19 BANISHED TO CHAOZHOU, TUIZHI TRAVELS TO HIS POST

Looking back longingly to the birds on the Eastern Gate,

An injured string abhors crooked wood.¹

When the Duke of Zhou’s merit was hidden in a metal-bound coffer,

Rumors recklessly spread their poison.

Such malice might uproot trees and bend the autumn crops,

Yet the grace of August Heaven was deeply enriching.

When the new ruler ascended the throne, he opened the coffer,

And, ashamed, everyone admitted their error.

Once the truth about the Duke became known,

No one at all meddled idly any more.²

From among the lines of civil and military officials, Cui Qun, Li Gui, and others stepped forward together. They took off their black silk caps, laid down their ivory tablets, discarded golden girdle and purple robe, and knocking their heads memorialized, “Yu’s words were recalcitrant and truly deserve punishment. However, it only came to this because in his heart he harbors the utmost loyalty. We hope that Your Majesty will grant some leniency, so as not to discourage future remonstrations by officials.”

Xianzong said, “What Yu said of Our worship of the Buddha was excessive, yet this sentiment We could still tolerate. However, when he said that ever since the Eastern Han dynasty worshipped the Buddha, the emperors all suffered premature deaths, what was that but perverse criticism? Though just a minister, Yu challenged Us with reckless words. Under no circumstances can he be pardoned.”

All within and outside the court were startled, and many nobles related to the emperor by marriage also spoke up for Yu. Thereupon Xianzong approved the memorial and leniently annulled Yu’s death penalty. Instead he was to be banished to a most foul, malarial, and remote place, never again to be promoted. From among the ranks a minister of personnel rushed forward and, holding his tablet, memorialized, “These days Chaozhou in Guangdong Province is afflicted by a crocodile, whose depredations affect the people’s livelihood. This place just happens to lack a magistrate, but all whom I have recommended for appointment to this post have tearfully requested another assignment. Why not demote Han Yu and send him to fill this post?”

“If there are strange aquatic creatures in this place, it must be a malarious area. How far is it from the capital? How long does the journey take?” Xianzong asked.

“The distance is eight thousand miles, and it takes at least five months to get there,” the minister of personnel replied.

“In that case, let Han Yu travel alone with a single horse, setting out tonight,” Xianzong said. “He has to assume his post within three months. If he is late by a single day, he shall be enlisted as a common soldier on the borders. If he is late by two days, he shall be decapitated and his head publicly displayed. If he is late by three days, his whole family shall be executed.”

When Tuizhi was released, he thanked the emperor for his mercy and left the court, covering his face and crying loudly. Indeed,

Because he did not believe the immortal’s words,

Disaster and calamity struck today.

In a single morning the walls have tumbled,

Crushing him who might have been a ridgepole.

When Tuizhi arrived home in a hurry, he said to Mme. Dou, “My criticism of his reception of the Buddha bone incurred the emperor’s wrath. My body and head almost found themselves in different places. Fortunately all the high court officials intervened on my behalf, so that I managed to keep my life. However, I have been banished to Chaozhou as a magistrate. I am to travel alone with a single horse and must set out immediately. I have to assume my post within three months. If I am a day late, I will be sent as a soldier to the borders. If I am two days late, I will be decapitated. If three days, my whole family will be eradicated. Even if I could fly, a journey of eight thousand miles would take me three or four months. What shall I do?”

On hearing this, Mme. Dou at first beat her chest and wailed loudly, but then she hurriedly packed the luggage and ordered Zhang Qian and Li Wan to set out together with Tuizhi.

Giving Mme. Dou his instructions, Tuizhi said, “Take care to look after my daughter-in-law Luying and to restrain my adopted son Han Qing. At home and outside, be careful that they don’t stir up any trouble which might bring calamity upon you all.” As they struggled to part, they shed bitter tears.

