Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 3 2018 | Page 339

Second Brother set off first. Before long, loud yells and a lot of scuffling was heard, which Big Brother took
as our cue to scale the walls. I nearly rolled my eyes at how useful the guards proved themselves to be – then
and again, most of them were just doing their jobs for their paychecks.
We slipped into the mansion's courtyards. Keeping close to the wall, we tiptoed as fast as we could towards
the dungeons. I kept my hand on the wall to feel for a bump – supposedly, that was where the entrance to
the dungeons could be found. At least, according to those policemen patrolling the market earlier in the
morning, whose conversation I had eavesdropped on.
After what seemed like eternity to my erratic heartbeat, my fingers finally found the bump. I allowed myself
a tiny self-satisfied hiss as I reached out to the bump. Behind me, Big Brother was silently whooping.
With a tiny nudge, I pushed the bump back in. The dungeons were accessible by a trapdoor; all that was left
to do was to get Teacher out and escape from the mansion. Victory was on the tips of our tongues. I could
almost taste its sweetness. Our task was halfway done.
The handle of the trapdoor exposed itself with a slight grinding sound. I grabbed hold of it and pulled. The
trapdoor swung upwards almost immediately, revealing a hole to the underground with ladder rungs
installed on the sides. Big Brother dropped down the hole noiselessly. It was agreed that he would check
whether the dungeons were unguarded.
His voice floated up the hole. "All clear."
I dropped down the hole. As my eyes adapted to the dim environment, I noticed rows upon rows of metal
bars. I shook my head in disapproval. The governor was only a governor, nothing else. It would do him
good to remember that he was not in charge of imprisoning 'suspicious persons'.
Big Brother, who had already stridden forward, knelt in front of a cell. "Teacher, we're here to get you
out."
A soft voice replied, "WuKong, you needn't risk your safety. They were already about to release me."
A grin split on Big Brother's face, a true grin in a long time. "And I see you're still the same after jail, aren't
you? What’s life without a little risk?"
Teacher sighed with a resigned fondness. "Just get me out of here.”
Big Brother gave a mock salute. “Yes sir!”
The breaking out was fairly easy (because, no matter how good the official’s defenses were, they were no
match for two powerful demons). The courtyard was silent as we emerged from the trapdoor. We had
expected some kind of defense from the guards, but if they were not going to bother, we would not care
either.
That is, until we heard the shouts.
“Get the pervert! Get the pervert!”
Pervert? But who would be so silly as to lust over women in the womanizing official’s territory? Unless it
was…
Second Brother’s terrified wails quickly cleared my confusion. “ Da ge , save me! Help me, Shifu ! Anyone!
Help!”
Oh.
Why was I not surprised.
Second Brother burst through the arch. Eyes blown wide, he grabbed Teacher’s hand and continued to
sprint to the exit of the mansion. Big Brother and I had no choice but to run after the two, but not without
a lot of cursing from the King of the Monkeys.
The guards’ target soon increased to the four of us. Just great. So much for a quiet escape.
But, I asked myself as I ran, wasn’t this how it always was? We enter a town, we cause a racket, we get
chased after by officials. It was admittedly bothersome, but that was how we travelled. How we ‘rolled’.
Teacher may sigh, and Second Brother may whine, and Big Brother may moan and complain, but I suspect
they all secretly enjoyed this.
Arguing over petty things, battling demons, having rows with the locals in numerous towns… that was what
shaped us. Tang Seng and his four disciples were proud, reckless and arrogant. And we were proud of it.
This was just part of our Journey to the West.