"On our first day here he already knew his way about quite well. We all think this a creepy place and keep to our own rooms as much as possible, but Mo wanders about all by himself most of the time and isn't at all afraid of getting lost in this rabbit warren."
"You'd better be careful with him," Judge Dee said gravely. "He may be a criminal, for all we know. I am also worrying about Miss Ou-yang."
"You don't think she might be a criminal too, do you?" Miss Ting asked quickly.
"No, but I feel I ought to know a little more about her."
He looked expectantly at the girl. She hesitated a few moments, then said: "I promised Kuan I wouldn't tell anybody, but after all you are the magistrate here, and that makes it different. Besides, I wouldn't like you to suspect Miss Ou-yang of some evil designs. She is not really an actress, and Ou-yang isn't her real name. I don't know who she is; I only know that she is from the capital, and a wealthy woman. She paid Kuan a large sum for offering his services to this monastery for the commemoration festival, and for letting her join his troupe during their stay here. She assured Kuan that her only purpose was to warn someone here, and that therefore she wanted to perform an act on the stage with her bear, and that she would choose her own make-up. Kuan didn't see any objection to that, and since it would mean a double profit for us, he agreed. After our arrival here she didn't take part in our sessions with the monks. She left it to Kuan, his wife and me to teach those blockheads how to move about on the stage. Mo wasn't a great help either, for that matter."
"Do you think Mo knew Miss Ou-yang before?" the judge asked quickly.
"That I don't know. When they are together, they are mostly quarreling with each other. Well, tonight we saw that she had made herself up so as to resemble Miss Pao, and later Kuan asked her about it, but she said only that she knew what she was doing. When you came unexpectedly to see Kuan, he got very frightened, because he thought that Miss Ou-yang had been up to something illegal, and that you had come to investigate. That's all, but please don't let Kuan or the others know that I told you."
Judge Dee nodded. He thought ruefully that this strange tale complicated matters still further. He got up from his chair but suddenly felt very ill. He motioned to Miss Ting that he wished to be left alone and stumbled to the night-commode in the corner. He vomited violently.
After he had washed his face in the basin on the dressing table, and combed his beard, he felt much better. He drank a cup of tea, then went to the door and called Miss Ting in. He found that he could walk steadily now, and his headache was gone. He said with a smile: "I'll be on my way now. Thanks again for your timely assistance. If ever I can do anything to help you, let me know. I am bad at forgetting!"
Miss Ting nodded. She lowered her eyes and played for a while with the ends of her red sash. Suddenly she looked up and said: "I'd like to ask your advice about … about a rather personal matter. It's a bit awkward, but as a judge you must hear many things people are not supposed to talk about. Anyway, to put it plainly, I didn't enjoy the few love affairs I had as much as a girl is supposed to do. But I must confess I do feel very much attracted to Miss Ou-yang, more than to any man I ever met. I keep telling myself that it's all nonsense and that it will pass. I purposely keep out of her way. But at the same time I am worrying whether perhaps I am by nature unfit for marriage. I would hate to make a man who married me unhappy, you know. What do you think I should do?"
Judge Dee began to scratch his head but a sharp pain made him desist hurriedly. He slowly tugged at his moustache instead. Then he said: "I would do nothing, for the time being. Maybe you didn't really like the men you associated with before, or maybe they didn't really like you. At any rate those temporary liaisons can never be compared with married life. Continued intimacy fosters mutual understanding, and that is the basis of a happy love-life. Moreover, Miss Ou-yang is a bit mysterious, and that together with the flattering attention she pays to you may also account for the attraction you feel. So go on keeping her at a distance, till you know more about your own feelings, and about her intentions. Don't rush into an adventure that may lessen your self-respect and warp your emotions, unless you are completely sure of yourself and of the other party. Speaking now as your magistrate, I can add only that since both of you are grown-up and free women, your love-life is no concern of mine. The law intervenes only when minors or dependents are involved. To let everybody arrange his private life as he likes, provided he doesn't injure others or prejudice legally defined relationships — that is the spirit of our society and the laws that govern it."
"That man Tsung Lee always makes unpleasant references to Miss Ou-yang and me!" Miss Ting said unhappily.
"Don't mind him, he is an irresponsible youngster. By the way, he has a theory that Miss Pao is being forced to become a nun."
"Nonsense!" Miss Ting exclaimed. "I had some talks with her alone, her room is on this same floor. She is very keen on entering a nunnery. She gave me to understand that she had an unhappy love-affair and that she therefore wished to retire from worldly life."
"I was on my way to Mrs. Pao when I was attacked," the judge said "Now it is too late. I'll visit them tomorrow morning. Is Mo's room also on this floor?"
"Yes, it is." She counted on her fingers, then continued: "Mo's room is the fourth on your right, after you have turned the corner."
"Again many thanks!" Judge Dee said as he turned to the door. "And don't worry about yourself!"
She gave him a grateful smile, and he went outside.
XI
He quickly looked up and down the corridor. It seemed unlikely that his attacker would dare to lie in wait for a second attempt, but one never knew. However, all was silent as the grave. He walked down the corridor, deep in thought.
That rascal Mo Mo-te was tall and strong enough to have dealt him the blow. And as to motive, if Mo was a maniac who chose women as his victims, and if he had been the actor who had come barging into the reception room during his conversation with the abbot, Mo might well have feared that he, the judge, was about to investigate irregularities with girls in the monastery, and thus trace Mo's doings with that one-armed woman. If the scene he had witnessed hadn't been a hallucination! At any rate he ought to ask the abbot which actor had intruded on them during their talk in the reception room.
What Miss Ting had told him about Miss Ou-yang worried him also. The girl had evidently made herself up to resemble Miss Pao in order to warn her or her mother. But against what or whom? Probably Miss Ou-yang had lied to Kuan. It was a preposterous idea that a wealthy girl from the capital would keep an enormous bear as a pet. It was far more likely that Miss Ou-yang was a member of some travelling show, who had joined Kuan's troupe on the orders of a third person, as yet unknown. It was all very confusing.
Shaking his head disconsolately, Judge Dee rounded the corner. He halted in front of the fourth door on the left. He knocked, but as he had expected, there was no answer. He pushed against the door and found that it was not locked. This was the opportunity to search Mo Mo-te's personal effects.
When he had opened the door, he vaguely saw a table with a candle in front of a large cupboard, the door of which was open. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, then walked over to the table feeling in his sleeve for his tinderbox. Suddenly he heard a deep growl behind him.
He swung round. By the door, close to the floor, a pair of green eyes was staring fixedly at him. They slowly rose, then the judge felt the floor boards tremble under a heavy tread.
His way to the door was cut off. He quickly felt his way around the table and frantically groped in the dark for the door of the cupboard he had seen. He found it and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind him. He heard the growling very near, on the other side. There was a sound of scratching nails. Then the growling grew louder.