Hen Zhen Turns Into A Donkey
Life should be enjoyed to the fullest, lest the golden cup stands empty beneath the moon.
Heaven bestowed my talents; they surely have their use. A thousand pieces of gold scattered will come back again.
—“Song of Wine” from Yuefu Poetry
Who am I?
Where do I come from?
Where am I going?
Countless rivers flowed ceaselessly, streaming past him one after another. The bustling, dusty world of mortals did not cling to him in the slightest.
The sunlight was dazzling. His seven souls drifted vaguely, the three ethereal spirits faint. He watched the hazy, flickering shadows under the lamplight, their faces blurry. With a cold eye, he observed that each night brought the same cold moon and sparse stars, yet the human world had changed realms several times over. Only he remained, a solitary figure.
If talents are bestowed by heaven…what use was his being born?
He lamented with indignation more than once, his heart feeling hollow and empty, as if missing someone, forgetting someone. He resented that he could not demand an explanation from heaven and earth.
But he was merely a wisp of karmic energy within heaven and earth.
He could only drift with the wind.
He drifted aimlessly, hesitant and doubtful, caught between right and wrong.
He drifted like a lonely ghost until one day, he floated to a misty sea of clouds and onto a mountain of immortals.
“Mount Zhaoyao.”
The stone tablet at the mountain’s base had been weathered by the wind and sun, beaten thousands upon thousands of times. Fortunately, the carver’s strength had penetrated three parts into the stone, allowing travelers to still make out the characters.
It was just that the smaller characters denoting the dynasty below were blurred.
But this was unimportant. What did changing dynasties have to do with him?
He was not going to become the Son of Heaven anyway.
He intended to continue drifting forward, but something in the unseen depths drew him toward the mountain peak.
The mountaintop had long been untouched by human traces. Ancient trees had long since formed a forest. The central area had sunk down, gathering water to form a celestial lake. Misty waves stretched far, and clouds and fog spread densely.
There was also a small,long-abandoned building, uninhabited for years. Because the place was rich with moisture, the wood was decaying day by day. The water vats in front of the house were covered in moss, and green vines and ivy had climbed all over this little lakeside cottage.
A few peach blossom trees were planted in the courtyard, and a pair of orioles chirped noisily on the branches, unbearably loud.
These damn birds.
“Shut up.”
He cast a spell, sealing the beaks of the two birds.
He watched the two orioles scatter in alarm as if facing great disaster. Each flew off in opposite directions, and he finally felt somewhat soothed.
Upon walking closer, he noticed a tombstone under the tree. He focused his gaze, trying to make it out.
“Tomb of My Wife, Xin Hexue.”
The handwriting on the epitaph was like an awl scratching sand. The writer seemed to be suppressing immense grief, as the brushstrokes were hesitant and heavy.
[My wife, of the Xin family, given name Tian, courtesy name Hexue. His brilliance faded early; his virtuous reputation is illustrious…His extraordinary grace and demeanor made all those who saw him sigh: The jade mountain is about to collapse… What crime has the flawless white jade committed? The blue sky ages so easily!
Since the mirror broke and the hairpin parted, the orchid was crushed and the jade snapped, I am like a half-dead parasol tree, a mandarin duck losing its mate.
You departed first like the morning dew; I too am a fading river. Wait for me beneath the springs; sharing a grave is our appointed time. Do not fear the long road to the Yellow Springs!]
He skimmed through it in one glance, then he looked back at the tomb owner’s name.
Xin Hexue?
Xin Hexue?
Xin Hexue!
His mind and spirit shook violently. He was certain this was the person he had been looking for.
Even this name seemed to be carved upon his heart. Every time he thought of it, a sour ache flowed through his heart. It was agonizingly painful, yet a vague sweetness also welled up.
Could Xin Hexue be his wife?
Was he actually born to be a husband?
Then a hundred years ago, he must have been Xin Hexue’s husband.
Born to be together like paired wings, and to die together returning home. If his wife died before him, he would certainly follow him in death and be buried beside his tomb.
And beside this tombstone, there indeed was a much cruder grave mound, with a slanted stone tablet stuck into it. On the tablet, only a name was carved, without any epitaph.
—Zhou Shanheng.
But hearing this name made him want to vomit.
Then, he looked again at the name of the person who composed the epitaph, and it matched.
How could this be?
Zhou Shanheng was Xin Hexue’s husband?
How could he possibly have such an unpleasant name?
At this point, there was only one way to get to the truth.
He stared intently at the two words “Zhou Shanheng.”
“Hen Zhen.”
An aged voice stopped his action of digging three feet into the ground in time.
That’s right.
His name was Hen Zhen.
Within the karmic principles of heaven and earth, names are of utmost importance.
Whether two characters or three…
Whether mortal,demon, or ghost…
The name is the anchor point that ties each person or thing to heaven and earth, simultaneously storing their power.
