Hua Guzi's Translation of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio (Original Edition)

There is a tribute student named An Youyu in Shaanxi, who is generous and honest and easy to set free. If you see hunters catch birds and animals, they often buy them at a high price and then set them free.

Once, his uncle held a funeral and he went to help. When he came back, it was very late. Passing through Huashan Mountain, I lost my way in a hurry and wandered in a chaotic valley. I can't get out. I'm very scared. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of an arrow shining outside, so I hurried there. Walking, I saw an old man with a hunchback a few steps away, coming from the inclined road in a hurry with crutches. An Sheng stopped and just wanted to ask the way. The old man asked who it was first. An Sheng told the story of getting lost, saying that he saw a light in front of him. It must be a mountain village, and he was going to stay there. The old man said, "That's not a bed of roses. Fortunately, I am here! Come with me, my cabin can stay. " An Sheng is very happy. She followed the old man for a mile and saw a small mountain village. The old man knocked on the wooden door, and an old woman came out and opened the door and asked, "Is Mr. Lang there?" The old man promised. An Sheng came into the room and saw that it was really low and damp. The old man lit an oil lamp, asked him to sit down and let him prepare dinner. The old woman said, "Mr. Wang is our benefactor, not an outsider! The old lady has irregular legs and feet. Call the flower girl out of the iron bar! "

After a while, a girl came out with a table, set it up and stood beside the old man, with a pair of autumn eyes looking forward to peace. An Sheng saw that the girl was young and handsome, like a fairy. The old man asked her to iron the wine again. There was a coal stove in the west room, so the girl went in and lit a charcoal fire and heated the wine. An Sheng asked, "Who is this?" The old man said, "The old man surnamed Zhang is over seventy years old. He has only one daughter. Bankers have no slaves. Because you are not an outsider, you dare to call your wife and daughter out. Don't laugh! " An Sheng asked again, "Where did you promise your husband's family?" The old man replied, "Not yet!" An Sheng has always praised her for her beauty and cleverness. The old man was grovelling, and when he heard the cry of Hua Gu Zi, he hurried to see it. It turns out that the wine is boiling from the lid and the flame is rising. While putting out the fire, the old man scolded, "What a big girl! I don't know if it is boiling! " As soon as I turned around, I saw a purple goddess with unfinished grass by the stove, and then I reprimanded her: "The braid is so long, it looks like a child!" " "Then I showed it to Ansheng and said," It's just that I was greedy at the moment, so I made this thing up and boiled the wine. Praise her for not being ashamed to death! "An Sheng took it and saw that Zigu God had knitted eyebrows, eyes, a robe and a skirt, and the workmanship was so exquisite that he couldn't help but gush with praise:" Don't look at it as a plaything, you can also see its wisdom! "Looking at it again and again, I can't put it down. Flower girl frequently poured wine, smiling and not shy. An Sheng looked at her, very emotional.

It happened that the old woman was greeting people in the kitchen and the old man answered. An Youyu took the opportunity to say to Hua Guzi, "I lost my soul when I saw the fairy face of the girl. I want to invite the media to your house to talk about my relatives. I'm afraid not. What should I do? " The flower girl silently warmed the wine on the stove with a hip flask, but she didn't seem to hear it. I asked several times, but there was no answer. Ansheng approached the west room, and Huaguzi quickly stood up to avoid it, and said sharply, "What do crazy students want to do when they break in?" An Sheng knelt on the ground begging, and the ancient painting grabbed the door to go. An Sheng suddenly got up and hugged her tightly. With a scream, Huaguzi's voice trembled. When the old man heard the voice, he hurried forward to ask questions. An Sheng quickly released his hand and stepped back, looking ashamed and very scared. Flower girl calmly said to her father: "The wine is open again, or the hip flask will melt when Enron comes!" " Hearing this, An Sheng was relieved and thanked her. She became more fascinated and forgot how she got here. So he pretended to be drunk and left the banquet, and Flower Girl also went. The old man made the bedding, closed the door and left. An Sheng couldn't sleep, so she got up before dawn and said goodbye to her family. She immediately invited a good friend to come over and act as matchmaker. At dusk, my friend came back and even the village was not found. An Sheng didn't believe it, so he told his servant to prepare his horse and find his own way. When I arrived at Huashan, I saw mountains and cliffs, but I didn't see the village. Ask around again. The villagers said that they seldom heard of Zhang. This just came home listlessly.

