Ghost Story of Liaozhai

Wu Chengxiu, a native of Liaoyang.I like to make friends, and my friends are all celebrities.

Yemeng came alone and said, "My friend travels all over the world, and it hurts the ears of friends. Only one person can share adversity, but he doesn't know it. Why?" Asked: "Who is it?" Said: "Tian Qilang." Ermeng woke up, Secretly surprised.In the early morning of the next day, I asked my friends: "Who is Tian Qilang?" Waist, wearing a dirty hat, wearing a red dress, under the nose shorts, full of patches.The man bowed his hands and asked, "Where did you come from?" Wu Chengxiu reported his name and said, "I was sick during the journey, and I begged for a room to rest for a while, is that okay?" The man nodded.Wu Chengxiu said: "By the way, who is Tian Qilang?" The man said: "I am, come in."

There are several dilapidated houses in the courtyard, and you enter a small room with tiger and wolf skins hanging on the wall, and there are no tables and chairs on the ground.Qilang spread the leather on the ground and invited the guests to sit down. Wu Chengxiu talked with him, his words were simple and joyful.Giving gold as a living, Shichiro does not accept it.After insisting again and again, Qilang entered with the gold, told his mother, and asked her to make a decision.Er, the old lady came out, and said sharply: "The old man is here for a while, and I don't intend to let him serve the distinguished guests. Please come back, my son." Hearing this, Wu Chengxiu retreated ashamed.On the way home, I was tossed and turned, not understanding what it meant.It was suitable for a servant to hear his mother's words after he was in the house, so he reported the reason truthfully.

At the beginning, Qilang took the gold to tell his mother, and his mother said: "I just saw the young master. He has a bad face, and he will suffer a terrible disaster. Being appreciated by others is worrying about others, and being favored by others is urgent. With righteousness. It is inauspicious to get a lot of money without reason. If you accept it, you must repay it with death, it is better not to accept it."

Hearing this, Wu Chengxiu sighed deeply for the virtuousness of the old lady, and admired Qilang even more.The next day, Qilang refused to invite a banquet.Wu Chengxiu came to the door in person, sat down and asked for a drink.Qilang entertained with fine wine and venison, and the courtesy was thoughtful.The next day, Wu Chengxiu invited Qilang again.Give gold, don't accept it.Wu Chengxiu used an excuse to buy the tiger skin and said, "This is a deposit." Only then did Qilang agree to accept it.After I went back, I counted the tiger skins. The skins were less and the money was more. I thought, "There are not enough animal skins, so I have to hunt in the mountains."

After entering the mountain for three days, I got nothing.He also caught up with his wife's illness, guarding and boiling medicine, and had no time to hunt.Ten days later, his wife died of illness, Qilang took care of the funeral, and the deposit was gradually exhausted.Wu Chengxiu came to express his condolences in person, with rich etiquette.After his wife died, Qilang devoted himself to repaying favors, returned to his old career, took his bow into the forest, and returned empty-handed.Wu Chengxiu persuaded: "There is no rush for the tiger skin, take your time. If you have time, you can go to the humble house to talk about it." Qilang regretted being in debt and refused to agree.Wu Chengxiu asked: "How many tiger skins do you have in my virtuous brother's house?" Qilang inspected the inventory, and found that the leather was bitten by insects, and all the tiger hairs fell off, and he was very annoyed.Wu Chengxiu comforted: "None. Hair is better. I like leather without fur." ​​He rolled up the tiger skin, held it in the palm of his hand, and left.

Qilang thought to himself: "The price of the inferior goods is high, and I let myself take all the cheap ones. What's the matter?" Feeling sorry, he packed grain and went to the mountain. After several nights, he captured a tiger and gave it to Wu.Wu Chengxiu was overjoyed, prepared the dishes, invited him to stay overnight, and said: "Let me stay for three days, and then let you go home." Qilang insisted on leaving, with a firm attitude.Wu Chengxiu was in a hurry, and locked the doors and windows, Qilang was not allowed to go out, so he had no choice but to stay.

