Chapter 6

Poem: Alas, how fair a maid with schemes untold, Her heart's desire to mount the golden throne. In Luofu dreams, her passion vainly cast, She turns to earth to plant a jade disk fine. Now to the tale: Hanwen returned and entered the chamber to see Bai Shi. He opened the bed curtains and beheld a white serpent upon the couch, and fell dead from fright. By this time the noon hour had passed, and Xiaoqing had resumed human form. Hearing the startled cry from the front room, she rose in haste and stepped out to the front chamber, where she saw Hanwen dead on the floor and Bai Shi's true form revealed upon the bed. Her face turned pale as earth. She cried aloud: "Your Ladyship, quickly resume your true form! The master has been frightened to death by you—hasten and awaken!" In her dreamlike trance, Bai Shi heard these words, turned over, and resumed her human form. She rose and saw Hanwen dead upon the floor, and could not help but wail in grief. She came forward, embraced Hanwen's body, and wept: "I was forced by my lord to drink yellow wine; my belly felt as if cut by a blade, and I could not mind my body. In my dream I revealed my true form, not knowing that my lord had entered the chamber. He was frightened to death by me—it is I who have killed my lord's life." Having said this, she wept without cease. Xiaoqing, with tears in her eyes, tried to console her: "Your Ladyship, since the master is already dead, he cannot be brought back to life. Weeping is of no use. Better to swallow him up and be done with it, and go with Your Ladyship to some other place—surely we shall not lack for a suitable talented gentleman." Bai Shi said angrily: "Xiaoqing, what words are these? Having been joined as husband and wife with my lord, how could I bear to entertain such a heart? Moreover, I am a virtuous woman of the Dao—how could I ever again take another man? My lord was harmed by me; I must find a way to save him and restore him to life." Xiaoqing said: "Your Ladyship is truly foolish! When a man dies, his soul returns to the underworld—what magic could restore him to life?" Bai Shi said: "Xiaoqing, you do not know. If I am to save my lord and bring him back to life, I must risk my life to ascend to the Jade Pool and steal the immortal elixir. You must look after my lord's body for me, and not leave it." Xiaoqing tried to dissuade her: "Your Ladyship, the Jade Pool is the Holy Mother's golden palace. If you go to steal the immortal elixir, you will only court destruction." Bai Shi sighed: "To save my lord's life, I have no choice but to make the journey. If I cannot steal the elixir and die at the Jade Pool, I shall have no regrets." Having said this, she dressed herself as a Daoist nun, mounted the clouds, and went straight to the Jade Pool fairyland. There she saw the white-ape boy sitting at the cave entrance. Bai Shi could not enter the cave, so she had no choice but to step forward, make a bow with clasped hands, and call out: "Greetings, elder fellow disciple. I am no stranger—I am Bai Zhenniang, disciple of Lishan Laomu. I was sent down the mountain by my master to fulfill my former fate with Xu Xian. Now Xu Xian has fallen ill, critically and gravely, with no medicine to save him; he is on the verge of death. I have no choice but to come and implore the Holy Mother, begging for one immortal elixir to save my husband's life. I dare to trouble you, elder fellow disciple, to go inside and announce me—my gratitude shall be boundless." The white-ape boy opened his wisdom eye and saw that Bai Shi was suffused with demonic aura. He shouted: "From what quarter comes this vile beast, daring to approach this immortal mountain? If you were truly a disciple of Lishan Laomu, why would your face be full of demonic aura? The old mother is now within the cave, discoursing on the Dharma with the Holy Mother. I shall seize you and take you inside to determine truth from falsehood!" Having said this, he moved forward to seize Bai Shi. Bai Shi was greatly alarmed and thought to herself: If he takes me into the cave, my life will surely be lost. She immediately spat out a precious pearl and struck it at the boy's face. The boy had not expected this, and the pearl struck him square on the bridge of the nose, drawing blood. He cried out: "Ah!" and, clutching his wound, fled into the cave. Bai Shi retrieved the pearl and, fearing that the Holy Mother would punish her, mounted the clouds to flee—but it was already too late. This boy entered the cave, and the Holy Mother, seeing him, asked: "Why is your nose bleeding?" The boy knelt and reported: "Outside the cave there is a demoness, claiming to be a disciple of Lishan Laomu, saying her husband is ill and she has come to beg the Holy Mother for an immortal elixir to save him. Your disciple did not grant her request, whereupon she spat a venomous pearl and struck your disciple's nose. I beg the Holy Mother to render judgment." The Holy Mother, upon hearing this, flew into a rage. She mounted her aloeswood chariot, took the boy with her, and came out of the