20

Chen Congshan Loses His Wife on Mei Ridge

Our story takes place in early spring of the third year of the Xuanhe reign period [1121] under Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty, when imperial examinations were widely held to recruit worthy men. In the Huyiying district in the city of Bianliang, the Eastern Capital, there lived a twenty-year-old scholar, Chen Xin, courtesy name Congshan, whose father, now deceased, had been the commander of the palace army. Both of his parents having died early, he lived all by himself. An eager learner ever since childhood, he was accomplished in both the military and civil arts. Indeed, he outshone Confucius and Mencius in literature and surpassed Sun Wu and Wu Qi in the art of war. He knew everything there was to know about the Five Classics, the Three Histories, the Six Strategies, and the Three Tactics. His newly wedded wife, with the pet name Ruchun [Like Spring], was the daughter of Hanlin Academy Editor Zhang of the Gold Beam Bridge neighborhood in the Eastern Capital. At “double eight,” or sixteen years of age, she was as fresh as a flower and as fair as jade—a flower that understood human speech and jade that gave forth fragrance. They were a most loving couple, as inseparable as fish and water, so much so that they wished they could die on the same day, even though they were not born on the same day. Being a man given to good deeds, Chen Xin often donated alms to monks and Taoist priests.

One day, Chen Xin said to his wife, “An imperial examination is coming up. I would like to go and take it. How nice it would be if I could gain some office and bring a change to the family fortune!”

“I’m only afraid that it’s not in your fate to pass the imperial examination at the provincial level,” said his wife.

“But I’m one of those who are ‘ready to serve the royal family with their literary talent and military skills.’”

Several days later, he went to the examination hall and then waited, as all other candidates did, for the results of the examination. Within ten days, the results were posted, announcing that he had been awarded a jinshi degree. After the royal feast given in honor of the successful candidates, he thanked the emperor, who then appointed him military inspector of the town of Shajiao in Nanxiong, Guangdong.

Back at home, he said to his wife, Ruchun, “The emperor has graciously appointed me military inspector of Nanxiong. I need to be on my way very soon to assume the post. I’ve been told that it will be an arduous journey because the hilly region of Guangdong is infested with robbers and thieves, and the air is filled with poisonous miasma. Now that I should be packing for the journey, what am I to do?”

“Being your wife, I have the obligation to share hardships, if not comforts, in your life. I’ll certainly follow you to your new post, however formidable the journey. Why worry about anything?” These words made him feel more reassured. Indeed,

Later that very day, Inspector Chen called his servant Wang Ji and told him, “I have been appointed military inspector of Nanxiong in Guangdong. However, as the journey will be an arduous one, I need you to find me another servant to go with us.” Thus instructed, Wang Ji went on a search in the busy sections of town, but this is no concern of ours here.

In the meantime, Inspector Chen told the maids in the kitchen, “Tomorrow being the third day of the fourth month, prepare a lot of vegetarian food to o er to priests. All traveling priests of the Quanzhen order² shall be served without exception.”

We shall leave them to their preparations and turn our attention to a certain Sage Purple Sun in the Divine Realm of Daluo.³ From there the sage witnessed Chen Xin’s devotion to Taoism and Taoist priests. He also foresaw that on Chen Xin’s way to Nanxiong to assume his post, his wife would come under misfortune that was to last a thousand days. He turned to the Sage of Great Wisdom and ordered him, “Change yourself into a Taoist youth and mark this: You are to call yourself Luo Tong and escort Chen Xin and his wife on their journey. If his wife meets with some monster, it will be your job to protect her.”

The Taoist youth accordingly followed Sage Purple Sun to Chen Xin’s house, where, after an exchange of greetings, they partook of a vegetarian meal. Then the sage asked Chen Xin, “You were always happy when treating priests to meals. Why do you look worried today?”

With his hands joined together in front of him in a gesture of deference, Chen Xin said, “To tell you the truth, the emperor has graciously appointed me military inspector of Nanxiong. However, it takes a long and difficult journey to get there, and I have no brother to go with me. That is what worries me.”

The sage said, “Young as he is, this page boy of mine, called Luo Tong, will be of help to you. You may keep him until you get to the town of Shajiao in Nanxiong and then send him back.”

The husband and wife thanked him with a bow, saying, “We can never repay your kindness in honoring us with your presence and giving us a companion for the journey.”

