Ghost Story of Liaozhai

There are two men in Wendeng County, one Zhou Sheng and one Cheng Sheng.The two have been studying at the same table since they were young, and their friendship is irreversible.Cheng Sheng’s family was poor, and his living and food depended entirely on Zhou Sheng’s support. In addition, he was younger than Zhou Sheng, so he worshiped Zhou Sheng as his brother, and recognized Zhou’s wife as his sister-in-law.

Soon, Zhou's wife gave birth to a son and died suddenly after giving birth. Zhou Sheng continued to marry Wang as his wife. Because Wang was young and beautiful, she was mature and respectful. To avoid suspicion, the number of visits to Zhou Sheng's home gradually decreased.

This day, Wang's younger brother came to visit his relatives, and it happened that Cheng Sheng was there, and they were all gathered together, preparing a banquet for dinner, when suddenly a servant came to report: Zhou's slave was severely beaten by the county magistrate.

The cause of the incident is as follows: the cowherd of Mr. Huang's family trampled on the crops of Zhou's family with their cattle, and the servants of Zhou's family went up to argue.

Since Mr. Huang was a heavenly official of the Ministry of Officials before retiring, the magistrate of the county was partial and partial, regardless of right and wrong, and directly beat the servants of the Zhou family with sticks and expelled them from the yamen.

After Zhou Sheng found out the whole story, he was furious and scolded: "The pig-herding boy surnamed Huang is too deceitful. Thinking that his ancestors were only a slave of my family at the beginning, and now he is so successful, he dares to look at no one? No, I want to settle accounts with him. .”

Cheng Sheng persuaded: "Nowadays, wolves are rampant in this world, black and white are not distinguished, officials are all well-dressed, with a human face and a beast's heart, they are worse than robbers. My brother will only hit a stone with an egg, so why bother yourself?"

Zhou Sheng said: "Although this is the case, I can't swallow this breath anyway. I can't say it. I have to go to the official to argue. The county magistrate is an official ordered by the court and should be the master of the people. How can he bark like a dog all day long? Working for the powerful? I will go to the county government to sue the Huang family and see how the county magistrate will deal with it."

All the servants said: "It should be like this. Go, file a complaint, file a complaint."

Cheng Sheng tried hard to dissuade him, but Zhou Sheng insisted on going his own way, and couldn't listen to it at all, so he wrote a pleading paper himself, suing Mr. Huang for running amok in the village, committing evil and lawlessness.The county magistrate was bought by Mr. Huang early on, and when he received the pleadings, he didn't even look at it, but directly tore them into pieces, and ordered Zhou Sheng to be put in prison.Coincidentally, there were three thieves in the prison. The county magistrate and Mr. Huang worked together to intimidate and lure them secretly, instigated the thieves to plant and frame them, slandered Zhou Sheng as an accomplice of the thieves, took the opportunity to abolish Zhou Sheng's reputation as a scholar, and tortured him in every possible way.

After Cheng Sheng heard the news, he came to visit him in prison, and Zhou Sheng regretted it too late.Cheng Sheng comforted him and said: "The matter has come to this point, and the officials are protecting each other. If you want to get justice back, you have to risk your life and go to the capital to sue the imperial court."

Zhou Sheng sighed and said, "But I'm in a prison and I can't be free. How can I sue? Although I have a younger brother, he is weak and hard to become a master. The only thing he can do is to come to the prison every day to bring me meals. , you can’t count on him at all.”

Cheng Sheng said: "Brother is in trouble, brother, I am duty-bound. Don't worry, I will go to the capital for you to face the saint, and I will definitely return my brother's innocence." After speaking, he went north to the imperial city alone.

When he arrived in Kyoto, Cheng Sheng learned that the emperor lived in the inner courtyard of the palace, and ordinary people had no chance to see him.In desperation, he turned to the next best thing and went to various departments to redress the grievances in person. Unexpectedly, the officials in the capital were more or less related to Mr. Huang, whether they were old colleagues or former students, no one would accept the case.Cheng Sheng ran into obstacles again and again, and his money was exhausted, so he had to wander around the capital, waiting for an opportunity.

After ten months, the emperor finally went out to hunt.Cheng Sheng was overjoyed, so he intercepted the emperor on the road that the old man must pass, and confronted him with grievances.The emperor was quite kind, and after learning about the situation, he immediately ordered the officials of his ministry to reopen the trial.

On the other hand, Zhou Sheng was in prison, tortured every day to extract confessions, tortured into tricks, and he was not allowed to plead guilty.

When the Ministry Court opened the court for a retrial, Zhou Sheng was so hungry that he was exhausted. Mr. Huang secretly gave thousands of taels of silver to bribe the presiding judge to intercede for himself. It was all blamed on the county magistrate, demoted from his official position, exiled to the frontier, acquitted Zhou Sheng, and released in court.

After experiencing this incident, Zhou Sheng narrowly escaped death and respected Cheng Sheng even more.Cheng Sheng is disheartened, and decides to go back to the mountains and forests, seek immortality and Taoism, and invites Zhou Sheng to accompany him when he is parting.Zhou Sheng couldn't let go of the wealth and honor in the world, and the tenderness of his children, so he didn't agree.

