Once upon a time, there appeared a fisher who had huge and muscular body and especially, he had extraordinary strength. He was combative and wild. He called himself Cuong Bao. His father died when he was born so he lived with his mother. When he grew up, he left and went to the shore, built a hut and lived in there working as a fisher. Cuong Bao liked to sing, he used to sing whenever he felt happy. He had only a friend who was Tao Quan, the god ruled ground because Tao Quan liked to sing, too. Tao Quan and Cuong Bao treated the other very well. Cuong Bao used to invite Tao Quan to drink when he caught fresh fish and shrimps and Tao Quan, on other side, used to let him know things which only gods knew. Therefore, Cuong Bao always foresaw all things that made him turned haughtier that he didn’t respect anyone, ghosts or devils and including gods, he also didn’t respect.
Since he got married, he didn’t treat his mother as well as the before he used to be against his mother. His mother was very angry she begged gods to punish him.
Ngoc Hoang, king of gods who lived in the castle standing on clouds, had heard about Cuong Bao, an insolent man, from gods and now, he heard Cuong Bao’s mother beg him to punish her son. Ngoc Hoang could not look anymore he decided to punish Cuong Bao. He ordered Thien Loi, the god created and controled thunder, to punish him.
Tao Quan immediately warned Cuong Bao.
“How do I fight against Thien Loi?” asked Cuong Bao in nervous tone.
“Tonight, Thien Loi will come. He must land on your roof before he find and kill you”, said Tao Quan, “That is your only chance. You must find something, a liquid which can make him slip out your roof. When he falls down on ground, you have to grab that chance beating him as pained as you can”.
That night, Thien Loi came and as Tao Quan’s words he landed on the roof but he just stood on the roof, he slipped out and fell down on ground painfully. Still didn’t get again his feet, Cuong Bao in somewhere sprinted toward him with an iron club on his hand. Madly Cuong Bao beat him so pained that he had to try his best to get again his feet and escape from the place. He left but his hammer was still on ground and of course, Cuong Bao had it as an award. He brought with him all time, let people see it when he told them about the fighting between him and Thien Loi.
Ngoc Hoang angrily scolded Thien Loi when he came back with torn clothes and injuries on his body. Later, he ordered Long Vuong, the god ruled sea and rivers, to kill Cuong Bao he wanted to punish all people who dared to beat gods. Long Vuong ordered his underling, a centipede, to go and find the way to kill him. The centipede went and hid istself in pillow of Cuong Bao. It planned to kill Cuong Bao and his wife by its deadly venom but Tao Quan, one more time, saved Cuong Bao he warmed him about the centipede. Cuong Bao asked his wife to boil a pot of water. After that, he dipped the pillow in the boiled water so the centipede died.
Long Vuong waited for his underling days but it didn’t come back. Therefore, he ordered other underling to go. That time was a snake. The snake found out that Cuong Bao and his wife used to go out in night to have pee. Therefore, it hid itself in bush next to their hut and waited. Tao Quan warmed them in time so that night, Cuong Bao and his wife took clubs finding the snake and crushing its head.
Two his underling didn’t come back, Long Vuong knew that they was in dangerous case or had died. Therefore, he met Diem Vuong, the god ruled the hell, to ask his help.
“Ha ha ha!” laughed Diem Vuong, “Be calm. I will bring them to the hell and prison them in the 18th gate of hell that they will never forget the pain when they are here”.
Then, Diem Vuong ordered his underling, an owl, to go and bring their souls to the hell. The owl flew away it didn’t waste long time to arrive to their house. Meanwhile Cuong Bao was absent, only his wife stayed in home. The owl landed on their roof and hooted three times and the woman in hut fell down then her soul emerge from her body and hovered in the air. The owl broke in, grabbed her soul and flew back the hell. When Cuong Bao came home, he saw his wife had died. Hurriedly, he found the way to Tao Quan to ask his help.
“I need a cage. That must be a beautiful cage”, said Tao Quan, “You have to make one and I will find the way to save your wife”.
Fastly, Cuong Bao made a beautiful cage and gave Tao Quan. Tao Quan brought the cage hurriedly going to the hell.
