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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Eight: The Revenge Story
In Northeast China, some people worship local deities. These are evil spirits not found in scriptures, such as the Weasel, Fox Spirit, and Yellow Weasel. In the future, if you encounter them, even if you do not worship them, do not provoke them lightly. Now, let me tell you a story of revenge by the Weasel!
The story takes place in the 1980s when Uncle Liu's family and my family were neighbors. The Liu Family was quite large, with five sons living together. Life was peaceful and simple. However, in the autumn of 1983, Uncle Liu's corn was significantly damaged by rats. Uncle Liu set up rat traps behind the granary, but after many days without any movement, one day his child exclaimed, "Dad, look! We caught a large yellow Weasel with a white nose!" The Weasel was already dead. We all went out to see it; the Weasel's plump body was soft, its fur fine and shiny gold without a single stray hair. Its round black eyes were wide open, seemingly filled with extreme anger.
Aunt Liu took the Weasel and weighed it in her hands, saying, "Oh, this fur is great; it can be sold for money or made into a brush." After saying that, she put it aside. A few months later, Aunt Liu inexplicably went mad, mumbling incoherently and never sleeping at night; she would walk outside while talking to herself, causing chaos in the household. Uncle Liu became exhausted from taking care of her. During a home renovation, he fell from a ladder and broke his leg. While bedridden in the hospital, they left their granddaughter at home, where she was almost raped by a man.
Just as Uncle Liu was recovering, his eldest son contracted tuberculosis and soon passed away. His third son had a fight with his wife and jumped from the third floor, also leaving this world. The family fell apart just like that. At that time, I did not know about Buddhism or the consequences of killing; looking back now, the cause and effect are indeed undeniable.
Next, let's talk about Ji Xiaolan's story.
Speaking of Ji Xiaolan, everyone is probably familiar with him; he is very popular in television dramas like "Duel" and "Kun." However, what many may not know is that there are numerous supernatural legends surrounding Ji Xiaolan.
In 1724, Ji Xiaolan was born in Hejian Prefecture's Xian County (now Cang County in Hebei). His birth was associated with various miraculous tales: his grandfather Ji Tianshen dreamed of a flash of fire entering their house before Ji Xiaolan was born; some said Ji Xiaolan was the reincarnation of a fire spirit. Since the Five Dynasties period, there has been a custom in Xian County to drive away fire spirits; it is said that fire spirits are female and appear naked amidst flames.
The day before Ji Xiaolan's birth, locals discovered a fire spirit and beat bronze instruments to drive it away. The fire spirit entered the Ji family home just as Ji Xiaolan was born; he had marks on his earlobes and his feet were white and pointed as if bound like those of foot-bound women—very much resembling a fire spirit. Besides the reincarnation of a fire spirit legend, there are also tales of reincarnation from python spirits and monkey spirits: there was a large python near Ji Xiaolan's home that disappeared after his birth. From a young age, Ji Xiaolan loved eating hazelnuts and jujubes; once he started eating them, he couldn't stop. He was also very active and could not sit still for even a moment. This association extended to Ji Xiaolan's name; his name "Ji Yun" means "morning light," which relates to strange phenomena.
In historical legends, extraordinary births often coincide with unusual occurrences; however, few like Ji Xiaolan experienced miraculous events throughout their lives: at two or three years old, several clay dolls dressed in colorful clothes adorned with golden rings played with him and affectionately called him "brother." At four or five years old, Ji Xiaolan's eyes shone brightly; he could see clearly in dark places without any hindrance—only after seven or eight years did his vision gradually become like that of an ordinary person. Before taking the imperial examination at thirty-one years old, he consulted an oracle and received the character "墨" (ink): when broken down into parts—"黑" (black) split into two sections indicating second place—while four dots below formed the character "庶," meaning he would become an official in the Hanlin Academy as a scholar; this indeed came true later on. At fifty years old while serving as an educational official in Fujian Province during an examination session at night under a tree branch of Tang Bai’s tree appeared two figures dressed in red who bowed to him before gradually disappearing—these numerous wonders were not mere rumors but were recounted by Ji Xiaolan himself and can be found in his work "Records of the Microcosm."
