Wu Chengxiu, a native of Liaoyang, liked to make friends, and all those he made were well-known figures. One night, he dreamed that a man said to him, "You have friends everywhere, but they are all nothing more than friendships. There is only one person who can share your suffering, why don't you make friends instead?" Wu Chengxiu asked, "Who is it?" The man said, "Isn't it Tian Qilang?" Wu Chengxiu woke up and felt strange.
The next morning, Wu Chengxiu met his friends and inquired about Tian Qilang. Some of his friends knew him and said that Tian Qilang was a hunter from the eastern village. Wu Chengxiu paid a respectful visit to Tian's house and knocked on the door with his horsewhip. A moment later a man came out, in his twenties, with eyes like a lynx and a waist like a wasp, wearing a grease-stained civilian hat and a black apron covered with white cloth patches. He arched both hands in front of his forehead and saluted, asking his guest where he had come from. Woo Seung-hoo gave his name, and pretended that he had been unwell on the road, and wished to borrow a place to rest. He asked about Tian Qilang, and the man replied, "I am Tian Qilang." Then he invited his guest to enter the house. All that could be seen was a ramshackle house with only a few rafters of tiles, with wooden stakes supporting the walls. When they entered a small room, there were tiger and wolf skins hanging on pillars, but no stools or chairs to sit on. Chilang then spread the tiger skins on the floor for his guests to sit on. Wu Chengxiu talked to him, he spoke frankly and honestly, Wu Chengxiu liked him very much, and immediately gave him silver to make a living. When Qilang refused to accept it, Wu Chengxiu insisted on giving it to him. He took it and went to tell his mother. A while later, he brought it back, insisted on excusing himself and refused to accept it. Wu Chengxiu forced him again and again. The aged mother came out and said with a grim face, "My old woman has only this son, and I don't want him to serve your guests!" Wu Chengxiu retired in shame. On the way home, Wu Chengxiu thought over and over again, not understanding what Tian's mother meant. It so happened that his servant was behind the house and heard what Mother Tian had said and told him. It turned out that just now Qilang took the silver and went to report to Tianmu. Mother Tian said, "I just looked at Mr. Wu and saw bad luck on his face, and he is bound to be in great trouble. As the old saying goes, "Those who are appreciated by others share their worries, and those who are favored by others relieve them of their dangers. The rich man repays with money, the poor man with righteousness. It is unlucky to receive a generous gift for no reason, and I am afraid that in the future you will be asked to give up your life to repay him." When Wu Chengxiu heard this, he deeply praised Tian's mother's wisdom; he fell even more in love with Qilang.
The next day, he invited Tian Qilang to a banquet, but Qilang declined to come. Wu Chengxiu came to the hall of his house and sat down to ask for food and wine. Shichilang poured the wine himself, served him dried deer meat, and entertained him with all his heart and soul. After a day, Wu Chengxiu invited Shichilang back, and only then did Shichilang come. The atmosphere at the banquet was cordial and cheerful. Wu Chengxiu gave him silver taels, but Qilang refused to accept them. When Wu Chengxiu said that he wanted to buy a tiger skin from him, Qilang accepted it. He went home to check the tiger skins he had stored, and realized that they were not enough to cover the silver taels, so he wanted to hunt some more tigers and send them together. He went into the mountains for three days and did not hunt a single tiger. When his wife fell ill, he had to take care of her and make soup and medicine, so he had no time to hunt.
After ten days, Shichiro's wife died. In order to organize the funeral, Qilang gradually used up the silver he had received. Wu Chengxiu himself came to offer his condolences and sent a generous gift of money. After burying his wife, he took his bow and arrows and went into the mountains, eager to repay Wu Chengxiu, but he never caught any game. When Wu Chengxiu found out the reason, he repeatedly advised Qilang not to be in a hurry. He hoped that Qilang would come to his home to take a break, but Qilang was always uneasy about the debt he owed him and refused to come. So Wu Chengxiu wanted to take the tiger skin he had saved in the past in order to make Qilang come. When Qilang examined the old tiger skin, he found that it had been damaged by insects and the tiger's hair had fallen off, so he was even more upset. When Wu Chengxiu found out about it, he rushed to his house and tried his best to persuade him. He looked at the damaged tiger skin and said, "This is not bad. What I want is not hairy or hairless." So he rolled up the tiger skin and went out, and invited Shichiro to come with him to his house. When Chilang refused to go, Wu Chengxiu went home by himself. Thinking that the tiger skin was not worth the money Wu Chengxiu had given him, Qi Lang took dry food and went into the mountains, and after a few nights, he finally got a tiger, and sent the whole tiger to Wu's house.
