Let us speak of the Ravine Demon, who from morning till night had no rest. Acting under the Great Queen’s orders, he didn’t dare stop for long. One day, by coincidence, the Ravine Demon paid a visit to an opera troupe from Suzhou, called the Jade Blessing Troupe. It performed either Beijing or Anhui style, and had just arrived to perform in Fuzhou. Their route passed through Gutian, where they would stay to give a performance. Their gowns and hats were new.

The Ravine Demon found out that in the troupe there was a young man who played female roles and whose appearance was flawless. The Ravine Demon supposed that he was a disciple of the Pear Orchard tradition, and therefore surely had talent.¹ He thought it through and made up his mind. When it was almost dusk, it happened that the young man went to the lavatory to empty his bowels. The Ravine Demon dragged him to the grotto and presented him to the Great Queen, who, when she saw him, was delighted, as he was very much to her taste. She ordered water to be sprayed in his face to revive him. She herself pretended to be a wealthy young lady and that he was summoned to be the son-in-law. Then they accomplished the matter.

This time, having won the Great Queen’s perfect satisfaction, the Ravine Demon asked her to record his meritorious deed. The Great Queen replied, “This doesn’t yet count. Although outwardly he is beautiful, if inwardly he lacks talent, I will temporarily record merit, and will reward you on another occasion.” Then she ordered the Ravine Demon to go to the opera troupe and get the headgear and dress of a bride and other articles, and bring them back. “I have use for them,” she told him. On her orders the Ravine Demon went into the opera troupe. Using magic to make himself invisible, he stole several outfits of gowns and hats and so forth, returned to the grotto, and presented them to the Great Queen. When she saw each article, she was delighted. She put on a nine-phoenix pearl hat and a red-dragon snow gown. To the Ravine Demon she said, “I am the queen! I enfeoff you as my dragon minister.” The Ravine Demon was thrilled, and kowtowed to show his gratitude. Putting on the minister’s hat, he wrapped himself in the red gown and put on the black boots. He was completely happy!

Now we will return to the Jade Blessing Troupe. The young man who played female roles had disappeared, and clothing, boots, and caps were missing. Alarmed, people searched everywhere, but there was no news of him. The opera troupe entirely depended on the young man to make money, and now he had simply vanished! What’s more, with many articles of costume missing, they didn’t go to Fuzhou but returned to Suzhou.

Now we will speak of the Great Queen. From morning till night she was very happy with the young actor. Sometimes they sang, and sometimes they danced. In just over a month, she had worn the beautiful young man out with lust, and he had become unbearably yellow and thin. The Great Queen complained of his lack of energy; since he was unable to carry on the affair, she was about to eat him. But she couldn’t bear to give up his beautiful appearance, and, moreover, he could both sing and dance. Thinking thereby to dispel her gloom, she didn’t eat him. She sent him to the back hall to recuperate, and waited for him to recover his original magnificence so that she could once again enjoy him.

Again she ordered the Ravine Demon to entice another victim. He had no alternative but to accept her order to search high and low. Where was there a young man with both talent and good looks? When the Great Queen saw young men impressive in neither talent nor appearance, she angrily rebuked the Ravine Demon, saying, “It’s useless to go on like this. The ones you have dragged in are only good for a meal. What do you think you are doing? If you continue to be so incompetent, you absolutely cannot stay.”

When the Ravine Demon heard the two words “cannot stay,” he hastily knelt and pleaded, “Enlightened Great Queen on High, if you want someone impressive in both talent and appearance, you must extend the deadline by several days. Wait while I carefully search.” The Great Queen said, “Given what you have just said, I’ll give you ten more days. But when the deadline is reached, there will be no extension. I absolutely will drive you out and not keep you.” Having gained an extension, the Ravine Demon left the grotto to search. We will speak no more of this.

