Original Text
Zhou Youde, the governor of Shandong, converted the former Ming prince's palace into the governor's yamen. At the time, he was gathering craftsmen, and among them was a carpenter named Feng Minghuan who was on duty there. One evening, just as he was about to sleep, he suddenly saw half of a lattice window open, and the bright moonlight shone as clear as day. Gazing into the distance, he spotted a red chicken standing on a low wall; as he watched intently, the red chicken fluttered down to the ground. After a moment, a young girl appeared from outside the window, peeping into the room with half her body exposed. Feng the carpenter thought she was a lover of one of his companions, so he listened quietly and found that his companion was already fast asleep. His heart began to pound with agitation, and he secretly hoped that the girl would mistakenly enter his room. Before long, the girl indeed leaped through the window and came straight into his arms. Overjoyed, Feng said not a word, and after they had consummated their union, the girl departed. From then on, she came every night. At first, Feng was still evasive, but later he confided his thoughts to her. The girl said, "I did not come to your room by mistake; I came to you with sincere intent." Their relationship grew increasingly intimate. Soon, the construction period ended, and Feng prepared to return home; the girl was already waiting for him in the wilderness. Feng's village was not far from the city, so she accompanied him back. When the girl entered the house, none of Feng's family could see her, and only then did he realize she was not human. After a few more months, Feng's spirit gradually waned, and his fear grew; he invited a sorcerer to suppress the demon, but it had no effect. One night, the girl arrived heavily made up and said to Feng, "All worldly fates are predetermined; what is meant to come cannot be refused, and what is meant to leave cannot be kept. Today, I have come to bid you farewell." With that, she left.
Commentary
This is a story about the marriage and romance between a chicken spirit and a human, abrupt and straightforward, arriving suddenly and departing just as swiftly. The beginning of the tale seems quite forceful, rich in atmosphere, but the subsequent plot becomes flat and unremarkable, losing its narrative tension, and hastily concludes with the line, "All worldly bonds are determined by fate; when they come, they cannot be pushed away, and when they leave, they cannot be held back. Now I bid you farewell." In terms of story structure, this piece closely resembles "The Dog Lamp" from the third volume, merely recounting a mundane tale of a lowly character who chances upon a romantic encounter with a spirit, uniting by fate and parting when their bond ends.