Three Swords of the Haven

Page One (yellowed paper) It is said that in Haven there once were three people, all nameless nobodies, who became sworn siblings because of the great tiger that haunted the mountaintop. Since this is a storybook, just fighting a tiger is far too dull! Why not have them slay a fiend instead? Or battle the heavens! Let me think... some Chimei, the kind that prey on young boys and girls and wreak havoc outside Haven. What do you say? How can one speak so carelessly of such supernatural matters? But since Junior Sister wishes to write the tale, let it be as she says. Besides, such fiends need not truly be ghosts or gods. Sometimes it is human evil at work, borrowing the names of spirits and gods. That too has its own kind of interest.

Page Two (yellowed paper) "So, you saw through my disguise! Tao Xiaomei, do you think that means you can save your two useless brothers?" The figure gave a wicked cackle and tore off the skin of the Chimei, revealing a face that was none other than... Aaah, I can't write this part... whose face should it be? I'm leaving it to you two! ...Tao Dalang has already been captured alive by the Chimei, and Tao Erlang has fallen for its trick as well. With a single sweep of your brush, Junior Sister, the two of us have become defeated foes. We are quite beyond helping now. It was Tao Erlang's face! So it turns out he had only pretended to fall into the trap. In truth, he made use of what was at hand: fir-white paper from the Chimei's manor, Lengyun wood, rice paste for glue, and the juices of various flowers, all boiled and blended together into a lifelike paper figure. He then set up a mechanism to lure the enemy, and the method was... Enough, enough! Deadly dull! Who wants to hear a storybook stop halfway through just to explain how to make a paper dummy?

Page Three (yellowed paper) Tao Xiaomei journeyed all the way to Penglai, where an immortal, moved by her sincerity, bestowed on her three charms for protection: Compassion, Courage, and Wisdom. She then traveled west to Kunlun, where the Queen Mother of the West sent a three-legged golden crow to guide her on her way, and so she went, singing as she traveled... Since when does Tao Erlang start telling tales of spirits and wonders too? If she can come back safe and sound, then perhaps even gods and Buddhas do favor the good.

Page Four (paper of recent make) Then the Chimei flicked its wide sleeve and began to sing to Tao Xiaomei: "Your eldest brother, proud of his matchless skill, crossed blades with me to prove his treasured sword. But all his struggle came to nothing in the end, and helpless, he could only flee into the woods." "Your second brother was more foolish still, his heart so wholly set on you. I only borrowed your face for a moment, and there he came with that wooden blade in hand. Poor fool to the last, and in the end, his wish came to nothing." "And as for you, the third sister, all fire and spirit, blind to Heaven's peril, you would stake your life against mine. And when you fall, all the mortal world will burn away, leaving only thin threads of cooking smoke."

Page Five (paper of recent make) The blade sank into the Chimei's chest, yet it felt as though it had pierced cotton. A flash of golden light passed before Tao Xiaomei's eyes, and there was no Chimei at all, only her two brothers. It turned out the pair had long since cut the creature down. This whole business had only been a puppet show they staged together to tease their little sister, putting on a scene so convincing that truth and falsehood could scarcely be told apart. Page Six (paper of recent make, stained with tears) The Three Swords returned to Haven. Because they had slain the Chimei, people from outside followed the trail there, and Haven became Haven City, then in time grew into the Kingdom of Haven. The people lived in cheer day after day, knowing neither hunger nor war. And what became of the Three Swords of the Haven? They hid their names away and grew old in Haven like the siblings of any ordinary household. Even when they had turned into three toothless old folk, they still sat together every day making up storybooks, bickering all the while, each adding a part, carrying on just like three children... Signed: Shi Qingya