Original Text
Li Huidou, a native of Yidu in Shandong, happened to ascend a mountain one day and encountered several people sitting on the ground drinking wine. When they saw Li Huidou approaching, they all rose cheerfully, pulled him into their midst, and vied to offer him toasts. Li Huidou observed that the dishes in the platters were arrayed with rare delicacies from land and sea. After drinking for a while, the company grew deeply merry, yet the wine's flavor was thin and astringent. Suddenly, they saw a figure approaching from afar, whose face was both narrow and long, measuring about two or three feet in length, and whose hat was tall and slender atop his head, matching the length of his face. The crowd exclaimed in alarm, "The Mountain God has arrived!" and scattered in all directions. Li Huidou also crouched down and hid himself in a deep pit. After a time, he rose to look around, but the dishes and wine had vanished without a trace; only a broken earthenware vessel containing accumulated urine and a few lizards placed on a tile remained.
Commentary
Regarding the use of food ultimately revealing its true form to prove an encounter with a demon or ghost, "The Mountain God" and "The Old Woman of the Dumplings" share the same conceit, both sketching the demonic visage in just a few words, as in this tale where "the face was long and narrow, about two or three feet in length, and the hat was tall and thin in proportion," leaving a deep impression. The difference lies in that "The Old Woman of the Dumplings" occurs at night, involves a female, and takes place indoors, with the dumplings being pill bugs; "The Mountain God" happens in daylight, involves a male, and unfolds in the wilderness, where the arrayed delicacies are "several lizards placed on a tile."