In the Ming Dynasty, there was a widow in Baoxiang Township, Chengtian Prefecture, Huguang. She had a good appearance and was seven tenths of a color, which was considered a flower in the local area. At the age of twenty, her husband passed away and she lived with her son on her own. For convenience, let’s temporarily call her Li Shi.
There are many controversies in front of the widow’s door. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Li stays at home every day and rarely goes out, so it is difficult for neighbors to see her. Every day from noon, Li would go to her bedroom to sleep and only get up in the afternoon. When it’s just dark, she will check the door, close it, and enter her own bedroom. She will also close her bedroom and not allow any maids to enter.
After the neighbors found out, they felt that even the chaste and virtuous women of ancient times could not compare to the Li family. So, fifteen years later, Li’s son Zhao Langming grew up, married a beautiful wife, and established a family and career. Zhao Langming saw that his mother was getting old and sleeping alone in the bedroom every day without anyone to talk to, which was really lonely. So, he took the initiative and bought a maid to give to his mother, asking the maid to serve her. Li refused, saying she didn’t need it and could take care of herself. However, Zhao Langming insisted that she use this maid, but Li refused four times without success, so she had to agree.
In the evening, after finishing their meal, the maid went to Li’s bedroom to serve her. Unexpectedly, a handsome young man came out of Li’s bed. Although this young man is handsome and human, he is lying on the bed, sometimes raising his head, sometimes looking behind, and his right leg is constantly digging the ground on the bed, like a donkey or a horse. The boy’s eyes lit up when he saw the maid. He pounced on her and then pretended to molest her.
The maid resisted fiercely and even opened her mouth to call for help, but the boy blocked her mouth. The maid thought she was upset about this disaster, but the young man put on his clothes and suddenly disappeared. The maid was scared a lot, and after tidying up her clothes, she shouted and went out. She found Zhao Langming’s wife and told everything she had encountered in Li’s house. Unexpectedly, Zhao Langming’s wife seemed to be accustomed to it and just let out a gentle sigh without saying a word. The maid was stunned and didn’t know what to say.
Not long after, Li unexpectedly became pregnant and gave birth to a child. To be precise, Li gave birth to a child with a horse face and human form. Because although the child is human, his appearance is very strange, just like that of a horse. After seeing the child, Zhao Langming felt very scared and suggested that the mother kill the child. Unexpectedly, the child suddenly grew into an adult and fiercely said to Zhao Langming, ‘We are both mothers, so you are my brother and I am your younger brother.’. Why did you kill my younger brother right after I was born? Oh, I’ve thought of it. Are you afraid I’ll split the family property? If I were here, I would take half of your property. You can wait, I will definitely report it to the authorities. Li was reluctant to kill his own flesh and blood, and Zhao Langming was helpless.
One day, Zhao Langming went to the clan to handle affairs, and by chance he talked about it with his fellow clan brothers, nephews, and nieces. Upon learning that Zhao Langming’s mother had given birth to a horse faced child who suddenly grew up, everyone felt strange and believed that this child must be a monster. Therefore, everyone shouted to get rid of this child. Coincidentally, it will be Li’s birthday in a few days. These young people pretended to celebrate Li’s birthday and then agreed in advance to kill her child while Li was not paying attention.
That morning, everyone came, but they never had a chance. Towards noon, Li followed the usual routine and hurriedly returned to her bedroom. At first glance, these young people pretended to join in the fun and followed Li Shi to kill her child. Li noticed and returned to the bedroom, not only closing the door and inserting it, but also blocking it with a big stone.
At first glance, everyone felt even more suspicious of Li Shi and pushed open the door together, finally knocking it open. After the door opened, everyone deliberately said they wanted to come here and have a look, and even said they would hold a banquet in this room to celebrate Li’s birthday. Zhao Langming pretended not to be able to stop them and let them play around. Immediately, everyone brought tables and benches. Upon hearing this, Li quickly pulled up the blanket and covered her body. As soon as everyone saw it, they brought the table close to the bed, and then some people sat on the bed, shouting for food and drinks.
Not long after, a man’s voice came from the bed, and then a few buckets of urine came out from inside. A young man with a lot of experience asked about the taste and quickly said, ‘This is horse urine, this is horse urine.’. Everyone couldn’t escape and got their hair and clothes wet with horse urine. Even the food on the table was stained with horse urine, which was extremely smelly. Everyone was very embarrassed and then went outside to change clothes.
After coming out, Zhao Langming asked them how they were doing, and these people all said they didn’t know what was going on. The young man who smelled horse urine said, ‘Brother, it wasn’t water that wet everyone’s clothes, it was horse urine.’. This soaking of urine is as much as five or six dou. I heard that Auntie will enter the bedroom at noon and only come out after noon. In my experience, the man in Auntie’s house is a mature horse.
Zhao Langming was shocked and asked the young man what was going on. Young people say: In the heavenly stems and earthly branches, there are twelve earthly branches, with the seventh being noon, corresponding to the Chinese zodiac sign of horse. Because he is the essence of an old horse, my aunt has to go in at noon and share a bed with him, otherwise the old horse will reveal its true form. Because he is a horse spirit, he and his aunt’s child look like horses. This child comes with his father’s cultivation, so when his life is threatened, he can skyrocket to the age of eighteen, reach adulthood directly, and speak up.
Zhao Langming pondered silently, unsure of what to do.
The young man said, ‘Brother, from the perspective of my younger brother, you can ignore him.’. Although Lao Ma has become a demon, he has not harmed anyone. Why bother getting rid of him? Since Auntie refused to speak, she was naturally willing, especially since she had been mentally and physically good for many years. Obviously, Old Ma was also good to her. Now that they have children, the children have not harmed anyone. Even if you want to get rid of them, they are only temporarily growing up to speak up, protect themselves, and never do anything harmful. It can be seen that he is not a bad person either. Moreover, when it comes to blood relations, he is also your brother, even closer than us and has a higher seniority. In fact, even if it is a demon, as long as it does not harm others, there is no need to eliminate it, isn’t that right?
The young man sighed and continued, ‘Uncle passed away early, and Auntie became a widow at the age of twenty. It’s not easy.’. That old horse, on the other hand, had no female (mare) throughout its life, so it became a sperm and had an affair with its aunt. Alas, humans have seven emotions and six desires, and animals are no exception? Is this a disaster of loneliness or a sin of debauchery?
The young man shook his head as he spoke and left. Others felt unlucky and went back. Zhao Langming no longer inquired about his mother’s affairs, and indeed, Old Ma Jing and his horse faced child did not harm anyone. A few years later, Li passed away due to illness, and Old Ma Jing also left with her child.
