Time: 2013-02-26 12:53 Source: Story Club Author: Story King\ During the reign of Emperor Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty, people in the northwest of Liaoning, near the Inner Mongolia border, enjoyed eating horse meat, and a large number of Mongolian horses were brought in for this purpose. A small town called Hunhukou became a distribution center for horse meat, home to the largest horse market within hundreds of miles. This unique local custom not only attracted a continuous stream of people and merchants to the town, but also gave birth to a special skill — horse betting. Horse betting involves estimating, at a glance, how much meat, bone, and tendon a horse will yield after being slaughtered, with the most accurate prediction winning the bet.\ Horse traders often traveled long distances for business, leading a dull and monotonous life, and would sometimes bet a little money for fun. At the southeast corner of the horse market was a horse meat shop, whose owner, Zhang Derui, was a top expert in horse betting. He could estimate the weight of a horse within about three taels, earning him the nickname "Zhang Sanliang." A year ago, his son wished to learn horse betting from him, but was met with strong opposition. In anger, the son ran away from home and had not been heard from since. Because of this, Madame Zhang wept every day, and Zhang Derui was deeply worried.\ On the night before the Qingming Festival, Zhang Derui sent off his assistants early, locked up the shop, and went to bed, as he and his wife had agreed to visit the Mountain God Temple the next day to pray for their son's safe return. At some unknown time in the night, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. He called out several times “Who's there?” but received no answer, though the knocking continued. Zhang Derui, holding a lantern, opened the door and saw a black horse standing outside, immediately carrying an elderly man sitting upright. This old man was both deaf and mute, and he rode a blind horse.\ Zhang Derui tried speaking and gesturing to ask what the old man wanted. The deaf old man took a scroll from his bosom, opened it, and held it in front of Zhang Derui's eyes. On it were written the words: "The old and unworthy will bet with you tomorrow."\ Zhang Derui drew a sharp breath upon seeing it. A person with extraordinary skills surely has advanced abilities; this man must be someone of great significance. Zhang Derui had not bet on horses for a long time, because he always won, and no one around dared to bet against him anymore. Before Zhang Derui could respond, the deaf old man had already turned his horse and walked away alone.\ The next morning, a fine, drizzling rain fell. The townspeople, hearing that Zhang Derui was going to bet on horses, came to watch the spectacle and hoped to place a bet themselves.They surrounded Zhang Derui's shop so tightly that not a drop of water could get through, but they waited all morning and no one showed up. After noon, the rain stopped, yet no one had arrived. By night, the onlookers' gambling excitement had completely worn off, and they left feeling disappointed. Zhang Derui also felt fooled by a deaf man and wanted to close up for the night. However, when he returned to the inner room, he suddenly discovered that his wife, Li Qin'er, was missing, and no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find her. As Zhang Derui was getting anxious, a knocking sounded at the main door. It was the old man, followed by a graceful young man in white riding a white horse.\ Zhang Derui stepped forward, cupping his fists, and asked: “I wonder what the gambling method tonight is?”\ The young man in white beside the deaf old man said: “My master wants to have an ultimate gamble with you.”\ Hearing this, Zhang Derui frowned deeply. No need to ask, this was a provocation, because an ultimate gamble was almost equivalent to betting your life—it required seeing blood. The loser would have to make up the miscalculation with their own flesh and blood. Zhang Derui quickly shifted to a smiling face and said: “I know you two will not break your promise, so I've already prepared food and drinks. Let's eat our fill before discussing horse gambling.”\ The deaf old man closed his eyes tightly. The young man in white said: “My master knew you wouldn't dare take this bet, so he made preparations in advance. You must take this bet, because my master today has taken your family.” As he spoke, the young man took out a jade bracelet. Zhang Derui looked and saw it was the love token he had given to his wife, instantly filled with deep regret. The young man said: “If you win the bet, your family will be safely returned. But if you lose, the rules must be followed.”\ Zhang Derui gritted his teeth: “Bet, then.” He led the two into the courtyard and lit the lamps. The young man in white led the white horse—a fine, top-quality horse. Zhang Derui examined it carefully, calculated for a long time in his mind, and then stated three numbers. The young man in white signaled to his master for a moment. The deaf old man's hand shook, a flash of steel appeared, and the white horse immediately collapsed. Blood flowed out, and with another stroke, the deaf old man surprisingly cut all four hooves clean off.\ The young man in white said: “My master says you lost. You underestimated four hooves, and now the meat, bones, and tendons on the horse exactly match the weight you stated.” Zhang Derui, who slaughtered horses and sold meat every day, always estimated the weight beforehand, and rarely made mistakes.When he weighed it in the past, it really was as the young man in white had said, and he couldn't help but be greatly shocked in his heart. According to the rules, this was supposed to result in his hands and feet being chopped off!
Of course, Zhang Derui was unwilling to become a cripple. Taking advantage of the two master and disciple not paying attention, he swung his sword in a flying attack. Unexpectedly, this stroke was caught by the deaf old man in his hand.
The two sides tore at each other without restraint. Zhang Derui fought desperately with the deaf old man on horseback. After more than a dozen rounds, Zhang Derui could not gain any advantage. A thought came to him: why not extinguish the lights? If the deaf old man could neither see nor hear, killing him would be a piece of cake. Thinking this, Zhang Derui waved his sword and extinguished all the lamps. Darkness instantly fell all around; he couldn't see a thing and had to rely on sound to discern the opponent's location. Zhang Derui, thinking he had achieved success, boldly attacked, engaging in fierce combat, but his horse no longer obeyed him, while the opponent's horse moved freely. Zhang Derui was shocked. Only then did he realize that the opponent's horse was no ordinary blind horse, but a horse trained for night travel since youth, with eyes sewn shut.