Cheng Sheng remained silent and left the mountains alone.

After Chengsheng passed away, there was no news for several years. Zhou Sheng missed him so much that he sent people to search everywhere. They went all over the temples in the valley, but there was no trace. Taking good care of it can be regarded as repaying Cheng Sheng for saving his life in the past.

Nine years later, Cheng Sheng suddenly returned to his hometown, dressed in a yellow scarf and cloak, and visited Zhou Mansion.When the two reunited, Zhou Sheng couldn't help being overjoyed when he saw his old friend's immortal demeanor, and asked with a smile, "Where has my brother been all these years, it's easy for me to find."

Cheng Sheng said with a smile: "Idle clouds and wild cranes live in no fixed place. We met today and saw that my eldest brother is as healthy as ever. It's gratifying to congratulate."

Zhou Sheng held a banquet with wine, and said: "Since you have returned, you should keep your own place in the future, and you should take off the Taoist robe you are wearing."

Cheng Sheng smiled and said nothing.Zhou Sheng said urgently: "My dear brother, you must not be confused again. You are a man with a family and a family. Why don't you miss your old love and abandon your wife and children like a poor man?"

Cheng Sheng said with a smile: "Brother, this is wrong. This is because everyone abandoned me, not because I abandoned everyone."

Zhou Sheng saw that he didn't listen to the persuasion, so he stopped talking, changed the subject, and asked, "Where has my virtuous brother been seeking Taoism all these years?"

Cheng Sheng said: "Shangqing Palace on Mount Lao."

After the meal, the sky was dark, and the two fell asleep.Zhou Sheng slept until midnight, and in his dream he realized that Cheng Sheng's body was pressing on his chest, and he had difficulty breathing, so he hurriedly asked, "What are you doing?" Cheng Sheng didn't answer.

Er wakes up from the dream, looks back at the bedroom, and there is silence all around, and Cheng Sheng doesn't know when, so he fled away indistinctly.Rubbing his eyes, he took a closer look, he was obviously sleeping on the outside of the bed, but now he turned to the inside, but that should be where Cheng Sheng slept.I couldn't help but say to myself, "I wasn't drunk last night, what's going on?"

Taking a look in the mirror, his face changed drastically, and he turned into a grown-up man. He exclaimed, "Oh, Cheng Sheng is here, but where am I?" Frowning and thinking, I finally understood the reason: this must be Cheng Sheng's mischief , He wanted me to become a monk with him to cultivate immortality, so he used illusion to tease me. It was nothing more than desire to force me into a corner.

After thinking about this, he laughed and went into the bedroom to discuss with his wife, but because his appearance had changed, his wife refused to let him in at all.

In desperation, he had no choice but to ride a horse to Laoshan Mountain, looking for Cheng Sheng to dispel the illusion.This day, when I came to the foot of Laoshan Mountain, I met a person on the road, and asked him for news, "Daoist, have you heard of this person Chengsheng?"

The Taoist said with a smile: "I seem to have heard that he seems to be practicing in the Shangqing Palace."

After a while, I met a former classmate on the road again, and the person came up to say hello: "Brother Cheng, I haven't seen you for a long time. I heard that you climbed mountains to worship Taoism and seek immortality. Why are you still playing around in the world of mortals?"

Zhou Sheng hurriedly said: "Brother Li, you have misunderstood the person. I am your old friend Zhou Sheng." He briefly mentioned his personal experience.The man smiled and said, "So that's the case. By the way, Brother Zhou, why did you come to Laoshan?"

Zhou Sheng said: "I'm looking for Cheng Sheng, have you seen him?"

The man said: "Well, I remembered what you said. Just now there was a man who took the appearance of Brother Zhou and went up the mountain. He must be Cheng Sheng. He left not long ago, so he should be able to catch up."

Zhou Sheng quickly thanked him, and hurried up the mountain to catch up without saying a word.After walking for a while, I saw a little boy sitting by the side of the road, and asked, "Tonger, have you met Taoist Master Cheng Sheng?"

Daotong laughed and said, "Master Cheng, that's my master. Are you looking for him? Come with me." He led the way first, made a big stride and made a sharp turn, but went down the mountain, not to Shangqing Palace.

I kept running like this, the roads I passed were rough, I walked for three days, and I came to a place. It was already early winter, and the weather was getting colder, but this place was full of flowers, and the nostrils were full of flower fragrance.Tong'er led Zhou Sheng into a large hall, Cheng Sheng came out to greet him, and set up a banquet, surrounded by birds and beasts, he was very courageous and not afraid of strangers, he would chirp softly from time to time, the sound was like a melody, melodious and melodious , Occasionally jump to the table to play.

Zhou Sheng was secretly surprised, but he still missed the world of mortals and didn't want to stay long.After drinking the wine, there were two futons on the ground in the hall. Cheng Sheng asked Zhou Sheng to sit down on the futons. He sat there until the second watch, and everything was silent. Zhou Sheng gradually felt tired and took a nap. I switched bodies with Cheng Sheng, and when I woke up, I touched my chin, and my beard was a few inches, and my original appearance was restored.