Now we will return to the Liu family steward. After taking the marriage timetable to Xiadu, he had received Jinggu’s instructions to take the timetable back home and give it to the Liu patriarch, to whom he reported Jinggu’s instructions one by one. Liu Tong, his wife Madame Li, and their son Liu Qi listened, and could not help laughing grimly. They said, “This is outrageous! That stupid girl! What she said was rubbish about waiting for her to come back. We should just choose another auspicious wedding day, and that’s it!”

Now we will return to Chen Jinggu, Miss Jiang, and the two Rock Press sisters, who used an earth vein to go to Wu Shan’s house in Changle, where Wu Shan treated them with the courtesy of a host to his guests. After tea, Jinggu asked in detail about what had been going on. Then she went into the rear chamber to have a look. She was not prepared; she only heard the sounds of bricks and tiles being unceasingly thrown in the room, and beat a hasty retreat. To Miss Jiang and the Rock sisters she said, “The fiend is extremely wild. I had only just gone in when I saw it stirring, and it threw a brick. Fortunately, I was able to quickly dodge it and wasn’t hit in the head.”

Miss Jiang said, “Elder sister, with what strategy can we capture it?”

Jinggu answered, “What’s difficult about it? Capturing this fiend is no harder than taking something out of a bag.” Then she instructed Miss Jiang, “Now make yourself invisible and go inside and lure it. You will only have to fight a few rounds with that fiend, then pretend to be defeated and run out of the room. I will as a matter of course have the arts with which to catch it.”

Accepting the plan, Miss Jiang made herself invisible and went inside. Holding her sword, she thrust it, while the fiend spirit raised his club to parry it. Miss Jiang fought several rounds. Then, seemingly defeated, she fled from the rear hall. Victorious, the fiend went back to the room, but his lover had disappeared! Just as he was searching for her, he saw in the room a three-headed, six-armed, blue-faced, fang-toothed, red-mustached being holding in its hands six weapons, coming to attack him.² The fiend hastily took up his club to resist the enemy, and they fought more than sixty rounds in the air. The three-headed, six-armed being fled, defeated.

The fiend heard that the three-headed being stopped when it reached a big mountain, where it vanished. The fiend was about to return to the bedroom to find his sweetheart when he heard the sound of weeping at the foot of the mountain. It was very tender and lovely, so he made his way downhill to have a look. It was none other than his beloved! How could she be here? He went up and asked, “Who are you?”

A second woman replied, “This is my younger sister. As a consequence of coming to see me, she was dragged off here by one with three heads and six arms.”

When the fiend heard this he was delighted. He said, “That she is already here is even more marvelous! But I fought to exhaustion with the three-headed six-armed one. Could I trouble you two sisters to massage me a bit?”

The two sisters said, “We can do that.” Then they stood on either side, with the fiend between them. The two women suddenly changed into two big rocks and pressed the fiend between them so tightly that he couldn’t escape. Jinggu and Miss Jiang both arrived and, using the demon-binding rope, bound the fiend. Then the two sisters of the Rock clan moved apart and resumed their human bodies. To the fiend they said, “This is your good luck. If Elder Sister Chen had arrived any later, you would already have been crushed into a meat patty.”

Jinggu said, “Fiend, you still have not resumed your original form.” Having spoken, she clapped the fiend on the back several times, and it changed into a white male fox. It jerked its head, as if it were begging for its life. Jinggu said, “For someone like you, who took by force a girl of a good family, execution is too good.” Then she ordered Miss Jiang to kill the fox. As soon as the order was issued, she cut it in two. Then they carried the corpse of the male fox to Wu Shan’s house.

When the whole village heard what had happened, holding the old by the arm and the young by the hand, everyone came to look. Jinggu said, “The fiend has been eliminated, but the rescued person must still be saved completely. You can help your daughter into her room, so that we can exorcise the demon vapor. You must wait for seven days, and only then will she be completely back to normal.” Wu Shan thanked her again and again. Jinggu, Miss Jiang, and the Rock clan sisters were all in Wu Shan’s house. Do you know who that three-headed six-armed creature was? It was none other than a transformation of Jinggu. She had lured the demon out to fight, so as to wrest from him the girl, whom she put in another room. In advance she had ordered the two Rock Press sisters to take on the likeness of the Wu daughters on the side of the mountain, planning thereby to capture him. We won’t speak of this any further.