Not only Ji Xiaolan but according to him, many of his relatives also had strange experiences. If we were to compile all the bizarre encounters of Ji Xiaolan along with those of his family and friends from "Records of the Microcosm," it could probably form a collection of extraordinary tales from Qing Dynasty individuals.
Readers must be curious about what kind of person Ji Xiaolan was despite having various legendary experiences. According to descriptions from people during the Qing Dynasty, he was "ugly" and "short-sighted," meaning not only did he have an unattractive appearance but he also suffered from myopia and seemed rather short in stature. However, Ji Xiaolan was naturally clever and enjoyed teasing others; classmates who studied with him as children or officials who served alongside him later often fell victim to his pranks. His mischief often involved wordplay that was surprising yet reasonable.
Once when young Ji Xiaolan played kickball with some neighborhood children, they accidentally kicked it into the path of an official's palanquin passing by. The official picked up the ball and asked for it back through Ji Xiaolan because he noticed something special about him. The official then presented him with a couplet: "Six or seven boys play together; only you are cunning." Ji Xiaolan replied: "The governor has two thousand stones; only you... If you return my ball it's 'only you are honest'; if you don't return it then it's 'only you are greedy.'" The official sighed at his cleverness and returned the ball to him.
After growing up, Ji Xiaolan became even more perceptive with words. One summer, the palace received a number of new fans, and Emperor Qianlong ordered Ji Xiaolan to inscribe his favorite fan with a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Zhihuan, titled "Liangzhou Ci." The original text of the poem is: "The Yellow River flows far above the white clouds, a lonely city amidst towering mountains; why should the Qiang flute resent the willows? The spring breeze does not pass through the Yumen Pass." However, while writing, Ji Xiaolan accidentally omitted the character "Above" from "the Yellow River flows far above the white clouds." After reading it, Emperor Qianlong was displeased and threw the fan back at Ji Xiaolan, accusing him of committing treason! Upon realizing he had missed a character, Ji Xiaolan calmly replied, "Your Majesty, this is not a poem but a ci (lyric). Allow me to recite it for you: The Yellow River flows far above, a piece of white cloud, a lonely city amidst towering mountains. Why should the Qiang flute resent the willows? The spring breeze does not pass through the Yumen Pass." With Ji Xiaolan's rephrasing, "Liangzhou Ci" indeed transformed from a poem into a lyric. Emperor Qianlong laughed heartily and praised Ji Xiaolan for his cleverness.
Ji Xiaolan was also a person of genuine feelings, easily pleased and angered. He enjoyed gossiping and often shared his bizarre experiences, even frequently removing his shoes and socks to show curious onlookers his oddly shaped feet. His daily life was quite different from others: he did not eat rice or noodles and primarily consumed meat, often two to three pounds in one meal; although he loved meat, he absolutely refused to eat duck, finding it too gamey and difficult to swallow. Once, after mistakenly eating duck meat, he immediately vomited. He was fond of smoking and used a very large pipe known as "Ji's Big Pot."
Ji Xiaolan was indeed an interesting person, and stories about his eccentricities began circulating during the Qianlong era. In his "Records of the Microcosm," he recorded such a story about an ox. The story took place long ago when there was a butcher who bought an ox one day, intending to take it home for slaughter.
The ox had some awareness and knew it was going to be killed; no matter how hard they pulled it, it refused to move forward. The butcher whipped the ox, causing it to thrash around until it was exhausted before being dragged along.
When the ox reached the front of a money exchange shop, it suddenly knelt down on both knees in front of the main entrance and began to cry. The owner of the money exchange felt pity for the ox and learned that its original price was eight thousand coins. He discussed with the butcher and offered to buy the ox at that price.
The butcher hated the ox's stubbornness and firmly refused to sell it. The money exchange owner added several hundred coins on top of eight thousand, but the butcher still did not agree and angrily said, "This ox is truly detestable; I must kill it to feel satisfied. Even if you offer ten thousand coins, I will never sell it."
Upon hearing this from the butcher, the ox suddenly stood up and resolutely followed him back.
That day, the butcher killed the ox and put its meat in a large pot to cook before returning to his room to sleep. When dawn broke, he got up to check on how the meat was cooking but took a long time without returning to his bedroom.
The butcher's wife found this very strange and also got up to check. To her shock, she saw her husband’s upper body collapsed into the pot of meat, cooked until it was as tender as the beef.
