Explore the mysterious tale of the Muddy Scholar, where jealousy and supernatural forces collide in a story of deception and revenge.
In the village of Luo, there was a man named Chen Dai, who was both foolish and ugly from a young age. He married a wife named Mrs. Mou, who was very beautiful. Chen’s wife felt dissatisfied with her husband, considering him inferior to others, and she was often depressed. However, she remained chaste and virtuous, and there were no conflicts between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. One night, as Chen’s wife was sleeping alone, she suddenly heard a gust of wind blow the door open. A scholar walked in, took off his clothes, removed his headdress, and lay down beside Chen’s wife to sleep together. Chen’s wife was terrified and resisted desperately, but she became weak and helpless from head to toe, and had to allow the scholar to have his way before he left. From then on, the scholar came every night. Over a month later, Chen’s wife looked haggard, and her mother-in-law was deeply puzzled, so she asked for the reason. At first, Chen’s wife was ashamed and didn’t want to reveal the truth. After repeated questioning, she finally confessed. Her mother-in-law exclaimed in horror, “This is the work of a demon!” She tried various methods to restrain and curse the scholar, but nothing could stop him from coming. So she had Chen Dai hide in the room, holding a wooden stick, waiting in the darkness. In the middle of the night, the scholar came again, placing his headdress on the table and taking off his robe, hanging it on a clothes rack. Just as he was about to get into bed, he suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, there’s the scent of a living person!” He hastily put on his clothes again. Chen Dai suddenly leaped up in the darkness and struck the scholar’s waist with a “bang.” After looking around, the scholar had vanished. Using a torch to illuminate the scene, they found a piece of muddy clothing on the ground, and the muddy headdress was still on the table.
《泥书生》
罗村有陈代者，少蠢陋。娶妻某氏，颇丽。自以婿不如人，郁郁不得志，然贞洁自持，婆媳亦相安。一夕独宿，忽闻风动扉开，一书生入，脱衣巾，就妇共寝。妇骇惧，苦相拒，而肌骨顿耎，听其狎亵而去。自是恒无虚夕。月馀，形容枯瘁，母怪问之。初惭怍不欲言，固问，始以情告。母骇曰：“此妖也！”百术为之禁咒，终亦不能绝。乃使代伏匿室中，操杖以伺。夜分，书生果复来，置冠几上，又脱袍服，搭椸架间。才欲登榻，忽惊曰：“咄咄！有生人气！”急复披衣。代暗中暴起，击中腰胁，塔然作声。四壁张顾，书生已渺。束薪爇照，泥衣一片堕地上，案头泥巾犹存。
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