Now we will turn to the Ravine Demon in Gutian County. He had received the order of the Great Queen of Linshui Grotto to lure in a young man impressive in both talent and appearance within ten days. He searched everywhere, but he did not find even a single suitable one. One day, he found Teacher Liu’s son Liu Qi. He learned that he had already been police chief in Luoyuan, and having completed his term of office, he was now living at home at leisure. If you considered his talent, it did not fail to measure up to that of Zijian; if you considered his appearance, it was not inferior to that of Pan An.³ And he was young. If he dragged him in and presented him to the Great Queen, surely he would be perfectly suitable. The only problem was that Liu Qi rarely left the house, as he was usually in his study studying poetry. The Ravine Demon wanted to get inside, but Liu Qi regularly made offerings to the statue of the Wen Qu Star, so there was no way for him to make a move.⁴ All day the Ravine Demon hung around Patriarch Liu trying to find out about his son.

One day, he learned that Liu Qi was going to a friend’s house for a literary get-together. The Ravine Demon was secretly very pleased, since he figured that when Liu Qi returned home from the party, he would have to pass by Linshui Grotto. He said, “I will wait there for him to come, then drag him in for the Great Queen.” His mind made up, he returned to inform the Great Queen so that she could make her preparations for that evening. The Great Queen was overjoyed! She transformed the cave into a splendid room, and hung up lanterns and festoons, while the Ravine Demon waited at the grotto.

Now we will take up the story of Liu Qi, who was at his friend’s house writing poetry. In the afternoon he walked home alone, carrying with him his own poems. When he passed by Linshui Grotto, the Ravine Demon spotted him and, turning himself into a black-turbaned soldier, went up to him saying, “I’ve been waiting here for a long time. I want to invite you inside, young gentleman. Can I have a look at your compositions? I have something to say to you, young gentleman.”

Astonished, Liu Qi asked, “What is your master’s name?”

The black-turbaned soldier replied, “Come in, and then you will know. Why do you have to ask?”

Liu Qi looked and saw that the house was magnificent. Without knowing what government official’s it was, he went in. The Ravine Demon drew him into the hall, and he saw that it was ablaze with lights. The Ravine Demon said, “Young gentleman, please have a seat, and wait while I go in and report to my master. In a moment he will come out to meet you.” Liu Qi gave his compositions to the Ravine Demon to take in.

The Ravine Demon reported to the Great Queen, “Now I have brought a talented and handsome young man, entirely in line with your wishes. His appearance is more handsome than the previous ones. Regarding his inner talents, he has the learning of a Principal Graduate in the imperial examination, and he has just held the office of police chief. Today he went to a literary gathering at a friend’s house. His poems and collected writings are all here. Please, Great Queen, take a look at his talent. Then look at his appearance. If he isn’t just what you want, it would take a long time to find such another.”

The Great Queen took the writings, looked at them, and, greatly pleased, couldn’t stop praising them. She said, “His talent is like that of Zijian. If only he is as handsome as Pan An! Wait while I have a look at him.” The Great Queen took a peek and clapped her hands in delight. “His appearance is superior to that of Song Yu.”⁵

At this time the White Snake’s happiness knew no bounds. She gave the Ravine Demon instructions on how to proceed, and he left the hall in accordance with the plan. He said, “The master has looked at your excellent sentences and can’t stop praising them. But because he is not well, he cannot wait on you himself.”

The servants urged the young gentleman, saying, “The master does not yet have a son. He has only a precious daughter, whose beauty is unrivalled, and wants to invite you to be his son-in-law. This evening we must first complete the wedding, and on another day you can return home together. Now I would like to ask you, young gentleman, to marry the daughter of the house here and now.”

