When a Wanderer Visits
There once was a humble village that sat next to a river. In this village the people would go out and cut marble stone to sell and to fish in the river to fill their bellies. The marble was of good quality and brought much wealth to the village but the governor of the village was a cruel man. He taxed the people relentlessly and would only hunt spirits and beasts if three or four people went missing. But the people always had roofs over their heads, food to fill their mouths, and the wild things of the land were usually a distant concern and so they did not complain as complaining would only bring the eire of the governor on them.
Now in this village was a homely man named Niren who had no family or wealth. He lived in a little hovel only big enough for him to sleep and eat in and did little more than keep the worst of the rain and cold out. Niren did not let that keep his spirits down and was always quick with a smile and a helping hand. Whenever his neighbors tried to pay him he would laugh it off and say to just give him some rice and wine for his meal that night because he wouldn't know what to do with so much money even if they only offered him a few copper coins. Because of this he became known as Niren the Helpful.
One day a wanderer visited this village. This wanderer was an old grandfather, with a back so bowed with age he had to use a cane just to stand upright, with wrinkles so deep and weathered his skin looked like dried out mud. As he walked the streets the old man heard about Niren the helpful, about how he was quick to help with a task no matter how long or hard it might be. Intrigued, the wanderer eventually found Niren's little hovel just as night was approaching.
Knocking on the door he called out if anyone was home. Once the door opened and showed Niren the old wanderer said "Young sir, I am Zufu Hou, I am on my way to visit my family who lives far from my home. I am in need of a bed and a little bit of food so I may continue my journey on the morrow. Would you be able to help this old man?"
With a smile and a laugh Niren ushered Zufu Hou into his home and said "Honored grandfather, how auspicious it is that you visit this humble Niren today! I was gifted a large fish today for helping the fishermen haul in their nets and carrying their catches to the market. Eat as much of it as you can and sleep in my bed tonight so you may be as rested as possible before moving on." Helping Zufu Hou to his bed (for there was nowhere else to sit in his home) Niren quickly cooked the fish and rice he was planning to eat for his own dinner and offered it to his guest.
Seeing that Niren only had a plate with not even a half a cup of rice asked, "Niren, is that all you are going to eat?"
With a laugh Niren replied, "You may not know this honored grandfather but this Niren has a tiny stomach. Eating two or three mouthfuls of rice is more than enough to keep me full for an entire night!" This of course was not true but Niren did not want his guest to know he had given them the rest of the food he had in his home.
After finishing the meal Zufu Hou let out a sigh, "My arms and legs are so sore from traveling today, if only I had some warm wine I would surely be able to sleep tonight without issue."
"Honored grandfather, say no more. Although I have no wine in my home, please rest and I will get you some wine shortly." Springing up Niren made sure Zufu Hou was comfortable before hurrying as quickly as he could to his neighbors. After some begging, one of his neighbors agreed to give him some wine and Niren said he would pay them back for their generosity as soon as he could. He then returned home, carefully warmed the wine, and served Zufu Hou until the old man retired to sleep.
As Niren lay down on his hard floor to try and get some sleep Zufu Hou quietly spoke up. "Niren, is there anything in this life that you wish for?"
"Honored grandfather, what need have I for wishes? I have a roof over my head, a fire to keep me warm, and food to keep me full. What more could I ask for?"
With a huff Zufu Hou replied, "Is there truly nothing in this world you desire? No adventure that calls to you or wants unfulfilled?"
Taking a moment to think, Niren said, "Well, it is said that the governor of our village, lord Jin Fu, has a daughter called Jin Nuer. Few have seen her but those that have say that she is the kindest and most beautiful woman. With a voice as soft as silk and a visage that would make even the moon jealous her father has kept her safe and secure in their home so no untowards man could approach her. If I had one wish it would be to chat with Jin Nuer for it sounds like a terribly lonely way to live like that."
"Thank you for your honesty. I must go away in the morning so best to get some sleep now." And with that the two of them fell fast asleep and in the morning Zufu Hou thanked Niren for his hospitality before leaving his home.
