THE LEGEND OF LOVE
Ngau Long Jik Lui (Cantonese) | Ngu Lan Truc Nu (Viet)
20 episodes (Chinese) | 32 episodes (Viet)
Translated courtesty of Em@TVBSpace
The legend tells that every year on the seventh day of the seventh month
in the lunar calender, the Cowherd and the Weaving Girl will meet on the Bridge
of Birds in the Milky Way. This romantic date on the Seventh day holds behind
it an ill-fated love affair between an immortal and a human.
In the heavenly palace, the Weaving Girl (Sonija Kwok) is responsible for weaving the colourful clouds, but she accidentally drops the cloud loom shuttle into the mortal world and this is seen by the Jade Empress, who sends Weaving Girl and her friend Magpie (Leila Tong) down to the mortal world to find the shuttle. Weaving girl meets with Cowherd (Deric Wan) on the earth and he works hard to make her a new shuttle, she falls in love with him and always sneaks away to go and meet with him. This is discovered by the Jade Empress and Weaving Girl is called back urgently to the heavens. She will not let go of her true love and would rather let go of everything in the immortal world and become a mortal, but finds that Cowherd has had his memories wiped clean by the Empress...
On the other hand, Magpie wants to become immortal more quickly so she steals the fortune cloth from the fortune god Bei Gon (Stephen Au) and sets about helping the poor people to reap their reverence. Bei Gon finds out and reports back to the Heavenly Palace and thus becomes enemies with Magpie, who finds out that he is without a heart and gives him the heart of a wolf as a joke. After this, Bei Gon's personality changes and he constantly works against the Cowherd and Weaving Girl. Magpie realises she has caused trouble and calls for help from the Seven-tailed Fox to retrieve Bei Gon's "Seven Skilled Heart".
Cowherd and Weaving Girl finally meet again in the mortal world, but are almost left with nothing after the interventions of Bei Gon. Weaving Girl is not prepared to see Cowherd's family suffer and bears her pain to return to the heavens. Magpie sees this and calls up her friends to form the Bridge of Birds, allowing the two lovers to meet once a year on the bridge...
Episode 1
The narrator tells us about the famed love story between Niulang (Deric Wan) and Zhinu (Sonija Kwok), but do we really know who they are? Niulang was a baby found by the river by a kindhearted farmer and raised as his 'younger brother.' Once, to protect Niulang, the farmer was hit on the leg and henceforth he became a cripple. The duo is very close. They spend their days tending to their fields, as well as looking after their one and only cow, Gau Zai (little Dog). Cooking for them and looking after their household needs is June Chan, a girl who grew up with Niulang and secretly liked him. However Niulang only treated her as a little sister. What about Zhinu? She was a fairy assigned the duty of weaving the colorful clouds of the Heavens and the beloved granddaughter of the Heavenly Queen Mother. Once, she was weaving some special clouds for the Heavenly Queen Mother's anniversary celebration, and she couldn't find the perfect color she wanted for them. So she decided to go down to Earth to look for the color she needed. Niulang saw her walking dangerously close to a trap he set to catch some fresh meat for his brother's birthday. He shouted in warning and ran to her. Alarmed, Zhinu flicked her fingers and magically sent him sprawling a few feet away. The trap clicked shut and almost bit off his head. Stunned, he looked up, and was instantly entranced by her beauty. He wanted to talk more to her, but she had to go....
Zhinu saw the pure gold of the wheat in the fields and took the color, as it was exactly what she wanted. She flew up to the heavens and met up with her friends, Magpie (LeilaTong) and the Earth Deities. Magpie wanted to see the Heavenly celebration, but wasn't eligible because she wasn't one of the Heavenly fairies, although she's trying hard to be promoted by doing good deeds. So Zhinu hid her in her sleeve. But Bei Gon noticed and caught her during the celebration. Although Zhinu pleaded with Heavenly Queen Mother to spare Magpie, Bei Gon (Stephen Au) was determined that she receive due punishment. Heavenly Queen Mother took away 300 good-deed beads from Magpie. Magpie was very angry at Bei Gon, and was sad at the loss of her beads;she called him the 'heartless.' Suddenly, Zhinu discovered the loss of her weaving-shuttle. Magpie and Zhinu risked Heavenly Queen Mother's wrath by going down to Earth again to look for it. While they were there, Zhinu was sorry to see that the wheat was black and withered because she took away their color. The farmers are in trouble as the wheat are spoiled and they could not pay their landowner the rent. Zhinu found her shuttle, but stayed behind to help Niulang make umbrellas to sell. Niulang was overjoyed to see her again, and Zhinu helped to make it rain so that they could sell the umbrellas faster. She was touched by his kindness, especially when he gave her the last umbrella as a token of thanks. Magpie teased her and said that her heart had been touched. She wondered what it felt like to fall in love....... Niulang was dismayed to find that the landowner's men had come to take away their cow as rent payment. He could do nothing but say farewell to his cow. Alarmed, Zhinu and Magpie tried to help him by conjuring some money in the middle of the road. An honest man, Niulang took it and helped some of his fellow villagers instead of getting the cow back. Zhinu was impressed with his honesty.
Magpie went to the elder brother in bird-form to try to get him some money. She managed to lure him into a gambling-den, but to her dismay, saw Bei Gon there in the guise of a dealer. She tricked him with her magic power and won the elder brother money, but he saw her leaving..... Although Niulang's brother retrieved the cow, Bei Gon appeared and took away all the silver, so that the officer saw rocks instead of money. The brother was captured and beaten severely. Desperate, Niulang decided to enter the Forbidden Forest to try and get some of the rumored treasure there. The legend was that 7 people entered the Forbidden Forest, and only one returned with tales of demons. Despite that, Niulang still wanted to go. Meanwhile, Bei Gon made a complaint to Heavenly Queen Mother, and she forbade Zhinu from going down to Earth anymore. She also deducted 300 more of Magpie's good-deed beads. Zhinu complained about the unfairness of Bei Gon's duties, saying that he only gave the rich money while the poor suffered. Bei Gon expressionlessly said that he just did his duty as fate instructs him. Heavenly Queen Mother agreed with him. Zhinu was angered and discovered Niulang's intention to enter the Forbidden Forest. In dismay, she decided to go with him.
Episode 2
Zhinu entered the Forbidden Forest in an attempt to find Niulang. Magpie waited anxiously for her outside the forest. Zhinu tried to send out sensor devices by using her shuttle power, but her shuttle spun out of control and dropped near some strange red-garbed children. One child picked it up and refused to give it back to her. He disappeared from view. Niulang in the forest suddenly saw a little boy in red clothing smiling at him and waving what was clearly Zhinu's shuttle. While trying to get it back and asking for Zhinu's whereabouts, the little boy began to cry. Instantly a white-haired demoness yelled angrily that they dared to enter her territory and make her minions cry....she'd never let them go! She created an invisible barrier between Zhinu and Niulang so that while they could hear each other, they couldn't see one another at all. But somehow, they broke the barrier and fell into each other's arms. In a rage, the demoness swooped down and swept all of them into her cave. Niulang woke up from unconsciousness to see Zhinu smiling down at him from a stone throne. He greeted her, but the demoness' voice issued from her mouth! It wasn't Zhinu at all, but the demoness who had switched bodies with Zhinu while they were unconscious. The demoness laughed a chilling laugh and said that men are all alike and Niulang lusted after looks. Meanwhile, Zhinu, in the body of the old demoness, looked at Niulang sadly. The demoness conjured up a sack of money and gave Niulang an alternative: he can leave with either Zhinu (in the bewitched form) or the money..... After a long time deciding, he picked the money and in a rush, told Zhinu "I'll come back for you!" He left with the demoness' bitter laugh ringing in his ears.... The demoness switched back the bodies as soon as Niulang left. She told Zhinu to forget him. It turned out that she was once a weavergirl like Zhinu herself, and she fell in love with a deity who gave her a comb as a token of their love. But then, the deity was ambitious and wanted to be concentrate on doing good deeds to be promoted in rank. In a fury, she threw the comb back at him and left to complain to the Heavenly Queen Mother. However, Heavenly Queen Mother sided with the deity and told her that she shouldn't fall in love as it is forbidden. In a temper, she raged throughout Heaven, so that Heavenly Queen Mother was forced to banish her to the Forbidden Forest and she can nevermore return to Heaven. So she wasn't a demoness at all, but just a banished fairy lamenting a lost love. Zhinu felt sorry for the poor demoness but tried to tell her that not all men would neglect their loved ones like this. She also told the demoness that perhaps her lover was also lamenting their love, but nobody knew his hidden agony. The demoness refused to believe her.
All of a sudden, the demoness discovered that Niulang was back in her forest! After getting his elder bro out of prison with the money, Niulang returned to the forest to look for Zhinu. Skeptical of his sincerity, the demoness sent a furious wind to stop him from proceeding, but he persevered and forced himself through. In joy, Zhinu (in her beautiful form) came out to greet him, but he pushed her aside and went to hug the old demoness! He thought the bodies hadn't been switched back yet. He told her that no matter what she became, he'd still love her. Tears came to the demoness' eyes and Zhinu gently told the stunned Niulang the whole story. The demoness couldn't believe there was such a man in the world. She ordered them to leave and never to return.....After this, Niulang and Zhinu's love was sealed and they were happy in each other's company. Meanwhile, Magpie tried to do some good deeds to replace her lost beads, and rescued a man from a falling roof. It turned out the man was Bei Gon in disguise while on duty giving out money, and he was annoyed she disturbed him in his work. He said the bead didn't count and Magpie was furious that he caused the bead to disappear. In an attempt to ask the landowner's son to delay the rent, the son was attracted to Zhinu and tried to molest her. Furious, Zhinu exercised her magical power on his hands to cause him to slap himself. This makes the son to claim Zhinu as a witch or a demoness. The villagers came looking for Zhinu, claiming her to be a witch. Niulang tried to defend her but out of desperation, Zhinu used her power to sweep the attacking villagers all away. Both Niulang and his bro were shocked and stared at Zhinu in horrified fear. Then Zhinu told him about her true origin, but Niulang was too stunned to react and tried to stay away from her. Hurt and sad beyond words, Zhinu reminded him about how he had once promised to love her no matter her origin, then slowly faded away as Niulang made a desperate attempt to hug her....... In heaven, Heavenly Queen Mother was furious and banned Zhinu from Earth or see Niulang again. To punish Magpie for aiding her, all Magpie's thousand years' good-deed beads were taken away...
Yuet Lo (The Matchmaker God) was in his garden reciting a poem, when he heard someone complete the verses he'd just spoken. Startled, he turned around and saw the old demoness from the Forbidden Forest! It turned out that Yuet Lo was the one whom the demoness had loved in the past, the one she called 'Tan Long.' Overjoyed, Yuet Lo greeted her, telling her of his agony at her suffering on Earth. The demoness asked if he still loved her all those years, and he replied that the reason he became the Matchmaker God was to ensure that true loves shall never part like he did with his love in the past. Suddenly, the demoness changed into Zhinu....it was actually Zhinu in disguise to test whether Yuet Lo still loved the demoness. Zhinu told Yuet Lo that he should tell the demoness of his own hidden suffering....... Meanwhile, Niulang went to Heavenly Queen Mother temple and tried to plead with the Heavenly Queen Mother statue to allow him to see Zhinu again for one last time. He banged his head till it bled on the floor, mingled with the rain and his tears. But there was no response. Angry, he toppled down the statue and yelled out that it must be fake. In heaven, Heavenly Queen Mother was very annoyed and wanted to punish him. Actually, since she didn't banish Zhinu and didn't force Magpie back into her basic form as a mute beast, her punishments were considered lenient. But then, the Jade Emperor suddenly noticed a lot of lanterns floating in heaven..... All the lanterns were made by Niulang. He wrote about his eternal love for Zhinu on the lantern paper and sent them flying to the sky in hopes his message was heard. Drops of blood from his forehead dropped onto the paper while he wrote...... Meanwhile, the demoness in her lair heard verses of the poem she once shared with her 'Tan Long.' And out of nowhere, the comb she once had as a token of love, floated into her hands. With tears in her eyes, she whispered,"Thank you, Tan Long.You've not forgotten me like I thought...." Zhinu was in her garden, thinking of Niulang, when she saw the lanterns. Delighted that he still loved her, she rushed to the Heavenly Gates. The Four Heavenly Kings stopped her and told her she was banned from going to Earth. Desperate, she fought them off, but suddenly, Heavenly Queen Mother appeared and told her that while she's there, nobody will fly to Earth if she could help it. With a flick of her hand, a sea of fire appeared below the Heavenly Steps. Zhinu told Heavenly Queen Mother that she and Niulang are a couple in love and she couldn't understand why Heavenly Queen Mother wanted to separate them. She also said she despised the emphasis on status that was prevalent in Heaven as well as on Earth. Zhinu said that she would do anything for Niulang, and flung herself into the sea of fire. She was helpless in the face of such powerful magic and began to burn in agony.........
Episode 3
Zhinu was burning in agony when she suddenly felt herself lifted gently back to the Heavenly Steps. The Heavenly Queen Mother, touched by her sincerity and suffering, had used her power to rescue her. She made a bet with Zhinu. If Zhinu could prove that she and Niulang truly love each other within 3 months, she would allow her to remain on Earth with Niulang. However, if Zhinu lost, she would have to return to Heaven and forget about all earthly matters which were of no concern of hers. Heavenly Queen Mother also took away all of Zhinu's fairy powers, but agreed to give Zhinu 3 fragrance bags, each filled with a stone of her power. However she could only use them for 3 different emergencies. Zhinu confidently told Heavenly Queen Mother that she could do it without any problems. On reaching Earth, Zhinu rushed to find Niulang. Suddenly he appeared out of nowhere and pulled her into an embrace. For a moment, Zhinu smiled in joy, when Niulang pulled away almost instantly from her. "Are you all right?" he asked, pointing to a trap. He then sighed and said that he probably couldn't get any wild animals for his bro's birthday. He didn't seem to recognize Zhinu. Zhinu was stunned and tried to remind him about all that they went through. Niulang merely looked at her and asked "Do we know each other?" Then, when Zhinu didn't give any response, he left. Zhinu rushed to find Heavenly Queen Mother and demanded to know what had happened. Heavenly Queen Mother said that she had used magic to turn back time, so that they were back to before Niulang ever met Zhinu. This was to help hide Zhinu's identity again so that the villagers wouldn't think her a witch and attack her anymore. Zhinu accused Heavenly Queen Mother of deception. Heavenly Queen Mother answered that since Zhinu had accepted a challenge, of course there would be some difficulties along the way. Would Zhinu give up and admit she'd lost the bet then? Zhinu said no, she'd find a way to return Niulang's memory somehow.....
Zhinu went to find Niulang again, who was with his elder brother and June. All of them didn't recognize her. When Zhinu insisted that it was Heavenly Queen Mother who wiped clean Niulang's memories, they grew slightly afraid of her and thought her a crazy woman. Desperate, Zhinu used one of her power-bags to return Niulang's memories, but it didn't work. Instead, Niulang was annoyed because he thought Zhinu was throwing stones at his brother. In a huff, the 3 of them left. Heavenly Queen Mother told Zhinu that her powers couldn't be used to return memories, only for emergencies. She'd better take care of the remaining 2 bags and not waste anymore. Dispirited, Zhinu went to find Magpie who told her not to give up. Zhinu asked her if she minded losing all her thousand-years' beads, and Magpie nonchalantly said no. But in her heart, she blamed Bei Gon for everything. Once Zhinu was out of sight, she went to burn Bei Gon's Fortune Temple. When Zhinu saw this, she tried to stop her, saying that Magpie was heading down the wrong road. Magpie said that since she will never be promoted to be a Heavenly deity now that her beads were gone, what did she care for regulations anymore? She flew off, but Bei Gon saw her leaving again. Bei Gon doused the flames and asked Zhinu if Magpie was the one who burnt his temple. Zhinu scolded him, asking him why he always complained to Heavenly Queen Mother about Magpie and cause her to lose all her beads. She asked if Bei Gon had ever thought about Magpie's feelings and all the hard work Magpie put in just to become a Heavenly Deity, gone just like that. Bei Gon replied that Magpie had committed wrong, and should be punished. Even if it was the Jade Emperor, he'd do the same. In a temper, Zhinu told him that he never cared for people's feelings because he had no heart himself. Finally, Zhinu told him that she was the one who burnt Bei Gon's Temple, and not Magpie...if he wanted to complain to Heavenly Queen Mother, so be it. She left, leaving Bei Gon thinking in his temple....... Zhinu wanted Niulang to go into the Forbidden Forest with her again, hoping the demoness could help her prove she wasn't lying about Niulang being her lover. Niulang refused, saying the Forest was dangerous and that there was a demon there who ate up people. Sadly, Zhinu threw her shuttle into the river, saying that he used to pick it up for her, and now that he'd forgotten her, what was the use of the shuttle anymore? Seeing her cry, Niulang retrieved the shuttle for her but said that he had to work in the fields, so he couldn't dally any longer.
Meanwhile, Magpie was sorry for the harsh words she said to Zhinu. She resolved to help Zhinu retrieve Niulang's love. The Earth Deities couldn't help Zhinu because they explained that Niulang didn't have any memories in the first place due to the time-turning, so technically he didn't 'lose' his memories. Magpie and the Earth Deities went to tell Niulang a story that Zhinu used to have a 'Lee Ah Ngau' (Niulang's real name is 'Wong Ah Ngau') as her fiance and because Lee Ah Ngau left her, she missed him too much and went mad for love. Since Niulang looked very alike with her fiance, she'd just mistaken it was him. Pretending to be Zhinu's elder bro, the Earth Grandfather told Niulang to take care of his sister for a few days while he looked for a physician to cure her madness. Before Niulang could protest, the 3 of them rushed off. Niulang decided that it was improper for a girl to stay with him; so Zhinu stayed with June. The next morning, he heard Zhinu hum the tune he used to play on his flute and was puzzled to see Zhinu so close to Gau Zai. Zhinu accidentally slipped and fell while walking, but pretended she'd sprained her ankle. Niulang carried her home, making Zhinu very happy. Zhinu noticed a yellow charm which Niulang always carried and asked what it was. Niulang said that it was the only thing found on him when he was an abandoned baby by the riverside......... Zhinu was jealous when she saw June cook food for Niulang and his elder brother. She went to cook rice for them, grinding out a sheaf of wheat she found on the porch for rice. At first, Niulang and his brother were very touched, until they found out that the sheaf of wheat was being kept as Niulang's store of seeds for the next year. Niulang scolded Zhinu angrily, telling her not to touch his things. Distressed, Zhinu ran off, crying.
