Wedge

The longevity lock, it is said, can ward off disasters and evil spirits for infants, “locking” their life in place. Therefore, newborn babies wear longevity locks until they reach twelve years of age, which is a Chinese custom.

There was a married couple who loved each other deeply. One day, the husband died in an accident, and his wife was overcome with grief. The child in her womb was born prematurely due to her distress. This child was frail and weak, and it was feared he would not survive more than a month before following his father in death.

The wife searched everywhere and finally managed to meet with a sage. The sage asked her: “Are you willing to keep this child alive, no matter the cost? Would you even exchange your own life for his?”

The wife nodded.

The sage said: “I have a longevity lock that can borrow twelve years from your remaining lifespan and exchange it for twelve years of life for this child. When the lock remains on him until his twelfth birthday, the lock will break and the person will die. This ‘longevity lock’ is actually a ‘life-compensation lock.'”

The wife continued to plead with him, swearing that if her son could continue living and grow up to become an adult, she would willingly fall into the endless hell and endure the torment of suffering.

The sage pondered for a long while and finally agreed. He said that this longevity lock could at most lock away twenty-four years of this child’s lifespan, and after twenty-four years, he would personally come to retrieve the longevity lock.

The wife died with a smile on her face.

Twenty-four years later…