Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society (9 page)

‘The Kempeitei hounded him day and night. We fled to Shanghai when I was six and Ivanov enrolled me for kung fu classes. We became friends with Master Wu and moved next door to the academy. The Japanese left him alone for the next six years but they must have been keeping an eye on him.

‘About six months ago, we all went to see a kung fu exhibition at the Lyceum Theatre. Afterwards Ivanov was on the street looking for rickshaws to take us home. The three of us were playing hide-and-seek nearby. Suddenly there were two rough-looking men jostling Ivanov. One of them took out a revolver and ordered Ivanov, in Russian, to raise his hands above his head. We were desperate when I saw a water hose that was still connected to a water hydrant. The Russians were questioning Ivanov and not paying attention to us so I blasted them with the hose from the fire hydrant. David launched a flying kick at the man holding the gun and Sam threw a bottle at the other man’s head. The gun flew into the air and I leapt to catch it. Then I ordered them to lie face down…’

‘Do you speak Russian as well as English and Chinese?’ I asked, terribly impressed.

‘Marat and Ivanov can speak lots of languages,’ Sam said. ‘They also speak Japanese and French!’

‘As Marat was saying,’ David interrupted, ‘that was probably our most successful kung fu mission. None of us could believe it when the two Russians obeyed Marat. While they were lying down we ran away and threw the gun in a rubbish bin. Afterwards we discovered that we had strayed north by mistake into Japanese-occupied territory. At that time, the Japanese still respected the boundaries of the International Settlement and the French Concession. They didn’t bother Ivanov again until months later.’

‘Where is Ivanov now? Why don’t you live with him?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know where he is,’ Marat answered sadly. ‘The Kempeitei came for him in the middle of the night last seven December, and took him away. I haven’t seen him since.’

‘Seven December again!’ I said, turning to David. ‘Pearl Harbor Day! Isn’t that the day when the Japanese killed your parents? Why did everything bad happen on that day?’

‘Because that’s the day Japan declared war on Britain and America,’ David replied. ‘As well as bombing Pearl Harbor that day, the Japanese also took over the International Settlement of Shanghai, the part that used to belong to the
British. From then on, the Japanese could do whatever they wanted to people they didn’t like throughout Shanghai. People like my parents and Ivanov.’

‘The story isn’t over yet,’ said Marat, obviously trying to lighten the atmosphere. ‘David forgot to tell you about us going to Nan Tian Island afterwards and the dolphin we befriended there.’

‘That’s right!’ David said. ‘My parents were still alive then. After I got home from the Lyceum Theatre and told them about the Russians, they started worrying about the Japanese coming after us. So they persuaded Grandma Wu and Ivanov to take us to Nan Tian for the summer…’

At that moment, Grandma Wu walked in from the garden with fresh ginger, spinach leaves and coriander, which she washed and added to the soup. Marat’s story had shaken me, but as we waited for the soup to cook, I turned to David, still hungry for answers.

‘Tell me about the dolphin at Nan Tian. How did you befriend her?’

‘Marat and I were out at sea one day,’ said David. ‘We were snorkelling when a big dolphin swam towards us. At first we were scared and climbed back into the boat. But instead of going away, the dolphin kept circling the boat and making clicking sounds. Then we noticed a big fish
hook embedded in her body between her head and dorsal fin. A bit of fishing line was still attached.

‘We didn’t know what to do and were worried about sharks. But the dolphin was asking us for help. We rowed and paddled until we reached the shore. I knew something had to be done. I found my knife and tried to calm the dolphin down by stroking her…’

‘What did her skin feel like?’ I interrupted.

‘It was smooth and tight, like a big wet rubber ball, and she was trembling all over. The fish hook was stuck inside her back. I had to plunge my knife into the wound and cut into the muscle to get it out. There was so much blood that I had to stuff my jacket against the wound to stop the flow. I counted to a hundred until the oozing stopped altogether.’

I was entranced by the story. ‘Where’s the dolphin now? Is she still near Nan Tian?’

‘She comes and goes as she pleases,’ said Marat. ‘But David and I spent the whole of last summer playing with her. She‘d appear whenever we went out on a boat, following us like a dog. We named her Ling Ling
and knew it was the same dolphin because of the scar on her back. You‘ll have to meet her one day, CC.’

‘I feel useless!’ I said. ‘All of you know so much! I‘ve never seen a real dolphin, and don’t even
know how to swim! I don’t think there’s anything I can do to help the society.’

Grandma Wu must have overheard because she said, ‘You can help, CC, in many ways. Everyone is different. David is a fast thinker, Marat is a planner, Sam is intuitive. You, CC, are creative and have a love of words. Do you like to read?’

‘Yes!’ I exclaimed. ‘I love to read. How did you know?’

‘Because you have a book in your hands whenever I see you. What are you reading now?’

‘It’s a recipe book I took from the shelf here,’ I said, blushing. ‘I want to learn how to cook.’

‘How about writing something for my Sunday newsletter? Don’t look so surprised. We have Sunday school at my academy every week with almost one hundred students.’