“This poor monk,” said the sage, “is above material and vainglorious concerns. I ask for nothing in return.” With a flick of his sleeves, he turned and went away.

Chen Xin said, “I am so delighted to have Luo Tong as a companion.”

Having packed Chen’s zither, sword, and bookcases and bade farewell to the relatives and neighbors, they locked and sealed the doors and left the Eastern Capital. They stopped for a rest after each five or ten li and thus wended their way ahead. Along the way, they saw

With the inspector on horseback, Ruchun in the sedan-chair, and Wang Ji and Luo Tong carrying the bookcases and baggage, the four of them ate when hungry, drank when thirsty, halted at night, and set o again at dawn.

Luo Tong thought to himself, “Being the Sage of Great Wisdom in the Divine Realm of Daluo now accompanying Inspector Chen to Shajiao in Nanxiong by order of Sage Purple Sun, I’d better play the part of a fool so that they’ll never guess who I really am.” Thereupon he slowed down his pace and fell behind.

Annoyed at Luo Tong’s slowness, Ruchun repeatedly urged her husband to send him back, but the inspector declined for fear of betraying the sage’s kindness. When lighting a fire on the road to cook a meal, Luo Tong tearfully refused to eat. Even the inspector was irritated. As Ruchun insisted on sending him back, Luo Tong threw a tantrum, crying, “I can’t walk another step!” Wang Ji helped him along, supporting him by his arms, but before they had gone five more li, he screamed again, “My back hurts!”

In the midst of his unending wails, Ruchun said to her husband, “In the beginning, I hoped he would be of some use, but since he hasn’t done the slightest bit of work, why don’t we send him back?”

The inspector should not have done as she wished, for Ruchun almost lost her life in that strange land. Truly,

Having regained peace after sending Luo Tong back that day, the Chen couple and Wang Ji continued their journey.

Now, to the north of Plum Ridge was a cave called Shenyang Cave, in which dwelt a demon called the Master of Shenyang, who was really a monkey spirit. Also known as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, he had two brothers: Great Sage Leading to Heaven and Great Sage Filling Up Heaven. Their younger sister was called the Holy Mother of Sizhou. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was a monkey capable of many bodily transformations and had enough magic power to subdue the mandrills in the various caves and to rule the fierce beasts of the various mountains. He could conjure up demons and use his black magic to steal any woman who struck his fancy. Whistling to the moon and singing to the wind, he would drink the finest wine to his heart’s content. He was to enjoy the same age as the sky and earth, the sun and the moon.

From his cave, he saw, carried in a sedan-chair at the foot of the mountain, a woman as fresh as a flower and as fair as jade. Seized with the desire to take this woman, he summoned the mountain deity and told him, “Do as I say. Conjure up an inn. You change yourself into the waiter, and I’ll be the innkeeper. They will certainly come for lodging. In the quiet of the night, I’ll take the woman into my cave.”

The mountain deity accordingly conjured up an inn with the Master of Shenyang sitting inside as the innkeeper. When dusk set in, Inspector Chen, Ruchun, and Wang Ji found themselves at the foot of Plum Ridge. As the hour was getting late, Wang Ji went forward and knocked at the door of the roadside inn, which was advertising for patrons.

The waiter asked, “What can I do for you, sir?”

“My master is on his way to Shajiao in Nanxiong to take up office as military inspector. There being no other inns, we would like to stay for the night here and be on our way early tomorrow morning.”

The Master of Shenyang led the Chen couple into the best room of the inn. “I am over eighty years old,” he told the inspector. “Let me say something that might be out of turn, but I want to warn you that Plum Ridge, ahead of you, is quite wild and is infested with tigers, wolves, and robbers. You’d be better o leaving your wife here with me while you go on ahead to assume your post. You may then send some government soldiers here to pick her up.”

Inspector Chen rejoined, “This humble official is from a family of three generations of generals. Being thoroughly competent in the martial arts, I am most eager to render service to the empire. How can a few tigers, wolves, and robbers scare me?”

Realizing that the man was not to be easily persuaded, the Master of Shenyang did not venture more advice but withdrew from the room.

While the Chen couple were eating some supper in their guestroom, the first watch of night passed and the second watch approached. The inspector was the first to get into bed. He had barely taken o his clothes and lain down when a gust of wind rose right in the middle of the room. Truly,

When the wind subsided, the lamp, almost extinguished, flickered back into a steady flame. In great alarm, Inspector Chen threw some clothes on and rose to take a look around. His wife was nowhere to be seen. He opened the door and called Wang Ji, who, awakened from his sleep, had no idea what had happened. To the confused Wang Ji, the inspector said, “A violent gust of wind rose in the room, and now my wife is nowhere to be seen.”

