Tales of Folk Feng Shui Mysteries

When I heard someone say Yicheng had a tragic past, my curiosity was immediately piqued. That punch he threw at me just now was solid and merciless—if this was him being "pitiful," I sure as hell didn't feel it. Honestly, if I hadn't forgotten to cut my fingernails for a while, I'd have been on the losing end today.

"So, you're saying Yicheng grew up in the Shisheng Temple?" I asked.

Jiang Shiyu sighed and nodded, then pointed to a patch of shade under a poplar tree by the roadside."Let's sit over there. This sun is way too strong—I'm going to get tanned if I stand out here any longer."

I rubbed my nose. Typical girl—caring about beauty was only natural. I followed her to the poplar tree and sat on a stone. She leaned against the trunk, looking up and began,"Master Yicheng is about thirty-one now, older than both of us. When I was eight, Master Miaoyin came to chant sutras for me, and Yicheng was already by her side. He was so stubborn and hot-tempered even back then. We lived in a bungalow at the time, and once when Yicheng came alone to chant for me, he ran into a large wolfdog chasing a woman down the road. Without hesitation, he charged right in and fought the dog head-on. He ended up injured, but he killed the dog with his bare hands."

I was stunned.You know, monks are supposed to be compassionate. Without a heart of mercy, how can one attain Buddhahood? But based on what Jiang Shiyu just said, Yicheng sounded more like a demon than a monk. Was he dealing with some kind of psychological trauma?

Before I could even voice my confusion, Jiang Shiyu explained further.

She told me that Yicheng was a man of intense character. Even after being severely injured, he insisted on finishing the sutra session. Her father had to forcibly take him to the hospital. And it was there, when she was only eight years old, that she overheard Yicheng's story.

Yicheng's family came from the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia. When he was nine, Master Miaoyin had been invited to preside over a grand ceremonial animal release—there's a common belief that if a high monk is present, the merit generated is magnified. This particular release included antelope, cattle, rabbits… even wolves.

That's when the strange tale began.

One day, Yicheng's father went out to herd sheep and got caught in a sudden thunderstorm. While hurrying home, he stumbled upon an old man with a white beard, lying weakly on the grass. Out of compassion, he brought the man home and gave him goat's milk to drink.

The old man recovered and spoke:"Thank you. I won't hide the truth from you—I am a gray wolf who has cultivated into spirit form. Thunder Lord and Lightning Mother have been chasing me down and nearly struck me dead. I fled here, hoping the eternal blue sky would spare me. If your husband hadn't helped me, I'd be dead by now."

Now, although Taoism spread to Mongolia back in the Yuan dynasty, most Mongolian men still believed in Tengri—the Eternal Sky. Yicheng's father was one of them.

"What thunder god or lightning lady? Never heard of them. You're an old man. You shouldn't be out wandering around, or you might end up wolf food," he said.

The old man scanned the yurt's interior and noticed their sacred shaman totems. He laughed:"I'm a wolf spirit, king of all wolves. To repay you, I'll send you sheep."

Then he walked out of the yurt and let out two long howls. Within ten minutes, the grasslands surged to life as dozens of wolves surrounded the yurt.

With a wave of his hand, he told one wolf to go fetch ten sheep—five alive, five dead. The wolves seemed to understand and did just that.

This terrified Yicheng's father. The wolves actually dragged in five live and five dead sheep.

The old man continued,"From now on, I'll help you catch sheep and bring food daily. But in return, you must stay close to me at all times."

Yicheng's father was dumbfounded. He believed Tengri had blessed him and agreed. From that day forward, the family stopped herding sheep. The wolves took care of everything—bringing food, guarding the herd. Since Mongolian households are spread far apart, no one noticed anything unusual.

The only odd thing was the persistent overcast skies. Thunder and lightning would strike for days on end—sometimes non-stop for three or four days.

Nine-year-old Yicheng, impressed by the old man's power, affectionately called him "Zhebie" and frequently asked him strange questions. But after a while, the family grew restless. The yurt was stuffy, and the smell unbearable. Yicheng's father wanted to return to normal life.

The old man refused. They argued, and in a fit of anger, the old man beat Yicheng's father.

Tensions rose. Eventually, the old man promised:"As soon as the skies clear, I will leave."

The family had no choice but to agree.

Half a year passed.

One day, the sun finally came out. Blue skies stretched endlessly.

The old man stepped outside the yurt, stretched, and laughed:"Finally, they gave up. I've waited long enough. You, son of the Eternal Sky—if I eat you, those two gods won't find me anymore."

Then he burst out laughing.

Within minutes, a massive wolf, the size of a calf, entered the yurt. Its hide was like iron, immune to knives. Yicheng's father fought back, but the beast killed him. Yicheng watched, horrified, as it bit through his mother's neck and tore out her heart.

Just as the wolf lunged at nine-year-old Yicheng, Master Miaoyin pulled back the yurt's curtain.

Jiang Shiyu said that Master Miaoyin had been puzzled by the failed release—the animals had refused to leave their pens. She sensed something wrong and followed the clues to Yicheng's family yurt… and saved the boy.

I let out a long sigh. "What happened afterward?"

Jiang Shiyu's eyes turned thoughtful."I asked my dad. He said the wolf spirit was subdued by Master Miaoyin and turned into a temple guard dog. I actually saw it once—a big black dog that stayed around for years. But I later heard that Master Yicheng cooked it into a stew and served it to travelers."

"People were outraged. News spread fast. A monk eating meat caused a huge scandal, and the temple lost all its worshippers for a while. They say Master Miaoyin nearly beat Yicheng to death and made him face the wall in repentance for three years before the matter was settled."

I was filled with complicated feelings.

To the average person, this was just a strange tale. But as someone in the know, I could see deeper meanings.

That wolf spirit had clearly committed a grave sin and incurred divine wrath. Otherwise, Thunder Lord and Lightning Mother wouldn't have chased it so relentlessly.

The gift of five live and five dead sheep was a wordplay—"无阳" (wu yang), meaning "no yang energy," no life. Anyone who's seen a live sheep's eyes knows—they look just like a dead person's. By feeding the family sheep killed by wolves, the spirit was essentially raising them like livestock.

People raise animals to slaughter them.This wolf raised people—for the exact same reason.

When the time came, it devoured Yicheng's family and slipped into the path of the demon kind, exploiting a loophole in the laws of Heaven.