Just then they heard horses neighing and men shouting outside. When Zhang Qian, all flustered, ran out to see what was going on, it turned out that a large group of officials had come to see Tuizhi off. Originally they had intended to bid him farewell at the ten mile waystation, but Emperor Xianzong had ordered that any official who accompanied Han Yu out of the city to see him off would be demoted by two ranks. Therefore the officials had come to Tuizhi’s home to say their good-byes.

When Tuizhi saw this scene, his grief deepened even more, and tearfully he took his leave of them one by one. Only Scholar Lin accompanied him to the waystation. He said, “If a high official cannot leave behind a fragrant reputation for a hundred generations, he might as well bequeath the stench of dishonor for ten thousand years. Although today you have suffered banishment, you will clear your name in the future and everyone will look up to you. Just put your mind at ease as you are leaving. The emperor’s wrath will dissipate and he will certainly reinstate your old rank.”

“Many thanks for the trouble you have taken,” Tuizhi said. “Someday I will repay you for your efforts on my behalf.” Indeed,

Distress amidst the scenery of rivers and mountains

Is the result of the ubiquitous hunt for wealth and fame.

Why not drink another cup of wine?

Beyond Yang Pass you have no friends.³

Tuizhi and his two servants wanted to hurry on to the next relay station to spend the night there, but quite unlike his previous travels on this route, no station was to be found in that desolate land. Here is a lyric to describe their plight:

Quickening their pace they walk ahead.

A high lamp gleams in the far distance.

All around people are silent

As master and servants hurry by.

Is that perhaps a monastery, a thatched hut, a tavern, or a tea house?

But all around is deserted and desolate,

And there is no one to ask.

But for now let us speak no more of Tuizhi’s journey, but instead relate how Han Xiangzi and Lan Caihe observed Tuizhi shedding profuse tears at the unbearable parting from his home, and Scholar Lin alone accompanying him to the ten mile waystation to drink a farewell cup of wine. They clapped their hands, laughed, and sang,

“Alas, Lord Han,

That you do not understand our marvelous powers.

Recklessly you tried to be a hero,

But the mountains are hard to shake.

In the halls at court you bragged of your high position,

And all the officials deferred to you.

Your power extended everywhere within and without the palace.

Who did not obey you?

But who could have known that your memorial on the Buddha bone would offend the emperor,

And that you would be dragged in chains to the execution grounds, where you almost lost your life?

Luckily the other officials memorialized on your behalf and you were banished to Chaozhou,

A journey with endless suffering.

Today the marvelous powers of the immortals finally can be seen.”

When Xiangzi saw that on the journey Tuizhi’s brow was always knitted in sorrow and that his face carried a constant expression of distress, racked with grief and quite unlike his former haughty self, he said to Lan Caihe, “Brother, let’s ride ahead on a cloud to the Blue Pass road and wait there for my uncle’s arrival. What do you think?”

“In my view, we should go again and ask the masters Zhong and Lü to prepare a device to help us deliver him,” Lan Caihe said.

Xiangzi said, “You’re right, Brother,” Xiangzi said. “If I can trouble you to go to their grotto palace, I in the meantime will wait by the Blue Pass road.” When Lan Caihe had left, Xiangzi sang,

“To deliver you is not easy—

Why do you cling so dearly to your delusions?

You make me exert myself in vain,

If you will not change your way of thinking.

The only choice I had was to change into a foreign monk,

And deliver you by hidden means.

If you are still unwilling to turn back,

How much time will there be left for you?

Once King Yama has arrested you,

Your regrets will be too late!”

Xiangzi had just finished his song when Lan Caihe arrived with the masters Zhong and Lü.

Xiangzi bowed to them and then said, “My uncle is already on the way to Chaozhou. We should let some wind blow and snow fall and frighten him with tigers and wolves. Unless we let him taste the bitterness of suffering to the full, his dedication to the Dao will not be steadfast. I have ordered a messenger deity to call on the wind god to raise a storm, and the snow god to let snow fall for one month, sometimes more, sometimes less heavily, but never ceasing completely for even a moment. Master Lan and I will change on one occasion into ferry boatmen, on another into fishermen angling in a mountain torrent; then we’ll change into woodcutters come to fell trees in the mountains, and then into farmers with bamboo hats and hoes on our shoulders. On yet another occasion we will materialize a village full of beautiful women looking for a live-in husband. On this occasion my uncle will suffer being bound and hung from a tree.

