ENG
On moonless nights with winds that cry,
The time for debts and vengeance nigh,
In kind yaoguais, place your trust,
But wicked souls, defy you must.
There was once a general's son who served as a drill master in the barracks. Cruel and ruthless he was, and the soldiers trembled at his commands. Yet, out of respect for the general, they bore their resentment in silence.
The drill master, who had a passion for hunting, kept a Chinese Xigou, a slender hound. One day, he went hunting with several instructors but returned empty-handed, much to his shame. He blamed the innocent hound for their failure and had it beaten to death.
The soldiers, who had been ordered to kill the hound, were much troubled in spirit. They buried the hound in a field behind the barracks, where many lingzhi mushrooms grew, and gathered at night to chant sutras for the repose of its soul.
One night, the drill master heard a dog barking outside the barracks. He sent men to seek out the source of the noise, but the barking ceased each time they approached, only to resume once they had returned to sleep. After a few times, the drill master lost his temper and went to investigate himself. As he stood in the yard, he felt the sound came from beneath the ground and ordered his men to dig up the earth.
As the soil was cleared away, the hound leaped from the earth, appearing as it had in life but now adorned with thin tentacles, like the roots of some peculiar plant. The drill master, thrilled by this rare find, called to the hound. It recognized its master and bounded joyfully towards him. However, two hard, antler-like mushrooms had grown upon its head. As the hound leaped into the drill master's arms, these mushrooms pierced his chest, and he died then and there.
The soldiers rushed to call the healers, shouting in panic and confusion. Amid the turmoil, no one thought to catch the hound. Later, no matter how they searched, they never found a trace of it.
The opening lines set the mood: on dark nights debts and vengeance come due, and strange spirits called yaoguais can be involved. The main scene is a military barracks where the general’s son acts as drill master. He is cruel and ruthless, and the soldiers are afraid of him. They obey him but resent him privately out of respect for the general.
The drill master loves hunting and owns a Chinese Xigou hound. After a failed hunt he felt ashamed and blamed the dog for their bad luck. He ordered the dog beaten to death. The soldiers followed his orders, even though they were troubled by the cruelty.
The soldiers buried the dog in a field behind the barracks where lingzhi mushrooms grew. They were uneasy about what they had done, so at night they gathered and chanted sutras to pray for the hound’s soul. That suggests they felt guilt and hoped to help the dog rest.
After that, strange things happened. The drill master heard barking at night that stopped whenever people went to investigate. Finally he went out himself and ordered the ground dug up. The hound sprang out, looking like it had in life but now with thin tentacles like roots and two antler-like mushrooms on its head. It recognized its master and leaped toward him, and those mushroom antlers pierced the drill master’s chest, killing him instantly.
In the chaos the soldiers summoned healers but nobody thought to catch the hound, and afterward they could not find any trace of it. The story implies the dog was transformed by the mushroom growths and returned as a vengeful, supernatural being that repaid the wrong done to it. It fits the opening warning about debts and vengeance and serves as a caution: cruelty to innocent creatures can bring supernatural retribution, and the threat may vanish without being resolved.