法苑珠林 31.67

31.67

晉時吳興一人有二男。田中作作時。見父來罵詈打拍之。兒歸以告母。母問其父。其父大驚。知是鬼魅。便令兒斫之。鬼便寂不復往。父憂恐兒為鬼所困。便自往看。兒謂是鬼便殺而埋之。鬼便逐歸作其父形。語家二兒已得殺妖矣。兒暮歸共相慶賀。遂積年不覺。後有一師過其家。語二兒云。君尊侯有大邪氣。兒以白父。父大怒。兒出以語師令速去。師便作聲入。父成大老狸。入床下遂得之。往所殺者乃真父也。改殯治服一兒遂自殺。一兒忿懊亦死（右一十八驗出搜神記）。

During the Jin dynasty, a man of Wuxing had two sons. While they were working in the fields, they saw their father come, scolding and beating them. The sons returned and told their mother. The mother asked the father. The father was greatly astonished, and knowing it was a demonic spirit, he instructed his sons to hack it down. The demon then fell quiet and did not go again. The father, anxious that his sons might be troubled by the demon, went in person to check on them. The sons thought he was the demon, so they killed and buried him. The demon then followed them home, assumed the form of their father, and told the household, 'The two sons have succeeded in killing the monster.' When the sons returned in the evening, they celebrated together, and years passed without their realizing the truth. Later, a master passed by their house and said to the two sons, 'Your honored father has a great evil aura.' The sons reported this to the father, who flew into a great rage. The sons went out and told the master, telling him to leave quickly. The master then made a sound and entered; the father turned into a great old wildcat, slipped under the bed, and was captured. The one they had killed previously was their real father. After reburying him and conducting the mourning rites, one son committed suicide, and the other died of grief and remorse. (The above eighteen verifications are taken from the Soushen ji.)