Some peasant stories are never told in front of samurai. Punishments for these banned stories differ from land to land. What the Crane may administer a fine for, the Lion punish with a beating, and the Crab by summary beheading.
Be warned- the lies contained within are an affront to the Celestial Order, for not only do they treat the Ninth Immortal as a friend to the oppressed peasantry, they emphasize the wickedness of all samurai. In these stories you will find evil nobles, corrupt officials, cruel bushi, licentious priests, and tainted generals, but every peasant is virtuous, noble, honest and kind, even while they are serving Fu Leng. Just ask them.

Once was a brave young man, Tock-tock!
His eyes were clear / and his heart was pure
And he loved the most beautiful girl in the village.
Surely, the Fortunes smiled on him.
But her father was rich, and he had no money,
So he took up / the peddler's pack
And his shoes went
tock-tock, tock-tock, tock tock tock!
As he traveled for a year and a day.

Yes, he traveled for a year and a day, tock-tock!
Wandering the roads / of Rokugan
Coming home, his pockets / were full of riches.
Surely, the Fortunes smiled on him.
But when he came home / yes when he came home,
Wind swept over / the barren fields,
Wind / whistled in the empty houses,
At the gates of the village there was no one to greet him,
And his shoes went
tock-tock, tock-tock, tock tock tock!
As he ran to the house of the Miller*.

He clapped at the door to the Millers', tock-tock!
And his lover's voice / called his name.
But the hand that opened it had no flesh
The face that answered him was all bones.
He knew then / Yes, he knew then
That the Yorozu Ichiya** had come through,
And his shoes went
tock-tock, tock-tock, tock tock tock!
As he ran up the road to the shrine.

He clapped at the door to the shrine, tock-tock!
And the little door opened / to let him in.
He saw rotting flesh / in the offering bowls,
Sulphur and asafetida in the censers,
He knew then / Yes, he knew then
That the Yorozu Ichiya had come through,
And his shoes went
tock-tock, tock-tock, tock tock tock!
As he ran up the road to the Fortress.

As he ran / corpses beckoned from the graveyard,
Where zombies were digging up the earth for their beds.
Skeletons of children / chased him laughing,
Skeletons of dogs / barked at his heels.

He ran and he ran / until he saw the Fortress,
The castle of the noble samurai,
And when he got there / yes when he got there,
The soldiers greeting him / were all smiles.
White bones poking / through rotting armor,
Cold hands resting / on rusted pikes.
He knew then / Yes, he knew then
That the Yorozu Ichiya had been there too,
And his shoes went
tock-tock, tock-tock, tock tock tock!
As he ran far away.

Far away from the road, tock-tock!
Far away from the blasted village,
He cursed the Gods / for their uncaring ways,
He cursed the Thousand / Fortunes for their cruelty,

In this world of suffering and pain, tock-tock!
The Yorozu Ichiya are not hard to find.
At last / he knelt before the one they follow,
The purest servant / of the Ninth Immortal,
Whose name is so terrible it cannot be said,
But whose right hand / was Yanjinden.***
And his knees went
tock-tock, tock-tock, tock tock tock!

He bowed low before / the Dark One,
And knocked his head on the ground, tock-tock!
The demons laughed / but the Foul One paused,
He said, "I will make you a bargain, peddler.
Serve me faithfully / for nine years,
And when you return again to your village,
You will find there all as it should be."

The Evil One struck the ground with his cane, tock-tock!
The peddler followed him down into Hell.
His Master showed him nine boiling pots,
Underneath them nine raging fires.
"Stoke these fires," the Master said.
"Keep the pots boiling, but don't look inside!"
"It will go hard for you if you do!"

Eight long years came and went,
And the peddler never paused in his work.
But his curiosity got the better of him;
After eight years of work, he peeked in the first pot.
There in the vat of boiling blood,
Was the province's old tax collector.
"Ha!" said the peddler, "You greedy pig!"
"For long years you sucked my village dry.
Now you're getting / what you deserve!"
Now he really couldn't resist. He looked in every pot,
And in each one, he found the screaming souls of samurai.
He stoked each fire hotter until
The kettles were ready to burst with the heat.

At last, the nine years were up, and the Master appeared.
"Even though you looked in the kettles,
You were a good and faithful servant.
If you'd let those fires diminish,
You'd be in the soup yourself right now!"
He struck the ceiling of the cave with his staff, tock-tock!
And took the young man back to the surface.

The young man ran all the way home, tock-tock!
He found everything just as it should be.
There were the fields, full of life,
There were the villagers, happy and contented,
There was his lover, pale and slim,
She was all smiles to see him.****
Tock-tock, tock-tock, tock tock tock!

It seems hard to believe in these troubled times, but just a few years ago, there was peace throughout the Empire. It's true! Now this sounds idyllic to peasants such as we, but it was very bad for Ronin, because they had no work without war.

