Now we will return to the two girls Zou and Gao of the capital. When they heard that Madame Chen had died, they wept day and night, rejecting food and drink, and in the still of the night they hanged themselves and died. Their souls got together, and as comrades they went to Gutian to see Madame Chen. The souls of the three sisters met, and, as they wept in each other’s arms over their deep hatred for the Ravine Demon’s repeated evildoing and hostility, Madame Chen made a vow, saying, “If I don’t catch the Ravine Demon and rid the people of this scourge and avenge myself on my enemy, I swear I will not act as a divinity.” Then together she and her younger sisters separated to search for and capture him.

Now we will speak of the four girls Xu, Zeng, Ruan, and Ma. After Madame Chen had established prohibitions and sent them home to visit their parents, when they heard that Madame Chen had died, they, too, wept day and night. They vowed to go to Linshui Palace and from dawn till dusk worship and burn incense before her sacred tablet. Their parents exhorted them, but they wouldn’t listen, and in the end they had no alternative but to acquiesce. The parents of the four families then sent their daughters to Linshui Palace.

When they entered the hall, they saw Madame Chen’s countenance exactly as if she were still alive, no different from during her lifetime. When they saw her, their grief was intense. They said, “We, your younger sisters, in former days received your kindness, you saved us, and we were like sisters. You taught us marvelous magic. This kindness and generosity were as great as the mountains and seas. We wanted only to serve all day as your retinue, never to leave you all our lives. How could anyone have predicted the demon’s resolve to repeatedly cruelly harm you? Worthy elder sister, you suffered this death, with the result that we sisters will never again hear your teachings. Since you, Madame, obtained this palace hall, no one anywhere ever again heard of demons and monsters harming people. It is truly your merit and virtuous power in the world. Mournful indeed, Sister! Sorrow indeed, Madame!”

They prostrated themselves on the ground and cried out in their grief. When people heard the sounds of their grief, there was no one who did not weep. The girls’ parents saw their overwhelming sorrow, feared for their lives, and urged them, “Madame Chen’s merit and virtuous power are complete, and she has already become a divinity. She cannot come back to life. That you children haven’t forgotten her kindness and generosity should be described as dutiful. There’s no use crying! We’re afraid you will do yourselves harm and damage your spirit energies.”

The girls of the four families saw their parents doing their utmost to persuade them, and had no alternative but to stop grieving. They wiped their tears and bowed in respect. Each set of parents wanted to return home with their daughter, but the four girls wept and said, “Heretofore, we received Madame Chen’s kindness and generosity, and she treated us as her hands and feet. We have vowed never to marry, so what use is it for you to take us home? We don’t expect to be long in this world. Our souls will certainly follow Madame Chen’s in close attendance.” There was nothing the parents could do, and they had no alternative but to go home. In the temple the four girls offered sacrifices and burned incense. We won’t speak of this any further.

Now we will return to Lin Jiuniang. From the time she had said goodbye to Madame Chen and returned to Luoyuan to visit her parents, and heard that Madame Chen had died, she had wept and wailed without cease. Her parents earnestly exhorted her. All day long she wept, her spirit dissipated, and she took neither tea nor rice. Sick from grief, she lay in bed and did not rise, nor would she take medicine. One day Provincial Governor Lin and his wife came to their daughter’s bedside and asked, “Does our daughter’s illness seem a little better?”

Jiuniang replied, “Your child’s illness is worse, there is no lessening, and I figure it will be difficult to find a cure. I just hope that you, my parents, will look after yourselves. Don’t think about me.” When she had finished speaking, her tears fell like rain.

Provincial Governor Lin consoled her, saying, “Daughter, what need is there to be so worried? Wait till tomorrow when I will bring a good doctor to treat you. In due course you will recover completely.”

Because her illness had reached a critical stage her parents worried day and night. The next day, Provincial Governor Lin sent a servant to go bring the doctor, when he saw Madame Xu come out weeping and crying. To her husband she said, “Our daughter’s qi has been cut off.” Old Mr. Lin and his wife rushed to her bedside, held her in their arms, and wept so bitterly they nearly died. All their friends and relatives did their best to calm them, so there was nothing to do but hold back their tears and endure it. They prepared the coffin and put the body inside. Her parents had treasured her. Unable to lift the coffin and bury her, they placed it in her bedchamber. Being a refined woman and having received the kindness and generosity of Madame Chen, Jiuniang had been wounded to the core, with the result that she suffered this critical illness and died of despondency. Her soul went to Linshui Palace in Gutian to see Madame Chen.

That day Li Sanjie and Miss Ou arrived in town and hurried to Jiuniang’s house to pay her a visit. Weeping, Provincial Governor Lin told them, “Jiuniang has died.” The two women were shocked and shed bitter tears. A servant led them into the inner chamber where they saw the coffin waiting in readiness. They gently touched it and wept. “What serious illness caused our elder sister to lose her life?” they asked her parents.

Madame Xu, Jiuniang’s mother, told them, “There really was no illness. On hearing that Madame Chen of Linshui had prayed for rain, saved her cousin and all the people, and then died in childbirth, Jiuniang cried day and night. Her depression deepened into illness, and she wouldn’t take medicine. That is why she died.” Having spoken, Jiuniang’s mother was overcome with grief.

