There is a mountain in the world - it’s called the “Abode of the Immortals”. There is a garden in the middle of the mountain, they call it the garden of the Jade Fairy. Well, what can you say, if it’s not a garden at all, but just a gentle slope. There is no house there, no yard wall. Old people say that previously on this high mountain, except for stones, as they say, there were only stones - not a tree, not a bush, and there is nothing to say about the Abode of the Immortals. Truly, a poor mountain, a skinny ridge. The people who settled around lived poorly, worse than ever. They went to the mountain, cut stones, sold them, and fed themselves. The wind is blowing, the sun is baking, it fills your eyes, your mouth is dry and bitter. If only two trees could grow on the mountain! Empty dreams. Will anything grow on such meager soil? But then one day a peach tree grew on a large rock in the middle of the mountain. The rain lashes it, the angry mountain stream drives sand and stones down, but the tree stands alive, with red branches and green leaves.
There lived a young man about that time. Every day I went to the mountains to cut stone. He somehow wandered into those places and stayed there. Nobody knew his nickname. The wind in the mountains is strong, the sun is hot. The young man’s face darkened and became shiny. And the people called him Wang Black - Wang Da-hei. Van's face is black, but his heart is kind. He was born tall and strong, with golden hands, but he lives as a stray - no wife, no children. He should save money, but where is he! He will pawn his last pants, sell his jacket, just to help a person. He became famous for his kindness throughout all the villages - both in the south and in the north.
Van Black goes to the mountains to cut stone, no, no, but he passes by a peach tree. And then one night the tree turned from small to large, everything was strewn with pink flowers, covered with green leaves. Van Cherny walks past a tree in the morning, it’s quiet around, the wind doesn’t blow, the branches don’t sway. Only dewdrops and pearls knock on your pants and jacket - knock-knock-knock. Van Cherny walks home in the evening again past a tree, the sun is red, Van has never seen anything like it, the flowers smell of freshness. The young man looks: the petals are smoothly flying straight towards him. The young man approached the tree, and - I don’t know for what reason - it seemed to him as if the flowers were smiling. The young man rejoiced, where the fatigue had gone. From then on, Van Black always rested under a tree when he returned.
Once a young man went to the mountains, walked past that tree, looked: the whole tree was strewn with peaches, large, red ones. The wind carries a wonderful aroma around. A young man has gone far away, he is chopping a stone, and the peach scent hits his nose and teases him. It was just the sixth month. The sun pours heat - the poison is poisonous, the stones are hot iron, the legs burn. But Van’s shoes are full of holes and he has nothing to cover his head with. There is no reed hat either. It's almost noon. All the guys left to look for the shadow, but Van, you know, chops the stone and doesn’t give his hands a rest. He chopped and chopped, his head became blurred and his eyes began to light up. He leaned against a stone and did not notice how he fell asleep. I don’t even know how long he slept, but when he woke up, he felt such bliss, as if he had taken a swim in cool water. The young man opened his eyes and looked at a shadow above him. It was not an umbrella that protected it from the sun; the branches were frequent and the leaves were thick. Rosy peaches hang on the branches, not one at a time, but two at a time. A wonderful aroma spreads around. The foliage sways, bringing coolness. Van immediately jumped up, and he thought: “Who cut down such a big branch and stuck it in the ground?” I looked around - the guys were all sleeping on the side. Van grabbed a branch and wanted to swing it, but it was not a branch - a real tree, the roots went straight into the rock, into a deep crevice. Suddenly a sprout appeared and turned into a large peach. Van thinks: “What a miracle! There was only one tree growing on the mountain, right in the middle, where did the other one come from?” The young man looked at the tree, looked and began to think about what it could mean. He went to the mountain slope. He walks quickly, his legs carry themselves. He runs, his heart is pounding. He ran up to the tree that was growing in the very middle. The branches are swaying, the peaches are fresh and rosy. A girl stands under one branch, picking peaches.
The young man was more amazed than ever. What kind of girl? Not from a nearby village, not from a distant one. Wherever the young man had been, he had never seen such a beauty. Her face is the color of spring peach, her hair is leafy green. The girl smiled - there were two dimples on her cheeks. She waved her hand, Van looked - from the place where he was chopping the stone, something was floating through the air. I took a closer look, and this is a branch, there are two ruddy peaches on the branch. The girl grabbed a branch and applied it to the trunk - the branch grew as if it had always been there. Before Van had time to come to his senses, the girl picked two large peaches and threw them at him. Van, as if he didn’t want to, held out his hand and the peaches fell straight into his palm. The girl laughs and bursts into tears. The young man was ashamed and did not know where to go. And the girl suddenly stopped laughing and waved her hand, saying, “Hurry up and eat the peaches.” Van took a bite, the peach was sweet and the water was honey. He took it and ate it whole - the young man felt cool, as if he had swam in the river. The young man ate one peach and ate another. And the girl grabbed the branch again and shook it. Petals floated in front of the young man and fell. Suddenly a young man looks - he is no longer standing under the peach tree, he is standing in the house, everything around him is glittering, sparkling with turquoise, and on the ceiling there is a large ruddy peach painted.