Master and servant hastened to call the innkeeper, but they heard no response. Upon a closer look, they realized, to their consternation, that the whole inn was gone. They found themselves standing in the wilderness, with no lights or inn or innkeeper but only the bookcases, baggage, and horse in front of them. From that night on, three years were to pass by before the inspector saw his wife again. What happened later? Truly,

Inspector Chen and Wang Ji heard the strike of the fourth watch from a watchtower. By the light of the moon and the stars, the two of them were frightened out of their wits as they found themselves in the middle of nowhere, with no inn before them or house behind them. The only thing for the inspector to do was to have Wang Ji carry the load of baggage while he himself mounted the horse and moved ahead along the moonlit path. On horseback, he thought to himself, “It must have been some evil magic power that made an inn appear out of thin air and then snatched away my wife. I have never heard of such a bizarre thing happening in all of history.” As he went, he moaned between sobs, “Where am I to find my wife?” They wended their way forward until dawn broke.

Wang Ji suggested to him, “Put your worries aside for the moment, and think about what should be done next. Plum Ridge ahead of us looks dangerous and rugged. Yet we have no choice but to cross it. You can take up your post in Shajiao town first before coming back to search for Madam.” The inspector could not do otherwise but follow his advice and reluctantly continued the journey.

In the meantime, Zhang Ruchun, snatched away by the Master of Shenyang to his cave, was stupefied with horror. When, after some time, she regained consciousness, her tears flowed like rain. It so happened that in the cave was another woman, called Peony, who had been kidnapped quite some time ago. She stepped forward to pacify Ruchun.The Master of Shenyang said to the latter, “You and I have a predestined bond. This cave is a di erent world from the one you know. After eating my magic peaches, magic wine, and peppered rice, you will achieve immortality. The immortal maidens in this cave of mine were all brought here by me from the mortal world. Don’t be upset. We’ll have some clouds and rain in the bedchamber.”⁷

At these words, Ruchun burst into sobs. “I don’t want to live happily as an immortal in this cave,” said she. “My only wish is to die an early death. Clouds and rain are out of the question.”

The Master of Shenyang thought to himself, “I am in raptures over her, but she is so bitter and unyielding. Such a stubborn woman will take her own life if pushed too hard. Wouldn’t it be a shame to lose such a beauty?” So thinking, he summoned a woman named Golden Lotus, whom he had kidnapped years before, and told her, “Talk to Ruchun gently. Be nice to her, and try to coax her with kind words until she comes around.”

Thereupon, Golden Lotus took Ruchun into her room and treated her to wine and food, but Ruchun refused all such o ers and remained as resentful as before. Time and again, Golden Lotus and Peony tried to pacify her by saying, “Now that you are already here, there’s nothing you can do. As the ancients say, ‘If the eaves of the house are low, you might as well lower your head.’”

Turning to Golden Lotus, Ruchun said, “You don’t know that I am a married woman, snatched away from my husband in the middle of the night by this old demon. I will never yield to his demands for clouds and rain. My only wish is to die soon to prove my chastity. The ancients said, ‘A virtuous woman does not change husbands.’ I would rather die than endure such a dishonor.”

Golden Lotus rejoined, “As the saying goes, ‘If you want to know what happened at the foot of the mountain, please ask those who have passed through there.’ I’ve had the same experience. I used to live in Nanxiong. My husband had wealth and status. It’s been five years since the Master of Shenyang snatched me away and brought me here. You are put o by his ugliness. I was, too, at first, but later I got used to him and felt better. Now that you are already here, there’s nothing you can do. Why don’t you just yield to him?”

Ruchun lashed out in a rush of indignation, “I’m not a lewd and cheap woman like you, who hang on to a life of humiliation. What are you living for? You worthless slut!”

Golden Lotus shot back, “If you turn a deaf ear to good advice, you’re only asking for trouble.”

She then turned around and told the master how the newcomer, instead of giving in to her persuasion, had called them vicious names. The master exploded with rage, “What an insolent slut! I should have beaten her to death with a copper mallet, but at the sight of her matchless beauty, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Yet here she is, as stubborn as ever.”

