ENG
Orioles are charming, swallows love to play,
Sisters close in bond, let them not be swayed by worldly fray.
The fifth daughter of the Zhu family, in the prime of her youth, was renowned for her stunning beauty.
One night, dark clouds obscured the moon, and a chilly wind swept over the ridge, signaling an impending storm. The fifth sister was accompanying her second sister in the village, overseeing the work of the lesser yaoguais, when she spotted a traveling scholar seeking shelter from the rain. Feeling mischievous, she decided to play a trick on him.
The scholar, being somewhat naive, was worried about his bookcase getting soaked and rushed into the deserted village without noticing the yaoguais. He barely made it inside, bolted the door, and lit an oil lamp just as the rain began to pour heavily outside.
Gazing at the rain through the window, the scholar was inspired to recite poetry: "Xu's land in turmoil, the court in disarray, Like thunderclaps in clear skies, they sway...."
A clap of thunder roared. The scholar thought he saw the window shake but paid it no mind until he finished reciting, feeling refreshed.
As he finished the line, he noticed the window lattice move again. Assuming it was the wind and rain, he hurriedly shut the window. After finishing his poem, feeling refreshed, he suddenly realized someone was knocking at the door.
He caught a glimpse of a graceful silhouette on the door's paper screen, and a sense of alarm washed over him as he entertained the thought that it could be a yaoguai. However, considering his own wretched and unremarkable existence, he somehow found solace in the idea of becoming a victim of beauty.
As the scholar hurriedly got up and flung the door open, expecting to see the stunning yaoguai, he was instead met with a horrifying sight—a ghost with disheveled hair and pus-filled eyes. Overwhelmed with terror, he let out a scream and instinctively pushed past her, desperate to escape the haunted house.
Outside the door, the fifth daughter, playing with her delicate fingers, leaned gracefully against the wall, only to be knocked off balance. Angrily, she walked into the house, cursing the scholar for his rudeness, and happened to see an old bronze mirror on the desk. Picking it up, she found out that the storm had washed away her makeup, leaving her face a patchwork of colors, and with her wet hair covering it, she looked truly frightening. Even she couldn't help but laugh.
The passage opens with a short poem that sets the tone: the sisters are close and playful. The main focus is the fifth daughter of the Zhu family, a young woman famous for her striking beauty.
One stormy night she was in the village with her second sister, overseeing the work of some lesser yaoguais, when she noticed a traveling scholar looking for shelter. Feeling mischievous, she decided to play a trick on him. The scholar, anxious about keeping his bookcase dry, rushed into the deserted house, bolted the door, and lit an oil lamp without paying attention to the yaoguais around.
Sitting by the window while the rain fell, the scholar began reciting poetry and thought at first that the shaking window and the clap of thunder were just the storm. After finishing a verse he suddenly heard a knock and saw a graceful silhouette on the paper screen. He panicked at the thought it might be a yaoguai, but because he saw a beautiful outline and felt his own lowly position in life, he strangely took some comfort in the idea that he might be felled by a thing of beauty.
He flung the door open expecting to see a stunning apparition, but the sight was horrifying: hair disheveled, eyes full of pus—a truly ghastly face. Terrified, he screamed and pushed past the figure to escape. The scholar’s sudden flight knocked into the woman who had been leaning against the wall outside.
That woman was the fifth sister. Angered at being jostled, she went inside, cursed the scholar for his rudeness, and picked up an old bronze mirror. The storm had washed away her makeup and left her hair plastered over her face, so she looked monstrous herself. Seeing that, she laughed. The immediate result is that her prank turned into an accidental scare, revealing how quickly appearance can change and that she could even laugh at her own ruined looks.