cave. Seeing the white serpent fleeing on clouds, the Holy Mother cried out: "Vile beast, where do you think you are going!" She then spread the heavenly net. Bai Shi tried to flee but had no way out, and was soon caught within the heavenly net, where she revealed her true form. The Holy Mother, sword of demon-slaying in hand, was about to carry out the execution, when suddenly from the south a patch of colorful clouds came flying like the wind, and a voice cried: "Stay the blade!" The Holy Mother looked up and saw that it was Guanyin Bodhisattva. She immediately withdrew her precious sword and rose to greet her, asking: "Bodhisattva, whence do you come?" The Bodhisattva smiled and said: "I have come for no other reason than this: this white serpent has a destined bond with Xu Xian. In the future, the Star of Literature is fated to be reborn through her womb. After his full month, someone will come to take her and imprison her beneath Leifeng Pagoda, fulfilling the oath she swore before Zhenwu Dadi in former days. Once the Star of Literature has achieved fame and received imperial pardon, she may then attain her rightful fruit. At this moment, however, her life must not be harmed. I beg the Holy Mother to show mercy." The Holy Mother said: "Bodhisattva, if we speak of her coming up the mountain to steal the elixir and furthermore daring to strike the boy, she cannot escape the penalty of death. But since there is this karmic connection in her future, I shall naturally obey your command and spare her." The Holy Mother then withdrew the heavenly net and released the white serpent. Bai Shi once again resumed her human form, stepped forward, knelt, and kowtowed to thank the Holy Mother for sparing her life, then turned and bowed to thank the Bodhisattva for saving her. The Bodhisattva said: "Vile beast, you need not covet the elixir here. I shall now direct you to another place to seek it. Go to the Southern Pole Palace on Mount Ziwei and seek the Old Man of the South Pole; ask him for one stalk of immortal herb, and it shall save your husband's life." Having said this, the Bodhisattva rose, took leave of the Holy Mother, and rode the clouds back to the South Sea. The Holy Mother saw the Bodhisattva off, then also mounted her chariot and returned to her cave abode—no more of this for now. Bai Shi, seeing that the Bodhisattva and the Holy Mother had departed, quickly summoned her clouds and flew to the Southern Pole Palace on Mount Ziwei. She saw that the palace complex was majestic and coiled, suffused with auspicious vapors; there were countless wondrous flowers and strange herbs, and endless rare fruits and fine birds. Bai Shi had no heart for viewing these sights, but hurried to the palace gate, where she saw the deer-attendant boy playing before the palace entrance. Bai Shi stepped forward and saluted: "O immortal boy above, I beg you to trouble yourself to announce me to the Old Man: this humble woman, Bai Zhenniang, because her husband Xu Xian's illness is critical and without cure, has been directed here by Guanyin Bodhisattva, and earnestly begs the Old Man to grant one stalk of immortal herb to save her husband's faint life. I look to the immortal boy's compassion to convey this message for me—my gratitude shall be boundless." The deer boy, hearing her pitiful words and that she had been directed by Guanyin Bodhisattva, said: "For the sake of the Bodhisattva's golden face, I shall announce you." Bai Shi thanked him repeatedly. The deer boy turned and entered the palace, went to the side of the rush cushion, knelt, and reported: "Master, outside the palace there is a woman who calls herself Bai Zhenniang, saying her husband Xu Xian is critically ill, and that the Bodhisattva of the South Sea directed her here to beg for your immortal herb. She is now outside the palace. Your disciple did not dare to act without authorization, and has come to report—may I ask your esteemed opinion?" The Old Man said: "I already know. This demoness's earthly ties are not yet severed, her karmic debts not yet paid; she has a destined bond with Xu Xian. In the future, the Star of Literature is to be reborn through her womb. Since the Bodhisattva directed her here, you may go to the cloud chamber and take one stalk of resurrection herb to give her." The deer boy received the command, rose, and went to the cloud chamber, where he took one stalk of immortal herb. He stepped out of the palace gate and called out: "Bai Shi, the Old Man commands that I grant you one stalk of resurrection herb." Bai Shi hurriedly knelt and kowtowed in thanks, then rose and received the herb. The deer boy turned and returned to the palace to report. Having obtained the resurrection herb, Bai Shi was filled with joy and quickly rode the wind and clouds back to save her husband. Who would have foreseen that the star of her fateful calamity had arrived anew? Thus: I urge you, slow your joy and stay your smile, For in your very eyes, disaster comes once more. Dear readers, do you know who this calamity star was? It turned out that