The girl laughed and said:
- My name is Yu-hsien. I am the Jade Fairy, I know: you won’t find a better person around than you. You live alone, it’s difficult for you. If you go to the mountains to cut stone, go past this place, don’t turn aside, if you need anything, find me.
The girl said so, she became even more flushed, her eyes looked even clearer - peach flowers are blooming under the dew, the petals are shining at sunset.
Van Cherny looked at her bright face, listened to her affectionate speeches, he felt so good in his soul, so joyful, but he didn’t know how to tell the girl about it.
Before I could come to my senses, the girl had disappeared. Van looks - now the guys will approach him. They were close, but they didn’t notice anything. All they can see is Van standing under a peach tree; the fruits on the tree are red and the leaves are green.
Van returned home, and before his eyes was the Jade Fairy. I went to bed and didn’t fall asleep until midnight. Maybe it was the fairy who enchanted him with her peaches. The next day he went to the mountains. It goes quickly, faster than before. It was just getting light, and he was already standing by the peach tree. Before he could blink, in front of him out of nowhere was the Jade Fairy, the green house sparkling with turquoise. The maiden laughs and looks slyly at the young man. The young man blushed and said:
“I want you to patch my jacket, that’s why I came.”
The Jade Fairy was delighted and agreed. He senses that the young man didn’t come looking for her because of the jacket.
The fairy says to the young man:
“I know you couldn’t sleep last night.” Go to the house, there is a kan there, get some sleep.
It’s not for nothing that they say: when we met strangers, we became like family. The young man sees that the girl is kind and affectionate to him, and she has become even closer to him. He obeyed her, entered the house as if it were his own, lay down on the bed and fell asleep. The sun rose, the guys came to the peach tree, they looked - Van Cherny was fast asleep, his mended jacket lay next to him.
From then on, Van almost every day went to the peach tree to look at the Jade Fairy. The days are long, the days are long, the guys sense something is wrong and ask one day:
- Hey, Van, why are you going to the peach tree? There aren't any peaches on it!
Van never lied to his comrades, and he told them the whole truth. The guys were amazed and happy for Van.
But I must tell you, there was a district town twenty miles from that place, the chief there was one official, a relative of the capital’s dignitary. He somehow ate, got drunk, had nothing to do, sat and thought: “I have everything, power and wealth, what else could I want?”
I thought and thought and came up with:
“I also need to lay out a garden so that there are artificial mountains in it, large lakes, pavilions, gazebos, galleries, towers built, then there’s nothing more to wish for!”
The official laughed with joy: “As soon as I say the word, everything will be done.”
It really was like that before; the official will say the word - the poor people shed blood and sweat. They began to force the guys to serve their conscription, and Van Cherny too. From dawn until dark, he loads huge stones onto a wheelbarrow and rolls them from the mountain to the city. His clothes were torn to shreds, his shoes were worn through. He somehow rolled his stone to the middle of the mountain, but the shoe broke completely and couldn’t stay on his foot. So the young man says to the guys:
“You wait for me here, and I’ll run to the Jade Fairy and ask you to sew up your shoe.”
The guys agreed and looked: Van went to the peach tree. As soon as he walked away, the guard flew at them, didn’t ask anything, let’s beat everyone indiscriminately. Then Van Cherny arrived in time. The guard swung at him, and suddenly someone grabbed him by the arm. Then the guard began to slap himself in the face: beep, good-bye! It hurts him, both cheeks are already swollen, but he just whips, he can’t stop his hand.
And the guys - some look at him like that, some roll with laughter, go crazy, and that’s all! The guard got down on his knees, slapping himself in the face, and he begged for mercy:
- Forgive me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I will never hit anyone again! He said this three times, and suddenly he heard a woman’s voice say to him:
- This time I forgive you.
Only then did the guard’s hand stop.
And he himself disappeared - a stream of smoke in the wind - and rushed into the district. I reported everything in detail to the official, as they say, from one to five, from five to ten. The official was amazed and ordered the werewolf to be immediately captured and delivered. Before Van had time to throw the stones off the wheelbarrow, he was tied up and brought to Yamen. They gave me forty sticks and threw me into prison.
The guys found out about it, got worried, got angry, and then began to grieve. They talked amongst themselves, consulted and decided to find the Jade Fairy. They began to climb the mountains for stones and hurried to the peach tree. We approached the tree - they didn’t know what to do. You can’t tell the branches and leaves about trouble. They heard from Van about the Jade Fairy, but no one saw her. Then one of the guys shouted in a loud voice:
- Come out to us, Jade Fairy! There is a case! We want to talk to you!
As soon as he shouted this, a voice immediately rang out:
- Wait, I’ll unlock the door now!
The leaves on the peach tree began to move, and at the same moment the boys saw: the house was clean and sparkling with turquoise, and they themselves were standing in that house. They just didn’t look at the house; the girl captivated them with her beauty. The unfinished shoes lie next to the girl. There is nothing to think about here, the Jade Fairy herself appeared to them.
They told her everything as it was, in order.
The fairy became alarmed and said:
- Don't be afraid, I will help him out.
She said this, flashed lightning and disappeared.
