Original Text
A certain Yi from the west of the city was a thief. His wife was deeply worried and fearful for him, often trying to dissuade him, and so Yi reformed his ways. After two or three years, he became so impoverished that he could barely endure it, and he resolved to steal once more before quitting for good. Thus, under the pretext of engaging in trade, he consulted a skilled diviner about which direction to take. The diviner cast a hexagram and said, "The southeast is auspicious, favorable for the petty man but unfavorable for the noble man." This aligned with his intentions, and he felt secretly pleased. So he traveled southward, reaching the regions of Suzhou and Wusong, where he roamed through various villages for several months. One day, Yi happened to enter a temple and saw a pile of pebbles in a corner; sensing there was some mystery, he also tossed a pebble among them. He then went straight behind the shrine and lay down. After nightfall, people gathered in the temple to talk, seemingly a dozen or so in number. Suddenly, one of them counted the pebbles and, startled to find one extra, they all searched behind the shrine and discovered Yi. They asked, "Was it you who threw the pebble?" Yi admitted it. They then inquired about his birthplace and name, and Yi gave a false answer. The group then handed him a weapon and led him along. They came to a grand mansion with a high gate, and the thieves produced a soft ladder, vying to leap over the wall into the courtyard. Since Yi was a stranger unfamiliar with the roads, they ordered him to stay outside the wall, tasked with passing and guarding the loot. Shortly, a bundle was thrown over the wall; then a chest was lowered down. Yi lifted the chest and, knowing it contained valuables, broke it open and scooped out its contents, packing all the heavy items into a sack. He hoisted it on his back and hurried away, finding his way home. From then on, Yi built towers, purchased fertile fields, and bought a title of honorary student for his son. The county magistrate even hung a plaque at his gate reading "Virtuous Gentleman." Later, when this major theft case was solved, all the other thieves were captured, but Yi, lacking a true birthplace or name, could not be traced and escaped arrest. This story came to light long after the event, when Yi himself revealed it in a drunken stupor.
In Caozhou there was a great robber who, having amassed a considerable fortune, returned to his home and fell into a deep sleep. Several thieves scaled the wall and entered his dwelling, seized him, and demanded his money, but he refused to give it. They then subjected him to the cruel tortures of whipping and burning, until at last he surrendered all his wealth, and only then did they depart. The robber said, "I never knew the agony of branding and burning to be so unbearable!" Thus he conceived a deep hatred for thieves, enlisted as a mounted constable for capturing bandits, and nearly apprehended every thief in the entire county. Eventually, he caught the very thieves who had broken into his home and inflicted upon them the same torments they had used on him.
Commentary
These two tales in this chapter may seem unrelated, but they share a common thread of dark humor. One was once a thief who climbed over walls, the other a great bandit, and ultimately they underwent a role reversal. The thief, through sheer luck, became a wealthy man, "building towers and pavilions, purchasing fertile fields, and buying an official rank for his son. The county magistrate hung a plaque on his gate reading 'Virtuous Gentleman.'" The great bandit, after being tortured by a petty thief with branding irons, reflected deeply on his suffering and "volunteered to become a constable," thus turning the petty thief's own methods against him. Yet, from another perspective, these two stories may also expose the hidden pasts of today's illustrious figures—that before their rise to prominence, they were far from glorious!