Ghost Story of Liaozhai

During the reign of Xuande, cricket fighting was popular in the palace, which was collected from the people every year to promote weaving.This thing is not rich in Shaanxi. A county magistrate in Huayin wanted to curry favor with his superiors, and presented a cricket. After a trial fight, he became famous in one battle.The boss was overjoyed and ordered to pay tribute every year.The county magistrate pushed the task to Lizheng.Scoundrels in the city catch crickets one after another, raise them in cages, and drive up the price, so that they can live in rare goods.The village yamen servants are cunning and treacherous, taking the opportunity to amass money and apportioning expenses. Every time a cricket is collected, several households often go bankrupt.

Famous, a boy born in the county seat, with a dull personality, failed in repeated trials, teased by the yamen servants, served as Li Zheng, tried every means, but could not rely on himself.In a few months, the family property was tossed out.It also caught up with the expropriation of crickets, becoming famous and unwilling to blackmail the people, but he himself had no money to compensate, and was bored to death.The wife said: "What's the use of dying? It's better to search by yourself. If you find a good breed of crickets, all difficulties will be solved."

Famous people take it for granted, go out early and return late, carry bamboo tubes, carry silk cages, haunt broken walls and bushes, explore rocks and dig holes, exhausted methods, but still nothing.Occasionally catch three or two crickets, which are thin and low-quality, unusable.The county magistrate chased him within a time limit, and after more than ten days, he became famous and failed to do business. He was beaten with a hundred sticks, his legs were bruised and bloody, and he was bedridden to recuperate, trying to catch insects but failing.Tossing and turning the head of the bed, just wanting to commit suicide.

A hunchbacked witch came from the village, who was good at divination.When the married couple went to ask about divination, they saw a rush of people, girls in red and mothers-in-law with white hair, filling the door.Entering the cabin, there is a curtain in the secret room, and an incense table is set outside the curtain.The inquirer burns incense on a tripod and bows on the ground.The witch prayed for her on her behalf, her lips moved, she muttered something, but she didn't know what to say. All the believers stood respectfully and listened attentively.After a while, a piece of paper was thrown from the curtain, and the content predicted good or bad, which was not at all pleasant.

The married couple offered copper coins, burned incense and knelt down, and within a few seconds, the curtain moved, and a piece of paper was thrown down.I picked it up and saw that it was not a word but a painting. There is an image in the painting: a palace pavilion, similar to a temple; at the foot of the hill behind the palace, there are strange rocks lying in disorder, covered with thorns, and a green pock-headed cricket is hidden in it; a toad next to it, If will dance.

When the married couple saw the portrait, they were puzzled and thought, "The cricket in the painting is vaguely talking about the central matter." She folded up the picture, took it home, and asked her husband to point it out.When he became famous, he saw the scenery in the painting at first glance, and wondered, "Could it be that the gods took pity on me and told me to go hunting insects in the wild?" Taking a closer look at the location of the palace, it was very similar to the Great Buddha Temple in the east of the village.So he reluctantly got out of bed, leaned on crutches, and went to the back mountain of the Great Buddha Temple according to the map.I saw the mounds of the tombs rising, and walking along the tombs, there are jagged rocks and weeds all over the place, pulling weeds all the way forward, searching slowly, gradually exhausted, dizzy, still in vain.

While feeling melancholy, a toad suddenly jumped out, jumped away, followed all the way, the toad jumped into the grass and disappeared, parted the thatch, and saw a cricket lying in the thorn bushes, came forward to catch it, the cricket burrowed into the stone cave, If you poke it with sharp grass, it will not come out; if you flood it with water, it will come out.Take a closer look, the cricket is strong and healthy, and he immediately caught it in one fell swoop.Examining it intently, it has a huge body and long tail, with a blue neck and golden wings.

Overjoyed at becoming famous, he put the cricket into the bamboo tube and returned home.The whole family celebrates, treats it like a treasure, feeds it carefully, takes care of it, and only waits for the deadline to hand it over to the government.The son of fame, at the age of nine, was a playful boy, and when his father was not at home, he opened a flower pot and released crickets to tease him.The bug jumped out and was too fast to catch.After finally catching him again, due to excessive force, the cricket's leg was broken and his abdomen was ruptured, and he died in an instant.

The son was terrified and cried to tell his mother. When the married woman heard the words, her face was ashen, and she scolded: "Jing who caused trouble! The time of death is approaching. Father will settle accounts with you when he comes back." The son burst into tears.Not long after, he returned home after becoming famous. Hearing his wife's words, his whole body was cold, and he was angry and looking for his son, but the child disappeared without a trace.Not long after, the two found their son's body in the well, their anger turned into grief, and they were heartbroken.Husband and wife sit opposite each other, there is no smoke in the hut, there is no words to talk to each other, and life is no fun.

