 |
Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms |
|
 |
|
by Yuan Mei |
| An imperial guard, Li Hongfeng, had a son by the name
of Li Yi, who also had the official name Yi Shan, because he had once been
a scholar in the Hanlin Academy.
Li Yi was a well-rounded scholar. He was able to expound knowledgeably on neo-Confucian philosophy, and he wrote excellent poetry and prose. One evening, while he was reading under the lamplight, two beautiful women appeared before him. They teased him mercilessly and soon grew quite brazen, and eventually Li found himself subjected all sorts of lewd advances. With firm resolve, Li remained impassive throughout the ordeal. Later that evening, after Li had finished dinner, he heard a voice coming from his stomach. "I attached myself to some of the eggplants you ate for dinner. Now that I'm actually housed in your stomach, you won't be able to ignore me, will you?" The voice was clearly that of one of the women who had attempted to seduce him under the lamplight earlier that evening. From this day on, Li walked around with glazed eyes, as if in some sort of trance. His behavior became more and more irregular. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, he would suddenly slap himself in the face. He was once seen out in a rainstorm kneeling on the ground with only a small pebble on his head for protection, making absolutely no effort to seek shelter from the torrent. Other times he would suddenly bow down before someone, placing his head on the floor in a mock form of worship, maintaining the position even while he was dragged away. As the days passed his face grew sallow and pasty and his body grew thinner. It seemed that he would soon waste away. When the spirit wanted to communicate with others, Li acted as the medium and would variously write or speak the spirit's message. One day a school friend of Li's, a man by the name of Jiang Shiquan, came and challenged the spirit directly, saying, "What on earth is a ravishingly beautiful thing like you doing with old Li? Why don't you come and try your luck with me?" Li wrote the spirit's brief reply in two characters, which had the general meaning that they were not fated to be together. Jiang tried again, asking, "Why would someone of your outstanding beauty want to live in such a disgusting place as Li's stomach?" Li wrote the spirit's reply. "You really are too revolting. Go away!" At the time, Li's father was fortunate enough to be on friendly terms with the governor of Jiangxi, a Mr. Wu. Governor Wu, hearing of the Li family's predicament, invited the young scholar to his residence for a meeting with the Daoist grand master Zhang. Zhang built an altar at the Tenghua Pavilion and commenced the purification of scholar Li--for three days they ate sacred vegetarian meals and chanted incantations. Grand Master Zhang's magicians then lifted a placard on which was written "We will exorcise the demon on the fifteenth of March." When the day arrived, spectators had gathered from far and wide to view the exorcism. The grand master took a position at the center with the magicians seated along the sides. Li was asked to kneel before the grand master and open his mouth. Zhang then put two fingers down Li's thoat and extracted from his mouth a fox the size of a small cat. The fox then spoke: "Elder Sister, I came to help you, but unfortunately I've been captured. Please be careful and whatever you do don't come out." From inside Li's stomach came a reply. "All right, I'll be careful." It was only then they realized that two demons were living in poor Li's stomach. Grand Master Zhang took the fox fairy, sealed it in a jar, and threw it in a nearby river. After the expurgation of the fox, Li's condition seemed to improve a little. However, it wasn't long before the voice from his stomach was heard again: "In a previous life you and I were enemies. When I had trouble finding you again, I begged help from my friend the fox fairy. I certainly didn't mean her to come to any harm. How can I ever forgive myself for her demise? How can I ever be in peace? I'll never forgive you for causing her death." After this speech, Li experienced great pains in his stomach. With the situation worsening again, the grand master asked the magicians for their prognosis. One of the magicians took out a magic mirror and shone it into Li's stomach, then stated: "We're not dealing with a demon. This is the ghost of someone who was wronged by Scholar Li in a previous life. I am sorry, but we have no power to cure this type of affliction." This news was then passed to the governor by Grand Master Zhang. Since there was no other recourse, Li was sent back to his family to rest. Sadly, it was not long before he died. |
