Ghost Story of Liaozhai

A certain woman in Zhaocheng County, over seventy years old, gave birth to a son.One day, the son entered the mountain and was devoured by a tiger.The old woman was in so much pain that she told the government about it.

The county magistrate laughed and said, "I don't know which law should be used to deal with tigers hurting people." Hearing this, the old woman burst into tears and couldn't control herself.The county magistrate yelled loudly, but the woman was not afraid.The county magistrate pitied her for being old and lonely, and couldn't bear to use torture, so he had to coax her, "Well, well, I will give you an order to arrest the tiger and bring it to justice." .”

The county magistrate had no choice but to ask all the officials in the hall, "Who is capable of catching a tiger?"

A yamen servant surnamed Li Mingneng came out drunk and said, "I can." The county magistrate was overjoyed and immediately showed the official document and ordered him to handle the case with full authority.Seeing this, the old woman was willing to leave.

After Li Neng sobered up, he felt quite regretful, thinking: "Could it be that the county magistrate deliberately set up this situation in order to perfunctory the old lady, and asked me to carry the vat?" Go back and report back.The county magistrate said angrily: "Bold and talented, you clearly boasted that you have the ability to catch the real culprit. In court, how can you go back on your word?" Li Neng scolded his boss, embarrassed and dissatisfied, immediately He shouted: "If you want to catch tigers, that's fine. But you must give me the power of life and death. All the hunters in the county will be assigned to me." The county magistrate didn't even think about it, and smiled: "Yes."

So Li Neng gathered hunters, searched in the mountains, and lay in ambush in the valley day and night, thinking: "If you catch a tiger randomly, you can go to work. As for whether the tiger is the real murderer, I don't care much."

In the blink of an eye, one month passed, but nothing was found. The county magistrate was furious, and immediately ordered, "Li Neng is negligent in his duties, and he will be beaten with a hundred army sticks first." Board, afraid and anxious.

In desperation, he went to the Yuewang Temple in the east of the city to pray to God, prayed on his knees, and cried loudly.After a while, a tiger came in from the outside. Li Neng was very astonished, fearing that the tiger would violently attack.Fortunately, the tiger had no intention of doing evil, but just squatted in front of the door, not looking around, and didn't know what was going on.

Li Neng asked tremblingly: "Brother Hu, brother Hu, did you kill the old woman's son? If so, I will arrest you and bring you to justice. Please do me a favor and don't resist." He took out the rope while speaking , tied the tiger's neck.The tiger bowed his head and obeyed his ears, letting himself be manipulated.

Li Neng brought the tiger to the court, and the county magistrate asked it: "The old woman's son, did you really swallow it?" The tiger nodded and admitted.The county magistrate said: "Killing for life is the eternal law. The old woman has only one son, and now you kill her. You call her dying, how can she live? If you are willing to be her son, I will forgive you." Tiger nodded again.The county magistrate was overjoyed, and immediately released the tiger and let him go.

When the old woman heard about this, she couldn't help complaining that the county magistrate was ignorant and didn't avenge her son.At dawn the next day, I opened the door and saw that there was a dead deer on the ground outside the house out of thin air, which was naturally sent by the tiger.The old woman was surprised and delighted, so she sold the venison for money to spend the day.Since then, the tiger often sent things, either dead pigs or sheep, or silver taels of cloth, which was a habit. Over time, the old woman's family has gradually become richer, and she has no worries about food and clothing, which is far better than when her son was alive.I was secretly grateful to Tiger Ende in my heart.

Every time the tiger comes, he likes to lie down under the eaves and doesn't go all day.Humans and animals live together in peace and harmony, with mutual trust and no suspicion.A few years later, when the old woman passed away, the tiger came to worship in the house, roaring loudly and looking sad.

The old lady had a lot of savings, and the tribe used the silver taels to handle her funeral affairs. On the day of the funeral, the coffin was buried in the ground, and the tomb was just closed when a tiger came running wildly. The guests were terrified and fled one after another.The tiger came straight to the grave, screaming and howling like thunder, and it took a long time before it left.

Feeling the kindness of the tiger, the villagers specially built a "Tiger Temple of Righteousness" in the eastern suburbs to worship on festivals.

The ancestral hall still exists today.