There once was a centipede in the service of His Majesty King Yama, the king of the underworld. Just like his immediate superior, the long-tongued Wu’Chang ghost1Mo Seong Kwai in Cantonese. You can find a Wikipedia page on him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heibai_Wuchang, the centipede was a workaholic.
How he scurried about with his many legs! If there were papers to fill on the left of the building he would scurry all the way at top speed towards them; if there were stamps to stamp he would dash towards them in a hurry! His hundred or so legs were always moving, and his colleagues soon got tired of watching him work all day. They brought the subject up to the king.
“An Qian,” called King Yama one day – for that was the centipede’s name; “Won’t you go away on a holiday? The halls of Hell are not so strict that you cannot rest at all, and your co-workers are tired of seeing you work all day.”
An Qian stared at the king in surprise.
“Why, I’ve never really thought about having a holiday,” replied An Qian, scratching his feelers shyly. “But I suppose it’ll be a problem if I don’t rest at all. I’ll take a day off, then.”
And so An Qian took the form of a young man in black, sealing his many legs away into a fine embroidery on his robes. Once he was done changing into a human, he went up into the living world to take a break. Deciding to have a peaceful time lying down on the fresh, green grass, the centipede went to a lovely forest to find a tree to rest under.
Just as he shut his eyes, An Qian heard a frail voice call out.
“Oh, my poor back!” cried the voice, and the centipede cracked open an eye. He saw an old woman carrying some large sticks on her back and sat up right away.
“I’ll help you,” said An Qian kindly, for he hated seeing people in trouble. The old woman thanked him as he brought the sticks to his shoulders and slowly followed her back to her hut.
“Thank you, young man,” said the old woman, bowing to him deeply. An Qian smiled and waved a hand.
“Don’t mention it,” he said, before leaving the hut to look for another place to rest.
Presently, as the centipede strolled down a little winding path, he came upon a lovely bubbling spring. It was cool and refreshing there, so he decided to lie down by a rock to rest. But just as he was about to shut his eyes, he heard a sigh nearby.
“How heavy this bucket is,” said a feeble old man. “But my wife is expecting water to cook and clean for us, and so I must carry it.”
The wizened old man was drawing the spring water in a bucket and it did look rather heavy. How his arms shook! Feeling sorry for the him, An Qian got up and offered to help.
“Uncle, where do you live?” he asked. “I’ll bring it to your home if you don’t mind showing the way.”
Thankful, the old man led the centipede to his home. To An Qian’s surprise, the old man’s house was the very same hut he had visited earlier that morning!
“Oh my, so I see aunty is your wife!” laughed An Qian. “What a small world!”
“A small one indeed!” smiled the old woman. “Thank you for your help again, young man. Is there anything we can do for you in return?”
“Well,” answered An Qian after some thought, “I’m looking for a nice and peaceful place to rest. If you know of any place like that, I’d really appreciate it if you could let me know.”
The old man and old woman smiled at each other before bringing out a key from a cupboard.
“Young man,” said the old woman, “this key is a special one. There is a thick growth of thorny plants to the west of the forest, but if you tap the key on one of their branches, it’ll make a path for you to pass through. There you shall find a good place to rest.”
An Qian was surprised but accepted the key gratefully. As instructed, he made his way to the westernmost of the forest and tapped the key on a thorny branch. Immediately, the plants shrank away and a path was opened for him!
The centipede strolled through the path and looked around. Around him lay a large garden full of colourful flowers and right ahead was a large mansion. As he walked towards the fish pond, he noticed a handsome and noble-looking young man sitting by a stone table, sipping a cup of wine. The young man looked up when he heard the centipede’s footsteps.
“I recognize you!” exclaimed the young man in surprise, standing up with joy. “You’re King Yama’s subject, An Qian!”
“I recognize you too!” said An Qian, just as surprised and joyful. “You’re the second celestial general, General Tse!”
“What a small world!” laughed General Tse. “An Qian, come here and sit down. How did you find this place?”
Smiling, An Qian sat down and told him the story of how he met an old couple in the forest and helped them out. When General Tse heard it, he grinned an infectious, large grin.
“Just so you know, those two aren’t actually old people,” explained the general gently. “They’re guardians of this forest who sometimes like to play at being old human beings. I see you’ve fallen for their tricks this round!”
“Well, they certainly were convincing!” replied the centipede, grinning back.
“It’s good luck that you’ve found this place, then,” said the general, squeezing his hand. “An Qian, I’ve always wanted to talk to you, but you were always so busy! Won’t you come here once in a while to rest, so that we can chat in private? I’m here once a week, so I’d like it if we could make some plans to spend some time together.”
An Qian nodded, for he thought it was a good idea as well. He did like General Tse very much, and the thought of being able to spend a day a week with his newfound friend was wonderful indeed.
And so, once a week An Qian is nowhere to be found. His colleagues often wonder what he’s up to on those days, but you know, don’t you?
Thank you for the chapter.