Ghost Story of Liaozhai

A wealthy family in Hebei put up a list to hire a husband. A scholar came to recommend himself. The master came out to meet him. The scholar was eloquent and cheerful.The scholar said that Hu was a man of profound knowledge, opened a museum to teach apprentices, and was dedicated to his work.But there is a shortcoming, going out to play from time to time, and returning late at night.He didn't knock on the door when he came back, he either went through the wall or escaped from the ground. He had extraordinary supernatural powers. The master secretly suspected that he was a fox demon, but because Hu's words and deeds were humble and polite, and he never showed any malice, so he was not afraid and remained polite. entertain him.

Mrs. Hu had heard about the beauty of her master's daughter for a long time, and wanted to marry her. She mentioned this matter to her master many times, but the master pretended to be deaf and dumb, and refused repeatedly.One day Hu left with an excuse, but the next day a visitor came to visit him suddenly, riding a donkey.The host welcomes him into the house. The man is in his fifties, with clean clothes and elegant demeanor. He has stated his intention of coming here: Entrusted by the Hu family, he came to propose marriage.The master was silent for a long time, and said: "Mr. Hu and I are very close friends, why bother to get married? Besides, my daughter has already been betrothed to someone else, and my little old man is really helpless."

The guest said: "Why does the old man open his eyes and talk nonsense? Ling Ai is clearly in the boudoir, why refuse people thousands of miles away?" Asked again and again, the host just refused.

The guest was displeased, and said: "The Hu family is also a big clan, isn't it worthy of your husband's daughter?"

The owner said bluntly: "I have no other intentions, it's just that the monsters have different paths." The guest was furious when he heard the words, and the owner was also angry.

The guest took the lead in making trouble, and stretched out his hand to grab the host's chest, but the master was quick and easy to avoid, and shouted: "Come, chase the guest away." Several servants took the broomsticks and beat the guest out with the sticks, and the guest was in a panic. Fleeing, he lost the donkey in the courtyard in a hurry, and didn't take it away.

The donkey has a long tail and erect ears, its whole body is as black as ink, and its body is huge. The owner stepped forward to tease it, but the animal didn't respond. With a slight push, the donkey fell to the ground and transformed into a grass insect.

After the guests left, the host was worried that the Hu family would come to retaliate, so he secretly guarded.The next day, a large number of fox soldiers came to the door to provoke, cavalry, infantry, bows, spears, horses neighing and people boiling in a threatening manner.The master was too frightened to show up, and the fox threatened to set fire to the house, which made the master even more frightened.

In the face of a crisis, all the servants loyally protect the lord, come out with clamor, throw flying stones, shoot sharp arrows, and the monsters fight each other, attacking each other, each with damage.After a long time, the fox demon became timid and dispersed one after another, throwing swords, guns, swords and halberds all over the ground. When he picked it up, he saw what kind of weapon it was, but it was just a pile of sorghum leaves.

All the servants laughed loudly, "The fox demon and the donkey don't have enough skills, but that's all." They were bold in their mouths, but they didn't dare to relax their vigilance and put on strict defense in private.

The next day everyone was patrolling in batches, and suddenly a giant, about three meters high and six feet in circumference, descended from the sky, wielding a big knife in his hand, and killed everyone one by one.The servants drew up their bows and arrows to fight back. After several rounds of arrows were fired, the giant fell to the ground and died, but he turned out to be a scarecrow.

After winning two battles in a row, the servants gradually relaxed. One morning, the master went to the toilet, and suddenly the fox soldiers gathered outside, drawing bows and arrows, shooting random arrows, all shot at his buttocks, the master was terrified, and hurriedly called for help. All the servants rushed to support after hearing the news, but the fox demon had already escaped.The master hated it so much that he pulled out the arrows one by one from his buttocks. Under the sunlight, he could clearly see that the deadly arrows were all transformed by straw and thatch.

After more than a month like this, the fox demon came to harass him from time to time. Although the harm was not serious, the martial law was strictly enforced, and the master felt a headache.

This day, Mrs. Hu personally led a group of monsters to come to make trouble. When she first saw her master, she was embarrassed and hid in the crowd, not daring to show her face. When the master called his name, Mrs. Hu had no choice but to bite the bullet and come out.

The master said: "I think I treat my husband well, and I don't have any negligence. Why do you have to fight to the death when you meet in battle?"The master stepped forward to hold his hand, invited Mrs. Hu into the house for a talk, bought wine and entertained him, and said calmly: "Mr. Get married? It’s just that the husband’s carriage, the palace, and the family and servants are all very different from human beings. How can a young girl get used to getting married rashly? Besides, as the saying goes, ‘a twisted melon is not sweet’. This is what the old man said. She, sir, decide for yourself."

When Mrs. Hu heard the words, she bowed her head and said nothing, her expression was both ashamed and embarrassed. The master smiled and said kindly: "The things before, let him drift with the wind. We are still good friends, if The young master does not dislike it, the little old man has a young son under his knees, he is only fifteen years old, and he has not yet married a wife, and he is willing to become a relative with the husband, I wonder what you want?"

Hu happily said: "Okay, let's do it this way. I have a younger sister who is fourteen years old and not ugly. Let's make a marriage today."

The two looked at each other and bowed to each other for a few times, which seemed to be the end of the suspicion. The master ordered his subordinates to set up a banquet to entertain a group of fox soldiers and fox demons. After drinking a few glasses of wine, the humans and monsters mingled together, and everyone was happy.The host asked about Hu's hometown and was about to come to propose marriage. Hu said with a smile: "Don't bother, I will personally send the little girl to marry when she is 15 years old." Drank half a bottle of wine on the table, drunk and blurred, and walked away .

A year later, when the wedding was approaching, there was no sign of Mrs. Hu. His family suspected that he had broken the contract. Finally, he brought his younger sister to visit, and said: "My younger sister has grown up, she just needs to choose a good day and auspicious day, and she can marry the young couple at any time."

The host was overjoyed, and the two families decided to hold a wedding event. On the agreed night, Mrs. Hu beat gongs and drums, rode horses and sedan chairs, and escorted the girl to the door in a lively manner.The bride's dowry is so rich that it fills the room.The fox girl has a beautiful face, a virtuous and filial personality, and a generous manner when meeting her in-laws, which is deeply loved by her master.

Mrs. Hu and her younger brother sent off their relatives together. The younger brother talked elegantly and was good at talking and drinking. The two brothers drank until dawn before leaving.

After the new daughter-in-law came in, she was good at foretelling, predicting whether the crops would be good or bad, and everything was right. She usually lives at home, and she chooses and decides all matters, big and small, and distributes them in an orderly manner.The Hu brothers also often came to visit their sister. After a long time, everyone knew the fox demon.