| An Official-in-waiting who had just rented a house in Hufangqiao Road
in the capital was informed, “A fox lives in this house. You will
not be disturbed if you offer a sacrifice before you move in.” Being
a tightfisted man, he refused, but nothing unusual happened when he moved
in. Shortly afterward he married a concubine. Received into
his house on the wedding day, she was sitting alone in the room when she
heard dozens of whispering voices outside the window commenting on her
looks. Bashfully she kept her head lowered. When they went
to bed that night after blowing out the candle, the whole room was suddenly
filled with giggles. The moment he made a move, it was described
in a loud voice. Several nights passed like this. Unable to
bear it any longer, he went to a Taoist priest asking him to exorcise the
fox. After hearing him out the priest said, “Only when a demon has
harmed people can I invoke the heavenly gods to seize it and punish it.
If the demon has merely been playing a prank without causing much harm,
there is no need for divine intervention. Likewise, the government
does not take any action against someone for playing a prank without causing
real trouble. How can you bother the gods with such a trivial matter?”
At the end of his rope, the official-in-waiting offered a sacrifice and
libation to the fox. That very night his room became quiet.
He said with a deep sigh, “Now I understand the importance of social etiquette!” |
