"Then the woman left off. Panting, she pulled me up and made me stand against the bedpost. When she had tied me to it the foul creature left, locking the door behind her. I was left standing there, groaning in agony, for what seemed an interminable time. At last Mao Loo came in, followed by the woman. He seemed to take pity on me; muttering something under his breath he cut my ropes. My swollen legs would not support me; he had to help me onto the bed. He gave me a wet towel, then threw my robe over me. 'Sleep!' he said. 'Tomorrow we'll go traveling!' Soon after they had gone I fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

"When, the next morning, I woke up I found that every movement caused me a searing pain. To my horror the woman came again. But now she was in a friendly mood. 'For a crook,' she remarked, 'I must say Mao Loo paid handsomely!' She gave me a cup of tea and put ointment on my sores. Then Mao Loo came and made me put on a jacket and trousers. Downstairs a one-eyed man was waiting for us. When they took me outside every step hurt me but the two men kept me moving by hissing horrible threats at me. I didn't dare to accost people in the street. We had an awful journey through the plain in a farmer's cart, then went by boat to the island. Mao Loo wanted to possess me the first night, but I said I was ill. Then two of those robbers came for me, but Mao Loo fought them off till the guards came and took them away. The next day these two officers came-"

"That'll do, madam!" Judge Dee said. "The rest I'll hear from my two lieutenants." He gave Hoong a sign to pour another cup of tea for her; then he continued gravely: "You have shown great constancy in the most trying circumstances, Mrs. Djang! Both you and your husband have, in the brief space of a few days, gone through the most fearful mental and physical anguish. But both of you have shown your undaunted spirit. Now all your troubles are over. Since you two have passed this severe test, I feel certain that a long and happy future lies before you.

"I must inform you that your father, Liu Fei-po, has suddenly left under suspect circumstances. Have you any idea what could have been the reason for his sudden departure?"

Moon Fairy looked worried. She said slowly:

"Father never told me about his affairs, Your Honor. I always thought he did very well in business; we never had any financial worries. He is a rather proud and self-willed man, Your Honor, and not easy to get along with. I know that my mother and father's other women aren't too happy; they seem- But for me he was always so kind. I really can't imagine-"

"Well," the judge interrupted her, "we'll find out in due time." To Hoong he said: "Take Mrs. Djang to the gatehouse, and order a closed palanquin. Send the headman ahead on horseback to inform the professor and Candidate Djang of her impending arrival."

Moon Fairy knelt and thanked the judge; then Sergeant Hoong led her away.

Judge Dee leaned back in his chair and told Ma Joong and Chiao Tai to report.

Ma Joong gave a detailed account of their adventure, stressing the courage and resourcefulness of Mrs. Djang. When he told about the second junk with the armed men, and the cargo of weapons, the judge sat up straight. Then Ma Joong went on to quote the corporal about the unrest in Liu-chiang. He didn't mention the lotus emblem on the helmets, for the simple reason that he didn't know its significance. But when he had finished, Chiao Tai laid a few of the silver White Lotus emblems on the table and said worriedly:

"The helmets we found were also marked with this same emblem, Your Honor. 1 have heard that many years ago there was a dangerous uprising of a secret political society that called itself the White Lotus. It would seem that the robbers in Chiang-pei now use that old, dreaded symbol in order to intimidate the population."

Judge Dee cast one glance at the silver tokens. Then he jumped up and began pacing the floor, muttering angrily. His assistants exchanged frightened looks; they had never seen the judge in such a state.

Suddenly he took hold of himself. Standing still in front of them he said with a wan smile:

"I have a problem I must think over quietly. You people go and seek a bit of diversion; all of you deserve some rest!"

Ma Joong, Chiao Tai and Tao Gan went silently to the door. Hoong stood for a few moments undecided, but when he saw his master's haggard face he also followed the others. All the happy excitement over the successful mission of Chiang-pei had left them; they knew that more and very serious trouble lay ahead.

When all had left Judge Dee slowly sat down again. He folded his arms and let his chin rest on his breast. Thus his worst fears had come true. The White Lotus Society had been revived, and it was preparing for action. And one of their centers was located in Han-yuan, his own district, where the Emperor had appointed him, and he had proved unable to discover it. A sanguinary civil war was about to break out; innocent people would be killed, flourishing cities destroyed. Of course, he was powerless to prevent a national disaster; the society would have ramifications all over the Empire and Han-yuan was but one of their many centers. But Han-yuan was close to the capital, and every important point that could be denied to the rebels was an asset for the Imperial Army. But he hadn't even warned the government of what was going on in Han-yuan. He had failed, failed when faced with the most important task of his entire career! He covered his face with his hands in utter despair.

But soon he mastered himself. Perhaps there was still time. The fighting in Liu-chiang was probably a first attempt of the rebels, to gauge the reaction of the Imperial forces. Through the excellent work of Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, the reinforcements for the rebels in Liu-chiang had not arrived. It would take a day or two until the conspirators would have organized another probing attack elsewhere. The local commander in Liu-chiang would inform the higher authorities, and they would institute an investigation. But all that would take too much time! It was the duty of him, the magistrate of Han-yuan, to warn the government that the uprising in Liu-chiang was much more than a local affair, that it was part of a larger campaign, a nationwide conspiracy organized by the revived White Lotus. He had to prove that to the authorities, prove it that very night, and backed with irrefutable evidence. But he didn't have that evidence!

Liu Fei-po had disappeared, but Han Yung-han was still available. He would arrest Han now, and question him under torture. There was insufficient evidence for such an extreme measure, but in this case the security of the State was at stake. And the chess problem pointed straight at Han. Doubtless his ancestor, Hermit Han, had in the olden days made some important discovery, found some ingenious device, and hidden its key in the chess problem-a discovery that was now being utilized by the Hermit's depraved descendant for his own nefarious scheme. But what could that discovery have been? Besides being a philosopher and chess expert, Hermit Han had also been a good architect; the Buddhist Chapel had been built under his personal supervision. He had also been extraordinarily clever with his hands: he had engraved the inscription of the jade plaque in the altar with his own hands.

Suddenly the judge sat up straight in his chair. He gripped the edge of the table tightly with both hands. Closing his eyes, he visualized the conversation in the Buddhist Chapel, in the deep of night. He called up before his mind's eye that beautiful girl as she stood there opposite him, pointing at the inscription on the altar with her slender hand. The inscription occupied a perfect square, that he remembered clearly. And Willow Down had said that every word had been engraved on a separate piece of jade. The inscription was therefore a square, divided into smaller squares. And the other relic of the old Hermit, the chess problem, consisted also of a square divided into squares…