When Miss Li and Miss Ou learned that Madame Chen had died, they were so shocked that they turned white, utterly dumbstruck. With tears falling like rain, they said, “Madame Chen has died? We hadn’t heard! We didn’t know!” When they had spoken, they beat their breasts and wept, saying, “What grief! What sorrow! Jiuniang, Elder Sister, you first went to meet her, abandoning us two sisters. You, however, have gone to meet Madame Chen. Why didn’t you tell us so that we could go together? How can the two of us turn our backs on justice and cravenly cling to life and fear death?” At this they burst into tears. Of those who heard, there were none who did not weep. When the two of them stopped crying, they said goodbye to Madame Xu and returned home. They, too, cried and wept every day, and had no desire to eat or drink. After a short time they, too, fell sick and also did not take medicine. They both died some seven days later. Alas! What sorrow!

Now we will speak of the four women Zeng, Ruan, Xu, and Ma in Linshui Palace at Gutian. Before the divine statue, morning and evening, they presented offerings and incense. They often wept, not leaving Madame Chen’s side.

One day they saw a man dressed in Daoist clothes, with a white face and long beard, enter the palace hall weeping. Facing Madame Chen’s statue, he wept, deeply grieved. The four sisters—Zeng, Xu, and so on—didn’t know who he was, grief-stricken like this. They watched him kneel on the floor and weep piteously, saying, “I, your foolish cousin, was saved by you, worthy younger cousin, with the result that you yourself lost your life. Your detestable cousin lacked ability. I was not able to free you from the difficulty, so that calamity befell your body and you suffered the Ravine Demon’s torments. Truly, you were entangled by your foolish cousin. Now your foolish cousin is the greatest offender under Heaven. Even if my body were shredded into a thousand pieces it would be difficult to requite you.”

Weeping, he prostrated himself. When he had finished, he went out of the palace and left. When the four girls heard what he said, only then did they know that it was Chen Shouyuan, Madame Chen’s cousin, and they knew that what had happened to her was for this reason. Thereafter, because of the four girls’ excessive grief, whenever they saw Chen Jinggu’s image in the palace they longed for her. The four sisters all fell seriously ill one after the other, and in just over a month they had all died.

At this time, although some were near and some were far, the ten women—Chen, Ma, Zou, Li, Ou, Zeng, Xu, Ruan, et cetera—had died one after the other, and their souls returned to the same place. From dawn to dusk they gathered to discuss scripture and explicate magic, transmitting the marvelous arts of Mount Lü. The secrets of supporting the fetus, saving women in childbirth, and protecting the baby, which Chen Jinggu had begged the master to teach her on her second stay at Mount Lü, she imparted to the ten sisters according to the order of their positions. Now she instructed them in the way of sisterhood: “I previously made a vow, and all of you ought to act according to it. If anywhere in the human world anyone encounters calamity, no matter whether it is a stormy day or rainy night, and no matter whether it is near or far, if someone calls for me, I will immediately come without hesitation. My intense hatred for the Ravine Demon, this foe who deeply wronged me, is such that I absolutely cannot leave him alive, so I swear that I will capture him in order to eliminate this scourge of the people, and avenge this wrong done to me.”

When she had finished speaking, she instructed all the sisters to divide into the upper, middle, and lower worlds to search for, find, and capture him.¹ All of the sisters obeyed the command to scrupulously search, while Madame Chen herself went with Lin Jiuniang, traveling everywhere to look for him.

One day they arrived at a place with which they were completely unfamiliar. Seeing a flowing stream and many trees, Madame Chen and Lin Jiuniang entered to enjoy the beautiful sights. Sure enough, the scenery was extraordinary, nothing like this mortal world! They sighed and said, “How can there be such a wonderful place!” The flowers and trees were of all shapes and sizes. Pavilions and towers were scattered around, a golden river and jade waters were spanned by a rainbow bridge, there were brocade curtains and kingfisher screens, and around them a scented wall. A gentle breeze continuously wafted fragrance. On frames there were purple ferns, and the clear sun shone warmly throughout. Along the fences there were peonies, and outside the pillars bamboo grew. Thousand-year cedars and ten-thousand-year pines, hints of tender green color, gentleman bamboo and nobleman pines, long-lasting and enduring kingfisher greens, the immortal cinnabar cassia which is in the moon, mist and clouds all around, and plum blossoms in the snow. A welcoming breeze touched the dew. In magic grasses that produced male offspring, one saw gold coins, while the earth welcomed female-child flowers. Beautiful hills and waters! Words cannot describe it! Madame Chen and Lin Jiuniang could not take in the thousand shades of red and the ten thousand shades of purple.

All of a sudden they saw two people approach, shouting loudly, “Who are you that you enter the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers on your own authority?” Madame Chen looked at them. One had an indigo-blue face, hair like cinnabar, a beard, on his head a gold helmet, and on his body red armor. Brandishing a long sword, he was extremely fierce. The other’s face was very white, and he had a long beard of five strands. On his head he wore a gold hat, on his body silver armor, and in his hand he held a long firearm. His appearance also was ferocious.

When Madame Chen had looked them over, she said to the two generals, “I am Chen Jinggu of Xiadu, in Fuzhou. This is my sworn sister, Lin Jiuniang. Because we are on a mission, we are traveling and searching together. When we came here just to pass through, we saw that the scenery of the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers was extraordinary, extremely refined and elegant. For this reason we were enjoying it for a time. I will likewise ask you, ‘Who are you that you lack manners like this and dare to shout and question us?’ ”

When the two divinities heard these words, they quickly prostrated themselves on the ground and said, “One of us is Gao of the Birthing Basin That Sends Children, the other is Deng Ying Who Protects Children and Facilitates Birth, and this is the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers of the Higher Realm. The men and women of the human world are sent down from here to be born. We had previously heard Madame’s name but didn’t yet know her face. Today, fortunately, we have encountered your golden visage. We beg you to forgive our error. We have long wanted to become your disciples, and today we meet. We beg you to accept us. You can employ us as subordinates.”

