Me and the devil

十六

Xie Lian thought, "Of course I know them, one is me and my husband's friend, no matter how much they deny it. Another one is my cousin, and the other... he's not worth talking about. I can't tell them about that however."

He plastered a sheepish look on his face, "Much ashamed, I only know of the Four Famous Tales."

"Of course." Ling Wen nodded.

~

The Four Famous Tales referred to the stories of the deeds of four gods prior to their ascension; They were known as The Young Lord Who Poured Wine, The Crown Prince Who Pleased The Gods, The General Who Broke His Sword, and The Princess Who Slit Her Throat.

"The Crown Prince Who Pleased The Gods" referred to the awe-inspiring display of the Crown Prince of Xianle upon the Grand Avenue of Divine Might. The Crown Prince awed the crowd during his martial performance at the Lantern Festival. That year he had been chosen to play as the God-Pleasing Martial Warrior, but had been running late. Suddenly, he descended from the sky, jumping from the fortress tower and landing in front of the 'ghost'. When he landed, his clothes seemed to take the shape of a flower and a mask covered his face. His descent was akin to a real heavenly official descending from the heavens. Now, in this performance the ghost and the prince were only to use one-seventh of their real power with their swords barely touching, but the ghost performer (now General Xuan Zhen) started using all his power, the crowd cheered with fervor while the Crown Prince finally defeated the 'ghost'. Suddenly he heard a scream, and saw a shadow falling from the wall. Without hesitation, he leapt high into the air and saved the falling child. The crowd gasped, when upon landing, his golden mask fell off, revealing an unrivaled beauty.

"The Young Lord Who Poured Wine" referred to The Lord Wind Master, Shi Qingxuan. One day he had been lounging in "The Terrace of Cascading Wine" when he saw a man below him bullying some villagers, so the Shi Qingxuan, with a tilt of his hand, nonchalantly spilled his wine, casting a small spell on the liquid. The alcohol he poured landed on the man's head and knocked out the troublemaker, and since then, he has been known as "The Young Lord Who Poured Wine."

"The General Who Broke His Sword" refers to the revered General Pei Ming of Xuli. With him leading the army the kingdom of Xuli won battle after battle, however the position of general was the highest he could go. General Pei himself was completely satisfied with the title and his way of life, but his loyal deputy, Rong Guang, and his supporters wanted him to take the throne and become the King of Xuli. Under Deputy Rong Guang's leadership they quietly planned a coup to overthrow the current King of Xuli and have Pei Ming take the throne. When the day came, Pei Ming refused to take the throne and thus single-handedly slaughtered his own deputy and all of his followers, but after the battle was won, and General Pei returned to the Palace of Xuli. General Pei was accused of treason by the very king he had fought to protect and ordered to be killed on the spot. But right then and there General Pei Ming broke his sword and ascended to the heavens.

And finally, "The Princess Who Slit Her Throat" referred to the story of the current Rain Master Yushi Huang. During her mortal life, she was the sixteenth princess of the kingdom of Yushi, and the least favored. In her time, the kingdoms of Yushi and Xuli had maintained a false sense of peace, until Xuli found an excuse to invade and their troops led by General Pei Ming pushed their way to the palace gates. They disguised hundreds of Yushi criminals who were already awaiting execution as civilians and dragged them before the Palace of Yushi. Then General Pei Ming told the royal family that only when their ruler would have to come before the troops kowtow three times in penance for 'oppressing the common people' and then kill himself as atonement would he let the 'civilians' free. If he should refuse General Pei would chop off each of the 'civilians' heads. He gave the royal family three days, for each day they stalled he would execute a group of the 'civilians'. The sixteenth princess bowed before her family and bade the king pass to pass the crown to her. Her siblings were enraged but were soothed when the king reminded them she would be dead by nightfall anyways. And so, Yushi Huang stood before the Xuli troops, kowtowed three times and slit her throat in atonement. On her last breath, she ascended to heaven.