In Yangxin County, there lived an old man from Caidian Village. His village was about five or six li (approximately 2-3 kilometers) away from the county seat. The old man and his son ran a roadside inn, hosting passing merchants. A few cart drivers who regularly transported goods would often stay at the inn. One evening at dusk, four drivers came to stay, but the inn was already full. With no alternatives, the four insisted that the innkeeper find a way to accommodate them. After some thought, the old man recalled a place but worried it might not be to the guests' liking. The guests said: “We just need a place to shield us from the wind and rain, there's no time to be picky now.”
At the time, the old man’s daughter-in-law had recently passed away, and her body was still resting in the house. The old man’s son had gone out to buy wood for the coffin and hadn’t returned yet. Thinking the mourning room was quiet, the old man led the guests through alleys to that house.
Upon entering, they saw a dim oil lamp burning on a wooden table. Behind the table hung a funeral drape over the bier, and a paper blanket covered the deceased. In the adjoining room was a large bed connected to the other room. The four men, exhausted from their journey, lay down, and soon their snores filled the air. However, one guest lay half-awake, half-asleep when he suddenly heard a "rustling" sound from the bier. Alarmed, he opened his eyes and saw that the dim light illuminated the room clearly. The female corpse had lifted the paper blanket and sat up. A moment later, she climbed off the bier and slowly walked into the adjoining room. The corpse’s face was pale yellow, and her forehead was tied with a piece of raw silk. She approached the bed and bent down over each of the three sleeping guests, blowing air on them one by one.
The still-awake guest was terrified, afraid the corpse might blow on him next, so he quietly pulled the blanket over his head and held his breath, listening carefully to the corpse's movements. Soon, the corpse indeed approached him and, like with the others, blew air on him. He felt the corpse walk out of the room, and soon after, he heard the sound of the paper blanket being moved again. Peeking out from under the blanket, he saw the corpse lying stiffly in the same position as before. Overcome with fear, he dared not make a sound and quietly tried to nudge his companions with his foot, but none of them stirred.
After pondering his options, he decided it would be best to get dressed and escape. He sat up and was about to put on his clothes when the "rustling" sound began again. Terrified, he lay back down, tucking his head under the blanket. He could feel the corpse return to his side, blowing on him several more times before leaving again. After a while, he heard the bier rustle again, signaling that the corpse had returned to its place. Slowly, he reached out from under the blanket, found his pants, hurriedly put them on, and ran out barefoot. The corpse sat up again, seemingly intent on chasing him. But by the time it had left the funeral drape behind the bier, the guest had already flung open the door and fled.
The corpse gave chase as the guest ran, shouting for help, but no one in the village awoke. He considered knocking on the innkeeper's door but feared he wouldn’t escape fast enough. So, he ran in the direction of the county seat, running with all his might. As he reached the eastern outskirts of the town, he saw a temple and heard the sound of a wooden fish being struck inside (a traditional Buddhist rhythm instrument). Desperate, he ran to knock on the temple gate. The monks inside were bewildered by his strange behavior and were reluctant to open the door for him. Just then, the corpse arrived, only a foot away from him. Panic-stricken, the guest grew more frantic.
Outside the temple stood a white poplar tree, its trunk about four or five feet thick. The guest hid behind the tree, and when the corpse lunged to the right, he moved to the left; when it lunged to the left, he moved to the right. The corpse grew more enraged, but both began to tire. The corpse stopped, standing there. Sweating profusely and gasping for breath, the guest remained hidden behind the tree. Suddenly, the corpse lunged forward, stretching out both arms, reaching around the tree trunk to grab him. The guest, terrified, fell to the ground. Unable to reach him, the corpse clutched the tree trunk, gradually stiffening.
The monks, having listened for a long time and hearing no further sounds, cautiously stepped outside. They found the guest collapsed on the ground. Shining a candle on him, they saw he appeared dead but could still faintly feel warmth in his chest. The monks carried him into the temple, and after a night’s rest, the guest finally regained consciousness. The monks gave him some warm water and asked about what had happened. The guest recounted the entire ordeal.
By now, the morning bell had rung, and in the dim light of dawn, the monks went to inspect the white poplar tree. Sure enough, there was the stiff corpse of the woman. The monks were terrified and reported the matter to the county magistrate. The magistrate came in person to examine the scene and ordered the corpse's hands to be pried off the tree. But the hands were gripping the tree so tightly that they couldn't be removed. Upon closer inspection, they saw that the four fingers of both hands were curled like hooks, with the nails deeply embedded in the tree bark.
The magistrate summoned several men, who together managed to pull the corpse off the tree. They saw the holes her fingers had left in the bark, as if they had been gouged out with chisels. The magistrate then sent officers to investigate at the old man's house, where they found the household in disarray over the missing corpse and the death of the guests. When the officers explained the situation, the old man followed them back and took the female corpse home.
The surviving guest tearfully told the magistrate, “The four of us set out together, and now I’m the only one returning. How can the villagers possibly believe this?” The magistrate wrote a formal statement for him and gave him some provisions for his journey back.
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