Delighted, Madame Chen said, “You two spirit generals, please rise. I see that this bridge’s scenery is extraordinary, and it precisely suits my taste. Moreover, I took a vow to send children into the human world. Now, since you two are in my charge, one of you can be called Marshal Gao of the Golden Basin Who Sends Children, and the other can be called Great Divinity Deng Who Protects Children and Eases Birth. The two of you and my younger sister can guard this Bridge of a Hundred Flowers, which will be my secondary palace, in order to set up rooms for the arrival and departure of souls.” Lin Jiuniang and the spirit generals received their orders. Having instructed them to guard the bridge, Madame Chen said goodbye to Lin Jiuniang.

Again she went everywhere searching for the Ravine Demon. He had left White Dragon River, where he had pulled Madame Chen’s magic mat under the water, when suddenly he had seen in the air three mother ducks fly down to the water and, with their mouths, grasp the magic mat. It had floated on the surface, so that the Great Lady, who had been immersed, had again floated. Thereupon she had entered the water, brandishing her sword to pursue the Ravine Demon. He had scrambled to escape and, using the Water Method, had fled to Fenggang.²

Having escaped with his life, he stopped to catch his breath and collect himself. Alarmed, he exclaimed, “Any later and I’d have lost my life! I was lucky!” Soon after, he set off slowly, one step at a time, seeking news as he went. Only then did he learn that the White Snake had been caught and turned into Chen Jinggu’s mount and that the Great Nurturess herself had suffered death in childbirth. The Ravine Demon’s happiness knew no bounds. He thought to himself, “Who is there now for me to fear? No matter what my behavior, in future I can take pleasure as I wish.”

From this time on the Ravine Demon acted more boldly. At Fenggang he went sightseeing, and one day, happening to wander into the rear flower garden of the Yangs’ residence, he saw a girl, very young but of marriageable age. She was extremely sweet and charming, elegant and beautiful. The Ravine Demon happily said, “She really is seductively beautiful. Although Chen Jinfeng was an empress, still she couldn’t compare to this girl. I was always the White Snake’s slave, all day long luring in victims for her, which was extremely hard work. I, however, was never able to be together with any attractive girl, since I never had any free time. Now that the White Snake has been imprisoned by Chen Jinggu as her mount and is gone, I figure it will be hard for her to escape. I think my share of good fortune is not small, and thus I was able to escape to this place. Moreover, I’ve encountered this beautiful girl. Without the burden of the White Snake and without having to worry about Chen Jinggu, now I can take advantage of these few days of living happily. Isn’t that indeed happiness?”

The Ravine Demon made himself invisible and entered the garden, intending to seduce the girl. Her parents had died long ago, leaving only an elder brother, Yang Chun. He had taken a wife, Madame Yao, who was ten [lunar] months pregnant but hadn’t yet given birth. The Ravine Demon put the girl under a spell. The brother and sister-in-law saw that their younger sister did not feel like eating or drinking. Becoming pale and thin, she slipped into a stupor, and didn’t speak. When they asked her why she was sick, she blushed and didn’t answer. When Yang Chun saw this state of affairs, he and his wife questioned her closely. Only then did his younger sister say, “Every evening a good-looking youth casts a spell over my body and takes his pleasure in every possible way. It’s like this every night, and that is why I am exhausted. I think he is surely a demon spirit or ghost monster, without a doubt.”

Madame Yao said, “This isn’t an infatuation, but surely a demon. Hurry and get an image of a divinity who wards off evil for her bedroom. As a matter of course, it can cure this illness.”

Yang Chun felt that what his wife said was reasonable. He went to the neighbor’s house to borrow a black-ink painting of Zhong Kui, which was a drawing of him holding a demon.³ They hung it in her bedroom and burned incense without interruption. By evening, the picture was half burned, the hands and feet incomplete, so Yang Chun thought, “The demon isn’t afraid of Zhong Kui.”

He borrowed another painting, an image of Guan Gong of the Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms, who was conventionally called Yunchang. In his hand he held a Green Dragon crescent moon sword with a long shaft, and he sat astride his famous horse called Chi Tu.⁴ They hung the image in the little sister’s room, but the next day it was torn to shreds. It hadn’t been able to keep the demon’s malevolence away. They were very worried.

Madame Yao said, “Once the year passes, people throw everything away, like the old lunar calendar they can no longer use. I think Master Guan was a hero of the Han dynasty. That was ages ago, so it’s difficult to invite a true god from that era. Zhong Kui was a man who lived under Emperor Dezong of the Tang dynasty. Although this period is recent, and his home is near here, and when he lived he eliminated scourges on behalf of the people, these days if a god doesn’t come then he isn’t fully efficacious. I’ve heard there is someone who has captured demons everywhere. Now, although she has died, surely her spirit will efficaciously respond.”

Yang Chun quickly asked, “What person or magic master is that? How do you know about her?”

Madame Yao replied, “I’ve heard that there is a Madame Chen of Xiadu who studied magic at Mount Lü, and that she kills demons and captures monsters on behalf of people. I’ve also heard our neighbor Wang Erniang, who has returned from there, say that Chen Jinggu prayed for rain at White Dragon River. When she removed her fetus in order to save her cousin and the people, she encountered her demon nemesis and died of complications of childbirth. The ruler of Min believed that Chen Jinggu had great merit and efficacious power, and gave her the title of Lady, but in this province she is called Great Nurturess Chen. In Fuzhou there are now images of the divinity Great Nurturess Chen, which are sold to people on account of their efficacity in warding off evil. Why don’t you buy one and hang it up? I’m sure it will be efficacious and repulse the demon.”

