Huzhou Zongxiang is a scholar. In autumn, he went to patrol the fields and saw the lush crops swaying and swaying. He became suspicious and crossed the field to look, only to see a couple having sex in the wild. He smiled and was about to go back, only to see the man shamefully tie his belt and hastily leave. At this moment, the woman also sat up, and upon closer inspection, she still looked very beautiful. If Zong Xiang likes this woman in his heart and wants to have a passionate relationship immediately, but feels ashamed of this rough behavior, then he will approach her a little closer, gently touch her, and say, “Is your rendezvous happy?” The woman just smiled and didn’t say anything. Zong Xiangruo approached the woman, untied her clothes, and only saw her skin as delicate as grease, almost touching her entire body. The woman smiled and said, “pedantic scholar! How about that? Just like this, what is it?” Zong Xiangruo asked the woman’s surname. The woman said, “If you love each other once, you will have something to do. Why ask carefully?” Do you want to leave a name to establish the chastity memorial archway? “Zong Xiangruo said,” Love in the wild grass and dew. I am not used to doing this for people who are rough in the mountain village. Because you are so beautiful, you should have self-respect even if you meet privately. How could you be so careless? “
The woman listened and strongly agreed. Zong Xiangruo said, “My house is not far from here, please stay at home for a while.” The woman said, “I have been out for a long time, and I’m afraid people may suspect it, but it’s okay at night.” After inquiring in detail about the sign in front of Qing Zong Xiangruo’s house, she walked down a small path. Later, the woman really came to Zong Xiangruo’s house. They were immersed in the party, very intimate. A month later, no one knew the secret. At this moment, a Tibetan monk happened to be living in a temple in the village. When he saw Zong Xiangruo, he was surprised and pointed out, “You are shrouded in evil energy. Have you encountered anything?” Zong Xiangruo responded, “I haven’t encountered any abnormalities.” However, a few days later, Zong Xiangruo suddenly fell ill inexplicably.
Every night, that woman would come to visit him with delicious fruits, gently comforting him like a loving couple. But she always forced Zong Xiangruo, who was sick, to be intimate with her, causing him great distress. Zong Xiangruo had doubts in her heart that she was not human, but she couldn’t get rid of her. So he said, ‘There was a monk who said I was bewitched by fairies before, and now he is indeed sick. His words have come true. Tomorrow, I will invite him to come and ask for a talisman from him.’ The woman’s face immediately turned desolate upon hearing this, making Zong Xiangruo even more suspicious of her.
The next day, Zong Xiangruo ordered his family to inform the monk of the details. The monk said, “This woman is a fox spirit. Her path is still shallow and easy to subdue.” He then wrote down two talismans and handed them to Zong Xiangruo’s family, instructing them, “After returning home, place a clean jar in front of the bed and stick one talisman on the jar mouth. When the fox spirit jumps into the jar, quickly cover it with the jar, then stick another talisman on the jar, put the jar in a hot water pot, and cook it with high heat. Soon, the fox spirit will die
Family members follow the instructions of the monk. Late at night, the fox spirit finally arrived, took out the kumquat from her sleeve, and prepared to visit Zong Xiangruo. Suddenly, there was a strange noise coming from the mouth of the jar, and the fox spirit had been sucked into the jar. The family quickly rushed forward, covered the altar mouth, and pasted the second talisman. Just as she was about to take it to cook, Zong Xiangruo saw the golden oranges all over the ground and remembered her past love. She felt pity in her heart and quickly ordered her family to let her go. The family lifted the talisman and removed the basin covering the altar. The fox spirit came out of the altar in a disheveled state, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, “I was about to reach the right fruit of cultivation, but I almost turned to ashes! You are truly a kind and righteous person, and I swear to repay your life-saving kindness.” After speaking, she left.
A few days later, Zong Xiangruo’s condition worsened and he seemed to be on the brink of death. The family prepared a coffin for him. When they went out to buy it, they encountered a woman who asked, “Are you a servant of Zong Xiangruo?” The family replied, “Yes.” The woman replied, “Zong Xiangruo is my cousin. I heard that he is seriously ill and wanted to visit him, but due to circumstances, I was unable to do so. Here is a spiritual pill, please pass it on to me.” The family took the pill and informed Zong Xiangruo about it when they returned home. He learned that the cousin had no sisters, and realized that this was the fox fairy’s gratitude. After taking the pill, the condition improved significantly and recovered after ten days. To express gratitude to the fox spirit, he prayed to the sky, hoping to meet again.
