A valet was riding behind his master, the aristocratic Chen Yu. Chen Yu turned round and when he saw his valet lagging far behind, yelled at him to ride faster. With great effort, the valet caught up with his master.
"Stay right behind me!" roared Chen Yu.
"My horse is old, master," said the valet. "It cannot keep up with yours."
"That's because you've not fed it!" said Chen Yu, angrily, and gave the lad such a blow on his head that it nearly unhorsed him.
They continued on their journey. Chen Yu's anger soon subsided but the valet smouldered. It was not the first time his master had hit him and he had begun to resent being used as a punching bag.
As he brooded, the sky became overcast and it began to thunder. Chen Yu was afraid of thunder and looked up fearfully at the sky.
When it thundered again, he closed his eyes tightly and hid his face in the horse's mane. His valet noticed his discomfort and a mischievous idea entered his head.
When next it thundered, the valet rode up behind his master and gave him a blow on the back of his head, at the same time shouting : "Lightning!"
Chen Yu thought he had been hit by lightning and slumped onto the back of his horse.
After some time he raised his head again. When again it thundered the valet gave him another blow, shouting as before. This happened again and again. On the tenth occasion, the aristocrat fell from his horse and became unconscious.
The valet dismounted and sat beside him. He felt remorse for what he had done. After all, the man was his master and also, much older than him. When Chen Yu began to stir, the boy quickly lay down and closed his eyes. Chen Yu got up and was pleased to see that his valet too had been knocked unconscious. He began to shake him. The lad opened his eyes and pretended to be dazed.
"What happened, master?" he said.
"Lightning hit you just once and you became unconscious!" laughed Chen Yu. "I was hit ten times before I fell."
When the storm had subsided they resumed their journey. Chen Yu felt that the gods had punished him for his cruelty to his manservant and from then on never hit the valet again.