7

BU JI ENCOUNTERS PRIESTESS PIA DOWN THE EIGHT-SIDED WELL;

HE PRESENTS A GOLD TRIPOD AND IS EXILED TO MIZHOU.

POEM:

Despite the load of sin on his conscience,

Disasters are sent by heaven, he’ll say.

But for every sin that he’s committed

Reversal of fortune begins this day.

The men on the windlass wound up the bamboo basket and then let out a great cry. When the diver went down the well, he was in the pink of good health, but now, as they looked at him, they saw that his face was as yellow as a sheet of wax and his hands and feet were as stiff as boards—he lay dead in the basket.

The deputy ordered the body carried off to one side and told the man’s family to take it home and see to the laying in. And there we shall leave them.

“We can’t give up just because one man went down and failed to complete the task,” said the deputy. “Send another man down!”

“But sir!” protested the other divers. “We all have families, and you saw yourself what happened just now. How can you throw men’s lives away as if they were pebbles you were skimming on the water? We don’t dare go down! If you insist, we’re prepared to go before the prefect and get a beating for refusing. At least we’ll die on dry land. We truly cannot go down there!”

“I can’t say I blame you,” said the deputy, “but how are we going to recover that woman’s body? You men stand guard over Bu Ji while I go and report to the prefect.” He stepped into his sedan chair and was taken directly to the yamen and then to the main hall, where he told the prefect what had happened. However, the prefect had no more idea than he did of how to proceed.

“The local people say that the Diao residence has always been haunted, and now with the death of a diver no one dares to go down the well,” added the deputy. “But if we can’t recover the woman’s body, how can we wind up the Bu Ji case? It might be best to consider it as Bu Ji’s responsibility and order him to go down and recover the body. Even if he died in the attempt, it could still be considered a life for a life.”

“Good idea,” said the prefect. “See to it.”

The deputy took leave of the prefect and returned to the wellhead, where he had Bu Ji brought out. “You were the one who drove her down the well,” he said. “Now go down yourself and recover her body, and when I’ve reported it to the prefect, he’ll absolve you of any crime.”

“I’m willing to go down,” said Bu Ji. “All I need is a short sword to defend myself with.”

“Quite right,” said the deputy. He ordered Bu Ji’s cangue and manacles removed, gave him a short sword, and had him seated in the basket. The rope on the windlass was then let out for a long time without reaching bottom. “When that man went down before,” the men on the windlass cried out, “he rang the bell after only about two hundred feet, but this time all the rope will soon be paid out. This is amazing! We’ve let out all that rope and he still hasn’t touched bottom!” As they were speaking, the windlass stopped turning, but the bell did not ring.

Let us leave the men on top of the well and tell of Bu Ji at the bottom. When he looked up, the wellhead appeared to him a mere speck of light. He felt all around him and found no water, then stamped his feet and discovered that he was on solid ground. Feeling his way along, he had gone about half a mile when he saw ahead of him a place that was all lit up. He groped—it was the door of a cave, which opened easily at his touch. Slipping inside, he found himself once more in broad daylight. Where can this be, he wondered. Then, sword in hand, he went on until he came upon a tiger that was crouching down, blocking his way. “I expect it’s this creature that’s been killing people,” he said. “Well, rather than have you eat me … I’ll die anyway!” He dashed forward with giant strides and slashed at the tiger, shouting, “Take that!” A sound rang out, sparks flew, and his hand went numb from the shock. When he looked more closely, he found that he had struck a tiger made out of stone.

There must be other places inside, he thought. He walked ahead a few steps and found a path paved with pebbles between two rows of pine trees. Since it’s a path, it must lead somewhere, he thought. Sword in hand, he followed the path for a hundred yards or more, when a place suddenly loomed up that struck such fear in him that he dared go no closer. As he looked intently at it, this is what he saw:

A vermilion gate studded with gold,

Figured eaves tiled in green;

Flying dragons, toying with pearls, coiled around the columns,

Twin phoenixes, proclaiming the morning sun, pictured on the screens;

Walls of red plaster,

Palace flowers thick among the willows;

Terraces in blue-green mist,

A faint light suffusing the shadows;

Window lattices of brocade,

A scented breeze filtering through the yellow silk;

Curtains of shrimp barbels,

A bright full moon hanging on the purple damask.

If not the abode of immortals in heaven,

It must surely be the palace of some emperor on earth.1

What is this place, he asked himself. With its closed gate, could it be an abode of the immortals? He wanted to push the gate open, but he didn’t dare. He was about to turn back, but then he thought, I have nothing to show that I was here. The prefect is scarcely going to believe me if I just tell him I saw a stone tiger.

As he hesitated, the gate creaked open, and a maidservant dressed all in black came out. “Bu Ji, the priestess has been waiting for you for a long time!” she called.

