Ghost Story of Liaozhai

Zhu Erdan of Lingyang has a bold and unrestrained personality, but his qualifications are dull. Although he studies hard, he has never obtained any fame.One day I was drinking with my friends, and when I was half drunk, someone jokingly said, "Brother Zhu, I have heard for a long time that you are very courageous. If you dare to go to the Hall of Ten Kings late at night and bring back the statue of the judge, my brother will treat you to dinner."

Zhu Erdan smiled, "It's a trivial matter, and it's easy to do with a little effort." After speaking, he went out.

The Hall of Ten Kings is located in the eastern suburbs, and there are many statues of Yan Jun imps carved in wood. Among them, there is one with a green face and red beard, with a ferocious face, that is the statue of Judge.

Not long after, Zhu Erdan yelled outside the door, "Everyone, I have invited the long-bearded master back." All the students welcomed into the room, and when they saw the judge's face, they all shivered and said: : "Send it back quickly, send it back quickly."

Zhu Erdan spilled wine on the ground, and apologized to the judge: "The disciple is arrogant and unruly, please don't blame the master, the humble house is not far from here, if the elder is willing, you can come and have a few glasses of thin wine at any time, don't say that there is a difference between man and god."

On the second night, Zhu Erdan went out to have a banquet with his friends, and when he returned home, there was another person in the room. He took a closer look and saw that it was the judge. He was startled and said, "Hey, it looks like I'm going to die. I offended the gods last night." , you are here to settle accounts with me tonight."

The judge rubbed his beard with his hand, and said with a smile, "No, the young master was very kind to invite you last night, and you just happen to be free right now, so you came here specially for a date. Do you have any wine?"

Zhu Erdan said: "Yes, yes, I will make a fire to warm the wine."

The judge said: "Don't bother, the weather is warm and you can drink cold."

Zhu Erdan Nuonuo agreed, "Yes, yes, Immortal, please sit down for a while, and I will tell my wife to prepare the appetizers."

Not long after, the food and wine were served, and one person and one ghost exchanged glasses, Zhu Erdan asked, "What is your surname?"

The judge said: "My surname is Lu, I don't have a name, call me Judge Lu."

Zhu Erdan asked, "The Immortal Chief is in charge of the underworld, and his knowledge must be extraordinary. Can he know stereotyped essays?"

Judge Lu said, "Reading and composing in the Yin world is similar to that in the Yang world. You can still distinguish between good and bad writing."

The two chatted and said that Judge Lu had a great drinking capacity, he drank more than ten glasses of spirits without changing his expression, Zhu Erdan couldn't beat him with all his drinking capacity, and soon passed out, when he woke up, Judge Lu had already left .

From then on, Judge Lu would come every two or three days, drinking papers, talking and laughing, and sleeping with Zhu Erdan when he was drunk.Zhu Erdan took out the article he had written and asked Judge Lu to point it out. Judge Lu circled the inappropriate parts with a red pen, shook his head and said: "The level is very bad, very bad."

That night, Zhu Erdan suddenly felt abdominal pain in his sleep. He woke up with a start, and saw Judge Lu sitting in front of him. You have no hatred, why did you kill me?"

Judge Lu smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm changing your heart." While speaking, he gathered the wounds one by one and tied them with rope.

Seeing that he was holding a bloody object in his hand, Zhu Erdan asked, "What is this?"

Judge Lu said: "This is the original heart of the young master. The young master's intellect is not quick enough, because the heart orifice is blocked. I have picked the best one from thousands of people in the vagina to replace it for you. I will write it later. Once you write an article, you will be able to use it with ease, and your pen will flourish."

Since changing his heart, Zhu Erdan has become full of literary thoughts and never forgets. Judge Lu came to visit again this night. Zhu Erdan showed Judge Lu a new eight-legged essay. Judge Lu read it carefully and said: "The article is well written, but The young master's fortune is poor, so he is destined not to be rich and powerful, and he can only win a juren."

Zhu Erdan asked, "When will you be elected?"

Judge Lu said, "This year's scientific examination will definitely win the title on the gold list."

Soon after the backyard examination began, Zhu Erdan was selected as a scholar with the first name, and in the next rural examination, he also won the No. 1 examination for Juren.

Judge Lu came to the banquet again that night. During the banquet, Zhu Erdan begged: "A while ago, Immortal Meng had a cleansing and heart-changing experience, which benefited a lot. Now I have one more thing to trouble you. I wonder if I can agree."

Judge Lu said: "What's the matter, let's hear it."

Zhu Erdan said, "The Immortal Elder's ability is as high as the sky. Since he can change his heart, I wonder if he can change his head? My wife is in good shape, but her eyebrows are not beautiful enough. I want to trouble the Immortal Elder to use a knife and axe, what?"

Judge Lu said, "No problem, but good times are hard to come by. Let me slowly figure out a way."

After a few days, Judge Lu knocked on the door in the middle of the night, holding a package in his hand, and said, "Young master told me that thing last time, but I have not been able to get it. Today I finally found a beautiful head, and I am here to fulfill my promise." , while opening the package, I saw a woman's head inside, with exquisite features and extremely beautiful appearance.

Zhu Erdan was overjoyed, and led the way, and came to his wife's room, only to find that the door was closed tightly, and the door was bolted from the inside, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open it.Judge Lu smiled slightly: "Let me do it." With his palms vigorous, he pressed lightly on the door, and the door opened. He walked into the house, lit a candle, and looked around by the candlelight. He saw his wife was still sleeping soundly. serene.

Judge Lu walked to the bed, took out a dagger from his boots, and cut lightly on Zhu's wife's neck like cutting tofu. Correct the position so that the positions match, and said with a smile: "It's done, you find a place to hide your wife's old head, and I will leave."

