So saying, Ao Ping thrust at the boy with his trident. No-cha, by a brisk move, evaded the thrust.

"Who are you?" he asked in turn.

"I am Ao Ping, the third son of Lung w.a.n.g."

"Ah, you are a bl.u.s.terer," jeered the boy; "if you dare to touch me I will skin you alive, you and your mud-eels!"

"You make me choke with rage," rejoined Ao Ping, at the same time thrusting again with his trident.

Furious at this renewed attack, No-cha spread his silk trousers in the air, and thousands of b.a.l.l.s of fire flew out of them, felling Lung w.a.n.g's son. No-cha put his foot on Ao Ping's head and struck it with his magic bracelet, whereupon he appeared in his true form of a dragon.

"I am now going to pull out your sinews," he said, "in order to make a belt for my father to use to bind on his cuira.s.s."

No-cha was as good as his word, and Ao Ping's escort ran and informed Lung w.a.n.g of the fate of his son. The Dragon-king went to Li Ching and demanded an explanation.

Being entirely ignorant of what had taken place, Li Ching sought No-cha to question him.

An Unruly Son

No-cha was in the garden, occupied in weaving the belt of dragon-sinew. The stupefaction of Li Ching may be imagined. "You have brought most awful misfortunes upon us," he exclaimed. "Come and give an account of your conduct." "Have no fear," replied No-cha superciliously; "his son's sinews are still intact; I will give them back to him if he wishes."

When they entered the house he saluted the Dragon-king, made a curt apology, and offered to return his son's sinews. The father, moved with grief at the sight of the proofs of the tragedy, said bitterly to Li Ching: "You have such a son and yet dare to deny his guilt, though you heard him haughtily admitting it! To-morrow I shall report the matter to Yu Huang." Having spoken thus, he departed.

Li Ching was overwhelmed at the enormity of his son's crime. His wife, in an adjoining room, hearing his lamentations, went to her husband. "What obnoxious creature is this that you have brought into the world?" he said to her angrily. "He has slain two spirits, the son of Lung w.a.n.g and a steward sent by the King of Heaven. To-morrow the Dragon-king is to lodge a complaint with Yu Huang, and two or three days hence will see the end of our existence."

The poor mother began to weep copiously. "What!" she sobbed, "you whom I suffered so much for, you are to be the cause of our ruin and death!"

No-cha, seeing his parents so distracted, fell on his knees. "Let me tell you once for all," he said, "that I am no ordinary mortal. I am the disciple of T'ai-i Chen-jen; my magic weapons I received from him; it is they which brought upon me the undying hatred of Lung w.a.n.g. But he cannot prevail. To-day I will go and ask my master's advice. The guilty alone should suffer the penalty; it is unjust that his parents should suffer in his stead."

Drastic Measures

He then left for Ch'ien-yuan Shan, and entered the cave of his master T'ai-i Chen-jen, to whom he related his adventures. The master dwelt upon the grave consequences of the murders, and then ordered No-cha to bare his breast. With his finger he drew on the skin a magic formula, after which he gave him some secret instructions. "Now," he said, "go to the gate of Heaven and await the arrival of Lung w.a.n.g, who purposes to accuse you before Yu Huang. Then you must come again to consult me, that your parents may not be molested because of your misdeeds."

When No-cha reached the gate of Heaven it was closed. In vain he sought for Lung w.a.n.g, but after a while he saw him approaching. Lung w.a.n.g did not see No-cha, for the formula written by T'ai-i Chen-jen rendered him invisible. As Lung w.a.n.g approached the gate No-cha ran up to him and struck him so hard a blow with his golden bracelet that he fell to the ground. Then No-cha stamped on him, cursing him vehemently.

The Dragon-king now recognized his a.s.sailant and sharply reproached him with his crimes, but the only reparation he got was a renewal of kicks and blows. Then, partially lifting Lung w.a.n.g's cloak and raising his shield, No-cha tore off from his body about forty scales. Blood flowed copiously, and the Dragon-king, under stress of the pain, begged his foe to spare his life. To this No-cha consented on condition that he relinquished his purpose of accusing him before Yu Huang.

"Now," went on No-cha, "change yourself into a small serpent that I may take you back without fear of your escaping."

Lung w.a.n.g took the form of a small blue dragon, and followed No-cha to his father's house, upon entering which Lung w.a.n.g resumed his normal form, and accused No-cha of having belaboured him. "I will go with all the Dragon-kings and lay an accusation before Yu Huang,"

he said. Thereupon he transformed himself into a gust of wind, and disappeared.

No-cha draws a Bow at a Venture

"Things are going from bad to worse," sighed Li Ching, His son, however, consoled him: "I beg you, my father, not to let the future trouble you. I am the chosen one of the G.o.ds. My master is T'ai-i Chen-jen, and he has a.s.sured me that he can easily protect us."