Episode 4
Resolving to correct her misdeed, Zhinu tried to find money to buy more seeds for Niulang. She thought laughter can be sold, not knowing that it was a term meaning prostitution, so she went to the prostitute house to 'sell laughter.' Of all people, her first customer was the landowner's eldest son again, called Ling Lung, who had no memory of her of course. Ling Lung tried to molest her again, and powerless this time, she screamed for help. Niulang, worried for her safety, went to look for her and rescued her. Magpie wanted to help Zhinu find money as well, so she did magic tricks at the roadside to earn some. Bei Gon appeared and stopped her. He advised her not to use her magic powers to trick people's money. He also told Magpie not to give up; after all she'd already worked so hard for a thousand years, why should she give up so easily? Incensed, Magpie lashed back at Bei Gon, telling him he had no heart, so he couldn't possibly feel compassion for anyone. Expressionlessly, Bei Gon departed. Meanwhile, the Ling family had just got the Imperial Charter for cloth, with Bei Gon's help. As this was a big business, the landowner decided to get back all his land (to plant some sharp-leafed plants for thread source), but he'd give adequate compensation to the peasants who farmed the land. He gave the land-securing responsibility to Ling Lung. Being a miser, Ling Lung only agreed to give 1 piece of silver to each peasant. He also recognized Niulang as the one who attacked him before to save Zhinu and told him to get off the land as soon as possible without any compensation. Angry, Niulang decided to go to town and find the landowner to plead with him to reverse his decision. Zhinu decided to go with him and happily mended Niulang's clothes in preparation for the trip, although June told her that the clothes were too torn and ragged to be mended. Of course, Zhinu wasn't the Heavenly Weavergirl for nothing, and she managed to mend the clothes as good as new. Touched by her hard work, June's attitude changed towards her. However, the next morning, Zhinu found out that Niulang had already left without telling her.......
The Ling landowner was inspecting his planting grounds when he was kidnapped by some bandits who wanted to hold him for ransom. While struggling, the man stuck his arm on some of the sharp leaves. Niulang saw this and tried to help, but he was overpowered and taken along with the landowner. Caught and thrown into a cave prison, Niulang saw Old Man Ling's blistered arm and helped to suck out the poison from the wound. Old Man Ling apologized for causing the young man trouble..... Meanwhile, the pretty daughter of the officer in charge of the Imperial Charter visited the town and fell into the river accidentally. Niulang's elder brother (Wong) was rafting down the river to set some fish traps. He rescued the girl, but had to grab his raft from drifting down the river. She groggily pulled off part of the wooden beads hanging from his belt before she was rescued by her servants. When she regained consciousness, she wondered who her unknown rescuer was and felt very grateful. Outside her room, her father plotted with his assistant to swindle the Ling family of the Imperial Charter. Zhinu went to town, following the footsteps of Niulang, but couldn't find him anywhere. She went to the Ling Household, but they told her they hadn't seen him at all. Ling Lung's wife was furious to find out Lung had been to the prostitution house, but then the ransom letter came. Worried, Zhinu wondered where Niulang was. She asked Magpie for help....... Niulang banged on the cave walls and heard a hollow sound from the lower end. All fired up by hope, he used chopsticks to start digging out a hole. Old Man Ling didn't think it'd work, but started to talk to Niulang. He found out why Niulang was in town, and promised to help Niulang reverse the land-decision, or at least increase the amount of compensation for each peasant. Niulang, however, was still clueless about Old Man Ling's identity. Meanwhile, Bei Gon disguised himself as an old man and cried for help, pretending to be stranded at a mountainside. He was actually instructed to give out 20 money of silver to a merchant who would be coming along. While trying to get down the mountainside to help Bei Gon, the merchant slipped and fell. Exasperated, Bei Gon didn't dare use direct magic in the presence of a human, so he changed a piece of grass into rope. At that point, Magpie coincidentally flew past, saw the merchant's predicament, and reached out to help. When Bei Gon flung out his rope, he caught Magpie by surprise, and both the merchant and herself rolled down the mountain. The poor merchant passed out mercifully, while Magpie banged her head hard on a rock. Bei Gon rushed to help her, but she was furious to see him, and flew off in annoyance.
Niulang was still trying to chip at the rock. Admiring his dedication, Old Man Ling went to help him. Both of them accidentally dropped their yellow charms. The charms were similar in color, shape, and size. Later, Niulang retrieved his charm before Old Man Ling picked up his. While trying to find Niulang for Zhinu, Magpie saw smoke from a mountainside. Puzzled,she flew to investigate. She saw Niulang and Old Man Ling held captive in the cave. Alarmed, she tried to fly off to tell Zhinu, but then she felt dizzy from the previous incident with Bei Gon, and fainted away. Bei Gon, who'd been watching her all along, rescued her and brought her to his Fortune Temple. He tried to revive her using his magic power, but as soon as she awoke, he placed her against the wall and backed away. Magpie asked why she was there; Bei Gon looked away and told her she'd fainted and that he was the one who brought her to his temple. At that moment, Zhinu rushed in, looking for Magpie. Apparently Bei Gon had informed her Magpie's whereabouts. Without further ado, Magpie told her about Niulang, and urged her to hurry off and rescue him. Bei Gon watched everything expressionlessly. Niulang succeeded in breaking through a hole and both he and Old Man Ling escaped, but not before being detected by the bandits. Niulang and the old man decided to separate to split up the bandits. Unfortunately, one caught up with Old Man Ling and almost split his skull with his sword when suddenly, Bei Gon appeared and hit off the bandit. On hearing Zhinu's hasty footsteps, Bei Gon left in a hurry, leaving Old Man Ling unconscious on the ground. Old Man Ling revived and urged Zhinu to rescue Niulang. At that time, Niulang was surrounded by bandits at the edge of a cliff. In anger at their lost prey, the bandits pushed Niulang off the cliff, but just then, Zhinu appeared and used her second power-bag to conjure up a cloud to carry Niulang back to the top of the cliff. In fright, the bandits yelled out "Ghost!" and rushed away. Niulang was left on the top of the cliff, puzzled but relieved.............
Episode 5
Niulang and Zhinu accompanied Old Man Ling to his home, where the Ling family greeted his return with much relief. Old Man Ling was very annoyed with his son and scolded him for treating the peasants on his land in such a miserly manner. Out of gratitude to Niulang for helping him, Old Man Ling asked both of them to stay at his home for a few days before going back to their village. Zhinu returned Niulang's mended clothes to him, and he was impressed by Zhinu's skill.... Niulang was happy to share the Ling family warmth. Zhinu saw that he missed his real parents very much and tried to find out who they were from the deity who looks after births, Golden Flower Granny. The Granny couldn't help her because Wong Ah Ngau was not Niulang's birthname, and she said that if Zhinu didn't even know the name of what she lost, how could she expect to find it? Zhinu was frustrated... Bei Gon, up in his Heavenly home, read his duty instructions for the day carefully, but gave up because he knew he could never remember them. He copied down the instructions into his abacus as a way to remember the names and the amount of money he was supposed to dispense. His fellow deities (some of the 8 Immortals and Yee Long Sun), came along and made fun of him, asking him if it was true that a person without a heart would also have poor memory. They disliked him, for reporting to Heavenly Queen Mother about the wrongdoings of the deities. Bei Gon said that he had never dipensed a penny wrongly to anyone, so his memory was perfectly okay. But then, one Immortal asked him if he recalled the word they had given Heavenly Queen Mother for her anniversary celebration. They laughed at him for they saw that he couldn't remember. He ignored them and went to his Fortune Temple. While busy counting out money, he forgot his abacus.
Magpie saw this, and was amused at Bei Gon's poor memory. Deciding to have a bit of fun, she inserted some extra data into the memory storage of the calculator, including the name Wong Ah Ngau, and that he was to be given two money of silver. Then she went to find Bei Gon and gave him a rare precious stone as a gift of thanks for rescuing her when she fainted the last time. She told him it'd help lessen the woodenness of his expression. Bei Gon accepted it, but told her not to give him things anymore. Then, Magpie returned the abacus to him. He thanked her and left. Bei Gon disguised himself as an old woman and attempted to give Niulang money by conjuring some on the ground. To his frustration, Niulang wouldn't take it, saying the money wasn't his, no matter how many times Bei Gon said the money was a gift from Heaven. Bei Gon couldn't believe he was so honest and wrote on Niulang's back the godly words "Wong Ah Ngau, 10 years hard to find such a good man" before disappearing, leaving the money there for Niulang. Niulang took the money, wondering what to do with it. At the same time, Ling Lung discovered the loss of some silver in his safety-box. As he stepped out of his room, he bumped into Niulang who dropped his silver on the floor. Lung pounced on it, claiming Niulang to be a thief and had stolen the money from his money-box. He demanded Niulang to return the rest, refusing to believe Niulang's explanation of finding the it by the river. Struggling away from Lung's grasp, Niulang dropped his yellow charm on the floor. Lung picked it up and his expression changed when he saw the charm. At the same time, Lung's wife returned and showed her new accessory to her husband. She was the one who took Lung's money! Wordless, Lung returned the charm but looked very thoughtful. Apparently, Lung had a younger brother once called Ling Fu. While still a baby, Fu was accidentally sent afloat on the river in a basin by Lung. All Ling family had a yellow charm sewn by Lady Ling herself, and no other had it. Lung told his wife his suspicion that Niulang was his long-lost brother, Ling Fu, because he had one of the Ling yellow charms. Alarmed at this threat to their chances of getting all the family wealth, Lung's wife cautioned her husband to keep quiet about it and to try to get Niulang's charm as fast as possible...
Zhinu caught Lung trying to steal Niulang's charm. Suspicious, she sought the origins of the yellow charm from the Earth deities, and discovered that Niulang's real parents were really Old Man and Lady Ling! Excited, she rushed to tell Niulang about this, but was overheard by Lung. Zhinu pulled Niulang along to show the charm to the Lings and be reunited. Immediately, Lung sent his men to set a plan in motion to prevent Niulang from seeing the Lings who were in the temple. Then he rushed to Niulang and tearfully embraced him, calling him his younger brother. Stunned by the turn of events, Niulang could hardly believe his luck. While walking to the temple, a fortune-teller came up to Niulang and told him that he'd bring ill fortune to his family members, which was why fate sent him away in the first place. Zhinu urged him not to believe such a thing. But then, some bricks dropped on Lung's hand and wounded him. And they discovered that Old Man and Lady Ling suddenly caught ill. Niulang believed that he was ill-luck to his family, and sadly decided not to tell them his identity. He made them some porridge and then decided to leave. Before he left, Lung swindled him out of his charm. Zhinu was furious, and decided to prove it was all really a hoax. Earth Grandmother scared the fortune-teller into telling the truth about how Lung paid him to say Niulang was ill-luck. But Niulang'd made up his mind and still decided to leave. Zhinu rushed to get back the charm for Niulang, and saw Lung throwing it into the river. She quickly took out her last power-bag and conjured a fish to grab the charm back for her. Then she went to Niulang and told him that Old Man Ling was dead. Alarmed, Niulang returned to Ling household, only to find out that it was false news. Then Zhinu told everyone that Niulang was really Ling Fu, and she had the charm to prove his identity. Niulang was happily reunited with his parents, much to Lung's fury. Magpie was happy for Zhinu, certain that Niulang would fall in love with Zhinu again after Zhinu's tremendous help. She urged Zhinu to be more forward with her feelings. Meanwhile, Niulang went to find Wong to tell him the good news. He invited Wong to stay at his house, telling him he'd always be his brother, no matter what. June would be looking after their house in the village. Zhinu rushed out and happily announced she'd be following them! She told Niulang that she loved him and that she would follow him wherever he went. Niulang was embarrassed and told her carefully that the person she loved wasn't him, but her 'fiance' (Lee Ah Ngau). Zhinu protested, but Niulang told her to return home to her brother. He said they'd always be the best of friends, and he was certainly grateful for her help. Devastated, Zhinu told him that she didn't want to be friends with him, and rushed away, crying...
Episode 6
Niulang brought Wong to his house in town, where he admired everything, especially the Ling-made cloth. Niulang toured the flax planting grounds with Lung and his father. Old Man Ling ordered Lung to teach his younger brother everything he knew about the business. Lung was annoyed to see Niulang so much more diligent than he himself wanted to be, and how Old Man Ling admired Niulang's concern for the workers when he himself wasn't. He hurriedly left during lunch. For lunch, Niulang was content just to have white rice although there were vegetables as well. Old Man Ling was sad to see this and asked Niulang to forgive him for all the hard years Niulang suffered. Niulang said he was just too happy to meet his parents again. Meanwhile Zhinu tried to get close to Niulang by applying to be one of the weavergirls at Ling's factory. She was hopeful because Niulang never once specified he didn't like her, only he thought she was in love with somebody else. The Lings loved her beautiful cloth; the quality being better than any they ever had. Actually, Zhinu used her magic Heavenly shuttle to weave the cloth, not wanting to use her hands, so she requested that she work in isolation from the rest of the weavergirls. The other workers were jealous of Zhinu, and kept making trouble for her. Zhinu missed Niulang and wanted to see him, but Magpie warned her that Earth was not like Heaven, where she could just see anybody she liked. Zhinu and Magpie, being of Heavenly essence, couldn't consume normal food, but were forced to in the face of the weavergirls' taunts. They vomited continuously. Niulang came out and was concerned to see Zhinu ill. Zhinu was happy to see Niulang so caring towards her, but then was horrified to see the bowl of medicine she was supposed to drink. She secretly poured away the medicine, but Niulang saw her and thought she was pretending to be ill. Zhinu told him she was doing everything because she loved him, but Niulang repeated that she only loved Lee Ah Ngau, and mistook Niulang as him. He told her she's too tied to love. Wong visited the kitchen and was interested to see all the delicious food cooking. He'd never seen bird's nest soup before and was staring at it, when Lung's wife came in and scolded him for stealing food. She said that he was a useless man to come and just stay at the Lings' without working for his keep. Wong's face burnt in shame. He accidentally pushed her, and Lung passed by and accused him of trying to rape his wife. The misunderstanding was finally solved when Lady Ling came along, but Wong decided to leave the Lings' instead of remaining there as a guest. Niulang came along and scolded him for leaving, saying that he'd leave too if Wong left. Then Niulang suggested Wong work in the Lings' kitchen, since Wong had a talent for cooking. As for himself, Niulang decided to find Zhinu's long-lost fiance for her. Wong teased him, saying surely his heart was moved by Zhinu's sacrifice just to be with him. Niulang said Zhinu was just confused. Magpie overheard this and was very exasperated with Niulang....
Zhinu begged the Earth deities to think of a plan, saying that now Niulang thought she loved another and wouldn't accept her love, and the 3 months' period was nearly over. Magpie flew in and suggested that someone pretend to be Lee Ah Ngau, and then dump Zhinu openly in front of Niulang, so that Niulang won't misunderstand anymore. Since it was her idea, everyone told her to pretend to be the fiance. So, using her magic power, Magpie transformed herself to look exactly like Niulang, then openly behaved like a real jerk in front of Niulang. Niulang was very annoyed with Lee and said that he didn't deserve someone like Zhinu. Zhinu, pretending to be hurt by Lee's rejection, rushed to the hillside, where Magpie helped her to stage a suicide scene. Niulang was alarmed and rushed to save her, telling her not to be silly. Then Zhinu sadly told him that she'd waited so long for the person she loved, but that he actually forgot her and didn't care for her. Zhinu asked Niulang if he understood her pain. Niulang said that no matter what, she still had friends caring for her like himself.Zhinu was so happy to hear this, she hugged him. After that, Niulang cooked some porridge for her and made her very happy. Lung tricked Niulang into using salt to dye the cloth and forbade other workers to correct him. Old Man Ling luckily passed by, and scolded Lung for teaching the brother wrongly, although Niulang said it was really his own fault. Lung was annoyed. Angela Tong (the court officer's daughter) visited the Ling factory, and Niulang offered to show her around. She wandered around, and ended up in the kitchen, where Wong recognized her and was startled to see her there. He spent some time showing her his dishes, and she praised his skill. Wong was attracted to her, but was aware of the difference in status. Later, he asked Niulang a lot of questions about her, and Niulang teased him, but Wong said that he probably had no chance. Niulang scoffed at this, and said that the girl was the one lucky to have such a kindhearted man as a husband. Meanwhile, Bei Gon was scolded by Heavenly Queen Mother for dispensing money freely and not following instructions, causing havoc on Earth. The Jade Emperor, on seeing that Bei Gon had no explanation for this seeming neglect in duties, suspended Bei Gon from his job, and Yee Long Sun relieved him of his 'Fortune God' responsibilities. Bei Gon expressionlessly accepted the verdict, but his fellow deities were happy that he was no longer in power.....
Bei Gon wondered what went wrong while he sailed down the river on a raft. Unknown to him, Magpie had alighted on his raft and was listening to him. Bei Gon pulled up his sleeve and looked at his arm. On it were written some words "Laugh on happy occasions, cry on sad occasions." He resolved to do this. At a apparently happy wedding, Bei Gon attempted to smile happily and congratulated the bride's family. He was trying to get some feeling into himself. The bride's father was angry, and told him that the bride was marrying a dead man, why was he still congratulating them? Much incensed, the villagers beat him up but Bei Gon, feeling no pain, wondered what he did wrong. At a funeral, Bei Gon ranted and railed his sorrow, so much so that the deceased's relatives asked him who he was, wondering why he seemed sadder than themselves. The relatives were annoyed to see no tears in Bei Gon's eyes. Bei Gon said that he tried his best, but he couldn't squeeze any tears out at all. At last, he gave up, saying that it was useless to pretend. The relatives tried to beat him up, but the bored Bei Gon bounced them away with his power and left. Magpie, following him, was much amused to see his antics. By the river, Bei Gon tried to feel angry, but was unsuccessful. Magpie came up and apologized to him. Bei Gon said that it wasn't her fault, it was his, for being a god with no heart, thus he had poor memory and messed up his responsibilities. Magpie confessed that actually, she was the one who added details into his memory calculator, but she meant it as fun and didn't mean to cause Bei Gon to lose his job. Bei Gon stared at her and asked her why, why was she, a creature with feelings, so inconsiderate towards other people, when he himself could be excused for having no heart. He couldn't even be enraged at Magpie. He went to the river, yelled out in frustration, and started washing away all the writings on his body that he wrote to remind himself of things. Magpie saw these words written on Bei Gon's back: "Even if Magpie become very impulsive and impudent, don't report her burning my temple to Heaven." Touched by this, Magpie felt very remorseful.......
