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Following the iven thee and headed out of toard Site 518 This was the saht, Hulan told David They continued for another quarter of aoff the road and onto a slippery path which led down to a rocky platforzi They weren’t familiar with the vicissitudes of the river and didn’t kno , but even so they could hear and see its fury The water swirled and foamed, waves crested and splashed, and pebbles and broken tree branches rolled and collided along this rocky shoulder

They followed the path east until they caone into the river, this one had a little beach and a cave But surely this was a false beach, since the true water level was several feet lower Even above the roar of the river they could hear the sound of chanting e from the cave

They entered the dark maw Lanterns lit the way deeper into the earth With every step the sounds grew louder They saw no one—no guards, notheir children back outside for ht from the oil lamps danced on the walls A dank, musty odor filled their nostrils

Suddenly the tunnel opened into a large cavern, where i Close to a hundred people stood together, swaying and chanting, “Subdue the wild tribes in our hearts Practice the abstinence of alcohol, tobacco, and fornication” The words were in Chinese, and the tones in which they were chanted sounded beautiful and

Perched above the people on a rocky ledge before an alcove stood a , the All-Patriotic Society lieutenant

who had been in Tianano

“Do you see who that is?” Hulan whispered excitedly “Do you believe me now that there’s a connection?”

Tang Wenting led the chanting, which changed to “Give up material possessions Cherish the sanctity of life Advocate peace and peaceful means”

“I won’t let hiht,” Hulan said Her eyes scoured the cave, looking for possible escape routes

Tang Wenting held his hands up for silence “We ht of Xiao Da’s blessings Where Xiao Da sends o I am his sword”

Then hethe alcove coe, melodious voice emanated from the shadows “You all remember me I am Xiao Da”

“Can it really be him?” Hulan exclaimed over the crowd’s murmurs of “Xiao Da, Xiao Da, Xiao Da”

“To the outside world, Xiao Da re said “In this way he can represent all the faceless people of China”

Hulan whispered in English to David so that those around the, or is someone actually in that alcove?”

“I am a part of you and a part of China,” the voice proclaimed “I see a world where the faceless will become the true voice of China”