Extensive Records of Taiping: Qiu Ru
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lotus_genieFrom the Taiping Guangji (Extensive Records of Taiping)
Book 357: Yaksha Part II, Section 3: Qiu Ru
The Erudite Qiu Ru says that fifty years ago, in a town on the periphery of Ruzhou Province, a villager's daughter suddenly vanished. She returned just as suddenly after several years, telling of how she had been carried away in her sleep by some creature until she reached a certain spot.
When morning came, she realized she was in an ancient pagoda. There, she saw a beautiful young man, who told her, "I am a Celestial Being. Destiny has granted you to me as my wife. Fear not and fret not, as it shall only be for a limited span of time." Furthermore, he warned her against peering at him outside of the tower.
Twice a day, the husband would descend and leave the pagoda, then return with food, sometimes so freshly cooked that it was still hot. After a year together, the maiden bided her time until he had gone outside, then snuck a look at him. She saw him soaring through the air, with hair of fire and blue skin, his long ears flapping as he brayed like a donkey. As he landed, he resumed a human form. The sheer shock of her discovery soaked the maiden in sweat.
When the creature returned, he said, realizing what had occurred, "You have peeked at me after all. In truth, I am a Yaksha, but as we are bound together by fate, I will not harm you."
The maiden was very wise and virtuous. She begged pardon of him, saying, "Since I am your wife, how could I bear you any ill will? But if you are so powerful, why can we not live alongside the common people, so I might visit my parents on occasion?"
The creature said, "My kind are stained with sin. Should we dwell among humanity, we would bring pestilence and plagues to them. Now that my form has been exposed, I shall allow you to openly look upon me. It will only be for a brief while, until you return home."
He transported the tower close to a human settlement. The maiden would often look down outside. The creature could not transform while he was in the air, but upon landing, he would mix in with the common crowd. Sometimes a plain-clothed mortal would pass by, and the Yaksha would politely cross his arms and step to the side. For others, however, he would lean over their heads and spit in their faces, with no one passing by seeming to perceive him.
When he returned, the maiden asked him, "There are some on the streets that you pay courtesy to, and others that you revile. Why is that?"
The creature laughed and said, "There are those in the world who consume beef, and they are the ones I can torment with impunity. If I meet with those who are upright and loving, or priests who obey their oaths and canon laws, and by some accident, I commit any offenses on them, then Heaven would strike me dead."
Another year passed, and one day the Yaksha wept to the maiden, "Our allotted time together is at an end. I must bring you home at the next thunderstorm."
Thus, he gave her a green stone the size of a chicken's egg, saying that once she reached her home, she could grind it up and consume it to eliminate the contamination of the Yaksha's touch.
One stormy night, the creature picked up the maiden and said, "We can go now." As Shakyamuni had described, by simply extending his arm, he brought her to her parents' threshold, and she fell into the yard.
The maiden had her mother grind the stone into powder and drank it down. Due to this medicine, she defecated out a decaliter's worth of black sludge.
Book 357: Yaksha Part II, Section 3: Qiu Ru
The Erudite Qiu Ru says that fifty years ago, in a town on the periphery of Ruzhou Province, a villager's daughter suddenly vanished. She returned just as suddenly after several years, telling of how she had been carried away in her sleep by some creature until she reached a certain spot.
When morning came, she realized she was in an ancient pagoda. There, she saw a beautiful young man, who told her, "I am a Celestial Being. Destiny has granted you to me as my wife. Fear not and fret not, as it shall only be for a limited span of time." Furthermore, he warned her against peering at him outside of the tower.
Twice a day, the husband would descend and leave the pagoda, then return with food, sometimes so freshly cooked that it was still hot. After a year together, the maiden bided her time until he had gone outside, then snuck a look at him. She saw him soaring through the air, with hair of fire and blue skin, his long ears flapping as he brayed like a donkey. As he landed, he resumed a human form. The sheer shock of her discovery soaked the maiden in sweat.
When the creature returned, he said, realizing what had occurred, "You have peeked at me after all. In truth, I am a Yaksha, but as we are bound together by fate, I will not harm you."
The maiden was very wise and virtuous. She begged pardon of him, saying, "Since I am your wife, how could I bear you any ill will? But if you are so powerful, why can we not live alongside the common people, so I might visit my parents on occasion?"
The creature said, "My kind are stained with sin. Should we dwell among humanity, we would bring pestilence and plagues to them. Now that my form has been exposed, I shall allow you to openly look upon me. It will only be for a brief while, until you return home."
He transported the tower close to a human settlement. The maiden would often look down outside. The creature could not transform while he was in the air, but upon landing, he would mix in with the common crowd. Sometimes a plain-clothed mortal would pass by, and the Yaksha would politely cross his arms and step to the side. For others, however, he would lean over their heads and spit in their faces, with no one passing by seeming to perceive him.
When he returned, the maiden asked him, "There are some on the streets that you pay courtesy to, and others that you revile. Why is that?"
The creature laughed and said, "There are those in the world who consume beef, and they are the ones I can torment with impunity. If I meet with those who are upright and loving, or priests who obey their oaths and canon laws, and by some accident, I commit any offenses on them, then Heaven would strike me dead."
Another year passed, and one day the Yaksha wept to the maiden, "Our allotted time together is at an end. I must bring you home at the next thunderstorm."
Thus, he gave her a green stone the size of a chicken's egg, saying that once she reached her home, she could grind it up and consume it to eliminate the contamination of the Yaksha's touch.
One stormy night, the creature picked up the maiden and said, "We can go now." As Shakyamuni had described, by simply extending his arm, he brought her to her parents' threshold, and she fell into the yard.
The maiden had her mother grind the stone into powder and drank it down. Due to this medicine, she defecated out a decaliter's worth of black sludge.