| During my stay in Urumqi a clerk in the army told me the following
story. In Gansu there was a rich old man named Du, who lived close
to an open country dotted with lairs of foxes and badgers. Disgusted
with their howling at night, Du drove them away by smoke. After that
the family suddenly found themselves facing over a dozen look-alikes of
their master – in the inner room, the hall, and just about every corner
of the house. Indistinguishable in voice, appearance, and clothes,
they ordered the servants about in the same manner. As chaos broke
out in the family, Du’s wife and concubine locked themselves up in their
rooms for safety.
It occurred to the concubine that the embroidered packet tied to Du’s
waist belt could be used to tell him from the fakes. However, none
of the old men had the packet, which must have been stolen. Then
someone suggested to the wife and concubine, “At night the old men will
come to seek your company. Do not let any of them enter your room.
The one who turns to go away should be our master, and those that insist
on entering will be the fiends.” This plan was duly carried out,
but all the old men turned to leave after being denied entry. Someone
else came up with another idea. “Let them sit in the hall one at
a time,” he said. “Send a servant to walk by and pretend to break
something by accident. If the old man looks distressed over the loss
and swears angrily, he must be our master; if he looks totally indifferent,
that must be a demon.” When this plan was carried out, every old
man looked upset over the broken vessel and gave the servant a severe dressing-down.
A frantic night went by without any success in identifying the master of
the house.
Du had a favorite courtesan whom he went to spend the night with once
every three or four days. Informed of what was going on, she visited
the family to offer with help. “The demons have underlings to send
the secret messages about whatever can be explained in words. Why
not bring all of them to my house. As a call girl, I have nothing
to lose. Make a hefty fellow stand by my bed holding a big axe.
After I undress myself, let those old men come to join me in bed one by
one. During our hugging and fondling, the turning of the body bending
and stretching of the limbs, and the force and rhythm of every move are
things that can be felt but not put into words. The demons will know
nothing about them, for even Du himself cannot give a clear description.
If the man standing by my bed brings down the axe when I cry ‘chop’, no
demon will be able to get away.” Everything was arranged according
to her plan. The first old man climbed into bed and lifted the quilt
to get in, only to be greeted by the courtesan with a shout, “Chop!”
The hefty man, bringing down his axe, broke the head of the old man, whose
body transformed back into a fox. The second old man went in and
paused a moment, when the courtesan shouted “Chop!” Covering his
head with both hands, he darted out of the room in terror. When the
third old man came in, the courtesan fell on his shoulders and announced
in delight “Here’s the real one! Kill the rest!” Wielding clubs
and broadswords, the house servants slew most of the fake old men, who
indeed were foxes or badgers. The few who managed to escape never
showed up again.
The howling of wild animals at night does not really constitute an affront
to people. Du was inviting trouble when he drove the beasts
away by force. As for those foxes and badgers, who were capable of
assuming human form, why didn’t they call on the old man to dissuade him?
Instead, they chose to make trouble in his house, a suicidal move that
killed most of them. Both the old man and the beasts had less brains
than the courtesan.
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