English
English version: In Yangzhou city, Cheng prayed to the Great Being (大士 - Dashi, a Bodhisattva) for salvation. Then he had a dream, saying: 'Your family has a total of seventeen people. The other sixteen members are not in this calamity, only you are destined to be in it, and cannot escape.' After Cheng woke up, he prayed earnestly again, and still had a dream, saying: 'In your previous life, you killed Wang Mazi (王麻子 - Wang Mazi, a person's name) with twenty-six cuts. In this life, you must repay him, and you absolutely cannot escape. You should instruct the sixteen members of your family to live in the east wing, and you alone should wait for him in the central hall, so as not to implicate your family.' Cheng agreed. Five days later, northern soldiers knocked on the door. Cheng immediately asked: 'Are you not Wang Mazi? If you are Wang Mazi, you can come and kill me with twenty-six cuts. If you are not Wang Mazi, then we have no grievances, and you don't need to enter.' The soldier said: 'I am Wang Mazi.' Cheng then opened the door and admitted him. The soldier dismounted and asked in surprise: 'How do you know my name?' Cheng told him about the two dreams. The soldier sighed and said: 'In your previous life, you killed me with twenty-six cuts, and I am here to avenge you in this life. If I kill you today, won't you come back to avenge me in the next life?' So he struck Cheng twenty-six times with the back of his knife and then pardoned him, taking his family to Jinling (金陵 - Jinling, present-day Nanjing) together. End of 'Records of Things Seen and Heard' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------