| Jiang Ting, a cloth peddler, had a spotted dog that followed him everywhere.
One day he happened to be walking alone when an old man accosted him.
“I don’t know you,” Jiang said. “Why do you stop me?” The old
man knelt and kowtowed, then replied, “I am a fox. In my past life
I killed you. Because of this, in three days you will send your dog
to break my throat with it’s teeth. I cannot escape, for this has
been predetermined in the underworld. However, it occurs to me that
it has been over a hundred years since I have killed you. I have
degenerated into a fox, and you have been reborn as a man. You can
get no benefits by chasing and killing a fox. In addition, you do
not remember how you were killed in your past life, so you will not get
any pleasure out of killing a fox. I am willing to give my daughter
to you if you spare my life. Will you accept my offer?”
“I dare not let a fox into my house,” Jiang responded, “nor will I take
a girl against her will. I am willing to spare you, but who can guarantee
that my dog will never attack you?” The old man replied, “You only
have to write a note saying you agree to overlook the past-life debt owed
to you by so-and-so. After I show the note to the god of the underworld,
the dog will not bite me anymore. As long as a victim agrees to forget
past grievances, the gods will not raise any objection.” Jiang happened
to have some paper and a writing brush with him to keep accounts, so he
wrote a note there and then. The old man took the note and went away
in jubilation.
Seven or eight years afterward, Jiang, out on a trading ship, was crossing
a big river when a storm rose. In the critical moment the sail could
not be lowered, so that the boat was about to be overturned in the violent
wind. Just then a man was seen climbing swiftly up the mast, broke
the rope, and leapt onto the sail, riding it down to the deck. From
a distance, Jiang seemed to recognize the old fox he had met before, but
in the twinkling of an eye the old man was gone.
On hearing this story, everyone praises the fox for returning the favor
he had received, but I have a different opinion. How could to fox,
who was unable to save his own life, have gone a thousand li to rescue
someone else? The gods must have increased Jiang Ting’s lease on
life to reward to reward him for sparing the old fox, who was then dispatched
to come to his rescue.
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