Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 146

‘Wujing, I need your help here,’ in his mind the serpent uttered. He knew something was going awry but
he was not afraid of opening this can of worms. ‘I need your help here. I want you to tell me where you
master is.’
Wujing furrowed his brows. Snippets of memories emerged--when his brothers were out in the battlefield
he could only sit on the bench drily. When his brothers were messing around, he was going extra miles to
do good for his master but got no appreciation.
He was reminded of that time when there was a shrine in the city in which they sojourned and this is place
where his master was teaching. A harlot went into the crowd and elbowed her way through until
Xangzhang saw her.
She knelt down and fished out an alabaster jar from her bag. She wound open the lid and perfume pervaded
the room. Xangzhang smiled at her with placidity. She then gave it to him, saying that she would like to
give everything if that could give her true pleasure instead of selling her own body for some gods that she
did not know.
Wujing sensed the approach of an unclean human, as well as a chance for him to show his reverence for his
master. He immediately stepped forward to block her from moving forward. He opined that she should give
the alabaster jar to the needy instead of giving it to his master.
‘Jing,’ Xangzhang frowned, eyeing him sternly with knitted brows. ‘Why did you stop this woman from
approaching me? Did I not tell you that I am here to bring ultimate peace to all who are manacled by
earthly pleasures?’
Breathing hard and panting, Wujing felt choked by his master’s injustice. He had served his master for years
and battled with every monster to keep him safe but now he chose a random harlot over him. He thought
he had done enough to manifest his loyalty to his master. He thought his endeavors to do good could please
his master. But in the end he could not even hear a word of favor from him.
Each snippet haunted him. He tried to dispel these ideas but they were just glued to his mind. It was like
lice on his head. Once they dropped an egg on his scalp, it would evolve into a thousand more of its ilk.
‘You will just have to kiss his cheek to greet him when you see him,’ the serpent said. ‘Then we would
have access to him.’
‘They would never know who did it. And we would give you whatever you wanted.’
On the spur of the moment, it was more about revenge than about power. Wujing clenched his fists,
gritting and gnashing. He could not fathom his animosity toward them. Maybe this had been hoarded in his
heart long ago, suppressed and undermined from time to time to retain his dignity before his brothers. Now
it was an opportunity for it to break loose, and he craved for an opportunity like this.
‘Okay.’
It was this short and succinct reply that delivered him up to this ordeal filled with remorse and pain. Indeed,
no one knew who had blown a whistle to alert his master. No one except himself. When he winked, that
serpent disappeared.