The story is set during the time of
Yong
Chang, the fourth emperor of the Zhou dynasty. One day,
Yong Chang’s young children, a girl and a boy,
fell ill, and the
Yong Chang swore an oath
that if his children recovered he would send them to the
Southern Sea, where
Mount
Potala stands to bow before the Bodhisattva
Guan Yin. The children recovered. Five or six years later,
the Emperor received his officials at court and told them about his oath. Then
he asked which of his officials would escort the two children on their long
journey to the south. An official named
Hou
Yanzhao stepped forward and said that he would accompany the Emperor’s
children and that he would assume command of an army to protect them.
Hou Yanzhao wore armour and saddled his horse,
and the troops arrayed themselves according to the “five elements”. After the
Emperor’s children were seated in a carriage, they all set out on their
journey. While camping at
Da Xian Guan, in
the south, two men penetrated the military camp. They were seized and brought
before
Hou Yanzhao. The two men confessed
that they had come to abduct the Emperor’s children and to cut off
Hou Yanzhao’s head. They pleaded for mercy and
offered to serve
Hou Yanzhao.
