Original Text
Outside Qiaoqiao Bridge there lived a man named Wang Bing. One day, as he left the village, he saw a beautiful woman emerging from the Temple of the Earth God. She cast amorous glances at him with great eagerness, and he responded with flirtatious words, to which she gladly showed signs of acceptance. Desiring intimacy but lacking a place, they agreed to meet at night, and Wang Bing told her his dwelling. That night, she indeed came, and they indulged in the utmost pleasures. When he asked her name, she stubbornly refused to reveal it. From then on, their trysts continued without cease. Sometimes, when Wang Bing lay with his wife, the woman would still come to join him, and his wife remained unaware of her presence. Astonished, Wang Bing inquired the reason, and she replied, "Because I am the wife of the Earth God." Greatly terrified, Wang Bing wished to break off the affair, but despite all his efforts, he could not prevent her from coming. This continued for half a year, until Wang Bing grew weak and bedridden, yet the woman visited even more frequently, so that even his family could see her. Soon after, Wang Bing indeed died, but the woman still came once every day. Wang Bing's wife rebuked her, saying, "Shameless ghost! The man is already dead—why do you still come?" Thereupon, the woman departed and never returned.
Although the Earth God is but a minor deity, he is nonetheless a god—how could he tolerate his wife eloping? He should not be so foolish as to reach such a state. It is unknown what creature, driven by lewdness and confusion, has caused people a thousand years later to believe that this village once harbored a filthy and debauched deity. Truly, this is a grave injustice!
Commentary
As a narrative of strange and supernatural occurrences, this tale can be considered a companion piece to "The Mud Scholar," both being stories of lewd and wicked ghosts and spirits. The difference lies in the fact that the strange being in this story claims to be the Lady of the Earth God, creating a stark contrast with the revered and holy status traditionally attributed to the Earth God's consort, thereby making the tale more captivating through its absurdity and improbability. The story goes to great lengths to depict the Lady of the Earth God's lasciviousness and shamelessness: she behaves like a prostitute soliciting customers in front of the Earth God's shrine, engages in sexual intercourse in the presence of Wang Bing's wife, clings relentlessly to Wang Bing during his severe illness, and even after his death, she harasses him incessantly until Wang Bing's wife rebukes her harshly, causing her to depart. At the story's conclusion, Pu Songling questions the identity of the Earth God's wife, further provoking contemplation on the tale's absurdity.