法苑珠林 31.64

31.64

南陽宋名大賢。西鄂有一亭不可止。止則害人。大賢以正道不可干。且上樓鼓琴而已。不設兵杖。至於夜半時有鬼來登梯與大賢語。瞋目磋齒形貌可惡。大賢鼓琴如故。鬼乃去。於市中取死人頭來還語大賢曰。寧可行小熟噉。因以死人頭投大賢前。大賢曰。甚佳。吾暮臥無枕。正當得此。鬼復去。良久乃還曰。寧可共手摶耶。大賢曰善。語未竟前。大賢便逆捉其脇。鬼但急言死死。賢遂殺之。明日視之。乃是老狐也。因止停毒更無害悑。

In Nanyang there was a man named Song Daxian. In Xi'e there was a pavilion where one could not stay; if one stayed there, it harmed people. Daxian, believing that the correct path cannot be encroached upon, merely went up to the upper floor and played the zither, without preparing any weapons. When it reached midnight, a ghost came, climbed the ladder, and spoke with Daxian. It glared with eyes wide and gnashed its teeth, its appearance hideous. Daxian played the zither as before. The ghost then left. It fetched a dead person's head from the marketplace, returned, and said to Daxian, 'Would it not be fine to roast and eat this a bit?' It then threw the dead person's head before Daxian. Daxian said, 'Splendid! I had no pillow for sleeping tonight; this is just what I need.' The ghost left again. After a long while it returned and said, 'Would you wrestle hand-to-hand with me?' Daxian said, 'Very well.' Before the words were finished, Daxian countered by seizing it by the ribs. The ghost could only frantically cry out, 'Dead! Dead!' Daxian then killed it. When he looked at it the next morning, it was an old fox. Thereupon the pavilion's poison ceased, and there was no further harm or terror.