Thinking that what she said was reasonable, Yang Chun replied, “I have often heard of Great Nurturess Chen on each occasion killing demons and capturing ghosts for people.” When he had finished speaking, he went into the city to a picture shop, and there he bought an image of the divinity Great Nurturess Chen. As expected, she was colorfully dressed. He saw Madame Chen with her hair unbound, wearing a cap and brandishing a sword in her left hand, and in her right hand holding a spirit horn. She was in the pose of working her magic. Although it was just a color painting, her appearance was exactly as it had been in life.

Yang Chun used eight silver coins to buy the picture. He took it home and hung it in his sister’s room where the images of Zhong Kui and Master Guan had previously hung. They burned incense continuously, while Yang Chun knelt and prayed.

In the evening the Ravine Demon was about to enter the room when he saw the image of Madame Chen and couldn’t help being terrified! He collapsed on the ground, crying out that he was going to die. He clawed his way up and went out of the room crying, “My courage is destroyed! This adversary, the minute I see her I tremble with fear! But I don’t know who told him to display it. It’s really too cruel!”

Thereafter the Ravine Demon did not dare enter the room. But since he could not bear to part from his beloved, whose beauty was like flowers and jade, from dawn to dusk he did not leave the Yangs’ house. He was always in front or in back of the house, so tenderly attached that he couldn’t give her up. From the time the Ravine Demon no longer dared enter her room, Yang Chun’s sister gradually recovered from her illness, eating and drinking as before, and in her room she built up her vitality.

Madame Yao saw that her sister-in-law had recovered. One day she playfully said, “How would you have recovered so quickly if I hadn’t told your brother to provide an image of Great Nurturess Chen? You should thank me.” The sister smiled.

Who could know that just as Madame Yao was joking, the Ravine Demon happened to overhear her. Bearing her a grudge for cruelly breaking up his happy situation, he said, “I said I didn’t know who led him to put up this image for her, but it was her sister-in-law! She caused me trouble, so that I don’t dare enter the room. How can I get revenge and purge my hatred?” He thought some more to himself, and said, “Madame Yao is already more than ten months pregnant, so why don’t I go tonight and harm her?”

The Ravine Demon went into her room and stomped on her pregnant body to induce a miscarriage. In an instant Madame Yao felt pains in her belly and, thinking that she was about to give birth, went to sit on the birthing basin. The Ravine Demon was at her side. Taking her fetal membrane and entrails, he pulled them all out, so that she lost consciousness and died. Yang Chun saw that his wife had given birth. Even her intestines had fallen into the birthing basin, and her qi was cut off. He was so shaken that his soul was unable to stay attached to his body. Wailing, he ran into his sister’s room and knelt before the image of Madame Chen. Weeping, he called on the Great Nurturess to save his wife’s life. Prostrate before the goddess, he tearfully appealed to her to quickly come save the two lives from the complications of childbirth. In just a short time, his cries had become heart-rending.

Now we will return to Great Nurturess Chen, who earlier had ordered Lin Jiuniang to keep watch at the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers, while she herself searched high and low for the Ravine Demon. She also dispatched an animated talisman as a messenger to search everywhere and capture him, saying, “If anyone calls to be saved from complications of childbirth, come immediately to tell me. Or if any child is critically ill, that, too, must be reported. And make inquiries if there is any news of the Ravine Demon, and immediately come report it.”

One day the talismanic messenger came to report that there was a case of complications in childbirth in the Yang family in Fenggang. They were wailing and crying to be saved, and were beseeching Madame Chen to rescue the two lives in question. When Madame Chen heard this report, she rushed to the door of the Yangs’ house in Fenggang, where she transformed herself into a woman. She entered the house, and saw Yang Chun prostrate on the floor before her divine image, calling “Great Nurturess Chen, save their lives! Great Nurturess Chen, save their lives!”

Madame Chen said to Yang Chun, “There is no need for crying or alarm. I can save them.”

Yang Chun looked at her. She was indeed a woman out of the ordinary. He led her to his wife’s room, and Madame Chen entered the polluted chamber. Seeing the Ravine Demon pulling out the intestines of the woman in childbirth, the Great Nurturess quickly ran over to seize him. As soon as the Ravine Demon saw Great Nurturess Chen’s true body approach, his souls scattered in terror. He ran away, with Madame Chen in pursuit, sword in hand. This time the Ravine Demon did not succeed in escaping. He thought, “This is it! This is it!”

He ran to the back door. Luckily for him, he saw a well, into which he quickly flung himself and hid. Running to the well, the Great Nurturess plucked from her head a black hair. She transformed it into a long chain and threw into the well, where it chained and locked the demon. Next she sealed the mouth of the well with a large rock, and only then did she go back into Madame Yao’s polluted chamber.

She saw that Madame Yao was lying unconscious, her intestines and fetus filling the basin. Madame Chen put her intestines back into her belly and revived the fetus. At this moment Madame Yao was brought back to life, so both mother and child were alive! Yang Chun rejoiced, but suddenly he didn’t see the Great Nurturess. Only then did he realize that it was Madame Chen manifesting her sagehood to save them. The whole family was deeply grateful, extremely glad, and thankful. Before the divinity’s image they all kowtowed without stopping.

Now we will speak of Great Nurturess Chen after she came to the rescue of these birth complications. In this childbirth, even the intestines had come out. This is called a pond-snail birth, and it is a very dangerous complication.⁵

Now we will return to the Great Nurturess. She left the house and returned to the well, where she shifted the large rock. She had pulled out a black hair and transformed it into a long chain with which to catch the Ravine Demon, but he had vanished without a trace. She summoned the divinity of the well and asked him, “The Ravine Demon threw himself into this well, so how is it that he has disappeared? What opening does this well have through which he could have escaped?”

