Wang Lan

A man named Wang Lan, who lived in Lijing County, in Shandong Province, suddenly died.

When the King of Hell checked the Life and Death Book, he found that one of the little demons had marked the wrong soul. So he ordered the little demon to send Wang Lan back to the mortals. But Wang Lan’s body had already decayed. Fearing that the King of Hell might punish him for his mistake, the little demon said to Wang Lan, “It is very painful for a human to turn into a ghost, but for a ghost to turn into an immortal, that’s a very happy experience. To be happy is enough. Why bother to be revived from death?” Wang Lan thought there was something to what he said. The little demon went on, “There is a fox here which has been successful in making immortality pills. If you steal and eat one, your soul will stay with you forever. Wherever you go, you will get what you want. Would you like to do that?” Wang Lan said, “Yes.”

The little demon led Wang Lan into a grand villa which had many tall buildings and pavilions but was very quiet, without a single person in sight. Only a lone fox was there, looking up at the moon in the sky. When it breathed out, it emitted a ball-like pill from its mouth which shot up right into the moon. When it breathed in, the pill would drop from the moon and the fox would catch it with his mouth. This process was repeated over and over again. The little demon hid himself beside the fox so that when it spat out the pill, he quickly caught it with his hand and gave it to Wang Lan to swallow. Surprised, the fox turned to face them angrily, but when it saw there were two of them, it shrank back and slipped away, grumbling. Wang Lan said goodbye to the little demon and went home. When his wife and children saw him, they were scared out of their wits and avoided him. Only when Wang Lan had told them the whole process did they come up to him. From then on, life went on as usual in the Wang family.

Wang Lan had a friend by the name of Zhang. When he heard the news, he came to call on Wang. After an exchange of greetings, Wang Lan said to Zhang, “My family and yours have always been poor. Now I have a way of getting rich. Can you go traveling with me?” Zhang said yes. Wang said, “I can cure a person of his illness without using medicine. I can tell a person’s fortune without resorting to divination. I would like to appear as myself but fear that those who recognise me would be shocked. So I thought of attaching my soul to your body, do you agree?” Zhang said he did. So they got ready and set out that very day.

They came to a place west of the mountain where they happened upon an emergency case: the daughter of a rich family was in a coma. No matter what medicine she took or how they prayed to avoid this misfortune and disaster, nothing worked. Zhang walked into the house and boasted that he had a magic cure. Now the rich man had only this one daughter whom he adored and was willing to give one thousand taels of silver to anyone who could cure her. Zhang said he must first have a look at the patient, so he followed the father into the inner chamber where the girl was lying in bed, her eyes closed. Zhang moved the quilt aside and touched her body. She remained unconscious and did not respond. Wang Lan said to Zhang on the side, “This shows she has lost her soul. I must go and find it and bring it back.” So Zhang said to the rich man, “Although the situation is critical, there is still hope.” The rich man asked,”What medicine is needed?” Zhang replied, “There’s no need to use any medicine. Your daughter’s soul has left her. I have already sent someone to find it.”

About an hour later, Wang Lan suddenly returned, saying he had found the soul and brought it back. Zhang asked the rich man to let him into the chamber again. He again moved his hand softly over the girl’s body. After a while, the girl stretched her arms and suddenly opened her eyes. Overjoyed, the rich man caressed his daughter and asked her many questions.

The girl said, “I was playing in the garden when I saw a young man shooting at birds with a slingshot, followed by several men leading horses. I immediately tried to hide myself, but they wouldn’t let me get away. The young man gave me his slingshot and taught me how to use it. I was very embarrassed and was scolding him when he pulled me onto his horse and together we galloped off. He laughed and said, ‘I am happy to have you to play with. Don’t be shy.’ We went like that for several li and started climbing the mountain, while I shouted and cursed all the way. He got so angry that he pushed me off the horse onto the roadside. I wanted to come home but didn’t know the way. Just then, a man came along. He grabbed my arm and dragged me along. We were going so fast we were flying. In the twinkling of an eye, I was home. I feel as though I’d just awakened from a dream.”

The rich man thought it sounded quite fantastic and, as promised, gave Zhang one thousand taels of silver.

That night, Wang Lan proposed to Zhang that they keep two hundred taels of the silver to cover traveling expenses. The rest he took back home. He gave it to his son, bidding him to give three hundred taels to Zhang’s wife, and then hurried back.

The next day when they bade farewell to the rich man, the latter wondered where they could have hidden the silver. He presented Zhang with lots of gifts and saw him off.

A few days later, while in the suburbs, Zhang met a man from his hometown named He Cai. He Cai was a drunkard and a gambler. He did no work and was extremely poor. He had heard that Zhang had mastered some strange magic and had profited immensely from it, so he came to look for him. Wang Lan advised Zhang to give him a little bit of silver and send him home.

But He Cai kept to his old ways. Within ten days, he had lost all the money that Zhang had given him. He came to see Zhang again. This Wang Lan had expected. He said to Zhang, “He Cai is a good-for-nothing, but very presumptuous and unrestrained. You mustn’t have too much to do with him. Why don’t you give him some money and tell him to go away? This way, even if some misfortune falls, you won’t be too involved.” Sure enough, He Cai showed up again a day later. He insisted on keeping Zhang company. Zhang said to him,” I knew long ago that you would come again. All day long, you do nothing but drink and gamble. Even if you had a thousand taels of silver, would it be enough to fill this bottomless pit? If you can really mend your ways, I’ll give you a hundred taels of silver.” He Cai promised he would start anew, whereupon Zhang poured out all the silver from his bag and gave it to He Cai.

But after he left Zhang, He Cai gambled with even more abandon, thinking he was now rich. On top of that, he frequented the brothels, squandering money like water. This aroused the suspicion of the police who arrested him and took him to the local authorities. After a severe beating and other forms of torture, he confessed to where the silver had come from. Then the magistrate ordered his men to go and arrest Zhang, taking He Cai with them.

A few days later, He Cai died on the road on account of the severe wounds inflicted on him. Still not resigned to leaving Zhang alone, he attached his spirit to Zhang, and that’s how he
became acquainted with Wang Lan.

One day, while drinking together on a mound, He Cai got thoroughly besotted. He shouted and screamed wildly; nothing Wang Lan said could stop him. An imperial emissary, sent from the nation’s capital on an inspection tour of the area, happened to pass by. When he heard the screaming, he searched and found Zhang, who for fear of punishment, confessed the whole truth. Angered by what he heard, the emissary gave Zhang a good beating and then wrote an official note to the gods. That night, he dreamt that a god in gold armor told him, “We have checked and found that Wang Lan died innocent and is now a ghost-spirit. Treating patients is an act of benevolence and should therefore not be regarded as a demonic act. I have brought you an order from the Heavenly King, conferring on Wang Lan the post of Minister in Charge of Street-Cleaning. He Cai is evil and dissipated. For that he has been sentenced to exile on Tiewei Mountain. As for Zhang, he is found not guilty and should be pardoned.”

When the emissary woke up, he was struck with amazement. So he set Zhang free. Zhang put his things together and went home. He still had several hundred taels of silver in his pocket. With all reverence, he gave half of it to the Wang family. From then on, Wang Lan’s children and grandchildren lived a prosperous life.