved through the house like an accusing ghost. Each day his father met him with a frown, the woman whom alone he must regard as his mother with a mocking smile, but he passed them without any word of dutiful and submissive greeting. The period of all seemly mourning ended—it touched that allotted71 to a legal parent; still Weng cast himself down and made no pretence72 to hide his grief. His father’s frown became a scowl73, his mother’s smile framed a biting word. A wise and venerable friend who loved the youth took him aside one day and with many sympathetic words counselled restraint.
“For,” he said, “your conduct, though affectionate towards the dead, may be urged by the ill-disposed as disrespectful towards the living. If you have a deeper end in view, strive towards it by a less open path.”
“You are subtle and esteemed75 in wisdom,” replied Weng, “but neither of those virtues76 can restore a broken jar. The wayside fountain must one day dry up at its source, but until then not even a mountain placed upon its mouth can pen back its secret stores. So is it with unfeigned grief.”
“The analogy may be exact,” replied the aged friend, shaking his head, “but it is no less truly said: ‘The wise tortoise keeps his pain inside.’ Rest assured, on the disinterested78 advice of one who has no great experience of mountains and hidden springs, but a life-long knowledge of Wu Chi and of his amiable79 wife, that if you mourn too much you will have reason to mourn more.”
His words were pointed33 to a sharp edge. At that moment Wu Chi was being confronted by his wife, who stood before him in his inner chamber68. “Who am I?” she exclaimed vehemently80, “that my authority should be denied before my very eyes? Am I indeed Che of the house of Meng, whose ancestors wore the Yellow Scabbard, or am I some nameless one? Or does my lord sleep, or has he fallen blind upon the side by which Weng approaches?”
“His heart is bad and his instincts perverted81,” replied Wu Chi dully. “He ignores the rites82, custom, and the Emperor’s example, and sets at defiance83 all the principles of domestic government. Do not fear that I shall not shortly call him to account with a very heavy call.”
“Do so, my lord,” said his wife darkly, “or many valiant84 champions of the House of Meng may press forward to make a cast of that same account. To those of our ancient line it would not seem a trivial thing that their daughter should share her rights with a purchased slave.”
“Peace, cockatrice! the woman was well enough,” exclaimed Wu Chi, with slow resentment85. “But the matter of this obstinacy86 touches the dignity of my own authority, and before to-day has passed Weng shall bring up his footsteps suddenly before a solid wall.”
Accordingly, when Weng returned at his usual hour he found his father awaiting him with curbed87 impatience88. That Wu Chi should summon him into his presence in the great hall was of itself an omen1 that the matter was one of moment, but the profusion89 of lights before the Ancestral Tablets and the various symbols arranged upon the table showed that the occasion was to be regarded as one involving irrevocable issues.
“Weng Cho,” said his father dispassionately, from his seat at the head of the table, “draw near, and first pledge the Ancient Ones whose spirits hover90 above their Tablets in a vessel91 of wine.”
“I am drinking affliction and move under the compact of a solemn vow,” replied Weng fixedly92, “therefore I cannot do this; nor, as signs are given me to declare, will the forerunners93 of our line, who from their high places look down deep into the mind and measure the heart with an impartial54 rod, deem this an action of disrespect to their illustrious shades.”
“It is well to be a sharer of their councils,” said Wu Chi, with pointed insincerity. “But,” he continued, in the same tone, “for whom can Weng Cho of the House of Wu mourn? His father is before him in his wonted health; in the inner chamber his mother plies94 an unfaltering needle; while from the Dragon Throne the supreme96 Emperor still rules the world. Haply, however, a thorn has pierced his little finger, or does he perchance bewail the loss of a favourite bird?”
“That thorn has sunk deeply into his existence, and the memory of that loss still dims his eyes with bitterness,” replied Weng. “Bid the rain cease to fall when the clouds are heavy.”
