法苑珠林 32.52

32.52

During the Qin dynasty, Zhou Fang in his youth traveled upriver along the Yangzi with merchants. At dusk, they stopped below the Gongting Temple. His companions said to one another, "Who is able to enter the temple and stay the night?" Fang was by nature courageous and resolute, so he went up to the temple and lodged there, spending the entire night in peaceful repose. In the morning, when he arose, he saw an old man with white hair in the temple. Fang thereupon seized him, and he transformed into a drake. Fang caught it and brought it back to the boat, intending to cook it, whereupon it flew away. Afterward, there were no ill consequences. (This one verification is from the Shuyi ji.)