The Magical Bishop Wood
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When the ancestors of the Thao tribe settled down near Sun Moon Lake, they discovered a luxuriant Bishop Wood growing by the water of Guanghua Island. The ancestors swore an oath,“May our descendants call this place their home, and flourish like this Bishop Wood. May our tribe be blessed with a baby boy whenever the tree sprouts a new leaf, so that our people may forever thrive.”
And so, the Thao took up residence in the Shuishalian area. However, the Han people living nearby were also eyeing the fertile land of Shuishalian. The leader of the Han told everyone,“Let us be the new masters of Shuishalian, and chase the Thao out of this land.”After many confrontations between the Thao and the Han, a terrible war broke out. A Thao elder prayed to the Bishop Wood,“Oh, great tree spirit! The Han people are coming to attack us. Please protect the lives of our villagers to let our bloodline continue.”And so, the Thao won the battle with the help of the great tree spirit.
The Han people were furious at being defeated. Once they learned of the Bishop Wood’s magic, they instructed two of their people,“Go and fell the tree with an axe in the dark of the night. I want to see how powerful this tree spirit is!”The Bishop Wood proved to be magical, for though it was hurt, the tree miraculously healed the following day. The leader of the Han kept thinking of a way to destroy the Bishop Wood. One day, after falling asleep, he seemed to hear a voice telling him,“Liaoyajing is Bishop Wood’s nemesis.”The next day, the leader sent his men to find the “Liaoyajing”, which turned out to be a saw.
He immediately asked his men to bring the saw to the foot of the great tree. He said,“Cut down this tree quickly using the saw! Then, use long copper nails to nail its roots down firmly, and spatter the tree with black dog’s blood. I want to make sure it is completely destroyed.”In the end, the great Bishop Wood was utterly destroyed. The Thao population began to dwindle from that time and a plague killed many strong men. The Thao had to leave Shuishalian and live scattered across different lands.
