When Mr. Song Yushu, a native of Laiyang, was serving as an official for a certain department, he rented a rather remote house. One night, two maidservants were accompanying Mr. Song's elderly mother in the main hall when they suddenly heard a "puff puff" sound in the courtyard, much like the sound of a tailor spraying water on clothes. Song’s mother urged the maidservants to get up and check. One of them made a small hole in the window paper and secretly peeked outside. She saw an old woman, short in stature, hunched over, with white hair resembling a broom. The old woman wore a topknot that was about two feet long. She circled the courtyard, walking like a crane, taking large, urgent strides, all the while spraying water continuously. The maidservant was shocked and went back to tell Song’s mother. Hearing this, Song's mother also got out of bed in terror. With the help of the two maidservants, they all went to the window to look outside together. The old woman in the courtyard suddenly approached the window and started spraying water directly at the window lattice. The paper of the window was broken by the water, and the three people inside the room fell to the ground, but no one else in the house was aware of what had happened.
By the time dawn broke, the household had gathered together, knocking on the door to no response, which caused panic. After forcing the door open, they found one mistress and two maidservants lying dead side by side in the room. One of the maidservants still had some warmth in her chest, so they lifted her up and gave her water. After an hour, she regained consciousness and recounted everything she had seen. When Mr. Song arrived, he was overwhelmed with grief. He carefully investigated the place where the old woman had disappeared, digging more than three feet deep. Eventually, white hair began to appear, and as they continued digging, they unearthed a corpse. It was exactly as the maid had described: the face was swollen and resembled that of a living person. Mr. Song ordered the household to severely beat the corpse. The moment they struck it, the flesh and bones immediately fell apart, and all that was left within the skin was clear water.
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