The reason he drifted aimlessly in the world, without a fixed abode, was because he had lost his anchor point.
The originally bright blue sky of Mount Zhaoyao suddenly had dark clouds over it. As if a huge hole had been torn in the sky, it suddenly started pouring rain, accompanied by lightning and thunder.
If someone with clear vision looked, they would realize this was an omen of a great demon’s awakening!
The little spirits and creatures on Mount Zhaoyao scattered in flight, hiding in their nests and trembling.
A man appeared out of thin air in the courtyard. He wore a narrow-sleeved robe with a right hand collar, the front hem tucked up, with black trousers below. A rough glance revealed a tall stature, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist.
This person was Hen Zhen, who had recovered most of his cultivation. Along with his restored cultivation came sealed memories.
Hen Zhen looked around for the source of the voice from moments before. It was actually the bodhi tree, whose cultivation had surpassed a thousand years. Its crown was like a canopy, with lush, dense branches and leaves. Its roots intertwined intricately, coiling and crisscrossing.
“Old Poison, we meet again.” Hen Zhen greeted without any politeness.
Faced with Hen Zhen’s disrespectful attitude, even someone as good-tempered as Lord Bodhi fell silent. Its manifested form…a white-haired old man..sat cross-legged under the tree’s shade, wrinkling his nose and snorting angry puffs of air that blew up his two whiskeys of white beard.
“You, you, you…! How dare a brat with a yellow mouth show no respect for elders!”
Lord Bodhi was completely angered by Hen Zhen.
If he hadn’t concealed it from heaven and earth back then and used the celestial pool on Mount Zhaoyao to intercept half of the spiritual energy of this Great Demon on the Path of Slaughter, that was about to vanish from the world, this great demon would likely have had to endure another thousand years of colorless, formless state, then go through the cycle of reincarnation from the hell realm, animal realm, and hungry ghost realm before possibly being reborn as a human again.
Lord Bodhi explained patiently, using both persuasion and reasoning.
“Enough nonsense,” Hen Zhen sneered.
He stopped paying attention to the handfuls of yellow earth on the grave mound, his crimson pupils staring directly at Lord Bodhi as he went straight to the point: “Where is Xin Hexue?”
Seeing that Hen Zhen ignored his words and treated everything he had just said as wind past his ears, Lord Bodhi was momentarily speechless.
“You helped me for the sake of your own little disciple, didn’t you?”
Hen Zhen formed a plan in his heart.
Before Xin Hexue cultivated into a koi demon, he had swum in the celestial lake for two hundred years. His bond with Lord Bodhi was also deep, no different from that of master and disciple or father and child.
Xin Hexue’s death back then was to protect all living beings from the calamity caused by National Monk Liaoyi. If he could successfully reincarnate, it would be a disservice from heaven if he was not reborn into a peaceful, happy family.
“You also don’t want your little disciple to be all alone in the mortal world,do you?” Hen Zhen smiled, his heart and spirit already yearning to fly ten thousand miles away to rush to Xin Hexue’s side. How could he possibly stay here talking with this old thing?
Hen Zhen: “Where is he now? I will definitely return to show my filial respect to you once he and I cultivate enlightenment.”
Lord Bodhi couldn’t take his disrespect any longer, “He is in Jiangzhou.’
He hurriedly called out to the departing Hen Zhen, “There is only one exception, and you must remember it. Xian Xin has already been reborn. Before he remembers you, you absolutely must not appear before him in your true form, nor mention past events. Otherwise, his mortal flesh and body cannot withstand the karma.”
Lord Bodhi delivered this instruction with great seriousness.
Hen Zhen snorted coldly.
He already understood this principle.
Even if he couldn’t face Xin Hexue in his true form, nor mention past ties, he still had a way to make Xin Hexue fall in love with him again.
If Xin Hexue didn’t like him, he would just keep pestering him.
Whoever Xin Hexue liked, he would kill them.
Once he killed everyone under heaven, wouldn’t Xin Hexue have no choice but to choose him?
“Wait, there’s one more point.” Lord Bodhi hadn’t forgotten this was the former Great Demon on the Path of Slaughter. “On your journey to the mortal world, you must not harm lives or scheme for wealth. Otherwise, you will not meet a good end and will be unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation again.”
Hen Zhen frowned.
That made things difficult.
The terrifying great demon set off on his journey, and only then did the pouring rain on Mount Zhaoyao stop. The lakeside was lush and green, and the two orioles hopped onto the branches of the bodhi tree, opening their beaks wide.
“Heaven have pity.” Lord Bodhi waved a hand, allowing them to chirp on the branches again.
The tree shadows swayed. Remembering the past of these two, Lord Bodhi shook his head and sighed, “Mandarin duck knots are best tied, not undone. Bitter longing can be bought, not sold. Regret can provoke such a karmic debt…”
……….