What priestess is she talking about, Bu Ji asked himself. And how does she know my name? And why is the priestess waiting for me? He had no choice but to follow her. She brought him to a place from which he could see a palace building. Two celestial pages were standing there, as well as another maidservant. In the middle was an old woman sitting in an armchair. Bu Ji stole a glance at her:

Gaunt and gray with an innocent face,

Pure-white hair with a youthful complexion;

Eyes opaque as a mist-wreathed autumn moon,

Brows pale as sunlight on the morning frost;

With embroidered garments and a jade-studded belt,

She looks like the Goddess of the Nine Heavens;2

With a phoenix chignon and dragon hairpins,

She resembles the Queen Mother of the West;3

An ethereal face that defies depiction;

An awesome presence impossible to paint.

This must be an abode of the immortals, thought Bu Ji, and it is surely my destiny that has brought me here. He stepped forward, saying, “O veritable immortal, the carter Bu Ji bows reverently before you,” and gave four deep bows.

“This is no ordinary place,” she said. “You have been blessed with the destiny to come here, so you must surely be a man with a great future. Please come up the steps and sit beside me.”

He declined several times, until she said, “You’re a man of destiny; please take a seat,” and he plucked up the courage to take a seat beside her. She ordered tea, which the maidservant brought. After he had drunk it, the priestess said, “It wasn’t easy for you to get here. Why did you come?”

“Priestess, I had delivered a load of honey locust pods to the Eastern Capital and was pushing my cart back to Zhengzhou when I came upon a woman sitting under a tree by the roadside. She said, ‘I want to go to Zhengzhou to seek refuge with my parents, but my feet are too sore and I can’t walk.’ She promised me three taels. I brought her as far as the Diao residence inside East Gate, and she said, ‘Here we are.’ She got down from the cart, pushed the gate open, went inside—and jumped down a well. I was seized by the local authorities and taken to court. The prefect sent a diver down the well to recover the body, which resulted in another death, that of the diver. The prefect had no choice but to send me down. At the bottom of the well I found a path but no water, and I walked aimlessly along until I arrived here.”

“And what did you see at the bottom of the well?”

“A stone tiger.”

“That creature has proved his worth over many years, killing a good number of people. When ordinary mortals come here, they meet that tiger and end up being devoured by it. You, however, slashed at the beast, which means that one day you will make a great name for yourself. Bu Ji, there is someone here that I should like you to meet.” To the maidservant she said, “Tell her to come out.”

After a little while the woman who had jumped down the well walked out and curtsied to Bu Ji. “Carter, I gave you a lot of trouble yesterday.”

Anger welled up inside Bu Ji at the very sight of her. “You accursed little trollop!” he roared. “You vile creature! You told me you had sore feet and couldn’t walk, and out of the goodness of my heart I let you ride in my cart for many miles. Not only did you fail to pay me anything, you went into the house and jumped down a well, which led to my being arrested, clapped in a cangue, and forced to wear manacles while suffering miserably in jail. How can you possibly find an excuse for such an injustice? I never expected to see you again, but here you are!”

When enemies meet, they glare. “I’m going to give you a taste of my sword!” said Bu Ji. He drew his sword, went up and grabbed hold of her, then brought it slashing down.

She gave a shout that suddenly paralyzed his limbs. “I’m allowing for the fact that you gave me a ride, you blackguard—otherwise I’d make mincemeat out of you! I saw how upright and dependable you were, and I intended to convert you, but this behavior of yours is simply too much for me to bear! You had the gall to try and cut me down, but you couldn’t do it!”

The priestess rose to her feet and pleaded with her. “Don’t kill him! One day we’ll have need of him.” She blew a puff of air into Bu Ji’s face, and he was able to move his limbs freely again.

“What sort of person is she?” he asked.

“If I hadn’t been here, you’d have lost your life. Don’t be so wild in future.”

“I was blessed with the destiny to meet you, Priestess. If you can save me from prison and get me out of the well without further trouble, then every day after I get home I’ll burn incense, set up a spirit tablet, and worship you.”

“Since your destiny brought you here, don’t go just yet. Come and drink a few cups of wine with me before I send you back.”

He went in with her and was staggered by the sight that met his eyes. “I’m just a simple countryman,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything so lavish as this!” The feast was exquisitely arranged:

Incense burning in precious vessels,

Flowers arranged in golden vases,

Blue-green curtains all around of the finest silk,

Gold and silver dishes set out for him alone.

A crystal beaker

Filled with the nectar of the immortals;

An amber goblet

Brimming with wine from the Jade Pool;

Tortoiseshell dishes

Heaped with faerie peaches and exotic fruit,

Glass bowls

Offering bear’s paw and camel’s foot;

Morsels of game sliced thinner than silver filigree;

Tea as delicate as if with jade flowers made.4

She invited Bu Ji to take a seat, but he didn’t dare. Only when she said, “Do sit down, Master Bu. You’re destined to become rich and famous” did he do so.

