He was surprised to find it was in fact only a tiny room in the centre of which sat the abbot of the Shaolin Monastery, Heavenly Rainbow. Chen wondered how he could possibly overcome the best kung fu fighter in the Shaolin Monastery if his junior, Heavenly Mirror, was already so formidable.

The abbot bowed. "Please be seated," he said. A steady stream of sandlewood-scented smoke rose from a small incense stove on a table between them. On the wall opposite Chen, was a painting of two monks which, although executed with only a few brush-strokes, was full of vitality.

Heavenly Rainbow meditated for a moment, then said: "There was once a man who was very successful at goat-herding. He became very rich, but he was by nature very miserly…"

Hearing the abbot begin to tell a story, Chen was greatly puzzled, but he concentrated on what the old man was saying: "An acquaintance of the goatherd knew he was very stupid, and also that he badly wanted to find a wife. So he cheated the goatherd, saying: 'I know a girl who is very beautiful. I can arrange for her to marry you.' The goatherd was delighted and gave him a large amount of money. A year past, and the man said to him: 'Your wife has given birth to your son.' The goatherd hadn't even seen the woman, but hearing he had a son, he was even more pleased and gave the man another large sum of money. Later, the man came to him again and said: 'Your son has died!' The goatherd cried uncontrollably, heart-broken in the extreme."

Chen had a fairly good general education, and knew he was quoting from the Hundred Parables Sutra of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.

"In fact all worldly matters are like this," the abbot continued. "Power and riches are like the wife and child of the goatherd: just fantasies. What is the point of wasting effort to obtain them when losing them will only cause sorrow?"

"There was once a husband and wife who had three cakes," Chen replied. "They ate one cake each, but could not decide who should eat the third. Finally, they agreed that whoever talked first would lose the chance to eat the cake."

Hearing Chen relate another story from the Hundred Parables Sutra, Heavenly Rainbow nodded.

"The two stared at each other in silence. Soon after, a thief entered and ransacked the house for the couple's valuables, but because of their agreement, the couple continued to stare at each other without saying a word. Seeing them thus, the thief became even more bold and violated the wife in front of the husband. The husband made no complaint at all about what was happening, but in the end, the wife could stand it no longer and cried out. The thief grabbed up the valuables and fled, while the husband clapped his hands and shouted triumphantly: 'You lose! The cake is mine!'"

Heavenly Rainbow could not help but smile, even though he knew the story well.

"He ignored great suffering for the sake of minor personal satisfaction, allowing the thief to steal his possessions and violate his wife in order to satisfy his appetite. According to Buddhist tenets, one should try to help all living things and should not think only of oneself."

Heavenly Rainbow sighed, and quoted from the Buddhist scriptures: "There are no rules to regulate behaviour, there are no rules to which I am subject. Man is at a standstill until acted upon by a force. Those with no desires, will not be troubled by dreams and fantasies."

"Life for most people is full of hardship," Chen replied. "The monk Zhi Daolin once said: 'Emperors are cruel and evil by nature. How can one stand idly by?'"

The abbot could see Chen's determination to carry out his duty and help ease the people's burden, and was full of respect for him.

"Your enthusiasm is commendable, Master Chen," he said. "I will set you one more question, and then you can have your way."

Chen bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"An old woman was once lying under a tree, resting. Suddenly, a huge bear appeared wanting to eat her. She jumped up and ran behind the tree to escape, and the bear stretched its paws round either side of the tree to grab her. Seizing the opportunity, the old woman pressed its paws down onto the tree trunk. As a result, the bear could not move, but the old woman did not dare to let go either. Some time later, a man passed by and the old woman appealed to him for help, saying they could kill the bear together and share the meat. The man believed her and took her place holding down the bear's paws. The old woman then fled, leaving the man in the same dilemma she had been in."

Chen knew the moral of the story: "Never regret helping others, even if you suffer yourself as a result," he replied.

Heavenly Rainbow lifted the the long-haired duster he was holding. "Please go through," he said.

Chen stood up and bowed before him. "Please forgive me for trespassing on this sacred place," he said.

The abbot nodded. As he walked out of the room, Chen heard the old man sigh.

2

He passed along a covered pathway and into yet another hall lit by two massive, flickering candles and filled with row after row of wooden cabinets, each one marked with a piece of yellowing paper stuck to the side. He picked up one of the candles and began his search. Before long, he located the right cabinet. He opened its doors and found inside three parcels wrapped in yellow cloth. The parcel on the left was inscribed in vermilion ink with his foster father's name: 'Yu Wanting'. Chen's hands shook slightly and several drops of candlewax splattered on the floor. Then, with a silent prayer, he opened the parcel.

Inside was a thick file of yellowing papers, a man's embroidered waistcoat, and a woman's white undergarment which was badly ripped and speckled with black spots that appeared to be blood stains. Chen opened the file and began reading from the beginning: "I, Yu Wanting, a twenty-first generation pupil of the Shaolin Monastery of Putian, Fujian Province, do hereby respectfully confess in full my misdemeanors.

"I was born into a peasant family and spent my youth in great poverty and hardship. I knew the girl Xu Chaosheng, who lived next door, from when we were very young. As we grew, we came to love one another…"

Chen's heart began to thump wildly. "Could it be my foster father's misdemeanor had something to do with my mother?" he wondered. He continued reading:

"We secretly agreed to remain faithful to each other for life, and would marry no-one else. After the death of my father, there were several years of drought, and with nothing in the fields to harvest, I went out into the world to find a life for myself. Due to the compassion of my benevolent master, I was taken in by the monastery. The embroidered waistcoat enclosed was given to me by the girl Xu when I left home.

"Before I had been fully initiated into the higher skills of the Shaolin martial arts school, I left temporarily to return to my home village. Because of the girl Xu's kindness, I was unable to abandon worldly emotions and went back to see her, but was shocked to find that her father had married her into the family of the local landlord, surnamed Chen. In a state of extreme anguish, I entered the Chen mansion one night to visit her. Using martial skills I had learned from the Shaolin School, I trespassed on the property of an ordinary citizen for personal reasons. This was my first breach of discipline.

"The girl Xu moved with her husband to Beijing, and three years later, having failed to renounce my love for her, I went to visit her again. As it happened, that very night, she gave birth to a son. I was outside the window and managed to catch a glimpse of the child. Four days later, I returned once more and found the girl Xu looking very pale. She told me that her son had been taken away by the Princess Rong Zhang and replaced by a baby girl. Before we had a chance to talk further, four assassins entered, obviously sent by the Princess to kill the girl Xu. In the heat of the fight, I received a sword wound on my forehead, but killed all four assassins before passing out. The girl Xu bandaged my wound with the enclosed undergarment. Having heard a secret of the Imperial Palace and having been seen to use Shaolin kung fu, I risked bringing great trouble upon the school. This is my second breach of discipline.