Since then, An Youyu missed day and night, unable to eat or sleep, and soon became dizzy and bedridden. The family threw up when they cooked porridge for him. He has been calling the flower girl in a coma. His family doesn't know what it means, so they have to guard him day and night. He is dying. One night, the nurse was really sleepy and fell asleep. An Sheng felt someone give him a gentle push in the dim light. He just opened his eyes, but it was a flower girl standing by the bed. He couldn't help waking up and looking at her with tears. Flower aunt bowed her head close to him and said with a smile, "How could infatuation come to this!" " "Said and walked to the bed, sitting on Ann's lap, rubbing his temples with both hands. An Sheng felt as if a stream of musk had blown into his head, passed through the bridge of his nose and penetrated into the whole body's bone marrow. After rubbing for a while, I was sweating profusely, and my limbs were gradually soaked with sweat. Hua Guzi whispered, "There are many people in your room, so it's not convenient for me to stay. I will definitely come to see you again in three days. " He took out some small steamed cakes from the sleeve of his flower coat and put them on the bedside, and quietly left.

In the middle of the night, An Youyu's sweat is gone, and she wants to eat. She touched the steamed cake and tasted it. It's sweet and crisp. I didn't know what the stuffing was, so she ate three. He fell asleep with his clothes covered with steamed cakes. I woke up at eight or nine in the morning and felt relaxed all over. Three days later, I ate steamed cakes and was full of energy. In the evening, An Sheng sent her family away. She was afraid that the ancient paintings would not open the door when they came, so she sneaked into the yard and pulled out all the bolts. It didn't take long for Hua Guzi to come and say with a smile, "Crazy husband! Don't thank the doctor? " An Sheng was so happy that she slept with her, dear. Aunt Hua said, "I received gossip to repay my kindness." We can't get along for a hundred years. I hope you can make other plans as soon as possible. An Sheng pondered for a long time and asked, "I don't know you." . Where do you often go? "? I really can't remember. "Hua Guzi didn't answer, but said," Think for yourself. " An Sheng formally proposed to Gu Huazi. Gu Huazi said: "It is impossible to come every night; If you want to get married, you can't. " Hearing this, An Sheng couldn't help feeling sad. Huaguzi said, "You must be married. Then come to my house tomorrow night. " An Sheng turned sorrow into joy and asked Hua Guzi, "How can you say that you have a pair of slender feet after such a long way?" Huaguzi said, "I didn't go home at all. My mother is in the east of the village. She is deaf and my aunt. I live in her house. Perhaps your family has become suspicious about your delay until now. " An Sheng and Gu Huazi slept in the same bed, but she felt that her skin and breath smelled everywhere. She asked, "What perfume did you smoke to make all the flesh smell sweet?" Aunt Hua said, "I never smoke spices." I am born this way. " Ann was even more surprised.

When Huaguzi said goodbye the next morning, Ansheng was worried about getting lost, so Huaguzi agreed to wait for him at the intersection. As soon as it got dark, An Youyu rode away. As expected, Huaguzi greeted him at the intersection, and they walked into Zhang's yard together, and the old man and the woman happily welcomed him in. Without expensive food and wine, farmers' food is especially sweet. In the evening, when Ansheng slept, Hua Guzi didn't come to see her. An Sheng is very skeptical. Late at night, the flower girl came and said, "My parents have been nagging, keeping you waiting." The two are more intimate. Aunt Hua said to Ansheng; "Tonight's party is a hundred years away." An Sheng was surprised and asked why. Hua Guzi said, "My father is going to move to a far away place because this small village is desolate and lonely. You and I have a good friendship, and it will come to an end after this night. " Ansheng didn't want to break up, tossing and turning, sighing. The two were reluctant to part, and it was almost dawn when the old man suddenly broke in and scolded: "Smelly girl, innocent family, you have defiled them all!" " It's really embarrassing! "Flower millet frightened to disgrace, hurriedly fled out. The old man also withdrew, cursing as he walked. Ansheng was ashamed and afraid, ashamed, and quickly slipped back.

An Youyu returned home, unable to sit still for several days, uneasy and miserable. I want to go again at night; Go over the wall and play it by ear. Since the old man said he was kind, even if he found out, he wouldn't condemn him. So I went to fun run, strolled in the mountains and got lost again. This is panic. Looking for my way home, I saw a house looming in the valley, so I walked there happily. A closer look reveals a tall courtyard, like a big house, with the door still open. An Youyu knocked at the door to inquire about Zhang's residence. A maid came out and asked, "Who inquired about the Zhang family in the dead of night?" An Sheng said, "I'm related to the Zhang family and I'm lost. I can't find it." The maid said, "You don't have to ask about the Zhang family! This is her nephew's house, and Aunt Hua is there. Let me tell her! " It didn't take long to get in, so I came out and invited Ann to the hospital. As soon as Ansheng climbed the steps under the porch, Huaguzi hurried to meet him and said to the maid, "Anlang must be exhausted from running around in the middle of the night. Please wait in bed and let him rest! " In a short time, the two joined hands to make money. Ann asked, "Why is there no one else in Zhang Zi's family?" Aunt Hua said, "Zhang Zi is out. I'll look after the house for her. It happened that you came. Isn't it the fate of past lives? " However, as soon as Ansheng approached this woman, a smell of jealousy came to her nose, which made her suspicious. The woman put her arm around his neck and suddenly stuck out the tip of her tongue to lick his nostrils. She suddenly felt pain like an awl stuck in her head. He was frightened and tried to escape, but his body seemed to be tied by a thick rope. In the blink of an eye, he fainted and lost consciousness.

