Only a day upon the road, they were again accosted by the four bandits that had robbed and beaten Tzu-yu. Being men both brutal and well armed, the sages could do little to resist them.
“So, we find again our pauper and now with his companions,” said their leader. “You had better have more to offer than before if you wish to avoid an even worse beating than you had before! Come, give us your purses and save yourselves!”
At this, King Ching Chi, who held their common purse, stepped forward saying, “I have all of what little money we possess, Sir, but will gladly offer it up to you.” And so, taking out a few coppers, offered them to the brigand in his open hand.
But the bandit, seeing the few coppers, slapped the hand away, sending the coins into the nearby paddy. “This is not enough to redeem a single hair on your heads, let alone your lives. So now we will beat you, and perhaps if it pleases us you shall live.”
But Chen Jen stepped forward and said, “Sir, what possible profit can you obtain thereby? But is it not that you have in your possession several books of great value, unless, perchance, you have already sold them?”
“Your books are good for nothing but starting the evening fire. For even if they can receive a good price, the price of our capture should we enter the city to sell them is much higher still!”
“Then let us sell them for you and meet you on this same road where it exits the city, and there we will give you what we obtain,” answered Chen Jen.
“I shall beat you the worst of all for taking me for such a fool!”
“But Sir,” retorted Chen Jen, “observe us—we are but wandering sages and could not long endure confinement within this city but would needs be soon depart for the wilds where, should you again find us, our lives would surely be forfeit. And consider, too, that now you shall receive only the pleasure of giving a beating, but should we prove true, you shall receive a considerable sum. And lest you think that we consider these books so valuable that we would betray our trust to recover them, know that to do so would be to betray the very things they teach. And as for me, Sir, there is but one book that has any great worth, and that I could never lose.”
“And what, pray tell, is that book?” asked the bandit.
“It is the world and all that is found therein,” replied Chen Jen. “And you, Sir, are a page thereof, and I thank you for the lessons that you even now teach. For should you beat or kill me now, you will be providing a lesson in acceptance and detachment. But if you should entrust us now with this commission, then there shall ensue lessons for both you and me beyond my imagining.”
At this the brutish face of the brigand contorted in thought. Then turning to a fellow bandit, he ordered him to hand the books to Chen Jen. “I will not trust you, Sage, but I will take your gamble. But know surely that you, too, gamble with your very life.”
“Look for us on this road where it leaves the city on the other side on tomorrow’s eve,” said Chen Jen. And with that, they proceeded down the road toward the city whose smoke even then could be discerned in the distance.
This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.
“So, we find again our pauper and now with his companions,” said their leader. “You had better have more to offer than before if you wish to avoid an even worse beating than you had before! Come, give us your purses and save yourselves!”
At this, King Ching Chi, who held their common purse, stepped forward saying, “I have all of what little money we possess, Sir, but will gladly offer it up to you.” And so, taking out a few coppers, offered them to the brigand in his open hand.
But the bandit, seeing the few coppers, slapped the hand away, sending the coins into the nearby paddy. “This is not enough to redeem a single hair on your heads, let alone your lives. So now we will beat you, and perhaps if it pleases us you shall live.”
But Chen Jen stepped forward and said, “Sir, what possible profit can you obtain thereby? But is it not that you have in your possession several books of great value, unless, perchance, you have already sold them?”
“Your books are good for nothing but starting the evening fire. For even if they can receive a good price, the price of our capture should we enter the city to sell them is much higher still!”
“Then let us sell them for you and meet you on this same road where it exits the city, and there we will give you what we obtain,” answered Chen Jen.
“I shall beat you the worst of all for taking me for such a fool!”
“But Sir,” retorted Chen Jen, “observe us—we are but wandering sages and could not long endure confinement within this city but would needs be soon depart for the wilds where, should you again find us, our lives would surely be forfeit. And consider, too, that now you shall receive only the pleasure of giving a beating, but should we prove true, you shall receive a considerable sum. And lest you think that we consider these books so valuable that we would betray our trust to recover them, know that to do so would be to betray the very things they teach. And as for me, Sir, there is but one book that has any great worth, and that I could never lose.”
“And what, pray tell, is that book?” asked the bandit.
“It is the world and all that is found therein,” replied Chen Jen. “And you, Sir, are a page thereof, and I thank you for the lessons that you even now teach. For should you beat or kill me now, you will be providing a lesson in acceptance and detachment. But if you should entrust us now with this commission, then there shall ensue lessons for both you and me beyond my imagining.”
At this the brutish face of the brigand contorted in thought. Then turning to a fellow bandit, he ordered him to hand the books to Chen Jen. “I will not trust you, Sage, but I will take your gamble. But know surely that you, too, gamble with your very life.”
“Look for us on this road where it leaves the city on the other side on tomorrow’s eve,” said Chen Jen. And with that, they proceeded down the road toward the city whose smoke even then could be discerned in the distance.
This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.
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