Ming Wen has Come

Chapter 51

When Ming Qingfu left Guangcheng, she was still carrying a child in her womb. Later, whenever she spoke to others about that experience, no one could help but marvel at her immense courage.

Ming Qingfu herself didn’t think it was courage. At the time, she was only twenty years old and barely literate. She was afraid, but she knew that Ming Wen was watching over her.

When she sat on the train all alone, surrounded by strangers, she felt fear. She feared there would be no one to help her when she gave birth, feared she would run out of money before finding a place to settle in Ping City, and feared she wouldn’t be able to provide for the child in her belly.

Those fearful emotions wrapped tightly around her. In her heart, she felt as if she had returned to her childhood, back to the time she had hit her younger brother and been kicked out of the house by her parents. She felt as if she were back in that pitch-black mountain village, where every shadow she saw looked like a man-eating monster. She wanted to do what she did as a child: cry and beg her parents to let her back into the house, back to a familiar place.

The urge to retreat had already surfaced, but soon, she thought of Ming Wen. She remembered how Ming Wen had stayed by her side just like that when she was burned.

Ming Wen was the Immortal Lady, and she was someone the Immortal Lady had personally saved.

Before the Immortal Lady left, she hadn’t spoken to anyone else; she had only spoken to her.

The Immortal Lady would protect her.

Yes, the Immortal Lady had always been protecting her. Otherwise, how could she have happened to meet someone who was also going to sell eggs? Otherwise, how could she have earned so much money?

The Immortal Lady in the heavens was Ming Wen. That was Ming Wen. She knew her, and she believed that when she truly needed help, Ming Wen would not ignore her.

She imagined it. She imagined that up in the sky, Ming Wen had returned to the heavens, and occasionally, she would come down to look at the friends she had known in the mortal world.

It felt as if a powerful force descended from the heavens. Her heart, which had been trembling along with the tin train car out of fear, gradually settled into peace.

Just like that, carrying a god with her, she entered an unfamiliar city alone.

Whenever she wanted to do something and others told her it wouldn’t work or that she would lose money, she would ask Ming Wen in her heart.

She prayed that the other woman would give her a sign, and every single time, she was able to find the hint sent to her.

Flowers that suddenly bloomed, a sudden rainstorm, a familiar face encountered in a crowd.

Ming Qingfu believed these were all signs given to her.

She moved forward slowly like this, eventually becoming a middle-aged woman.

After reaching middle age, she witnessed the fates of more people, especially those of her own generation. Seeing the inescapable misfortunes they carried, she felt Ming Wen’s protection over her even more deeply.

Especially when she looked back on those days in Xinghua Village, her fate would have either been to stay there, working in the mountains and fields year after year, day after day like her mother, filled with endless temper and inexhaustible resentment.

At best, her luck would have been living her life with Wu Jie, continuing to endure the days where his entire family looked down on her.

But she had none of that. The good life she lived now was something she wouldn’t have dared to dream of in the past.

Later on, she felt more and more that it wasn’t because she was capable, but because Ming Wen had granted her protection.

That was why she was so lucky, yet a nameless, dull ache remained in her heart.

During that childbirth, the pain had been too great; she hadn’t had the chance to pray for Ming Wen’s protection.

When Donglai was in the first grade, an incident occurred in her class.

A child in the class was playing and chasing with classmates at school. While running around, the child was pushed by another student, fell backward, and hit the back of their head against a desk.

Just like that, they were gone.

That day, she was doing the accounts in her shop when she heard someone come by to mention it.

At the time, the messenger didn’t know which child it was. Ming Qingfu felt as if her brain had been struck hard by something.

She ran all the way to the school, her mind filled with images of her own daughter lying in a pool of blood.

At the school gates stood the couple, their child on the ground. The two of them were sobbing so hard they couldn’t catch their breath, demanding an explanation from the school.

It wasn’t Donglai.

But as she watched from the side, looking at the parents who had lost their child, she felt their pain as well.

She had always been unwilling to recall that painful memory. The trauma of losing a child was not something that could be compensated for by having another child.

That night, she dreamed of a young girl whose face she couldn’t see clearly. The girl leaned on her shoulder, repeatedly calling her “Mom” in a small voice, asking why she didn’t miss her.

Filled with guilt, she didn’t dare to answer.

So, the child kept crying in her dream, telling her through tears that she was so hungry and that others were bullying her.

When she woke up, Ming Qingfu was so distressed she could hardly breathe. She paced back and forth in the room, but the anxiety and pain in her heart still wouldn’t ease.

