It is said that during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a scholar named Chen Bin, who was on his way to Beijing to take the exam. He was originally from Putian, Fujian. When passing through a small town, the town's name was Ping'an Town. Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Bin stayed in an inn called Yuelai Inn.
The shopkeeper Li Datong seemed to be very hospitable. Seeing Chen Bin's tired appearance, he asked, "I wonder if this gentleman went to Beijing to take the exam?"
Chen Bin replied: "Exactly."
The shopkeeper said again: "Sir, please wait a moment, I will bring you something." Chen Bin suddenly felt very strange, and secretly thought about how to eat dead crabs . I don't know this shopkeeper, why did he give me something? Woolen cloth?
After a while, the shopkeeper took out a small box from the room and said to Chen Bin: "Sir, this is for you."
Chen Bin took the small box and opened it to see that it was a box of cinnabar. Chen Bin was even more surprised and asked: "The shopkeeper is this…?"
Before Chen Bin finished speaking, the shopkeeper responded quickly: "Sir, you must ask, right? However, it is good for you to give this to him. Is this your first time to take the exam?" Chen Bin After hearing this, he nodded, "That's why I'm giving you this box of cinnabar." Chen Bin just listened and naturally didn't understand why, looking confused.
The shopkeeper continued: "That's right, sir, I saw that you were going to take the exam alone, and it was your first time passing by this place, so naturally you didn't know about it. From here to the capital, you will definitely pass by Hulang Mountain, which is named after Sir, your feet are too strong to pass in one day, and you will definitely spend the night in the mountains, and this cinnabar is prepared for you."
Chen Bin seemed to understand what the shopkeeper meant, so he asked: "What the shopkeeper means is that there is something unclean in that mountain?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said: "Yes, sir, but you don't have to worry, that thing doesn't hurt anyone, but if you are still afraid, just use this point to go up, and it will not come close to you." Chen Bin listened. Finally, I was very grateful to the shopkeeper for his kindness.
Chen Bin hurried to Beijing the next day. As the shopkeeper said, he could not finish the Tiger Wolf Mountain in one day, so he had to spend the night in a thatched hut in the mountain (thatched huts were built by hunters when they went up to the mountain to hunt). There are some simple furniture, stools, tables and beds. The table is near the window, and there is an oil lamp with a little oil on it. Because I have to rush for the exam, reading every day is a must for scholars, so I took advantage of it before it was too late. , lit the oil lamp and read a book by the window.
After reading for a while, Chen Bin heard a "rustling" sound coming from outside. Chen Bin thought it was something like insects and beasts in the mountains, so he didn't pay attention. After a while, a dark thing suddenly crawled in from the window. Chen Bin was startled by this thing. Chen Bin didn't react yet and wanted to run away. He just sat blankly on the stool in front of the window and didn't dare to move… He hesitated and didn't dare to move. How to eat dead crabs , so he had to sit still. At this time, Chen Bin remembered The shopkeeper slowly reached out to open the box of cinnabar in the bag, and used a brush to dot some cinnabar on the black thing. As the shopkeeper said, this thing stopped approaching Chen Bin after being dotted with cinnabar. To be precise, it stopped making the slightest move and stopped there.
At this time, Chen Bin used the weak light to see clearly what this dark thing was. This sight really scared Chen Bin to death. This black thing turned out to be a human hand, about as long as the elbow. All five fingers had grown long and hard nails, and the nails were covered with stains. It is black and yellow, and the skin on the hand is completely wrinkled, as if there is no flesh and blood. This is simply a ghost hand. Perhaps because of the cinnabar in his hand, Chen Bin became a little bolder and gently wiped off the cinnabar on his hand with a piece of rice paper. The hand continued to crawl forward as if nothing had happened. Then, when the ghost hand was about to crawl in front of the scholar, the scholar immediately put cinnabar on the ghost hand, and the ghost hand could not move again.
At this time, the oil in the oil lamp was about to burn out. The light went out and on, and Chen Bin began to be a little scared. Was he going to spend the night with this ghost? I don’t know if this ghost hand will make the next move. I remember the shopkeeper said that this ghost hand didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but with such a scary thing around, it’s impossible not to be afraid, right? This night, Chen Bin barely slept a wink. Just as he was about to be pulled away from sleep, he was immediately woken up by fear in his heart. In this way, Chen Bin waited in confusion until the next morning. When he looked at the table again, the ghost hand had disappeared, as if it had never appeared. The only box left was obviously used cinnabar, so what happened last night was not a dream… The scholar felt scared when he thought about it, so he packed his baggage and continued on his way to the capital.
