‘That will not be a problem. I’ll go up to the town, and there I may also be able to take a walk around her neighborhood. But you really must be careful, Master. The temple is not far from the hostel.’

‘Don’t worry about me, Yang, and you take care of yourself, too.’

With Yang’s figure retreating out of sight into the mountain trail, Han Shan came out in hurried steps, bowing to Dee from a distance. A tall man with a square ruddy face, dreamy eyes, and a clean-shaven head, Han Shan was wearing a blue cassock in tatters and threadbare straw sandals, more like a humble servant to Nameless who was walking behind.

Having probably learned something more about Judge Dee’s official status inside the temple, Nameless was now all smiles, saying in an obsequious voice, ‘Our humble place is so brightened by your visit, Your Honor. One of the two rooms is ready, and the other one will soon be ready for you, too.’

‘No hurry. I’ll have a talk with my old friend Han Shan first. And my assistant Yang is running an errand for me in the neighborhood. When he comes back, you may take him directly to his room.’

Rubbing his eyes with a yawn, Han Shan began reciting like an actor stepping on to the lit stage:

‘Generals in iron armors surmounting

the mountain passes at night,

ministers waiting in the cold

for the early-morning Court session,

a monk still lying on bed with the sun

shining high over the temple –

fame and gain are nothing

when compared with leisure.’

‘What a delightful poem, Han Shan!’

‘Alas, it’s not mine. Nameless has just woken me up for the visit of a high-ranking official like you.’

‘Come on, I’m no high-ranking official – not any longer. If only I could afford to enjoy leisure like you, totally worry-free in a mundane world full of worries!’ Judge Dee said, aware of a satirical reminder Han Shan was making of the difference between the two of them.

‘Well, leisure is available only for a useless man like me. But it’s a long time no see, Judge Dee. At least three or four years since we last met in Suzhou.’

‘In Suzhou, the temple nowadays is so well known because of you – Han Shan Temple.’

‘No, it’s well known because of the cold mountains there in the winter. That’s what the temple name “Han Shan” really means. I’m just lucky enough to find a shelter in it.’

And then it was Judge Dee’s turn to start reciting.

‘The moon setting, the crow cawing,

the frost spreading out against the sky,

the maple tree standing out on the bank,

the fisherman’s light moving

across the river, who is there,

full of worries even in sleep?

By the Han Shan Temple,

out of Gusu City,

a sampan comes

in the midnight bells.’