“All along the way we’ll display our divine powers and produce transformations in many places. If after that he still doesn’t have a change of heart, we’ll have to order the earth god of Blue Pass to send the spirits Thousand Miles Eyes and Wind Ears in the shape of fierce tigers who will carry off Zhang Qian and Li Wan into the mountains, where they shall cultivate themselves. Then, only my uncle will be left with his mount to climb Blue Pass. At that point we’ll materialize a thatched hut at a convenient place near Blue Pass, where he can stay the night. When his horse is dead and he is all alone, then we will deliver him. Do you think this is feasible?”

“It’s a very suitable approach,” the two masters said. So,

Both astride blue simurghs descending from the Jade Stairs,

They see each other off at the White Cloud Stairway of Jasper Heaven.

Why are divine immortals willing to approach the profane world?

It is to deliver Han Yu that they journey hither and thither.

Having deliberated with the other immortals, Xiangzi proceeded to put the plan into practice. He drew a river on the ground that would block Tuizhi’s way. He changed his clappers into a boat, which he punted across to the other shore and anchored in the shade under some trees. When Tuizhi came, he would move him with some apposite words.

This river was a very dangerous place. Here is a poem to show it:

The vast waters rushed by in roaring waves,

Flowing sands swirling like golden shuttles.

Like the Yangtze’s misty waves rising to the sky,

Like the ocean’s stormy billows enveloping the land.

Frolicking reptiles and serpents burst forth from their caves;

Surging lizards and turtles turn about in large numbers.

Needless to say a small skiff could hardly move its oars,

But how could even a dragon boat get across?

Traveling along the road, Tuizhi said to Zhang Qian, “When we left home the weather was still hot, but now it looks as if we are deep in autumn. The leaves are red, the blossoms yellowed. An autumnal wind has suddenly started to blow, and it is quite cold and bleak. Truly this poem describes it well:

“In the desolation of an ancient road next to the wild jungles,

A western wind blows against my horse, its gusts cutting like knives.

Who will take pity on the lonely traveler,

A gray-haired man buffeted by cold dew and chilly frost?”⁴

“Master, you are suffering the anguish of lonely banishment from the capital, of being cast a thousand miles out into the wilderness,” Zhang Qian said. “But don’t sigh and blame yourself. When you loyally admonished the ruler, who could have foreseen the troubles it would bring you?”

As they were lost in gloomy thoughts, they happened to pass by a house, above whose door was written “Yellow Blossom Inn.” “Here’s a waystation. Let’s enter and put up here for the night. We’ll continue on tomorrow,” Tuizhi said.

However, the station master would not let them stay. “I have received new orders from the emperor that I am not to let you stay overnight in the station. Anyone who lets you stay will be prosecuted for violation of an imperial decree,” he said.

When Tuizhi heard this, tears streamed down his face. “I am already far from the capital—who will know about it?”

“The only way for no one to know about it is not to do it,” the stationmaster replied. “I am just a lowly official and am afraid that my superiors would learn of it.”

Tuizhi was just going to vent his anger when suddenly Li Wan came to report, “Master, ahead of us a great river is blocking the road. The bank on this side is all empty without a single ferry boat. How will we get across?”

Tuizhi lifted his head and looked on up the road. Sighing, he said, “There really is a great river. With its stormy waves dashing so violently, how will we cross to the other side?” Then he asked the stationmaster, “If you are unwilling to let us stay overnight, at least find us a ferry to carry us across the river.”

“There isn’t any ferry. If you can swim, then swim across,” the stationmaster said.

