Mortal Worries

A priceless jade serves as the main thread, triggering four independent stories filled with joy, anger, sorrow, and fear, interconnected by an underlying theme. The first segment is an independent story, while the last three sections are told in reverse order to complement the first story. Story One: Joy - Affirmation of Love A couple is engaged, and the woman gives her fiancé a jade pendant that holds special significance. A man who loves the woman learns of the pendant's secret and hires a thief to steal it. The thief successfully steals it but unfortunately loses it, providing a fake to show instead. The fiancé, who lost the pendant, struggles to find it and eventually accidentally retrieves the real jade pendant. At their engagement ceremony, the man who hired the thief plans to disrupt the wedding but fails because he was deceived by the thief, and ultimately the main couple comes together. Story Two: Anger - Anger from Love A girl who finds the pendant dropped by the thief meets a driver who has lost his daughter; he loves her like a father. The girl mistakenly believes this is love, while the driver feels helpless. Eventually, the girl leaves in sadness and buries the pendant in the earth. Story Three: Sorrow - A Father's Grief The pendant is discovered by a farmer in dire straits, who, realizing its worth, wants to sell it to treat his ailing wife. However, his unfilial son discovers this and foolishly sells it to a smooth-talking antiquities dealer for a low price. Story Four: Fear - The Helplessness of the Mortal The antiquities dealer lives on the edge of the city in difficult circumstances. He is thrilled to have the jade pendant but, due to complicated relationships with creditors and local thugs, it ultimately gets taken by the fiancé who is searching for the pendant amidst the chaos. In the end, the antiquities dealer is left with nothing.