No-cha now went out and ascended a tower which commanded a view of the entrance of the fort. There he found a wonderful bow and three magic arrows. No-cha did not know that this was the spiritual weapon belonging to the fort. "My master informed me that I am destined to fight to establish the coming Chou dynasty; I ought therefore to perfect myself in the use of weapons. This is a good opportunity." He accordingly seized the bow and shot an arrow toward the south-west. A red trail indicated the path of the arrow, which hissed as it flew. At that moment Pi Yun, a servant of Shih-chi Niang-niang, happened to be at the foot of K'u-lou Shan (Skeleton Hill), in front of the cave of his mistress. The arrow pierced his throat, and he fell dead, bathed in his blood. Shih-chi Niang-niang came out of her cave, and examining the arrow found that it bore the inscription: "Arrow which shakes the heavens." She thus knew that it must have come from Ch'en-t'ang Kuan, where the magic bow was kept.

Another Encounter

The G.o.ddess mounted her blue phoenix, flew over the fort, seized Li Ching, and carried him to her cave. There she made him kneel before her, and reminded him how she had protected him that he might gain honour and glory on earth before he attained to immortality. "It is thus that you show your grat.i.tude--by killing my servant!"

Li Ching swore that he was innocent; but the tell-tale arrow was there, and it could not but have come from the fortress. Li Ching begged the G.o.ddess to set him at liberty, in order that he might find the culprit and bring him to her. "If I cannot find him," he added, "you may take my life."

Once again No-cha frankly admitted his deed to his father, and followed him to the cave of Shih-chi Niang-niang. When he reached the entrance the second servant reproached him with the crime, whereupon No-cha struck him a heavy blow. Shih-chi Niang-niang, infuriated, threw herself at No-cha, sword in hand; one after the other she wrenched from him his bracelet and magic trousers.

Deprived of his magic weapons, No-cha fled to his master, T'ai-i Chen-jen. The G.o.ddess followed and demanded that he be put to death. A terrible conflict ensued between the two champions, until T'ai-i Chen-jen hurled into the air his globe of nine fire-dragons, which, falling on Shih-chi Niang-niang, enveloped her in a whirlwind of flame. When this had pa.s.sed it was seen that she was changed into stone.

"Now you are safe," said T'ai-i Chen-jen to No-cha, "but return quickly, for the Four Dragon-kings have laid their accusation before Yu Huang, and they are going to carry off your parents. Follow my advice, and you will rescue your parents from their misfortune."

No-cha commits Hara-Kiri

On his return No-cha found the Four Dragon-kings on the point of carrying off his parents. "It is I," he said, "who killed Ao Ping, and I who should pay the penalty. Why are you molesting my parents? I am about to return to them what I received from them. Will it satisfy you?"

Lung w.a.n.g agreed, whereupon No-cha took a sword, and before their eyes cut off an arm, sliced open his stomach, and fell unconscious. His soul, borne on the wind, went straight to the cave of T'ai-i Chen-jen, while his mother busied herself with burying his body.

"Your home is not here," said his master to him; "return to Ch'en-t'ang Kuan, and beg your mother to build a temple on Ts'ui-p'ing Shan, forty _li_ farther on. Incense will be burned to you for three years, at the end of which time you will be reincarnated."

A Habitation for the Soul

During the night, toward the third watch, while his mother was in a deep sleep, No-cha appeared to her in a dream and said: "My mother, pity me; since my death, my soul, separated from my body, wanders about without a home. Build me, I pray you, a temple on Ts'ui-p'ing Shan, that I may be reincarnated." His mother awoke in tears, and related her vision to Li Ching, who reproached her for her blind attachment to her unnatural son, the cause of so much disaster.

For five or six nights the son appeared to his mother, each time repeating his request. The last time he added: "Do not forget that by nature I am ferocious; if you refuse my request evil will befall you."

His mother then sent builders to the mountain to construct a temple to No-cha, and his image was set up in it. Miracles were not wanting, and the number of pilgrims who visited the shrine increased daily.

Li Ching destroys his Son's Statue

One day Li Ching, with a troop of his soldiers, was pa.s.sing this mountain, and saw the roads crowded with pilgrims of both s.e.xes. "Where are these people going?" he asked. "For six months past," he was told, "the spirit of the temple on this mountain has continued to perform miracles. People come from far and near to worship and supplicate him."

"What is the name of this spirit?" inquired Li Ching.

"No-cha," they replied.

"No-cha!" exclaimed the father. "I will go and see him myself."

In a rage Li Ching entered the temple and examined the statue, which was a speaking image of his son. By its side were images of two of his servants. He took his whip and began to beat the statue, cursing it all the while. "It is not enough, apparently, for you to have been a source of disaster to us," he said; "but even after your death you must deceive the mult.i.tude." He whipped the statue until it fell to pieces; he then kicked over the images of the servants, and went back, admonishing the people not to worship so wicked a man, the shame and ruin of his family. By his orders the temple was burnt to the ground.

When he reached Ch'en-t'ang Kuan his wife came to him, but he received her coldly. "You gave birth to that cursed son," he said, "who has been the plague of our lives, and after his death you build him a temple in which he deceives the people. Do you wish to have me disgraced? If I were to be accused at Court of having inst.i.tuted the worship of false G.o.ds, would not my destruction be certain? I have burned the temple, and intend that that shall settle the matter once for all; if ever you think of rebuilding it I will break off all relations with you."