When Liu Qi heard this, he was aghast. He said, “Go back in immediately and tell your master that I already have a wife, so I don’t dare obey. His daughter should choose someone from a better family.”

Then he turned to leave. The Ravine Demon hurried to stop him and said, “You can enter, but you can’t leave. You absolutely are not allowed to leave. You can go in and speak face to face with the daughter. No one will pass on a message for you.”

Liu Qi had not yet replied when the Ravine Demon took him by the arm and pushed him into the rear hall. The Ravine Demon pointed to the Great Queen and said, “Here is the daughter. She wants to meet you, so if you have something to say, you can say it yourself. I, however, don’t know.” When he finished speaking, he went out.

Liu Qi had been pushed by the Ravine Demon into the rear hall, where he saw a young girl standing to one side. Her clothing was of the expensive fashion of an official’s family. He hastily bowed, saying, “Remember, I already have a wife, so I don’t dare comply with your wishes. I beg you to forgive my offence.”

The Great Queen said, “If you want to live, then quickly submit. If you don’t want to live, then do as you like. Think it over carefully.”

Liu Qi said, “In other things it could still be all right, but in this serious matter of marriage how can there be any justification for compulsion? I would rather die than submit.”

When the Ravine Demon heard this, he was furious. The Great Queen ordered the Ravine Demon to suspend Liu Qi upside down from a beam so that the blood would rush to his head and she could extract it and drink it like wine.⁶ The Ravine Demon stepped forward and urged Liu Qi, saying, “You have landed in this place, and if you don’t comply, don’t blame me for taking action. When you are suspended upside down, it will be no joke.”

Liu Qi said, “Then go ahead and hang me upside down. Can there be no justice in this peaceful world? Moreover, I am an official on imperial orders. I have not broken the law. I have only not gone along with a marriage, and that’s all. What is serious about that? If you want me to carry out this wedding, I really am unable. I would rather die than consent!”

The Ravine Demon said, “As talented and handsome as you are, if you die, wouldn’t that be really regrettable?”

Liu Qi shouted angrily, “A real man looks upon death as returning home. How could there be any question of regret? Today I was tricked into coming in here. Do whatever you like!”

The Ravine Demon said, “Since it is impossible to persuade you, you can’t blame me.” Then he took out a rope, bound Liu Qi tight, and dragged him out of the rear hall. He suspended Liu Qi from a beam, with his head down and his feet up. Instantly the Great Queen felt her heart begin to pound and her gallbladder tremble. She hastened to order the Ravine Demon to place a cushion under Liu Qi’s head, so that he was half suspended and half resting, as she did not want to kill him. The Ravine Demon carried out her order, and the Great Queen’s heart and gallbladder no longer pained her.

What was the reason for this? It was because Liu Qi was none other than the reincarnated vegetable seller, Wang Cheng Xiao’er of Luoyang, and the Great Queen was the strand of Guanyin’s hair that was struck by Wang Cheng’s coin. Guanyin had pulled out the strand of hair and it had turned into the White Snake. Therefore, when Liu Qi was hung upside down, the White Snake’s heart and gallbladder both pained her. Now that Liu Qi was half hanging, she no longer suffered so much.

The Ravine Demon both pleaded with him to comply and gave him food and drink. But no matter what, he refused to give in. The Great Queen flirted with the young actor in front of him, and they had sexual intercourse to arouse him. Who could have known that Liu Qi’s heart was like iron or stone? He was not in the least aroused. So she ordered the Ravine Demon to drag in a boy, and in front of Liu Qi she cut him, causing him to cry out, in order to frighten Liu Qi. But Liu Qi was not even a little bit frightened. In the end, there was nothing she could do to him, so she had no alternative but to instruct the Ravine Demon to urge Liu Qi to consent, saying, “Wait for him to change his mind. If he submits, there will be a handsome reward.”