“Where are you going Tao Quan?” said the owl, “So beautiful, the cage you are bring.” The owl hesitated, “I mean -- can I have the cage?”
“Oh! I’m will to give you this cage if it is the thing you want but,” said Tao Quan, “I think you should go in the cage and find out whether the cage fit with you before I give it to you”.
The owl had no doubting it went in the cage. Tao Quan, on other side, shut the door on the cage at one.
“You are now my prisoner. Die or live, that depending on your choice obeying me or not”, Tao Quan frightened.
“Don’t hurt me, please”, begged the owl, “I will follow your words”.
“All right, you need to let me know how to revive a dead.You should be honest”, said Tao Quan.
“I have two tongues one was dead-tongue and one was living-tongue. If I hoot by the dead-tongue, people will die but if I hoot by the living-tongue, the dead will revive”, said the owl.
“Show me your dead-tongue”, Tao Quan demanded.
The owl stuck out its tongue. As fast as he could, Tao Quan cut off the dead-tongue then brought the owl to ground. When they arrived to Cuong Bao’s hut, Tao Quan forced the owl to hoot. The owl hooted three times and Cuong Bao’s wife revived after that few minutes. Later, Tao Quan opened his cage and released the owl.
Diem Vuong lost his enthusiasm as his underling brought itself back with serious injury. Immediately, he reported the thing to Ngoc Hoang. Ngoc Hoang was super angry. He ordered Thien Long, Long Vuong and other gods, who created wind and rain, to raise water and drown Cuong Bao in water. Tao Quan hurriedly informed to Cuong Bao when he heard the news.
“How can I fight against them?” Cuong Bao, one more time, asked him the way to stand up gods.
Tao Quan thought a little then he said:
“Long Vuong and rain-god are only good in raising water. Wind-god only blows you to somewhere. Therefore, you need a great raft that can stand against water and is not broken by winds. Prepare enough food for many days that will help you live and one thing you have to remember that Thien Loi will hide himself in clouds find the chance to kill you”.
Cuong Bao did what Tao Quan told him. He made a solid raft with a small hut, covered the roof by the liquid which made all things slipped out as they land on the roof. He prepared a lot of food which could provide him in many days. Besides, he brought a drum and a rooster. As Tao Quan said, short time later water was raised up and winds started blew madly but his raft was so solid that could stand against all that things. Cuong Bao forced his rooster stood on his roof crowing while he sat outside his hut drumming. Then, he grabbed the hammer of Thien Loi and started dancing as if he was challenging gods.
“Aha! Aha!” he yelled, “I must go to heaven a time. Aha! Aha! I must beat all of them gods”.
The noises drum spread, the rooster crowed and he yelled came to the castle of gods. Ngoc Hoang ordered a god to down and find out what was going on. The god set off and came back after long time. He hurriedly reported to Ngoc Hoang that Cuong Bao was still alive and was planning to follow raised water to heaven to fight against them, gods.
“It will be so dangerous. Go”, said Ngoc Hoang, “and inform all gods to come back castle. Stop raising water and let him do whatever he wants. We will find other chances to punish him”.
Because of that, Cuong Bao and his wife could live in peace for years. He still remembered times Tao Quan helped him so he treated Tao Quan better and used to invite him to drink. Thought that nothing could harm him but,
One day, when Cuong Bao was striding on field, he met a crab which prevented him, raised its pincers as if it was challenging him. Cuong Bao laughed loudly.
“Thien Loi, Long Vuong and other gods couldn’t frighten me so how a little animal as you can frighten me” said Cuong Bao, crushing the crab under his foot. But, Cuong Bao had never thought that the fragments of crab’s pricer which sunk into his flesh could make him feel so pained. Days passed, the place was rotten and spread out. His wife was very worry she found the way to doctors but she didn’t do it in time. Short time later, Cuong Bao died and killer was the crab, an underling of Long Vuong.
Though the story happened long time ago but people now belive that gods still remember about the fighting between them and Cuong Bao. Therefore, Thien Loi always turned scared as rooster crows while Long Vuong scared drumbeats and people’s screams.
THE END
Book Introductions
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