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offer one.
"Although it is against my better judgment to betray one of our most beautiful
traditions," the old Korean warned.
"Nothing beautiful about people trying to kill me."
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Chapter 9
Chiun instructed Remo to turn the cab around. They headed back over the Thames
into the tourist heart of the city. Remo ditched the cab near Hyde Park. It
was just as well. After the incident on the bridge, the car had probably been
reported to the police by now.
The two Masters of Sinanju strolled along the paths of Hyde Park, sitting in
the brown grass in the shadow of a great spreading ash. Children played in the
sun.
As he sat cross-legged on the ground, Chiun fussed at his silk kimono,
smoothing it at the knees.
"As part of your training in the awesome magnificence that is the art of
Sinanju, I have taught you the lessons of the Masters who have come before
us," the Reigning Master of Sinanju began without preamble.
Remo felt an involuntary chill. For years Chiun had hammered home the legends
of his ancestors. A lot of the information Remo had been forced to memorize
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had to do with who begat whom, what they ate for lunch, as well as every
little niggling detail about how they managed to score an extra denarius from
a certain emperor of Rome. Because of this, Remo had become expert in avoiding
listening to the tales. But it was different this day.
Those men were with him now, in death forming the Masters' Tribunal. The eyes
that had been with him for the past year crowded around him in Hyde Park. The
Masters who had bequeathed their hard-won lessons to the ages watched from
some other realm. In the heart of London, Remo Williams felt the history of
Sinanju all around him.
Feeling the weight of hundreds of disapproving stares, all Remo could do was
nod.
Chiun accepted the silence with understanding. "Of all the tales you have
learned, most important is the tale of the Great Wang," the old man said. "For
though other, lesser Masters preceded him, Wang towered above them all. The
truth of the Sun Source was his to discover and explore, and so he is
remembered as the first. Know you, Remo, the tale of Wang?"
Remo was surprised to even be asked the question. "Of course I do, Little
Father. You've drilled it into my head over and over practically since the day
we met."
Chiun raised his chin, stretching his wattled neck. "Tell it to me," he
commanded.
There would be no argument. Remo knew his teacher thought it important for him
to speak the words. Feeling self-conscious about his invisible audience-one
member of which was doubtless the Great Wang himself-Remo began.
"Wang lived at a time when there were many trained in the art of early
Sinanju," Remo said. "These were called night tigers, the soldiers of Sinanju.
Now, even in that age of many students, there was still only one Master who
was head of the village. When the time came for him to retire, he would choose
from the night tigers the one who would succeed him as Master. One day the
older Master died before choosing a successor. There was fighting among the
night tigers to see who would assume the mantle of Reigning Master. As the
others fought, Wang went off to the wilderness to seek guidance from his dead
ancestors. While there, legend says that a ring of fire descended from the
heavens and, in an instant, gave Wang enlightenment. With a new vision and
strength, Wang returned to the village and slew the quarreling night tigers.
Afterward he assumed the title of Reigning Master, establishing the tradition
of one pupil, one Master that has survived for millennia, all the way down to
the modern age. Which brings us to this afternoon, Hyde Park, London, 5:17
p.m. Greenwich mean time."
Chiun had listened to his pupil's recitation in silence.
"Is that all?" he asked once Remo seemed finished.
"Pretty much. That's the Reader's Digest version. I can give you the
director's cut if you want."
The old Korean shook his head. "For the time being I will forgive you the
glaring omissions, for you have gotten the basic elements of the story.
However, in the near future we must go over that lesson again, for it is
likely your wandering mind needs to be refreshed. Remind me."
"I'll make a note of it," Remo promised, swearing silently to himself to never
bring it up again.
"Very well," Chiun said. "Now, while it is plain you know some of the
beginnings of Wang's masterhood, you do not know all of what followed his [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]