At the end of the Ming Dynasty, farmers dug up the dark wood (ebony) that had been sleeping for thousands of years at the bottom of the Gongshui River in the Wuling Mountains. The moment the water came out, the iron chains wrapped around it neighed like a living thing.
When the old farmer knelt down and worshiped, he could clearly see the wood grain twisting into a human face with closed eyes.
The county magistrate came after hearing the news and regarded it as auspicious and ordered craftsmen to carve it into a statue of the god.
The moment the saw touched the tree, the entire Gongshui River flowed backwards and a wave of blood surged.
That night, the whole village fell into the same nightmare. Dreaming that they were sinking in the mud at the bottom of the river, with the roots of thousand-year-old trees wrapped around their bodies like iron ropes...