“The comparison is ill-chosen,” cried Whu Chi harshly. “Rather should the allusion97 be to the evil tendency of a self-willed branch which, in spite of the continual watering of precept98 and affection, maintains its perverted course, and must henceforth either submit to be bound down into an appointed line, or be utterly99 cut off so that the tree may not suffer. Long and patiently have I marked your footsteps, Weng Cho, and they are devious100. This is not a single offence, but it is no light one. Appointed by the Board of Ceremony, approved of by the Emperor, and observed in every loyal and high-minded subject are the details of the rites and formalities which alone serve to distinguish a people refined and humane from those who are rude and barbarous. By setting these observances at defiance you insult their framers, act traitorously101 towards your sovereign, and assail102 the foundations of your House; for your attitude is a direct reflection upon others; and if you render such a tribute to one who is incompetent103 to receive it, how will you maintain a seemly balance when a greater occasion arises?”
“When the earth that has nourished it grows cold the leaves of the branch fall—doubtless the edicts of the Board referred to having failed to reach their ears,” replied Weng bitterly. “Revered father, is it not permitted that I should now depart? Behold104 I am stricken and out of place.”
“You are evil and your heart is fat with presumptuous105 pride!” exclaimed Wu Chi, releasing the cords of his hatred and anger so that they leapt out from his throat like the sudden spring of a tiger from a cave. “Evil in birth, grown under an evil star and now come to a full maturity106. Go you shall, Weng Cho, and that on a straight journey forthwith or else bend your knees with an acquiescent107 face.” With these words he beat furiously on a gong, and summoning the entire household he commanded that before Weng should be placed a jar of wine and two glass vessels108, and on the other side a staff and a pair of sandals. From an open shutter the face of the woman Che looked down in mocking triumph.
The alternatives thus presented were simple and irrevocable. On the one hand Weng must put from him all further grief, ignore his vows109, and join in mirth and feast; on the other he must depart, never to return, and be deprived of every tie of kinship, relinquishing110 ancestry111, possessions and name. It was a course severer than anything that Wu Chi had intended when he sent for his son, but resentment had distorted his eyesight. It was a greater test than Weng had anticipated, but his mind was clear, and his heart charged with fragrant112 memories of his loss. Deliberately113 but with silent dignity he poured the untasted wine upon the ground, drew his sword and touched the vessels lightly so that they broke, took from off his thumb the jade114 ring inscribed115 with the sign of the House of Wu, and putting on the sandals grasped the staff and prepared to leave the hall.
“Weng Cho, for the last time spoken of as of the House of Wu, now alienated117 from that noble line, and henceforth and for ever an outcast, you have made a choice and chosen as befits your rebellious life. Between us stretches a barrier wider and deeper than the Yellow Sea, and throughout all future time no sign shall pass from that distant shore to this. From every record of our race your name shall be cut out; no mention of it shall profane118 the Tablets, and both in this world and the next it shall be to us as though you have never been. As I break this bowl so are all ties broken, as I quench119 this candle so are all memories extinguished, and as, when you go, the space is filled with empty air, so shall it be.”
“Ho, nameless stranger,” laughed the woman from above, “here is food and drink to bear you on your way”; and from the grille she threw a withered120 fig121 and spat122.
“The fruit is the cankered effort of a barren tree,” cast back Weng over his shoulder. “Look to your own offspring, basilisk. It is given me to speak.” Even as he spoke116 there was a great cry from the upper part of the house, the sound of many feet and much turmoil123, but he went on his way without another word.
Thus it was that Weng Cho came to be cut off from the past. From his father’s house he stepped out into the streets of Kien-fi a being without a name, destitute124, and suffering the pangs125 of many keen emotions. Friends whom he encountered he saluted126 distantly, not desirous of sharing their affection until they should have learned his state; but there was one who stood in his mind as removed above the possibility of change, and to the summer-house of Tiao’s home he therefore turned his steps.
Tiao was the daughter of a minor127 official, an unsuccessful man of no particular descent. He had many daughters, and had encouraged Weng’s affection, with frequent professions that he regarded only the youth’s virtuous128 life and discernment, and would otherwise have desired one not so highly placed. Tiao also had spoken of rice and contentment in a ruined pagoda129. Yet as she listened to Weng’s relation a new expression gradually revealed itself about her face, and when he had finished many paces lay between them.
“A breaker of sacred customs, a disobeyer of parents and an outcast! How do you disclose yourself!” she exclaimed wildly. “What vile130 thing has possessed131 you?”