‘I’d love to! Oh, thank you, Grandma Wu!’ I felt so lucky to have this chance to write about anything I wished. There were things I could say with a pen that were impossible to express out loud.

After lunch, Grandma Wu announced that she was going to give us a sewing lesson. The boys rolled their eyes and groaned with dismay.

‘This is as important as your kung fu practice!’ said Grandma Wu sternly. ‘You need to be prepared. When you are on a mission, you will need clothes to keep you invisible.’ She rolled out some
black material and we spent the rest of the day sewing outfits with many pockets to conceal items like maps, money, food and water bottles. There were four special buttons, one for each of us. They looked like ordinary buttons and resembled the others, but each was really a tiny compass.

That night I dreamt that I was back home again. Big Aunt lived with us and everything was wonderful. I was no longer an only child, but had three older brothers who played lots of games with me. As we played, I knew they cared for me just as much as I cared for them – we were a team. But I kept losing because they were more athletic and brainy. I knew I couldn’t compete. Big Aunt put her arms around me and said, ‘Learn from your brothers and be proud of them! Brothers and sisters should be like
shou zu
(
), hands and feet on the same body.’

I woke up in a sweat, desperate to go back to my magnificent dream. I wanted to hold on to it but it was gone. At that moment, I missed my aunt unbearably. I wondered if she was dreaming about me at the same instant I was dreaming about her.

By nine o’clock the next morning, Grandma Wu’s studio was full of children, ranging in age from seven to fourteen, with many more boys than
girls. I looked around anxiously, wondering if there was anyone I knew. It would have been highly embarrassing to meet any of my schoolmates or friends. I stayed close to the three boys and sneaked glances at the children, who all looked well-dressed and prosperous.

‘Where do these students come from?’ I asked Sam, who was standing next to me.

‘These are all fee-paying students whose parents want them to learn kung fu and Chinese studies on Sundays,’ Sam whispered. ‘Most of them go to missionary schools during the week, where lessons are taught in English, French or German. There used to be more students enrolled for Sunday school, but many have moved to Chungking.’

Grandma Wu organized various kung fu drills. Then we split into groups for calligraphy, word recognition, brush-painting, history of proverbs and Confucian classics. Just before school ended, she announced that there was to be a special demonstration that day: a match between David Black and Johnny Chen, the fourteen-year-old junior boxing champion of Shanghai. David would use kung fu to defend himself against Johnny’s fists.

We all crowded around the sandpit, where David and Johnny stood laughing and joking. The parents, too. My hands were wet from nerves
when Grandma Wu blew her whistle for the match to begin.

I was worried for David because Johnny was so much taller and heavier. But as in the story of David and Goliath, David stood his ground, breathing slowly and calmly through his nose. Johnny, meanwhile, paced around the pit with his mouth half-open, flexing his muscles and clenching his fists.

As soon as Grandma Wu blew her whistle a second time to start the fight, Johnny rushed at David like a tiger pouncing on a lamb. Just before the impact, David turned so smoothly in a circular motion that Johnny’s heavy frame simply crashed on to the sand. Wham!

David seemed to grow taller and more luminous before our very eyes. Johnny picked himself up and charged again. No sooner did he touch David than Johnny was flipped on to the sand a second time! Wham! David’s moves possessed a rhythm so fluid that the air itself appeared to crackle. Speed and power exploded from somewhere deep in his body, spreading itself in sizzling waves not only over Johnny, but the entire audience as well.

This must be kung fu in its purest form! I trembled. Every cell in my body yearned to be able to glide through the air just as David had done.

Wham! Wham! Johnny was thrown two more
times. David must have touched Johnny before hurling him to the ground, but his moves were so quick that all I saw was the end result of Johnny sprawled on the sand.

A buzz went through the crowd as Johnny picked himself up and shook hands with David to signal that the fight was over.

‘That was a classic demonstration of Wu Song’s “Step back and ride the tiger”,’ Marat murmured.

‘No wonder you call him “Black Whirlwind”!’ I said proudly.

Someone shouted, ‘Speech! Speech!’ but David declined with a smile. Instead, Johnny stepped on to a stone bench and took the speaker cone in his hand.

‘I couldn’t believe it at first and thought I’d slipped when I tried to hit David,’ Johnny began. ‘But his muscles are like iron wrapped in cotton wool. A blow from him was like being shoved by a cannonball. When I tried to retaliate, I kept hitting air. It was like trying to capture the wind or hit a shadow. Is he for real or is he supernatural?’

The cheering went on and on. Everyone was charmed by Johnny’s generous words. Buoyed by the warm feelings he had generated all around, Johnny raised the loudspeaker once more. ‘This morning I learned two new proverbs. The first is
chu shen ru hua
(
), uncanny skill that’s
almost supernatural. The second is
suo xiang wu di
(
), irresistible force that is unconquerable. Both describe David’s kung fu skills. I predict that he will grow up to be a great warrior! What a glorious day it will be for China when people like David finally lead us to the freedom and independence our country deserves!’