Time: 2013-02-27 12:42 Source: Story Net Author: King of Stories\In Qingshi Town, there was a Hu Ji Grain and Oil Shop, managed by Hu Defa. He was originally just a young clerk, but thanks to the favor of the daughter of the old shopkeeper Chen, he married into the family and became the manager of the grain and oil shop. Hu Defa was clever and capable, well-versed in the ways of business, while Mrs. Hu Chen was frugal and managed the household well, so their life was quite prosperous.\ Over ten years quickly passed, and Hu Defa was nearing forty, but Mrs. Hu Chen had not borne him any children. As the saying goes, of the three unfilial acts, having no heir is the greatest. Hu Defa discussed with Mrs. Hu Chen the matter of taking a concubine, and Mrs. Hu Chen, being virtuous, agreed at once. So, Hu Defa bought a girl named Xiyu from Yichun Courtyard to be his concubine. From then on, they spent the nights together, leaving Mrs. Hu Chen cold and neglected.\ After three months, Xiyu became pregnant. This greatly delighted Hu Defa, and he cared for Xiyu with even more attention.\ One day, Hu Defa went with two assistants to the countryside to purchase grain. At the city gate, they encountered a young Taoist priest soliciting alms from passersby, and Hu Defa gave him a few coins. The Taoist said nothing in thanks, but stared at Hu Defa's face for a long time before speaking: 'Kind benefactor, your forehead is dark, your appearance haggard. Have you recently encountered some unlucky or ominous matter?'\ Hu Defa was taken aback, then laughed and said, 'The Daoist is joking.' He never believed in ghosts or spirits, thinking the Taoist was only trying to swindle money. Being in a hurry, he didn't care much and offered a few more coins to the Taoist. To his surprise, the Taoist firmly refused, counted the coins he had accepted, and returned them to Hu Defa. The Taoist said, 'To take money from a person who is about to suffer a great misfortune will surely bring divine punishment. Since you do not believe my words, please take care of yourself. I live at the City God Temple on the west side of the city. If any strange happenings occur in your home within three days, you may come to the temple to see me. After that, it will be too late.'\ Although Hu Defa found the Taoist rather strange, he did not pay it much mind. By the time he finished his business, night had completely fallen. Concerned about Xiyu, Hu Defa, along with his two assistants, hurried back to the city with a large cart overnight. On the way, they passed through a desolate cemetery, and Hu Defa suddenly heard a few deep claps of thunder, which puzzled him. He followed the sound with his eyes and saw a man in yellow holding a long sword, running back and forth in the cemetery.By the moonlight, Hu Defa recognized that the person was the Taoist priest he had seen during the day. The Taoist was loudly chanting, seemingly driving something away, but there was nothing in the cemetery. Just as Hu Defa and his two companions were watching in terror, the Taoist gradually grew anxious and shouted, 'Quick!' He raised the long sword in his hand and swung it against the wind; the sword immediately glowed with a blue light, and with a gentle swipe, he actually cut a gravestone in half.
Hu Defa and his two companions were terrified and fled the cemetery as if running for their lives. Back at home, Hu Defa went to Xiyu's room and told her about the strange incident. Unexpectedly, Xiyu had only heard half of it before her eyes rolled back and she fainted. Hu Defa hurriedly sent for the famous doctor Du Baozhai in town. Soon, Du Baozhai rushed over, but after a long examination, he could not diagnose the illness.
In the following days, Xiyu sometimes complained of chest tightness, sometimes of headaches, and often fainted without any apparent cause. Hu Defa consecutively invited several physicians to diagnose her, but none of them could provide the right treatment. Over time, Hu Defa noticed something strange about Xiyu's condition: whenever he approached her, she felt unwell; but as soon as he stepped away, she immediately returned to normal.
There were other strange events as well. For several consecutive nights, Hu Chenshi dreamt of a red-haired fox leisurely roaming in her backyard, and no matter how she tried, she couldn't drive it away. The next day, a few of the chickens and ducks kept in the backyard would be missing, while the doors and windows remained intact, and a fresh bloodstain appeared on the ground.
It was then that Hu Defa became alarmed. He recalled the Taoist priest's words and rushed straight to the City God Temple. The City God Temple had long been abandoned and was in ruins, with no one living there. Hu Defa hurried to the temple, but he heard the sounds of bell-ringing, chanting, and other noises inside. Hu Defa was stunned. When he pushed open the door, he saw that there was only the Taoist seated on a meditation mat, eyes closed.
