Chapter 4
The green bamboo carrying the two soon descended to Mt. Emei.
It was on a wide, monolithic rock overlooking a deep valley.
It seemed very, very high place, and North Star, looked like about the size of a teacup, was shining in the sky.
Since the mountain had been completely deserted, the area was quiet.
All that could be heard was the sound of a twisting pine tree growing on the cliff behind them, rustling in the night wind.
When they came to the top of the rock, Tie Guanzi sat Tu Tze-chun under the cliff and said.
"From now on I will go up to the heaven to meet Xiwangmu, you may sit here and wait for my return.
But in my absence various demons may appear and try to trick you.
But whatever may happen, do not make a sound.
If you say a word, you will never be a hermit.
Do you understand? Be silent, even if the heaven and earth are split open."
"It's all right. I will not speak. I will be silent when life is lost."
"That's right. Well, I'm relieved to hear that. Well, I'll be going."
The old man said goodbye to Tu Tze-chun and straddled the bamboo cane again, and disappeared into the sky of the mountains that looked as if they had been shaved off at night.
He was sitting alone on the rock and quietly looking at the stars.
Half an hour later, when the night air from the deep mountains began to filter through his chilly, thin clothes, a voice suddenly boomed in the air and scolded him.
"Who is there?"
But Tu Tze-chun, as the hermit had taught him, did not respond.
But after a while, the same voice sounded again and threatened sternly.
"If you don't answer, be prepared to die."
Of course, Tu Tze-chun was silent.
Then a blazing-eyed tiger climbed out of nowhere and suddenly leaped onto the rock.
At the same time, the pine branch above his head shook violently.
And a white snake, the size of a big barrel, descended from the top of the precipice, sticking out its tongue like a fire.
Tu Tze-chun, however, sat calmly, his eyebrows unmoving.
The tiger and the snake stared at each other for a while, both looking for an opening, aiming at the same prey.
Then, almost simultaneously, they all pounced on Tu Tze-chun at the same time.
Bitten by the tiger's fangs or swallowed by the snake's tongue, when Tu Tze-chun's life was gone in the blink of an eye, the tiger and the snake disappeared like mist in the night wind.
The only thing left was the precipitous pine tree, with its branches rustling, just as before.
Tu Tze-chun took a deep breath of relief and waited anxiously to see what would happen next.
Then a gust of wind blew up, and a black cloud like black ink covered the area.
Soon a light purple bolt of lightning suddenly split the darkness in two, and a tremendous thunder broke out.
No, it was not all thunder.
But also waterfall-like rain suddenly began to pour down in torrents.
Tu Tze-chun was sitting in the midst of this heavenly changes without fear.
The sound of the wind, the spray of rain, and the incessant lightning flashes
――For a while, it seemed as if Mt. Emei could be turned over.
Then, a deafeningly loud thunderclap rang out, and from the black clouds swirling in the sky, a red pillar of fire fell on Tu Tze-chun's head.
Tu Tze-chun involuntarily suppressed his ears and prostrated himself on the monolith rock.
But as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw that the sky was as clear as before, and that the star of North Star, about the size of a teacup, was still shining brightly on the mountains over there.
Like the tiger and the white snake, the current heavenly changes must have been the demons' trick that took advantage of the absence of Tie Guanzi.
Tu Tze-chun was finally relieved and sat down again on the rock, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
But before he could stop sighing, a solemn, nine-meter-tall divine general in gold armor appeared in front of him.
The divine general was holding a trident weapon in his hand and then suddenly pointed his weapon at Tu Tze-chun's chest.
The divine general scolded with angry eyes.
"Hey, who the hell are you?
Here, Mt. Emei has been my dwelling place since the creation of the world.
You walked in here alone, not even minding it, you must be not just a human.
Now, if you want to spare your life, reply as soon as possible."
However, Tu Tze-chun, as the old man had said, remained silent and held his tongue.
"Reply, or not.――You don't. OK. If you don't, do what you want.
Instead, my relatives will cut you to pieces."
The divine general raised his weapon high, towards the sky above the mountain beyond, invited something.
Soon the darkness broke, the sky was filled with countless divine soldiers like a cloud.
They were all glittering with spears and swords, ready to attack this place in a single avalanche.
When Tu Tze-chun saw this scenery, he almost shouted.
But immediately he thought of the words of Tie Guanzi again, and struggled to keep quiet.
The divine general became very, very angry when he saw that Tu Tze-chun was not afraid.
"You are a hard-hearted man. If you don't respond, I'll kill you as I promised."
The divine general shouted, and soon with a flash of his trident weapon, he stabbed Tu Tze-chun to death with a single thrust.
And then disappeared, laughing so high, echoing in Mt. Emei.
Of course, by this time, the countless divine soldiers had already disappeared like a dream, with the sound of the night wind blowing across.
North Star began to shine coldly again on the monolithic rock.
The precipitous pine was also rustling their branches, as before.
But Tu Tze-chun, who had already run out of breath, was lying on his back.