“This well is not like other wells,” the god of the well replied. “In this well there are many channels and secret springs, through which the Ravine Demon has escaped, leading straight to the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers.”

When Madame Chen heard this, she rushed to the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers. Lin Jiuniang met her and asked, “Did you catch the Ravine Demon? Do you have any news?”

Madame Chen told her the whole story of what had happened in the Yangs’ house in Fenggang. She also told her how she had caught the Ravine Demon and how he had hidden in the well. Because the underground springs connected to this place, she figured that the Ravine Demon would have to emerge there. She said, “Now I must not show my face, and I must guard against him seeing me. Otherwise, I’m afraid he’ll escape again. I will go in the palace first and wait there, while you go to the bridge. Do as follows, and only then will you be able to capture him.” Lin Jiuniang accepted the plan and went onto the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers. She opened the adornment tower and, looking into the mirror, combed her hair.

Now we will return to the Ravine Demon. He had been at the Yangs’ house when he saw that the Great Nurturess had come to capture him, and he had nearly died of shock. Fortunately for him, there was an underground spring in the well through which he could escape that led to under the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers. He didn’t know what place it was, but when he emerged to take a look it was resplendent. There were many flowers and trees, and the scenery was truly beautiful. Furthermore, he saw a lovely young woman on the bridge combing her hair. He said to himself in delight, “If I can take my pleasure for a time with this beautiful girl on the bridge, then Heaven will have fulfilled my lifelong wish.”

Then he transformed himself into a young boy. In his hand he held a bamboo pole. He climbed out from under the bridge, smiled at Jiuniang, and said, “Jiuniang, you are combing your hair here. I beg you to give me a strand of your black hair. Won’t you do that?” Jiuniang looked at him. She saw a little boy, whom she knew perfectly well was a transformation of the Ravine Demon.

She replied, “What do you want one of my hairs for?”

The Ravine Demon answered, “I want a strand to make a crab snare. On the riverbank I will suspend it to catch crabs.”

Jiuniang took a hair that had fallen out and gave it to him, asking, “Would this be all right for making a crab snare?”

The Ravine Demon replied, “I don’t want a hair that has fallen out, I want one that is growing on your head. I will choose one, and only then will it be of use.”

Lin Jiuniang laughed. Hanging her hair from the bridge, she said, “This way I will let you choose a hair.”

The Ravine Demon was very pleased. Grabbing Jiuniang’s hair, with all his might he tried to pull her into the water, thinking, “She’s mine!” Who knew that Jiuniang was secretly reciting spells? She shook her hair loose and turned it into a Celestial Web and Earthly Net. The Ravine Demon was tangled in the hair and bound tight. He frantically tried to escape but couldn’t get free. He thought to himself, “This is not good. I’ve fallen into her trap.” He said, “I was just having fun with you, so why have you bound me up so tightly?”

Jiuniang replied, “I’m just having fun with you, too. Wait till I finish combing my hair, then I’ll let you go.” Then, she bound the Ravine Demon tight with strands of hair transformed into iron chains. When she finished combing her hair, she said, “You’re no human child. What ghost demon are you really? Tell me and I’ll let you go.”

The Ravine Demon said, “I’m not a demon or goblin. I really am a human child. Hurry up and let me go. If there’s any delay and my parents hear about it, they certainly won’t give you any rest.”

Jiuniang said, “You can’t fool me. You have no choice but to explain truthfully. I can use you.”

The Ravine Demon asked, “What use do you have for me?”

Jiuniang said, “I guard this place, the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers. Many times Chen Jinggu has tried to seize my territory by force. Fortunately, I excel in magic and I’m more than a match for her. I want to take you on here to help me guard this place together. I’m asking you, and if you don’t tell me the truth, it will be hard for me to take you in and employ you.”

When the Ravine Demon heard this, he was delighted, and said, “Since it’s like this and I can’t fool you, I will tell you the truth. I am the Ravine Demon, and I also hate Chen Jinggu.”

Jiuniang said, “What score do you have to settle with her? Give me an explanation.”

The Ravine Demon said, “It’s because when she went to Mount Lü to study magic, it was I who barred her way and tried to proposition her. For this reason, we became bitter enemies. When she had perfected her magic and returned home, she was often my adversary. I had no refuge, and lived as a slave among the underlings of the White Snake in Linshui Grotto. Later, the grotto was destroyed by Chen Jinggu when she rescued her husband. Luckily, I succeeded in escaping to Great Ravine Mountain Grotto, where I hid myself. There I heard that the White Snake had been chopped up and Chen Jinggu was again coming to oppose me. When she prayed for rain on White Dragon River, it was I who stole the fetus she had removed and gave it to the White Snake to eat, and I who pulled her magic mat under the water. Then the mother ducks came and took the mat in their mouths and made it float. After pursuing and catching the White Snake, Chen Jinggu returned to the palace and died. Luckily, I got away. How could I know that she wouldn’t give up and was determined to seek revenge? She pursued me to Fenggang, where I threw myself into a well and made my escape to this place. Luckily, I ran into you. If you will let me stay and employ me, I will serve you like a dog.”

Jiuniang heard him out. Every sentence was the truth. She ground her teeth with hatred. Angrily she said, “Since you are the Ravine Demon, why don’t you appear in your original form?”

