炎赫赫 Scorching-Fire
蒙昧生愚焰，日日复熬煎。
吃尽无间苦，求死不求仙。
Ignorance ignites a fool's fire,
Daily anguish in a somber mire.
Enduring a life of ceaseless pain,
They yearn for death, not celestial gain.
相传，黄帝时期有个叫宁封子的陶正，他从神仙处学会了五色烟火法于是他把自己架在火上烤，有人说他飞升了，有人说他把自己烧死了没有定论。
祭赛国有个烟火观，正是以五色烟火法立派而建，这个故事是听其中某个出逃的道士讲的。
道士的师父是烟火观的观主。
某日，他陪师父去市中买酒，在路上遇到个被差役捉捕的逃犯。
因观中人口不多，逃犯又有些钱财，他们便将其带回了观中。
这逃犯叫赵三，原不过是个替人使钱的浮浪子弟，观中打家劫舍之徒大有人在，赵三与他们朝夕相处，不久，就比原先还坏了十倍。
这日，正该赵三下山劫道，充作日常花销，恰巧有家富户的女眷上香归来，赵三不仅劫了财，还看上了那家的小妾媚娘，将她一同抢上了山。
媚娘被锁观中，不但每日要给他们洗衣做饭，还时时挨打。
她恨毒了赵三，却斗不过他，几经凌辱，只能暗自隐忍，等个逃生的机会。
几年后，媚娘忽闻观中要举行升仙仪式，道士负贵押着媚娘一同前往。
在淌着火河的绝高的山崖上，赵三接受了师父授予的符箓，准备跳入火河登仙，但他非要媚娘陪同。
在场的道众，发出癫狂的欢呼声，媚娘十分害怕，但道士仍旧依照师命，把她推下了山崖。
他们的尸首在火河中烫得焦黑，受符箓的吸引，岩浆汩汩钻入他们的头颅里，将其胀大了好几倍。
新的躯身在火河里挣扎着站起，面目全非，他们不停地痛苦晃动，最终朝着火河往黑山的深处跑去。
推下媚娘让道士看到他们变化的过程，不论烟火观的观主再如何解释这是羽化蜕变，他都不肯信了。
Legend has it that during the reign of the Yellow Emperor, an official of pottery named Ningfengzi learned the art of fire with five-colored fumes from immortals, and tried to ascend by roasting himself over the flames. Some say he achieved ascension; others claim he burned himself to death; no one knows the truth. The tale we have here is recounted by a runaway disciple from the Fumefire Temple in the Kingdom of Sacrifice, a place rooted in the art of the five-colored fumefire.
The master of the disciple served as the abbot of the temple. One day, the disciple accompanied his master for some liquor in town, and they came across a fugitive being pursued by officers. As the temple was short on help, and the fugitive was a wealthy one, they offered him shelter. This man, Zhao San, was a mere wastrel who lured patrons of brothels into extravagant spending. The temple was already home to various robbers and bandits, and it proved to be a corrupting influence on Zhao San. In the company of fellow criminals every day, he soon became ten times more villainous than before.
One day, Zhao San set off to rob travelers to fund his own lavish lifestyle. He targeted a wealthy family returning from their monthly worship, and in an act driven by greed and lust, he abducted the family's concubine, Meiniang.
Imprisoned within the temple walls, Meiniang endured daily chores and beatings. Despite her deep resentment towards Zhao San, she was powerless against his violence. She could only grit her teeth and bide her time, hoping for an escape.
Years later, a ceremony for ascension was announced in the temple. The disciple who tells this story was tasked with escorting Meiniang to the event, held atop a high cliff overlooking a river of lava. Zhao San had already prepared to leap into the fire for ascension with a talisman from his master. He insisted Meiniang accompany him. Amidst the frenzied cheers of the followers and the terrified cries of Meiniang, the disciple pushed the girl off the cliff as ordered.
Charred in the river of lava, their bodies swelled grotesquely as the lava, guided by the talisman, seeped into their skulls. Their distorted new forms staggered up, writhing in agony, and ran towards the depths of the black mountains. Witnessing this horrifying transformation, the disciple renounced his belief in the temple's teachings, no matter how vehemently the master rationalized it as a transcendent metamorphosis.