The next morning, when his wife woke up from the dream, she felt that her neck was sore and numb, and her cheeks were sticky and extremely uncomfortable. When she touched it with her hands, it was full of coagulated blood. After washing his face, the water in a basin turned bright red.Take a mirror and take a look, the person in the mirror looks like a picture, as beautiful as a fairy, where is the original self?

So who does this new head belong to?

It turned out that Wu Yushi had a daughter with a distinctive appearance. She was nineteen years old. On the day of the Lantern Festival, she went to the Palace of Ten Kings to play. There were a lot of tourists, and there was a rascal who coveted Ms. Wu's beauty. Ms. Wu's boudoir was intended to humiliate, but Ms. Wu resisted, annoyed the rascals, and was severed with a knife.

When the bad news came, the family members were distraught, hurriedly collected the body, held a funeral, and ordered the maid to guard the mourning hall. Who would have thought that the next morning, they would find that the lady's head was missing, and it was naturally taken away by Judge Lu.

Unknown, the family filed a lawsuit against the government, and the county magistrate sent yamen servants to arrest the murderer. Three months later, there was no progress in the case.Not long after, the news of Zhu Erdan's wife's head change reached Wu Yushi's ears. Wu Yushi was furious and came to Zhu Erdan's door to argue with Zhu Erdan. Zhu Erdan argued, "My wife's head was changed in her sleep. I really don't know what happened. My lord framed it If I killed your daughter, wouldn't that be wrong to a good person?"

Wu Yushi didn't believe it, so when he sued the court, the county magistrate was in every possible way and couldn't make a decision.Zhu Erdan was involved in a lawsuit, so he had to ask Judge Lu for help. Judge Lu said with a smile, "It's not difficult. I'll let Ms. Wu explain the truth herself."

That night Wu Yushi saw his daughter coming in his sleep, and said: "The child was killed by Su Xi and Yang Danian, and has nothing to do with Mr. Zhu. Mr. Zhu disliked his wife's ugly appearance, so Judge Lu exchanged his daughter's head with Mrs. Zhu's. Now, although my daughter is dead, but her head is still alive, father, please don't make things difficult for the Zhu family."

Erer woke up from a dream, and Wu Yushi discussed countermeasures with his wife. The wife also had the same dream. The two dared not neglect, and hurriedly told the county magistrate about the dream. The county magistrate dispatched his men to arrest Li Danian and bring him to justice. .

The following days were uneventful, and Zhu Erdan went to Beijing to take part in the examination three times, but failed three times, so he was disheartened. Thirty years later, Judge Lu said to him, "My son's life is over, and he will die soon."

"When will you die?"

"Five days later."

"Is there any help?"

"It's predestined, how can it be changed? In the eyes of an open-minded person, life and death are nothing more than a cycle. How can you enjoy life and why should you fear death?"

Zhu Erdan nodded and said: "The elder fairy is right." So he bought the coffin and shroud, and took care of the funeral affairs calmly.

Five days later, Zhu Erdan really died, and his wife was watching the spirit at home, weeping sadly, when the soul of Mr. Zhu floated in, his wife was terrified, and asked, "Master, are you a human or a ghost?"

Zhu Erdan said: "I am indeed a ghost, but it is the same as when I was alive. I miss you orphans and widows, so I am reluctant to part with you."

"In ancient times, there was a saying of reviving the soul. Since the soul is still alive, Xianggong, why didn't he bring his life back to life?"

"The will of God cannot be violated."

"What kind of job does Xianggong do in Yin?"

"Judge Lu recommended me to be in charge of the documents and to be granted an official title. My lady doesn't have to worry about me."

"Where is Lu Xianchang? Is he here too?"

"Yes, Judge Lu is coming with me, prepare the food and drinks quickly."

The wife wiped away her tears and went to work in the kitchen. Soon a table was set up for a banquet. In the room, the husband and Judge Lu could only be heard talking and laughing loudly, just like before. After midnight, the voice stopped, and the two left quietly without saying goodbye. go.

Every now and then, Zhu Erdan would go home, sometimes sharing the same bed with his wife, taking care of the housework and teaching his son to read.

His son, Zhu Wei, was five years old. He was clever and enlightened. He was able to write at the age of nine. He was admitted as a scholar at the age of 15. Every time he played with his father, he was kept in the dark. He didn't know that he had been dead for a long time.

That night Zhu Erdan came to bid farewell to his wife and said, "I'm leaving, and we will never see each other again."

The wife asked "Where are you going?"

Zhu Erdan said: "The Jade Emperor granted me the title of Minister of Taihua, in charge of Huashan Mountain, and I will take office soon. I am busy with official duties and have a long journey, so I will not be able to come back in the future." couple? "

Then he said to Zhu Wei: "Be a good person, don't waste your studies. After ten years, you and I will meet again." After speaking, he strode away.

Later, at the age of 25, Zhu Wei passed the Jinshi examination and was ordered to go to Mount Hua to offer sacrifices. When he passed by Huayin, a large group of people suddenly rushed towards him. There was a man sitting in a luxurious carriage, which was Zhu Erdan.

When father and son met, there was a warmth of their own. Zhu Erdan said: "My son has a very good reputation as an official, and he can rest in peace as a father." A knife will keep you rich and powerful."

Zhu Wei drew out his knife and stared at it, only to see that the workmanship was exquisite, and a line of small words was engraved on it, "Brave is big but heart is small, wisdom is round and action is square."

Later, Zhu Wei came to Sima and gave birth to five sons, who were named Shen Qian and Hun Shen in turn.That night, Zhu Erdan came to entrust a dream, "The saber should be given to Zhu Hun, and this grandson will be promising in the future."

Zhu Erdan's expectations were right. Later, when Zhu Hun grew up, he became the chief constitution, with remarkable achievements.