The Ravine Demon said, “If I appear in my original form, you must release me.” Immediately he assumed his original form: horns grew from his head; two fangs protruded from his mouth, he had red hair and a blue face, he was several zhang tall, and three claws grew from his feet.⁶

Lin Jiuniang said, “I don’t dare let you go on my own authority. I will request Madame to come deal with you,” and she ordered a spirit general to go ask Madame to come make a decision. In no time at all Madame Chen came out of the palace and took her seat above. Lin Jiuniang and the two spirit generals Deng and Gao escorted the Ravine Demon inside. The moment the Ravine Demon saw Great Nurturess Chen sitting on high, he was so terrified that his heavenly soul flew beyond Heaven and his earthly soul to the Ninth Cloud. He knew that the situation today would be difficult to escape. He begged and pleaded for his life.

When Madame Chen saw him, she pounded on the table and reviled him, saying, “Ravine Demon Zhang, today you have again come to court death. What bitter hatred did you have for me that you dared to destroy my fetus and kill me? Now I have captured you. What more is there to say?”

Then Great Nurturess Chen ordered the spirit generals to recount his crimes in order to punish him. She said, “For barring the way that day and attempting rape when halfway up the mountain to study magic, both hands will be cut off. For urging the White Snake to delude sons of good families, cut off both his feet. For stealing my fetus, cut out his heart and lungs. For dragging the magic mat under at White Dragon River, gouge out his eyes. For his infatuation with the young woman in Fenggang, scoop out his heart, intestines, and gall bladder. For yanking out Madame Yao’s fetus and pulling out her intestines, pull out his large and small intestines, dripping with excrement. For being my enemy and causing my death in childbirth, his corpse should be divided into three segments.” Then she ordered the two spirit generals to escort the Ravine Demon to be broken into pieces, to be held in Fengdu hell.⁷ “For ten thousand generations he will not be permitted to be reincarnated.”

Because the White Snake had submitted and the demon was eliminated, Great Nurturess Chen and her ten sisters assembled to discuss scripture and explicate magic, either in Dragon King Temple in Gutian or in Yulin Palace at the head of the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers, from which she sent boys and girls into the human world.⁸ We won’t discuss this any further.

Now let us go to the side of Fuqing Mountain, where there was a thatched hut where a woodcutter, whose surname was Xie and whose given name was Kai, lived alone. One day he was cutting wood on the mountain, when at the summit he saw a piece of rotting wood that had a very unusual scent. Xie Kai didn’t know what kind of wood it was, but it had a lovely fragrance! He took the wood and burned it in the brazier. Since he was at leisure with nothing to do, he went for a walk. He closed the door, dropped the bolt, and left. It turned out that this was a piece of eagle-wood incense and a piece of ebony-wood incense.⁹ When burned together in the brazier, its fragrance was very unusual and could be smelled near and far. This fragrance was completely different from that of ordinary incense. Truly it was:

A harmonious fragrance drawing the butterfly to it,

A cloud fragrance wafting across the traveler’s path.

Xie’s thatched hut was on a cliff to the side, and from it the extraordinary fragrance covered the mountain peaks. In this mountain there was a bottomless cave, where there was a great python. The snake’s head was the size of a bushel basket, and his body was several zhang long. He had practiced asceticism in the cave for more than a thousand years, never harming anyone.

But when the extraordinary fragrance reached his nostrils, he emerged from the cave and followed the fragrant cloud to its source. Arriving at Xie’s house, he saw a deserted thatched hut. He slipped inside, coiled himself in front of the brazier, and placed his snake head in the incense burner. The fragrance of the descending perfected incense and the black sinking incense in the brazier burned and smoked right up to the heavenly court, reaching all the way to the upper realm where the Jade Emperor smelled it. He assembled all the immortals, and ordered the spirit generals to find out where a beautiful woman was burning this perfected incense.

The spirit generals on duty that day received the order to investigate. Following the fragrant vapor, they carefully sought it out. When their investigation was complete, they reported to their superior, “We went to Fuqing District, but it was not an ordinary man or woman. It was a huge python at the side of the mountain guarding incense burning in an incense burner.”

When the Jade Emperor heard this report, he was thrilled. He said, “So, in the mortal world there is this sort of creature that knows how to piously worship Heaven by burning this perfected incense! Alas, ordinary people don’t know how to cultivate the prohibitions. I bestow a jade seal on the snake’s head. The Five Thunders are not permitted to strike him, and the spirit generals are not permitted to kill him. May he practice self-refinement forever!”

The spirit generals on duty received the jade seal, sent it straight down to the thatched hut, and on the snake’s forehead stamped the print. How could they know that, having received the jade seal of Heaven, the python would know that the Five Thunders would not dare to strike him, and that even the Thunderclap Celestial Master wouldn’t dare seize him? The snake returned to its cave and transformed into an all-penetrating supernatural power. He assembled several thousand little demons, and from dawn till dusk drilled them in techniques and magic arts. He called himself Python Celestial Spirit King (Mang Tian Shen Wang), and his awesome power was truly formidable.

Now we’ll speak of a Daoist priest in Fuqing. His surname was Liu and his given name was Zunli, “Follower of Ritual.” He had yet to take a wife. In his family he had only his father and a younger sister. His sister, whose name was Xianniang, “Immortal Maiden,” was still very young. Since Liu Zunli had always been very fond of the Way, he turned over all of the household affairs to his father and sister to manage, while he went through all the famous mountains, deep valleys, and rocky cliffs. He built a thatched hut and all day lived in seclusion, cultivating and perfecting himself. He studied Daoism on the mountain for several years.