It turns out that this ghost hand is nothing but the stump left by a mandrill ghost.
The origin of the story is this. In the early Yuanjia years of the Song Dynasty, a man named Wang in Fuyang County placed a cage in a ravine to catch crabs.
Shan said that one day, Wang Tianyou came to the place where the cage was placed to collect his harvest. He didn't want someone to break the cage. So he said angrily, "I rushed early and late to come and take a look at dawn, but I saw There was a piece of wood about two feet long in the crab pot, and the cage was broken. Who was so unreasonable and broke the cage?"
Wang Tianyou angrily took out the wood and threw it on the shore, repaired the cage, and then placed it in place before returning home. But when I went to see it the next day, I saw that the piece of wood was in the cage again, and the cage was broken like yesterday.
"Who is playing a prank?" Wang Tianyou impatiently took out the piece of wood again, threw it far away, and then repaired and installed the cage. However, when I went to look at it on the third morning, I found that just like the previous two days, the wood was in the crab pot again and the cage was broken again.
"This is a bit weird!" Wang Tianyou couldn't help but become suspicious: maybe it wasn't a monster causing trouble. "Could this piece of wood be transformed by a monster? Otherwise, no matter how far I throw it, it will always run back into the cage?" So, Wang Tianyou repaired the cracks in the cage, sealed it, and took the wood home. , preparing to split it and use it as firewood when we get home.
While walking, when he was still three miles away from home, Wang Tianyou heard a slight turning sound in the cage. Wang Tianyou turned around and saw that the piece of wood had turned into a monster. It had a human face but the body of a monkey, and it only had one foot and one hand.
It said to Wang Tianyou: "I love to eat crabs by nature. I go into the water every day, break your cage, and get into it to eat crabs. I am really sorry for you. Please forgive me! I am a mountain god. As long as you open the cage and let me go." Go out and I will repay you well and let you catch many, many crabs."
When Wang Tianyou saw this scene, he was not afraid at all. Instead, he replied angrily: "You broke my cage and ate my crabs not once or twice. You deserve to die! How can any mountain god do this?"
"Please spare me!" The monster repeatedly begged Wang Tianyou to let it go and spare its life. Wang Tianyou turned his head and ignored it and continued walking forward.
The monster asked Wang Tianyou again: "What is your last name? Can you let me know?" The monster in the cage kept asking questions.
"The mountain goblin who keeps asking me for my name could be the legendary mandrill, right?" Wang Tianyou thought to himself: "I heard that as long as the mandrill knows his name, it will kill people!"
"Tell me your name! I'm going to die. At least let me know your name, right?" the monster begged.
"Hmph! I won't tell you! You mandrill ghost! You still want to harm me. Today I will do justice for heaven and destroy you, the evildoer." Wang Tianyou just turned his head and glanced at it coldly.
After arriving home, Wang Tianyou lit a fire and threw the monster into the fire and burned him to death. After the mandrill ghost was burned to death by the fire, one of his unique arms was luckily not burned to ashes. It turned into a branch and was played with by ignorant children at the time. Unknowingly, it was transferred to the mountains again. This mountain is the Tiger Wolf Mountain mentioned above. After six to seven hundred years of absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, this inconspicuous branch has become an evil spirit; this is where the scary ghost hands often appear. Therefore, the cinnabar-pointing scene mentioned in the previous episode appeared.
—Wonderful ghost stories are all in the ghost house: guiguaiwu.com—
evaluate:
This story incorporates the spooky elements of traditional Chinese culture and tells a supernatural event that spans the ages through the perspective of scholar Chen Bin. The cinnabar and ghost hands in the story add mystery to the plot, while the shopkeeper's kindness and Wang Tianyou's decisive actions embody the kindness and courage in human nature. On the whole, this is a ghost story with a compact structure and full of traditional cultural colors. While enjoying the story, it also gives people a deeper understanding of ancient Chinese beliefs and folklore.