She began to pray to the Immortal Lady, praying that the Immortal Lady would ensure her lost child wasn’t suffering in the underworld.

But it was no use; she remained miserable.

She desperately wanted to do something.

Soon, she heard from others that the parents who lost their child had held a two-day religious ritual for them.

She also hurried to ask around for connections and found a master who was said to be very powerful. She held a ritual for her child as well.

When the master came to her house, he brought a young woman in her twenties who looked dazed and simple-minded.

Because of Sha Niu, Ming Qingfu had a natural fondness for people in that condition.

She asked about the situation.

The master said, “This is my child. She has a hard life. Because I opened my Heavenly Eye, heaven visited punishment upon my child. She was born lacking a soul.”

Ming Qingfu let her Donglai take the simple-minded woman out for a walk.

She went inside with the master to perform the ritual.

The master was very professional. Seeing her child’s spirit tablet¹ placed in the house with food offerings set out, her heart finally found some peace.

The master didn’t ask for money, saying only that they should be friends.

After a few interactions, she and the master became friends of a sort.

The master truly had skills and could communicate with ghosts and gods. Occasionally, when Donglai had a cold or fever, Ming Qingfu would ask the master for help. The master would say it was an evil influence entering the body and that drinking a bowl of “Heavenly Water” would make it better.

Every time, she truly did get better after drinking the water.

Ming Qingfu had grown up in a village that believed in ghosts and gods. To her, ghosts and gods were things that existed in the world from the moment she was born, just like the sky, the earth, the sun, and the forests. They were beyond doubt. Even when she encountered anti-superstition campaigns in the city, she never felt they had anything to do with her gods. The government was cracking down on those money-grubbing feudal superstitions; her deity not only didn’t trick her out of money, but even gave her money and protected her.

Others didn’t believe in gods? That was only because they hadn’t encountered one. If they did, they would believe too.

As for the Fortune Teller²? The Fortune Teller didn’t ask for money either.

Back then, the village had a Heavenly Master who communicated with the heavens, so naturally, the city had a Fortune Teller who communicated with the gods.

Once the two of them became acquainted, she couldn’t help but speak to the master about Ming Wen.

She spoke of how Ming Wen saved her, how Ming Wen was an Immortal Lady, and how Ming Wen had brought police officers, who were actually heavenly soldiers and generals in disguise, to the village to save many people.

The master listened to this very seriously. As he listened, he suddenly began to cough.

“Master? Are you alright?”

The master took a sip of tea and then said, “I’m fine, just a bit surprised.”

The master continued, “The immortal you speak of… I know her as well!”

Ming Qingfu was greatly shocked.

The master said, “The place you’re talking about is Xinghua Village, three kilometers outside Guangcheng, right?”

Ming Qingfu was even more stunned. She had changed her name and found channels to get a new household registration³; absolutely no one should have known where her hometown was.

The master went on, “She was originally a deity in heaven. She came to this world in this life for Undergoing Tribulation. That is why in this life, her parents are both deceased, her only relative is a grandmother, and she studied at a medical university before being kidnapped and sold to your village. These were all the tribulations she had to undergo.”

This!!! Ming Qingfu could hardly believe it; it was such a coincidence.

Ming Qingfu had no choice but to believe! She had indeed heard Sha Niu mention that the Immortal Lady had a very wealthy grandmother.

Ming Qingfu looked at the master excitedly. “Master! Do you know where she is now?”

“After she was rescued, she continued to practice medicine to accumulate merit⁴. Not long after, she achieved Consummation of Merits and returned to heaven.”

Ming Wen had achieved Consummation of Merits and returned to heaven to be a deity.

Ming Qingfu had always believed this to be the case.

Now that she knew the other party had ascended, she wasn’t surprised in the least.

But soon, other thoughts began to surface.

She thought about how Ming Wen had ascended to become a deity, and then she thought of her own poor eldest daughter.

That child who had vanished just as she arrived in this world… she was so small, she would surely suffer in the underworld.

Ming Qingfu’s life was getting better and better now, and she could offer some food as sacrifices, but she ultimately couldn’t look after her.

Matters of ghosts and gods naturally required seeking out ghosts and gods. A thought slowly formed in her mind. Since she was so familiar with Ming Wen, could she go and ask Ming Wen for help? To help look after her daughter, to take her daughter in as a Child Attendant.

She remembered the time in the village, remembering Ming Wen’s calm and gentle gaze. She knew that if she went to Ming Wen, Ming Wen would definitely help her.

To find Ming Wen, she naturally had to rely on the master.

And so, she told the master about this matter.