Now we will speak of Teacher Liu, whose son had gone out very early in the morning to a literary party and still hadn’t returned home when the sun was setting in the west. He ordered the steward to make inquiries of the friends at the party, who told him that after the party ended everyone went home. When Teacher Liu heard this, he was alarmed; his eyes twitched and his heart pounded. He ordered the steward to go to the homes of relatives and friends to ask after him. Again, there was no news. Liu Tong and his family were alarmed and distraught.

At dusk a little old man arrived at the gate. To Liu Tong he said, “There’s no need to rush around in confusion. Quickly, go ask for rescue. If you are too late, then he will die.”

Teacher Liu urgently asked the old man, “How could you possibly know where he is?”

The old man replied, “When your young gentleman passed by Linshui Grotto on his way back from the party, he was dragged off by the White Snake, who turned everything inside the cave into an illusion, and invited him to marry her. You should go to Fuzhou and ask your daughter-in-law to come back immediately. The young gentleman can be saved, and the fiend exterminated. But if you are too late, then it will be difficult to save him.” When the Teacher wanted to inquire further, the old man suddenly vanished. He knew then that the old man was a transformation of the family earth god. Since there was no time to write a letter, he ordered the steward to set out that very night for Xiadu in Fuzhou to ask Jinggu to come and help in this emergency.

By the afternoon of the next day, the Liu family steward had reached Xiadu in Fuzhou. Receiving him, Chen Chang asked why he had come, and the messenger told him the whole story about how Liu Qi had been dragged off by a fiend. Chen Chang explained that his daughter was still at Wu Shan’s house, in Changle, where she was capturing a fiend and hadn’t yet returned. He immediately ordered the steward to go to Changle to urge Jinggu to return.

The steward didn’t dare rest for long. He went forthwith to Wu Shan’s house in Changle to ask for Jinggu, saying that it was an urgent matter. Wu Shan went in to inform her, and Jinggu came out to see him. It was none other than the steward who had on a previous occasion brought the marriage timetable. When he saw Jinggu, he said, “I have come on the order of my master. I traveled by night with all haste to request that you immediately return to Gutian to help in this emergency. The young master has been dragged off by the White Snake of Linshui Grotto, who has taken him in order to marry him. Now he is suspended upside down. Since the master had no time to write a letter, he ordered me to come here the same night to ask you, Jinggu, to hurry back. Any later and you won’t be in time.”

Jinggu thought the steward was making it all up in order to force her to go back and get married. She replied with a laugh, “If you save someone, you must save him completely. I will be here for two days, after which I will as a matter of course go back. Why try to deceive me like this? I’m not a fool.”

When she had spoken, she turned to go inside, but the messenger informed her in detail, “It’s not a trick, it’s the truth!”

Jinggu said, “You say it’s the truth. Well, I’d like to ask you, you say you have just rushed from Gutian to Changle with all possible speed. That’s almost four days. If I go back now to rescue him, it’s another four days. In all, that makes eight days. You say the fiend has hung Liu Qi upside down, in order to get the fluid from his brain. If you wait for me to go to rescue him, even if we set aside the taking of his brain fluid, when he has hung upside down for eight days even if I go it will be of no use.”

The messenger said, “If he dies from being suspended upside down, won’t you want revenge?”

Jinggu said, “If it’s a matter of revenge, then it doesn’t matter if it’s early or late. Waiting another two or three days to go won’t do any harm.” The messenger wept and wept as he pleaded. Still Jinggu didn’t believe him. There was nothing the messenger could do, and he had no alternative but to return to Gutian and make his report to Teacher Liu—that is to say, Liu Tong.

When the Liu family heard his report, they were distraught. The next day he and Chen Chang themselves hurried to Wu Shan’s house. Wu Shan welcomed them and invited them into the hall. He went in and informed Jinggu, who quickly came out to greet them. When Chen Chang saw his daughter, he scolded her angrily, “You foolish creature! When other people suffer calamity and come calling for help, you go immediately! Right now your own husband is suffering the calamity of being suspended upside down, and in great haste a messenger hurried here, traveling through the night. You nonetheless turned a deaf ear and paid no heed whatsoever, with the result that we two have made a long and difficult journey to get here. What possible justification is there for this?”