First came the wine, then the food—and he had never seen such a display! The two maidservants kept pouring wine and serving it to him, cup after cup filled to the brim, goblet after goblet drained to the dregs. Half intoxicated, he thought, I’ve come miles from that well, I’ve seen such a place as this, I’ve encountered a female immortal, and I’ve also met that woman again—I wonder if she’s an immortal or a demon. But this is no place to linger in. He rose to his feet and said to the priestess and the young woman, “I need to go back up the well to see to my cart and other belongings. I’m afraid someone may take them.”

“What can your belongings be worth?” asked the priestess. “If I were to give you something to take back with you that would make you indescribably wealthy and eminent, what would you say?”

“Thank you, Priestess, for your kind intentions, but even if it were worth nothing instead of a great deal, I would take it back to the wellhead as proof that I was here in order to clear myself of crime.”

The priestess told Eterna to approach and whispered something in her ear. She was gone a little while, and then a maidservant brought out an object that she handed to Bu Ji. As he took it, he noticed that it was rather heavy and thought, what can it be, this thing that’s all wrapped up in yellow silk?

“Priestess, why are you giving me this?” he asked.

“Don’t open it, and don’t give it to anyone when you get to the wellhead, either. Just say that the goddess of this prefecture has had this in her possession for a thousand years and it must now be given to the prefect so that he can absolve you of any crime. And I have another piece of advice to give you, too. Whenever there’s an emergency, just call out, ‘Priestess Pia,’ and I’ll come to your rescue.” Bu Ji made a mental note of what she had said.

The priestess told a maidservant to escort Bu Ji out of the palace and back along the path and through the cave to where the bamboo basket was lying. He took a seat in the basket and shook the cord. The bell rang, and the men at the wellhead heard it and hauled him to the surface. When they looked inside the basket, however, they found no woman’s body, only Bu Ji clutching a yellow silk bundle to show the deputy. “No one is to touch this,” he said. “It’s for the prefect from the goddess of this prefecture, and it has to be taken directly to him and opened only in his presence.” The deputy stepped into his sedan chair, and a squad of his men escorted Bu Ji to the yamen.

The prefect was at his tribunal, his runners arrayed along both sides of the chamber. “Bu Ji was gone a long time before we heard the bell ring and quickly hauled him up,” reported the deputy. “We found him clutching something wrapped in yellow silk that he claimed was for Your Honor from the goddess of this prefecture. I didn’t dare touch it. I’ve brought it here to await your wishes.”

The prefect ordered Bu Ji to be brought out. “What’s in this yellow bundle? And how did you happen to come by it?”

“Your Honor, when I got to the bottom of the well, I didn’t find any woman’s body, but there was also no water anywhere. However, there was a path, and after following it for half a mile or so, I found myself in broad daylight. Then I saw a tiger and almost lost my life, but I slashed at the creature with my sword. Sparks flew everywhere, and when I looked more closely, I found that it was only made of stone. A path through the pine trees brought me to a palace. A maidservant who was waiting outside invited me in, and I met an immortal. She said she was the goddess of this prefecture and gave me food and wine and brought out this object, which she told me to give to Your Honor. She forbade me to reveal any heavenly secrets.”

The prefect took the object in both hands and placed it on his tribunal. It felt heavy. When a precious article makes its appearance in the world, it’s only right and proper that it should come into contact with me, he thought. After telling his subordinates to withdraw, he opened the bundle. “No wonder it was so heavy,” he said. It proved to contain a gold tripod vessel with two ears. On the tripod were engraved the words “Whosoever cometh in contact with this object is bound to enjoy both riches and honor.” After he had finished admiring it, the prefect wrapped it up again, summoned a personal servant from his household, and told the man to take the vessel away and give it pride of place in his personal collection.

The prefect’s subordinates then stepped forward. “Sir, Bu Ji is waiting for you to dispose of the case,” they said.

Suppose I release him, pondered the prefect. Everyone in the prefecture knows that he drove a woman down a well and that the attempt to recover her body cost a diver his life. Under those circumstances, if I simply let him go, people in the prefecture are bound to criticize. On the other hand, if I make him pay with his life for the woman’s death, well, the body has not been recovered, and he did present me with that gold tripod. So what should I do? All of a sudden he picked up his brush and passed sentence on Bu Ji, a sentence that led to certain consequences: before long the prefect died an untimely death, and the people of Zhengzhou found no peace.

When his luck runs out, he can get wine on credit;

When disaster strikes, he encounters a friend.5

But what disaster did the prefect cause? Turn to the next chapter to find out.