During the banquet, all the guests saw Qilang dressed poorly and whispered to each other, "Mr. Wu is careless in making friends." Wu Chengxiu didn't take it seriously, and treated Qilang generously and changed him into new clothes, but Qilang refused.As he fell asleep at night, Wu Chengxiu secretly replaced him and had no choice but to accept it.A few days later, Qilang left, and his son was ordered by nainai to return the new clothes and ask for his father's old robes by the way.Wu Chengxiu said with a smile: "Go back and tell the old lady: the old robe has been dismantled and used as a shoe lining." Since then, Qilang often hunted rabbits and deer, and gave it to Wu, and if he invited him to a banquet, he refused.

One day, Wu Chengxiu visited Qilang, just before returning from hunting, the old lady came out, leaning on the door and said: "Don't attract my son again, you have no good intentions." Wu Chengxiu was ashamed and retreated.Half a year later, the family suddenly reported: "Qilang was arrested by the government for beating people to death in order to fight for the cheetah." Wu Chengxiu was shocked and rushed to visit.When the two met, they were silent for a long time, Qilang said: "In the future, please take care of my mother for me." Yu and Shichiro were acquitted.

The old lady admonished her son: "Your hair and skin, and the martial arts you receive, cannot be cherished by the old body. I only hope that the son will live a hundred years without disaster and trouble, that is my son's blessing." Qi Langyu came to thank him, and the old lady said: "If you go, you will go, but there is no need to thank you. Small favors can be thanked, but great favors cannot be thanked." When Qilang saw Wu, Wu Chengxiu warmly comforted him, Qilang responded only, and his family blamed him for being rude.But Wu Chengxiu loves him for his honesty and sincerity, and treats him more courteously.

Since then, Qilang has always stayed in the Martial House, accepting gifts frankly, never refusing them, and never saying thanks.It was Wu Chengxiu's birthday, there were too many guests, and there were no vacant rooms in the house. Wu Chengxiu and Qilang lived in a small room, with three servants under the straw bed, and five of them shared the room. (small room, small house.)

At the end of the second watch, all the servants fell asleep, and the two of them were still talking to each other. Qilang's saber was hanging on the wall, and suddenly the blade came out of its sheath about an inch away, clanging and shining like electricity.Wu got up in surprise, and Qilang also got up, asking, "Who is lying under the bed?" Wu Chengxiu said, "They are all servants in the house." Qilang said, "There must be evil people among them." Wu Chengxiu said, "Why do you decide?" Qilang said Said: "This knife was bought from a foreign country. It kills people without blood. It has been three times, and thousands of heads have been beheaded. It is unparalleled in sharpness. If you see a wicked person, the knife will scream and tremble, and you will drink blood. The son should be close to the gentleman, far away The villain may be able to avoid disaster." Wu Chengxiu nodded in agreement.

Qilang was depressed and turned around on the bed mat.Wu Chengxiu said: "Fortune and misfortune are predestined, why bother?" Qilang said: "I have no fear, but my mother is in the church, so I don't worry about it." Wu Chengxiu said: "Why is this?" Qilang said: "I hope nothing happens. "It turned out that there were three people under the bed, one was Lin'er, who had been with the master for a long time and was loved; See.Wu Chengxiu secretly suspected: the villain must be Li.At dawn the next day, Shan Yan sent him away and ordered him to leave.

Wu Chengxiu's eldest son was named Wushen, and married his wife Wang.One day, Wu Chengxiu went out and left Lin'er to watch the house.The chrysanthemums were in full bloom in the studio, and Wang thought: "My father-in-law is not at home, and there is no one in the courtyard, so it is better to go pick flowers." When she came outside the study alone, Lin Er suddenly jumped out and stepped forward to make fun of her. , was about to molested, Wang yelled, Wushen came to rescue, Lin'er fled in a hurry.When Wu Chengxiu heard about this incident after returning home, he was furious and looked for Lin'er everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found.After two or three days, Wu Moumou only heard the news: Lin'er had joined the imperial censor's mansion.

