Sandalwood Death: A Novel (Chinese Literature Today Book Series)

measured steps, being sure to look the part of the Laoye. With Liu Pu beside me, I confronted them.
    Though none of them said a word at first, the chilling looks they gave me spoke clearly of their animus toward me.
    “This is His Honor the County Magistrate,” Liu Pu said. “What is it you’ve come to say?”
    They held their tongues.
    “Where have you come from?” I asked them.
    “From Northeast Township,” Justice Cat said in a muffled stage voice from his seat on the chest.
    “For what purpose?”
    “To put on an opera.”
    “Who told you to come here to put on an opera at this time?”
    “Our cat chief.”
    “Who is your cat chief?”
    “Cat Chief is our cat chief.”
    “Where is he?”
    Justice Cat pointed to Sun Bing up on the Ascension Platform.
    “Sun Bing is a criminal condemned by the throne and is being punished appropriately. He has been on public view for three days, so how could he have summoned you here to give a performance?”
    “That up there is just his body. His soul returned to Northeast Gaomi Township a long time ago,” Justice Cat replied dreamily.
    I heaved an emotional sigh.
    “I know what you must be feeling. Even though Sun Bing committed a terrible crime, he is, after all, your second-generation Maoqiang Patriarch, and staging an opera for him before he dies is fitting and proper. But this is neither the time nor the place. You are citizens of this county, and I have always treated you as my own sons and daughters. With that in mind, I urge you to leave this dangerous spot for your own safety and that of your families. Return to your Northeast Township, where you are free to put on any performance you like, with no interference from me.”
    Justice Cat shook his head and in a soft but uncompromisingly firm voice said:
    “No, Cat Chief has instructed us to put on our performance in front of him.”
    “A moment ago you said it is only your cat chief’s body up there on the Ascension Platform, and that his soul returned to Northeast Gaomi Township long ago. If you put on your performance here, aren’t you doing so for a soulless human form?”
    “We obey Cat Chief’s instructions,” Justice Cat said unflinchingly.
    “Are you not afraid of losing your heads?” Pointing in the direction of the yamen, I said in a threatening tone, “Excellency Yuan’s crack troops are stationed in the yamen.” Then I pointed to a compound in the Tongde Academy. “There is where the German cavalry troops are camped. A ceremony to celebrate the completion of the rail line is scheduled for tomorrow, and both the foreign and government soldiers are on full alert. If you stage one of your cat-and-dog operas under their noses, they will treat that as tantamount to a rebellion or a riot.” Finally, I pointed up to Sun Bing. “Is that how the rest of you want to wind up?”
    “We are not afraid,” Justice Cat grumbled. “We came to put on a performance, and that is what we are going to do.”
    “I have long known that Northeast Gaomi Township residents are fond of performing onstage, and I am a fan of your Maoqiang opera. Why, I can even sing some arias. Maoqiang promotes loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and justice. Teaching people to be reasonable and understanding corresponds exactly with my principles of instruction. I have always supported your performance activities and hold you in high esteem for your deep-seated love of the arts. But not here and not now. I order you to leave. After this is all over, if you desire, I will personally make a formal visit to Northeast County to extend you an invitation to return to stage an opera here.”
    “We obey Cat Chief’s instructions,” Justice Cat replied obstinately.
    “I am the highest official in this county, and if I say you may not perform, you may not.”
    “Not even His Majesty the Emperor has the authority to stop people from performing an opera.”
    “Have you never heard the adage ‘Fear not the official, just the office’? Or ‘A Governor lops off a head, a County Magistrate destroys a family’?”
    “You can chop our bodies to pieces, but our heads will perform an opera.” Justice Cat got defiantly to his feet and commanded his disciples and followers, “Open the chest, my children.”
    The cats picked up weapons from atop the chest, turning their numbers into a traditional opera troupe. They then threw open the mahogany chest and dug out python-decorated robes and jade belts, phoenix caps and embroidered