Original Text
A certain man committed adultery with his servant's wife, murdered the servant, and took the wife as his concubine, who bore him two sons and a daughter. Nineteen years later, a great band of brigands breached the city walls and plundered the entire town. A young bandit, wielding a blade, burst into the man's home. The man, upon seeing him, was struck by how closely he resembled the dead servant, and could not help but sigh, saying, "Today I am doomed!" He then offered all his wealth to beg for his life, but the bandit paid him no heed, spoke not a single word, and simply slew everyone he encountered, killing all twenty-seven members of the man's household before departing. The man's head was not completely severed; after the brigands left, he regained some consciousness and could still speak, but died three days later. Alas! Retribution is indeed without error—how truly fearsome it is!
Commentary
This is a tale of karmic retribution and vengeance.
The author's narrative is concise yet not sparse, and quite vivid. Over the span of nineteen years, the reborn victim, facing the perpetrator, "emptied his purse to ransom his life, but the other paid no heed, nor spoke a single word, merely searched out men to kill, and together slew an entire household of twenty-seven souls before departing," revealing the depth of hatred, the endurance of forbearance, and the urgency of vengeance. Yet the wrongdoer did not die at once; "after the bandits withdrew, he revived somewhat and could still speak, but within three days he perished." Only by the perpetrator's lingering death does the plot become intricate, allowing the thread of karmic retribution to run through from beginning to end.