Now, when Liang Xinglang came to Wanyuan Bridge and took a look, the stone read: “His name’s not Gao: by birth his name is Liang.” He thought to himself, “All these days I’ve been on the road and haven’t picked up the faintest trace. I don’t even know where Liangwang Village is. This must be a divine being pointing the way. So long as I find my mother, a few thousand taels are nothing.” So he took out four taels of gold, worth two hundred in silver. Squire Wang had his men lift the first stone away, and Liang Xinglang saw that the second one read: “In clever disguise he seeks his mother’s hall1.”

Liang Xinglang looked: this was plainly about him. Only then did he ask, “Is there writing on the third stone too?” “If you want to see the third,” said the servant, “it’s three hundred in silver.” Liang Xinglang looked and said, “I’d like to see it all the same.” At once he took out six more taels of gold, worth three hundred in silver, and handed them to Wang Taihe. Wang Taihe thought, “This is really strange. Somebody actually is paying silver to look.” He had his men lift the third stone away, and Liang Xinglang saw that the third read: “Xinglang would see the mother who bore him.” This fitted even better. “Take this one away and let me look,” said Liang Xinglang. “To see the fourth,” said the servant, “it’s five hundred taels.” “Why are you fleecing people?” said Liang Xinglang. “Nobody’s fleecing anybody,” said the servant. “If you want to look, look. If you don’t, don’t.” Liang Xinglang thought, “I’ve already spent five hundred. Spend another five hundred: so long as I get word of my mother, never mind a thousand, I’d spend two thousand.” With that he took out ten more ingots of gold. Wang Taihe had his men lift the fourth stone away, and on the fourth was written: “Go to Lin’an and ask the Dharma King2.”

When Liang Xinglang read this line he cried out “Ah!” and very nearly fell over. He thought, “This is terrible. Maybe someone knew what I had in mind when I left home, set a trap and swindled me out of a thousand in silver.” Then he thought again: “But nobody knows my childhood name. This is truly past fathoming.” So he asked, “Do any of you know what this Lin’an Dharma King is about? Is it a place? Is it a person?” One and all shook their heads. “We don’t know.” Liang Xinglang felt as if ten thousand steel knives were stabbing his heart. He was standing there in a daze when an old man came along from over the way. “If you want to ask about it,” said the crowd, “ask this old fellow. They call him the Sage of the Blessed Land3 (Fudi Shengren); there’s nothing he doesn’t know.” Liang Xinglang hurried to bow. “May I ask you, sir: do you know where this Lin’an Dharma King is to be found?” “If it’s Lin’an you’re asking about,” said the old man, “go southeast from here twenty-odd li and there’s a town called Xinglong Town. Go and ask there. Nobody here knows.” Liang Xinglang had no choice but to have his book boys shoulder the zither, the sword and the book chests4 and make straight for the southeast. When he had gone some twenty-odd li, he saw a market town ahead. Outside the village entrance, under the trees, two old men were playing chess beside a trunk: one pale-faced with a long beard, the other of strange and striking looks. Liang Xinglang hurried up to them. “Greetings to you both, venerable sirs! I’m trying to find out about something called the Lin’an Dharma King. Would you gentlemen know of it?” When the first old man heard this he said, “Lin’an I do know. In the old days, before the Jin and the Song went to war, this Xinglong Town was called Lin’an Town. Later, when the Song house brought peace to the realm, it was renamed Xinglong Town. But this Dharma King, I don’t know.” “Brother,” said the other old man, “you wouldn’t know. I’m a few years older than you. When I was twelve or thirteen, you were still too small to remember anything. The Ruyi Convent at the village entrance, the nuns’ temple: I remember it was called the Dharma King Convent, and later they changed it to the Ruyi Convent. If you want to ask about the Dharma King, sir, go and ask there.” Liang Xinglang thanked the two old gentlemen and hurried into the village with his book boys. On the north side of the road he saw a temple with “Ruyi Convent” written over the gate. He went up and knocked, and a young nun came out and opened it. “Whom are you looking for, patron?” “I have come to burn incense,” said Liang Xinglang. “This is a temple of nuns5,” said the young nun. “I don’t care what sort of temple it is,” said Liang Xinglang. “I want to burn some incense.” So the young nun led him to the main hall. Liang Xinglang lit a stick of incense, and when he had done he said, “Young reverend, would you show me round the temple?” “Certainly,” said the young nun, and at once she took Liang Xinglang round the courtyards to look.