Episode 7
Magpie was really sorry for causing Bei Gon such trouble. Bei Gon said that to remind himself, he wrote down important things on his body, while all things connected to work was stored in his calculator. She offered to help Bei Gon find back his Seven-Skilled Heart. Bei Gon told Magpie that she can never help him, because the person who took his heart was the Nine-Tailed Fox. If the Fox was so easily captured, Bei Gon himself wouldn't have to chase her for thousands of years. Magpie replied that perhaps Bei Gon couldn't do it on his own, but with her contacts on Earth, she was confident she could find the fox. Bei Gon refused to let her help and told her to stay away from him. Magpie sought Zhinu and the Earth Deities' help. The Earth Deities were very doubtful of success. The Nine-Tailed Fox was very elusive, and even if captured, she had plenty of tricks up her sleeve. That was why she managed to topple an empire when she masqueraded as Tan Gei | Dac Ky (reference to Irene Wan's character in "Gods of Honour") and angered the Jade Emperor, so that she was banned from Heaven. The only thing that can lure the Fox is the essence of males, because she needed to absorb 'yang' energy to keep herself young and beautiful. Earth Grandfather told them that since Bei Gon had gone for thousands of years without a heart, perhaps it was better to leave the fox alone. But Magpie was determined to pursue the hunt. Zhinu and Magpie went to places filled with men and managed to detect the Nine-Tailed Fox's 'demon air' on a pretty young lady. They followed her where she had a rendezvous with Ling Lung in an alleyway. Zhinu rushed forward to try and capture her, causing the fox to hit Lung off and escape. Lung, surprised, stared at Zhinu. Intent on hunting the fox, Zhinu and Magpie chased her and Magpie successfully managed to capture her using Fairy Threads. But the fox slipped away and left one of her tails behind. Zhinu couldn't use magic to help Magpie due to her bet with Heavenly Queen Mother. Meanwhile, the fox swore vengeance on them for wounding her. She followed the two back to the Ling household and possessed Lung's wife. Lung was pleasantly surprised to return and find his wife so seductive towards him. Zhinu detected her presence and rushed into Lung's room to try and capture her. The fox hit Lung off once more, and Lung couldn't believe it was Zhinu again.......
Zhinu chased the fox until the weaving factory, where the fox set the hanging cloths on fire. Zhinu flung her shuttle at her and managed to mark her with the Heavenly Threads. The fox escaped and possessed Lady Ling. Zhinu ordered the fox to leave Lady Ling alone, but the demon laughed and challenged Zhinu to hit her. Magpie rushed in just then, conjured up a stick and started hitting the fox although Zhinu tried to stop her. The fox left Lady Ling's body and rushed away.Magpie gave chase, leaving the stick in Zhinu's hand. When Lady Ling awakened, she accused Zhinu of hitting her and called her a 'poison-hearted' woman. At that moment, the maids raised the alarm that all the cloths were on fire. Someone had seen Zhinu in the grounds at the time of the fire. The Ling family demanded an explanation from Zhinu for the loss of the cloths and hitting Lady Ling. Zhinu couldn't explain properly, making Niulang very exasperated, because the cloths were supposed to be delivered in 3 days' time and this was under Niulang's charge. Zhinu promised to work throughout the night to ensure the delivery would be made. The other workers complained, and Lady Ling was very annoyed with her. Meanwhile, although Magpie once again managed to tie up the fox with her Fairy Threads, the sly demon managed to escape, again leaving one of her tails behind. Exasperated, Magpie discussed with Zhinu what to do. Zhinu had to start weaving cloth and couldn't help Magpie anymore; but she told Magpie to follow her Heavenly Thread, which will trace the trail left by the mark Zhinu had placed on the fox during the fight. While following the Thread, Magpie bumped into Bei Gon who had been observing her in secret. Both of them traced the fox to an old hut, where she was absorbing a man's 'yang.' However, Bei Gon's Heavenly Essence was too strong and was detected by the fox, who escaped. Magpie scolded Bei Gon, but then thought of a wonderful idea.... She told Bei Gon to masquerade as a scholarly man as fox bait, but first she made him bath in aromatic waters to hide his Heavenly Essence. She was amused to see the usually stern Bei Gon meekly following her orders. The idea was somewhat successful; Bei Gon managed to lure the fox out, but the cunning fox gave a huge fight and almost overpowered him. Magpie helped out and managed to steal the fox's Thousand-Year Essence. Magpie threatened to destroy it and cause the fox to lose all her powers, thus becoming a mute beast, unless the fox returned Bei Gon's heart. Having no choice, the fox agreed and placed a heart into Bei Gon. It beat strongly in his chest and he fainted from the pain. The fox assured Magpie that this was normal and that he'd awaken. She smiles cunningly before retrieving her Essence and disappearing. On the other hand, Zhinu and the other workers were trying to finish the order on time, while Niulang was busy dying the finished cloth. Even though the other weavergirls left to rest, Niulang was touched to see Zhinu tirelessly working on. When Niulang fell asleep out of fatigue, Zhinu covered him with a cloth and continued to work. Niulang awoke to find all the cloth already dyed and hung to dry, with Zhinu trying to hang up the last one. At that moment, he looked at Zhinu with feeling in his eyes. He helped Zhinu out, and Zhinu smiled happily at him.......
Meanwhile, Magpie was overjoyed to see that Bei Gon could feel emotions now, and furthermore, had recovered his position as the God of Fortune. He was able to laugh and smile at Magpie, and do it spontaneously. Bei Gon even played a joke on the greedy merchant he was dispensing money to, making Magpie very amused. Two little kids hit Magpie (in bird-form) with a catapult and made her fall from her perch. Bei Gon rushed to save her and was very annoyed with the kids. Lying in Bei Gon's arms, Magpie suddenly felt very shy. Lady Ling's birthday was coming soon, and Angela decided to paint a picture of Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) as a gift to her. While out buying the ingredients with her maid, a cart knocked her maid over and hurt her ankle. Angela was distressed that nobody seemed to want to help her maid out. Luckily, Zhinu came along and willingly assisted them back to their household. Angela was very grateful. Actually, Zhinu was on her way to meet Niulang and both of them decided to make a special pillow for Lady Ling as a birthday gift to ease her bad back. Niulang was happy that Zhinu was so willing to try improve Lady Ling's bad impression of her. On Lady Ling's birthday, she liked Angela's gift alot, and was annoyed with Zhinu for remarking that the painting didn't look like Guan Yin at all. Angela was very pleased to see Zhinu again. However, Lady Ling was appeased with Niulang and Zhinuís gift and agreed to give Zhinu a chance to give her tea and apologize formally. Lungís wife was irritated by all this and deliberately tripped Zhinu up, so that the tea was spilled all over Lady Ling. In anger, Lady Ling ordered Zhinu away, calling her bad luck, and also forbade Niulang from seeing her anymore. Zhinu rushed away, crying. Seeing this, Angela was distressed and resolved to help Zhinu. Angela made Niulang escort her around town, but arranged for Zhinu to meet up with them. Niulang was dispirited until he saw Zhinu. Overjoyed, both of them thanked Angela for her help. Angela was only too pleased to reunite the 2 lovers. When they went off together, she wandered around town by herself and wanted to buy some cakes at a stall, but she had no money. Wong, who was in town, saw her, and treated her to the cakes. He also bought some sugarcanes and taught her how to crunch and suck the juice out. Angela enjoyed herself very much, while Wong stared at her admiringly. Meanwhile, Zhinu and Niulang were happily spending time together on a raft fishing. Taking this opportunity, Zhinu tried to remind Niulang about all the previous things they went through, but Niulang was more excited about the fish they caught. Zhinu was a little exasperated...
Episode 8
As soon as Niulang reached home, Lady Ling excitedly asked him a lot of questions about his outing with Angela. Feeling guilty, Niulang gave a noncommittal answer, but Lady Ling was not satisfied. She was hoping that Niulang and Angela would marry because she really liked Angela. Old Man Ling laughed and said that Lady Ling was simply dying to have a daughter in-law. Wong overheard all this and his face fell in dismay. Later that night, Wong went into Niulangís study and scolded Niulang for leaving Angela alone in town. Niulang explained about Angelaís plot to help him see Zhinu secretly; on hearing this, Wongís face lit with hope and joy. Niulang smiled and teased Wong, saying that his brother had never raised his voice to him before, until Angela appeared. Wong smiled sheepishly. Bei Gon and Magpie made a promise to do their duties for the day (sheíd go around doing good deeds while heíd dispense money) and then, theyíd meet each other in a nearby forest. After his work was done, Bei Gon went to the meeting-place, but to his alarm, saw a feather on the ground along with a few drops of blood. Simultaneously, two kids came along talking about a bird theyíd just shot. Thinking it was Magpie, Bei Gon threatened the kids to tell him where they shot the bird and rushed there madly, but he couldnít find Magpie. In despair, he leant against a tree when Magpie alighted on a branch behind him; sheíd merely arrived late. Hearing her call out his name, Bei Gon rushed to her and embraced her tightly. Magpie wondered what was wrong and asked Bei Gon to let her go. Bei Gon refused, saying that he thought sheís dead, and that heís terribly afraid of losing her. He asked her to promise to always remain by his side and never leave him. Shyly, Magpie asked him what he meant by his words. Bei Gon told her that for thousands of years, she was the first and only one to touch his heart and he finally could feel love. Magpie hugged him happily. Meanwhile, Niulang accompanied Angela out again. Officer Kong was quite happy about them getting close as he hoped to have closer ties with the Lings. Once Niulang met up with Zhinu and Angela was alone, Wong (whoíd been following them) secretly trailed her footsteps into town and ëaccidentallyí bumped into her. He taught her to roast some potatoes to eat. He was ashamed of his rough ways compared to the gentle Angela, but the girl laughed and said she was impressed with the things he knew. Angela offered to teach him to read and write. Wong asked Angela to teach him to write her name, under the pretext that hers were only 2 syllables and easier to remember. By the end of the day, heíd learned how to write ëKong Lingí on the sand...
Bei Gon wanted to buy a hair accessory for Magpie, but he couldnít pay for it. As the God of Fortune, he could only dispense money but Heaven had decreed he couldnít spend any himself and this made him feel very frustrated. Suddenly his heart pumped very fast, and there was a strange voice in his head. He entered a gambling den but stopped, thinking that it was wrong to abuse his powers for his own benefit. The strange voice in his head mocked him, saying that he couldnít even buy something for the person he loved. There was a brief quarrel within his mind, and he yelled in frustration. Again, his heart palpitated strongly,and he suddenly became very calm with a peculiar glint in his eye. He walked up to Ling Lung at one of the gambling tables, and offered to tell Lung the dice outcome if heíd do something for him. Skeptical at first, Lung nevertheless agreed. Bei Gon used his magic powers to change the dice outcome and Lung won a lot of money. In return, Bei Gon made him buy the hair accessory for him. Lung was puzzled at this, saying that Bei Gon couldíve just won the money himself and buy it, but Bei Gon told him shortly to take it as an unexpected benefit and left it at that. Magpie was happy at his gift, and asked him for the precious stone sheíd given him earlier. Bei Gon said heíd always kept it near him. Magpie wanted to tell Zhinu to help her weave a belt and set the stone in it for Bei Gon; but at this, Bei Gon once again had a peculiar look in his eye. He asked Magpie not to tell anyone their relationship, not even Zhinu, saying that he didnít want the Heavenly Queen Mother to find out and punish them. Although puzzled, Magpie agreed to keep it a secret. Bei Gon hugged her and smiled strangely. It was Angelaís third meeting with Wong, and he happily showed her the papers on which heíd practiced writing her name. Angela admired them and said heíd improved a lot. A gust of wind blew the papers out of Wongís grasp, and he scrambled hurriedly to retrieve them. Angela asked him why he was so anxious, and he started to say it was because the papers had her name on them; but stopped last minute and said that it was because heíd practiced hard and luckily, the papers didnít fly into the river. Angela blushed and smiled. Then, she told him how she once fell into the river, but was rescued. Tentatively, Wong asked her if she knew who it was, but Angela said no. However she praised her rescuer and said that sheíd love to be able to find him. Wongís face grew warm. Niulang returned home to discover that his parents had arranged his marriage with Angela. Alarmed, he wondered what to do. Officer Kong also gave Angela her motherís bracelet, saying she was to marry Niulang. Angela held the bracelet and thought sadly of Wong. In the weaving factory, the weavergirls were admiring the wedding cloth. Zhinu passed by and happily thought that Niulang was going to marry her, but was shocked to hear the truth from the workers. She rushed to find Niulang to find a solution. Unfortunately, Lung and his wife overheard them, and led Lady Ling to their meeting-place. Lady Ling arrived just in time to hear Zhinu suggest elope, and was instantly angry. She told Niulang to stay away from Zhinu and asked him what was wrong with Angela that he wouldnít marry her. Niulang replied that besides Zhinu, heíd marry nobody else. At this, Zhinu smiled. Lady Ling brought her son home, hoping to knock some sense into his head.
Meanwhile Lung wanted Niulang to leave the Ling household, and decided to help unite the lovers and persuade them to elope. Niulang left the Lings for a few days, leaving a letter in Lungís hand to give to Zhinu. Unfortunately, Lung bumped into Lady Ling and was forced to give up the letter. Lady Ling, incensed, threw Zhinu out of the Ling household and told her that Niulang had left her and agreed to the marriage. Distressed, Zhinu went to find Magpie and her friend brought her to Bei Gonís temple so that they could all think of a plan. Bei Gon thought of an idea: he told Zhinu to look for the Snow Sand on the peak of Ice Mountain, and breathe some of her Heavenly Essence into it to mold it into a figure representing herself. Then if she sneaked into Yuet Loís (The Matchmaker God) private garden and tied the red Matchmaking thread around her figure and Niulangís, nothing could force both of them apart, not even Heaven. But then, the Snow Sand was a magical lively substance and was very difficult to capture. Moreover, they couldnít use their magical powers for fear Heavenly Queen Mother would notice as Ice Mountain was too near Heaven. However, Zhinu was determined to try. After much struggle, Magpie managed to capture the Snow Sand, and Zhinu immediately blew her Fairy Essence into it. By morning, the Snow Sand was molded into a figure of herself, but Zhinu was too spent to take it to Heaven. Magpie took it, promising to do everything for her, and ordered Bei Gon to take care of Zhinu. As soon as she flew off, Zhinu fainted. Bei Gon looked at her, and his heart accelerated and started pumping away. The peculiar look was back. He bent forward to kiss Zhinu, but stopped himself in alarm. Again the strange voice mocked him, telling him to kiss the beautiful Zhinu or heíd never have another chance. Bei Gon shouted out that he couldnít go against Heaven and do such a wrong thing, but the voice went on and on. Mercifully, his yells woke Zhinu up. Zhinu told him to go see what Magpie was doing. At that moment, Angela went to find Niulang and told him that Zhinu was kicked out of the Ling household. Alarmed, Niulang rushed away to find Zhinu, along with Angela. Magpie was confused between the many miniature figures in Yuet Loís garden. Bei Gon arrived and told her to hurry up. Bei Gon saw that she was tying the red string around the wrong female figure and started to warn her, when the strange voice told him not to. If he called out, Zhinu and Niulang would be together and heíd never have a chance with the beautiful Zhinu. Bei Gon started to fight against the voice, but it was too late: Magpie had tied the figure with Niulangís image. Magpie left hurriedly with Bei Gon. At that moment, Angela and Niulang felt a strange electricity in their bodies, and their faces simultaneously turned red. The matchmaking thread was working! They stared at each other. Zhinu, waiting for Niulang, was shocked to see Niulang and Angela walking together intimately. She asked him what happened, but Niulang couldnít give an adequate reply and only told her heíd see her later. Back at the Ling household, Niulang told his parents that he agreed to the marriage. Old Man and Lady Ling were overjoyed. Wong, on hearing this, dropped the tea tray he was holdingÖÖÖÖ
Episode 9
Wong was very upset as he held the paper on which he had practiced writing Kong Lingís name. He wondered what had happened. At that moment, Niulang came in to see him. He didnít seem to notice Wongís agitated state and started talking happily about Angela. Wong asked about his feelings towards Zhinu. Niulang looked rather worried at this, and said that heíd probably break Zhinuís heart but that he couldnít help it. He didnít even know how to begin to explain to her. Meanwhile, Zhinu beseeched Magpie and the Earth deities to find out what had happened. Zhinu was unhappy because the 3 monthsí period was almost over and she might have to return to Heaven forever. They figured that perhaps Magpie had tied the Matchmaking Thread around the wrong figure and Magpie went up to Heaven to check. She discovered the melted Snow Sand on the ground and was horrified to find out that she had really made a mistake. However,she couldnít disentangle the Thread and went to find Bei Gon for help. Bei Gon was in a state of dilemma. The evil little voice in his mind overwhelmed his good nature, saying that if Niulang married Angela, Bei Gon would have a chance with Zhinu. So, Bei Gon told Magpie that only the Southern Deityís Heavenly Scissors could cut Yuet Loís Thread. However, the Southern Deity had never lend out his Scissors, or Bei Gon himself might try to ask. Bei Gon purposely said that the Deity was always traveling and was seldom at home. Instantly (as Bei Gon knew she would), Magpie decided to try to steal the Scissors and Bei Gon made a feeble attempt to stop her. As soon as Magpie had flown off, Bei Gon went to tell the Deityís minions about her intention, so that they captured her using a special cage. Bei Gon ordered them to keep her for a few days without harming her, and the Deityís minions promised to let her go as soon as their master had returned. Meanwhile, Niulang met up with Zhinu to try and explain things. Zhinu morosely told him that she didnít blame him or Angela, but begged him to see through the illusions and remember their love. Niulang told her they werenít meant to be, and returned the silk handkerchief she had once given him. Zhinu was almost in tears..
Wong was watering some plants when Angela came along and tried to chat with him while waiting for Niulang. Distressed, Wong tried to keep some distance between them. Angela offered to help him in his work, but while Wong tried to put her off, he accidentally tore her bead bracelet. It was the same token sheíd obtained from her rescuer. Wong was stunned when he saw it, and offered to mend it as good as new. Angela was very grateful, then went off with Niulang. Wong stared at the beads, touched that Angela still had some feeling for her rescuer (who was himself). While out with Niulang, Angela didnít quite enjoy the great attention that Niulang showered on her. Niulang didnít even allow her to try the streetside food that she loved for fear that passers-by would bump into her. When he bought some sugarcane for her, Angela was disappointed to see that the sugarcane was all chopped up into pieces. Niulang explained that eating it in huge stalks was really ugly to watch. Angela thought sadly about the times when Wong taught her to eat sugarcane in enormous pieces. She really had fun then. At the same time, Bei Gon was taking the opportunity to accompany Zhinu around town. Zhinu was feeling really down, especially when she saw Niulang in the streets with Angela. Bei Gon pretended to chase after them in anger, but Zhinu told him that she knew this wasnít really Niulang. It was actually due to the power of the Matchmaking Thread, which caused Niulang to be unable to accept Zhinu. Zhinu worried about Magpie being so long in Heaven, and told Bei Gon to look for her. Bei Gon reluctantly agreed. Meanwhile, Old Man Ling wanted to invite his brother disciple, called Wu Dak, to Niulangís wedding. Due to a misunderstanding, Wu Dak had left the Lings and his whereabouts were unknown. Hoping to curry some favor with his father, Ling Lung offered to help find Wu Dak and give him the invitation. At that time, he was good friends with Bei Gon who kept helping him to win at dice to obtain money. He brought Bei Gon to the prostitution house where Bei Gon gave away the precious stone Magpie had given him to one of the girls. In return, Bei Gon helped Lung to find Wu Dak, who turned out to be a drunkard on the streets. Lung was rather rude to Wu Dak, leaving 2 silver money for him to ëclean upí before the wedding. In anger, Dak flung the money back at Old Man Ling and Niulang at the entrance to their house, yelling that heíd never be able to compensate for the evil heíd done. Surprised at this, Niulang asked about the reason for Dakís enmity. Old Man Ling explained that Dak was once the swiftest and best weaver among the disciples of their master. When Old Man Ling opened his cloth factory, Dak was one of the earliest employees. However, Dak was a compulsive gambler, and Old Man Ling himself caught Dak trying to pawn valuables from the factory to settle his debts. The man had no choice but to report Dak to court but unknown to him, the court officers broke Dakís right hand so that he couldnít weave anymore. From that time onwards, Dak bore a grudge towards Old Man Ling whom he blamed for the loss of his hand...