“One hitherto which now rejects me,” replied Weng slowly. “I had thought that here alone I might find a familiar greeting, but that also fails.”
“What other seemly course presents itself?” demanded the maiden unsympathetically. “How degrading a position might easily become that of the one who linked her lot with yours if all fit and proper sequences are to be reversed! What menial one might supplant132 her not only in your affections but also in your Rites! He had defied the Principles!” she exclaimed, as her father entered from behind a screen.
“He has lost his inheritance,” muttered the little old man, eyeing him contemptuously. “Weng Cho,” he continued aloud, “you have played a double part and crossed our step with only half your heart. Now the past is past and the future an unwritten sheet.”
“It shall be written in vermilion ink,” replied Weng, regaining133 an impassive dignity; “and upon that darker half of my heart can now be traced two added names.”
He had no aim now, but instinct drove him towards the mountains, the retreat of the lost and despairing. A three days’ journey lay between. He went forward vacantly, without food and without rest. A falling leaf, as it is said, would have turned the balance of his destiny, and at the wayside village of Li-yong so it chanced. The noisome134 smell of burning thatch135 stung his face as he approached, and presently the object came into view. It was the bare cabin of a needy136 widow who had become involved in a lawsuit137 through the rapacity138 of a tax-gatherer. As she had the means neither to satisfy the tax nor to discharge the dues, the powerful Mandarin before whom she had been called ordered all her possessions to be seized, and that she should then be burned within her hut as a warning to others. This was the act of justice being carried out, and even as Weng heard the tale the Mandarin in question drew near, carried in his state chair to satisfy his eyes that his authority was scrupulously139 maintained. All those villagers who had not drawn140 off unseen at once fell upon their faces, so that Weng alone remained standing28, doubtful what course to take.
“Ill-nurtured dog!” exclaimed the Mandarin, stepping up to him, “prostrate yourself! Do you not know that I am of the Sapphire141 Button, and have fivescore bowmen at my yamen, ready to do my word?” And he struck the youth across the face with a jewelled rod.
“I have only one sword, but it is in my hand,” cried Weng, reckless beneath the blow, and drawing it he at one stroke cut down the Mandarin before any could raise a hand. Then breaking in the door of the hovel he would have saved the woman, but it was too late, so he took the head and body and threw them into the fire, saying: “There, Mandarin, follow to secure justice. They shall not bear witness against you Up There in your absence.”
The chair-carriers had fled in terror, but the villagers murmured against Weng as he passed through them. “It was a small thing that one house and one person should be burned; now, through this, the whole village will assuredly be consumed. He was a high official and visited justice impartially on us all. It was our affair, and you, who are a stranger, have done ill.”
“I did you wrong, Mandarin,” said Weng, resuming his journey; “you took me for one of them. I pass you the parting of the woman Che, burrowers in the cow-heap called Li-yong.”
“Oi-ye!” exclaimed a voice behind, “but yonder earth-beetles haply have not been struck off the Tablets and found that a maiden with well-matched eyes can watch two ways at once, all of a morning: and thereby death through red spectacles is not that same death through blue spectacles. Things in their appointed places, noble companion.”
“Greetings, wayfarer,” said Weng, stopping. “The path narrows somewhat inconveniently142 hereabout. Take honourable143 precedence.”
“The narrower the better to defend then,” replied the stranger good-humouredly. “Whereto, also, two swords cut a larger slice than one. Without doubt fivescore valiant bowmen will soon be a-ranging when they hear that the enemy goes upon two feet, and then ill befall who knows not the passes.” As he spoke an arrow, shot from a distance, flew above their heads.
“Why should you bear a part with me, and who are you who know these recent things?” demanded Weng doubtfully.
“I am one of many, we being a branch of that great spreading lotus the Triad, though called by the tillers here around the League of Tomb-Haunters, because we must be sought in secret places. The things I have spoken I know because we have many ears, and in our care a whisper passes from east to west and from north to south without a word being spilled.”
“And the price of your sword is that I should join the confederacy?” asked Weng thoughtfully.
“I had set out to greet you before the estimable Mandarin who is now saluting144 his ancestors was so inopportune as to do so,” replied the emissary. “Yet it is not to be denied that we offer an adequate protection among each other, while at the same time punishing guilt55 and administering a rigorous justice secretly.”