...
After hearing this story, Ji Xiaolan had some reflections—every living creature fears death. When this butcher saw that the ox knelt down in fear of death begging for its life but felt no compassion—instead harboring resentment—it inevitably stirred up even greater hatred within the ox. With its intense resentment, revenge was completed in an instant; this was only natural.
Ji Xiaolan also recorded a story about himself. He mentioned that his deceased uncle Yinan Gong once saw a butcher named Xu Xue leading an ox along. Upon seeing Yinan Gong, that ox also knelt down and would not get up. Yinan Gong then bought that ox and entrusted it to his tenant Zhang Cun for raising. Zhang Cun cared for this ox for several years; whether plowing fields or pulling carts, this ox worked harder than others. This shows that between gratitude and resentment in this world reciprocates; if even livestock can feel this way, how can humans not reflect deeply on such matters?
Now let me continue with today's last story!
I once served an old man who told me this story himself. One of his friends was working in Northeast China at that time; it was called going on business trips back then—a euphemism that was actually quite similar to begging today. A few people would form a simple drum band and go out to rural areas to find village leaders who would organize people for them to perform some two-person shows in open spaces. After performing, they would earn their living by offering services like resolving disputes or digging graves; some even sold medicine.
This event happened two or three decades ago. At that time, a few of them often went to White City and several counties like Tongyu. After performing a duet, a Tofu Shop owner invited the group to his home, saying that his family was not doing well. Since buying a new house, his family had gradually fallen into decline. He fell ill, and his Son had an accident while working in the fields, where he tripped over a sickle and severed the main tendon in his foot, leaving him unable to walk properly. The older generation believed it was related to the house, so when they heard there was another gathering today, they specifically invited you all to take a look.
The group then went to his home. Among those who went were Lord and Mr. Zhao. Upon arrival, they discovered that the Tofu Shop owner's house had two levels; the back room was for living, while the front room contained a stone mill and the area for making tofu.
That day, it was Mr. Zhao who helped with the inspection. It should be noted that Mr. Zhao was also quite skilled in Incense Fire and worshipped the Huang Family at home. He had previously operated a Heavenly Eye but was now nearly blind due to Cataracts, with a black spot growing on his eye membrane, rendering him unable to see anything. According to tradition, this was because he had violated heavenly laws, resulting in the loss of his Heavenly Eye and punishment; however, that is another story—at that time, he could still see.
Before entering meditation, Mr. Zhao drank a jar of liquor and afterward took a handful of Soybean sprouts, placing them in a small dish filled with animal fat before lying down without moving. The others carried the dish outside and placed it in the drying pit as instructed. Then nothing else was touched; they closed the door to the back room and affixed a Universal Sacred Talisman and a Twelve-Year Earth Charm for House Protection on the front door.
In the evening, strange noises began coming from the outer room as if someone had barged in and was rummaging through things—clattering sounds echoed as pots and bowls clanged together endlessly. The people inside heard it clearly; no one could sleep, especially the Tofu Shop owner, who was extremely frightened. However, it was certain that no outsiders had entered the outer room that night.
After some commotion during the first half of the night, it quieted down for a few hours before starting again for quite some time in the latter half of the night. In the morning, when they opened the door, everything in the outer room remained unchanged from last night. The only difference was that tofu which hadn’t been seasoned naturally formed into blocks by itself; when they pulled out a small dish from under the stove, they found that bean sprouts had also sprouted but were black.
Mr. Zhao then said: "Your house indeed has problems." The group began searching; Mr. Zhao found eight rusty nails embedded in the main beam of the tofu room in the outer house and then asked someone outside to burn some paper gold ingots.
At the Tofu Shop owner's desperate pleading, Mr. Zhao revealed to everyone that the previous owner of this house had nailed a small child to death and burned this child afterward. Those eight nails were planted there with malicious intent aimed at harming the Hut Family.
However, unexpectedly, after this tofu maker bought the house and moved in, their wealth was taken away, and misfortunes continued to plague their family. This Tofu Shop had become a gathering place for these negative energies, making it unsuitable for living.
At this point, though, the Tofu Shop owner felt powerless because his family's fortune had declined significantly, and his only Son had also become disabled.
After finishing his explanation, Mr. Zhao shook his head and left.
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