Turning to Peony, he continued, “Let me put her in your custody. Cut that slut’s hair short and make her go barefoot to the hilltop to fetch water for the flowers and trees. Feed her only simple meals three times a day.”

Thus instructed, Peony had Zhang Ruchun’s hair cut short, took away her shoes, and handed her a pair of water buckets. Ruchun contemplated throwing herself over a cli but changed her mind, for she thought to herself, “If, by any chance, heaven takes pity on me and delivers me from this misery, I might still get to see my husband.” With these thoughts, she went ahead with the chores, tears in her eyes. Truly,

We shall leave Zhang Ruchun in her misery in the cave and come back to Inspector Chen and Wang Ji, who had been on the road for over two months since leaving the Eastern Capital. Since the inspector’s wife, having been snatched away by the Master of Shenyang north of Plum Ridge, was nowhere to be found, Wang Ji urged his master to go to take up his post before doing anything else, and so the inspector did. Catching sight of a wineshop right ahead of them, the inspector rode up to the door, dismounted the horse, and went into the shop with Wang Ji for some wine and food. After paying their bill, they resumed their journey.

At the foot of Plum Ridge there came into view a fortune-teller’s thatched hut, where a sign said, “Yang Diangan, assisted by immortal beings, never errs in predicting the future.” Inspector Chen dismounted at the door and went in. After an exchange of greetings, Diangan asked, “Where are you from, sir?” Thereupon the inspector recounted in detail the whole story about his wife’s disappearance the previous night. While Yang Diangan burned incense to request assistance from an immortal being, inspector Chen prayed on his knees. An immortal did come, and wrote the following quatrain as an oracle:

Yang Diangan interpreted the quatrain in these words: “Put your worries aside. Your wife is to su er for a thousand days, but in three years’ time, you will be reunited with her when you meet with Purple Sun again.”

Inspector Chen thought to himself, “I met Sage Purple Sun in the Eastern Capital and got Luo Tong as a companion but sent him back because of his temper tantrums. Now that I am a thousand li away, how do I get Purple Sun to come here?” Feeling slightly relieved, he paid the fortune-teller, mounted his horse, and went on his way with Wang Ji to Plum Ridge. It was indeed a precipitous ridge:

Inspector Chen crossed the ridge and, at a point twenty li to the south, came upon a small pavilion used for greeting new officials. The inspector got down from his horse and went into the pavilion for a brief rest. Suddenly, Wang Ji approached to report that guards from the inspector’s yamen in Shajiao Town, Nanxiong, still quite a distance away, were here to greet him. Inspector Chen summoned them in, and they exchanged greetings. The following day the whole company proceeded to the yamen, where, upon arrival, the new inspector held court for an exchange of greetings with all present. Thus started Inspector Chen’s career in Shajiao Town, and he proved to be an honest and upright official. Time sped by like an arrow. Indeed,

Before he knew it, he had been in office for over a year. The men he sent out to look for his wife found no trace of her. Truly, it was as if

Knowing nothing about the fate of his wife, Inspector Chen was sick at heart. Thinking of his wife, he spent whole days in tears. His thoughts were again with Ruchun when a guard came in and reported, “Sir! There’s trouble! The magistrate of Nanxiong sent a written message about an emergency. A bandit called Yang Guang, with the nickname Tiger of the Mountain, has gathered five to seven hundred men and occupied South Grove Village, where they are robbing, killing, burning, and wreaking havoc on the people. The magistrate wants the inspector to take one thousand armed cavalry and go immediately to subdue and arrest the bandits. This matter allows no delay.” The inspector lost no time in readying weapons and horses. He led a thousand cavalry in full battle array at top speed toward South Grove Village.

In the meantime, Tiger of the Mountain was drinking in his camp in the village. At the report of the arrival of government troops, he took up his sword, hastily mounted his horse, and, at the clang of gongs, went forward to engage the enemy, followed by five hundred of his men. Without the exchange of a single word, Inspector Chen charged at Tiger of the Mountain, who, nothing more than an untrained local bandit, was no match for the inspector. In fewer than ten rounds, the inspector brought him down o his horse with a stab of the lance, cut o his head, and drove away his followers. The inspector then brought the head back to Nanxiong and presented it to the prefect, who was greatly delighted and gave out handsome rewards. Upon returning to his own yamen, the inspector held a banquet to celebrate the victory. With the slaying of Tiger of the Mountain, indeed,

Soon Inspector Chen’s three-year term of office expired, and a new inspector came to replace him. He gathered together his personal belongings and left Shajiao Town with Wang Ji. They pressed hastily ahead. Before long, the westering sun sank below the horizon, and dusk set in. They caught sight of a monastery in the midst of pine trees far in the distance. Wang Ji suggested, “Let’s go there and put up for the night.”