Now Zufu Hou did not leave the village because Zufu Hou was not actually an elderly man on his way to visit family, he was in fact the Reveler cleverly disguised! Why do such a thing you might ask and the answer is this; it is terribly boring to do nothing but sleep underneath the Water Curtain Cave. Therefore, the Reveler will take jaunts around the province to see how things are going and to maybe play a prank or two. After hearing Niren's wish the Reveler decided to go see lord Jin Fu to see if maybe that wish could be granted.
He also wanted to see how Jin Fu's hospitality compared to the humble Niren's, so he hobbled his way over to the large mansion still disguised as the old Zufu Hou.
Announcing himself at the gate to the Jin manor, Zufu Hou declared he had come to give honor and respect to the governor of the land, Jin Fu. The guard at the gate went to his master Jin Fu and explained that an old man had come to give respect and honor to him. Jin Fu instructed his guard and servants to allow the man in but to not give him anything and that he would deal with them once he had the time to.
The disguised Reveler was thus led to a small waiting room and told that Jin Fu was here but busy with some work so he should wait a moment till he could visit. After waiting about ten minutes Zufu Hou asked a nearby servant if perhaps some tea could be served while he waited. The servant replied that they were currently all out of tea leaves and it would take too long to fetch some. After another ten minutes of waiting Zufu Hou asked if perhaps some food could be served for he had not eaten a morning meal, saying even some leftover rice would do. Again the servant responded that nothing was available as they had no left overs and the cooking fires would have to be lit once more and would take too long to cook for the guest. Starting to become slightly angry Zufu Hou waited for twenty minutes before asking for some water but again he was denied and told that they did not have any clean drinking water but that the water fetcher should be back soon with some.
It was at this point that Jin Fu finally arrived to meet Zufu Hou. Jumping up the Reveler began to angrily berate the governor yelling "You slothful greedy pig! I came here to pay you honor for defending these lands and yet your household denies me even a sip of water to slack my thirst! You deserve no respect or honor!"
Now the Reveler's disguise was so well done that not even Jin Fu who regularly fought trickster spirits could see past it. This meant that Jin Fu only saw an elderly wanderer begin yelling at him before he even opened his mouth. With a laugh the arrogant man responded with, "Who are you to claim such things? You enter my home under false pretenses and ask for food and drink but then yell at me at your first chance. You useless old man leave my house before I take your head!"
"You unfilial clod, you dare threaten your own father?" The old looking Zufu Hou shot back.
"You dare!" Jin Fu yelled as he drew his sword and lunged for the frail looking old man. With a smirk Zufu Hou reached to his ear and seemed to pull out a small needle from behind it but with a single shake of his hand it grew into an iron staff! Quicker than the eye could see the Reveler swatted the sword from Jin Fu's hand. Now truly enraged Jin Fu leaped again at Zufu Hou to strangle this stranger in his home. With a laugh the disguised Reveler pushed him away as if he was a child.
"Ha! You useless pile of shit. You would attack a guest of your house as if they were a thief? You truly are worse than the dirt beneath my feet!" As he spoke the Reveler allowed his disguise to fall away. Soon the old man Zufu Hou was a great ape with rich, dark hair and stood over three heads taller than Jin Fu.
With a whimper Jin Fu began to call for help. "Monster! Demon! To arms! Protect me! Daughter! Daughter, protect your father!" were his pitiful cries as the Reveler picked him up by the back of his robe and gave him a shake.
"Are you so old and infirm that you must ask your children for protection? Pitiful! Be quiet or I shall surely kill you right now." With another shake Jin Fu fell silent for he truly feared for his life.