Seeing that Old Man Ling would be very happy to be reconciled with Dak, Niulang went to find Dak to try and settle their differences. Dak played around with Niulang, ordering him about, having no intentions of reconciliation. Zhinu was informed by the Earth Deities about this and she resolved to help Niulang although Niulang didnít love her anymore. She went to look for them and noticed that Dak was quite agile with chopsticks for a man with a crippled right hand. Suspecting that Dak was merely feeling too sorry for himself to see that his hand was functioning, she made Dak drunk and set up a spindle in one corner. She also enlisted Earth GrandFatherís help. Then, she hid with Niulang, telling him to be silent and watch. Dak awoke from his drunken stupor and was surprised to see the spindle. Earth GrandFather used his divine powers to boost his courage. Dak approached the spindle and saw his own shuttle there, which he thought he had destroyed. In wonder, he started to spin and was overjoyed to discover that his right hand was perfectly sound! At that moment, his grudge against Old Man Ling disappeared and he was very willing to be friends again with him. Old Man Ling was happy at the reconciliation. For this, Niulang felt very grateful towards Zhinu and wanted to look for her, but was intercepted by Angela. Zhinu hid herself when she saw them together. Meanwhile, Magpie managed to escape from the cage and steal the Scissors, but they didnít work. Bei Gon told them that he had discussed the matter with Yuet Lo but the Matchmaker God had said only the Jade Emperor or Heavenly Queen Mother could cut the Thread once tied without Heaven's permission. Discouraged, Magpie begged Bei Gon to try and think of a Deity who would help them. Instead, Bei Gon told Zhinu to forget Niulang because no earthly love could last long anyway. Niulang told Wong that he felt strange whenever he saw Zhinu, although he still felt himself in love with Angela. Wong told him not to forfeit Angelaís love. Niulang assured him, saying he thought his feelings towards Zhinu must just be gratitude and nothing more. Zhinu sadly chose to give up and went to tie her silk handkerchief around the knocker of the Lingsí door as a sign of farewell. The 3 monthsí period would be over on the eve of Niulangís wedding, once the 9 stars align themselves into a straight line. She went to bid her friend, the demoness of the Forbidden Forest, goodbye as well. The demoness was surprised to hear about this turn of events, and promised to help her even if she had to use up her remaining Heavenly Essence. Niulang returned home with Wong to find the handkerchief. At the same time, Magpie rushed to him, saying that Zhinu was so heartbroken that she had gone into the Forbidden Forest. Magpie asked Niulang if he would just stand by and not care about Zhinu anymore. In alarm, Niulang rushed off into the Forest. Wong chased after him to tell him not to go, warning him about demons. Angela also found out about Niulangís whereabouts and ran into the Forest to find him. Wong of course couldnít just leave her in there too. In the Forest, Niulang bumped into a magical barrier and fell. At that moment, the demoness appeared and greeted him. Niulang could only stare at her in shock and alarm...
Episode 10
Niulang didnít recognize the demoness at all and demanded to know where Zhinu was. The demoness asked him why he cared so much and what relation Zhinu was to him, but Niulang was unable to reply. Although she gave him a chance and ordered him out of the Forest, Niulang refused to leave without Zhinu. Laughing, the demoness departed, telling him heíd lost his chance and that Zhinu was in the heart of the Forest. Meanwhile, Angela was busy searching for Niulang and her surroundings were making her nervous. A red-garbed child appeared in front of her, giggling, then abruptly vanished. Affright, she started to run but a hand shot from the ground and grabbed her ankle. Frightened almost witless, she yelled for help. Her cries were heard by Wong who instantly rushed to the rescue. Wong wanted to lead her out of the Forest, but Angela was worried for Niulangís safety. Suddenly, a bat attacked them and Angela fell while trying to escape. Wong managed to scare off the bat, but by then the distressed damsel had already fainted. He hefted her up piggyback-style, telling her to be strong and that theyíd soon escape. Lying on his back, Angela felt a sense of deja-v™ as she dimly remembered that her river rescuer did that once to her before. Niulang noticed Zhinu lying prostrate on the ground and rushed to her, very worried. The demoness appeared and said she wanted to kill her. Niulang refused, saying that even if he lost his life, heíd not allow her to do so. Smiling, the demoness swept Zhinu from Niulangís grasp and made a vine carry her off. Zhinu awoke just then and screamed for help. Niulang ran madly to try and save her. In the sky, the ninth star moved into position with eight others, making a straight line. Niulang chased Zhinu onto a cliff, to find her motionless on the ground. Panicked, Niulang asked the demoness what she wanted. Without replying, she swept Zhinu off the cliff and Niulang leapt to grab her hand. Zhinu awoke and started to cry on seeing her beloved Niulang. Although Niulang tried hard, he wasnít strong enough to pull her up and she fell from his grasp. Without thinking, Niulang instantly jumped off the cliff after her and pulled her into a hug. The sky clouded over. In Yuet Loís garden, the Matchmaker Thread linking Niulang and Angelaís figures quivered once and broke. Yuet Lo stared at this phenomenon in wonder.
Niulang and Zhinu fell straight back into the demonessí cave. Zhinu asked Niulang why he was so foolish to risk his life for her. Niulang replied that heíd once promised her heíd take care of her no matter what, and said that all his wiped-out memory had returned. The demoness was happy to see them reunited, but Zhinu said that it was too late. The 9 stars had aligned themselves and sheíd lost the bet and had to return to Heaven. The demoness was touched to see their love and exercised the remnants of her fairy magic to move time outside her Forest 2 hours. She told them to cherish each other so that her sacrifice wasnít wasted. Meantime, Wong was much relieved to see Angela regain consciousness. She started asking him whether he was her rescuer by the river, but before Wong could reply, a ferocious wind swept them off their feet. Angela grabbed at Wongís hand while he struggled to stabilize himself, but she was blown off and out of consciousness. Wong himself was knocked senseless. Niulang and Zhinu left the Forest happily, hand-in-hand. Niulang was remorseful for his change-of-heart towards Angela, but Zhinu told him not to blame himself as it was her fault for being too impulsive about the Matchmaking Thread. Yee Long Sun(the 3-Eyed God) appeared and told Zhinu that Heavenly Queen Mother wanted to see her. Niulang wanted to follow, but Yee Long Sun said that Heaven was forbidden to ordinary mortals. Zhinu assured him that sheíd return to his side soon, and went off with Yee Long Sun. In Heaven, Heavenly Queen Mother was furious at Zhinu for using the demonessí power to turn back time. Zhinu replied that it was only fair as Heavenly Queen Mother herself had reversed time at the beginning of the bet. She refused to admit defeat and asked Heavenly Queen Mother why she disallowed her to be with her love. Heavenly Queen Mother told her she was a divine person and shouldnít be with a mortal. At that time, a smiling Bei Gon appeared and paid his respects to Heavenly Queen Mother. To punish her and to stop her from thinking about Niulang, Heavenly Queen Mother ordered Zhinu to marry Bei Gon. Taken back and panic-stricken, Zhinu yelled that sheíd never marry anybody but Niulang. Heavenly Queen Mother was furious, saying that once her Golden Tongue had spoken, none in Heaven could go against it, especially when the candidate had been chosen and the wedding date fixed. She told the Heavenly Guards to watch over Zhinu in her abode until her wedding. Bei Gon asked the Heavenly Guards to leave Zhinu for a while so that he could speak to her. Zhinu told him to go away; she didnít want to see him or hear his words. Bei Gon told her that he knew Heavenly Queen Mother had agreed to the wedding without Zhinuís consent, and that he himself was powerless in this matter. Zhinu told him to help her escape and see Niulang but of course Bei Gon refused, saying that Heavenly Queen Motherís edict couldnít be disobeyed. Zhinu, furious, ordered him to leave. Wong was shocked to awake and find himself in the Lingsí kitchen as if nothing had happened. He saw that his hands were still bleeding and knew that heíd not been dreaming. Meanwhile, Niulang rushed back to tell his parents to cancel his wedding to Angela. At that moment, Bei Gon appeared and flung a cursed barb at Niulang so that everytime he thought of Zhinu, heíd have a crippling migraine and couldnít speak her name properly. His parents, concerned, brought him into the house. Then, Bei Gon created a magical barrier around the Lingsí house. With an evil laugh, he left, pleased that nobody could possibly stop the wedding now. Angela was also shocked to find herself back at her home without her knowledge. She tried to slip away to see Wong, but was intercepted by her father. Officer Kong was annoyed when Angela tried to persuade him to cancel the wedding because she loved another. Her maid was surprised, asking her, "Didnít you love Niulang?" Angela said no, sheíd never loved Niulang and begged her father to reconsider the marriage for her happiness. Incensed, Officer Kong ordered his men to guard her in her room. Wong, on trying to ensure that Angela was all right, was sad to see the wedding decorations in the servantsí hands. He left without informing Angela that heíd been there. Bei Gon returned to his temple, practically smirking in evil joy, when he saw Magpie there. Magpie rushed to him, asking him why he was to marry Zhinu when the one he loved was herself. Bei Gon was shocked that she knew. Magpie replied that everyone in Heaven had heard the news, and begged him to explain. Bei Gon said that nobody could disobey Heavenly Queen Motherís orders but for her sake, heíd go and demand Heavenly Queen Mother to cancel the wedding. He pretended to leave, saying that heíd rather be punished than to marry somebody he didnít love. Magpie stopped him in tears, saying she didnít want him to be punished. Bei Gon then hugged Magpie as if touched by her love, but all the time smiling contemptuously behind her back...
In Heaven, Zhinu was sad to see Niulang in such pain from the migraines. Zhinu begged her fairysisters to help her distract the Heavenly Guards and let her see Niulang, but they were afraid of Heavenly Queen Motherís wrath. Magpie dropped by and promised Zhinu that sheíd try to contact Niulang. However, she couldnít get past Bei Gonís magical barrier which she thought Heavenly Queen Mother had raised. Neither could Niulang when he tried to leave the Lingsí to find Zhinu. Angela was moroseful on the wedding-day. As the ceremonial troupe passed by the Forbidden Forest, Angela noticed something and ordered them to stop. Rushing to one tree, she saw her bead bracelet tied around it with a note from Wong, saying that their relationship ended there. In tears, she ran off in her wedding-gown, searching for Wong who, at that moment, was leaving the Lings because heíd no courage to stay and join in the celebrations. Angela was overjoyed to find him and rushed to him, declaring her love. Wong didnít want to listen, disbelieving that she could actually love a cripple like himself. Angela grabbed his sleeve, saying that sheíd always obeyed her father in all things, but now sheíd chosen to disobey for once just for Wong. The two hugged each other in happiness and Wong brought Angela away, his face bright with joy. Meanwhile, Magpie had broken past the magical barrier by using the demonessí powerful magic shuttle. She also managed to break Bei Gonís spell on Niulang with the shuttle. Niulang finally managed to blurt out that heíd only marry Zhinu and nobody else, and rushed like a madman away from the wedding ceremony. At last, Magpie could pass Zhinuís message to him, that Zhinu was to be married on that day as well and couldnít meet him like sheíd promised. Magpie and the Earth Deities tried to lift him up to Heaven, but even their combined powers were insufficient. Up in his garden, Yuet Lo watched everything with deep compassion, and let down a red rope for Niulang to climb up into Heaven. He urged Niulang to find Zhinu quickly. Meanwhile, Zhinu refused to wear her wedding-garb until Heavenly Queen Mother herself came along and forced her into costume. With Heavenly Queen Mother watching her, Zhinu had no choice but to attend the ceremony. Bei Gon whispered that heíd definitely treat her a million times better than that 'cow.' At this, Zhinu lashed back at him angrily, saying that though he may have her person, her heart would always belong to Niulang. Then, she told Heavenly Queen Mother that since Heavenly Queen Motherís powers were limitless, would she please kill her because sheíd rather die than marry Bei Gon. At that moment, Niulang barged into the ceremony, causing a huge commotion. Zhinu was so happy to see Niulang that they rushed to embrace one another. Bei Gon stared at the couple with a murderous glare in his eyes. Heavenly Queen Mother was furious beyond words at Niulangís intrusion and forced them apart with her power. She ordered the Heavenly Guards to imprison Niulang, Zhinu, and Magpie immediately. The Heavenly Host watched Zhinu and Niulang tearfully calling for each other, and there was an undercurrent of compassion for them. Heavenly Queen Mother visited Zhinu along with the Jade Emperor and attempted to persuade Zhinu to give up Niulang. Zhinu replied that sheíd rather be mortal and enjoy true love. To prove her words, she broke her Heavenly Shuttle so that her Essence vanished and she vomited blood. The Jade Emperor was shocked at this; the shuttle was a symbol of Zhinuís divinity, once broken, it meant sheíd given up her Fairy Essence and wasnít divine any longer. Furious that Zhinu would actually do such a thing for a mere mortal, Heavenly Queen Mother refused to release her and went off despite pleas from the Jade Emperor and the Earth Deities. Bei Gon came to visit Magpie. His good side whispered Magpieís love for him, but his bad side condemned Magpie for breaking up his wedding. For once, his good side won over and he went to Magpie, asking her why she was so foolish. Magpie said that sheíd no regrets and asked Bei Gon if he was angry at the interruption to his wedding. Bei Gon told her that even if Niulang hadnít arrived, Zhinu wouldnít have married him anyway, and even if she did, Magpie should know who was the true love of Bei Gonís heart. Magpie replied that she accepted her fate of being returned to a mute beast. She knew the Earth Deities had been stripped of their rank and powers, and couldnít help her. Bei Gon told her heíd see what he could find out and that she should take care....
Episode 11
Zhinu begged her fairysisters to release her, but they told her to conserve her Heavenly Essence and save herself because she was slowly fading away. They asked her if Niulang was worth sacrificing her divinity. Zhinu told them that even if she faded away, sheíd still linger as much as she could to see Niulang. To her, although fairyhood offered her freedom, she preferred the restraints of mortality because she could feel love, especially since she found someone who loved her too. At her words, her sisters didnít know what to reply in return and looked at her with deepened understanding. The Heavenly Guards dragged Niulang to the Gates, preparing to hurl him down to Hell for his impudence in storming Heaven. Tired of his incessant calls to see Zhinu, one of them cast a silencing spell on him. The 2 weaver fairies approached them and demanded them to release Niulang into their care, lying that it was the Heavenly Queen Motherís order. As soon as the Guards left, one of the fairies quickly brought Niulang to Earth despite his protests and told him to wait for Zhinu by the river. On earth, the fairy was alarmed to see a couple refusing to marry each other, with broken red threads hanging from their ankles, and the wandering restless ghosts disturbing humankind with their cries, though the Door Gods tried to keep them off the houses. This was due to Yuet Lo and the Earth Deities being stripped of their ranks and hence nobody was looking after the affairs on earth. Meanwhile, Heavenly Queen Mother scolded Magpie for aiding Zhinu and hurled a magical barb at her. Alarmed, Bei Gon flung himself in front of her and took the blow. Surprised, Heavenly Queen Mother asked Bei Gon the reason (she was clueless about their relationship) since Magpie purposely interrupted his wedding to Zhinu. Bei Gon said that though Magpie did such a wrong thing, she didnít deserve such a cruel punishment. He begged Heavenly Queen Mother to release Magpie. Heavenly Queen Mother was taken aback at his request. Then, her guards appeared, reporting Niulangís escape and the chaos on earth without Yuet Lo and the Earth Deities. Heavenly Queen Mother began to develop quite a headache. Even more worrisome, another pair of fairies appeared and anxiously told her that Zhinu was almost gone. Concerned, the entire Host rushed to see ZhinuÖ.
Heavenly Queen Mother instantly released Zhinu from her prison, while the Jade Emperor used his powers to preserve Zhinuís solid form. Zhinu begged Heavenly Queen Mother to allow her to remain on Earth as a mortal to be with Niulang. The entire Host knelt and asked Heavenly Queen Mother for mercy. Bei Gon did so reluctantly. Heavenly Queen Mother, fed-up, finally relented and departed, telling Zhinu not to regret her decision. Overjoyed, Zhinu rushed off to find Niulang, and her fairysisters told her to look by the river. There, she was once again reunited with Niulang and they embraced happily. Although Niulang and Zhinu safely passed the hurdle of Heavenly Queen Mother, Zhinu was worried that Lady Ling would prevent Niulang from marrying her. Niulang was so touched by her sacrifice of divinity for him, he said that they should bow the wedding ceremony to Heaven and Earth immediately and marry so that Lady Ling couldnít protest even if she wanted to. Magpie and the Earth Deities (whose ranks were restored) suddenly appeared, beaming and offering to be witnesses to their marriage. Magpie even conjured up some wedding apparel and wine for the happy couple. Meanwhile, the Lings were worried sick at Niulangís disappearance and wondered how to explain to Officer Kong about his refusal to marry his daughter. When Niulang and Zhinu appeared, Lady Ling was extremely annoyed to see her and refused to admit her as daughter-in-law, despite Niulangís pleadings. Zhinu pretended to faint to defuse the potentially explosive situation, and managed to stay at the Lings for a while. On the other hand, Officer Kong was furious to discover Angela's disappearance. Leaving only a letter behind, she stated that she had left with the one person she loved and apologized for her lack of filiality. Officer Kong was worried about explaining to the Lings but took advantage of the fact that Niulang also married another. When the Lings came to explain, he furiously blamed them for everything and told them it was their fault Angela ran away from home. Of course he didnít tell them that Angela also had objected to the marriage. Lady Ling refused to accept Zhinuís tea in the morning until Old Man Ling somehow managed to make a compromise for her. Zhinu was to be tested on her suitability as a daughter-in-law of the Lings. Annoyed at Rain Lau's (Ling Lungís wife) incendiary remarks, Niulang said that she ought to be tested as well since itíd be unfair for Zhinu to be tested alone. Despite Rain's fervent protests, Lady Ling agreed to this as it was only fair. Zhinu worked at collecting firewood, and refused to let Niulang help no matter how many times he offered. They were slightly annoyed to see Rain hiring a servant to collect firewood for her. While they were bickering, Bei Gon appeared in the sky with a very grim countenance. He was burning in anger to see Zhinu and Niulang married and together. As he prepared to blast them, his 'good' side told him to stop and not harm Niulang anymore, whereas the bad voice cackled mockingly, telling him that Niulang stole his woman and should be punished. Bei Gon screamed in agony at the pain in his heart which pumped away in his ears. He tried to fling a bolt of energy towards Niulang, but somehow it hit Rain instead, causing her to fall against her servant who dropped all the firewood. Bei Gon was alarmed at this apparent slip in his power. He returned to his temple thoughtfully and practiced his magic. His powers were really lessening and he couldnít channel them properly. Just then, Magpie ran happily in to show him some rubies she was planning to give Zhinu as a wedding-gift. She was concerned to hear about Bei Gonís heart-pain, and suggested perhaps it was because he hadnít been using his heart for a long time so that's why itíd hurt once he used it. Bei Gon pretended to be happy about her gift to Zhinu, but his expression changed instantly behind her backÖ.