Tuizhi became very annoyed and angry on hearing these words. He ordered Zhang Qian, “There must be a ferry in a place like this. Go look for the local headman and tell him that I wish to hire a boat to take us across. Don’t be long!”

“There are no houses around here except for the waystation,” Li Wan said. “There are a few station attendants, but they work under the stationmaster and just follow his orders. Where do you want us to look for the local headman? Maybe we’ve taken the wrong road and reached the end of the world!”

“Nonsense!” Tuizhi said. “It’s no more than forty days since we started out. How could we have reached the end of the world? Quickly, go look for a boat, and don’t waste time.”

Pulling Li Wan along, Zhang Qian went in search of a boat. They searched east, they searched west—not a soul to be seen anywhere. They searched south, they searched north—they didn’t see even one little skiff. After searching for a long time, they returned to report to Tuizhi. Feigning a bellyache, the stationmaster went inside and did not come out again.

All alone, Tuizhi sat on the porch of the waystation, while Zhang Qian had to run off again to look for a boat. Just then in the distance a boatman steered a little boat downstream. Zhang Qian pointed to it and called to Li Wan, “Brother! Isn’t that a boat coming there?”

“Where?”

“Isn’t the dark shadow moving there a boat?”

“Looks like an old crow spreading its wings to me,” Li Wan said. “That’s no boat. And even if it were a boat, it’s floating downstream. With no one on board to work the sculls, it’s useless to us.”

“What you mistook for a crow spreading its wings is actually a man,” Zhang Qian said.

The two were still arguing when the boat appeared before them. “You have good eyes,” Li Wan said. “It really is a boat, and a man is working its sculls. I’ll go report to the master while you wait for the boat and keep him here. Tell him that we want him to take us across.”

Li Wan had just left when the boat reached the bank. Zhang Qian called from the bank, “Boatman, take us across, will you!”

“No crossing! No crossing!” the boatman said.

“Boatman, if you take us across, we’ll pay you more than the usual fee,” Zhang Qian said.

“My boat is too small. I can’t ferry anyone across,” the boatman said.

“There are only a few of us, you can manage to get us across. Don’t be difficult!” Zhang Qian said.

“Who is the man on the horse there in the distance?” asked the boatman. “Do you want me to ferry him across?”

“That is our master Han,” Zhang Qian said.

“Autumn has only just begun. Why do you call him Master Han?”⁵ the boatman asked.

“Boatman, haven’t you ever been to school?”

“Well, I have read a few lines.”

“If you can read, how come you don’t know the character Han?” Zhang Qian said. “In the Surnames of the Hundred Families it says, ‘Jiang, Shen, Han, Yang.’ My master’s surname is that Han, not the character for ‘cold.’ The character han you spoke of is the one in the passage from the Thousand Character Essay, ‘Cold comes and heat leaves.’”⁶

“I can tell cold and heat apart all right,” the boatman said. “As for this man sitting so pompously on his horse, he seems to be a person of power and distinction. How am I to ferry him across?”⁷

“My master is a very good man who does not presume upon his power and distinction,” Zhang Qian said. “If you take him across, he will reward you richly.”

“An old saying goes, ‘Those who come to your door are in no position to bargain,’” said the boatman. “If your master is such a good man, why doesn’t he lead the good life at court, instead of coming to this river bank, seeking me out to ferry him across?”

The two men were still conversing when Tuizhi on his horse and Li Wan with the luggage on his shoulders arrived. Zhang Qian reported, “The boatman claims his boat is too small to take us across.”

Tuizhi got off his horse, went to the bank, and called, “Boatman, it won’t be your loss if you take me across the river.”

“Master, this boat of mine has the same problem as those who are officials: when it was a good time to repair it, I wouldn’t do so.⁸ If it sprang a leak in midstream, there would be no way to patch it. Where would I get an enlightened person to save us?”

“Enough idle talk, just get me across!” Tuizhi said.

“Master, just look at this river,” the boatman said. “Only a divine immortal could get you across. If I ferried you over, you still wouldn’t have faith.”

