Now, when Li Ping saw Ma Jing he had nothing to say. He sat there at a loss for a good long while, thinking, “If I don’t tell him, it will spoil our friendship as brothers. If I do, I can hardly bring myself to say it.” “If you’ve got something to say, just say it,” said Ma Jing. “Don’t hide anything.” So Li Ping told him the whole story from beginning to end: how on the first day he had taken two strings of cash2 over and run into his sister-in-law coming out of the house, heavily painted and powdered and dressed in fine clothes, heading east; how he had been about to go after her and ask, when someone came looking for him on urgent business and he went back; and how on the second day and the third he had waited at the edge of the village. Ma Jing heard him out and gave a loud “Ha ha!” “Brother,” he said, “let me tell you. When I came here today, I meant to draw a line on the ground1 and break with you for good. I didn’t know there was a reason behind it. Since that’s how it is, I needn’t say any more. A long road tells a horse’s strength; long days tell a man’s heart. Only today do I see how much you care for me. If you weren’t a true friend, you could never have said such things. I’m going!” He stood up and went home, and said not a word about the matter. A day or two later he told Madam He, “Look after the house well. A rich family in Longyou County has asked me to come and guard their home. I’ll be back in about two months.” He took his broadsword, said goodbye to his old mother, left the house and headed due south. Two li from Xiaoyue Village lay Qingfeng Village, which was really a small market town, with shops and businesses of its own. On the south side of the road stood the Wansheng Inn. Ma Jing went in. All the inn staff knew him. “Master Ma,” they said, “how is it you’ve got time on your hands?” “Find me a room,” said Ma Jing. “I’ve got some relatives and friends staying at home, and there isn’t room for everyone.” “Yes, sir,” said the attendant, and found him one of the best rooms. Ma Jing went in and ordered wine and dishes, but he was heavy-hearted and out of sorts. Truly:

He drank several pots of wine, had the attendant clear away what was left of the meal, lay down and went to sleep. When he woke he ate a little more and thought to himself, “When lovers are hot for each other, nothing can keep them apart. The lover is bound to seek out the whore, and the whore to seek out the lover. Once they know I’m not at home, they’re sure to get together. Tonight I’ll take my steel blade and wait at the edge of the village, and if I come across the slut I’ll kill her with one stroke.” With this in mind he went straight to the edge of Xiaoyue Village. He waited until past the third watch3 and did not see a soul. Then he went to his own gate and looked. The double doors were shut tight. He sprang onto the roof and listened all over the house, but nothing was stirring, so he went back to the inn. At the inn gate he called for it to be opened, went to his room, dropped onto the bed and slept. By day he did nothing but drink and sleep; by night he went out with his blade and waited at the east end of Xiaoyue Village. One night, at about the second watch, he heard men and women laughing and talking to the east. When they came close he looked, and heard someone say, “Hurry along. We’ll be sending for you tomorrow. We’ve had several midwives4 already, and none of them was any good.”