Chapter I · The Deserted Temple第一章 · 荒寺借宿
Ning Caichen of Zhejiang was frank, upright, and self-disciplined. He often said, “In this life I cherish no woman other than my wife.” When he traveled to Jinhua for the provincial examinations he rested outside the north gate at a temple whose halls and pagoda were splendid yet whose courtyards had grown over with tall weeds. Monk’s quarters flanked east and west, their doors hanging ajar; only a small room on the south side had a new lock.
In the eastern corner beyond the main hall, stands of bamboo thick as two arms embraced the stone steps. A pond below brimmed with wild lotus blossoms. Finding the place secluded and delightful—and because lodging inside the city was costly while the examiners were in town—Ning decided to stay and waited for monks to return.
At dusk a burly man arrived and unlocked the southern room. Ning hurried over, paid his respects, and asked to lodge there. The man replied, “There is no resident here. I am also borrowing it. If you do not mind the desolation, I would be honored to trade instruction morning and night.” Delighted, Ning spread dry straw for bedding, propped a board for a desk, and planned to stay several days. Under the bright moon the two talked along the hall veranda, giving their names. The man introduced himself as Yan Chixia. Ning guessed he was another candidate, yet his accent was not of Zhejiang; Yan said he hailed from Qin and spoke with disarming candor. When conversation waned they clasped hands and retired to their rooms.
宁采臣是浙江人，性格慷慨爽直，品行端方，洁身自好。他常常对人说：“平生除了妻子外，不好任何女色。”有一次，他到金华去，走到北门外，就在一座寺庙里解下了行李。这座寺庙殿屋及宝塔都很壮丽，但是庭院里却长满了一人多高的蓬蒿，好像很久没人走动过了。东西两侧的僧舍，一个个门扉虚掩着，只有南侧的一间小屋，门锁像是新的。再往大殿东角落望去，只见修长的翠竹足有两手合围那么粗，台阶下有个大水池，池中的野莲已经开花。宁采臣很喜欢这里幽静的环境。当时正赶上学政到金华测试秀才，城里客房租金昂贵，他打算留宿在这里，于是一边散步一边等僧人回来。
天色渐晚，有个壮士走来，开了南屋的门。宁采臣连忙赶过去施礼，并告诉他自己打算留宿。壮士说：“这里没有房主，我也是借住。你不在乎荒凉，早晚能得到你的指教，当然很好了。”宁采臣很高兴，忙铺干麦秸当作床，支起木板当作桌子，打算住上一些日子。这天夜里，明月高悬，月色皎洁，犹如清水一般，二人在佛殿廊下促膝谈心，各自通名报姓。壮士自我介绍说：“我姓燕，字赤霞。”宁采臣猜测他是个赶考的秀才，但听说话的声音，又很不像浙江人。于是便问他家乡何处，壮士自己说是秦地人。言语很是坦诚。过了一会儿，彼此也没什么可说的了，便拱手告别，各自回房睡觉。
Chapter II · Moonlight Visitor第二章 · 月夜访客
New to the place, Ning lay awake. He heard whispering north of the building, as if a household lived beyond the wall. Creeping beneath a stone window he peered out and saw a small courtyard with a matron in her forties and an elderly woman dressed in a faded red gown with a large silver comb in her hair. The two conversed beneath the moon.
“Why has Xiaoqian not come?” asked the matron. “She should be arriving soon,” said the old woman. “Did she complain about you, Grandmother?” “I heard nothing—only that she seemed sullen.” “Then you must treat the girl kindly,” the matron urged. While they spoke a maiden of seventeen or eighteen approached, beauty unrivaled. The old woman laughed, “One should not speak of people behind their backs. We were just mentioning you, little enchantress, and here you slip in without a sound. Fortunately we did not slander you.” She added, “Such a painted beauty—if I were a man, I would be bewitched myself.” The girl replied, “If Grandmother does not praise me, who will?” The matron addressed her as well, though Ning could not make out the words. Thinking them simply neighbors’ wives, he returned to bed.
As he dozed, someone entered his room—the very girl from the northern courtyard. Startled, he demanded her purpose. She smiled, “The moon is bright and I cannot sleep. I came to share warmth with you.” Ning answered sternly, “You should fear gossip, and I dread slander. One misstep destroys a lifetime of honor.” “No one will know in the night,” she coaxed. Ning rebuked her again. She lingered, searching for words, until he barked, “Leave! Otherwise I will summon the man in the south room.” Frightened, she withdrew, but returned to lay a bar of gold upon his quilt. Ning seized it and flung it outside. “Ill-gotten gain—do not soil my purse!” Ashamed, she picked it up and murmured, “This fellow’s heart is forged of stone.”
宁采臣由于新来乍到，很长时间睡不着觉。他听到房屋北边有小声嘀咕的声音，好像有人家。宁采臣便爬在北墙根石窗下，窥视外面的动静。只见短墙外有个小院，院中有个四十多岁的妇女，还有一个老太太，穿着褪了色的红色衣服，头上插着大银梳子，年老体衰，正和那个妇女在月下说话呢。妇女说：“小倩这么久了为何还不来？”老太太说：“大概快来了吧。”妇女说：“是不是向姥姥您发过怨言呢？”老太太说：“没听见什么，不过流露出闷闷不乐的神态。”妇女说：“这丫头不要好生待她。”话声未断，有一个十七八岁的姑娘走来，长得艳丽绝伦。老太太笑着说：“背地不应该议论人。我俩正念叨，你这小妖精就悄悄无声地来了，幸好没有说你的坏话。”又接着说：“小娘子真是个画中的美人，假使我是个男人，也会被你勾了魂去。”那个姑娘说：“姥姥要不夸我几句，还有谁会说我好呢？”后来妇女也跟姑娘说了几句，听不清说的什么。宁采臣估计这几个人都是邻居的家眷，也就回去睡觉，不再听什么。又过了一会儿，这才没有了说话声。
宁采臣刚要睡着，觉得有人进了屋里。急忙起身审视，原来是北院里的那个姑娘。惊问来人用意，那个姑娘笑着说：“明月之夜，我睡不着觉，想同你亲热欢好。”宁采臣板着脸严肃地说：“你应防备别人的议论，我也害怕别人的闲话。一旦失足，就会丧尽廉耻。”姑娘说：“夜里无人知晓。”宁采臣又呵斥她。她徘徊着还想说些什么，宁采臣大声叱道：“快走！不然的话，我就喊南屋的人来啦。”姑娘畏惧，这才退下。刚走出门，又返回来了，拿出一锭黄金放在褥子上。宁采臣抓起黄金，把它扔到屋外，说道：“不义之财，别弄脏了我的囊袋！”这个姑娘惭愧地走出屋，拾起黄金，自言自语说：“这个汉子真是铁石一般。”
Chapter III · The Confession第三章 · 小倩自白
At dawn a scholar from Lanxi arrived with a servant to sit the exam, lodging in the east wing. That night he suddenly died; a puncture like an awl marked the sole of his foot, from which a thin thread of blood seeped. No one knew the cause. By the next evening his servant died the same way.
When Yan Chixia returned Ning told him everything. Yan believed ghosts were at work, but Ning’s righteous nature made him unafraid. At midnight the maiden came again. “Of all the men I have met, none is as steadfast as you,” she said. “You are truly a sage. I dare not deceive you. My name is Nie Xiaoqian. I died at eighteen and was buried beside this temple. A demon coerced me into this shameful business. I do not willingly expose myself to men. The temple now holds no more prey; I fear the night-roving demon will arrive.”
Ning asked for a solution. Xiaoqian said, “Share quarters with Master Yan and you will be spared.” “Why not tempt him instead?” Ning asked. “He is extraordinary; I dare not approach.” She explained, “Those who grow intimate with me are secretly pierced in the sole with a needle so they swoon; I draw their blood to feed the demon. Or I offer gold that is nothing but a rakshasa’s bone—if kept, hearts and livers are taken. These are the demon’s lures to match men’s desires.”
Ning thanked her for the truth and asked when to prepare. “Tomorrow night,” she said. Leaving in tears she pleaded, “I have fallen into the sea of hell with no shore in sight. If you will wrap my rotten bones and return them home for burial, it would equal giving me new life.” Ning agreed without hesitation. She told him to remember the white poplar with a crow’s nest beneath which her grave lay, then vanished.
第二天早晨，有个从兰溪来的书生，带着一个仆人来参加考试，住在东厢房，夜里突然暴死。只见他脚心有一个小窟窿眼儿，就像锥子刺的一样，细细地有血渗出。谁也不知道什么缘故。过了一宿，他的仆人也死了，症状完全一样。傍晚时，燕赤霞回来了，宁采臣便去询问他，燕赤霞认为是鬼魅闹事。宁采臣历来就刚直不屈，一点儿也不在意。
半夜中，那个姑娘又来了，对宁采臣说：“我见过的人多了，没有一个像你这样刚强正直。你实在是个圣贤，我不敢欺骗你。我小倩，姓聂，十八岁时夭折，埋葬在寺庙旁边，后被妖精威胁，做这些下贱的事情，不顾羞耻面向众人，实在不是心甘情愿的。现在寺庙中没有能杀的人了，恐怕夜叉要来。”宁采臣害怕，请姑娘想个办法。小倩说：“与燕生同室就可以免除灾难。”宁采臣问：“你为什么不迷惑燕生呢？”小倩说：“他是个奇人，不敢接近。”又问：“怎么迷惑人呢？”小倩说：“亲昵我的人，我就暗中用锥子扎他的脚心，那时他就会昏迷不知，借此抽他的血供给妖精喝。或者用金钱引诱他，其实那不是真金，而是罗刹鬼的骨头，留下就会被摘走心肝。这两种办法都是用来投其所好的。”宁采臣感谢小倩说出真相。问戒备的时间，小倩讲就在明天晚上。临别时，小倩哭着说：“我坠入了地狱之海，找不到岸边。郎君义气冲天，必定能够拔生救苦。如果肯把我的朽骨包起来，送回家安葬，不亚于再生父母。”宁采臣毅然答应下来。于是又问原来埋在哪里，小倩说：“只要记住有乌鸦筑巢的那棵白杨树下就是了。”说罢出门，倏然间不见了。
Chapter IV · Sword Against Night-Rovers第四章 · 剑气破窗
Fearing Yan might go out, Ning invited him to dine early with wine and dishes prepared. He pressed Yan to share his quarters; Yan demurred, claiming eccentric habits, but Ning moved his bedding in regardless. Yan relented yet warned, “I admire your heroism, but heed my words: do not pry into the wrapped object inside my chest. Disobey and we both suffer.” Ning promised compliance.
They soon lay down. Yan set a small chest on the windowsill and fell asleep with booming snores, while Ning lay awake. Near the first watch a shadow flitted outside the window. Something peered through the lattice, its eyes flickering. Before Ning could call out, an object burst from the chest—glittering like a strip of white silk—shattering the stone mullions before streaking outside and returning with the speed of lightning.
Yan awoke, lifted the chest, and took out a gleaming item two inches long and as wide as a leek leaf. He sniffed it, muttered about bold ghosts smashing his chest, wrapped it layer upon layer, and replaced it inside. Ning, amazed, confessed what he had seen. Yan smiled, “Since we are friends I will not hide it. I am a swordsman. Had the window not been stone, the demon would already be dead—though it did receive a wound.” The object was his luminous sword.
第二天，宁采臣怕燕赤霞外出，早早就过去约他来家一聚。七八点钟，宁采臣准备好酒菜，请燕赤霞一块儿喝酒，同时注意观察着燕赤霞。宁采臣约请燕赤霞一块住宿，燕赤霞托词自己性情孤僻，喜欢安静而不同意。宁采臣不听，硬是把行李搬了过来。燕赤霞迫不得已，只好把床搬过来一起住了。燕赤霞嘱咐宁采臣说：“我知道足下是个大丈夫，很是倾慕你的风度。不过我有些心里话，一时不便说明。请你千万不要翻弄察看箱匣里包着的东西，违背我的话，对你我都没有好处。”宁采臣恭谨听命。
不久，各自睡觉。燕赤霞把小箱子放在窗台上，躺下不大工夫，就鼾声如雷，宁采臣却睡不着觉。快到一更天时，窗外隐隐约约有个人影。不一会儿，走近窗前来窥视，目光忽闪忽闪的。宁采臣害怕，刚想要呼叫燕赤霞，突然间有一个东西冲破箱子飞出去，晶光闪闪犹如一匹白色绸子，把窗户上的石棂子都撞折了，忽然一射，马上又收回来，宛如电闪那样快。燕赤霞觉察有动静便起身了，宁采臣假装睡觉，暗中却在观察着。只见燕赤霞捧着小箱子查看，他从小箱子中取出一件东西，对着月光又是闻又是看，只见它晶莹闪亮，长有二寸，宽如韭叶。查看过后，再把它包起来，足足包裹了好几层，仍然放回已经破了的小箱子内，自言自语说：“什么老鬼魅，如此大胆，居然把我的小箱子都弄坏了。”而后又躺下睡觉。宁采臣非常惊奇，便起来询问这是怎么回事，还把自己所见到的情况告诉了燕赤霞。燕赤霞说：“我们既然彼此相好，我怎敢深藏不说呢。我是个剑客。如果不是石窗棂，妖精早就死了，不过它也受伤了。”宁采臣问：“包的那是什么东西？”燕赤霞说：“是剑。刚才闻了闻，有妖气。”宁采臣想看看，燕赤霞很痛快地拿出来给他看，只见是一把荧荧发光的小剑。于是宁采臣对燕赤霞更加尊重敬爱了。
Chapter V · Bones Returned Home第五章 · 归骨故里
At daybreak Ning saw blood traces beneath the window. North of the temple he found ranks of deserted graves and, among them, a mound where a white poplar stood crowned with a crow’s nest—just as Xiaoqian had said. Deciding his course, Ning packed to leave.
Yan hosted a farewell banquet and presented Ning with a torn leather sword bag. “Guard this well; it wards off demons,” he said. Ning expressed a desire to learn swordsmanship. Yan replied, “Your integrity suits the path, yet your fate lies amid honor and office, not the sword.” Ning feigned that a younger sister was buried nearby, exhumed Xiaoqian’s remains, wrapped them in cloth, hired a small boat, and returned home.
Near the city he interred the bones beside his own dwelling and offered prayers: “Poor lonely spirit, I bury you by my humble house so your songs and tears reach my ears. May this bowl of broth comfort you, though it is plain.” As he finished, a voice called behind him, “Wait for me!” He turned to see Xiaoqian herself.
第二天，宁采臣看到窗外有血迹。他出了寺庙向北走去，只见荒坟累累，一座坟堆中果然长着一棵白杨，杨树梢上有个乌鸦窝。宁采臣等心中打好主意后，就收拾行李，准备回去。燕赤霞设酒饯行，情义很是深厚。他拿出一个破了的皮袋子送给宁采臣，说：“这是个剑袋，要珍藏好，可以远避鬼魅邪魔。”宁采臣想跟他学剑术。他说：“像你这样的讲信义，又刚正直爽，是可以当个剑客的。不过，你是富贵中人，不是这道中的人。”宁采臣假托有个妹子埋在这里，挖出尸骨，用衣被包裹好，便租只小船回去了。
宁采臣的住室临近郊野，于是把坟墓安置在房宅外，埋葬后，宁采臣祭道：“可怜你魂魄孤单，把你埋葬在我的斗室之旁，你的歌声与哭泣我都能听到，大概可以免于雄鬼的欺凌。这一碗汤水请你喝了吧，虽然并不醇美，希望不要嫌弃。”宁采臣祷告完便往回走。后面有人叫道：“慢点儿，等我一块走！”回头一看，原来是小倩。
Chapter VI · A Daughter in the Household第六章 · 入门为家人
Overjoyed, Xiaoqian thanked him. “You keep faith. For you I would die ten times without regret. Please take me to your parents; even as a maidservant I will not complain.” By daylight she was even more radiant than at night. Ning asked her to wait while he informed his mother. Astonished, his mother cautioned silence lest Ning’s chronically ill wife be frightened.
Xiaoqian entered, knelt, and declared, “Drifting alone without kin, I received the young master’s great kindness and wish to wed him in return.” Mother Ning admired her beauty but replied, “I have only this one son to continue the line. I dare not marry him to a ghost.” Xiaoqian said, “I bear no ill will. If the dead cannot win your trust, let me serve as a younger sister and attend you day and night.” Pitying her sincerity, the mother agreed.
Xiaoqian ran the kitchen, tended chores as if long accustomed, and each morning brought water to wash the elder’s face. At dusk, fearing the mother’s unease, she withdrew to the ancestral study. Yet she hesitated at the door, sensing the sword aura from Yan’s leather bag hung within. Once Ning moved it elsewhere she entered, reading sutras by lamplight. Pitying her fear of the lonely grave, Ning urged her to sleep in another room, but propriety and his mother’s caution kept them apart.
小倩欢喜地感谢说：“你真是讲信义，我就是为你死去十次也不能报答你的恩情。请带我去拜见公婆，就是当婢妾丫环也不后悔。”宁采臣细细打量着小倩，见她肌肤白里透红犹如霞光，小脚翘起如同细笋，白天端详相貌，比之夜里更显娇艳无比。于是他把她带回家，让她先在堂上稍候，自己先去禀报母亲。母亲听后十分惊讶，因为宁采臣的妻子久病卧床，便叮嘱儿子千万别惊吓了她。话音未落，小倩已经轻盈而入，跪倒在地。宁采臣介绍说：“这就是小倩。”母亲看得目瞪口呆。小倩对她说：“孩儿飘零孤苦，远离父母兄弟。承蒙公子大恩，愿意嫁给公子报答他。”母亲觉得她温柔秀美，却仍担心惹祸，说：“我只有这一个儿子，要靠他传宗接代，可不敢让他娶个鬼。”小倩连续哀求：“孩儿真的没有恶意。如果死者让您难以信任，就当我是女儿，留在您身边侍奉您，可以吗？”母亲被她的诚心打动，只好答应。小倩原本想去拜见嫂嫂，母亲说嫂嫂有病，不适合相见，这才作罢。她随即进厨房下厨，为母亲做饭，走动间熟稔得像本就住在这里。
傍晚，母亲还是担心，叫她回去休息，又没有给她铺床。小倩知道母亲心思，便离开了。她走到书斋前想进去，又退了出来，在门口徘徊，像是怕什么。宁采臣招呼她，她说：“屋里还有剑气，让人害怕。前些时候在路上没能拜见你，也是这个原因。”宁采臣想起皮剑袋，就把它挪到别处，小倩才进门坐在烛光前。她静静坐着一句话也不说，等到二更天还不肯走。宁采臣催她回去，她愁眉紧锁地说：“在外飘泊的孤魂，最怕那荒凉的坟穴啊。”宁采臣提醒她兄妹应当避嫌，她只好一步三回头地下了台阶，转眼又不见踪影。宁采臣心里怜惜，想留下她住在别的房间，又怕母亲责怪。
接下来每天早晨，小倩都会先去给母亲请安，拿水伺候洗漱；随后又下厅做家务，事事顺着母亲的心思。黄昏时她便告退，到书斋里借着烛光诵经，等感觉宁采臣要睡了才恋恋不舍离开。自从小倩帮忙，原本需要母亲日夜操劳照顾病妻的重担大大减轻，她心里十分感激。时间一长，全家人都把小倩当成亲闺女一样疼爱，甚至忘了她是个鬼。晚上常常舍不得让她走，干脆让她同住。刚到家时她从不吃喝，半年后才偶尔喝点稀粥。母子俩极力维护她，从不提及她的身份，别人更是无从得知。不久，宁采臣的妻子去世，母亲本想让小倩做儿媳，又担心影响儿子。小倩察觉后向母亲说明：“我留在这里，只是为了不再祸害行人。郎君正直磊落，连天上人都敬佩他。我只是想依附他三五年，争个封诰，也好让泉下父母光耀。”她又说生儿育女都是天注定，郎君命里注定有三个儿子，不会因为娶了鬼妻就断了香火。母亲信了，便和儿子商量，宁采臣欣然同意，于是大设酒席邀请亲友。大家都想看看新娘，小倩换上华服走出来，宾客无不惊艳，完全看不出她是鬼。亲友们纷纷带着内眷来祝贺。小倩擅长画兰画梅，还常把画赠给亲戚作为回礼，大家都珍藏当宝贝。
Chapter VII · Demon at the Door第七章 · 夜叉就擒
Ning’s wife eventually died. Mother Ning secretly wished to make Xiaoqian her daughter-in-law yet feared it would harm her son. Xiaoqian sensed this and said, “I dwell here to avoid harming travelers. The young master is righteous; even Heaven esteems him. I ask only to rely on him a few years and earn a title to honor my shade.” Assured that his lineage would flourish with three sons, the mother consented, and the wedding was celebrated. Guests marvelled at the bride, thinking her a celestial maiden.
One day Xiaoqian sat worried and asked for Yan’s leather sword bag to be hung above their bed, then upon the doorway. “For days my heart has pounded,” she said. “The Jinhua demon surely hates that I escaped and will seek me out.” That night, as they kept watch by candlelight, a creature like a yaksha swooped down—eyes flashing, tongue blood-red. It paced before the door, finally reaching for the bag as if to tear it. Suddenly the bag boomed, swelling like a great basket. A phantasmal figure lunged forth, seized the yaksha, and dragged it inside. The bag shrank silent, leaving only cool water within.
“It is finished,” Xiaoqian rejoiced. From then on they lived in peace. In time Ning Caichen ranked among the successful jinshi. Xiaoqian bore him a son. After Ning took a concubine, both she and Xiaoqian bore sons; all three later held office with fine reputations.
有一天，小倩低着头坐在窗前，显出忧伤焦虑的样子。忽然间，小倩问道：“皮袋子在哪？”宁采臣说：“因为你怕它，所以把它封起来放到别的地方了。”小倩说：“我接受人的生气很久了，应该不会再畏惧它，最好取来挂在床头上。”宁采臣询问用意何在，小倩说：“这三两天，心里一直怔忡不安，想必金华那个妖精痛恨我远远地逃走，恐怕早晚会寻找到这里。”宁采臣便把皮袋子拿来。小倩反复察看，说道：“这是剑仙盛人头的皮袋子呀。都破旧到这个样子了，不知杀了多少人！我现在看见它，身子还起鸡皮疙瘩呢。”而后，把皮口袋悬在床头上了。
第二天，小倩又叫把皮口袋挂在门上。夜晚，小倩与宁采臣对烛而坐，还提醒宁采臣不要睡觉。忽然，有一个东西像飞鸟一样坠落下来，小倩吓得藏在帷帐后面。宁采臣一瞧，这东西像个夜叉，两眼闪闪如电光，舌头血红血红，张牙舞爪奔过来，到了门前又退了几步。徘徊了好久，才敢接近皮口袋，伸出爪子去摘取，好像要把皮口袋撕碎。忽然间，皮口袋“咯噔”一响，变得像个大土筐一般大，恍惚中好像有个鬼物从里面探出半身，一下子把夜叉揪了进去，然后声音顿然消失，皮口袋又缩回了原来的样子。宁采臣看到这情景，真是又害怕又惊讶。小倩也走出来，非常高兴地说：“好了，没有事了！”他们一起观看皮口袋，只见里面有几斗清水而已。
后来又过了几年，宁采臣果然考上了进士。小倩也生下一个男孩。等宁采臣娶了妾后，妾与小倩又各生了一个男孩，这三个儿子长大后都做了官，声誉很好。