Meanwhile, Zhinu worked hard at household chores in an attempt to please Lady Ling, but Rain thwarted her every move by purposely messing up her work. In the kitchen, Zhinu was pleased to enlist the Kitchen God's help in preparing one of Lady Lingís favourite dishes. Rain sneaked into the kitchen in her absence and added extra ingredients to her dish, but the Kitchen God discovered this and undid the damage. Rain was puzzled when the dish turned out to be very tasty during dinner. Officer Kong sent his men to tell the Lings that the Emperor required a batch of cloth for his new concubine, and the Lings had to prepare the order in one month. Niulang was stunned by the short duration and protested that it was obvious Officer Kong was purposely going against them. However, they had no choice but to accept the order or risk losing the Imperial Charter. Old Man Ling ordered Lung to be the one in charge of handling it. Lung was none too pleased when his father ordered Niulang to help him out as well. Lung complained to Bei Gon about his fatherís favor towards Niulang. Bei Gon smiled and said that Old Man Lingís bias was really pretty obvious. He suggested that instead of always obeying his father in everything, why didnít he become his own boss and set up his own factory? That way, he wouldnít have to have Niulang dog his footsteps all the time. Bei Gon offered to help him. Lady Lingís friends dropped by to play mahjong and complimented Zhinu on her looks. They kept Zhinu very busy with unending demands for tea and food. One of them told Zhinu to look after her son, Ming Zai. However, Ming Zai was too naughty, and Zhinu couldnít control him. The boy fell against a red dye in the weaving grounds and screamed in pain. Lady Ling was really annoyed, especially when her friends berated her for not teaching her daughter-in-law properly. Zhinu protested that it wasnít her fault, but Lady Ling didnít listen. She ordered Zhinu to leave the household. At that moment, Magpie flew past and was alarmed to hear Lady Lingís words. She instantly caused Zhinu to faint and disguised herself as a physician. Pretending to check Zhinuís pulse, she happily proclaimed Zhinu pregnant and that it was a son as well! Rain was shocked by the speed at which Zhinu became pregnant, and was puzzled by the physicianís skill at predicting a boy so early. However, Lady Ling was too overjoyed at this prospect of a grandchild and started to treat Zhinu really tenderly. Niulang offered to look after her. Zhinu wasnít too happy at tricking the Lings, especially Niulang. However, Magpie told her to worry about the consequences later; at least Lady Ling was treating her really well now and wouldnít be chasing her off the household anytime soon. Zhinu wanted to tell the truth to Niulang, but Magpie told her that Niulang was such a straight person that he wouldnít be able to lie to his family for long. To protect Zhinu, Magpie suggested that Zhinu kept silent for the time being. Zhinu was unhappy.....
Episode 12
Zhinu tried to tell Niulang that she was actually not pregnant, but Niulang wasn't listening becoz he was too excited trying to think of names for their child. During mealtimes, Lady Ling was very concerned about Zhinu's welfare and kept asking her to drink all sorts of medicinal concoctions. She even forbade the household to use any sharp objects in Zhinuís presence for fear of the superstition that the baby would be born with defects. On seeing this, Zhinu felt rather guilty. Meanwhile, Bei Gon and Lung were busy setting up a new cloth factory in another part of town. Lung was worried his father would find out, so he told Bei Gon to be more secretive. Bei Gon told him not to worry; as long as they steal all of the Ling factoryís customers, Old Man Ling would doubt the capability of Niulang handling his business and might even kick him out of the household. Lung was particularly happy to hear this. Then, Bei Gon reminded him that since he did so much for him, it was time Bei Gon asked for a favor of Lung. Lung asked him what he wanted. Bei Gon didnít want riches or women; he merely requested Lung to find a large mansion for him to live in and discuss business with customers. Lung was only too happy to help. One day, Magpie happily rushed into Heaven to find Bei Gon. However, once Bei Gon saw Yee Long Sun approaching, he pushed her away to keep a distance between them and scolded her for daring to enter Heaven when she was such a lowly fairy. Magpie was very hurt to hear this. She went to seek solace by the river, calling Bei Gon names. At that moment, Bei Gon appeared, trying to comfort Magpie but Magpie turned away, saying that she was too 'lowly' to mix with the great Fortune God like him. Magpie couldnít understand his intentions; after all, they werenít like Zhinu and Niulang - they were both of Heavenly Essence. Why couldnít they be open about their relationship? Bei Gon smiled and told her he just didnít want Heaven to jeer at her. He assured her of his love. Finally, Magpie felt comforted and rested contentedly against him. Lung was busy studying a book on the cloth business when his father rushed in, asking him to entertain an old customer of theirs, Tauke Chan. Lung replied that heíd be busy entertaining another customer; and anyway, now that they had the Imperial Charter, what did they care for a lowly customer like Tauke Chan? Old Man Ling scolded him and said that they should be humble and appreciate all those whoíd helped them before. In the end, he gave the responsibility to Niulang who was passing by at that moment. Niulang was nervous as this was the first time he handled something like this alone....
Bei Gon suddenly appeared and a plot cycled in his mind on seeing Niulang. He disguised himself as Tauke Chan and purposely let Niulang see him molesting a girl. Then he threw the girl at the real Tauke Chan and disappeared. Angry, Niulang didnít think much and chased after the real Tauke Chan, giving the poor man a huge punch. Of course Tauke Chan was furious at being punched for nothing, and he refused all manner of gifts or apologies offered by Old Man Ling. Lung added some stinging remarks that Niulang not only lost his father a customer, he also lost him a friend. Niulang felt discouraged by this, and his father told him to be more careful next time and to make things clear before resorting to violence. Meanwhile, Tauke Chan was in a tea-shop, trying to calm his fury. At that moment, Bei Gon greeted him and offered to do business with him. In this manner, he managed to secure one of the Lings' oldest customers for Lung's factory. Niulang returned home, feeling unhappy. On seeing him, Zhinu ran to him, saying that Lady Ling insisted she just eat medicine and sleep the whole time, making her feel very useless. When Niulang remained quiet, Zhinu wanted to share his problems with him, but he said that any problems disappeared once he saw her. While holding one another, Lady Ling came in and told them that they shouldnít be so intimate for the sake of the baby. In fact, she entered the room to tell Niulang that he was sleeping separate bedrooms from his wife until the birth of the child. Zhinu felt very exasperated and dismayed by this. Bei Gon and Lung were happily drinking to their success in their first business for the Lung factory. Lung asked if Bei Gon was satisfied with the beautifully decorated new mansion; Bei Gon looked around and smiled affirmatively. At that moment, Magpie passed by and was surprised to see Bei Gon so close to Lung, a man that Bei Gon knew was greedy and immoral. Magpie asked Bei Gon about it; the cunning Bei Gon replied that Lung was one of the people he was supposed to dispense money to, and heíd no choice in this matter as she very well knew. Dissatisfied, Magpie complained that he still shouldnít behave so chummily towards Lung, but Bei Gon allayed her fears and said that it was also a way to prevent Lung from being so nasty to Niulang and Zhinu. When asked about his house, Bei Gon said that it was all for them; he really should start planning their future together. While looking at the mirror at himself, Bei Gon once again felt a sharp pain in his heart. Instantly his good and bad sides appeared next to him. His 'angel' told him that he felt pain because the heart wasnít his to begin with; the Nine-Tailed Fox had tricked him and given him another heart. Shocked, Bei Gon asked his 'devil' side if this was true. The 'devil' shrugged and said, "So what if I'm not your heart? You're now enjoying power and riches, aren't you? Isn't that good enough?" Bei Gon's 'angel' tried to persuade him to give up the bad heart, warning him that once he chose the crooked road, he could never turn back. Bored by the 'angel', the 'devil' used his powers to blast him away and disappeared, cackling in laughter. Bei Gon could only look on in horror, and woke up drenched in sweat next to his mirror.....
While out walking, Zhinu and Lady Ling noticed some cloth with similar pattern and make to the Imperial cloth being sold in the streets. Horrified, the Lings investigated and discovered that somehow, the patterns of the Imperial Cloth had been leaked out, and they wondered how that could've happened. Only the Lings and Officer Kong knew the patterns. Niulang suspected Officer Kong leaked the cloth patterns out to avenge the humiliation of him not marrying Angela. The offence was punishable by execution if the Emperor discovered this. They managed to secure almost all of the cloth before they were sold in the shops. However, they didnít quite bargain for Kongís craftiness. Heíd concocted various documents and had some cloth samples in his possession as proof, which he meant to show to the Emperor and have the Lings executed. Lung blamed Niulang bitterly for evoking Kongís enmity, while Rain instantly denounced her family name and wanted to escape to her fatherís place. Niulang went to see Kong to plead for mercy, but was beaten up severely. However, all was not lost; Magpie and the Earth Deities assured Zhinu that theyíd help them. Although the proof was guarded securely, Magpie had no problems sneaking in and stealing all of the evidence along with the Earth Deities. The Lings thought that after beating up Niulang, Kong would finally relent and give them all the evidence. Lung and Rain were grateful to Niulang for saving their skins. Kong was foaming with fury when he discovered that the evidence was all gone, and kept berating his men for not guarding it properly. Kong had also discovered his daughter's whereabouts. Angela was happily selling food by the roadside with Wong, and they'd already been married. Wong had already written a letter to Niulang, explaining matters. Her father came to find her and furiously demanded that she return home with him. When she refused, saying that she was now Wong's woman, Officer Kong openly severed all father-daughter ties with Angela, ignoring her cries. He was really angry that she had chosen a poor cripple as a husband. Zhinu was feeling pressured by all the attention and medicine Lady Ling showered on her. She also kept having gastric pains due to all the medicine she was forced to consume. The Kitchen God disguised himself as a physician and came to treat her ailments. He advised Lady Ling not to boil so much medicinal herbs as they werenít good for the baby. Magpie conjured up some wicker baskets for Zhinu to place over her belly, to create the illusion that her stomach was getting bigger. Zhinu wanted to cry when she thought of the continued deception. She asked Magpie where she was going to find a baby to give the Lings when the time came for her to 'give birth.' Magpie merely told her to be patient and wait for a suitable time to confess the truth.....
Episode 13
Lady Ling enthusiastically brought back many Laughing Buddha statues and a beautiful jade bangle for Zhinu, making her feel even guiltier than before. Old Man Ling was disturbed by the success of a new factory called "Below Heaven" Factory that had stolen much business from the Lings. He didnít know that it was actually the factory set up by his eldest son. Meanwhile, Magpie was very troubled thinking of a way to help Zhinu out of the deception. When she saved a small child by the streets and observed how poorly the mother treated him, she thought that perhaps she could buy a child for Zhinu. At that moment, she saw Bei Gon being intimate with Siu Hong, a famous prostitute in town! In a fury, she stormed back to Bei Gonís house, refusing to listen to Bei Gonís explanations. Bei Gon said that he was just dispensing money to the prostitutes and he couldnít help it if they were intimate with him. Magpie asked him if he was aware he had changed a lot. Bei Gon asked what she meant. Magpie said that the old Bei Gon would never dream of possessing riches or big houses or the best food. In an attempt to assuage her suspicions, Bei Gon started to swear in Heavenly Queen Motherís name that...but, his heart palpitated in pain and he couldnít continue. Alarmed, Magpie rushed to his side, and discovered that Bei Gon hadn't any of his Godly Essence left and wouldnít have the energy to report back to Heaven. Worried, Magpie passed some of her Fairy Essence to him. Bei Gon was unexpectedly concerned that her own Essence would dissipate, but Magpie told him not to worry; with meditation, she would soon restore her lost Essence. A glimpse of the old Bei Gon returned as he hugged her lovingly. Zhinu was disturbed by Niulangís enthusiasm in choosing their babyís clothes. She asked Magpie if sheíd any ideas to help her, but strongly opposed Magpie buying a baby for her. She didnít want to continue the deception anymore. To Zhinuís surprise, Magpie reacted rather too violently in frustration. Zhinu asked her friend what was troubling her; Magpie confided that she was very worried about Bei Gon, ever since he had his heart back, itíd been causing him a lot of pain, and sometimes Bei Gon even lost his Heavenly powers. Magpie was worried that sheíd done the wrong thing in retrieving Bei Gonís heart. On seeing her deep concern for Bei Gon, Zhinu asked her if sheíd fallen for him. Magpie denied it vehemently but Zhinu laughed and said that she couldnít possibly see what Bei Gon had to attract Magpie so. They shared a moment of sisterly confidence, when Rain came along with a bowl of medicine for Zhinu. When she took the bowl away, she was horrified to find that sheíd made a mistake; it wasnít medicinal herbs that Zhinu had drank, it was abortion herbs! In a flurry of anxiety, she confided in Lung about this, but Lung said that heíd seen Zhinu and she appeared healthy. They instantly suspected that the pregnancy wasnít real, and peeked into Zhinuís room to see the wicker baskets Zhinu placed over her belly to simulate pregnancy. In glee, they rushed off to tell Lady Ling.....
However, the Kitchen God had overheard their plans and gathered Zhinuís friends to think of a solution. The clever Magpie noticed the fat Kitchen Godís belly and had a bright idea. She had him disguise himself as Zhinu so that when Lady Ling inspected 'her,' she didnít suspect that Zhinu wasnít pregnant. Niulang was very annoyed with Rain and Lung for accusing Zhinu, telling them he had deep confidence in Zhinu because he believed she wouldnít trick him. On hearing this, Zhinuís heart was heavier than ever. On the other hand, in her room, Rain was frustrated, saying that Lady Ling wouldnít believe her again. Lung told her about Below Heaven Factory, saying that now they had their own wealth, they wouldnít need to depend on Old Man Ling for money anymore. Rain was surprised and happy with Lungís ingenuity. Meanwhile, Bei Gon was in the prostitution house, enjoying the company of Siu Hong. He decided that the life of a god was very undesirable because they couldnít enjoy the power of earthly riches or fame. At that moment, he opened the shutters and saw Zhinu shopping in the streets with her husband. Instantly, Bei Gonís face flamed in anger. In his jealousy, he mistook Siu Hong as Zhinu and behaved erratically, finally pushing her away when he discovered it wasnít Zhinu. Bei Gon sat in his chamber with a deep hatred for Niulang and began to plot his downfall. Niulang and Zhinu visited the Imperial Palace, where Officer Kong told them to weave a special handkerchief for Keng Fei, the Imperial Concubine, in 3 days. Although secretly horrified at the short deadline, they had no choice but to agree, knowing that Kong was just trying to harm them. Keng Fei explained that sheíd lost the original handkerchief which had been given to her by her late mother, whom she missed dearly. She showed the pattern to Zhinu who promised theyíd finish it in 3 days. Outside the Throne Hall, Zhinu was surprised to see a withered pear tree. Keng Fei came out just then and said that it was actually a pear tree from her home far in the South, but it was not used to the cold North, so it had withered away. But it gave her such memories of her home that Keng Fei couldnít bear to throw it away. The Lings were worried to see the Southern flax with which they were supposed to weave the handkerchief, as they had none in stock. When Niulang tried to find it in the shops, the special flax was sold out, and he suspected Kong had bought every single thread he could to get them into trouble. However, he was very lucky; he found an old man spinning the flax and with the supply, Zhinu instantly started weaving and embroidering so that the handkerchief was finally finished on the third day. Unfortunately, Bei Gon appeared and caused the handkerchief to fall into a bowl of dark dye so that it was perfectly ruined. Aside from harming Niulang, he hoped to garner the Imperial Charter for Below Heaven Factory instead so that the Ling factory would be bankrupt. He was pleased to find out from Lung that Officer Kong also had a prejudice against the Lings....
Zhinu was distressed over the loss of the handkerchief and asked her allies for help. She could still weave a new one, but there wasnít any more Southern flax, and the embroidery wouldnít be quite so similar to the original pattern. Keng Fei certainly wouldnít be pleased. Nobody could think of a solution. On looking at some Chinese pears, Zhinu remembered the withered pear tree and suddenly came to a realization. She asked the Earth Deities to do something for her. Officer Kong presented a handkerchief made by the Below Heaven Factory to Keng Fei that was similar to her lost one. However, the concubine didnít seem very pleased with it. Just then, Niulang and Zhinu came in and showed her a basket covered with a plain white hanky. Kong shouted at them for their disrespect as it was obviously not the same handkerchief Keng Fei wanted. However, the curious concubine took the basket and when she lifted the hanky, she saw some fragrant Southern pears. The pear-scent on the handkerchief reminded Keng Fei of the time her mother gave her a similar basket of pears covered by her lost handkerchief. She realized that it wasnít her handkerchief that she missed after all; it was the familiar fragrance of her home and her mother. Delighted, she accepted Zhinuís handkerchief, and praised Zhinuís intelligence. The emperor, pleased by Keng Feiís happy smile, rewarded Zhinu with a golden pram for her unborn baby and many other gifts as well. Meanwhile, Bei Gon was furious that heíd lost once again to Niulang. Just then, Magpie came rushing in to say goodbye, sheíd to travel to the Forbidden Forest on an errand for Zhinu. Bei Gon managed to obtain from Magpie the secret that Zhinu was faking her pregnancy; hence, Magpie wanted to borrow the enchanted "Bright Boy" from the demoness to "create" a baby. Bei Gon smiled calculatively at this new piece of information. Bei Gon went to Heaven and noticed the Heavenly Queen Mother wearing a golden shawl woven by Zhinu for her last anniversary. Bei Gon knew that Heavenly Queen Mother missed Zhinu very much, but when he suggested that Heavenly Queen Mother invite Zhinu back to Heaven, Heavenly Queen Mother vehemently refused as it would be like her slapping her own mouth when sheíd allowed Zhinu to go in the first place. At this, Bei Gon went privately to the Jade Emperor and asked for permission to make Zhinu return to Heaven of her own accord. The Jade Emperor essentially granted him permission as long as he didnít cross the limit or be cruel in his actions. The Lings kept praising Zhinuís ingenuity and said that it was the unborn child whoíd brought them all their good luck. Zhinu was distressed. At that time, Bei Gon appeared and caused Niulang to slip and fall against his wife. Zhinuís sash was pulled undone and her wicker baskets fell to the ground..............