- To return to table of contents of Tu Tze-chun
It was on a wide, monolithic rock overlooking a deep valley.
It seemed very, very high place, and North Star, looked like about the size of a teacup, was shining in the sky.
Since the mountain had been completely deserted, the area was quiet.
All that could be heard was the sound of a twisting pine tree growing on the cliff behind them, rustling in the night wind.
When they came to the top of the rock, Tie Guanzi sat Tu Tze-chun under the cliff and said.
"From now on I will go up to the heaven to meet Xiwangmu, you may sit here and wait for my return.
But in my absence various demons may appear and try to trick you.
But whatever may happen, do not make a sound.
If you say a word, you will never be a hermit.
Do you understand? Be silent, even if the heaven and earth are split open."
"It's all right. I will not speak. I will be silent when life is lost."
"That's right. Well, I'm relieved to hear that. Well, I'll be going."
The old man said goodbye to Tu Tze-chun and straddled the bamboo cane again, and disappeared into the sky of the mountains that looked as if they had been shaved off at night.
He was sitting alone on the rock and quietly looking at the stars.
Half an hour later, when the night air from the deep mountains began to filter through his chilly, thin clothes, a voice suddenly boomed in the air and scolded him.
"Who is there?"
But Tu Tze-chun, as the hermit had taught him, did not respond.
But after a while, the same voice sounded again and threatened sternly.
"If you don't answer, be prepared to die."
Of course, Tu Tze-chun was silent.
Then a blazing-eyed tiger climbed out of nowhere and suddenly leaped onto the rock.
At the same time, the pine branch above his head shook violently.
And a white snake, the size of a big barrel, descended from the top of the precipice, sticking out its tongue like a fire.
Tu Tze-chun, however, sat calmly, his eyebrows unmoving.
The tiger and the snake stared at each other for a while, both looking for an opening, aiming at the same prey.
Then, almost simultaneously, they all pounced on Tu Tze-chun at the same time.
Bitten by the tiger's fangs or swallowed by the snake's tongue, when Tu Tze-chun's life was gone in the blink of an eye, the tiger and the snake disappeared like mist in the night wind.
The only thing left was the precipitous pine tree, with its branches rustling, just as before.
Tu Tze-chun took a deep breath of relief and waited anxiously to see what would happen next.
Then a gust of wind blew up, and a black cloud like black ink covered the area.
Soon a light purple bolt of lightning suddenly split the darkness in two, and a tremendous thunder broke out.
No, it was not all thunder.
But also waterfall-like rain suddenly began to pour down in torrents.
Tu Tze-chun was sitting in the midst of this heavenly changes without fear.
The sound of the wind, the spray of rain, and the incessant lightning flashes
――For a while, it seemed as if Mt. Emei could be turned over.
Then, a deafeningly loud thunderclap rang out, and from the black clouds swirling in the sky, a red pillar of fire fell on Tu Tze-chun's head.
Tu Tze-chun involuntarily suppressed his ears and prostrated himself on the monolith rock.
But as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw that the sky was as clear as before, and that the star of North Star, about the size of a teacup, was still shining brightly on the mountains over there.
Like the tiger and the white snake, the current heavenly changes must have been the demons' trick that took advantage of the absence of Tie Guanzi.
Tu Tze-chun was finally relieved and sat down again on the rock, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
But before he could stop sighing, a solemn, nine-meter-tall divine general in gold armor appeared in front of him.
The divine general was holding a trident weapon in his hand and then suddenly pointed his weapon at Tu Tze-chun's chest.
The divine general scolded with angry eyes.
"Hey, who the hell are you?
Here, Mt. Emei has been my dwelling place since the creation of the world.
You walked in here alone, not even minding it, you must be not just a human.
Now, if you want to spare your life, reply as soon as possible."
However, Tu Tze-chun, as the old man had said, remained silent and held his tongue.
"Reply, or not.――You don't. OK. If you don't, do what you want.
Instead, my relatives will cut you to pieces."
The divine general raised his weapon high, towards the sky above the mountain beyond, invited something.
Soon the darkness broke, the sky was filled with countless divine soldiers like a cloud.
They were all glittering with spears and swords, ready to attack this place in a single avalanche.
When Tu Tze-chun saw this scenery, he almost shouted.
But immediately he thought of the words of Tie Guanzi again, and struggled to keep quiet.
The divine general became very, very angry when he saw that Tu Tze-chun was not afraid.
"You are a hard-hearted man. If you don't respond, I'll kill you as I promised."
The divine general shouted, and soon with a flash of his trident weapon, he stabbed Tu Tze-chun to death with a single thrust.
And then disappeared, laughing so high, echoing in Mt. Emei.
Of course, by this time, the countless divine soldiers had already disappeared like a dream, with the sound of the night wind blowing across.
North Star began to shine coldly again on the monolithic rock.
The precipitous pine was also rustling their branches, as before.
But Tu Tze-chun, who had already run out of breath, was lying on his back.
- To return to table of contents of Tu Tze-chun