The censor is an official in Beijing, and all the housework is entrusted to his younger brother.As a fellow villager, Wu Chengxiu sent a letter asking for Lin'er, but his younger brother ignored him.Wu Chengxiu became more and more angry, and filed a complaint with the government. Although the official arrest document had been issued, the officials refused to execute it, and the county magistrate did not ask.

Wu Chengxiu was angry, but Qilang came suddenly.Wu Chengxiu sighed and said: "The words of my virtuous brother have now been fulfilled." When Qilang heard what was going on, his face changed tragically, and he went without saying a word.Wu Chengxiu secretly ordered his servants to search for Lin'er, and Lin'er returned at night, captured by the servants, and went to meet Wu.Wu Chengxiu tortured, Lin'er was arrogant and insulted in every possible way.Wu Heng, Wu's uncle, saw the situation and persuaded him: "It's better to send the chief culprit to the government and deal with it according to law, so as not to get angry and cause trouble."

Wu Chengxiu nodded in agreement, and escorted Lin'er to the court. The censor had already sent a letter, ordering the county magistrate to show mercy.For this reason, Lin'er was acquitted and released, and became more and more proud, and loudly publicized in the crowd, falsely accusing Wang's affair with him.Wu Chengxiu had no choice but to die of resentment. In a fit of anger, he ran to Yushi's gate, bowed down and yelled and cursed, and the neighbors tried to persuade him to leave.

After one night, the family suddenly came to report: "Lin'er was cut into pieces and dumped in the wilderness." Wu Chengxiu was pleasantly surprised, but not long after, the uncle and nephew were sued by the younger brother of the censor and escorted to the government for trial.

The county magistrate could not argue, and wanted to impose punishment, Wu Chengxiu shouted: "There is no need to kill! As for insulting officials and gentry, I did it alone, and it has nothing to do with my uncle." The county magistrate turned a deaf ear to it.Wu Chengxiu's eyes were tearing, and he wanted to go forward to reason, all the officials rushed up and pressed him to the ground.The county magistrate waved his wrist and said, "Use punishment."

Seeing that someone had been beaten to death, the county magistrate no longer pursued the case, and ordered to leave the court.Wu Chengxiu cried and scolded at the same time, but the county magistrate turned a deaf ear and walked away.Wu Chengxiu carried his uncle's body back, full of anger and helpless. I want to find Qilang to plan, but Qilang has disappeared, let alone come to express condolences.I thought: I treat Qilang well, why do I feel like a stranger?Could it be that he was the one who killed Lin'er?If so, why not discuss it with me?So people were sent to inquire, and when they arrived at Qilang's house, the door was closed and the family did not know where to go.

One day, Fang, the younger brother of the censor, was chatting and laughing with the county magistrate in the county government.A woodcutter broke in suddenly, holding a machete, and went forward to fight.The younger brother of the censor raised his hand to block, the knife fell and severed his wrist, and another knife cut the owl's head to death.The county magistrate was shocked and fled in all directions, calling for help.The woodcutter looked around frantically, and when all the yamen servants heard the news, they danced with spears and clubs, and surrounded them one after another.The woodcutter knew he was outnumbered, so he slayed himself and died.Everyone stepped forward to identify him, and it turned out that he was Tian Qilang.The county magistrate was shocked and came out for an autopsy. He saw Qilang lying stiff in a pool of blood, still holding the hatchet in his hand.The county magistrate knelt down to examine the body, and the corpse suddenly jumped up, cut off his head with a knife, and then fell to the ground.

The government ordered the arrest of Qilang's mother and son, and the grandfather and grandson had already fled.When Wu Chengxiu heard that Qilang had died, he wept bitterly.The enemies all said that he instigated Qilang to commit murder.Wu Chengxiu changed the seller's property, dredged left and right, and was finally spared.Qilang abandoned the corpse in the field, and for more than [-] days before and after, birds and beasts surrounded him to guard the corpse.Wu Chengxiu took his body and buried it generously.The son of Qilang lived in Dengzhou, changed his surname to Tong, joined the army, accumulated military merits, and was promoted to General Tongzhi.When he returned to Liaoyang, Wu Chengxiu was eighty years old, and he instructed Qilang's grave to go to pay homage together.