“Lead me to your meeting-place, then,” said Weng determinedly146. “I have done with the outer things.”
The guide pointed to a rock, shaped like a locust’s head, which marked the highest point of the steep mountain before them. Soon the fertile lowlands ended and they passed beyond the limit of the inhabitable region. Still ascending147 they reached the Tiger’s High Retreat, which defines the spot where even the animal kind turn back and where watercourses cease to flow. Beyond this the most meagre indication of vegetable sustenance148 came to an end, and thenceforward their passage was rendered more slow and laborious149 by frequent snow-storms, barriers of ice, and sudden tempests which strove to hurl150 them to destruction. Nevertheless, by about the hour of midnight they reached the rock shaped like a locust’s head, which stood in the wildest and most inaccessible151 part of the mountain, and masked the entrance to a strongly-guarded cave. Here Weng suffered himself to be blindfolded152, and being led forward he was taken into the innermost council. Closely questioned, he professed153 a spontaneous desire to be admitted into their band, to join in their dangers and share their honours; whereupon the oath was administered to him, the passwords and secret signs revealed, and he was bound from that time forth, under the bonds of a most painful death and torments154 in the afterworld, to submerge all passions save those for the benefit of their community, and to cherish no interests, wrongs or possessions that did not affect them all alike.
For the space of seven years Weng remained about the shadow of the mountain, carrying out, together with the other members of the band, the instructions which from time to time they received from the higher circles of the Society, as well as such acts of retributive justice as they themselves determined145 upon, and in this quiet and unostentatious manner maintaining peace and greatly purifying the entire province. In this passionless subservience155 to the principles of the Order none exceeded him; yet at no time have men been forbidden to burn joss-sticks to the spirit of the destinies, and who shall say?
At the end of seven years the first breath from out of the past reached Weng (or Thang, as he had announced himself to be when cast out nameless). One day he was summoned before the chief of their company and a mission laid upon him.
“You have proved yourself to be capable and sincere in the past, and this matter is one of delicacy,” said the leader. “Furthermore, it is reported that you know something of the paths about Kien-fi?”
“There is not a forgotten turn within those paths by which I might stumble in the dark,” replied Weng, striving to subdue156 his mind.
“See that out of so poignant157 a memory no more formidable barrier than a forgotten path arises,” said the leader, observing him closely. “Know you, then a house bearing as a sign the figure of a golden ibis?”
“Truly; I have noted158 it,” replied Weng, changing his position, so that he now leaned against a rock. “There dwelt an old man of some lower official rank, who had no son but many daughters.”
“He has Passed, and one of those—Tiao by name,” said the other, referring to a parchment—“has schemingly driven out the rest and held the patrimony159. Crafty160 and ambitious, she has of late married a high official who has ever been hostile to ourselves. Out of a private enmity the woman seeks the lives of two who are under our most solemn protection, and now uses her husband’s wealth and influence to that end. It is on him that the blow must fall, for men kill only men, and she, having no son, will then be discredited161 and impotent.”
“And concerning this official?” asked Weng.
“It has not been thought prudent to speak of him by name,” replied the chief. “Stricken with a painful but not dangerous malady162 he has retired163 for a time to the healthier seclusion164 of his wife’s house, and there he may be found. The woman you will know with certainty by a crescent scar—above the right eye.”
“Beneath the eye,” corrected Weng instantly.
“Assuredly, beneath: I misread the sign,” said the head, appearing to consult the scroll165. “Yet, out of a keen regard for your virtues, Thang, let me point a warning that it is antagonistic166 to our strict rule to remember these ancient scars too well. Further, in accordance with that same esteem74, do not stoop too closely nor too long to identify the mark. By our pure and exacting167 standard no high attainment168 in the past can justify169 defection. The pains and penalties of failure you well know.”
“I bow, chieftain,” replied Weng acquiescently.
