Prevod

Xie Fei, a Taoist priest from Danyang, went to Shicheng to buy a cauldron. On his way home, dusk overtook him before he could reach his house. There was a temple beside a stream in the mountains, so he went inside to spend the night. He declared in a loud voice, “I am an envoy of the Heavenly Emperor, stopping here for the night. Yet I fear someone may rob me of my cauldron, and the thought leaves me sorely troubled.” During the second watch, someone came to the temple gate and called, “He Tong!” Tong answered. “There is the scent of a human in the temple. Who is it?” Tong replied, “Someone is here. He says he is an envoy of the Heavenly Emperor.” After a short while, the visitor withdrew. Soon another came, called to Tong, and asked the same question. Tong gave the same answer, and this visitor too went away with a sigh. Alarmed and disturbed, Xie Fei could not sleep. At last he rose and called to Tong, asking, “Who was it that came earlier?” “A white alligator that lives in a hole beside the water,” came the reply. “And what sort of creature are you?” “A turtle that lives in a cleft in the rocks north of the temple.” Xie Fei quietly committed all this to memory. At daybreak, he told the local people, “There is no god in this temple, only creatures such as turtles and alligators. You are wasting wine and food on offerings to them. Hurry and bring spades, and we will go together to destroy them.” The people, who had already harbored doubts, gathered to dig the creatures out and killed them both. They then demolished the temple and ceased making offerings. From that time onward, all was peaceful.