“How could there be a divine immortal to come to our aid?” Tuizhi asked.

“The divine immortal exists all right. It’s just because you, master, relied on that power and distinction of yours and didn’t heed him when he was at your home that now he won’t come to take you over to the other side,” the boatman replied.

“Let me make it clear to you,” Zhang Qian said. “If you are willing to row us over, then do so. If not, my master will use the authority of his travel warrant to have the local people pull your boat onto the bank, and you won’t be allowed to make a living with it anymore.”

When the boatman heard this, he pushed the boat off the bank with his foot and said, “You’re just trying to bully me. I won’t take you across!”

“Brother boatman!” Li Wan put in. “Don’t be annoyed, my brother was only joking. How can you take it seriously?”

“Let me ask you, Master: what is your purpose for wanting to go to the other bank?” asked the boatman.

“It’s on official business,” Tuizhi replied.

“A man should not follow the example of the pheasant, who thinks himself clever as he hides his head, even while leaving his feet exposed,” the boatman told him. “I’m afraid you are in a situation where it’s too late to pull in the reins, as your horse has already walked onto a narrow and dangerous path, and too late to patch a leak now that your boat has already reached midstream.”

Tuizhi blushed and said nothing for a long time. Zhang Qian said, “Brother boatman, our time is limited. After crossing the river, we still have to find an inn. If you keep on chattering idly, you are just like the sitting man who doesn’t understand the suffering of one who is standing. Hurry up and row us across!”

“My boat is small. It might just carry men, but it won’t hold a horse.”

“This horse is my master’s means of transportation,” Li Wan said. “We’ll pay you extra if you’ll take it over with us.”

“The wind and waves are very big, and the boat really is small,” the boatman said. “I can’t ferry it across with you, but what if I make a second trip for it?”

“It is easy for you to say you’ll take us across first and then come back to bring the horse over,” Zhang Qian said. “By that time the moon will be bright in the sky, and then where will we find an inn for the night?”

“Brother, if you worry about the sun setting while it’s still early, why didn’t you stay at home?” the boatman said. “I’m not worried about the moon. What I’m really worried about is that the wind and snow will be so bad that I can’t row my boat.”

“There’s no chance of a snowstorm at this time of year,” Zhang Qian said. “Just row fast and everything will be all right.”

“Well, then, get aboard, all of you,” said the boatman. “Just be a little careful—this is no simple matter of moving with the current without having to use the oar.”

Tuizhi’s whole party, including the horse, got on the boat. Tuizhi sat in the middle, the horse was in one compartment, and Zhang Qian, Li Wan, and the luggage were in another. The boat didn’t seem so small after all. As the boatman slowly worked the scull, he sang the following song:

“Off a rock-strewn beach I steer my boat.

On the banks of the fast stream, the willow shadows are lengthening.

I sing as the oars creak

And the waves heave vastly,

Fearing not the wild up and down of the east wind.

In secluded places among the misty billows I roam at ease,

South, north, east, west—when I arrive I can rest.

Career success I detest,

Profit and fame I frown upon,

I never swallowed that fish-hook.”

When Tuizhi heard this song, he asked, “Boatman, where is your home?”

“My home is in the Dipper Ox Palace of the Azure Cloud Empyrean.”

“The Dipper Ox Palace of the Azure Cloud Empyrean is the dwelling place of divine immortals. How could you live there?”

“I’m not much different from a divine immortal.”

“If you’re a divine immortal, why do you still earn money by rowing a small boat?” Tuizhi asked.

The boatman said,

“I love my leisure.

With my little boat

I can roam all over the Five Lakes and the Four Oceans.

Who says I do it to make money?”

“Have you had any schooling?” Tuizhi asked.

“Once I too tied my hair to a rafter and pricked my thigh to stay awake,” the boatman answered. “I studied by the light of the moon reflected from the snow and the gleam of fireflies caught in a bag. While sitting at my desk I thought of Yi Yin and Lü Shang; in my dreams I contemplated the Duke of Zhou and Confucius.”

