During the Xuande reign, the practice of cricket fighting became popular in the palace, with crickets being solicited from the populace every year. Since this creature was not abundant in Shaanxi, a magistrate of Huayin County, eager to curry favor with his superior, presented him with a fighting cricket. After a few trial matches, the cricket became instantly famous. The superior was overjoyed and ordered a tribute of such crickets every year. The magistrate passed this task onto the Lizheng (village head). Scoundrels in the market began capturing crickets, keeping them in cages, artificially driving up prices, making the desirable goods scarce. The local yamen runners, cunning and deceitful, seized the opportunity to extort money, levying fees such that the collection of a single cricket often impoverished several households.

Cheng Ming, a local tongsheng (scholar), was dull-witted and repeatedly failed his examinations. Tormented by the yamen runners, he was appointed Lizheng, yet all his schemes failed to secure him any real standing. Within several months, his family fortune was entirely depleted. Then came the order to collect crickets. Cheng Ming refused to extort the common people but lacked the funds to cover the tribute himself, driving him to utter despair. His wife told him, "What good is dying? You might as well search for them yourself. If by some chance you find a superior breed, all our troubles will instantly resolve."

Cheng Ming agreed wholeheartedly, rising early and returning late, carrying a bamboo tube and slinging a silk cage, frequenting overgrown ruins and tangled grasses, probing beneath stones and digging in holes. He exhausted every method yet found nothing. Occasionally he caught one or two crickets, but they were weak and inferior, utterly unfit for serious contest. The magistrate pressed him relentlessly. After more than ten days, failing to deliver, Cheng Ming was flogged a hundred times. His legs were torn open, bleeding profusely. Confined to bed to recover, he was unable to hunt for insects. Tossing and turning on his cot, he only thought of ending his life.

A hunchbacked sorceress from the village, renowned for her divination, was sought out by Cheng Ming’s wife. The wife saw a great throng of people: young girls in red and aged women with white hair, crowding the doorway. Inside her dwelling, the inner chamber was veiled, and before the curtain stood an incense table. Those seeking divination burned incense in a tripod, bowing prostrate. The sorceress offered prayers beside them, her lips moving in silent supplication—no one could discern the words—while the devout believers stood respectfully, leaning in to listen. Presently, a piece of paper was tossed out from behind the curtain, predicting fortune or misfortune with unerring accuracy.

Cheng Ming’s wife offered copper coins, burned incense, and knelt in homage. In a moment, the curtain moved, and a scrap of paper fluttered down. Picking it up, she saw not characters, but a drawing: a pavilion resembling a temple; behind it, beneath a small hill, lay scattered strange stones shrouded in thorns, where a greenish-grey cricket was hidden; beside it, a toad appeared poised to dance.

Seeing the drawing, the wife could not fathom its meaning, yet thought, "The cricket in the picture subtly speaks to my heart’s desire." She folded the drawing carefully and took it home to ask her husband’s interpretation. Upon seeing the depicted scene, Cheng Ming pondered, "Is this a sign of Heaven’s pity, directing me to hunt in the wilds?" He looked closely at the location of the pavilion, finding it remarkably similar to the Great Buddha Temple east of the village. He forced himself out of bed, leaning on a staff, and followed the map to the hill behind the temple. There were raised burial mounds; walking along them, he found the ground strewn with jagged stones and overgrown with weeds. He pulled away the grass as he advanced, searching slowly, until gradually his spirit flagged, and his ears rang, yet all was in vain.

Just as he was feeling disheartened, a toad suddenly hopped out and bounded away. Cheng Ming pursued it. The toad leaped into the weeds and vanished. Pushing aside the thatch, he saw a cricket lying among the thorns. He stepped forward to capture it, but the cricket burrowed into a rock crevice. He prodded it with a sharp blade of grass, but it would not emerge; only when he flooded the hole with water did it finally come out. Examining it closely, he found the cricket robust and healthy, and seized it immediately. Focusing his gaze, he noted its massive body, long tail, green neck, and golden wings.

Cheng Ming was ecstatic. He placed the cricket in the bamboo tube and returned home. The whole family celebrated, treating it like a treasure, feeding and nurturing it with the utmost care, waiting only for the appointed deadline to submit it to the authorities.

Cheng Ming’s son, only nine years old and fond of play, opened the flowerpot while his father was away to tease the cricket. The little insect jumped out and was nearly impossible to catch. After much effort, he managed to seize it again, but due to excessive force, the cricket’s leg snapped and its abdomen split open; it died within moments.

The boy was terrified, crying to his mother. Hearing the news, Cheng Ming’s wife’s face turned ashen. She scolded him, "You troublemaker! Your doom is near. Your father will settle accounts with you when he returns." The son burst into tears. Before long, Cheng Ming returned home. Hearing his wife’s words, he felt a chill run through him. In a rage, he searched for his son, but the child had vanished without a trace. Soon after, the couple discovered their son’s body in the well. Their burning anger turned to profound grief; heartbroken, they sat opposite each other in their smoky hut, speechless, finding no joy left in living.