A few days later, Zhou Sheng got up to say goodbye, Cheng Sheng said, "I'll take elder brother home, please close your eyes."

Zhou Sheng closed his eyes according to his words, only to hear Cheng Sheng say: "I have packed my bags for elder brother, let's set off now." Pointing to a fork in the road, he said: "This is a shortcut, elder brother is closely behind younger brother, don't go I lost it." The two stepped onto the side road, striding like flying, and within half a cup of tea time, the Zhou Mansion was already in sight.

When he came to the door, he saw that the door of the mansion was closed tightly. Zhou Sheng invited Cheng Sheng to go in with him, but Cheng Sheng refused, saying: "I'll wait by the side of the road, elder brother don't worry about me."

Zhou Sheng nodded and reached out to knock on the door, but there was no response. Cheng Sheng smiled and said, "Brother, there is no need to knock anymore. Mrs. Sister-in-law is having a good time right now, so I don't have the time to talk to you. You go through the wall. "

Zhou Sheng shook his head and said, "The wall is hard, how can we walk through it?"

Cheng Sheng smiled and said, "What's the harm in giving it a try?"

Zhou Sheng probed according to his words, and after only one click, he passed through the wall and entered the inner courtyard.When he came outside his wife's bedroom, he suddenly heard soft voices, panting and groaning inside. He hurriedly poked through the window paper and probed to check, only to see his wife, Mrs. Wang, was naked and having an affair with a servant.

Zhou Sheng was furious, he wanted to enter the house to catch the kidnapper, but he was afraid that he would be single and weak, he was not a match for a married couple, so he had to go back outside and ask Cheng Sheng for help.

Cheng Sheng agreed, drew his sword out, and the two kicked open the bedroom door together, and entered the house to punish the murderer.

When the servant saw the sharp sword, he ran away, but Cheng Sheng raised the sword and cut off his arm.Zhou Sheng caught his wife and tortured him, and only then did he learn that Mrs. Wang had misbehaved when she just passed the door, and had secretly had many sexual encounters with her servants.

Zhou stomped his feet in anger, grabbed the long sword, cut off his wife's head, cut open her belly, and hung her intestines on a tree branch.After that, with a wry smile, he left with Cheng Sheng.

Hearing a rooster crowing suddenly, Zhou Sheng woke up suddenly. He was lying on the couch, but it was Nan Ke Yimeng, who hurriedly said to Cheng Sheng, "I had a nightmare for no reason, it scared me to death."

Cheng Sheng smiled and said: "The dream is real and illusory, whether it is true or not, you will know when you go back." He took out the sword beside him, and saw blood still on the sword, so what's the explanation?

Zhou Sheng was full of suspicion, and hurried back to the mansion, Cheng Sheng pointed at the door, and said, "Didn't I just wait for you here yesterday? I'm still waiting here for you right now, after the application time, if you don't come back, I have no choice but to turn back alone. "

Zhou Sheng opened the door and entered the house, only to see that the room was bleak and there was no one there. Remembering that his younger brother lived nearby, he hurried to visit.When the younger brother saw Zhou Sheng, he cried, "Brother, since you left home, robbers suddenly came last night, killed my sister-in-law, disemboweled her, and disemboweled her, using cruel methods. I have already reported the crime, and the murderer is still at large."

Zhou Sheng kept silent, sighed for a long while and said, "There's no need to report the crime. I killed your sister-in-law Hong Xing who cheated on her. By the way, where is my son?"

The younger brother ordered his mother to take the young master out, and Zhou Sheng said: "This child was born to my ex-wife, and he is not yet ten years old. I killed my wife, and my crime is not trivial. I can't stay here anymore, and I have to leave immediately." The child is entrusted to the second brother to take care of. Remember: be a man of duty, be patient in everything, and I am leaving." After speaking, he strode out.

From then on, Zhou Sheng and Cheng Sheng lived in seclusion in the mountains, practiced Taoism hard, and finally penetrated life and death, and cultivated into immortals.

On the other hand, Zhou Sheng's younger brother raised his children. Because he was honest and not good at managing the family business, his family soon fell into poverty, and he was so poor that he couldn't even eat.

On this day, Zhou Sheng's younger brother came to the study, and suddenly found a letter left on the table with the words "Second brother's personal letter" written on it.

Mr. Zhou wondered, "Could it be that elder brother came back?" Opening the envelope, he saw a nail several inches long inside, shining golden light, very unique.

Curious, Mr. Zhou picked up his fingernails and tapped lightly on the inkstone. Suddenly, the room was filled with golden light, and the black inkstone shone brilliantly, turning into a large piece of gold.

Overjoyed, Mr. Zhou found another piece of copper and another piece of iron, and tapped them with his nails one by one. Without any suspense, the copper piece and the iron piece also turned into gold immediately.

With such a magic weapon, Mr. Zhou will soon become wealthy beyond rivals. When he drinks water, he thinks about the source, knowing that his nails are a gift from Zhou, so he takes good care of the two offspring as if they were his own.

In the days to come, the Zhou mansion had an inexhaustible supply of gold, and the common people passed it down one after another: this family knows how to touch gold.