Tales of the Mortal World

In a roadside teahouse, figures gather here and there

From the street drift two or three vendors' calls

Before the crowd, a fan sways; a storyteller's block strikes the table

Dear listeners, lend your ears as the tale unfolds

This mortal world brims with troubles, with passing years, mountains, and rivers

Through the storms of the martial world, how much valor and melancholy endure?

An empire's strange dream-a grand absurdity

Nor are tales of gods and ghosts beyond our reach

Immortals, spirits, demons, and monsters

Time slips away, yet karmic justice never fails

Neither you nor I are sages; we all lose our way

Life is short, unlike the sun and moon that return again and again

A folding fan unfurls, weaving the Dao through myriad emotions

The Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends reveal wondrous transformations

One strike of the storyteller's block sends a thousand waves surging

All sentient beings tumble through the dust of the mortal world

P.S. The opening lines of this synopsis are lyrics from the song The Storyteller. Give it a listen, then try singing the entire synopsis to its melody-it really sets the mood ^_^!