The master was reluctant at first. “Though she and I are old acquaintances, for a mortal to communicate with the heavens is, after all, something that damages one’s lifespan⁵. If such things are handled poorly and offend the immortal, one will surely end up dead in the streets, meeting a miserable end.”

Ming Qingfu sighed and said, “Is it really that difficult?”

Seeing her pitiable state, the master sighed and said, “Fine, fine. I’ll take a gamble. If you are indeed old acquaintances, you must plead for mercy on my behalf when the time comes. If she doesn’t take offense…”

“She definitely won’t take offense, she has a very good temper,” Ming Qingfu hurriedly promised. “When she was in the village, she only punished bad people and was very lenient toward good people.”

Thus, on an auspicious day, the master set up an altar to perform a ritual, preparing to transmit a voice to the heavens.

That day, Ming Qingfu’s daughter had to go to school. Consequently, the simple-minded daughter brought along by the Heavenly Master sat in the living room, obediently playing with a teacup and counting the big red flowers on it.

She looked to be in her twenties, but because she lacked mental faculties, she still acted like a child.

Ming Qingfu had her sit in the living room and gave her some oranges to eat, telling her not to run around. Only then did she go inside to find the master.

The master had already arranged the altar for summoning the deity, and Ming Qingfu sat there.

The master began to chant a certain mantra, while Ming Qingfu’s heart was filled with anticipation, hoping to meet Ming Wen once again.

Soon, a familiar voice appeared in the room.

“Qingqing?”

After many years, Ming Qingfu heard that voice again. It felt as if she had returned to Xinghua Village, back to the days when she followed Ming Wen around every day.

“Immortal Lady, it’s me, it’s me…”

“You must have something to ask of me.”

“Immortal Lady, I had an eldest daughter who passed away just after she was born…”

“I know. You are talking about Dongqi. I have already made her my Child Attendant.”

At that moment, Ming Qingfu felt a complete sense of relief. she knelt on the ground, thanking the Immortal Lady.

Suddenly, the voice vanished.

Right then, the master, who had been kneeling in the center, suddenly stood up. “Oh no!”

Ming Qingfu was still thanking the Immortal Lady and didn’t expect this sudden change. She asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

“Something has happened to the Immortal Lady! Come out with me!”

The Fortune Teller pulled her and ran out. In the living room outside, the simple-minded woman who had been sitting there had fainted.

The Fortune Teller rushed over and helped his daughter up, so anxious that tears began to fall. He slapped his own head while cursing, “Foolish, how could I be so foolish!”

Ming Qingfu was also frightened. “What happened?” She thought some kind of retribution had struck and became anxious as well.

“It’s all my fault!” the Fortune Teller said. “Now we’re both finished. When the Immortal Lady wakes up, we’ll both have to die!”

“No, that won’t happen. The Immortal Lady has the best temper.” Ming Qingfu tried to soothe his emotions, saying, “Tell me, what exactly happened?”

“It’s my fault. My daughter’s body is missing a soul⁶. The Immortal Lady’s descent to the mortal realm is a descent of the soul. After I summoned the Immortal Lady, her soul entered my daughter’s body!”

“How can that be?” Ming Qingfu did not understand such things.

The Fortune Teller explained, “One is only a soul, and the other is only a body. The two are like the positive and negative poles of a magnet. As soon as they get close, they snap together. What do we do now?”

“She had already successfully undergone her tribulation and returned to the heavens to be an immortal. Now, because of us, she is trapped in the mortal realm again. We’ve caused a massive disaster this time.”

Li Qingqing was instantly devastated.

She could not believe she had committed such a terrible mistake.

She had called back the Ming Wen who had already ascended.

She had trapped Ming Wen inside a mortal body.

What could be done?

At that moment, the foolish woman slowly woke up. The vacant, idiotic look from before was completely gone. Whether it was the look in her eyes or her tone of voice, she now carried the presence of Ming Wen.

“Qingqing, don’t worry. I am fine.”

“Perhaps this, too, is part of my destiny.”

The Master immediately knelt down and said, “My daughter was born foolish. If this body dies, the Immortal Lady can ascend once again.”

Ming Qingfu felt even worse hearing this. Who could bear to kill their own child?

The Immortal Lady also spoke, “That is not an option. If I were to do that, I would not be worthy of being a deity.”

She remained as composed as ever, even though she had returned to the mortal realm and lost her divine powers. She said, “It is only a few short decades; I can afford to wait. From now on, you may treat me as your daughter.”

Ming Qingfu could not imagine Ming Wen living in such a place.

She was trapped in a mortal body.

