Original Text
When Mr. Song Yushu, a native of Laiyang, served as a minor official in a certain ministry, the residence he rented was quite desolate. One night, two maidservants were accompanying Mr. Song's elderly mother in the main hall when suddenly they heard a "puff-puff" sound from the courtyard, resembling a tailor spraying water onto a garment. The mother urged the maids to rise and investigate; one maid made a small hole in the window paper and peered out, where she saw an old woman, short in stature, hunched over, with white hair like a broom, and wearing a topknot about two feet long. The old woman circled the courtyard, striding swiftly like a crane, bobbing up and down as she walked, spraying water continuously, the water flowing endlessly. The maid was greatly alarmed and reported back to the mother, who also rose in fright and, supported by the two maids, came to the window to look out together. Suddenly, the old woman in the courtyard approached the window and sprayed water directly at the lattice; the window paper burst, and all three inside fell to the ground, yet the rest of the household remained unaware of these events.
By the time dawn broke, the family had gathered together, but knocking at the door brought no response, and they grew alarmed. When they pried open the door and entered, they saw one master and two servants lying dead side by side in the room. One of the maidservants still had some warmth in her chest, so they lifted her up and gave her water to drink; after an hour, she revived and recounted all that she had seen. When Master Song arrived, he was overcome with grief beyond endurance. He carefully examined the spot where the old woman had vanished, and there he dug down more than three feet, gradually revealing white hair; continuing to dig, he unearthed a corpse, exactly as the maidservant had described, with a face swollen and bloated like that of a living person. Master Song ordered his family to beat the corpse fiercely, and at once the flesh and bones shattered, and the skin was filled entirely with clear water.
Commentary
All people possess a curious heart, and thus in all matters they ever seek to get to the bottom of things. In the public sphere, this is called investigation and inquiry, but if it intrudes upon a private domain, it is no longer lawful and is termed prying into secrets.
Does a ghost have privacy? Does it also resent being spied upon, and thus punish those who pry into its secrets? This tale is a horror story that explores such questions. Of course, Song Tao's mother is also rather wronged, for from her perspective, she has the right to understand everything that occurs within the rented dwelling.
The tale vividly depicts the old crone—a female ghost—in a lifelike and terrifying manner, especially through the use of apt and striking metaphors that make her seem both audible and visible: her spitting of water is described as "like a tailor moistening cloth," her appearance as "white hair like a broom," and her gait as "rushing forward in quick, crane-like steps." Due to her exaggerated movements and bizarre behavior, set against the silent darkness, with her white hair and spitting water, the impression is deeply etched. The narrative is also well-layered: first, a sound is heard, "a pattering noise in the courtyard"; then, a maidservant looks, "peeping through a hole in the window"; finally, the matriarch and the maidservant "both observe," which ultimately brings about great calamity.
Wang Yuyang, a contemporary of Pu Songling, after reading this tale, deemed it unreliable, remarking, "Yushu lost his mother in infancy; this matter is likely a rumor born of error." This probably overlooks the distinction between fiction and history.