Zhang Derui's heart sank, and his attacks were weaker. Within just a few rounds, the old man made his sword fly away, and he was thrown off his horse. The young man in white placed a sword at his neck, and the lights were lit again.
"Ye Xiangyu, after all these years of conscience torment, do you realize your mistakes?" Zhang Derui didn't expect that this old man was not deaf and mute at all, and his voice sounded so familiar. He suddenly remembered: "Master, you are still alive! I, your disciple, know my sin..."
Zhang Derui's original name was Ye Xiangyu. Twenty-eight years ago, he was a young man full of ambition, determined to make a name for himself. He thus went to Qian Duo Lianhua Mountain and became a disciple under Li Gongtang to learn martial arts. There were a total of nine fellow disciples, and he ranked last. Li Gongtang intended to select one of these nine to become his heir. The chosen one would not only receive Li's true martial secrets but also Li's daughter Li Qin'er in marriage. Therefore, these disciples were not only diligent in practice but also schemed secretly.
Aside from his peerless martial arts, this Master Li had a unique skill: by looking at a horse, he could tell how much horse meat it would yield. But he never taught this skill to anyone. One day, Ye Xiangyu approached Master Li and said, "Master, I have already comprehended your unique skill. I ask you to try me."The master asked him to bring a horse, and after testing it, Ye Xiangyu's assessment was indeed quite accurate. Seeing that Ye Xiangyu was clever and perceptive, Master Li decided to choose him as his successor. From then on, Master Li had Ye Xiangyu practice martial arts together with his daughter Li Qiner. Two years later, Ye Xiangyu's martial arts had greatly improved, and he and Li Qiner had also developed mutual affection.
On the surface, Ye Xiangyu seemed proud and successful, but inwardly he was conflicted because he had not truly comprehended the master's ultimate technique; he had merely killed a horse of similar build in advance, weighed it accurately, and then guessed correctly. If he didn't reveal his secret, he might never learn the master's ultimate technique in his lifetime, but if he did confess, he was afraid the master would blame him. One time, Ye Xiangyu went into the mountains with the master to gather herbs, thinking that only by learning the master's ultimate technique could he secure his position. Only then did he tell the truth. Ye Xiangyu was confident that since things had reached this point, the master would have no choice but to teach him the technique.
The master did not blame him, but he also didn't agree to teach him. He simply said, “You have already grasped the skill of betting on horses. There is no secret to betting on horses; it all comes from personal practice and insight.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Xiangyu was disheartened, thinking the master was refusing and would not teach him, and it seemed that marrying Li Qiner was also hopeless. On the way back, as they passed a cliff at the mountain top, Ye Xiangyu suddenly had an evil thought: now the master was a fatal threat to both his future and love, so why not just push him off the cliff and settle everything at once? Just as he was about to act, the master noticed, and Master Li accidentally fell. It was a ten-thousand-foot-deep abyss below, and Ye Xiangyu knew the master was certainly dead, so he went back to report.
They searched the entire valley but found no trace of the master's body. Later, feeling wronged by their fellow disciples, Ye Xiangyu took Li Qiner and went into hiding under assumed names in this small town. By then, Li Qiner was pregnant and soon gave birth to a boy. Ye Xiangyu made a living by selling horse meat, and every day seeing his wife Li Qiner reminded him of the master, filling him with guilt for his wrongdoing. Unexpectedly, the master was not dead, and after so many years, he would still find them.
Knowing he would not survive the night, Ye Xiangyu recounted the entire series of events to the master. The master let out a long sigh and said, “What has happened is already in the past, but betraying one's master and ancestors is a grave taboo. Things must still be handled according to the rules.”Zhang Derui picked up the knife, looked at his own feet, closed his eyes, and with one swing, chopped off both of his feet. He then looked at his left hand and swung the knife again, cutting it off as well. Zhang Derui put down the knife with the blade facing up, then raised his right hand and swung it down sharply towards the blade.
"This matter has been settled, let's go." After saying this, the master and the young man in white walked away.
Ye Xiangyu's hands and feet hurt unbearably. He regretted his actions, and the more he thought about it, the more ashamed he felt, to the point where he wanted to end things himself. But now even ending his own life was impossible. In his panic, Ye Xiangyu fainted.
When he woke up, the sun was already bright. Ye Xiangyu found that his hands and feet were perfectly fine. It turned out that the entire incident with the deaf old man and the horse race had only been a dream—a false alarm.
"You're finally awake!" said his mother. "Our son is back! You were sleeping so deeply, I couldn't wake you even when I called, and you said you'd accompany me to offer incense at the mountain god temple today, but in the end, I went alone. The mountain god was moved by my sincerity and allowed me to run into our son on the way back..."
"Son! You said our son is back?" His mother pointed for him to see. Zhang Derui looked and saw a graceful young man in white standing outside the door. "Child, where have you been this past year?"
"I went into the mountains to learn martial arts under a master. By the way, my master asked me to give you this."
Ye Xiangyu took it. It was a note. When he opened it, several large characters were written: 'Old and incapable, will race horses with you tomorrow.' This was exactly the note he had seen in his dream. Zhang Derui looked closer and found a line of smaller characters at the end: 'I had already seen your thoughts back then. In order to prevent you from taking on the blame of betraying your master and ancestors in the future, I threw myself off the cliff before you made a move.'
"Master..." Ye Xiangyu felt dizzy. It turned out that even before he had committed that wrong deed, his master had already forgiven him. Yet all these years, he had been living in a nightmare of self-reproach.