Ming Qingfu began giving Ming Wen money, but Ming Wen remained exactly as she had been years ago, refusing to take it.

“These are merely external things. Giving them to me would only be a burden.”

But how could Ming Qingfu accept living a life of luxury while the immortal who protected her lived in hardship? She began begging The Fortune Teller to find a way.

“Once she ascends, your daughter will be able to return as well.”

The Fortune Teller sighed, his eyes reddening. “My daughter may be missing her soul, but she is still my little girl after all. This matter… I have thought about it, but the items needed for such a ritual are quite unique. I don’t have that much money.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“You should also be mentally prepared. This kind of ritual is essentially using money to seek connections in the heavens. It might not necessarily work.”

In reality, it didn’t work. Ming Wen never ascended, and her physical health grew worse and worse. Ming Qingfu became increasingly anxious; this was her Immortal Lady.

It was all her fault. She had trapped Ming Wen in such a body.

Ming Wen had saved her. The first time was saving her from the death brought by her burns, and the second time was saving her from spiritual death. But what about her? She was always hurting Ming Wen. The first time was when Ming Wen left Xinghua Village, and she had even tried to blame her back then. The second time, she had directly trapped the ascended Ming Wen in the mortal world.

She then took ‘Ming Wen’ to live by her side, interacting with her just as they had in the village in the past.

Now that ‘Ming Wen’ had fallen into the mortal realm, she was often a bit dazed because the body was not her own.

Ming Qingfu didn’t mind at all. She imitated the way Ming Wen had been in the village, treating the current ‘Ming Wen’ with the same tolerance Ming Wen had once shown her.

Whenever she felt guilty, it would be ‘Ming Wen’s’ turn to comfort her: “This is my fate. It has nothing to do with you.”

Life passed quite comfortably this way. In Ming Qingfu’s eyes, ‘Ming Wen,’ a true immortal, even helped her identify two frauds who had come to play at being ghosts and gods.

Ming Qingfu found it amusing. “They have no idea who you are. If they did, they would realize how hilarious it is to come here and try to pull a fast one.”

In private, ‘Ming Wen’ spoke to this woman who worshipped her and regarded her as the only true god: “Stop giving money to that Fortune Teller. He won’t be able to accomplish anything.”

When mentioning The Fortune Teller, ‘Ming Wen’s’ gaze grew complex, looking exactly like the Ming Wen in Ming Qingfu’s memory. With a look that saw through everything, she instructed, “Spending money on those things is useless. If you truly feel bad and want to accumulate merit for me, then donate more money to those in need.”

Ming Qingfu felt even more moved. Ming Wen was still the same as she had always been.

Later, there was a time when she had some financial issues, and Ming Wen came to find her secretly at night.

“Take this for now, and don’t give money to The Fortune Teller anymore. His rituals aren’t useful anyway.” She handed her a hundred thousand yuan.

“I can feel that I am close to returning to the heavens now. Let’s not stay in such close contact. If my connection with the mortal world is too strong, I will suffer for it when I return.”

And so, the two of them had to separate again.

Although Ming Qingfu stopped arranging rituals after that, she still sent money to The Fortune Teller every year to improve the living conditions of her Immortal Lady.

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Translator’s Notes

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1. spirit tablet: A ritual object (lingwei) inscribed with the name of a deceased person. It is believed to house the soul of the ancestor or deceased child, allowing the living to provide offerings and maintain a connection with them. ↩
2. Fortune Teller: The source text uses ‘banxian’ (半仙), literally ‘half-immortal.’ It is a common, sometimes slightly derogatory or informal term for a Taoist practitioner, diviner, or medium who claims to have one foot in the spiritual world. ↩
3. household registration: Refers to the ‘hukou’ system in China, a mandatory governmental record that ties a person’s legal identity and access to social services to a specific location. Changing it illegally was a common way for victims of human trafficking to start new lives. ↩
4. accumulate merit: Refers to ‘ji fude’ (积功德), the practice of performing good deeds to earn spiritual credit. This merit can improve one’s own fate, help deceased loved ones, or in this case, assist a deity’s return to heaven. ↩
5. damages one’s lifespan: A common trope in Chinese metaphysics where revealing ‘heavenly secrets’ or acting as a medium between realms costs the practitioner their ‘yangshou’ (allotted years of life). ↩
6. missing a soul: Based on the concept of ‘sanhun qipo’ (three souls and seven po-souls). A ‘foolish’ or ‘simple-minded’ person is often described in folklore as having an incomplete soul, leaving an ’empty’ vessel that can be easily possessed or inhabited by other spirits. ↩