One day an old Daoist came into the thatched hut, and Liu Zunli treated him with great respect. The old Daoist used Daoist esoteric magic to summon spirits and dispatch generals, call up the wind and summon the rain, soar up on clouds and ride the fog, and taught him all of these esoteric arts. Day and night Zunli practiced, acknowledging the Daoist as his teacher. In the space of several years, he had an all-penetrating, supernatural knowledge of all these arts. Repeatedly he asked the old Daoist his name. Only after a very long time did he find out that he was Supreme Exalted Lord Lao; for this reason his Daoist magic was superb.¹⁰ Because he knew of Liu Zunli’s single-minded devotion to the Way, living in seclusion on the mountain with no one to teach him, he had descended to teach him the magic arts. Liu Zunlui learned these marvelous arts, so his Daoist magic was profound. He had already given up eating grain, and only cultivated and refined immortal cinnabar on the mountain.

Now we will take up the story of the Python Celestial Spirit King in the mountains drilling the little demons. He demonstrated his strength and power, such that all the demons of the summits in the mountain range of Fuqing, Changle, and Xinghua came to submit, and chose him to be their leader. Among the subordinates there was a Poisonous Snake general, a Snake Mouth secretary, a Flying Snake army official, and a Snake Mountain Peak principal graduate. These four all possessed magic arts and were extremely formidable.

One day the Python Celestial King wandered about until he came to the rear garden of the Lius’ house. It was early spring, and all the flowers were in full bloom. By nature, the python was fond of fragrances, so this scene precisely matched his taste. While he was strolling, Liu Zunli’s sister happened to be in the rear garden picking flowers. The moment the Snake King set eyes on her, he couldn’t help rejoicing. To himself he praised her supreme beauty. Then he stirred up a gust of magical wind to carry Xianniang into his cave. There he turned himself into a fair-complexioned young scholar, and he and Xianniang became husband and wife. The Liu family couldn’t find their daughter; they searched everywhere, but there was no trace of her. They could only suspect that she had been killed by a tiger or wolf from the mountain behind the house. All they could do was cry day and night.

Now we will return to the python and his wife, Madame Liu. They were a very affectionate couple. Before they knew it, more than ten years had passed, and altogether they had eleven sons. Each birth resulted in twins; the eldest was called One, the next Two, Three, Four, and so on up to Eleven. They lived in peace, without incident.

Now we will take up the story of Miss Jiang, who herself had studied magic arts and the marvelous Way. Her arts having been perfected, she returned west to take care of young children. The village people there built for her a palace hall, called Tiger Lady Palace. When she heard that Madame Chen’s Way was perfected and she had turned into a divinity, she went to Linshui to pay a visit. The sisters recounted in detail all that had happened after they had parted. Madame Chen ordered the ten sisters to assemble, so they were constantly getting together. This time Madame Chen accepted Tang, Ge, Zhu, and Liao as the four generals. We won’t discuss this further.

Now we will return to Liu Zunli, who was cultivating the Way in the mountains, where the Supreme Exalted Lord Lao taught him magic. Since he had shed his mortal body and entered the category of Immortal, he didn’t have dealings with ordinary people. One day Zunli thought to himself, “From the time I entered the mountains, it’s been more than twenty years since I left home. I don’t know what the state of affairs is in my family.” Then, putting his sword on his back, he returned home on foot to pay a visit to his father and sister.

When he entered the house, nobody, old or young, recognized him. Only after carefully looking him over did his father realize that it was his son, Liu Zunli. He was greatly astonished, and said, “Son, why didn’t you return for so long? Why did you send no word? Where have you come from now?”

Liu Zunli paid his respects to his father and inquired after his sister. When his father was asked about her, tears poured from his eyes without his being aware of it. He said, “When you were away single-mindedly studying the Way, and didn’t return, your sister was carried off by we don’t know what demon spirit. We searched for her everywhere, but she had disappeared without a trace. It has already been more than twenty years now.” When Zunli heard this, he said very angrily, “This is outrageous! My sister dragged off by a demon spirit! How can I let this go by?”

Zunli immediately took leave of his father. With sword in hand he went to every mountain and cave in search of her. Suddenly he saw right in front of him in the depths of the mountains an abundance of demon vapor. He soared into the air and traveled to that great mountain, looking for the demon’s grotto. The little snakes went into the grotto to report. When the Snake King heard this, he was greatly alarmed and ordered the four generals—Poisonous Snake, Snake Mouth, Flying Snake, and Snake Mountain Peak—to each take a sword and spear and fight their way out of the cave.

Liu Zunli’s flying sword met them, and they fought several rounds. Zunli raised his spirit sword, and, one after the other, he killed the four generals. Then he fought his way into the grotto. The Snake King ordered sons One, Two, Three, and Four to go out of the cave and meet the enemy. Each wielding a weapon, they came out attacking. How could they be any match for Zunli with his formidable spirit sword? He killed all four of the sons. A scout flew into the cave to report. When the Snake King heard the report, he was so shocked that his soul fled his body. He had no alternative but to order his four sons Five, Six, Seven, and Eight to go meet the enemy. The four sons received the order and came out fighting, and, again, they were all killed by Zunli. The Python Celestial King had lost eight sons one after the other, as well as four generals. He wept bitterly, recognizing that the situation was critical. He had no choice but to give up Xianniang and escape from the back of the grotto.

Liu Xianniang saw that her husband had fled. Eight of her sons had been killed, and only the three—Nine, Ten, and Eleven, who were very young—remained. Madame Liu put one on her back, and took the other two by the hand. The four of them, mother and sons, came out from the cave and knelt on the ground. Liu Zunli was about to fight his way into the cave, when he recognized his sister kneeling on the ground. He rushed to help her to her feet and asked, “Where did the demon king go? I must kill him.”

Xianniang replied, “My husband escaped. I don’t know in what direction he went. Older brother, please calm your anger for a moment. Look at my face! Spare him!”

Liu Zunli saw the two children at his sister’s side and the one on her back. He asked his sister, “Who are they?”

