This paper deals with the connection of baojuan (寶卷, precious scrolls), the texts of popular storytelling of the Changshu (常熟) area (Jiangsu province, China), and the cults of deified historical persons in this area, a subject not analyzed anywhere before. The author uses "Baojuan of Small King of Thousand Sages", which is still circulated and performed in the Gangkou (港口)area of modern Zhangjiagang (張家港) city and the Shanghu (尚湖)area of Changshu city, as the main example. It deals with the life and posthumous miracles of the deity who is identified as a son of the famous historical person-Zhang Xun (張巡), and reflects a quite complex situation with the cults of Zhang Xun and his son, Small King of Thousand Sages, that existed in the former Changshu county. Baojuan analyzed in this paper is related to different forms of particular deities: these forms co-existed in this area and it was often the case that different groups of people preferred different ones. The comparison of materials from "Baojuan of Small King of Thousand Sages" and other related baojuan texts, with the information in local historical sources, helps us to re-construct the complex origins of these deities' cults in Changshu. Furthermore, baojuan presents some information on the development of these cults, which is not found in other sources; thus it is a valuable material on the religious situation in Changshu.