Explore the intriguing story of Wei Zhouzuo's encounter with small warriors and a loyal small hunting dog, leading to the disappearance of household pests.
When Shanxi native Wei Zhouzuo was still a scholar, he grew tired of the busy affairs of life and moved into a temple to live. However, there were numerous bedbugs, mosquitoes, and fleas in the room, often making it difficult for Wei Zhouzuo to sleep through the night.
One day, after finishing his meal, Wei Zhouzuo lay down on his bed to rest. Suddenly, a small warrior about two inches tall, with a pheasant feather in his head, rode a grasshopper-sized horse, and wore a green leather armlet with a falcon the size of a fly on it. He entered from outside, circling around in the room, walking and running intermittently. Just as Wei Zhouzuo was gazing intently, another small person entered the room, dressed the same way as the previous one, with a small bow and arrow at his waist, leading a hunting dog the size of a large ant. After a while, hundreds of walking and horse-riding little warriors came in a disorderly manner, with hundreds of falcons and hunting dogs. Whenever mosquitoes and flies took flight, the little warriors released their falcons to attack and kill them instantly. The hunting dogs climbed onto the bed, crawled up the walls, and searched for bedbugs and fleas to eat. Even if they were hiding in crevices, as long as they sniffed them, they couldn’t escape capture, and in an instant, they were nearly all eaten. Wei Zhouzuo pretended to be asleep but peeked with his eyes half-closed. He saw falcons landing on his body, and hunting dogs scurrying all over him. Then, a person dressed in yellow clothes, with a flat-topped hat resembling a king, arrived and climbed onto another couch, tying his chariot to a mat. The accompanying knights dismounted and presented mosquitoes, flies, bedbugs, and fleas, gathering around the king, but Wei Zhouzuo couldn’t hear what they were saying. Before long, the king got into the small chariot, and the guards hastily mounted their horses. Thousands of horses galloped away, as if beans were being scattered, raising a cloud of dust, and in an instant, they disappeared.
Wei Zhouzuo watched clearly and felt deeply astonished. He had no idea where they came from. He put on his shoes and looked outside, but there was no trace or sound. Turning around and looking all around, he saw nothing, except a small hunting dog falling onto the wall tiles. He quickly caught the small hunting dog, which was surprisingly tame. Wei Zhouzuo placed the small hunting dog in a box on his writing desk and observed it repeatedly. He noticed that the fur on the dog was very fine, and it had a small collar around its neck. When he offered it some rice grains, it would sniff and then walk away. It jumped onto the bed, searching in the seams of clothes, and killed all the lice and fleas, then curled up in the box. After a night, Wei Zhouzuo thought the small hunting dog had left, but when he checked, it was still lying there. Whenever Wei Zhouzuo lay down, the dog would jump onto the bed, and when it saw insects, it would bite them to death. Mosquitoes and flies dared not come near. Wei Zhouzuo loved the small hunting dog more than precious jade. One day, during his nap, the small hunting dog silently lay beside him. When he woke up and shifted, he accidentally crushed the dog beneath his waist. Realizing something was under him, he thought it might be the dog and quickly got up to check, only to find the small hunting dog had been flattened, as if it had been cut with scissors. However, from that day on, there were no more insects in the room.
《小猎犬》
山右卫中堂为诸生时，厌冗扰，徙斋僧院。苦室中蜰虫蚊蚤甚多，竟夜不成寝。
食后，偃息在床。忽一小武士，首插雉尾，身高两寸许，骑马大如蜡，臂上青鞲，有鹰如蝇。自外而入，盘旋室中，行且驶。公方凝注，忽又一人入，装亦如前，腰束小弓矢，牵猎犬如巨蚁。又俄顷，步者、骑者，纷纷来以数百辈，鹰亦数百臂，犬亦数百头。有蚊蝇飞起，纵鹰腾击，尽扑杀之。猎犬登床缘壁，搜噬虱蚤，凡罅隙之所伏藏，嗅之无不出者，顷刻之间，决杀殆尽。公伪睡睨之，鹰集犬窜于其身。既而一黄衣人，着平天冠，如王者，登别榻，系驷苇篾间。从骑皆下，献飞献走，纷集盈侧，亦不知作何语。无何，王者登小辇，卫士仓皇，各命鞍马，万蹄攒奔，纷如撒菽，烟飞雾腾，斯须散尽。
公历历在目，骇诧不知所由。蹑履外窥，渺无迹响。返身周视，都无所见，惟壁砖上遗一细犬。公急捉之，且驯。置砚匣中，反复瞻玩，毛极细茸，项上有小环。饲以饭颗，一嗅辄弃去。跃登床榻，寻衣缝，啮杀虮虱，旋复来伏卧。逾宿，公疑其已往，视之，则盘伏如故。公卧，则登床箦，遇虫辄啖毙，蚊蝇无敢落者。公爱之，甚于拱璧。一日，昼寝，犬潜伏身畔。公醒转侧，压于腰底。公觉有物，固疑是犬，急起视之，已匾而死，如纸翦成者然。然自是壁虫无噍类矣。