As twilight deepened, the two retrieved a straw mat, intending to wrap the body for burial. As they gently touched him, they noticed the child’s breath was faint, and his heart was still beating. The couple was overjoyed and quickly placed their son on the bed. Sometime past midnight, the child finally awoke. The parents felt a slight easing of their spirits, but recalling the dead cricket brought back their distress. Seeing how frail their son was, they dared not demand an explanation for its demise, simply staring blankly from evening until dawn without closing their eyes.

As the sun rose, Cheng Ming lay in bed still worrying. Suddenly, he heard a cricket chirp outside the door, startling him into jumping up. He rushed out to look: the cricket was seemingly alive again. He approached to catch it, but the insect chirped and leaped agilely. When he covered it with his palm, it felt as if nothing were there. As soon as he lifted his arm, the cricket darted away. He chased it around a corner of the wall, only to lose sight of it.

Cheng Ming wandered about, looking everywhere, when he noticed an insect clinging to the wall. He peered intently and saw a small cricket, dark red in color—certainly not the previous one. Cheng Ming scorned its small size and did not catch it. The tiny creature on the wall suddenly leaped onto his sleeve. Looking closely, it resembled a small dog, with patterned wings, a square head, and long legs—it seemed to be a fine specimen. Happy, he collected it. He intended to present it at the yamen, but felt uneasy, fearing it might not meet his superior’s approval. He thought, "I must test it in a match first; only then will I know its quality."

A local boy, eager for excitement, had raised a cricket he named "Crab Shell Green," which he constantly pitted against other youngsters' insects, winning every time. He intended to sell it for a high price for great profit, but no one was interested. Cheng Ming visited him and requested a challenge, expecting to lose. The boy glanced at Cheng Ming’s cricket and covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. He brought out his pet and placed it in the cage. Crab Shell Green was magnificent in stature, a massive creature. Upon seeing it, Cheng Ming felt ashamed and dared not compete. The boy insisted repeatedly. Cheng Ming reasoned, "Let it be death then. My cricket is useless anyway; I might as well fight one match and provide amusement for the crowd."

With this thought, he brought out his cricket and placed it in the basin. The small insect lay still, inert as a wooden chicken. The boy laughed heartily and poked the cricket’s antennae with a pig’s bristle, but it remained motionless. The boy laughed again, prodding it repeatedly. Finally, the insect exploded in fury, charging straight ahead. The two clashed, their wings whirring loudly. Suddenly, the small insect leaped up, spread its tail, extended its antennae, and bit down hard on Crab Shell Green’s neck. The boy was horrified and shouted, "I yield! Stop the fight, stop the fight!"

Hearing this, the small insect vibrated its wings happily, as if informing its master: I won.

Cheng Ming was overjoyed and began admiring the cricket with the boy. Suddenly, a rooster rushed in, darting forward and pecking down at the cricket with its beak. Cheng Ming was struck with terror, shouting repeatedly. The insect lightly hopped back two feet, narrowly dodging the great rooster’s strike. It then advanced with a series of short, aggressive lunges. In moments, the cricket was under the rooster’s claw. Cheng Ming frantically stomped his feet, his face pale, unsure how to rescue it.

Just then, the great rooster let out a mournful cry, spun around on the spot, shook its head, and writhed its neck in evident agony. Looking closely, Cheng Ming saw that the small insect had somehow leaped onto the rooster’s comb and was biting down with all its might. Cheng Ming was overcome with surprise and delight. He carefully retrieved the cricket and hid it preciously in the bamboo tube.

The next day, Cheng Ming presented the small insect to the magistrate, who cursed loudly upon seeing how small it was. Cheng Ming recounted the cricket’s unusual qualities, but the magistrate did not believe him. He brought out a tribute cricket and commanded the small one to fight it. It battled seven or eight insects, emerging invincible every time. He then ordered the cricket to fight the rooster, and indeed, it was as Cheng Ming had claimed—unstoppable. The magistrate was greatly pleased, rewarding Cheng Ming and sending the insect up to the Provincial Governor, who in turn presented it to the Emperor with a memorial praising the insect's valor.

Once in the palace, the small insect was unrivaled. It battled every superior tribute cricket—butterflies, mantises, Yulita, and Qingsie'e—winning every match, unmatched by any other. Whenever the insect heard the sound of zither and lute, it would dance gracefully, much to the Emperor’s delight. The Emperor issued an edict, rewarding the Governor with fine horses and brocade. The Governor rewarded the magistrate, who rewarded Cheng Ming, exempting him from labor duties, granting him entry to the county school, and promoting him to Xiucai (a lower scholar degree).

A year later, Cheng Ming’s son fully recovered his spirit and recounted that he had briefly transformed into a tribute cricket, agile and skilled in fighting, and had only now returned to his mortal body. The Governor also bestowed great rewards upon Cheng Ming. Within a few years, Cheng Ming possessed hundreds of acres of prime land, numerous mansions, and herds of cattle and sheep. When traveling, he rode fine steeds in sable cloaks, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the region.