Shen Linsheng said that a certain old friend of his, one summer day lying asleep in the daytime, saw in a haze a woman lift the curtain and enter. She had a white cloth wrapped around her head and wore mourning garments and a hempen skirt, and she went toward the inner room. He took her for a neighbor's wife come to visit his own. Then he thought—why should anyone enter a house in mourning clothes? While he was still uncertain, the woman came out again. Looking at her closely, she seemed a woman of thirty-odd, with a sallow, swollen face and contracted brows—a fearful sight. She lingered, unwilling to leave, and drew nearer and nearer to the bed. He therefore feigned sleep to watch what would happen. Presently the woman lifted her skirts, climbed onto the bed, and pressed down upon his belly, which felt as heavy as a thousand catties. Though his mind was clear, when he raised his hand it was as though bound; when he lifted his foot it was as though paralyzed. He tried urgently to cry for help, but could make no sound. The woman brought her mouth close and sniffed his face, over cheekbones, nose, brows, and forehead. Her lips were cold as ice, and her breath chilled him to the bone. In his extremity the old man hit upon a plan: when she sniffed down to his chin and cheeks, he would bite her. Before long she did reach his chin. Seizing his chance, he bit down hard on her cheekbone, his teeth sinking into the flesh. The woman, in pain, drew away, struggling and crying. The old man bit all the harder, until blood covered his chin and soaked the pillow beside him. While they were thus locked in struggle, he suddenly heard his wife's voice in the courtyard. He cried out, "There's a ghost!"—and relaxing his jaws, the woman vanished in a puff.
His wife rushed in but saw nothing, and laughed at what she took to be the fancies of a nightmare. The old man told of the wonder and said there was proof in blood. Together they examined the bed and found it drenched like water leaking from a roof. Bending down to smell, they found a foul stench beyond the ordinary. The old man vomited violently, and for days afterward his mouth still held a lingering odor.