Wu Chengxiu was very happy and prepared wine and food and invited Chilang to stay for three or four days. Qilang refused and was very determined. Wu Chengxiu locked the gate and would not let him go out. The guests saw that Qilang was poorly dressed, and secretly said that Mr. Wu was making friends indiscriminately. However, Wu Chengxiu was more solicitous than anyone else in his hospitality to Qi Lang. When Wu Chengxiu wanted to change his clothes, he always refused; Wu Chengxiu secretly changed his old clothes while he was sleeping, and he had no choice but to put on the new ones. When Qilang went home, his son, on his grandmother's order, sent back the new clothes and asked for the old ones. Wu Chenghiu laughed and said, "Go back and tell your grandmother that the old clothes have been removed to make insoles."
From then on, Qilang often sent rabbits and venison to Wu Chengxiu, who invited him but stopped coming. One day, Wu Chengxiu went to look for Qi Lang, who had not yet returned home from a hunting trip. The mother came out, leaned on the door, and said to Wu Chengxiu, "Don't you ever solicit my son again, it's too unkind!" Wu Chengxiu bowed to her respectfully and went away in shame.
After about half a year, his family suddenly came to Wu Chengxiu and said, "Tian Qilang was arrested and taken to the palace because he killed a man in a fight over a leopard." Wu Chengxiu was shocked and rushed to visit him, but he was already shackled and sent to the prison. When he saw Wu Chengxiu, he had nothing else to say but, "In the future, I will trouble you to take care of my old mother." Wu Chengxiu walked out sadly, and hurriedly bribed the county officials with heavy money, and gave another hundred taels of silver to the family of the deceased. After a month or so, it was fine, so the county office let Qilang go home. Tian mother said with emotion: "Your life is all given by Mr. Wu, it's not something that my old woman can cherish anymore. I hope that if Mr. Wu has no disasters or difficulties in his life, it will be your good fortune." Qilang wanted to go and pay his respects to Wu Chengxiu. Mother Tian said, "Just go, but don't thank Mr. Wu when you see him. You can thank him for small favors, but you can't thank him verbally for such a great kindness." When Qilang came to the Wu family, Wu Chengxiu comforted him with thoughtful words, and he only promised. The Wu family blamed Qilang for his lack of courtesy; but Wu Chengxiu liked him for his honesty and generosity, and treated him better. From then on, Qi Lang often stayed at Mr. Wu's house for a few days. He accepted all the things he was given, no longer excused himself, and did not say anything in return. Once, when it was Wu Chengxiu's birthday, there were so many guests and attendants that the Wu family's bedrooms were full. Wu Chengxiu slept in a small room with Qilang, while the three servants slept on mats under the bed. As the second night wore on, the servants fell asleep, but the two of them were still talking. Seventh Lang's sword, which was hanging on the wall, suddenly jumped out of its sheath by itself a few inches high, clanking with a cold light like lightning. Wu Chengxiu climbed to his feet in surprise. Qilang also got up and asked, "What kind of person is sleeping under the bed?" Wu Chengxiu replied, "All servants." Qilang said, "There must be evil people in here." Wu Chengxiu asked what the reason was. Qilang said, "This sword was bought from a foreign country, and when I killed someone, my head was already on the ground, and the blood had not yet touched my clothes. Our family has been using it for three generations now. It has cut off thousands of heads and is still as sharp as new. When it sees an evil person, it will chime out of its sheath, and the day of killing will not be far off. Your son should kiss the gentleman and stay away from the villain, perhaps in case you can avoid unexpected calamities." Wu Chengxiu nodded in agreement. Qilang was always disturbed and tossed and turned in bed. Wu Chengxiu said, "Woe and fortune are the number of heaven, why worry so deeply?" Qilang said, "I'm not afraid of anything, I just want to have my old mother at home." Wu Chengxiu said, "How could you even think of that!" Chilang said, "It's good that it's all right."
It turns out that there are three people sleeping under the bed: one is called Lin'er, is a long time favorite child molester, can get the master's heart; one is a small child servant, twelve or thirteen years old, it is Wu Chengxiu daily call; one is called Li Ying, the most stubborn, sometimes for small things stare at the eyes and the master arguing with the Wu Chengxiu has long hated him. That night, Wu Chengxiu secretly thought that the so-called evil person must be Li Ying. The next morning he summoned Li Ying and dismissed him with kind words.