Hu Defa found this very strange and asked the Taoist about the noises he had just heard. The Taoist, with an inscrutable expression, did not answer, but asked why Hu Defa had come. Hu Defa recounted what had happened at home, at which the Taoist's expression slightly changed. He instructed Hu Defa to take off his coat. Puzzled, Hu Defa obeyed. On the inner side of the coat was a yellow talisman, covered with strange, curved characters written in cinnabar.The Taoist priest took off the talisman paper and looked at it carefully, then put it into his sleeve and explained: 'This exorcism talisman is the one I secretly stuck on your back the last time we met. Whenever a demon smells this talisman, it will become restless. It seems my guess was correct: your concubine Xiyu is actually a fox spirit in disguise.' Hu Defa listened with a mix of doubt and belief. The Taoist added, 'If you, Master Hu, don't believe me, stay in the backyard with me tonight; before the third watch, the truth will be completely revealed.'
Hu Defa returned home, feeling both scared and puzzled, and invited his good friend — Meng Gao, the constable of Qingshi Town — to discuss the matter. Meng Gao also found it strange and decided to stay that night to witness it for themselves. At the second watch, the Taoist indeed arrived as promised and handed each of them a protective talisman, instructing them that no matter what strange things they saw, they must not make a sound.
After a while, Xiyu tiptoed into the backyard, looked around, and then crawled into the chicken coop, emerging much later. Hidden in the shadows, Hu Defa and Meng Gao clearly saw that Xiyu had blood at the corners of her mouth and a cruel smile on her face. In the cold moonlight, she appeared extremely terrifying.
After Xiyu left, the Taoist looked serious and said, 'This fox spirit has at least eight hundred years of cultivation. Only because she is pregnant does she come out at night to find blood to replenish her energy. With my power, it is uncertain whether I can eliminate this demon fox. There will be a fierce battle when I enter the house to capture her; you two must observe from a distance and must not enter, so as not to get hurt.' Hu Defa and Meng Gao were already terrified and quickly agreed.
Then the Taoist drew his long sword, kicked open Xiyu's door, and strode inside. Inside, it was pitch dark; Hu Defa and Meng Gao could not see what was happening at all from their distant vantage point. They first heard the sound of rushing wind, then the crashing of tables and chairs, mingled with shouting and firecracker sounds. After a while, the noise gradually subsided, and a woman was heard sobbing softly: 'Taoist, spare me!' The Taoist shouted, 'You demon, how many lives did you destroy to attain human form? Today, I will not spare you!'
A rumbling thunderclap sounded, and the room lights came on. The tables and chairs were overturned, but Xiyu was nowhere to be seen.The Taoist priest came out of the house, holding a bleeding red-haired fox upside down in his left hand and a candle in his right. He nodded to Hu Defa and said, 'The fox spirit has been eliminated. I will now return to the mountain to refine the elixir. Farewell.'
Hu Defa hurriedly asked someone to bring two envelopes of silver as thanks. The Taoist refused to accept them, laughing heartily, 'Exorcising demons and eliminating evil is the duty of disciples of Maoshan; we never accept payment from others.' With that, he drifted away.
The story spread quickly, and soon reached the ears of Fu Shouren, the magistrate of Qingshi Town. Fu Shouren was an honest and wise official. He called Meng Gao over and questioned him thoroughly. After pondering for a moment, he put on plain clothes and strolled around outside. Upon returning, he instructed Meng Gao to run an errand in another county.
Three days later, Meng Gao returned from the other county to report. Seeing the opportunity, Fu Shouren ordered Hu Defa and his wife to be brought to the courtroom and announced the start of the investigation into Xiyu's disappearance. He struck the gavel hard and shouted, 'Hu and Mrs. Chen, you conspired with an outsider Taoist to deceive people and plotted to murder Xiyu. This official has thoroughly investigated the matter. You better confess the truth immediately!'
Upon hearing that Xiyu was dead, Mrs. Hu was instantly terrified, her face ashen. She said, 'Your Honor, Xiyu's death has nothing to do with me. All of this was orchestrated by that Taoist.'