Reining in his horse, the inspector went forward and saw that the horizontal tablet over the monastery door bore three big characters in gold: “Red Lotus Monastery.” He dismounted and entered the temple with his retinue.

As a matter of fact, the abbot of this monastery, known as Chan [Zen] Master Zhandahui, was well-versed in the Buddhist dharma and was also a man of high morals and a reincarnation of Buddha. An acolyte reported to him, “A gentleman passing by is asking for lodging tonight.” The abbot accordingly sent the monk to invite him in. After an exchange of greetings in the abbot’s cell, the abbot asked, “Where are you from, sir?” Consequently, Inspector Chen acquainted him with what had happened before and said, “I would never forget your great benevolence if you could be so kind as to show me how to find my wife.”

The abbot said, “Listen. That monster is a white monkey spirit who, having attained his present status through a thousand years of cultivation, is capable of the most clever bodily transformations. Being firmly determined to preserve her virtue, your wife refuses to yield to him and, with her hair cut short and her feet bare, is leading a miserable life carrying water buckets to water flowers. Known as the Master of Shenyang, that fellow often comes to this monastery to listen to lectures on Chan and the Buddhist dharma. If you want to see your wife, you may stay in the monastery for some time until the Master of Shenyang comes again, for I will persuade him to change his ways and give you back your wife. What do you say?”

Most pleased at these words, the inspector accepted the o er of a longer stay in the monastery. Truly,

Inspector Chen’s stay in Red Lotus Monastery stretched to over ten days. One day, the acolyte reported to the abbot, “The Master of Shenyang is here.” Hearing this announcement, Inspector Chen hid himself behind the screen in the abbot’s cell. The abbot went to receive him, and, after an exchange of greetings, the abbot and the Master of Shenyang sat down as host and guest, and the acolyte served tea. After tea, the Master of Shenyang said to the abbot, “I have been unable to eradicate the desire for love. My natural disposition is possessed by lust. Who can ‘untie the golden bell from the tiger’s neck,’ so to speak?”

The abbot answered, “If you want to have the golden bell untied from the tiger’s neck, you must relieve yourself of lust. Form is emptiness and emptiness is form. By staying free of even a speck of dust of this mortal world, you will gain enlightenment into all the laws of the dharma. Don’t blame me for speaking out of turn, but I’ve heard that you’ve been keeping a woman called Ruchun in your cave for three years. She is a woman of virtue. If you let her return to her native place, you will be cleansed of lust.”

The Master of Shenyang rejoined, “Your Reverence, I hate this woman and made her carry water for three years as a punishment, but she still refuses to come around. I will never let go easily of such a stubborn woman!”

At these words Inspector Chen, listening behind the screen, fumed with rage. Truly,

In a rage, Inspector Chen whipped out his sword from his side and hacked right at the Master of Shenyang’s head. With a lift of his finger, the Master of Shenyang made the sword go back to the inspector himself. “If it hadn’t been for the sake of the abbot,” said he, “I would have crushed you to powder, but I will not let this insult go unavenged.” So saying, the Master of Shenyang bade the abbot adieu and left. Back in his cave, he summoned Zhang Ruchun and was going to kill her by cutting her heart out of her chest when Peony and Golden Lotus rescued her. She continued to carry water buckets to water the flowers, and we shall leave her there for the moment.

It would have been better if Inspector Chen had remained in the dark about his wife’s whereabouts, but now that he knew she was in Shenyang’s cave, he found himself in greater distress than before. In the abbot’s cell in Red Lotus Monastery he beseeched the abbot to tell him how to find a way to see his wife. The abbot said, “That can be easily done. I’ll show you a path up the mountain. You can go on your own to look for her.” The abbot told the acolyte to lead the way up the mountain. The acolyte then returned to the temple and left the inspector there to a search by himself. Would Chen Xin be able to find his wife? Truly,

That day, Inspector Chen brought Wang Ji along and followed the acolyte up to the very top of Plum Ridge. In spite of the ruggedness of the path, they pressed their way ahead until they came to a pond by the rocks, where they caught sight of a barefoot woman carrying water. Hastily stepping forward to take a better look, they saw that it was none other than Ruchun. Husband and wife weepingly fell upon each other’s shoulders and related to each other what had happened to them, wondering if they were seeing each other in a dream. Ruchun said, “I almost died yesterday when the master came back to the cave.”