“It is well,” said the chief. “Your strategy will be easy. To cure this lord’s disorder170 a celebrated171 physician is even now travelling from the Capital towards Kien-fi. A day’s journey from that place he will encounter obstacles and fall into the hands of those who will take away his robes and papers. About the same place you will meet one with a bowl on the roadside who will hail you, saying, ‘Charity, out of your superfluity, noble mandarin coming from the north!’ To him you will reply, ‘Do mandarins garb thus and thus and go afoot? It is I who need a change of raiment and a chair; aye, by the token of the Locust’s Head!’ He will then lead you to a place where you will find all ready and a suitable chair with trusty bearers. The rest lies beneath your grinding heel. Prosperity!”
Weng prostrated172 himself and withdrew. The meeting by the wayside befell as he had received assurance—they who serve the Triad do not stumble—and at the appointed time he stood before Tiao’s door and called for admission. He looked to the right and the left as one who examines a new prospect173, and among the azalea flowers the burnished174 roof of the summer-house glittered in the sun.
“Lucky omens175 attend your coming, benevolence,” said the chief attendant obsequiously176; “for since he sent for you an unpropitious planet has cast its influence upon our master, so that his power languishes177.”
“Its malignity178 must be controlled,” said Weng, in a feigned77 voice, for he recognized the one before him. “Does any watch?”
“Not now,” replied the attendant; “for he has slept since these two hours. Would your graciousness have speech with the one of the inner chamber?”
“In season perchance. First lead me to your lord’s side and then see that we are undisturbed until I reappear. It may be expedient179 to invoke180 a powerful charm without delay.”
In another minute Weng stood alone in the sick man’s room, between them no more barrier than the silk-hung curtains of the couch. He slid down his right hand and drew a keen-edged knife; about his left he looped the even more fatal cord; then advancing with a noiseless step he pulled back the drapery and looked down. It was the moment for swift and silent action; nothing but hesitation181 and delay could imperil him, yet in that supreme moment he stepped back, released the curtain from his faltering95 grasp and, suffering the weapons to fall unheeded to the floor, covered his face with his hands, for lying before him he had seen the outstretched form, the hard contemptuous features, of his father.
Yet most solemnly alienated from him in every degree. By Wu Chi’s own acts every tie of kinship had been effaced182 between them: the bowl had been broken, the taper183 blown out, empty air had filled his place. Wu Chi acknowledged no memory of a son; he could claim no reverence184 as a father.... Tiao’s husband.... Then he was doubly childless.... The woman and her seed had withered, as he had prophesied185.
On the one hand stood the Society, powerful enough to protect him in every extremity, yet holding failure as treason; most terrible and inexorable towards set disobedience. His body might find a painless escape from their earthly torments, but by his oaths his spirit lay in their keeping to be punished through all eternity186.
That he was no longer Wu Chi’s son, that he had no father—this conviction had been strong enough to rule him in every contingency187 of life save this. By every law of men and deities188 the ties between them had been dissolved, and they stood as a man and man; yet the salt can never be quite washed out of sea-water.
For a time which ceased to be hours or minutes, but seemed as a fragment broken off eternity, he stood, motionless but most deeply racked. With an effort he stooped to take the cord, and paused again; twice he would have seized the dagger189, but doubt again possessed him. From a distant point of the house came the chant of a monk190 singing a prayer and beating upon a wooden drum. The rays of the sun falling upon the gilded191 roof in the garden again caught his eyes; nothing else stirred.
“These in their turn have settled great issues lightly,” thought Weng bitterly. “Must I wait upon an omen?”
“... submitting oneself to purifying scars,” droned the voice far off; “propitiating if need be by even greater self-inflictions...”
“It suffices,” said Weng dispassionately, and picking up the knife he turned to leave the room.
At the door he paused again, but not in an arising doubt. “I will leave a token for Tiao to wear as a jest,” was the image that had sprung from his new abasement192, and taking a sheet of parchment he quickly wrote thereon: “A wave has beat from that distant shore to this, and now sinks in the unknown depths.”
Again he stepped noiselessly to the couch, drew the curtain and dropped the paper lightly on the form. As he did so his breath stopped; his fingers stiffened193. Cautiously, on one knee, he listened intently, lightly touched the face; then recklessly taking a hand he raised the arm and suffered it to fall again. No power restrained it; no alertness of awakening194 life came into the dull face. Wu Chi had already Passed Beyond.
