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Green Bull Ate Lingzhi on a Sly

In those days when Sun Bin learned the art of war in Yunmeng Mountain, his diligency and studiousness not only won Master Guiguzi's favor but also gained the Queen Mother's recognition. So he was appointed to guard Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum or Reishi mushroom) on the north cliff of the Peach Garden.

In his spare time of learning arts, Sun Bin took his attendant to visit the cliffs every day, and at the same time he took the green bull to sow a kind of millet called Sui Louxiu with a drill in North Peach Garden. The so-called Sui Louxiu meant that the seed was sown in the front, and the millet in the back showed the maturity of its earhead at any time. The young attendant followed the drill to collect the mature millet.

After a long time, the young attendant felt that there was nothing clever about sowing with a drill and there was no difficulty in ordering about the green bull, and he also wanted to try to do that alone. Another day at the peach garden, the young attendant asked if Sun Bin allowed him to try to sow alone. Sun Bin pointed at the cliff and told him that there was a millennium Lingzhi planted by the Queen Mother on this cliff. Sun Bin mentioned that the green bull had a bad temper and worried if the young attendant could manage it. Sun Bin worried If the green bull accidentally ate the Lingzhi, the Queen Mother would blame him for that. Since then, the young attendant stopped to mention about the sowing.

One day, Sun Bin had to go out for something. Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed the young attendant to keep a watch on the door and not to run around. The young attendant watched the master going out but wanted to try his own skills. But remembering the words of the master, he did not dare to act without permission.

The green bull seemed to have guessed the thoughts of the young attendant and suddenly suggested him to try his own skills since Master Sun Bin was absent. The little attendant listened to the bull’s words and asked happily whether the green bull would like to accompany him to the peach garden. The green bull agreed immediately but proposed two conditions. The first condition was to forbid the young attendant to cast magic spells while hoeing the ground. The second was to forbid the attendant to pull its nose. The young attendant agreed the two conditions.

In this way, the young attendant carried the drill and led the bull to the peach garden. By following the example of Sun Bin, he sowed the land from south to north.

That green bull was originally a magic bull in heaven. Because it did not abide by the rules in the heavenly palace, the Jade Emperor punished it by banishing it to Yunmeng Mountain to plough the farmland. It had long known that the Queen Mother planted Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum, or Reishi mushroom) in Yunmengshan Mountain. At the thought of this Lingzhi, its mouth watered. When Sun Bin sowed with a drill, he held its nose tightly. He was also casting spells, so the bull didn't dare to mess things up. Today, before sowing with a drill, the young attendant promised two conditions. It was determined to eat this millennium Lingzhi. As soon as it reached the edge of the northern cliff, the green bull stretched its neck to swallow the Lingzhi in one gulp.

After swallowing the Lingzhi, the green bull felt hot and dry all over his body, thirsty and unbearable. It suddenly recalled the water in the Duanwang Lake at the foot of the hill. Regardless of the repeated dissuasion of the young attendant, it ran down the north cliff to the lake and drank all the water in the lake. But it still felt thirsty. It could recall other places where the water was available.

Gradually it died of thirst and turned into a hill, which is current Golden Bull Ridge.