One night, Zong Xiangruo was drinking alone at home when he suddenly heard the sound of fingertips tapping outside the window. Upon opening the door, it turned out to be a fox spirit. He was overjoyed, tightly grasping the hand of the fox fairy to express gratitude and inviting her to drink together. The fox fairy said, “After parting ways, my heart was heavy and I couldn’t let go. Now that I have found a suitable beauty for you, would you be willing to accept it?” Zong Xiangruo asked, “Who is she?” The fox fairy replied, “You don’t need to know. In the morning, I will go to Nanhu. If I see a woman wearing a white veil picking water chestnuts, I will quickly chase after her by boat. If I miss her, I can find a short lotus flower hidden on the shore, take it home, burn the flower stem with a candle, and you can get a beautiful woman and live a long life.” Zong Xiangruo respectfully followed the advice. At the moment of parting, the fox fairy said, “After experiencing hardships, I have come to understand the true essence of the human family. How can I invite hatred because of the love between men and women?” After saying that, she solemnly bid farewell and left.
Following the instructions of the Fox Fairy, Zong Xiangruo arrived at Nanhu and found beautiful women among the lotus flowers. Among them was a young girl, dressed in pure white crepe, with unparalleled beauty. He urged the ship to approach, but suddenly lost track of the girl. Zong Xiangruo decisively pushed open the lotus leaf and indeed found a red lotus with a stem only about a foot long. He then folded it off and took it home. After entering the room, he placed the red lotus on the table and prepared to light candles. As soon as she turned around, Honglian transformed into a beautiful woman. Zong Xiangruo was both surprised and delighted, and quickly knelt down to bow down. The girl said, ‘Silly scholar! I am a fox demon, intending to harm you!’ But Zong Xiangruo was not afraid at all. The girl asked again, “Who taught you this?” Zong Xiangruo replied, “I could have recognized you, why do I need someone else to teach you?” After saying that, he grabbed the girl’s arm, but she slipped down and turned into a delicate and translucent strange stone. Zong Xiangruo would offer it on the table and light incense for worship.
At night, he tightly closed the doors and windows, afraid that the girl would escape. Waking up in the morning, I found that the strange stones on the table had turned into thin gauze shawls, emitting a fragrant aroma. Zong Xiangruo covered herself with a blanket and slept with a shawl in her arms. In the evening, he lit up the lights, but when he returned to bed, he found the girl lying on the pillow. Zong Xiangruo was overjoyed and worried that the girl would change again, so she pleaded first and then approached her closely. The girl smiled and said, “That’s ridiculous! I don’t know who chewed on my tongue and put me in this awkward situation!” From then on, their relationship became harmonious and their wealth continued to flow. Later, the girl was ten months pregnant and the period of labor was approaching. She walked into the house and instructed Zong Xiangruo to close the door and not knock on it. The girl took out the baby by caesarean section and asked Zong Xiangruo to help wrap her abdomen. After one night, the wound healed.
Time flies, and six or seven years have passed. The woman said to Zong Xiangruo, “The cause and effect of the past are gone. I hope we can go our separate ways.” After hearing this, Zong Xiangruo burst into tears and pleaded, “When you married me, my family was poor and my life was difficult. Thanks to your company, I was able to make a slight improvement. How can you be heartless and say goodbye? You have no one to rely on, and your future children will not know where their mother’s love is. Isn’t it a pity?” The woman was saddened and said, “Gathering and parting are normal in the world. My son’s face is full of happiness, and you also live a long life. Why do you want more? My original surname is He. If you miss me, just call ‘Lotus Third Lady’, and I will appear. After speaking, he broke free and said,” I’m going
Just as Zong Xiangruo was stunned, she had already soared into the sky. Zong Xiang leaped to chase after him, only grabbing a pair of shoes. At the moment the shoes hit the ground, they turned into stone swallows, with a bright color that was as red as cinnabar, crystal clear, like crystal. He picked up the swallow and treasured it. Zong Xiangruo checked the box and found that the white veil that the woman had draped when she first arrived was still there. Whenever he misses a woman, he picks up his cloak and softly calls out to ‘Third Lady’. In an instant, a lifelike figure of the woman appears in his arms, with a smile on her face and eyes, just like in life, but unable to speak.