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omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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secreting
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的现在分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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4
shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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5
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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8
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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9
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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mumbling
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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averts
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| 防止，避免( avert的第三人称单数 )； 转移 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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16
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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17
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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18
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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19
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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20
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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21
piecemeal
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| adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块 | |
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22
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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23
eradicate
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| v.根除，消灭，杜绝 | |
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24
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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25
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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26
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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27
deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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28
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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29
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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30
computed
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| adj.[医]计算的，使用计算机的v.计算，估算( compute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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32
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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33
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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34
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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35
glossier
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| 光滑的( glossy的比较级 )； 虚有其表的； 浮华的 | |
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36
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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37
withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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38
incapably
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| adj.无能力的，不会的；不能的；[法]没有资格的；不舞之鹤 | |
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39
melodious
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| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
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40
delude
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| vt.欺骗；哄骗 | |
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41
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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42
obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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43
Mandarin
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| n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的 | |
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44
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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45
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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46
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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47
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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48
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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49
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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50
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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51
avers
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| v.断言( aver的第三人称单数 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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52
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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53
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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54
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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55
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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56
avenging
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| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
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57
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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58
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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59
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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60
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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61
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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62
omnipotence
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| n.全能，万能，无限威力 | |
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63
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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64
orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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65
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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66
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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67
ascendancy
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| n.统治权，支配力量 | |
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68
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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69
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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70
funereal
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| adj.悲哀的；送葬的 | |
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71
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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73
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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74
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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75
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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76
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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77
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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78
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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79
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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80
vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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81
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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82
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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83
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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84
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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85
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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86
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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87
curbed
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| v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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89
profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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90
hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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91
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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92
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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93
forerunners
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| n.先驱( forerunner的名词复数 )；开路人；先兆；前兆 | |
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94
plies
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的第三人称单数 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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95
faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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96
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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97
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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98
precept
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| n.戒律；格言 | |
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99
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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100
devious
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| adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的 | |
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101
traitorously
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| 叛逆地，不忠地 | |
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102
assail
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| v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥 | |
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103
incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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104
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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105
presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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106
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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107
acquiescent
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| adj.默许的，默认的 | |
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108
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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109
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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110
relinquishing
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的现在分词 )； 放弃 | |
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111
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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112
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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113
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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114
jade
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| n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠 | |
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115
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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116
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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117
alienated
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| adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等） | |
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118
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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119
quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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120
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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121
fig
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| n.无花果(树) | |
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122
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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123
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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124
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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125
pangs
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| 突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛 | |
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126
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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127
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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128
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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129
pagoda
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| n.宝塔（尤指印度和远东的多层宝塔），（印度教或佛教的）塔式庙宇 | |
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130
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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131
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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132
supplant
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| vt.排挤；取代 | |
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133
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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134
noisome
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| adj.有害的，可厌的 | |
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135
thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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136
needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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137
lawsuit
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| n.诉讼，控诉 | |
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138
rapacity
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| n.贪婪，贪心，劫掠的欲望 | |
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139
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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140
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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141
sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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142
inconveniently
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| ad.不方便地 | |
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143
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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144
saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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145
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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146
determinedly
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| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
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147
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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148
sustenance
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| n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计 | |
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149
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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150
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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151
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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152
blindfolded
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| v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗 | |
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153
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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154
torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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155
subservience
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| n.有利，有益；从属（地位），附属性；屈从，恭顺；媚态 | |
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156
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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157
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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158
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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159
patrimony
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| n.世袭财产，继承物 | |
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160
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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161
discredited
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| 不足信的，不名誉的 | |
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162
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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163
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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164
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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165
scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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166
antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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167
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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168
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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169
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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170
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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171
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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172
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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173
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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174
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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175
omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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176
obsequiously
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177
languishes
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| 长期受苦( languish的第三人称单数 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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178
malignity
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| n.极度的恶意，恶毒；（病的）恶性 | |
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179
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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180
invoke
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| v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求 | |
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181
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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182
effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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183
taper
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| n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小 | |
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184
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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185
prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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186
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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187
contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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188
deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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189
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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190
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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191
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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192
abasement
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| n.滥用 | |
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193
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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194
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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