One day a ronin was lamenting his fate; "Surely I will starve to death! Peace has broken out all over, but the only thing I know how to do is kill!" Suddenly, a dark stranger appeared. "If you cannot do anything but kill, you are the perfect man for me." He declared. "Come and be my servant, and I will reward you with all the riches of the earth."
"Who are you, stranger?" asked the ronin. "I am Evil Incarnate, the Ninth Immortal, brother to the Divine Emperor, " answered Fu Leng, for it was indeed him. "You may think because I am evil I am a bad master, but that is not the case. Indeed, without me, goodness, honor and virtue would be meaningless, for are not all things defined by their opposites?" The ronin protested politely, but the Dark One purred, "You may as well slay men for me, for you yourself said you have no other skill."

Well, what could the ronin do but agree? So they traveled together. No one seemed to notice the immortal by his side, though occasionally the Dark One would brush against someone, who would immediately begin to cough. They went to a nearby inn, where his Master instructed him to rent a room for the night. "With what? I have no coin." "Reach into your sleeve, my servant." The ronin reached into his sleeve and, much to his surprise, brought out just enough coin for a private room, food, and sake.

Once they were alone, Fu Leng spoke again. "I will give you three things. Here is the first", and handed him a plain gray kimono and hakama. "Wear these always, even sleeping. They will never tear or soil, and evil things will recognize you as my servant and leave you alone. Furthermore, when you are hungry or thirsty, reach into the left sleeve and you will find rice and water. If you have need of money, reach into the right sleeve and you will find coin sufficient for your needs." The ronin disrobed and put on the new clothes.

"Here is my second gift. This sword will cut through anything on the first strike, so long as it is struck without warning. Furthermore, nothing cleaved with it can ever be put back together again. Wear it always, and use it without any hesitation." The ronin took off his own swords and put the new one on.

"Now for my third gift." Fu Leng reached up with his thumb and put out the ronin's left eye. Then he plucked out his own eye and put it in the empty socket. "My eye will show you who to kill and not kill. Anyone you see with your own eye, kill them immediately. But anyone you see with your left eye is my servant, and you must let them live. Now, eat and rest, for tomorrow you must begin to earn your keep." Saying this, he laughed and vanished.

The next morning, the ronin awoke to find he was completely blind in his left eye. He went downstairs, thanked the Okasan for her hospitality, and, while she was bowing, chopped her head off. Then he killed everyone else in the inn. He stepped out through the back door, and there was a beggar picking through the garbage. One stroke, and his head was off. He stepped into the marketplace of the town, and within moments there was no one left alive.

And so it went. The ronin traveled the roads of Rokugan, slaughtering everyone he met. He avoided crowds, left no witnesses alive, and was never detained or questioned. As Fu Leng had promised, he never wanted for food, drink, or money, but his left eye stayed blind, and he often cursed the bad bargain he had made.

One day, as he was walking down the road, a samurai rode towards him. This young man, with his polished armor and fine swords hanging at his belt, riding a magnificent steed, truly embodied the very essence of bushido. But as the ronin prepared to strike, he realized that he was seeing the young man through both eyes. "This honorable one? A servant of Fu Leng? Impossible!" thought the ronin. "Perhaps the eye is lying to test me. I had better kill him to be sure." So, at the very last moment, he leapt up and cut the young man's head from his shoulders. At once Fu Leng appeared. "Fool! This man was indeed my servant. Underneath his noble exterior lurked a heart full of pride and ambition. Through him, an entire province was under my sway!" The ronin dropped to the ground and begged forgiveness. Finally, the Dark One relented. "At least you meant well. I suppose I shall excuse your mistake - this time. See that it doesn't happen again!"

Well, not long after that, the ronin was walking down the road, and saw a convoy of traveling holy men. In the center, guarded by warrior monks, was a great and powerful priest, famous for his piety and goodness. "Ah! That holy man must be my target," thought the ronin. "I'll leave all these small fry for later and kill him first." So he walked calmly past the train until he was right next to the holy man's litter, then, in a lightning flash, he cleaved the holy man in two with a single stroke. All the priests and warrior monks wailed in terror as he stood laughing over the corpse. It was only then he realized he was seeing the corpse of the holy man with both eyes. There was a roar as though from a great beast, and Fu Leng stood before him. The ronin dropped to the ground and abased himself - and a good thing, too, for under the ferocity of the Dark One's gaze trees withered, birds dropped from the sky, and all the monks died screaming. "Fool!" roared Fu Leng. "That priest was my faithful servant! Through him, I whispered into the heart of every devotee!" Terrified, the ronin begged forgiveness for his mistake, and at last Fu Leng relented. "You are indeed a loyal servant, if a bit stupid. After all, you have not spared a single human being since the beginning of our bargain. I shall forgive, but I warn you- one more mistake, and it will be the end for you!"

Footnotes:
* The miller is often the most prosperous member of any village.
** Lit. trans. "Thousand and one nights". A pseudonym for the Bloodspeakers.
*** ref.: Yanjinden was the Right Hand of Iuchiban, leader of the Bloodspeakers.
**** Contrast this description with the descriptive text in stanza six. One interpretation argued for this ending is that the village itself has not been restored; rather, it is the peddler's ideas of right and wrong that has changed. After nine years as Fu Leng's servant, he no longer minds the village's corrupted state.

((Both of these stories are adapted from traditional European folktales regarding the Devil taking servants. The fictional setting of Rokugan and the Legend of the Five Rings RPG is licensed to AEG and Wizards of the Coast.))