Jiangzhou was a large territory, with ten ten cities under its jurisdiction, not to mention the numerous counties large and small beneath it.
Although Hen Zhen had drifted in the world as a wisp of karmic energy for many years, it had been a long time since he personally experienced walking in the human world.
Even in the past, he hadn’t been able to hold Xin Hexue’s hand and slowly stroll through the streets.
How many of those things lovers do had they actually done?
The Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and the streets and markets were bustling with people. Scented sachets, painted fans, jeweled ornaments, and pearl pendants jingled and rang. The atmosphere of the mortal world was lively and extraordinary.
Hen Zhen focused his mind and headed toward the direction with the most people. He released his divine sense, and the information obtained through the five senses flowed toward him from all directions like torrents.
On a mountain in Yushan County, a temple had a fox demon pretending to be Guanyin and consuming incense offerings for two years. A Daoist priest passing by saw through the trick and expelled the fox demon. The Magistrate of Yushan County heard of it and was deeply grateful, and invited the Daoist to a feast at his residence.
The Prefect of Jiangzhou, over seventy years old, had just fathered a son, and his eldest grandson’s birthday was imminent. With double happiness at the door, it was decided that a birthday banquet would be held on the painted boats and pleasure barges on Lake Taiye on the fourteenth of the eighth month.
Last month, a fire broke out at the state school. Rumors said a Huang Daxian (weasel immortal) passed by the library, knocked over lamp oil, and started a fire. Fortunately, there was a student in the library at the time who noticed in time and shouted “Fire!”, avoiding heavy losses.
“That student was the son of the Magistrate of Yushan County. I heard he fell seriously ill after returning from the state school. The Magistrate of Yushan County spent a fortune to recruit famous doctors, Daoists, and monks.”
“What happened later?”
“Judging by Master Xin’s happy appearance now, the young master must have recovered. The servants at the Xin residence are keeping their mouths shut, no specific details were revealed.”
“Did he offend something unclean before?”
“Who knows. Maybe it was the Huang Daxian taking out its anger.”
The Xin name was not rare in Jiangzhou.
But relying only on a kind of intuition, Hen Zhen chose a direction and headed toward Yushan County.
However, by a twist of fate, by the time he reached the Xin residence as the sun set, he overheard the maids sweeping the courtyard chatting, saying that the young master had already set off to Lake Taiye to attend a classmate’s birthday banquet.
Hen Zhen did not come in vain. His divine sense transformed into a wisp of wind and entered the young master’s bedroom in the residence. Like a dog marking its territory, he marked this place. In his heart, he was certain this was Xin Hexue’s room.
He could smell the little fish’s scent.
……
The area around Lake Taiye was the liveliest part of Jiangzhou. At dusk, people started lighting the lanterns. With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, the night market had set up early.
When the moon rose, the streets were packed with carriages and horses, and crowds coming and going. Gauze curtains hung down, candles and incense sticks emitted fragrance, and tourists clustered like clouds. There was almost no place to stand on both embankments of Lake Taiye, and Yigui Pavilion and Qiuhui Pavilion, the nearby lakeside pavilions for viewing, were also densely packed.
The painted boats on the river center were adorned with strings of pearls and jade. Through the layers of gauze curtains and floral shadows, one could glimpse elegant dancers and clear singing.
Xin Hexue and Lin Zhixue, along with several others, were fellow students at the state school. Today was Lin Zhixue’s birthday banquet. He didn’t want to come, but considering that they were fellow classmates, plus Lin Zhixue’s father was the Prefect of Jiangzhou, his own father’s superior, Xin Hexue still attended the banquet after much deliberation.
The birthday banquet was grand. The Lin family had booked all the large and small painted pleasure boats on Lake Taiye to entertain relatives and friends.
Several classmates shared one table. After several rounds of wine with the meal, everyone was somewhat drunk.
At this point, the birthday star himself, who had been greeting and toasting guests up front, finally walked over here.
Lin Zhixue was a person whose name did not match reality; his ambition was not in his studies. Like his seventy-year-old father, he was fond of women, and Xin Hexue’s impression of him was rather poor.
When the birthday star approached, Xin Hexue and the others stood up together to congratulate him, raising their wine and saying, “Brother Lin, happy birthday.”
Lin Zhixue had a handsome and upright appearance, without any bloated appearance from indulging in wine and women. His conduct was also amiable and generous, so he had quite a few friends at the school. Half of the guests at tonight’s banquet were Lin Zhixue’s classmates.
Lin Zhixue’s attitude toward Xin Hexue was very enthusiastic. “Hexue, you were very ill last month and didn’t come to the academy. I haven’t seen you for a long time. Are you fully recovered?”
