they added, "is that the Dragon-king shall restore to us our servant
and the presents." On this being reported to Ao Ch'in he suspected
his son of being the cause, and, having established his guilt,
severely reprimanded him. The young Prince took his sword, and,
followed by an escort, went to find those who had made the complaint
to his father. As soon as he caught sight of the Immortals he began
to inveigh against them.

A Battle and its Results

Han Hsiang Tzu, not liking this undeserved abuse, changed his flute
into a fishing-line, and as soon as the Dragon-prince was within reach
caught him on the hook, with intent to retain him as a hostage. The
Prince's escort returned in great haste and informed Ao Ch'in of
what had occurred. The latter declared that his son was in the wrong,
and proposed to restore the shipwrecked servant and the presents. The
Court officers, however, held a different opinion. "These Immortals,"
they said, "dare to hold captive your Majesty's son merely on account
of a few lost presents and a shipwrecked servant. This is a great
insult, which we ask permission to avenge." Eventually they won
over Ao Ch'in, and the armies of the deep gathered for the fray. The
Immortals called to their aid the other Taoist Immortals and Heroes,
and thus two formidable armies found themselves face to face.

Several attempts were made by other divinities to avert the conflict,
but without success. The battle was a strenuous one. Ao Ch'in received
a ball of fire full on his head, and his army was threatened with
disaster when Tz'u-hang Ta-shih appeared with his bottle of lustral
water. He sprinkled the combatants with this magic fluid, using a
willow-branch for the purpose, thus causing all their magic powers
to disappear.

Shui Kuan, the Ruler of the Watery Elements, then arrived, and
reproached Ao Ch'in; he assured him that if the matter were to
come to the knowledge of Shang Ti, the Supreme Ruler, he would not
only be severely punished, but would risk losing his post. Ao Ch'in
expressed penitence, restored the servant and the presents, and made
full apology to the Eight Immortals.

The Dragon in the Pond

One day Chang Tao-ling, the 'father of modern Taoism,' was on
Ho-ming Shan with his disciple Wang Ch'ang. "See," he said, "that
shaft of white light on Yang Shan yonder! There are undoubtedly
some bad spirits there. Let us go and bring them to reason." When
they reached the foot of the mountain the