It turned out that ever since Hu Defa brought Xiyu into the family, he had grown increasingly distant from Mrs. Hu. After Xiyu became pregnant, he hadn't entered her room for over a month. Mrs. Hu was both angry and jealous. That day, she ran into a Taoist on the street who cast a divination for her. The Taoist described her family's situation down to the smallest detail and said that in less than three years, Xiyu would take over and drive her out of the house. Panic-stricken, Mrs. Hu hurriedly sought advice to avert this, and the young Taoist said that if she followed his instructions, she could expel Xiyu from the home.
At this point, Mrs. Hu repeatedly kowtowed, saying, 'I killed the chickens and ducks in the backyard myself. That night, the Taoist pretended to perform a ritual in Xiyu's room, but it was I who secretly placed a ladder at the back window and sent her away. But I really don't know the background of that Taoist; he didn't take any money from me, so I thought he genuinely wanted to help me. Who would have thought he would harm Xiyu?'
Fu Shouren stroked his beard and gave Meng Gao a glance. Meng Gao went down and brought a man and a woman into the courtroom. The woman was indeed Xiyu, but the man was a young man with delicate features.Fu Shouren pointed at the young man and asked, 'Hu Chenshi, do you recognize this person?'\ Hu Chenshi felt that the young man looked somewhat familiar. After looking carefully at him twice, she suddenly exclaimed, 'He is that Taoist! He was the one who instigated me to do those things and kidnapped Xiyu.' The young man looked ashamed, bowing his head and not daring to speak. Fu Shouren then struck the judgment gavel and shouted, 'Who are you, and why did you pretend to be a Taoist to abduct Xiyu?'\ The young man then spoke and revealed his identity. His name was Cui Ling, and he was from Qinghe County, over a hundred li away. He and Xiyu were neighbors and childhood sweethearts, growing up to love each other. Just as their families were preparing to arrange their marriage, Qinghe County suffered a drought not seen in a hundred years, and Cui Ling, forced by circumstances, had to join a circus troupe and leave to escape the famine.\ This journey lasted a full five years. When Cui Ling returned home last year, he could not find Xiyu. In fact, two years prior, Xiyu's father had died, and to cover the funeral expenses, Xiyu voluntarily sold herself. After several transfers, she was sold to Qingshi Town, over a hundred li away. Cui Ling, being a passionate man, hurried to Qingshi Town to buy back Xiyu, but arrived too late; Xiyu had already been taken as a concubine by the wealthy merchant Hu Defa. Heartbroken, Cui Ling wandered around the Hu residence daily, looking for an opportunity to meet Xiyu. When he learned that Hu Chenshi was infertile, he came up with a plan. He first had Xiyu pretend to be pregnant, inciting jealousy in Hu Chenshi. Then Cui Ling disguised himself as a fortune-telling Taoist, tricked Hu Chenshi into colluding with them, staging a performance of capturing a fox spirit, and used the opportunity to take Xiyu out of the Hu residence. They planned to run away together, but as soon as they returned to Qinghe County, they were captured by the pursuing constable Meng Gao.\ Having said this, Cui Ling looked dejected: 'How did Lord Fu know I was impersonating a Taoist?' Fu Shouren smiled proudly and explained the reason: he had never believed in ghosts or spirits and did not believe there were any fox spirits in the world. That day, after listening to Meng Gao's account, he found many suspicious points and went undercover to the Yichun Courtyard where Xiyu had stayed. He learned that Xiyu had been sold from Qinghe County, and Meng Gao said that the Taoist spoke with a Qinghe County accent. Fu Shouren guessed that the two of them might have known each other before and sent Meng Gao to quickly investigate in Qinghe County, indeed catching them red-handed.Hu Defa suddenly realized the truth, but was still somewhat confused: "That night you performed magic in the cemetery, what was going on with cutting through the tombstone with a flashing sword?" Cui Ling said: "Those were just little tricks to deceive the eyes, things I learned in the circus. I had coated the sword with some phosphorus in advance, so it would ignite when exposed to the wind. And the piece of tombstone I cut through wasn't real stone, it was made of flour. That night I hid in the cemetery ahead of time, and when you arrived, I deliberately put on this show so that you would believe in my magic. That way you would come to me to get rid of the fox spirit for you, and I could take the opportunity to remove Xiyu from your house."
Hu Defa asked again: "Then what about the talisman on my clothes, and the noises you made in Xiyu's room?" Cui Ling said: "The talisman was put on your clothes by Xiyu while you were asleep. As for the noises in Xiyu's room, they were just vocal tricks, all made with my mouth." As he spoke, he pursed his lips, imitating birdsong, wind, and thunder—indeed, it was lifelike.