beneath the South Pole Immortal Lord there was also a White Crane Boy. On this day, having no business within, he went out wandering among the clouds for amusement. Suddenly he saw a patch of black rolling clouds, carrying a fishy and turbid air. The Crane Boy fixed his gaze in the clouds and knew it was an evil spirit. He immediately rode the clouds and gave chase, calling out, "Wretched creature, where do you think you are going!" When Lady Bai heard the Crane Boy's voice, her soul had already scattered; she fell from midair and died at the foot of the mountain. The Crane Boy flew down, opened his beak, and was about to peck her. Unexpectedly, from midair came the White Oriole Immortal Boy, who blocked the Crane Boy and called out, "Elder Brother, do not harm his life; this wretched creature is destined to suffer this calamity. I have been sent by the Buddha of the South Sea with his decree, fearing that Elder Brother might not know the ordained course and take his life. Thus I was ordered to come here and wait for you. I beg Elder Brother to be merciful, act according to the ordained course, and let him go." The Crane Boy said, "I hate evil spirits as I hate foes. Since Elder Brother has come with the Buddha's decree, I naturally shall obey and spare him." The Oriole Boy gave thanks, and the Crane Boy took his leave of the Oriole Boy and returned to the South Pole Palace. The Oriole Boy drew near, saw that Lady Bai was already dead, and immediately recited the true spell for reviving the dead. He blew a breath of immortal air onto Lady Bai's face, and she revived and came to her senses. Hastily she knelt and kowtowed, thanking the Oriole Boy for his life-saving grace. The Oriole Boy said, "Lady Bai, I have come by the Buddha's decree to save your life. Now hurry back and save your husband's life—that is most urgent." Having said this, he mounted the auspicious clouds and returned to the South Sea to report on his mission. Lady Bai picked up the immortal grass, urgently soared up on clouds, and in no time arrived home. She called out, "Little Qing, here is the immortal grass. Quickly take it and decoct it to save my lord." Little Qing took the grass and asked, "Milady, did this grass come from the Jade Lake? Why did you take so long?" Lady Bai sighed, "Little Qing, in seeking this single stalk of immortal grass, I nearly lost my wretched life!" When I went to the Jade Lake to steal the elixir, I encountered the White Ape Boy guarding the cave and could not enter. I had no choice but to explain my purpose to him, but he wanted to take me into the cave to see the Holy Mother. In desperation I spat out my pearl to wound the boy, but the Holy Mother spread her net and offered up her sword to behead me. Fortunately, Guanyin Bodhisattva arrived and begged the Holy Mother on my behalf, saving my life. Then the Bodhisattva directed me to go to the South Pole Immortal Lord on Mount Ziwei to seek the life-restoring immortal grass, so I had to go again to the South Pole Palace. The Immortal Lord was merciful and bestowed the grass. After giving thanks and setting out back, I encountered the White Crane Boy on the way. He gave chase and called out once, and I fell dead at the foot of the mountain. The Crane Boy flew down to peck my body, but thanks to the White Oriole Immortal Boy, who came by the Buddha's decree from the South Sea and stopped the Crane Boy, my life was saved. Had the Oriole Boy not blown his immortal air on me, how could I have revived? Alas, I braved ten thousand deaths and one chance of life to obtain this grass. Quickly take it and decoct it carefully to bring my lord back to life." After hearing this, Little Qing fell silent and stood aside without speaking. Lady Bai flew into a rage and scolded, "Wretched slave girl! For the sake of my lord, I have braved life and death, risking my very life to obtain this grass, and I order you to hurry and decoct it to save him—why do you delay and not go? How cruel your heart is!" Little Qing said, "Milady, you do not understand. It is not that this lowly maid is cruel and refuses to decoct the grass, but because you drank yellow wine and revealed your true form, causing the master to be frightened to death. Now if we decoct the grass and bring him back to life, he will surely say we are evil spirits. No matter how eloquent you are, you can never clear yourself, and there will be no way to argue with him. That is why I delayed and dared not decoct it. Milady must first devise a clever plan to deceive the master." Lady Bai was left speechless by these words. She bowed her head in thought, then called out, "Little Qing, I have a plan." She then took out a white silk handkerchief from the chest, muttered an incantation, blew a breath of air onto it, and called out, "Change!" She transformed the white silk handkerchief into a huge white serpent. Then she took a treasured sword hanging on the wall and cut the transformed serpent into several pieces, throwing them in the courtyard. Little Qing saw this and was overjoyed, exclaiming, "Milady