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The Younger Brother of the Pole Star Deity #6
During the Liang dynasty, a strange young man appeared in one of the provincial towns of Lu, where he revealed himself as a devotee of worldly pleasures - gambling, wenching, wining and dining night after night. Everybody took him for a wastrel and the citizens were careful to keep their daughters out of sight, for he was a youth of notable charm whose smiling pleas even a well brought up girl might find it difficult to resist. Once when dining late in a tavern, he fell foul of three ruffians. Judging from the quality of the jade ornaments about his person that he could have sufficient gold in his sleeve to make it worth their while to take the risk of dispatching him to the world of ghosts, they engineered a quarrel. Upon some trumped up pretext, they closed in with weapons drawn and, beating down his spirited defence, made an end of him there and then, before fleeing into the night. The pursuit was half-hearted, for the authori- ties deemed that the rogues had done a considerable service to the fathers of pretty girls in the neighbourhood. Meanwhile, the robbers, having divided up the jade and gold, went their several ways; but no sooner did the new owner of the finely carved jade belt-buckle lie down to sleep than the buckle remarked pleasantly: 'I think you will agree that you came by me dishonestly. You had better put things right before punishment befalls.' 'Put things right ?' stammered the unlucky rogue. 'Short of re- storing your previous owner to life, there's really not much we can do about it, is there ?' 'Well,' replied the buckle, 'that's for you to decide. It is you who will have to suffer the consequences of omission. My advice is go off into the mountains, leaving all worldly possessions behind, and cultivate the Way. I rather think you have about three days in which to make up your mind.' The next morning, the unfortunate rogue, meeting his two fellows in the market place to plan some further enterprises, discovered that each had had much the same dream. One had received admonish- ment from the dead youth's jade bangle, the other from the jewel that had ornamented his hat. Thoroughly alarmed, they hurried off into the mountains where, after wandering miserably and hungrily for some days, they came upon a hermit residing alone in a dilapi- dated hut. 'Just what I was hoping for!' exclaimed the bearded sage. 'Three strong fellows like you should be able to help me build the fine stone hermitage I need for housing some disciples who are due here on the seventh day of the seventh moon.' With that, he gave them a good meal, then set them working grievously in return for nothing but enough rice and vegetables to keep them from starvation. Rocks had to be prised from a cliff, carried to the site and hoisted into position. One day of such labour was more than enough for them; but, whenever they desisted, the hermit ran among them with his stout staff raised on high to rain blows on heads and shoulders until they wept for mercy. Nor could they hope to run away from a master whose supernatural powers included thousand-league vision and thousand-league hearing. Miserably they worked from dawn to dusk, longing for the sun to set; yet even then they could not rest, for the hermit would spend the hours from nightfall to midnight discoursing of the Way. But at last the building was completed and the hermit, smiling amiably, said: 'Return whence you came and fetch any little trinkets you may have in the form of jade, golden coins, silken garments and suchlike that we may make ready to welcome my disciples lavishly.' Disconsolately the robbers hastened home, knowing it would be folly to disobey, and returned some days later with all the valuables looted from the body of their unfortunate victim together with the loot of some previous crimes. 'Quite satisfactory,' remarked the her- mit and, turning his back on the others, arrayed himself in the dead youth's finery. When he turned towards them again, they were appalled. The bushy beard had vanished revealing a face they re- membered all too well - that of the wastrel they had slain! 'Well now,' said the hermit, smiling pleasantly, 'we are quits. You gentlemen did me a disservice followed by a service. The debt is paid. You may go home.' With one accord the robbers bowed to the earth, crying to him to allow them to remain as his disciples. 'So that's how it is, my friends - just as I expected. Today, as you gentlemen may recall, is the seventh day of the seventh moon. You, by the way, are the disciples for whom this handsome hermitage was built.' He now revealed himself as the renowned immortal known far and wide as Younger Brother of the Pole Star Deity. Having perceived with his all-seeing eye that three teachable young gentlemen had fallen into bad ways, he had taken care not only to save them from retribution by exacting payment for their crimes, but also to instruct them in the Way. All attained immortality thanks to his instruction and went to dwell with their master in the Pole Star Deity's palatial dwelling. Would that all rogues could meet with such an amiable judge! |