“I’m already recovered, thank you for your concern, Brother Lin.” Xin Hexue tilted his head back for a small sip of wine in a toast. The cabin of the painted boat was brightly lit with lamps and candles, outlining the lines of his neck and Adam’s apple. He didn’t want to catch up with Lin Zhixue, and his tone was flat and polite. “I already sent someone to your esteemed residence with a landscape painting as a birthday gift. Does Brother Lin like it?”
Lin Zhixue was overjoyed.”I like it! I like it! How did Hexue know that I love Master Yuhua’s landscape paintings above all else in my life? With such a brother like you, what more could I ask for!”
Xin Hexue was slightly surprised. He loved collecting calligraphy and paintings, so his father had taken the effort to gather famous works by renowned artists from everywhere and stored them in his study. This landscape painting by Master Yuhua was just one he casually picked from the family storeroom to send. He didn’t expect it to touch Lin Zhixue’s heart.
“Brother Lin, you’re too kind.” He interrupted Lin Zhixue’s enthusiasm.
Just then, other guests also came to congratulate Lin Zhixue.
“Hexue, Brother Li, Brother Zhao…” Lin Zhixue cupped his hands and toasted them with a cup of wine. “If you’re finished eating, you can go next door. There are also various songs and dances on the large and small painted boats to watch, fine wine to enjoy, flower maidens, the moon…”
As he spoke, Lin Zhixue called two young servants to attend to Xin Hexue and his classmates.
Xin Hexue found a private cabin on the painted boat and asked everyone else to leave. Unexpectedly, before he could enjoy a moment of quiet, the cabin door opened, and Lin Zhixue entered.
He approached with a beaming smile. “Hexue, you’re here alone. Why not call for a flower maiden?”
Xin Hexue did not respond, too lazy to even lift his eyelids, just drinking cold tea.
Seeing that Xin Hexue couldn’t be bothered with him, Lin Zhixue was not only not annoyed, but his heart itched even more looking at that cold expression. “Could it be you haven’t yet learned the affairs between men and women? Lord Xin actually hasn’t found you one or two bed maids?”
Lin Zhixue claimed one should establish a family before a career. He already had three concubines at home, one of whom was his former bed maid.
A wind rose, and the weather in August suddenly became chilly and biting. Lin Zhixue felt cold all over, as if something was spreading along the cabin floor, climbing up his legs and feet, and attaching to his bones like maggots.
Unfortunately, he was already blinded by lust and did not notice that the chilling wind did not blow toward Xin Hexue in the slightest.
Lin Zhixue’s head was burning up. He moved closer to Xin Hexue, and the more Xin Hexue retreated, the more he advanced.
“If you don’t know how, as your elder brother, I can teach you.” Lin Zhixue said with a fawning smile.
Xin Hexue retorted coldly: “What kind of thing are you?!”
Lin Zhixue suddenly pounced. Xin Hexue dodged sideways, but unexpectedly, Lin Zhixue happened to land at the cabin window, and with a splash, he fell head long into the water.
The white porcelain vase Xin Hexue had been holding behind his back thus became useless.
Given the height of the window, one can’t just fall out with just a lunge.
Xin Hexue frowned.
A sticky sensation brushed over his earlobe, and the pearl-like earlobe was licked and sucked. Xin Hexue shuddered. There was no one around, only the cabin door was open and he didn’t know what was happening.
Lin Zhixue was still struggling and calling for help in the water below. There was singing and dancing on the painted boat. Which guest had the time to hear?
Now he was scared, and he sobered up instantly. The lake water in August was already cold, and there were no handholds on the cabin wall to climb up. Lin Zhixue struggled desperately, pleading to Xin Hexue for help: “Good brother, good brother, I was wrong! Quickly call someone to save me!”
Only then did Xin Hexue go to call for help.
Hearing that the Grand Prefect’s eldest son was drunk and had jumped into the lake, people on the boat immediately rushed toward the cabin and deck.
Xin Hexue saw Lin Zhixue being rescued from behind the crowd. By then, he was unconscious, having drunk his fill of lake water. Seeing that the painted boat was about to dock, Xin Hexue prepared to head home.
On the lake surface, thousands of little lamb-skin water lanterns called “Yidian Hong” (A Spot of Red) were lit, covering the water surface like twinkling stars and making it hard to distinguish the sky from earth for a moment.
As they approached the lakeshore, Xin Hexue saw a shimmering light in the water, different from the others. Out of curiosity, he looked down.
Look at me!
Look at me!
Baby, look at me!
Having dealt with that Lin Zhixue, Hen Zhen wanted to transform into something nice to comfort his little wife. Seeing living creatures in the lake, regardless of what they were, he possessed one directly.
Xin Hexue looked down…it was actually a silver-bellied water snake!
The forked tip of its tongue flickered, hissing at him.
Xin Hexue immediately felt dizzy and lightheaded and fainted on the spot.