“Since you studied so hard, did you ever pass the examinations and become an official?”

“I too once wore the graduate’s flowers, drank at imperial banquets, held the ivory tablet, and bowed to the emperor.”

“That makes no sense,” Tuizhi said. “After you passed the examinations and became an official, which post were you appointed to?”

“First I was appointed Investigating Censor, then I was promoted to Court Gentleman in the Bureau of Evaluations.”

“And after that?”

“I was promoted to Vice Minister of Justice. Then I was further promoted to Minister of Rites, because of my merit in praying for snow at the Southern Altar.”

“If you reached the rank of Minister of Rites, why did you abandon your position to scull a small boat in this place?” Tuizhi asked.

“Because at court I criticized the emperor’s reception of the Buddha bone, I almost had my head cut off at the Yunyang execution grounds. Fortunately, all the officials came to save me, and that same evening I was banished to Chaozhou, eight thousand miles from the capital.”

Lowering his head, Tuizhi thought to himself, “Everything this boatman says fits my own person. It’s really as if he were a divine immortal.”

“Master, who are you thinking of?” the boatman asked.

“Of my nephew Han Xiangzi.”

“I have seen a Han Xiangzi. His clothes did not cover his body, his food did not fill his mouth; he was already just an emaciated body in the dust. But I don’t know if this was your nephew.”

Tuizhi began to cry. “Where did he die?” he asked.

“He is dead, yet not dead; alive, yet not alive,” the boatman said. “Neither dead nor alive, he is like Nie Que.”

“Nie Que is one who attained the Dao in ancient times,” Tuizhi said. “Thus according to your words, my nephew also has attained the Dao. Why then do his clothes not cover his body and his food not fill his mouth?”

“The ancients said, ‘If you are full and warm, your thoughts turn to licentious desires. If you are hungry and cold, your mind will focus on the Dao.’ If Xiangzi was not lacking in clothes and food, he would again think of becoming an official. Then how could he be willing to discard officialdom in favor of cultivation?”

“Only frivolous and dissipated men are willing to engage in cultivation. Those of solid learning will absolutely refuse to do so,” stated Tuizhi.

The boatman said,

“Stop laughing at those who are frivolous and dissolute,

But remember well the Village of Beautiful Women.

If you can pass the Village of Beautiful Women,

Then you can count as a Gentleman of the Hanlin Academy.”

As they were talking, they reached the other bank. Tuizhi and his party jumped out of the boat. While Zhang Qian was fumbling in the purse for money to give to the boatman, the latter and his ferry vanished, as did the great river with its roaring waters. There was just a stretch of flat, wide road.

Tuizhi’s face turned ashen with shock. Trying to steady himself, he said, “Strange! Strange indeed!”

“Master, don’t worry,” Li Wan said. “Knowing you were disgraced in spite of your loyalty and virtue, Heaven deliberately materialized this boatman and ferry in order to test you.” Indeed,

Under this deep blue sky, do not carry grudges—

Act loyally for the nation, what else is there to ask for?

Look up and a deity is there to protect you—

If only the unenlightened became aware of it.

Tuizhi sighed, but he had no choice but to get on his horse and move swiftly on.

Soon they were in a secluded place deep in the mountain forests. No villages or inns were in sight anywhere. All around was an empty wilderness without a trace of human habitation. As fear was creeping into their hearts, suddenly black clouds appeared and a great wind arose. They were cold and shivered all over; their teeth clenched and their heads shook, their lips turned blue and their faces white. They could not stand steadily on their feet. Tuizhi said, “Ever since we left Chang’an, we’ve suffered a constant succession of adversities and anxieties. Now that we’ve come to this boundless wilderness, we encounter this storm. How can we not be filled with sorrow?”

