Now, Ji Gong had just reached Shizi Street when he saw a crowd of soldiers and yamen runners leading Chai Yuanlu and Du Zhenying along in chains.

A word of explanation: one brush cannot write two things at once. How did the two head constables, Chai and Du, come to be put in chains? There is a hidden story behind it. When the monk got up in the inn saying he needed to relieve himself, Chai and Du waited in the room. A long while passed, and still the monk did not come back from the privy. Head Constable Chai said, “Younger Brother Du, look at this. The monk really is half crazy. He’s smashed the teapot, spilled tea all over the kang and got the bundle wet as well.” “Let’s open the bundle and have a look,” said Du Zhenying. “The wanted warrant1 may have got wet too.” The two of them opened the bundle and looked, and sure enough one corner of the document was wet. It had been wrapped in oiled paper, but after so many days the oiled paper had worn through, and so the water had soaked in. They took the document out and laid it on the kang. They waited a good while longer, and still the monk did not come in. “Let’s go and look,” said Head Constable Chai. “The monk may have got himself into some trouble again.” The two of them left the east side room. When they came to the privy, they found the waiter standing outside it with the lantern, staring blankly. “That monk of ours,” said Head Constable Chai, “hasn’t he finished his business yet?” The waiter had grown tired of waiting too. He poked his head in to look: there was no sign of the monk. “That’s odd,” said the waiter. “How can he be gone?” “What’s the matter?” said Head Constable Chai. “I watched the monk go into the privy,” said the waiter. “How can he be gone?” “Could the monk have left?” said Head Constable Chai. “You’ve guessed it, all right,” said Du Zhenying. Still talking, the two of them turned and started back.

Just then a man came out of the east side room where they were staying, dressed all in night clothes, twisted round and sprang up onto the roof. Head Constables Chai and Du stood stunned; by now it was too late to give chase. “Quick, into the room and see whether anything’s missing,” said Head Constable Chai. The two of them hurried into the room and looked: the wanted warrant for Hua Yunlong was gone. Head Constable Chai started shouting. A waiter came over and asked, “What is it?” “We’ve lost something,” said Head Constable Chai. “Oh, that’s a good one,” said the waiter. “Three of you came, there’s two of you left, and you turn round and say you’ve lost something. Thinking to squeeze us, are you? It won’t work. Go and ask around about this inn of ours. We haven’t been open just a year or half a year. If everyone came squeezing us like this, we might as well shut up shop.” Head Constable Chai was frantic in earnest. With the waiter raising a row, the innkeeper came over as well. The owner of this inn was in fact Yang Guodong, chief of the three squads2 at Longyou County, a man of some standing in those parts whom everyone knew. Now the innkeeper came over and asked what was wrong, and the waiter said, “Three of them came. One was a monk, and I don’t know where he’s got to. And these two are saying they’ve lost something.” When the innkeeper heard this, he said, “Right. The monk must have made off with the things, and these two are working a put-up job to squeeze us. Waiter, go and ask all the guests staying here whether they’ve lost anything. If they have, they can get it back from these two!” The waiter shouted, “All you guests staying at the inn, look in your rooms and see if anything’s missing! If it is, speak up now!” Lamps were lit in every room. The waiter went from room to room asking, and from each the answer came that nothing was missing. He asked his way round until he came to the main room, and there no one answered. “Reverend in the main room,” said the waiter, “have you lost anything?” He asked several times over, but no answer came from inside. The waiter pushed the door; it was only pulled to. He went in and looked. There was lamplight in the inner room, and the waiter had no sooner lifted the curtain than he cried, “Yow!” and turned and ran straight out in fright. The innkeeper and the other hands saw that the waiter’s face had changed colour. “What happened?” they all asked. The waiter couldn’t get a word out. After a long while he caught his breath and said, “Mother of mine, I’m scared to death!” They all went to the main room to look, and saw the bald-headed monk’s great head lying on the floor and the corpse sitting in the chair, half leaning, half propped. At the sight the innkeeper said, “Don’t let those two in the east side room get away! It must be that poor monk who came with them. He’s killed this bald monk and run off.” Everyone thought it over: that made sense. They hurried to the east side room and hemmed in Chai Yuanlu and Du Zhenying. “That poor monk has killed a man and run off,” said the innkeeper. “The two of you must know about it. A man’s life weighs as much as heaven; I can’t carry this. You and I are in for a lawsuit.” Chai Yuanlu and Du Zhenying really knew nothing of it; how could they answer? Everyone clamoured, and the shouting went on half the night. “Gentlemen, don’t let these two get away,” said the innkeeper. At once he had the local headman take word to the county. Before long the constables and runners on duty and the soldiers had all arrived. “You two,” said Head Constable Liu, “off to court with you.” With a rattle he shook out an iron chain and locked Chai Yuanlu and Du Zhenying in it. “Brother constables,” said Head Constable Chai, “what are you chaining us for?” “No need for you two to argue it,” said Head Constable Liu. “Whatever you have to say, say it in court.” Chai Yuanlu and Du Zhenying had lost their warrant and were frantic enough already. Now there was a murder on top of it, and in their hearts they cursed the monk.