The Woman in Mourning Clothes

　　Shen Linsheng said: A friend of his, an old gentleman, was taking an afternoon nap one summer day. Half asleep and half awake, he saw a woman lift the bamboo curtain and step inside. Her head was wrapped in white cloth, and she wore mourning garments and a hempen skirt. She headed straight for the inner room.

　　He thought she might be a neighbor's wife coming to visit his own wife. But then it struck him—why would anyone walk into another person's home dressed in funeral clothes? While he was still flustered and uncertain, the woman came back out. He took a closer look at her. She was about thirty years old. Her face was sallow and swollen, her brows knit tightly together, and her expression was frightening. She paced about without leaving, slowly edging closer to his bed.

　　So he pretended to be asleep and watched to see what she would do. Before long, the woman gathered up her skirt, climbed onto the bed, and pressed herself down on his belly. It felt as heavy as a hundred jun. His mind was perfectly clear, but when he tried to lift his hand, it was as if bound by ropes; when he tried to move his foot, it was as if paralyzed. He wanted to cry out for help, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not make a sound.

　　The woman put her mouth to his face and started sniffing—his cheekbones, his nose, his brows, his forehead—nearly everywhere. He felt her mouth as cold as ice, and her breath sent a chill deep into his bones. In his desperation and panic, he thought of a plan: when she sniffed down to his chin and cheeks, he would bite her right then.

　　Sure enough, a moment later, she reached his jaw. The old man bit down with all his strength, sinking his teeth into her cheekbone. His teeth buried themselves in her flesh. The woman, wincing in pain, lifted herself off him, struggling and crying at the same time. The old man bit down even harder. All he could feel was blood streaming down his own cheek, wetting the pillow beside him.

　　They were locked in this agonizing struggle when, from outside the courtyard, he suddenly heard his wife's voice. He shouted at once, "There's a ghost!" The moment he loosened his jaw, the woman vanished in a flash—gone like a wisp of smoke.

　　His wife rushed inside but saw nothing. She laughed and said he must have been having a nightmare. The old man told her everything that had happened and insisted there was blood as proof. Together they examined the bed. The blood had soaked through the pillow and spread across the mat, just like rain leaking through a roof. He bent down and sniffed it. The stench was abnormally foul—rank and nauseating. The old man vomited violently. Even several days later, the bad smell still lingered in his mouth.


中文如下：

　　【原文】

　　沈麟生云：其友某翁者，夏月昼寝，矇眬间，见一女子搴帘入，以白布裹首，缞服麻裙，向内室去。疑邻妇访内人者，又转念，何遽以凶服入人家？正自皇惑，女子已出。细审之，年可三十馀，颜色黄肿，眉目蹙蹙然，神情可畏。又逡巡不去，渐逼卧榻。遂伪睡以观其变。无何，女子摄衣登床，压腹上，觉如百钧重。心虽了了，而举其手，手如缚；举其足，足如痿也。急欲号救，而苦不能声。女子以喙嗅翁面，颧鼻眉额殆遍。觉喙冷如冰，气寒透骨。翁窘急中，思得计，待嗅至颐颊，当即因而啮之。未几，果及颐。翁乘势力龁其颧，齿没于肉。女负痛身离，且挣且啼。翁龁益力。但觉血液交颐，湿流枕畔。相持正苦，庭外忽闻夫人声，急呼有鬼，一缓颊而女子已飘忽遁去。夫人奔入，无所见，笑其魇梦之诬。翁述其异，且言有血证焉。相与检视，如屋漏之水，流枕浃席。伏而嗅之，腥臭异常。翁乃大吐。过数日，口中尚有馀臭云。

　　【翻译】

　　沈麟生说：他的朋友某老翁，夏日里睡午觉，正在朦朦胧胧的时候，看见一个女子掀开门帘走了进来。女子头上裹着白布，身上穿着丧服，径直向里屋走去了。老翁猜测是邻居的妇人来拜访自己的妻子，又转念一想，这女子为什么穿着丧服突然闯到别人家来？正在猜疑不定而惶恐的时候，那个女子已经出来了。老翁仔细一看，女子年纪大约有三十多岁，面色黄肿，眉头紧皱，神情令人害怕。女子踱来踱去不离开，慢慢地逼近了老翁的睡床。老翁便假装睡着了，偷偷地看她要怎么样。没多会儿，那女子提起衣裙爬上床，压在了老翁的肚子上，好像有几千斤重。老翁心里虽然什么都清楚，但一抬手，手像被捆住了一样；一动腿，腿也像是瘫了似的。他急忙张口呼救，却又苦于发不出声音。那个女子用嘴来嗅老翁的脸，从颧骨、鼻子、眉毛到额头几乎嗅了个遍。老翁只觉得她的嘴冷得像冰一样，带着一阵阵寒气直渗到骨头里去。在窘迫焦急之中，老翁想到了一个计策，准备等她嗅到脸的下部时，乘机用嘴咬她。一会儿，女子果然嗅到脸颊边儿来了，老翁乘势用力一口咬住了她的颧骨处，牙齿都陷进肉里去了。那女子痛得抬起身子来，一边挣扎一边尖叫。老翁仍不肯松口，更加用力地咬。只觉得血液从脸颊上不住地流下来，把枕头边都淋湿了。正在苦苦相持的时候，老翁忽然听到院子里有他妻子的声音，就急忙呼叫有鬼。他刚一松口，那女子已经轻飘飘地逃走了。等到老翁的妻子进屋来，什么都没看到，就笑他是做了噩梦说胡话。老翁详细地讲述了这件怪事，并说有血迹可以作证。两人一起察看，见床上枕边像屋子漏了雨水似的，全给血水浸透了。老翁俯下身子一闻，极为腥臭，于是大口呕吐起来。直到过了好几天以后，他嘴里还留有馀臭。