Xianniang replied, “From the time you went away to cultivate the Way, it has been more than twenty years. I was carried into the grotto by the Snake King, and we became husband and wife. Altogether we had eleven children. When the cave was destroyed, eight of them were killed by you, so that only these three remain. They are very young, and I hope you will take pity on them. Remember our affection as brother and sister. Don’t harm them!”

When Zunli heard this, he sheathed his sword. He took his sister by the arm and they returned home. The Python Celestial King had been attacked by Zunli, who had killed eight of his sons, one after the other, and he didn’t know what had happened to his wife. Luckily, before Zunli had entered the grotto, the Snake King had run for his life, fleeing deep into the mountains to hide.

Liu Xianniang and her three sons returned home with her elder brother. When she saw her father, she burst out crying and said, “I am an unworthy daughter. It’s been more than twenty years since I was carried off by the Snake King to be his wife. Altogether I gave birth to eleven grandsons. I was unable to serve you at home, as I was far away from you. I am very unfilial. Now elder brother has killed them. One by one he killed eight of his nephews, leaving only these three. I hope you, Father, will pardon us. Please remember the affection between father and daughter.”

When Mr. Liu heard this, he was astounded. Liu Zunli was still in the mountains searching for the Snake King with sword in hand, when suddenly he saw a mountain with demon vapor soaring up into the sky. He hurried to the mountain, and there he saw a huge python. It was none other than his enemy! He pressed down the head of his cloud and advanced with raised sword to strike. Just at that moment, from the sky a voice shouted, “Zunli, don’t strike! A jade decree has come down. Hurry and take the decree.”

Zunli raised his head and looked up. It was none other than Great Silver Star (Planet Venus), holding the jade decree with both hands. Facing him, Liu Zunli knelt to receive it. The python also came forward and knelt to receive the decree. That is because, although that snake was a kind of worm, he had already practiced Daoist rules for more than a thousand years. Now he had suddenly suffered the calamity of this crushing defeat. For this reason, the Jade Emperor ordered Great Silver Star to bring the decree. He lowered the head of his cloud and shouted to Liu Zunli to listen to the decree. Liu Zunli responded with a shout. Great Silver Star opened the proclamation and read the jade decree.

It said, “Now there is a python that, although he belongs to the category of worm, still knows how to respect the Jade Emperor. Since I have bestowed a jade seal on the python’s head, he cannot suffer the disaster of the Five Thunders. I do not permit any spirit sword to kill him. Moreover, he has practiced rigorous Daoist rules for more than a thousand years, has never hurt any living being and is without malice. How could I think of him without affection? Madame Liu and he were predestined from a previous existence. This was not an accidental occurrence. It is fitting that they should have become husband and wife and thereby completed the affection established in a previous life. Liu Zunli little by little will eliminate demons from the world. I will wait until Liu Zunli’s work is complete and then permit him to return to the heavenly court, where I will employ him. Let him obey this. Be reverent and respectful.”

When Great Silver Star finished reading the proclamation, riding on a cloud he left to report back on the reading of the decree. When the Python King heard that the jade decree exempted him from punishment, he shook his head and wriggled his tail. He went into the remote mountains and the farthest valleys and the quietest places to cultivate and refine himself. Zunli also returned home. We won’t speak of this any further.

Now we will return to Xianniang, who was separated from the snake. Rescued by her brother, she had returned home. She kept and raised the sons she had brought back, but she was not spared the gossiping behind her back of the neighbors and relatives in the village, who all said that these sons were demons. When Xianniang heard this, she felt ashamed. One night she was so distraught from loss of face that she hanged herself. Later the Jade Emperor conferred on her the title of Smallpox Mother, and, with Chen Jinggu, she is in charge of diseases of childhood. Liu Xianniang expressed her gratitude.¹¹

The following year, because in the old well of Kaiyuan Temple the water swelled to waves and billows with a sound like tremendous thunder, the villagers nearby heard it, and there wasn’t one who wasn’t astonished. They thought it was surely the demon snake haunting the well, and they were terrified that it would emerge. Everyone was talking about it. They took an iron Buddha from inside the temple and moved it to in front of the well, and only then did the sound stop. Today it is called Iron Buddha Well and is located at Zhi Mountain.¹² It is said that the snake monster has been hiding down there for five hundred years, from the Changxing reign period of the Later Tang to the fourth year of the Zhengtong reign period of the Ming. Altogether that adds up to five hundred years.¹³

Great Nurturess Chen’s relics, magic writings, and precious sword are still in Gutian. There are so many other traces of her evident efficacy that it’s impossible to recount them in full. Of all of these traces the most remarkable is the miracle of the mother ducks. Under Nantai Great Bridge is the Great River, which goes straight to the foot of Gu Mountain. There were no islets or dry spots when Great Nurturess Chen took her reed mat and floated it on the water. When she prayed for rain and performed magic, the demons figured they could pull the mat under the water. Perfected Lord Xu, the magic master, performed magic and sent three mother ducks into the water to grasp three corners of the mat in their mouths, so that the uncanny magic of the demons could not pull it under. Great Nurturess Chen pursued and caught the demon and didn’t return, leaving her magic mat on the river. It was not washed away, but turned into a floating islet, which, like the mat, has the shape of one corner under water. It is called Mother Duck Islet. Later, it gradually grew through deposits to assume its present shape, and has now reached several li in length. The inhabitants alternate rice and wheat in the fields, and the floating islet has become a sizable town. Later, people wrote a poem as testimony to this. The poem says:

In ancient times when praying for rain the mat was left behind.

It turned into Mother Duck Islet in the famous river.

The demon surrendered and will re-emerge only with difficulty.

There is no need to pray for the sweet and seasonal rain.