At that time, the district chief was sitting in the large hall, enjoying his power, giving orders. Suddenly he hears a voice from the sky:
- Hey you, corrupt official! Why did Van Cherny go to prison? It was I who slapped your guard in the face! What will you do to me!
The chief raised his head - no one was there. His eyes widened. His assistants were speechless with fear and could not utter words.
And here again a voice from heaven:
- Hey you, wolf pack! Release Van from prison and live!
The official finally realized that it was a woman’s voice, plucked up courage and answered:
- Hey, who's that screaming up there in the sky?
The fairy laughed evilly and answered:
“Do you think I’ll be afraid to tell you who I am?” I am the Jade Fairy.
The official says:
- There is only one gentleman in the district, one dear father. If I want, silver will be piled up like a mountain; if I want, churches will be lined up next to each other. Come on, show yourself so I can look at you!
And the fairy makes fun of the boss:
- Heh! I don't see any official.
- I am the same.
“But it seemed to me that this was a pile of dung.” I don't feel like talking to you! You didn’t deserve your place, you bought it for several thousand silver bars. Silver stinks worse than manure. You are not worthy to see me.
It seems that the fairy told him everything, remembered everything to him, but no, he doesn’t care about that either. There are such thick-skinned people in the world. And he says to the fairy:
“The emperor himself promoted me to the seventh rank, and Wang Black is a simple stonemason...
The fairy was angry, did not allow the official to finish, scolds him, vilifies him, in no way can he compare with Van - Van has a kind, human heart, while the official has an evil, wolfish one. The fairy scolds him, and she got so excited that she got through to the thick-skinned official. The official could not stand it, he turned red, his neck became bloodshot. But he can’t do anything. A fairy is incorporeal and is not subject to his power.
The fairy smiled evilly and said:
“You wanted to look at me, so look better at my magical power!”
The fairy said so, and immediately a peach branch flew into the door. In the very middle of the hall she sank. It took root on the brick floor and instantly turned into a tall tree. The trunk is thick - it’s impossible to tell or describe. The top of the tree rested against the roof - the roof began to shake and recede. The guards and messengers see that it’s bad. Some scream, some ask for help, some hide, some bury themselves. The boss himself was more frightened than anyone else, he had no time for importance right now, and jumped out of the room - a cowardly mouse. And the guards are all scattered. One of them fell to the ground - there was no strength to get up. He began to plead piteously:
- Let me go, fairy!
And he hears in response:
“I’ll let you go, just open the prison gates quickly!”
The guard didn’t even think, he agreed.
Van hears screams and noise outside, but cannot understand what happened. The prison gates opened here. The prisoners rejoiced, rushed to freedom in a crowd, and Van Cherny ran out of the city wall with them and returned home. The next morning, as soon as he got ready for the mountains, he went out into the courtyard and looked: the Jade Fairy was running in. She’s out of breath, her hair is unkempt, her dress is wet, there are dewdrops and pearls on her eyebrows. Van Cherny marveled, did not have time to open his mouth, and the fairy said to him:
- You will not live from the district chief! I ran all night, covered ten thousand miles, and got a magic chisel for you. Take it...
Before the girl had time to finish, screams were heard outside the gate. It was the district commander of foot and horse soldiers who sent to capture Van. The fairy took the young man by the hand and said:
- Let's run quickly!
They got out of the outskirts, and the soldiers rushed after them and began to catch up. Now the top of the mountain is already close - the soldiers are not far behind, and just in time they will overtake the fugitives. A fairy stopped here, pointed her finger at a high stone cliff and said:
- Van Cherny, Van Cherny, take the hammer and chop here once!
He listened to Wang Fei, swung the iron hammer, hit the chisel, you couldn’t hear the blow, only rumbled and buzzed around, Wang looked: there was a round hole in the rock the size of a gate. Van jumped into that hole. The soldiers looked into it - Van Cherny and there was no trace. The bravest warriors went inside and went to look for him. They walked and walked, I don’t even know how deep they went, and suddenly they heard the water gurgling. The river blocked their path, it was wide and deep - they couldn’t see the bottom. The water in it is fast, if you swim in a boat, the boat will be smashed to pieces. And on the other side something sparkles, it hurts my eyes. The soldiers stood, looked, there was nothing to do, turned around, and went back.
From that time on, no one saw Van Cherny again. The rumor spread that he had become immortal. And they began to call the cave in that stone wall and the mountain itself the Abode of the Immortals. White fog often emerges from the cave and covers the entire mountain. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound echoing through the mountains: ding-ding, dan-dan, ding-ding, dan-dan, as if someone was hitting a stone. They say that Van Cherny does not sit idle in the cave. It's true. The stone that is mined on that mountain is smooth, shiny, as if polished. No one knows where the Jade Fairy disappeared to. Only that mountain was all overgrown with peach trees. From that time on, the very middle of the mountain, where the large peach tree grew, began to be called the garden of the Jade Fairy. As you walk from the Jade Fairy's garden to the cave, the trees become denser and more magnificent. This is to prevent the sun from burning Van Black when he visits the fairy. It happens that the fog floats over the treetops for a long time, which means that Van Black and the Jade Fairy have met.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru