The two inspectors took the order, and left the court. They called the rolls of their platoons, and then filed off according to the order.
We need not follow the platoon under inspector Zhu Tong which left by the West Gate. But the platoon of twenty soldiers under Inspector Lei Heng left by the East Gate, and duly reached the hill at Dongxi village where they plucked some of the red leaves, and then returned to the village. Leaving the village they came to the Lingguan Temple in about a li. Inspector Lei Heng noticed that the gate of the temple was open, and he wondered why this was since he knew there were no priests living there at the time. As he suspected some irregularity he decided to look inside. As it was almost dark they lit torches, and then entered the temple. There they found a big man sleeping on the altar table with naked body. He had made a pillow of a lot of torn clothing, and was snoring loudly.
“How strange! How strange!” Inspector Lei Heng said. “Our magistrate evidently knew that there have been some bandits at the Dongxi village.” He then shouted in a loud voice, and awoke the man who attempted to get up, but was seized by the soldiers and bound with ropes. They then all left the temple, and took their prisoner to the village chief.
Four brave men of Eastern Stream
Captured jewels with bold scheme;
As earthly spirits they did their feat,
As heavenly gods they came to meet.
In the next chapter we will narrate what this village was that Inspector Lei Heng went to.
Footnote
58 “Command” or “order.”
CHAPTER 13
The Red-Haired Devil Has a Drunken Sleep at the Lingguan Temple; Chao Gai, the Heavenly King, Administers Justice at the Dongxi Village
As we have said, when Lei Heng reached the Lingguan Temple he saw a big man sleeping on the altar table, whom the soldiers bound with ropes.
Lei Heng said, “I will take this fellow to the village chief Chao, and ask for a meal there, and then will take him on to the county magistrate to be examined.” So the party came to the chief’s village.
The chief of the village was named Chao Gai, whose ancestors had been wealthy men. He was generous and hospitable, and was particularly fond of making friends with heroes from all parts of the empire. He offered hospitality to whomsoever came to his village, no matter of what character the strangers were, and if they wanted to leave they were given money and assistance. Chao Gai was very fond of exercising with the spear and cudgel, so that his body was very strong. He had no wife, and he spent all his time in developing his muscles.
On the east side of Yuncheng County were two villages—Dongxi and Xixi and they were separated by a stream. Formerly at the Xixi village there were demons who decoyed men into the stream, and once there, there was no help for them. But one day a monk happened to pass that way, and the people of the village told him all about the demons. He selected a place, and told them to erect there a pagoda of gray stone, and it would protect them from the demons in the stream. When this had been done the demons went to the Dongxi Village, and Chao Gai was very angry about this. So he picked up the pagoda and carried it across the river. Because of this the people called him, Chao Gai, the “Heavenly King” who can carry a pagoda on the palm of his hand. He had great influence over those villages and was well known among the bandits.
On the day referred to Lei Heng, with his militia and their prisoner, arrived at the village and knocked at the gate. The gatekeepers heard this, and reported the matter to the village chief. At the time Chao Gai was still in bed, but when he heard that Inspector Lei Heng had arrived he gave orders for the gate to be opened immediately. The gatekeepers did this, and the soldiers took the prisoner to the guardroom near the gate and tied him up there. Lei Heng took about ten of his best men, to the guest hall where they sat down.
When Chao Gai entered he received them with the usual inquiries, and then asked on what public business they had come there.
Lei Heng replied, “The magistrate gave orders to myself and Zhu Tong to take soldiers to the villages and arrest any bandits we found. We have traveled a good distance, and feeling tired we came to your village for a rest. I am afraid that we have disturbed the sweet dreams of the chief.”
Chao Gai said that that did not matter. He then ordered the servants to prepare food and wine. He then asked whether Lei Heng had succeeded in arresting any brigand in that village.
Lei Heng replied, “I found a man at the Lingguan Temple, and as he appeared to be in a drunken sleep, and not of good character, I arrested him. I brought him here so that you might know all about the affair, as I was afraid that it would be inconvenient for you not to know of the matter when the county magistrate tries the case. He is now tied up in the guardroom near the gate.”
Chao Gai bore this remark in mind and thanked him for reporting the matter. In a short time the servants brought in the food and wine. Chao Gai said, “This room is not a good place to discuss matters in, and therefore we had better go into a hall at the back of this.” He then ordered the servants to light the lamps in another room, and requested the inspector to go and have a drink there.
On arrival there Chao Gai took his seat in the position of a host, while Lei Heng sat down as a guest. The servants brought in the fruit, wine, vegetables, and other food, and then stood at the side serving the wine. Chao Gai sent the servants with some wine for the soldiers. The servants did this, and also asked the soldiers to go to another room outside where the servant attended to their wants, bringing them a large tray of meat and a large bowl of wine.
While Chao Gai was pressing Lei Heng to take some wine he was thinking who the man could be who had been arrested, and how he could go to see who it was. When they had drunk about seven cups of wine Chao Gai summoned a steward, and told him to stay with the guest while he went to the toilet. Chao Gai then got a lamp, and going outside saw that there was no one about as all the soldiers had gone to drink wine. He went to the gatekeeper, and asked where the thief brought there by Inspector Lei Heng was tied up.
The gatekeeper said that the thief was imprisoned in the guardroom near the gate. Chao Gai went to the guardroom, and upon pushing open the door saw inside a man hanging from a great height. He saw that his flesh was dark, and also that his feet were bare, and were covered with black hair. Holding up his lamp he saw that his face was very broad and also discolored. Near his temple was a red birthmark with black and yellow hair growing from it.
Chao Gai asked him, “Where do you come from? I have not seen you at this village before.”
The man replied, “I came from a distant place to look for a man here, and was arrested as a thief, but I can give a full explanation.”
Chao Gai asked, “Whom did you come to find in this village?”
The man said, “I came here to find a hero.”
“What was the name of the hero?”
The man replied that he had come to find a village chief called Chao.
“What business had you with him that you were trying to find him?”
The man replied, “He is famous everywhere as a hero. Just now I have a matter that may result in riches or
