Sun Taibai once recounted a strange event: His great-grandfather studied at Liugou Temple in the southern mountains. One autumn, during the wheat harvest season, he returned home for a visit, staying for over ten days before returning to the temple. When he arrived back and opened the door to his study, he saw that the desk was covered in dust, and the windows were draped with cobwebs. He called a servant to clean the room, working until the evening, when it finally felt fresh and tidy enough to sit down.
After that, he unpacked his belongings, laid out his bedding, and shut the door to rest. By this time, the moonlight had already filled the windows. Lying on the bed, he tossed and turned for a long time, unable to fall asleep. The surroundings were completely silent, not a sound could be heard. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a fierce wind rising, and the main gate of the temple slammed with a loud bang. He thought to himself, “The monks must have forgotten to close the gate.” While he was pondering this, the wind gradually moved closer to his room. Before long, the door to his room opened on its own. He was puzzled, but before he could figure out what was happening, the wind had entered the room. He also heard the clanging sound of boots approaching the door to his bedroom.
At this point, he began to feel fearful. Then, the bedroom door swung open. Looking up, he saw a huge ghost squeezing its way into the room, quickly standing by his bed. The ghost straightened up, standing as tall as the ceiling beam. Its face was like the color of a ripened pumpkin, and its eyes flashed, constantly darting around as it scanned the entire room. Its mouth, gaping wide like a large basin, had a few sparse teeth about three inches long. Each time its tongue moved, it made a "huffing" sound from its throat, causing the walls to echo with a "buzzing" noise.
Terrified beyond measure, he realized that the ghost was only about a foot away from him, and escape was impossible. Thinking that fighting was his only option, he discreetly drew the sword he had hidden under his pillow and, with sudden force, slashed at the ghost’s belly. The blade struck with a sound like hitting a stone basin. The ghost became enraged and stretched out its huge claws to grab him. He dodged back slightly, and the ghost ended up grabbing the quilt instead. Clutching the quilt, the furious ghost stormed out of the room, dragging him to the floor along with it. He landed on the ground and began to cry out for help.
His family rushed in with lamps, finding the door shut tight as before. They had to climb through the window to get inside. Upon seeing his condition, they were all frightened. After helping him back into bed, Sun Taibai's great-grandfather slowly recounted everything that had just happened. The family went to inspect the room, finding the quilt stuck in the bedroom door frame. When they opened the door and examined the quilt under the light, they saw a claw print the size of a dustpan, with the five fingers having pierced right through it. At dawn, Sun Taibai’s great-grandfather, too scared to stay any longer, packed his books and left for home. Later, when they asked the monks at the temple, they said no strange events had occurred since.
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