of Kun-tat, and they immediately knelt down, and prayed for assistance, protesting with tears against the injustice they were suffering.
The Lady Koeh approached the kneeling priests, and exhorting them to calm their grief, said, "This is no place to linger. I invite you to come to my humble dwelling, and abide there a day or two before returning to the monastery; this will be safer, and will not delay you much."
It is unnecessary to say that the priests gladly accepted the invitation, and remained with the lady some days, until they could with safety return to the Temple of the "Spiritual King."
It is now necessary to bring to notice five men, named Go-thien-seng, Png-tai-iu, Li-sek-te, Tho-pit-tat, and Lim-eng-Chiau. These men were originally employed as horse dealers in the provinces Che-Kiang and Shantung; one day they were accidentally passing the temple of the "Spiritual Temple," where they met the five priests, Choah, Pung, Ma, Li, and Ho. The horse-dealers entered the Temple, and held a conversation with the priests, after which they united with them as brothers, swearing to assist them to the death in avenging their wrongs.
There was also a Taoist named Tan-Kin-lam, a hermit dwelling in the cave of the "White Heron." One day as he was visiting the surrounding villages, (where he had gained a great reputation by reciting the Taoist Scriptures, and was much honoured for his good deeds) he met four men, Tho-hong, Toleng, Ho-Khai, and Tan-phiau, who communicating with him by secret signs and ambiguous sayings, made known to Kin-lam that they wished to go to the Temple to meet with the five priests, Choah, Pung, Ma, Ho, and Li. They all proceeded towards the Temple, but on arriving there, found that the priests had been harassed and pursued by the Mandarin troops, who had forced them to escape.—The brethren had fortunately managed to get to a place called the Dragon and Tiger Mountain, where they met with the five Tiger Generals, Go-thieu-seng, Png-hui-sing, Tinⁿ-keng-Chiau, Inⁿ-bun-tso, and Lim-tai-kang, who brought the priests up to the mountain, received them kindly, and hearing their story, pitied them exceedingly.
The Tiger Generals asked the priests to stay with them two or three months, and promised at the end of that period to go with them to the Flowery Pavilion of Hung,[1] where they would gather
- ↑ Ang-hoa-Teng.