It took a few moments but soon the door to the room was thrown open. There stood a young woman of unparalleled beauty with the household guards. She had hair finer than any silk, eyes bluer than the sky, skin as pale as moonlight and lips redder than the sweetest berries, this was Jin Nuer the daughter of Jin Fu. Now Jin Nuer had been taught by her father in the arts and magics of immortals but had also been blessed with eyes that could discern the nature of a being with but a glance. Seeing the Reveler holding her father above the ground as tears streamed from his face Jin Nuer immediately dropped to the ground and kowtowed until her face touched the floor and pleaded, "Oh great and powerful Reveler! Please forgive this one's father! Spare his life and this unfilial daughter shall do anything you ask including taking her own life!"
At such an honest and devoted display from Jin Fu's daughter the Reveler began to stroke his chin in thought. "At such a heartfelt display I shall give him a chance. Go and find one called Niren the Helpful and bring him here." He set down the now paralyzed with terror Jin Fu and thought to himself, 'I shall deal with both my debt to Niren and the insult of Jin Fu in the same move. As the saying goes, the clever fisherman can catch two fish with one hook.'
Jin Nuer sent the guards out at once to retrieve Niren from the village and soon the man was brought to the manor. Being led in he stumbled over his own feet at first seeing the beauty of Jin Nuer but upon seeing the revealed form of the Reveler quickly falling to his hands and knees and wishing to cry out but unable to find his voice. With a laugh and a wave of his hand the Reveler said, "No need for fear Niren! Do you not recognize your friend Zufu Hou? We parted not even half a day ago! How sad that I am forgotten so quickly. Ha!"
With those words Niren quickly realized what had happened and kowtowed four times to the Reveler saying, "Thank you for accepting this one's humble hospitality master."
With another laugh the Reveler waved him off saying, "It's fine, it's fine! I actually wanted your opinion on a matter. You see, this rapscallion known as Jin Fu has done me a great insult. I had come to praise him for maintaining such a nice village and was left to wait as he took care of some matters. This is fine but the problem is as I waited I became thirsty and hungry but was denied even a grain of rice or drop of water. Now this put me in a foul mood so once he showed up I yelled a few rude comments at him and was planning on leaving it at that but this shit stain decided to attack a guest in his own house. I would have surely killed him if not for his daughter begging for his life. Knowing the story now, what do you think his punishment should be?"
Taking some time to think the matter over, for Niren was no fool, he eventually said, "Offense has surely been given to the master in this matter and attacking a guest of one's house is surely no small crime either. Lord Jin Fu is known to be somewhat slow to act and bit heavy with taxes in the village but even then he has protected us and helped insure the prosperity of the village. This one is not learned in the matters of law and punishments but my thoughts have been asked for. This one therefore asks for mercy for Jin Fu and instead of execution he is taught the error of his ways."
Nodding his head the Reveler agreed. "I shall spare Jin Fu's life then but shall take him on as a servant back at Water Curtain Cave so he can learn the rules of hospitality over the next few decades. For your earlier hospitality let me give you a little gift." Reaching into a pouch the Reveler pulled out a small gourd that contained some sort of liquid inside. "Drink this immortal elixir and you'll live for five hundred years. I shall also give you what used to be Jin Fu's estate and belongings for your consultation on the matter of his punishment." After handing Niren the elixir, the large ape grabbed the still stunned and speechless Jin Fu and dragged him outside. With a final "Farewell!" he leapt into the air with a single somersault and rode away on a golden cloud back to his home in Water Curtain Cave.
As for Jin Nuer and Niren, the two of them quickly fell in love. Jin Nuer taught Niren the magics of immortals and helped him rule and govern the village. Over five hundred years the two of them loved each other until both of them went to their graves. With their guidance and protection the village grew into a city of much renown and their dozen children grew up to be mighty and just protectors of the land. This is how our story ends.
-When a Wanderer Visits, story from "A Collection of Ebon Rivers Folk Tales", compiled by Zheng Ping
-A.N @yrsillar Omake for the omake throne. Decided to take a crack at writing a sort of folk tale about how the Reveler wanders the lands. Took the idea from what we learn about the Reveler in the Ancestor's Sublime sidestory. Hope you guys like it!
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