ENG
A visage strange with shoulders wide,
Two heads upon them side by side,
My valor's from royal trust made,
My steadfast heart will never fade.
In the Kingdom of Zhuzi, a woman gave birth to a two-headed child, causing great horror throughout the cities.
People lamented the unfortunate fate of the woman and her child, predicting that the child would be difficult to raise. Contrary to their expectations, the child not only survived past infancy but also grew stronger and healthier than most others. The folks then again speculated that while the child might grow up, he would surely be a fool. However, as the child matured, he proved to be quite intelligent. His two heads gave him a unique perspective, allowing him to come up with ideas that others couldn't.
Disappointed by their failed predictions, the folks declared the child to be an ill omen, foretelling future disasters. The constant rumors eventually drove the two-headed youth to leave his hometown.
Years later, a beetle with a stone-carved Buddha head attacked the border of the Kingdom of Sahālī. The king dispatched his army to defend the city, but they suffered repeated defeats. Morale plummeted, and as thoughts of retreat began to plague the soldiers' hearts, a tall, two-headed man in the army stood out and volunteered to lead an elite squad in a raid against the yaoguai.
On the day of the battle, he arranged his elite soldiers in a line. When the yaoguai attacked, they threw coal dust on it and then sprayed strong liquor from their mouths to create pillars of fire that detonated the coal dust. Terrified by the fire, the yaoguai quickly withdrew into the desert.
Seeing that this tactic could temporarily repel the yaoguai, the King was greatly relieved and appointed the two-headed man as a captain. Learning that his children were also two-headed, the king decreed that the position of captain would be hereditary in his family, encouraging his children to join the army and strengthen the forces. One can only wonder what the folks from his hometown would say upon hearing such news.
A woman in the Kingdom of Zhuzi gave birth to a child with two heads. The birth terrified people across the cities. At first they thought the child would be weak and die young, but he survived and grew stronger than most children. When people then guessed he would be stupid, the child proved them wrong again: his two heads gave him a different view of problems and he showed real intelligence.
Despite his strength and smarts, the townspeople still treated him as an omen of bad luck. Rumors and fear never stopped. Those repeated accusations and hostility eventually forced the two-headed youth to leave his hometown and go elsewhere.
Years later, the Kingdom of Sahālī faced an attack on its border from a strange yaoguai described as a beetle with a stone-carved Buddha head. The king sent an army but they kept being defeated, and the soldiers’ morale fell so low that retreat was being considered. In that crisis a tall, two-headed man who was in the army stepped forward and volunteered to lead an elite squad on a raid against the monster.
On the day of battle he organized his soldiers into a line and used an unusual tactic. They threw coal dust and then sprayed strong liquor from their mouths to produce pillars of fire that set off the coal dust. The sudden fire terrified the yaoguai and it withdrew back into the desert, ending the immediate threat.
The king was relieved and made the two-headed man a captain. When the king learned the captain’s children were also two-headed, he declared the captaincy hereditary in that family and encouraged the captain’s children to join the army, hoping to strengthen his forces. The story ends with a clear reversal: the man who had been shunned as an ill omen became a royal military leader, and his family’s unusual trait became a state advantage.