Episode 14
Niulang was furious at Zhinu for tricking him about the baby and causing the entire Ling family to lie to the Emperor for her. Zhinu tearfully tried to explain, but Niulang scolded her angrily and left. However, when heíd cooled down, Niulang remembered all the lovely times theyíd shared and felt sorry for his harsh manner. He returned to his garden to find Zhinu sobbing heavily by the pond. Starting to apologize, Niulang was stunned when Zhinu suddenly spun around and knocked him senseless. It wasnít Zhinu at all, but Bei Gon disguised as her. In a rage, Bei Gon pushed out all of Niulangís 7 human emotions and sent away the one called Love. When Niulang woke up, heíd lost all emotion of love so he couldnít bring himself to forgive Zhinu or even care for her anymore. Zhinu tried to make amends by being very obedient and doing the household chores. But Lady Ling was annoyed at the sight of her and ordered her to leave. Old Man Ling tried to defend her, saying that Zhinuís absence would create a scandal and blacken the Lingsí name. Niulang didnít once say anything to support her; however, Lady Ling finally allowed her to stay but very reluctantly. When Zhinu tried to accompany him to the Ling factory, Niulang forbade her, as everyone outside the family thought she had miscarried accidentally and her appearance would merely create more rumors. He sarcastically said he hoped she was happy the entire family was lying for her and left, making Zhinu very distressed. At the factory, Niulang scolded a worker harshly for making a mistake and everyone was surprised to see his bad temper. Old Man Ling told him not to vent his fury on the workers and Niulang scowled. Zhinu found a cow looking exactly like Gau Zai to make Niulang happy. Niulang found it a waste of time and departed to his old village for some fresh air. He didnít allow Zhinu to accompany her, saying he wanted to be alone. Bei Gon was pleased to discover that in Niulangís absence, Lung had persuaded all customers under Niulangís care to give business to Below Heaven Factory. Almost all of the big customers of the Lings had been enticed away. When Lung left, his heart started talking to him, praising him for even thinking of beating away Niulangís love emotion in his quest to get Zhinu. Without his loving nature, Niulang would never forgive Zhinu and Bei Gon hoped Zhinu would then forget Niulang. Bei Gonís heart laughed in delight at the evil plan.....
Bei Gon paid June a visit and caused her house to burn down. With nowhere to go, June decided to go to town and stay with some relatives. She bumped into Niulang, who was sorry to hear about her sad plight and invited her to stay at his house. At that time, Lady Ling was choosing some candidates for Niulang to take as concubines. Zhinu was horrified at this, but of course her protests went unheeded. Lady Ling decided to wait and hear Niulangís decision. On the night of Heavenly Queen Motherís anniversary, Zhinu prayed to her for forgiveness, apologizing for being unable to attend the celebrations. Bei Gon came to see her and told her that instead of enduring the suffering on earth, why didnít she return to her fairy status in Heaven since Heavenly Queen Mother missed her dearly? Bei Gon berated Niulang for being selfish and ungrateful. Incensed, Zhinu told him not to belittle Niulang. Bei Gon couldnít believe Zhinu still supported Niulang after what he did to her. Zhinu explained that she chose her path in life herself, and she never regretted it no matter how much she suffered because she loved Niulang so much. Bei Gon was very exasperated. Then Zhinu told him to cherish Magpieís love. Stunned that she knew, Bei Gon tried to explain, but Zhinu assured him she wouldnít tell anyone. Bei Gon returned home in anger, and asked why Magpie told Zhinu their relationship. Magpie protested, saying that she didnít betray their secret; Zhinu was the one who guessed it with her extreme intelligence. Magpie assured him that Zhinuíd definitely be discreet. Bei Gon pretended he wasnít angry, but inside he was burning away. Zhinu was happy to see June, but was surprised to know that Niulang didnít tell her that they were married. Lady Ling was particularly happy to see a pretty girl on such good terms with her son. June enquired about Niulangís cold treatment of Zhinu, but Niulang told her it was nothing. June was also worried her presence at the household might be misunderstood, but Niulang said that as long as they didnít do anything wrong, she shouldnít bother about it. That night, Zhinu attempted to make Niulang laugh by doing puppetry. At the stroke of midnight, the sound of the gong had a strange effect on Niulang; he stiffened and stared blankly into space before the 6 emotions reentered his body. He wasnít amused at all by the puppetry and bade Zhinu goodnight before closing the door harshly on her fingers, uncaring. Magpie tried to explain to Niulang that the fake pregnancy was her idea and not Zhinuís, but Niulang said that Zhinu ought to have made things clear to him earlier. Magpie was puzzled by his attitude; he wasnít at all like the kind and understanding man she was used to. It was almost as if heíd changed overnight into another person. When Magpie said he could beat her if thatíd make him forgive Zhinu, Niulang actually took up the offer! Magpie was shocked......
June pleased Lady Ling when she made the breakfast even though she was a guest. June went to ask Zhinu what happened that made everyone so hostile towards her, and Zhinu told her the story. Unexpectedly, June scolded her for tricking Niulang and Zhinu was disappointed that she wasnít understanding towards her situation at all. Magpie told Zhinu that June was a potential threat if she remained in the household. Zhinu confidently said that she believed Niulangís heart wouldnít change towards another woman. Magpie complained that heíd already changed a lot, but Zhinu assured her that Niulang would forgive her sooner or later. Bei Gon was very angry to discover that Lung had used his mansion as a place to receive tradesmen. This meant the identity of the owner of Below Heaven Factory would be revealed. Deciding he couldnít trust Lung anymore or use him to his advantage, Bei Gon went to look for a new target: Officer Kong. He told Kong they had similar goals, to destroy the Ling Factory, so that Kong would cooperate with him. Magpie told Bei Gon about Zhinuís willingness to endure all the suffering due to her great love for Niulang. Bei Gon was angry to hear about Zhinuís undying love. That night, his 'devil' appeared in front of Niulang in his study and told him that if he didnít love Zhinu anymore, heíd better divorce her and let her return to Heaven to be with Bei Gon, her supposed husband. Niulang was distressed by Bei Gonís threats and recalled all the good times they spent together. Somehow, he couldnít let Zhinu go. June, to comfort him, brought a cow looking like Gau Zai to him which cheered him slightly. When June twisted her foot, Niulang was very concerned and helped her home. Lady Ling was happy to see Niulang so caring towards June, and gave June the jade bangle which sheíd once given Zhinu but retrieved after the wicker-basket incident. It was plain that she wanted June to be Niulangís concubine. Zhinu was unhappy to see June carrying the bangle. June wanted to return her the bangle once she knew it was Zhinuís, but Zhinu told her to keep it since Lady Ling gave it to her. At that moment, Bei Gon appeared and possessed June. When Lady Ling and Niulang passed by, the fake June pretended that Zhinu was trying to grab her bangle and made it seem as if Zhinu pushed her to the ground. Angry, Niulang slapped Zhinu hard. She was stunned at the blow and sat down to cry...............
Episode 15
Discouraged and dispirited, Zhinu wandered aimlessly down the streets and saw a wine-stall. Much to her surprise, Bei Gon passed by and sat down to accompany her. Over the wine, Bei Gon repeatedly told her that Niulang was a heartless man and that she shouldnít have to endure such suffering. Finally,a slightly tipsy Zhinu told him to take her home. Once they returned, Niulang was furious to see Bei Gon with her and accused both of them of having an affair. Niulang also told everyone that Bei Gon was Zhinuís ex-lover. In tears, Zhinu begged Bei Gon to leave to avoid any more misunderstanding. However, things didnít improve even after Bei Gonís absence. At last in a fit of fury, Niulang wrote a letter of divorce and ordered his men to kick Zhinu off the household, much to Lady Lingís delight. In disbelief, Zhinu clutched at the letter and knelt in front of the house the whole night in the rain. Her heart was broken. Back at the Lings, Niulang couldnít seem to control his words of anger. When Old Man Ling or anyone at all tried to intervene, he yelled names at them without regard or respect. Everyone was immensely shocked at his temper. Shaking, he rushed to his room and saw the silk scarf that Zhinu gave him. Instant memories flooded his head, but unable to feel anything but hate, Niulang tried to tear it into pieces and rushed out of the house madly. There, he saw poor Zhinu. However as she fainted away from sorrow, Bei Gon appeared to catch her in his arms. Angered at the sight of both of them together, Niulang yelled for them to leave and never return. Bei Gon brought Zhinu back to his mansion. Of course he wanted to touch her, but Magpie returned anxiously at that moment with some medicine for Zhinu. Zhinu awoke and wanted to leave, but Bei Gon told her that she had nowhere else to go. Magpie also begged her to stay and try to think of a solution. Having no alternative, Zhinu agreed. Meanwhile, Niulang became furious at the slightest things and smashed the Fortune God statue that Lady Ling bought. June was worried about him and went to see him, hoping to cheer him up. Niulang railed at her in anger, causing her to ask him if he noticed he had changed a lot. Lady Ling came in at that moment to fix a wedding date for both of them. Astonished, Niulang told her she was mistaken and that he only treated June as a little sister. Although hurt and unhappy, June knew this for the truth and told Lady Ling that she was leaving for her relativesí house to avoid any more misunderstandings.......
Magpie had a date with Bei Gon and waited the entire day for him; but Bei Gon was too intent on spending time with Zhinu and forgot. Magpie rushed back to find Zhinu happily having a meal with Bei Gon and thought that they were being intimate. Bei Gon finally managed to comfort her and Magpie apologized to Zhinu for her harsh words. However, this incident made Bei Gon feel very frustrated with Magpie. His ëdevilí told him to hurry up and destroy the Ling factory so that the Lings would end up with nothing. Then Zhinu might leave them for Bei Gon. Bei Gon smiled at the very thought. Old Man Ling cast a bombshell when he announced his retirement and said that the Ling Factory would henceforth be in Niulangís hands. Lung protested and even Niulang said that Lung ought to share in the management, but Old Man Ling refused, saying that Lung was too impatient and impulsive. That evening, Lung poured out his frustrations to Bei Gon who suggested that he personally topple the Ling Factory. Shocked, Lung was reluctant as the factory was after all his fatherís lifeís work. In the end, Bei Gon managed to persuade him by saying that he could just seize the management power and not actually ëtoppleí it. The first step, according to Bei Gon, was to spread public distrust in the quality of the Ling Factoryís products. Meanwhile, Zhinu missed Niulang terribly but the Lingsí servants refused to allow her into the house. The Earth Deities cast a spell on her to make her invisible, so that she could at least see her beloved Niulang. She entered Niulangís study just in time to see Niulangís remaining 6 emotions scurrying around him as he stared dazedly into space. Zhinu was surprised and shocked to see this. The Earth Deities discovered that Niulang was indeed missing his Love emotion and therefore, his human soul was incomplete and he couldnít be himself. No wonder that he couldnít forgive Zhinu as he didnít know how. Zhinu resolved to find the missing part of Niulangís soul, but the Earth deities were unsure how to help her. Apparently, all soul fragments were guarded by Soul Officers in a place called ëMesmerizing Heavení which was not under any deityís jurisdiction. Only souls or Soul Officers could enter the place. Zhinu certainly couldnít enter as a mortal. Desperate, Zhinu asked Earth Grand Father to use magic to knock her soul out of her body. The Earth Deities warned her that she had only 2 hours at most to return to her physical form. Meanwhile, Lung managed to persuade his brother to use some lesser quality material for the Imperial Charter after destroying most of the original readied cloth. Bei Gon was pleased to hear this and told him to take some documents to Niulang to sign, saying that if Lung gave them to him at a certain hour, Niulang would think them ordinary papers and sign unsuspectingly. They were documents handing over all of the Lingsí property to Below Heaven Factory. Eager for the management of the Ling Factory, Lung happily agreed, unaware that Bei Gon had already had a prior agreement with Officer Kong......
Zhinu managed to enter Mesmerizing Heaven as the Officers thought she was another poor wandering soul. Much to her joy, she found Niulangís confused Love Fragment and discovered that this Niulang had no idea whatíd been going on. They embraced, but then the Officers pulled him roughly away. When Zhinu asked, they replied that all lost souls had a certain time limit to return to their physical forms, after which they would be thrown into the Heavenly fires and destroyed. Niulangís Love Fragment had only 2 hours left. The only way to call a soul-fragment back to its body was to use an object that the person loved the most and pray. Anxiously, Zhinu returned to her body and told her friends the whole story. Earth Grand Father said that Niulang would lose his sanity if his Love Fragment was destroyed. They decided to sneak into the Lingsí house and obtain Niulangís old clothes that Zhinu once mended so beautifully for him, as it was Niulangís favorite keepsake. Unfortunately, Bei Gon discovered everything and hastened to the Lings to throw some wrenches into their plan. He trapped Magpie in one of the rooms so that she couldnít search properly for the clothes. Meanwhile, Niulang was in a daze as he signed the papers Lung gave him without even reading them. The Earth Deities appeared and started searching his study, while Lady Ling rushed in and happily told him about the dates sheíd fixed for his taking a number of concubines. Niulang agreed to everything dazedly. Then he saw his old clothes that the Earth Deities had just managed to unearth, and ordered his men to burn it. At that time, Zhinu had rushed into the Lingsí house as she couldnít stand the wait and screamed when she saw the servants trying to burn the clothes. Although she tried to stop them, Bei Gon blew the clothes into the fire and caused the flames to blaze so that it was burnt to a crisp. In despair and with the 2 hours almost up, Zhinu decided to try one last method although she wasnít sure if it would work. She tried to whistle Niulangís favourite tune on a leaf in hopes that the Love Fragment would hear it and use the melody to guide its way to her. Meanwhile, Bei Gon cruelly dispersed Niulangís other 6 emotions to make things harder for Zhinu. In Mesmerizing Heaven, the Soul Officers pushed Niulangís Love into the Heavenly fires but at that moment, he heard the little tune Zhinu was so desperately playing and flew to her leaf. Also, the Earth Deities noticed the 6 emotions scattering and managed to rescue all of them. However, Niulangís body was now soulless and he would be wandering around aimlessly, so they had to find him before he endangered himself! They managed to find him at last and Zhinu called out his name. Unheeding, Niulang emotionlessly stepped off a cliff and Zhinu leapt off after him...........
Episode 16
The Earth Deities managed to save both Zhinu and Niulang by using some vines as rope. Although Niulang received all the lost fragments of his soul, he couldnít remember anything that had transpired after he lost his Love emotion. He was horrified to learn heíd divorced Zhinu. Niulang brought Zhinu back to the Lings and managed to explain matters so that Zhinu remained his wife. Lady Ling was very annoyed at this turn of events. At this time, Officer Kong suddenly appeared and told them that Niulang had signed away all their property to the owner of Below Heaven Factory. The Lings were shocked and thought that he must be mistaken. Zhinu explained to Niulang that he must have done so when he was in his dazed state. At this point, Lung casually sauntered in as one of the partners of Below Heaven Factory, giving his family a shock beyond proportions. They couldnít believe one of their own would betray them in such a manner. Without much ado, Officer Kong ordered his men to kick them out of the house. Fortunately, Wu Dak helped them and let them lodge at his house. Lady Ling couldnít stop wailing and weeping at her eldest sonís betrayal. She blamed Zhinu for everything, saying that she was a bad luck charm and still refused to accept her. Old Man Ling couldnít convince her otherwise. That night, Zhinu found Niulang puzzling over the matter of his escaped soul fragments. Zhinu told him that only somebody with great power could have done such a thing and wondered who it was who bore them such a deep hatred. Niulang suspected Bei Gon, much to Zhinuís surprise. Niulang explained that he dimly recalled Bei Gon appearing several times and saying incendiary words to deepen their misunderstanding. He suspected that Bei Gon lusted after Zhinu and therefore was trying to separate them. Zhinu remembered Magpie remarking once that Bei Gon wasnít the same since receiving his heart. She went to tell Magpie her suspicions. Magpie was surprised at her words but promised to investigate the matter to clear Bei Gonís name............
Lung was happily enjoying his luxurious meal with Rain, when Officer Kong arrived with Bei Gon and ordered them off the premises. Shocked, Lung asked Bei Gon what had happened. It turned out that Bei Gon had exercised the same trick heíd done to Niulang on the documents heíd given Lung. Hence, Lung had also signed away his rights to both the Ling and Below Heaven Factory. Contemptuously, Officer Kong and Bei Gon kicked both of them out. Unknown to them, a little Fortune bird observed everything from the ceiling rafters. When a drunk Bei Gon returned to his mansion, Magpie worriedly told him that wine could lessen his divinity but Bei Gon didnít care. When she demanded an answer for all her suspicions, Bei Gon used all sorts of excuses as usual which Magpie refuted. Angered that Magpie might actually go and check his Fortune duty-roster, Bei Gon tried to zap Magpie into pieces, but heíd used up all remnants of Fairy Essence and his heart was hurting him again. Worried, Magpie decided to solve the mystery once and for all, and rushed into Bei Gonís chest to examine the heart. Bei Gon tried to stop her. Magpie saw Bei Gonís imprisoned ëangelí in Bei Gonís heart chamber, a very much tinier ëangelí who begged her to think of a way to release him and save Bei Gon. Just then Bei Gonís ëdevilí appeared and mocked the ëangel.' Horrified, Magpie tried to intervene, but the ëdevilí blasted her away with immense power. Magpie fell back beside an unconscious Bei Gon. In tears, she realized that the Nine-Tailed Fox had tricked them and given Bei Gon another heart. Unable to control her feelings, she passed Bei Gon some of her own Essence yet again and he revived. Magpie wanted to dig Bei Gonís heart out but Bei Gon forbade her, saying sadly that he didnít want to forget his love for her. Actually Bei Gon himself wanted to dig his own heart out before, but the notion of losing all feelings for Magpie (and indeed forgetting her entirely) was what stopped him. Bei Gon explained that he tried to control his ëdevilí but lost the battle time and time again. Magpie sobbed at this and told him that if this continued, heíd enter demonhood. Bei Gon couldnít bear her tears and hugged her, but before he knew it, his ëdevilí took over again; his expression changed.........
Meanwhile Niulang went everywhere trying to secure a loan for Old Man Ling to rebuild the Ling Factory, but nobody was willing to help them due to Kongís influence. At last Niulang managed to get a job lifting rice-sacks. Lady Ling still despised Zhinu, but Zhinu remained hopeful that sheíd come to accept her. That night, Lady Ling had a strange dream where she saw Rain leaving Lung in the streets and it ended with Zhinu murdering her. The next morning, Lady Ling bumped into the scene of Rain scolding Lung off and leaving him. On seeing his mother, Lung was ashamed and ran away. This accuracy of events in her dream caused Lady Ling to look upon Zhinu in fear, thinking that Zhinuíd really kill her. Actually, it was Bei Gon whoíd been going into her dreams via the Dream Scrolls and manipulating her into hating Zhinu. Magpie followed him one day and became aware of his plan. She tried to stop Bei Gon. However, pretending that his heart was hurting him again, Bei Gon sucked out almost all of Magpieís Fairy Essence and greatly weakened her. When Niulang and Zhinu discussed Lady Lingís dreams with the Earth deities, they suspected that Bei Gon was the culprit. The couple decided to enter Lady Lingís dreams themselves, and expose Bei Gon by using the Truth Mirror which the deities lent them. With it, they could obtain proof that Bei Gon was abusing his power and complain to Heavenly Queen Mother. First, they had the Earth deities disguise themselves as Old Man and Lady Ling in front of Bei Gon, and pretend to be on excellent terms with each other. Bei Gon, on thinking his plan earlier hadnít worked with Lady Ling, decided to enter the Scroll Chamber yet again. This was exactly what Niulang and Zhinu wanted. Meanwhile, Magpie recovered and rushed to find Bei Gon. Earth Granny kept watch outside the Dream Scroll chamber. However, before Niulang and Zhinu could do anything in Lady Ling's dream, they were reawakened by the Earth deities. Zhinu asked them what'd happened; Earth Grand Father said that Magpie had come to him lying that Earth Granny was in danger; hence he'd left his post and rushed to her aid. Zhinu was very sad that Magpie had been the one disrupting her plans, and rushed to find her for an explanation. Magpie didnít deny that sheíd spoiled Zhinuís plans; she didnít want Bei Gon captured and punished by Heavenly Queen Mother. After all, her love for Bei Gon was equal to Zhinuís love for Niulang; why shouldnít she help the person she loved? Zhinu protested that she was aiding Bei Gon to enter demonhood, but all Magpie knew was that she loved him and would do anything to protect him, even if it meant betraying her best friend. Zhinu was dismayed and alarmedÖÖ..