truly has formidable magical power! Now we can deceive the master." She quickly took the immortal grass, turned, and left the room. In no time the decoction was ready, and she brought it into the chamber. Lady Bai lifted Hanwen up, opened his mouth, and Little Qing poured the decoction down his throat. In an instant, it entered the Gate of Life, penetrated the Dantian, and reached the Mud Pill Palace; unconsciously, all his joints and bones began to stir. Before half a day had passed, Hanwen had already revived and regained consciousness. He called out, "Ah! What a good sleep!" He turned over and sat up, seeing Lady Bai sitting at the bedside and Little Qing standing beside him. He opened his mouth and scolded, "So you are snake spirits, come here to entangle me! All this time I was deceived by you, but today I saw clearly and was frightened to death by you. Fortunately my ancestors had spiritual power and my fate was not yet ended, so I have been restored to life. You two leave far away at once, and do not come back to harm me. Otherwise, I will destroy you both with one sword!" Lady Bai was scolded, and tears streamed down her face as she sobbed without cease. Little Qing stepped forward and said, "Master, you are truly fickle! Because you went out to watch the dragon-boat races, when the lady woke from her wine, she entered the inner chamber to see this lowly maid's illness. Suddenly, from somewhere came a white serpent that flew onto the bed. The lady heard the master cry out in the front room and hurried out, only to see you fallen on the floor, while the serpent rushed out from the bed to harm your body. In her panic, the lady seized her treasured sword and cut the demon serpent into several pieces, throwing them in the courtyard, thus saving you. Seeing that you had been frightened to death by the demon serpent, she then went to Old Mother of Mount Li to obtain the life-restoring immortal grass, decocted it, and gave it to you to drink, bringing you back to life. Now you repay kindness with enmity and scold the lady as a monster and a fiend. If you do not believe it, you may go to the courtyard and see for yourself." After hearing this, Hanwen thought to himself: Little Qing's words are reasonable. I will go to the courtyard and see whether it is true or false. He immediately rose to go out, but Lady Bai tugged at his sleeve and called out, "My lord, your body has just recovered; the wind outside is strong, you must not go out." Hanwen thought: Little Qing told me to go and see, but Lady Bai holds me back and will not let me go—clearly the two of them are using a scheme to fool me alone. He then pushed Lady Bai aside, walked out of the room, and came to the courtyard. He looked and indeed saw a white serpent lying in the courtyard, cut into several pieces, with fresh blood all over the ground. Hanwen's heart was completely relieved. He returned to the room, came to Lady Bai's side, and said with a smile, "My worthy wife, do not be angry. Your foolish husband did not know that you had taken such pains to save his life, and wrongly blamed you. I beg my worthy wife to forgive my fault. Now we must bury this serpent properly." Lady Bai smiled and said, "If my lord no longer suspects that I am a demon, that is enough—what fault is there to speak of?" She then ordered Little Qing to take the fake serpent to the back lot and burn and bury it. Xiaoqing buried the counterfeit snake, burned it, and then returned to her room. Lady Bai deliberately shed tears and said, "Xiaoqing, I underwent countless hardships and went to my master's place to beg for the immortal herb to save your husband's life. I only hoped that we would live in harmony until old age. Who knew that your husband would be so fickle, not remembering my painstaking efforts, but instead suspecting me of being a demon. On careful reflection, it is always because of insufficient cultivation in a former life that I am thus lightly suspected in this life. I now wish to shave my head and enter the monastic life, to cultivate for the next life and depart." Hanwen was greatly alarmed upon hearing this and called out, "Virtuous wife, your foolish husband did not know his mistake and offended you. I beg you, virtuous wife, to remember the bond of our marriage, grant me your forbearance, and do not speak of this again." Lady Bai said, "Husband, your concubine is indeed a demon. It would be better to let your concubine become a nun, so as not to harm your husband's golden body." Hanwen said, "Virtuous wife, why must you say such things? It is entirely your foolish husband's words that gave offense; I might as well offer you my apologies." With that, he knelt down on both knees. Seeing this, Lady Bai also hurriedly knelt down and said, "Husband, please rise. A man's knees are of gold; do not let this crush your concubine. This is your concubine's fault for speaking too much; I beg you, husband, to be magnanimous and not take offense." Hanwen was overjoyed and helped Lady Bai to her feet. Thus:      When his mind and eyes turned back to