The inspector said, “We meet thanks to the abbot of Red Lotus Monastery, who pointed out the way for me. Why don’t we just run away?”

Ruchun objected, “We can’t do that. The master is infinitely resourceful with his immense magic power. If he knows I’ve gone, he will catch up with us, and both of us will be dead. I’ve heard that he fears only Sage Purple Sun. Only the sage can deliver us out of this misfortune. Now you must hurry back to the monastery, for if the master knows about this, we’ll be in deep trouble.”

The inspector could do no more than leave his wife and return to the monastery, where he thanked the abbot for having made it possible for him to see his dear wife. “The master fears only Sage Purple Sun, whom I once met in the Eastern Capital. But he is so far away from here. How can I reach him to get him to come to the rescue?”

At this earnest plea, the abbot said, “I must enter into meditation to take a look before I can know what to do.” Having bidden the acolyte to burn incense, the abbot entered into meditation. After some time, he told Inspector Chen, upon coming out of the meditative state, “Sage Purple Sun gave you a Taoist youth, whom you dismissed when you had gone only part of the way. You may now go in that direction and travel for three days with all speed. Something is bound to happen to reward you.” Thus instructed, Inspector Chen walked on foot out of the temple with all the speed he could muster and pressed ahead for two days. But nothing came to pass.

In the meantime, in the Divine Realm of Daluo, Sage Purple Sun remarked to Luo Tong, “Three years ago when that Inspector Chen set out on his way to assume new office, his wife was up for a thousand-day ordeal that will soon draw to an end. Considering his devotion to Taoism, I shall go down to the mortal world today with you to deliver his wife from Plum Ridge and send them back to their native place.” Accordingly, Luo Tong descended with the sage into the world of mortals and headed for Guangdong.

As he caught sight of the sage and Luo Tong approaching from afar, Inspector Chen fell on his knees and implored, “Please save us! My wife Zhang Ruchun has been kept by the Master of Shenyang in his cave for three years. Please deliver her from her misery!”

The sage said with a laugh, “Chen Xin, you may go first to Red Lotus Monastery to wait for me. I’ll be there in a moment.” Chen Xin bowed as he took leave of the sage. Upon returning to the monastery, he laid out an altar in preparation for the sage’s delivery of his wife from her distress. Truly,

Inspector Chen waited one day before Sage Purple Sun came to the monastery. He was indeed of a saintly appearance. The abbot went outside to receive him. After an exchange of greetings in the abbot’s cell, they sat down as host and guest. The abbot was most impressed by the sage’s sublime grace and dignified air.

Prostrating himself before the sage, Inspector Chen pleaded, “In your compassion, please save my wife Ruchun’s life and let her return home. I will greatly appreciate your kindness.”

Planting himself in front of the altar, the sage mumbled something, and, the next moment, a gust of wind sprang up in the room. The following quatrain is a description of the wind:

When the wind had blown away, two ferocious-looking, red-scarfed celestial generals came into view. Chanting a greeting to the sage, they asked, “What order do you have for us, master?”

“Go quickly to Shenyang Cave and bring to me the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Do not fail me.”

Before long, the two celestial generals came back to the sage with the Master of Shenyang tied with an iron chain. With the latter on his knees, Sage Purple Sun passed his judgment and had the celestial generals escort the Master of Shenyang to prison in the underworld to face charges. Luo Tong was told to go into Shenyang Cave, release all of the women kept there, and send them back to their homes.

Reunited with each other, Zhang Ruchun and Chen Xin bowed to Sage Purple Sun in gratitude.

Having bidden farewell to the abbot and Chen Xin, the sage rose slowly into the sky with Luo Tong.

Inspector Chen presented the abbot with some gifts as a token of his gratitude, took leave of the monks in the monastery, gathered together his personal belongings, got ready his carriage and horse, and left Red Lotus Monastery with Wang Ji and other attendants. Wending their way ahead, they arrived in their native town, the Eastern Capital, in a matter of days. The husband and wife never left each other again until they died at a venerable old age. There is a poem in evidence: