Ning Sheng (sheng, a term used to refer to a young man ) was just about to fall asleep when he felt someone enter the room. He hurriedly got up to check and found it was the woman from the northern courtyard. Surprised, Ning Sheng asked her what she was doing. The woman replied, "I couldn't sleep on this moonlit night and wish to share the pleasures of husband and wife with you." Ning Sheng sternly said, "You should beware of others' gossip, and I also fear people talking. Even a slight misstep can result in the loss of morality and complete disgrace." The woman said, "No one will know in the night." Ning Sheng rebuked her again. The woman hesitated as if she had more to say, but Ning Sheng shouted, "Leave now! Otherwise, I'll call the scholar from the southern room!" The woman, frightened, left. She returned after stepping out, placing a gold ingot on the bedding. Ning Sheng picked it up and threw it onto the steps outside, saying, "Ill-gotten wealth dirties my pocket!" The woman, ashamed, retreated, picked up the gold, and muttered to herself, "This man truly has a heart of stone!"

The next morning, a scholar from Lanxi, accompanied by his servant, came to prepare for exams and stayed in the eastern wing of the temple. He suddenly died that night. There was a small puncture on his sole, as if pierced by an awl, with blood trickling out. No one knew the cause. The next night, the servant also died with the same symptoms. That evening, Yan Sheng returned, and Ning Sheng asked him about the matter. Yan Sheng believed it was the work of a ghost. Ning Sheng, being upright and fearless, did not take it to heart. At midnight, the woman came again and said to Ning Sheng, "I've seen many people, but never someone as upright as you. You are truly a sage; I dare not deceive you. My name is Xiao Qian, surname Nie. I died at eighteen and was buried near the temple. I am often coerced by evil spirits into doing disgraceful things, serving people against my will. Now, there is no one left in the temple to kill, and I fear the night demons will come for you!" Ning Sheng, frightened, begged her for a solution. The woman said, "If you stay with Yan Sheng, you will be safe." Ning Sheng asked, "Why don't you bewitch Yan Sheng?" Xiao Qian replied, "He is an extraordinary person; I dare not approach him." Ning Sheng asked, "How do you bewitch people?" Xiao Qian said, "I secretly pierce the foot of those who get intimate with me with an awl. When they become unconscious, I extract their blood to feed the evil spirits; or I tempt them with gold, but it is not real gold—it is the bone of a Rakshasa ghost. Anyone who keeps it will have their heart and liver taken. These are the two methods I use, exploiting people's desires." Ning Sheng thanked her and asked for the date of caution. Xiao Qian replied, "Tomorrow night." Before leaving, she wept and said, "I am trapped in a sea of suffering with no shore in sight. Your righteousness is sky-high; you can save the suffering. If you could collect my decayed bones and bury them in a peaceful grave, your great kindness would be like giving me a second life!" Ning Sheng agreed resolutely and asked where she was buried. Xiao Qian said, "Just remember, the place with a crow's nest on a poplar tree." She then walked out and disappeared instantly.

“A righteous man resists the temptations and warnings of a charming ghostly woman who reveals her tragic past and seeks his help to find peace.”

Other Fables

• Kuafu Chases the Sun
• The Story of Sai Weng Losing His Horse: A Blessing in Disguise
• Yanzhi's Ordeal: A Story of Love and Redemption
• The Ballad of Mulan
• Jiang Ziya Fishing with a Straight Hook
• Nie Xiaoqian (I)
• Nie Xiaoqian (III)
• Nie Xiaoqian (IV)
• Nie Xiaoqian (V)
• Nie Xiaoqian (VI)