her,      That was the time my fortune flowed. From then on, the husband and wife were once again on good terms. Xiaoqing secretly smiled to herself, but we shall not dwell on that. Now, the prefect of Suzhou was named Chen Lun, styled Junqing. He had passed the imperial examinations, and throughout his life he served as an official with integrity and cherished his people. Because his wife, Lady Wu, was with child and about to give birth, she suffered abdominal pain for three days and three nights without being able to deliver. All the physicians in the city were summoned, and all said that there was no cure. The prefect was terrified and at a loss. Helpless, he sat in the flower hall, and being weary in spirit, he inadvertently rested his head on the table and dozed off. He dreamed of a person dressed in white, holding a fly-whisk, who called out, "Prefect Chen, I am Guanyin Bodhisattva. Considering that you have always been an incorruptible official, now your wife Wu is in labor but cannot deliver. I have come especially to instruct you: you may send someone to the Bao'an Tang pharmacy in Wujia Lane to invite the famous physician Xu Hanwen; he can cure this condition. Keep this firmly in mind; I am going now." Then she rode a colorful cloud into the sky and departed. The prefect awoke from his dream and thought to himself, "Just now I fell asleep, and I was fortunate that the Bodhisattva came to give me a dream, instructing me to invite Xu Hanwen. This man surely must be able to heal." He immediately left his office, but we shall not recount that. Dear readers, do you think this dream-visiting Bodhisattva was real? It was actually Lady Bai. She knew that the prefect's wife was having difficulty in labor, so she hid it from Hanwen, transformed into the likeness of a Bodhisattva, went to the prefect's yamen to give him the dream, and had him come to invite Hanwen. By the time the yamen servant arrived at the shop, Lady Bai had already been home for some time. The yamen servant came to the front of the shop and presented the visiting card, explaining the reason. Tao Ren took the card inside and reported to Hanwen. Hanwen was greatly startled upon hearing this and said to Lady Bai, "Virtuous wife, the prefect has sent a servant with a formal invitation to ask me to treat his wife's delivery difficulties. But I only know the properties of medicines; I do not understand pulse diagnosis. Moreover, she is the prefect's wife, not like an ordinary small household. If I make a mistake in prescribing, their lives will surely be lost. What shall I do?" Lady Bai smiled and said, "Husband, do not worry. Your concubine already knows that the lady's womb holds twins; that is why the delivery is difficult. Your concubine has already prepared two medicinal pills. Husband, you may take them with you, and I guarantee that with the medicine, the babies will be born, and you will receive a substantial reward." She then ordered Xiaoqing to take out two pills from the chest and hand them to Hanwen. Hanwen joyfully said, "My wife is indeed wonderfully resourceful; she has surpassed me in foresight." He then put the pills in his sleeve and went out with the yamen servant to the prefect's yamen. The yamen servant entered and reported. When the prefect heard this, he came out of the hall and ushered Hanwen into the flower hall to be seated. After tea, Hanwen said, "May I ask, Your Excellency, what person's distinguished ailment you have summoned me to treat?" The prefect said, "Sir, it is because my wife is in labor and has suffered abdominal pain for three days and three nights without being able to deliver. I have long heard of your great reputation, and therefore I have specially sent my servant to invite you. I hope that you will exercise your heaven-reaching skill and save two lives in peril; I will naturally reward you handsomely." Hanwen replied, "Your Excellency, please do not trouble your heavenly heart. Your subordinate is one of your citizens and will exert all his humble strength. As for the lady's noble condition, I guarantee that one dose will take effect." The prefect was delighted and accompanied Hanwen into the inner chamber to examine the patient. Hanwen made a show of diagnosing the pulses on both wrists, then came out with the prefect and sat down again in the flower hall. Hanwen spoke, "Your Excellency, congratulations! The lady's womb holds twins—two young gentlemen—hence the difficulty in delivery. I have brought two medicinal pills; please have them administered to the lady with warm water, and I guarantee that delivery will occur immediately." He then produced the pills and handed them to the prefect. The prefect was very pleased, took them in his hand, and immediately ordered a maidservant to dissolve the pills in warm water and carefully give them to the lady to swallow. Because of this one dose, it would be a case of: one lotus bearing twin flowers, a hundred grievances arising together. Whether the lady delivered after taking the medicine, you must hear the explanation in the next chapter.