Zhang Qian said, “Earlier on, the boatman said that he wasn’t worried about the rising of the moon, but rather was afraid there might be a snowstorm. Now the storm is here and we have no place to take shelter. What are we to do?”

Tuizhi said, “Hold my horse, while I compose a ‘Rhapsody to the Wind,’ with which to dissipate our grief:

“Cold and soughing,

Without shape or shadow,

Screaming and roaring,

With might and voice.

It winnows the soil and scatters the dust;

It breaks forests and snaps trees.

It gathers clouds and mists;

It penetrates doors and windows.

Dimmed, the red sun moves by,

The ten thousand bright stars all are suddenly dark.

Within a moment,

Heaven and earth are covered.

Within an instant,

The universe is hidden from view.

It shakes the Dipper Ox Palace,

Where the Eight Great Vajra deities stand turned aside.

It blows over the Palace of Responding to Perfection,

Where the five hundred arhats can hardly open their eyes.

It frightens the birds—

They gather in their feathers

And hide in the trees and bushes, cowering with their heads drawn in.

It startles the running beasts—

They wave their tails and shake their heads,

And with trembling hearts conceal themselves in the mountains.

Whirling and rolling,

Strange creatures in the Three Rivers overturn boats.

Howling and screaming,

Evil spirits on the Five Marchmounts topple trees.

It blows apart the Eastern Ocean where the Crystal Palace is laid bare,

While on Western Blossom Mountain the Agate Palace shakes.

With a moaning sound,

The stone bridge at Zhaozhou breaks in two.

With thundering anger,

The Precious Palace of Thunderclap collapses completely.

I see the White Parrot and Red Lotus Terraces of Mount Putuo shaking unsteadily,

And the blue-haired lions and Bailai elephants of the Bodhisattva Court rolling about uncontrolled.

Amidst rolling rocks and flying sand,

Gods cry out and ghosts are wailing.

Heaven is dim and the earth is dark;

The moon is black and the stars have sunk.

Thousand-year-old pagodas are darkened,

Trembling as if hit by thunder.

Rivers and mountains for ten thousand miles around are dimmed,

Lost and masterless.

What has aroused Erlang’s anger,

That he overturns rivers and stirs up the seas?”⁹

When Tuizhi had finished his rhapsody, Zhang Qian said, “Master, the storm has stopped and snow has begun to fall. Which way should we turn?”

“As the storm has ceased, I expect the snow will also let up,” Tuizhi said. “So let’s move ahead quickly and find a house to spend the night. Then we can make further plans.”

“There’s not even the shadow of a human being around—how will we find a house to spend the night?” said Zhang Qian.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” Li Wan said. “When the young master returned home, he said he would come, but now I don’t see him arriving to rescue us!”

“The young master admonished the master time and again to abandon his official position, but the master wouldn’t believe him,” Zhang Qian said. “Why should he be willing to come here and rescue us?”

While they were speaking, they had already walked several miles. Suddenly the snowfall intensified. “It is snowing very heavily,” Li Wan said. “Let’s take cover in the bamboo grove ahead before walking on.”

“What shelter is there in that grove?” Tuizhi said. “That won’t help us. No, it’s better to press on and find an inn where we can stay a few days. We can continue our journey once it has cleared up.”

“A man may harden his stomach and struggle on, but the horse needs its fodder. In this cold, how could it be willing to go on?” Zhang Qian said.

As they talked and walked, the snow came beating down onto their heads, until it filled their collars and covered their necks. Tuizhi was sunk in deep gloom when suddenly Li Wan pointed and said, “There is smoke rising from the forest ahead. It looks as if there is a village. Come on, let’s go and ask for a night’s accommodation. Then we can continue on tomorrow.”

Tuizhi fiercely whipped his horse on. Neighing, it broke into a wild gallop.

If you don’t know if people really lived there, please listen to the next chapter.

Alas that this common fellow will not agree to cultivate himself;

He does not understand the changes of destiny.

If we reckon it over a period of three hundred years,

Such people have wasted a good many of your efforts.