An Youyu didn't go home, and the family looked everywhere. Suddenly I heard someone say that I met him walking on the mountain road at dusk, and my family found him in the mountains and saw him dead under the cliff, naked. The family was shocked and couldn't figure out why, so they had to carry him back. The whole family cried around him. Suddenly, a young woman came all the way from the gate in tears to pay her respects, and lay on Ansheng's body, crying: "Oh, my God! How confused to this point! " Cry yourself hoarse. I stopped crying and said to my family, "Don't take it away yet, wait until you die for seven days." They don't know who this is; Just about to ask her, she didn't answer and went out with tears in her eyes. Her family called to keep her, but she didn't even call back. Her family disappeared with her. Everyone suspected that she was a fairy, so they quickly followed her instructions. In the evening, she came again and cried like yesterday.

On the seventh night, An Youyu suddenly woke up, turned over and groaned, and the family was shocked. At this moment, the woman came again. When Ansheng saw it, she was a flower girl, crying. An Sheng wrote a hand and asked everyone to quit. Flower girl took out a handful of grass, fried a liter of medicinal soup and gave it to Ansheng by the bed. After a while, he was able to speak. He sighed and said, "You killed me, and you saved my life!" "So I told you what happened that night. Aunt Hua said, "This is a snake spirit pretending to be me. This is the light you saw last time you got lost. " An Sheng said, "How can you bring people back to life? Is it really a fairy? " Aunt Hua said, "I wanted to tell you for a long time, but I was afraid to scare you." "Did you buy a roe deer from a hunter on Huashan Road five years ago and let it go?" An Youyu thought, "Yes! There is such a thing. " Huaguzi said, "That's my father. Last time, when he said he was kind, he meant it. That night, you were reborn as the king of Nishimura. My father and I rushed to Yan to complain. At first, Yan did not accept it. It was my father who proposed to ruin his years of practice and die for you. He begged for seven days before he got stupid permission. It's really lucky to meet again today. But although you are alive, you must be paralyzed; You have to drink snake blood with wine to get better. " Hearing this, Ansheng gnashed her teeth and worried that she could not catch the snake. Huaguzi said, "It's not difficult. But killing more will get you into trouble, and you won't be able to ascend to heaven for a hundred years. The snake cave is just under the old cliff of Huashan Mountain. After noon, you can build a thatch and burn it, and then prepare a strong bow outside the cave for protection. You will definitely catch this monster. " After that, he also sighed and said, "I can't stay with you all my life. It's really hard." But I lost seven points for your great career. Please forgive me. This month, I often feel that my stomach is moving slightly. I must have planted evil roots. Whether it's a man or a woman, I'll send it to you in a year. "Say that finish, he shed tears again and left.

An Jieyu woke up one night and really felt that her lower body was dead. She scratched her hand, innocently, and told her family what Hua Guzi said. The family went to the snake cave under the old cliff of Huashan Mountain to make a fire. Sure enough, a big white snake appeared in the smoke, and the whole family was killed with an arrow. After the fire went out, they went into the cave and saw hundreds of snakes, large and small, burnt. The family took the dead snake home and gave An Youyu medicine to boil the snake's blood. After eating for three days, my legs gradually turned and I was able to get out of bed and walk after half a year.

Later, I went to Huashan alone because I missed my aunt. In the valley, I met Mrs. Zhang, gave him a baby and said, "My daughter sends her regards to you." An Youyu just wanted to know about Hua Guzi, but the old lady disappeared in a blink of an eye. An Youyu opened the small bedding and saw that it was a boy. He hurried home to raise him and never got married again.

Yi Shi said: "There is almost no difference between man and beast, which is inconclusive. Accepting the favor and trying every means to repay it until death, then people sometimes feel ashamed compared with animals! As for ancient paintings, there was wisdom in her simplicity at first; Finally, her sadness contains deep affection. From her, we know that simplicity is the highest realm of wisdom and sadness is the deepest emotion. She is a fairy, she is a fairy! "

Extension: "Ancient Paintings" comes from five pieces of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, written by Pu Songling, a writer in Qing Dynasty. It tells the love story between Xiang and poor scholar An Youyu.