Episode 17
Magpie was alarmed when she found Bei Gon lying in his chair looking ill. However, in his weak condition, Bei Gon mistook her for Zhinu, told her that everything he did was for her, and that Niulang wasnít suitable for her. When Magpie sadly mentioned her own name, Bei Gon replied that he didnít love Magpie even though she sacrificed so much for him. At his words, Magpie heartbrokenly ran from the room. But when she remembered all the sweet times she spent with Bei Gon, she decided not to give up on him and instead help him to redeem himself. After passing some of her Essence to Bei Gon to revive him, Magpie matter-of-factly told Bei Gon that she was going to look for the Nine-Tailed Fox to retrieve his real heart. Bei Gon saw that despite his many honeyed words to dissuade her, she remained unmoved. Afraid that sheíd actually find the Fox, Bei Gon agreed. Meanwhile, the Lings were very worried about Lady Lingís condition. Sheíd not awoken since Niulang and Zhinu ventured into her dreams. When Zhinu asked the Earth deities about it, they replied that Lady Ling believed herself murdered by Zhinu in her dreams and therefore, her physical form took on the appearance of that belief. The deities could do nothing. Earth Granny warned Zhinu and Niulang that if Lady Ling wasnít revived on the seventh night of her coma, sheíd perish for real. Hoping to restrain Bei Gonís actions, Zhinu decided to write a letter of complaint to Heavenly Queen Mother about Bei Gon and told Earth Grand Father to take it up to Heaven. At the same time, she hoped Heavenly Queen Mother would help Lady Ling recover. However, the Fortune Bird had been spying on them and heard everything. Determined not to allow Bei Gon be captured by Heavenly Queen Mother, Magpie disguised herself as a Heavenly Guard and managed to trick Earth Grand Father into giving up the letter to her. She wanted to buy time to find the Nine-Tailed Fox and hopefully save Bei Gon. Meanwhile Lung was wandering the streets as a beggar and had scarcely a bite to eat. As he passed the former house of the Lings, he saw the old sign of the Ling Factory being taken by the workers to be burnt. Knowing that the sign was his fatherís pride and joy, Lung desperately tried to rescue it from the workers. At this, Officer Kong appeared and ordered his men to beat him severely until he released the sign. Finally, Lung managed to obtain the sign, but Wu Dak had seen the whole matter. Lung placed the sign at the entrance of Wu Dakís house and kowtowed to show his respects to his father although he didnít dare to enter. Zhinu and Niulang saw him and wanted to persuade him to return to his family. However, Lung was too ashamed to face his father and it was only when he heard his mother was ill that he finally agreed to enter Dakís house. When Old Man Ling saw him, he threw a fit and chased his eldest son away. Nobody could persuade him to forgive Lung, even when he saw the Ling Factory sign which, according to Dak, had been saved by Lung. At last, Niulang and Zhinu brought him to the temple where, for 2 days and 2 nights, Lung had been kowtowing endlessly to the deities in a bid to pray for his motherís recovery. Seeing this, Old Man Lingís heart was moved. He forgave Lung and even allowed him to remain in Dakís houseÖÖÖÖ
Magpie and Bei Gon went searching for the Fox. Bei Gon reluctantly disguised himself to lure her out, but didnít do a thing to capture her when she really appeared. Exasperated, Magpie finally managed to capture her using her Heavenly Ropes and demanded the Fox to hand over Bei Gonís real heart. Laughing, the Fox asked if the wolfís heart sheíd given Bei Gon wasnít good enough. At this, Bei Gon attempted to kill her but was blocked by Magpie. In the struggle, the Fox escaped. Although Bei Gon denied it, Magpie wondered if Bei Gon really wanted his real heart back or was just pretending so that he could kill the Fox cold-bloodedly. In Heaven one day, Bei Gon overheard the other deities talking about the Golden Disciple of Buddha whoíd be ascending to bodhisatvatism. His physical form apparently possessed the Buddha Stone which could impart great Heavenly powers to its owner after the Discipleís ascension. The deities were worried that all the demons and devils would be fighting to obtain the Stone and cause havoc on earth. Bei Gon went to tell Magpie that the Buddha Stone could help him purify his bad heart so that sheíd help him obtain it. In fact, he wanted the Stone to increase his powers so that heíd not be dependent anymore on absorbing Magpieís Essence. They followed the route of the Golden Disciple and heard sounds of fighting. When they rushed to the scene, the Nine-Tailed Fox was fighting a monk in grey and she disappeared after being injured. Bei Gon savagely grabbed the monk whoíd also been severely hurt in the fight, but it turned out that he was merely one of the disciples of the Golden Disciple. Rudely, Bei Gon tossed him into Magpieís arms and hurried off to intercept the Disciple. Magpie immediately asked the monk about the properties of the Buddha Stone and was very upset when she learnt about Bei Gonís true motives. At the same time, Zhinu and Niulang also heard about the Stone from the Earth deities and decided to obtain the Golden Discipleís help to treat Lady Ling. On their way to find the Disciple, they bumped into a little monk in yellow robes. Concerned for the boyís safety, Zhinu wanted to bring him along, but Earth Granny was worried they wouldnít be able to catch up with the Disciple. At this point, the Earth deities had to fight several demons (who had suddenly appeared) off. Meanwhile, Magpie tried to trick Bei Gon into going the wrong direction and follow the injured demons; unfortunately, Bei Gon saw the trail of blood which meant that the demons were rushing away from, and not towards, the Disciple. He shouted at Magpie angrily and hurried offÖ.......
When Zhinu noticed the increased number of demons which appeared when the little monk joined their group, she intelligently guessed that the boy was the real Golden Disciple. Because heíd become Buddhaís disciple at an early age, heíd kept his youthful appearance. However, the Disciple regretfully said that heíd no time to treat Lady Ling as he was hurrying to the Sacred Pool, into where he planned to put the Buddha Stone before his ascension. At this time, Bei Gon appeared and demanded that they handed over the Disciple. The Earth deities told the others theyíd fight him while the rest escape towards the Sacred Pool with the Disciple. However, Bei Gon was after all one of the high-ranking gods and easily defeated the Earth deities. Meanwhile, the Disciple said that it was time for him to report to Buddha and he could no longer guard the Buddha Stone. He begged Niulang and Zhinu to place it into the Sacred Pool on his behalf. Then he disappeared in a flash of golden light. Bei Gon appeared at this moment and attempted to grab the Stone. In the struggle, Magpie flew past and managed to snatch away the Stone before anyone realized it. Instantly, Zhinu begged her not to give the Stone to Bei Gon while Bei Gon tried to persuade her otherwise with sweet words. Finally, he lost patience and tried to grab the Stone from her. In the furore, the Stone flew into Niulangís mouth and he accidentally swallowed it! Furious, Bei Gon attacked Niulang, but Niulang possessed unearthly power and severely injured Bei Gon. Frustrated, Bei Gon escaped and a crying Magpie followed him despite Zhinuís entreaties. Hoping to harness the Stoneís power, Niulang and Zhinu as well as Earth Granny re-entered Lady Lingís dreams in an effort to save her. Zhinu and Niulang found Lady Ling lying as if dead under a tree and tried to extract the jade dart in her chest. However, the jade dart wouldnít budge, forcing Niulang to use his new powers to pull it out. Once the dart was gone, Lady Ling revived and was overjoyed to see Niulang. As they hurried off, they bumped into another Zhinu who tried to jab her with the dart. It was actually Earth Granny in disguise, and she enacted the scene to prove to Lady Ling that there were two Zhinus, and that the false one had tried to kill her. Lady Ling realized that sheíd wrongfully accused Zhinu. At this moment, all of them awoke from their dreams. Lady Ling was sorry for the ill treatment sheíd given Zhinu and was particularly happy to see Lung. Zhinu felt a pain in her stomach, alarming Niulang. They immediately summoned a physician, who announced that Zhinu was pregnant (for real this time). A worried Lady Ling tentatively asked if the physician had examined Zhinu accurately, but he assured her that the pregnancy is genuine. Niulang was overjoyed at this piece of good news and hugged Zhinu...................
Episode 18
Zhinu missed Magpie very much and was worried for her safety. Niulang noticed her unhappiness and said that since Magpie didnít give Bei Gon the Buddha Stone, it was obvious that she wasnít aiding him, but was trying to redeem him. It was unfortunate that Magpie loved a god she shouldnít have loved. He suggested that they look for Magpie together and Zhinu gratefully agreed. Meanwhile, Bei Gon was trying to heal himself, but his heart hurt him and he couldnít continue. Magpie appeared and was very worried to see him in such agony. Bei Gon painfully accused her of betraying him, saying that she was the one who spoilt all his plans. In tears, Magpie asked him why he was still lying to her even after everything thatíd happened. She went into Bei Gonís chest again, determined to save Bei Gonís ëangelí and destroy the wolf heart once and for all. However, the wolf had hidden Bei Gonís ëangelí and was immensely powerful. Also, Magpie faltered when the wolf said that once she destroyed him, all memories of her would vanish along with Bei Gonís heart. As soon as she hesitated, the wolf blasted her from the heart chamber. However, though she failed to destroy the bad heart, she made a decision not to channel any more Essence into Bei Gon to stop him from doing bad things until the Nine-Tailed Fox was found. Enraged, Bei Gon kicked her and was going to tear her to pieces when Zhinu and Niulang rushed to the scene in the nick of time. Fearful of Niulangís power, Bei Gon instantly disappeared, leaving Magpie bleeding on the ground. Zhinu was furious at Bei Gon for actually hurting and wanting to kill Magpie. Her friend tearfully begged them to forgive him because this wasnít his true nature. Niulang wondered why their complaint letter hadnít moved the Heavenly Host to action yet, and Magpie confessed that sheíd intercepted the letter. Zhinu was really frustrated with her. Magpie asked them to let Bei Gon go and give her more time to find the Fox. Zhinu didnít know what to say. Bei Gon had returned to his mansion in a very bad mood and was displeased when Officer Kong barged into his home demanding a reason for his continuous absence from work. Bei Gon rudely interrupted him and told him that Kong wasnít Bei Gonís boss and that he could destroy Kong as easily as he made him wealthy. To him, Kong was merely a pawn against the Lings. Taken aback by Bei Gonís fury, Kong blustered that he was the master of both factories but Bei Gon was unmoved and ordered him to get out. Kong left at last, but was deeply humiliated by Bei Gonís harsh wordsÖÖ.
Zhinu was surprised to see Niulang still awake so late into the night, but Niulang was up to protect his pregnant wife from the demons whoíd come to try snatch the Buddha Stone. Zhinu reassured him, saying that they had placed numerous Earth Deity shrines and wind-chimes around the house to warn about demons. At that moment, they heard the wind-chimes tinkle but to their delight, it was merely Wong and Angela come to visit them. Angela was particularly upset to discover that her father held some responsibility for demolishing the Ling factory and ordering all suppliers not to give the Lings any flax to spin into cloth. Niulang and Zhinu comforted Angela, saying that they were in fact happier in their state of poverty than they were in luxury. Officer Kongís 60th birthday was approaching, but he wasnít thrilled at the prospect because he was going to spend it without any family by his side. His men came in to inform him that his daughter was at the door to see him, but the stubborn Kong refused to grant her entry. In tears, Angela knelt at the door with Wong in hopes to win her fatherís forgiveness. At last, when theyíd knelt the entire day and well into the night, Kong went to see them and asked them what they wanted. Angela begged him to forgive her and accept Wong; she also explained that her flee from her home had nothing to do with the Lings and therefore, Kong had no reason for his prejudice towards them. Also, she dearly missed Kong and would like them to live as a family. Annoyed, Kong shut the door on them although he was actually moved by her entreaties. Angela thought that her words had no effect; but as it turned out, Kong rescinded his orders on the suppliersí ban on the Lings, so that once more they could spin flax and rebuild the Ling Factory. On hearing this news, Bei Gon visited Kong on his birthday in a towering rage and demanded an explanation. Kong decided heíd enough of Bei Gon's threats and ordered Bei Gon away. Angered, Bei Gon tried to zap him but his powers were insufficient. With nothing working, he leapt at the terrified Kong and beat him up, wounding him severely. Angela and Wong were just on their way to see Kong and were horrified to learn that heíd been injured by Bei Gonís beating. Wong made some medicine for him without much hope heíd accept it. To their delight, the whole incident made Kong realize the importance of family and he was finally able to accept Wong as his son-in-law. Niulang and Zhinu were incensed to hear about Bei Gonís latest cruelty and decided to think of a way to capture him. However, Bei Gon had gone into hiding and would never appear as long as Niulang was still alive with the Stone. So they decided to fake Niulangís death and pulled Wong into the entire matter to help them out. Wong was shocked to hear everything but agreed to help. The next morning, Niulang told the entire family (except himself and Wong) to go pray at a distant temple for the babyís safety and maybe for the Heavens to grant the Lings a male child. Zhinu was dismayed to know that she also had to go with the rest so that suspicion wouldnít be aroused. She was reluctant to leave Niulang in such danger. After their departure, the Earth deities set the scene of mourning. Midway through her journey, Zhinu made an excuse to her companions and turned back, worried for Niulang.
Meanwhile, Bei Gon learnt that there was a mourning at the Lings and was surprised to know that Niulang was dead. He thought that perhaps Niulang had perished due to the uncontrollable power of the Buddha Stone in his stomach. Bei Gon went to the Lingsí dwelling to investigate. He saw the Earth deities and Wong railing Niulangís death at the entrance. Magpie awoke to find herself on her bed with the Kitchen God watching over her. Suspicious, she asked about the Earth deitiesí whereabouts, and the Kitchen God inadvertently blurted out the secret that Niulang and Zhinu planned to capture Bei Gon and report him to Heavenly Queen Mother. Alarmed at this, Magpie instantly rushed off to save Bei Gon. At that moment, Bei Gon appeared in front of Niulangís coffin and swept the lid off, preparing to grab the Stone. Niulang leapt out and battled with Bei Gon. Niulang used the Stoneís power to try and capture Bei Gon, but to his astonishment, his golden zap passed through Bei Gon harmlessly. Although the Earth deities joined in the foray, they were unable to grab Bei Gon who seemed to be in all places at once. Zhinu, who had just returned and saw this, knew immediately that the Bei Gon whom Niulang was fighting was just the projection of an illusion. Knowing that the true form must be very near, she found Bei Gon in the backyard and immediately called everyone else there. Bei Gon was hurt and desperate when Magpie suddenly appeared, blocking his attackers. Zhinu couldnít believe she was still protecting Bei Gon, but Magpie replied defiantly that they ought to know Bei Gon wasnít himself and therefore they should give him a chance to retrieve his real heart. Before they could exchange any more words, Bei Gon grabbed Magpie by the throat and used her as a hostage to escape. Exasperated, the Earth deities scolded the Kitchen God for not keeping their plan a secret from Magpie. Bei Gon and Magpie ended up in a deserted temple. Bei Gon was very weak by then. Desperate to stop him from descending deeper into the demonic abyss, Magpie re-entered his chest to try and destroy the wolf. However, she found a very weak wolf clutching at Bei Gonís Life-Pulse. He told her that the only one keeping Bei Gon alive was himself, and if Magpie destroyed him, Bei Gon would die. At first Magpie was skeptical and tried to pull him from the Life-Pulse, but then she felt Bei Gonís body rolling around in agony and couldnít bear to kill him. She finally left the heart in frustration. Bei Gon begged her to give him some Essence, but Magpie determinedly told him to be patient and wait for her to capture the Fox and retrieve his real heartÖ............
Meanwhile, Niulang was suffering the aftereffects of using the Stoneís power. Most of his hair had turned white, his bones were aching, and he was tremendously fatigued. Zhinu and Wong were very worried about him. It was obvious that the Stone couldnít remain long in Niulangís system or its power would be too much for him. However, nobody had any idea how to extract the Stone from Niulangís body. The Lings were overjoyed that Officer Kong finally returned them the Ling Factory and all their property. His enmity had disappeared entirely, and he was even delighted to have a family tie with the Lings since Wong was Niulangís sworn brother. Niulang and Zhinu were very happy that everyone was reconciled and reunited. Unknown to them, the Nine-Tailed Fox was hiding in the backyard of their house, waiting for an opportunity to strike. At first she attempted to possess Zhinu, but because Zhinu was once a Heavenly Fairy, the Fox was unsuccessful. Instead she stirred some wind-chimes and caused Zhinu to suspect demonic entry. After this, she tried to possess Angela who was carrying some medicine and this time, she was successful. ëAngelaí carried the medicine to Niulang, who was puzzled to see her behaving so seductively and unlike herself. As he turned to drink the medicine, ëAngelaí displayed huge sharp red talons and attacked Niulang from behindÖÖÖÖ..Ö
Episode 19
Before ëAngelaí could sink her talons into Niulangís back, Zhinu entered Niulangís room anxiously, causing the Fox to quickly shy away. Due to the wind-chime warning earlier, Zhinu was worried for Niulangís safety. Zhinu gave some yellow charms, which the Earth deities had given her, to Niulang, saying that theyíd protect Niulang so that no demon could approach him. On seeing the charms, ëAngelaí felt very ill and quickly made some excuse to leave the room. Zhinuís suspicions were aroused on seeing ëAngelaís peculiar manner. Zhinu and Niulang told Wong to stay away from ëAngelaí, telling him that there was fox-odor and that they suspected the Nine-Tailed Fox had possessed his wife. Wong refused to believe them until ëAngelaí clutched at his throat and threatened to kill him. At that moment, the Earth deities appeared and managed to beat off ëAngelaí. In a desperate bid to escape, the Fox left Angelaís body, leaving her pale and unconscious on the ground. Somebody followed Lung while he was in town getting a new supply of cloth. Lung turned quickly round to find that it was actually Rain! Shocked to see his wife, Lung asked her what she wanted. Rain shamefacedly explained that since she left him, sheíd been missing him day and night, and now realized that her rightful place was beside her husband in every situation. Lung refused to forgive her and told her to scram. Undaunted, Rain kept dogging his footsteps, pleading for forgiveness until all the Lings came out to see what was going on. As Rain wept and made promises to improve her behaviour in the future if theyíd accept her again, at least four people eyed her with suspicion. Niulang and Zhinu was afraid that the Fox might have possessed Rain, since she was behaving so unlike her usual self. Wong, in fear, painted Rainís face with black dogís blood. This irritated Rain, who shouted that since she was already on her knees begging them, they shouldnít humiliate her in such a manner. Cowering away, Niulang, Zhinu, Wong, and Angela thought the Foxíd possessed her and yelled for her to depart. Unhappily, Rain rushed off. It was only then that they realized theyíd made a mistake. Niulang apologized to Lung for chasing off his wife. He asked Lung if he wouldnít forgive Rain. Lung replied that if Rainíd been sincere, she wouldnít have rushed off just because somebody painted her face with blood. Lung couldnít forget how Rain deserted him in a time when he needed her most. Lung was in town when he saw Rain buying some charms at a nearby stall. In fact, Rain was getting the charms to protect the Lings as sheíd realized they were afraid of some evil demonic force which was why they treated her in such a manner earlier. Lung was actually a little touched at her gesture. Rain noticed him hiding and chased after him to ask for forgiveness. Lung told her that if sheíd stand on the city barracks and yell out all her wrongdoings in public, he might consider forgiving her. Much to his surprise, she really did it! The people, on hearing her confessions, told Lung not to accept back such a wife. Lung, confused, hurried away trying not to listen to Rainís shoutsÖ.....Ö.