Wu Chengxiu's eldest son, Wu Shen, married Wang. One day, Wu Chenghiu went out and left Lin'er to guard the study. The chrysanthemums in the study were in full bloom. Wang thought that since her father-in-law was out, the courtyard of the study should be empty, so she went to pick chrysanthemums by herself. Lin'er suddenly rushes out to molest her. When Wang tries to escape, Lin'er carries her into her room. Wang cries and resists, her face turns pale and her voice hoarse. Wu Shen rushes over before Lin'er lets go and flees. Wu Chengxiu went home and heard about it, and angrily tried to find Lin'er, but he was nowhere to be found. After two or three days, it was realized that he had thrown himself into the house of a certain royal historian. This royal historian in the capital as an official, the family's affairs are left to his brother to manage. Wu Chengxiu by virtue of many years of friendship, wrote to discuss Liner, the Royal Historian's brother even ignored. Wu Chengxiu became even more angry and wrote a petition to the county magistrate. Although the arrest warrant was issued by the county magistrate, the magistrate did not pursue the case because the officers did not go to arrest the person. When Wu Chengxiu was angry, Qilang came. Wu Chengxiu said, "Your words have come true." So he told him about it. Qilang looked miserable, never said a word, and went away.
Wu Chengxiu instructed his able servants to patrol Lin'er's whereabouts. When Lin'er came home at night, he was caught by the inspectors and went to see Wu Chengxiu. Wu Cheng Xiu beat him up. Lin'er also abused Wu Chengxiu with his bad language. Wu Chengxiu's uncle, Wu Heng, who was a very cultivated man, was afraid that his nephew might get into trouble in his anger, so he advised him to take the official law into his own hands. Wu Chengxiu obeyed, and bundled up Lin'er and sent him to the county magistrate's office. However, when a letter from the royal historian's family arrived in the mail, the magistrate released Lin'er and had a servant of the royal historian's family lead him back. Lin'er became even more unscrupulous, spreading rumors in public that his master's daughter-in-law was fornicating with him. Wu Chengxiu was at his wits' end, filled with rage and grief. He went to the door of the royal historian's house and screamed curses. The neighbors persuaded him to return home.
After a night, suddenly a family member reported: "Lin'er was killed, the body thrown in the wilderness." Wu Chengxiu was shocked and delighted, and his chest was slightly relieved. After a while, I heard that the royal historian's family sued their uncle and nephew, Wu Chengxiu went with his uncle to confront him. The magistrate did not allow any defense and wanted to torture Wu Heng. Wu Chengxiu shouted, "It is not true that we killed someone! As for insulting the official family, it was me who did it, and it had nothing to do with my uncle." The magistrate didn't care and just pretended not to hear. Wu Chengxiu's eyes widened in anger and he wanted to rush forward, but he was seized by a group of magistrates. Execution of the government officials are all the gentry's dogs, Wu Heng and old, the number on the torture tag did not hit half, already dying and fainted. The magistrate saw that Wu Heng was dying, so he did not pursue. Wu Chengxiu cried and scolded, the magistrate also as if he did not hear. Wu Chengxiu then carried his uncle home. He was full of grief and anger, but there was nothing he could do. At this time, he wanted to find Qilang to discuss, but Qilang never came to sympathize. Wu Chengxiu thought to himself: "I have been treating Qilang well, but how can he be as heartless as a passerby? He also suspected that the one who killed Lin'er must be Qilang. Then he thought: if it is true, why don't you discuss it? He then sent someone to the Tian family to visit, there only to see the door locked, quiet, the neighbors do not know the family's whereabouts.
One day, the brother of the royal historian was discussing something with the magistrate in the inner house of the county government office. At that time in the morning to send firewood and water into the government house, suddenly a firewood man came to the front, put down the firewood burden, drew a sharp steel knife, rushed straight over. The magistrate's brother panicked and blocked the knife with his hand, the steel knife fell and cut off his wrist; another knife, before cutting off his head. The magistrate was shocked and scurried away. The man was still looking around. The magistrates hurriedly closed the door of the magistrate's office and shouted at him with their sticks. The man then cut his own throat and died. The magistrates went up to see him, and some of them knew that he was Tian Qilang. The magistrate was a little bit shocked before he came out to check. He saw Qilang lying in a pool of blood, holding a knife in his hand. While the magistrate was checking it out, the corpse of Qilang suddenly jumped upwards and actually cut off the magistrate's head before falling down again. The magistrate went to arrest Tian Qilang's mother and son, but they had already fled for several days.
When Wu Chengxiu heard that Qilang was dead, he came to cry for him and mourn to his heart's content. People said that Wu Chengxiu was the mastermind of Tian Qilang. Wu Chengxiu was exonerated only when he paid bribes to those in power with his family's money. Chilang's body was left in the wilderness for more than thirty days, guarded by raptors and wild dogs. Wu Chengxiu went to collect the body, a grand funeral. Chilang's son was displaced to Dengzhou, changed his surname to Tong. He grew up to join the army, for military service to the same general. When he returned to Liaoyang, Wu Chengxiu was already more than eighty years old, and took him to see his father's grave.