The Bell and the Blade

Lin stands on the wooden platform. His hand shakes as he holds his sword. Across from him, Master Zhao smiles coldly. "You broke the school's bell," Zhao says. "Now you must pay." The crowd is watching quietly.

Lin did not break the bell. But he cannot prove this. So he runs. He runs through the bamboo forest. The night is dark and cold. He falls near a small river. His leg is bleeding. An old woman finds him there. She gives him hot tea and bread.

"Why do you run?" she asks. Lin tells her everything. She listens and says nothing. Then she takes a small bell from her bag. "I found this near your school," she says. "A man dropped it last night." Lin looks at the bell. His eyes open wide.

Lin goes back at dawn. He rings the bell loudly. Zhao turns white. The real thief is Zhao's own student. The crowd gasps. Lin does not attack. He simply says, "The bell tells the truth." Then he walks away slowly. Nobody follows him.