Jinggu said, “I suspected that it was just a way to force me to go back and get married, a trumped-up story to deceive me. If it had been nothing, I would have been mocked. For this reason I didn’t go back immediately. Now that you have come, Father, how would I dare not go? But what fiend is it that snatched him away and suspended him upside down? Only if you tell me the whole story will I be willing to go rescue him.”

Because Liu Tong was nearby, he overheard the conversation between father and daughter. Then he told them how Liu Qi had been dragged away by the fiend, how they had searched for him and found no trace, and, luckily, how their own family earth god had explained the reason for the situation. He continued, “The god told me to send someone to ask my worthy daughter-in-law to go rescue him, saying that if she arrived too late, he could not be saved. Today I brought a long-distance sedan chair, and I request that my worthy daughter-in-law set out with all possible speed to rescue Liu Qi from being suspended upside down. Please do not delay!”

When she heard this, Jinggu turned and went inside. To Miss Jiang and the Rock sisters she said, “You worthy younger sisters stay here with Wu Shan’s daughter until she is calm. After seven days go back to your mountains. I will now go to Gutian to eliminate the fiend and save Liu Qi from calamity. If anyone outside asks, may I trouble you to answer for me? I must take my magic implements and go by means of an earth vein.”

Outside, Chen Chang and Liu Tong, the two senior members of the families to be related by marriage, watched Jinggu go inside. After a long time she still had not yet come out. Chen Chang was about to shout to her when Wu Shan came to invite them to take an early meal. Chen Chang wanted to tell Jinggu to set out, but Miss Jiang said, “She left a long time ago.”

Chen Chang said, “I didn’t see her come out. From where did she go? Can it be that she departed from the back door? At present the long-distance sedan chair is outside, and she didn’t get in. How could she choose to walk such a long way?”

Miss Jiang answered, “By now my elder sister is already at Linshui Grotto in Gutian. She went to eliminate the fiend monster.”

The two old gentlemen Liu and Chen were astounded, and asked, “How could she get there so quickly?”

Miss Jiang replied, “She traveled through an earth vein.” When Chen and Liu heard this, they were elated and, taking leave of Wu Shan, went home.

The two Rock sisters and Miss Jiang stayed until the seven days were up. Then they said to Wu Shan, “Your daughter’s spirit has returned to its original state, so we sisters will return home.” Declining Wu Shan’s gifts, the Rock sisters and Miss Jiang used an earth vein to return to their mountains. Wu Shan prepared generous gifts and went to Xiadu to pay a visit to express his gratitude. We won’t speak of this further.

Now we will return to Linshui Grotto in Gutian, where Liu Qi had been suspended upside down by the monster. Five days had already gone by. Every day the Ravine Demon tried to persuade him, but his exhortations were to absolutely no avail, and Liu Qi would not give in. To the Great Queen the Ravine Demon said, “Since he won’t give in, it’s up to you to go kill him. For five days I’ve urged him, but he won’t yield. Keeping him is of no use. It’s better to kill him.” Thereupon the Ravine Demon received the order to do so. He took a knife and said to Liu Qi, “You really won’t give in?” Liu Qi said, “Tied up like this, I feel terrible! Hurry up and kill me!” Just when the Ravine Demon raised the knife and was about to strike, he heard the sounds of heaven falling and the earth splitting come rumbling in. The Ravine Demon hastily threw down his knife and fled to the back of the grotto. Truly it was:

The man’s brain not yet having drained out, the cave was breached.

Demons and monsters indulge in trickery; Heaven does not.

In the end, how could the Ravine Demon and the Great Queen withstand Chen Jinggu? You must read the next chapter, where it will be recounted in detail to all you ladies and gentlemen.