Ghost Story of Liaozhai

Changshan Liu Hongxun, known as Liu Zhongtang, went to North Korea with the military attache.I heard that there is an island here, where gods live, and I want to visit it by boat.The king said: "Not for the time being, we have to wait for Xiao Zhang to come back."——It turns out that Anqi Island does not communicate with the world. Only his disciple Xiao Zhang can visit once or twice a year. If anyone wants to go to the island, he must obtain Xiao Zhang's approval. Otherwise, if you go alone, you will be hit by a hurricane, and the boat will be destroyed.

After a day or two, the king summoned him.When Liu Hongxun went to the pilgrimage meeting, he saw a man in his thirties, wearing a bamboo hat and a long sword at his waist, with a handsome face. When he inquired, he turned out to be Xiao Zhang.Liu Hongxun informed him of his intention to go to the island, and Xiao Zhang agreed, saying, "Your Excellency can go, but the deputy envoy cannot accompany you. Although you have many servants, only two are qualified to go to the island. Come with me."

A group of people came to the seaside, boarded a flat boat, and the boat sailed very fast, like riding clouds and mist, and arrived at Anqi Island in a short time.It was the middle of winter and the weather was extremely cold, but the island was as warm as spring, and the valley was full of flowers.Xiao Zhang took him into a cave. There were three old men sitting in the cave. The old man in the middle stood up to greet the guests, bowed his hands and invited Liu to take a seat.The two old men next to him closed their eyes and remained indifferent.

The old man who greeted guests patted his hands lightly, and a boy walked into the cave. The old man said: "Your guest is coming, why don't you serve tea?" Stone wall, there is an iron cone inserted on the stone wall, Tong'er stretched out his hand to pull out the iron cone, water poured from the stone wall, and poured it into tea cups one after another.After a while, the teacup overflowed, and Tong'er inserted the iron cone again.Turn around and go into the cave, offering tea to Liu to enjoy.

Liu took the tea and saw that it was green in color. He took a sip, it was cold to the bone, his teeth chattered, he shook his head, not daring to drink any more.The old man smiled slightly, and told Tong'er, "The guest is afraid of the cold, so change a cup." Tong'er nodded, drank the remaining tea in one gulp, turned and left.Still returning to the stone wall, he pulled out the iron awl, filled a cup of tea again, and returned to the cave.

This bowl of tea is full of fragrance and steaming. Obviously it has just been brewed. Liu Hongxun was overjoyed. After drinking it in two or three sips, he asked the old man about his fate. ?” Liu Hongxun asked about the way of immortality, and the old man said: “Your Excellency is a minister of wealth and honor, and the art of immortality is not something you can know.”

Liu Hongxun touched the soft nail twice in a row, feeling uninterested, and left immediately. Xiao Zhang got up and saw him off, and sent him back to North Korea.After returning home, he mentioned this matter to the king. The king sighed and said, "It's a pity that you didn't drink that cup of herbal tea. This is the congenital jade liquid. Drinking it can increase your lifespan by a hundred years."

Not long after, Liu Hongxun set off to return to the country. The king gave him a gift, wrapped it heavily in cloth, and asked: "This thing cannot be opened at the seaside." Liu Hongxun casually ignored it.After landing, I couldn’t wait to take out the package and check it. There were more than 100 layers of cloth, and I finally untied it. I saw a bronze mirror inside the cloth. In the eyes.As he was staring, the sea was choppy, and a hundred-foot-high wave was hitting him head-on. Liu Hongxun was shocked and ran away. The mirror was thrown into the sea, and the tide receded immediately.