In the deep dusk, the two brought a straw mat and prepared to wrap the body for burial.Touching it close, the child's breath is weak, and the heart is still beating.The couple were overjoyed and hurriedly put their son on the bed. In the middle of the night, the child finally woke up.The husband and wife felt a little better, but they couldn't help but feel annoyed when they thought that the cricket was dead.Seeing that his son was weak, he didn't dare to pursue responsibility, so he was in a daze like this, from night to morning, without blinking eyes.

At the beginning of the morning sun, when he became famous, he was still in bed and worried. Suddenly he heard insects outside the door, and got up in surprise.Covered with palms, nothing exists.As soon as he raised his arm, the cricket escaped immediately, chased after him, turned a corner of the wall, and lost his way.

Cheng Ming wandered around and saw a cricket crouching on the wall, staring at it, the cricket was short and dark with red skin, not the previous one.Fame thinks he is thin and small, so don't catch him.The bug on the wall suddenly jumped down between the sleeves.Looking at it, it looks like a dog with plum blossom wings, square head and long feet. It seems to be a good breed, so I am happy to accept it. Yu offered it to the court, feeling apprehensive in his heart, fearing that he might not please his boss.I thought: "Try the fight first, and then you will know the pros and cons."

A good-for-nothing young man in the village domesticated an insect and named it "Crab Shell Green". Want to sell at a high price and make huge profits, but no one cares about it.When he became famous, he came to visit and asked for defeat. The young man watched his cricket and laughed.Since he took out his pet and put it in the cage, the crab shell green has a slender figure and a huge body. When he became famous, he felt ashamed of his appearance and dared not compete.The young man insisted again and again, and became famous thinking, "If you die, you will die. Anyway, my cricket is useless, it is better to fight and make everyone laugh."

Thinking of this, he took out the cricket and put it in a porcelain basin.Xiao Chong lay motionless, as stupid as a chicken.The young man laughed loudly, and brushed the insect's beard with pig hair, but he still didn't move.The young man laughed again and fiddled repeatedly, the little insect was furious and rushed forward, fighting with each other, flapping its wings.Er saw the little worm jumping up, stretching its tail and stretching out its beard, biting the crab shell and turning its neck.The young man was terrified and shouted: "Admit defeat. Stop fighting, stop fighting."

Hearing this, the little worm fluttered its wings and sang joyfully, as if telling its master: I won.Overjoyed to become famous, he enjoyed playing with the young man when suddenly a rooster rushed over, opened his mouth and pecked at the cricket.Cheng Ming was shocked and pale, shouting again and again.Xiaochong jumped slightly, retreated two feet, and the big rooster missed the shot.Then he clucked forward, pressing harder and harder.The blinking eye worm was already under its claws, Famous didn't know how to rescue it in a hurry, stomping his feet in anxiety, his face turned bloodless.

At this moment, the big rooster suddenly wailed, turned around in place, shook its head, stretched its neck, and was in great pain.Taking a closer look, the little bug had jumped off the cockscomb at some point, and was biting hard at the moment.Surprised by fame and surprise, he carefully retrieved the cricket and hid it in a bamboo tube.

The next day, Cheng Ming presented the little worm to the county magistrate, and the county magistrate saw that the worm was young and scolded loudly.The county magistrate didn't believe him when he became famous and said that the cricket was abnormal.Take a cricket and order the worms to fight with it, seven or eight in a row, invincible and invincible.He also ordered Xiao Chong to fight cocks, and it was unstoppable, as Famous said.The county magistrate, Dayue, rewarded him with fame, dedicated Xiaochong to the governor, and the governor presented it to the emperor, and attached a memorial, praising Xiaochong for his bravery.

Once in the palace, the worms are invincible, fighting over butterflies, praying mantises, oil tarts, black silk foreheads and other top-notch crickets in tribute, winning every battle, no one can beat it.Every time the little insect heard the sound of the zither, it danced lightly. The emperor was overjoyed, and issued an imperial edict, rewarding the governor with a brocade of famous horses.The governor rewarded the county magistrate, the county magistrate rewarded him with fame, exempted him from taxes and duties, allowed him to enter the county school, and was promoted as a scholar.

A year later, the son of fame regained his spirit, and he said that he was transformed into a body to promote weaving, light and good at fighting, and now he is only coming back to life.The governor also became famous with generous rewards. Within a few years, there were hundreds of hectares of fertile land, countless pavilions, herds of cattle and sheep, and sable furs and horses when traveling, and a wealthy party.