The earth deities were keeping watch for the Fox at night. Suddenly, they smelt her odor and the Fox really appeared! They chased after her and fought her, but too late, they realized that it wasnít the Fox after all; it was merely a projected illusion to lure them from their posts. Meanwhile, Niulang and Zhinu bumped into Old Man Ling while out in the yard. Niulangís father wanted to talk to Niulang privately. Zhinu grew suspicious when she saw Old Man Ling behaving in a very strange manner, especially when she detected fox-odor. In the brief struggle, Niulang used his powers to knock the Fox from Old Man Lingís body. The Fox quickly used the diversion to escape. Old Man Ling saw the Earth deities and screamed in terror about demons. Knowing there was no alternative, the deities told Niulang to gather everyone in the living-room and explain the situation. The Lings were shocked to know the true identities of Zhinu, the Earth deities and the Kitchen God. Since the Fox could mask her smell with magic, they decided to expose her using black dogís blood. Everyone dipped their fingers into a bowl of the special blood to show that they werenít possessed. However, when it came to Angelaís turn, she pleaded with them not to force her dip her finger as she felt squeamish. Wong was unexpectedly aggressive and accused her of being the Fox. In the brief squirmish that followed, the blood splashed onto Angela and she was fine. Hence it was Wong whoíd been possessed! The Fox threatened to kill Wongís body unless Niulang committed suicide and release the Buddha Stone. Niulang quickly exercised his power to force the Fox from Wong, but she still managed to escape though severely wounded. A drained Niulang fell from great exhaustion and teetered on the brink of death. In desperation, Earth Grand Father and Zhinu decided to carry him to the Forbidden Forest and beg the demoness to save him. While they were gone, Earth Granny and the Kitchen God set up a barrier around the Ling household to protect the Lings from any further attacks from demons. However, no human must cross the threshold of the house, or the Heavenly barrier would be broken and theyíd be vulnerable. Meanwhile, Magpie discovered the severely wounded Fox and instantly captured her, demanding the return of Bei Gonís heart. The Fox weakly told her that it was in her home. Magpie carried a very ill Bei Gon into the Foxís den. The Fox tricked her into opening some boxes. Magpie was poisoned by the Foxís deadly Seven-Coloured Poison and in anger, weakly tried to kill the Fox. Just as the Fox prepared to finish Magpie off, Bei Gon attacked her in a surprising show of strength. Desperate for energy, Bei Gon started to absorb the Foxís Demonic Essence. In horror, Magpie tried to stop him; calling out that he could absorb her Fairy Essence. If he sucked in Demonic Essence, heíd enter the demonic abyss and would be a Heavenly God no more. Unheeding, Bei Gon drained the Fox of her Essence and killed her, causing his appearance to alter and his hair to turn red; then carried Magpie tenderly to the bed and sucked out as much of her Fairy Essence as he could too! A tear slowly rolled down Magpieís cheek as Bei Gon stood up from his cruel deed. The demonically powerful Bei Gon was now determined to obtain the Buddha Stone so that he could gain ultimate power.
In the Forbidden Forest, the demoness explained that no amount of magic could force the Stone from Niulangís system. There was only one method, but it was extremely dangerous. The Stone would only be released if Niulang died; hence, all the demoness could do was reverse Niulangís blood circulation and cause him to die. In the half-hour that ensued, his soul would hurry to report to the King of Hell. In that time, Niulang must depend on his own willpower to return to his body so that he could live. Once he reported to the King of Hell, there would be no hope left. Although Zhinu was worried about it, Niulang agreed to the plan. The demoness blasted him with her power and he instantly passed away. However, minutes passed and there was no returning warmth in Niulangís body. Zhinu cried out in despair. Earth Grand Father guessed that Niulangís body was too weak and therefore, his soul was confused and was even then hurrying to Hell. The demoness immediately told Zhinu to call out to Niulang as loud as she could, with all her willpower behind her words to stop his soul from entering Hell. Meanwhile, at the Lingsí house, Rain suddenly appeared at the gate and called out to Lung to see her. Lung was exasperated at her timing, as the barrier was already set and he couldnít allow Rain to pass the threshold and put everyone at risk. However, Rain refused to leave and Lung was forced to meet her. Lung tried to get her to leave but she refused, crying for forgiveness. At that moment, Bei Gon suddenly appeared behind Rain, preparing to strike! An anxious Lung forgot everything and quickly pulled Rain to safety. The barrier was broken! Bei Gon smilingly entered and demanded to know Niulangís whereabouts. He easily defeated Earth Granny and the Kitchen God, and captured everyone. Zhinu desperately projected herself into Hell and managed to recall Niulangís soul with her calls of love. However, the effort had drained her and she fainted just as Niulang awoke. At that point, they sensed something horrible happening to the Lings. Earth Grand Father discovered that Bei Gon was the culprit. Frantic, Niulang asked the demoness to take care of Zhinu in her cave while they rushed back to save the Lings as well as Earth Granny and the Kitchen God. Niulang and Earth Grand Father bumped into Bei Gon at the outskirts of the Forest. Bei Gon demanded that Niulang kill himself so that he could grab the Stone; but Niulang laughed and said that the Stone was already extracted and was safely in the Forbidden Forest (a sacred spot which the demonic Bei Gon couldnít enter). Furious, Bei Gon was angry that not only Niulang had stolen Zhinu, but also his Buddha Stone! Niulang replied mockingly that Bei Gon was the great Fortune God, and yet demeaned himself to rival with a mortal when in actual fact, nobody was competing with him. Incensed at his words, Bei Gon changed Niulang into a cow. Mockingly, Bei Gon told Niulang that he would now be headed for the slaughterhouse and would be separated from Zhinu forever! Laughing in glee, Bei Gon leftÖÖÖ..
Meanwhile, Zhinu awoke and was alarmed when she heard that her husband had left to deal with Bei Gon. At that point, Zhinu saw Magpie lying weakly on the floor of the demonessí cave, poisoned and bleeding. In tears, Zhinu rushed to her. Magpie was glad to see her and told her to hurry and save Niulang whoíd been turned into a cow, although she didnít know where. Finally Magpie pleaded with Zhinu to do her a favor. She wanted Zhinu to pass Bei Gon her own heart, as that was the only way to replace his bad one. Zhinu was stunned that she was still so concerned about Bei Gon when heíd treated her in such a manner. Magpie wept heartrendingly until Zhinu finally agreed to her request. Zhinu went to look for Niulangís cow-form at a local auction, calling out his name in hopes of a response. She saw many many cows, but not one responded. The auction master told her that one had just been bought. Guessing that it was Niulang, Zhinu finally located him, only to see the animal throwing a fit with his owners. Zhinu was in tears on seeing Niulang in such a state. She retrieved the cow and promised him that sheíd find a way to change him back somehow. However her friend, the demoness, was entirely drained of energy and couldnít restore Niulang back to his true form. Zhinu resolved to find Bei Gon and persuade him somehow to free everyone. The demoness told Zhinu that she was no match for Bei Gon, especially in her pregnant state. Zhinu was very well aware of this; she decided to swallow the Buddha Stone to gain a measure of power against Bei Gon, even though the demoness warned her about the aftereffects. After absorbing the Stone, Zhinu turned around, powerfully rechargedÖÖÖÖ
Episode 20 - Grand Finale
Zhinu went to find Bei Gon at the Lingsí house. Bei Gon smirked on seeing her, saying that heíd wondered why she was late. Zhinu told him defiantly that sheíd swallowed the Buddha Stone and that she was there to make a deal. She knew that Bei Gon desired her as well as the Stone. If Bei Gon would release all his prisoners and also restore Niulang back to human form, Zhinu would willingly follow him so that he had both her and the Stone. Although Bei Gonís wolf whispered for him to kill Zhinu and just take the Stone, Bei Gon violently refused, saying that heíd done too many things just to possess the woman. He released everyone except the Earth Deities, saying that he wasnít stupid enough to let them go just so they could fight alongside Zhinu. He also ensorcelled Niulang with a crippling migraine to prevent any retaliation against him. However, the Earth deities managed to escape when the Heavenly Host suddenly appeared, headed by Yee Long Sun; in the confusion that followed, Bei Gon grabbed Zhinu and escaped back to the Foxís den. Heaven had apparently learnt about Bei Gonís demonic actions; hence, the appearance of Yee Long Sun with the Heavenly Soldiers to capture him. Niulang was frantic at the loss of Zhinu and all of them gave chase. In the den, Zhinu told Bei Gon that though he might obtain her person, heíd never gain her heart. At this, Bei Gonís wolf again urged him to kill Zhinu but Bei Gon opposed this angrily, yelling that heíd sacrificed too much for Zhinu to let her die and slip through his hands. At that moment, he noticed the Heavenly Hostís approach via a magically-conjured window. Quickly he created a greenish dimension circle that made Zhinu shout in surprise. It was the door to the Demonic Plane! Zhinu was horrified that Bei Gon meant to carry her into it but before she could protest, Bei Gon had grabbed her and leapt into the swirling circle. The Kitchen God tried to rescue them, but the effects of the disappearing demonic door scorched his face. Too late, the Host arrived with Niulang and everyone else to stop Bei Gon. Niulang desperately pleaded with everyone to help him save Zhinu, but none of the deities could enter the Demonic Plane. Only demons or those with a demonic nature could enter or exit at will. It seemed as if all hope was lost as Niulang sobbed in despair, but then the demoness from the Forbidden Forest appeared! Niulang was shocked to see that sheíd broken the sacred rule of never leaving the prison into which Heavenly Queen Mother had consigned her, but the demoness said that for the two lovers, she wasnít afraid of Heavenly Queen Motherís wrath. The clever demoness told them that there was a way Niulang could gain entry as long as he had everyoneís assistance. Nobody there hesitated to offer help.
The demoness explained that there was a chance Niulang could enter, as he was a mortal, and all mortals have some measure of demonic nature. If she merged this part of his soul with that of other mortals, the demonic part of Niulang would become large enough to permit him to enter the Plane. The demoness along with the other deities would channel their power into the Lings. Lung would serve as the direct ëantennaí as he had blood-ties with Niulang; his soul combined with soul-parts of the other Lingsí would merge with Niulangís. Therefore, whatever Niulangís actions were in the Plane, Lung would mirror his gestures, as both were essentially one. The demoness warned that the Plane held many tricks to lure unsuspecting people from their goals, so Niulang had to be extra-vigilant and not lose track of what he was supposed to be doing. After all was said and done, the dimension circle opened, and Niulang successfully gained entry. In the Plane, Niulang suddenly found himself at the scene of his wedding. Zhinu, beautifully garbed in her red wedding-gown, smiled at him as Lady Ling bequeathed them angpows. The atmosphere was very lively and happy. A seeping sense of contentment crept up on Niulang and he happily bowed to Heaven and Earth with Zhinu. Everyone observed Lungís strange antics, and the demoness shouted that Niulang was beginning to lose track of himself. All of them had to concentrate harder to will Niulang out of his predicament. In the plane, Niulang suddenly found himself in a place where many hands clutched at him with haunting voices. He shook himself off and rushed to find Zhinu. Meanwhile, Zhinu attempted to trick Bei Gon by pretending to be very sweet towards him and trying to find an opportunity to subdue him. However Bei Gon discovered her intentions and flung her from him roughly. He planned to stay in the Plane as long as the Heavenly Host waited for him outside. Just then, Niulang rushed in and started to battle with him. Bei Gon was shocked to see him there! Zhinu hurried to join in the fight alongside her husband. There ensued a long and bitter battle, and Bei Gon gradually gained the upper hand. Outside, everyone increased their concentration and channeled everything theyíd got to assist Niulang. With their loving help, Niulangís inner power increased and he managed to grab hold of Bei Gon. He refused to release him even though Bei Gon rained hard blows upon his back. In Zhinuís stomach, the Buddha Stone rocked a little, and her unborn baby suddenly spoke in defence of its parents. The child seemed to lend his mother some hidden strength; Zhinu sneaked an attack upon Bei Gon and managed to slam Magpieís heart into his back! At once, both Niulang and Zhinu were flung away as all the monstrosities of Bei Gonís wolf heart started to leave him...........
Gradually Bei Gonís appearance was restored into normal form. As he stared blankly into space, flashes of his times with Magpie passed before his eyes. He dropped to his knees. The Plane seemed to recede and all of them were left at the Lingsí living-room. Niulang was severely wounded and Zhinu hovered over him anxiously. Yee Long Sun and his Heavenly Host immediately captured the dazed Bei Gon who was still on his knees. It was only when the demoness passed him that Bei Gon spoke. He asked about Magpieís whereabouts. The demoness contemptuously asked if his heart ever had her. Bei Gon repeated his question and begged the demoness to let him see her for one last time. Bei Gon wanted to look upon the person who had sacrificed so much for him but whom he never appreciated. On seeing his fervent pleadings and sincere tears, the demoness relented and told Yee Long Sun to give Bei Gon a little more time since he was severely injured anyway. In the Forbidden Forest, Bei Gon saw Magpie playing with stones as if nothingíd ever happened. When he called her name, she didnít seem to recognize him. Heartbroken, Bei Gon asked her what was wrong. The demoness replied his question, saying that Magpie had donated her heart to him and had therefore lost all memories she ever had of him. In tears, Bei Gon pulled out the 5-star precious stone sheíd once given him as a gift. Puzzled, Magpie looked at it and returned it to Bei Gon with an uncomprehending smile. Thunderstruck, Bei Gon held her hands, crying that he was sorry to have caused her so much suffering. Magpie was sorry to see him so upset. In Heaven, the Heavenly Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor denounced Bei Gon for his misdeeds; but because heíd served Heaven faithfully for thousands of years without error and did all he did under the harmful influence of the bad heart that was not in his true nature, the Queen Mother lightened his sentence. He was to be stripped of his rank and divinity and cast down to Earth as a mortal. There, heíd be given a chance to redeem himself by doing millions of good deeds so that once he reached a certain amount, the Queen Mother would consider restoring his divinity and rank again. Bei Gon accepted the verdict, but asked for one last request. He wanted the Queen Mother to recognize Magpieís many sacrifices for him and give her back a heart to replace the one she lost. The Queen Mother replied that even if heíd not asked, sheíd reward Magpie. Then the Heavenly Guards pulled him away. The Jade Emperor then asked his mother if she wouldnít help Zhinu in her distress but she was angered by this, saying that she couldnít be botheredÖ.Ö...
At the Gate, Bei Gon heard someone lovingly call his name and was surprised to see Magpie there, smiling at him. In wonder, Bei Gon asked if she recognized him. Magpie affirmed this, saying happily that the Queen Mother had bequeathed her a heart and she could remember everything again. Furthermore, her sacrifices for Bei Gon were counted as the highest number of good deeds, so she was officially a Heavenly Fairy now. Bei Gon was very happy for her, but was too ashamed to touch her. Magpie tenderly held his hands and said that sheíd wait for him to collect enough good deeds so that they could meet in Heaven again. Touched, Bei Gon said that heíd strive harder so that they could meet as soon as possible. With the hope in his heart, Bei Gon descended to earth with a smile. Meanwhile, Niulang was dying from his injuries, and a desperate Zhinu asked everyone to save him but nobody could help as this was Heavenís will. Telling Zhinu that he loved her, Niulang passed away. In anger, Zhinu ran to the hillside calling for the Heavenly Queen Mother, who appeared saying that death was Heavenís will and not even she could meddle in such affairs. Zhinu denied this fiercely; sheíd long ago denounced the unfairness of Heaven. If the Heavenly Queen Mother wouldnít intervene to revive Niulang, then sheíd have to do it herself. She didnít want to live without trying to save Niulang and instantly used the Buddha Stoneís power to try and turn back time. Zhinu awoke to find herself back in her room. Puzzled, she rushed outside and saw a little boy running around named ëLittle Niulang.' Just then, the Earth deities and the Kitchen God appeared, smiling at her. Zhinu demanded an explanation; did she turn time back too far until Niulangís childhood? The deities said no and explained everything. When Zhinu tried to turn back time, the effort was too much for her and sheíd fainted from the attempt. Alarmed, the Heavenly Queen Mother had her brought to Heaven. The Jade Emperor had dared to intercede on her behalf as heíd enough of seeing his child suffer, asking the Queen Mother what was wrong with her loving Niulang. After all, the both of them dictated all Heavenly rules. Was her stubbornness worth sacrificing her beloved grandchild and causing so many people to suffer? At his logical words, the Queen Mother was moved and relented to bestow her blessing on Niulang and Zhinu, exercising her powerÖÖ.......
Therefore, the little boy was actually Zhinuís son! Niulang ran in just then and Zhinu was very happy to see him alive. The couple lived happily till a ripe old age, with their friends and family alongside. Every year, when a new branch of the Ling factory opened, a Fortune Bird could always be seen hovering about as if personally blessing them with good fortune. Meanwhile, Bei Gon was a trusted advisor of the Emperor, but he exasperated the ruler very much with his dedication. Every time Bei Gon saw a Fortune Bird chirping at him in encouragement, heíd work on his duties with greater diligence. At a very old age, Niulang and Zhinu pointed to two stars twinkling above, named by popular consent as the Cowherd and WeaverGirl stars. Each year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, a bridge of birds was formed. The figures of Niulang and Zhinu could be seen crossing the bridge to meet each other. But... it was actually Bei Gon and Magpie in disguise, using this opportunity to cross the heavens and see each other every year. Just then, the Heavenly Queen Mother appeared with the Jade Emperor. Trusted Heavenly Guards had been sent to all four corners of the skies so that nobody would know that the Queen Mother had actually created the myth to disguise the fact that she had blessed both Niulang and Zhinu to be together on earth. This was to prevent other deities from performing similar escapades like Zhinu which would create chaos in Heaven. Magpie assured Heavenly Queen Mother of the confidentiality of the secret, saying that her bird friends could be trusted. Then Bei Gon took her in his arms. Once again, both took on the appearance of CowHerd and WeaverGirl, symbolizing the true love of this legend, which became one of the greatest Chinese love stories.
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ZHINÜ - Project 2005 |