Liao Zhai is a classical Qing dynasty novel written 400 years ago.Its a classical tale with a collection of short stories of supernatural,fox spirits,ghosts and haunted houses
Im thinking of a short story set in Malaysia.
Min Lin had always been a good son.He brought honour to the Wee family by scoring all As in his SPM exam and got a government scholarship to study medicine in the UK.
As the only son,he grew up with his pet cat Fei Xin who was a beautiful British maine coone with long brown silky fur.While he was studying late into the nite,his cat sat quietly on the table,licking her paws,Sometimes,she jumped om his shoulders nuzzling and biting his ear playfully.
When Min Lin went off to study preuniversity at a distant college,he reminded his mother to take good care of Fei Xin.
Min Lin flew off to the UK but he always video called his family to check on his cat.Unknown to him,the cat was knocked down by a car when she ran away from the house to look for her beloved owner whom she missed a lot.Min Lin was heartbroken when he knew it.
While he was in the UK,he fell in love with his coursemate Sandra.She had light blue eyes like his cat and glossy brown hair.
But his parents were dead against his relationship with a foreigner and wanted him to marry a local girl from his hometown.
Finishing his studies,he returned back to do his internship at the local hospital.One nite during the ghost festival,he came across a kitten that looked like his beloved Fei Xin.He took the kitten home and adopted him and soon she became part of the family.
His uncle arranged a blind date for him with a neighbours daughter.The girl had seemed normal at first.But she had a strange habit of licking chicken bones,loved eating sashimi and was afraid of getting wet.Min Lin became obssessed with pursuing her although his family found her weird.
She had a fetish for nibbling his ear and left love bites on his shoulder.
She was extremely quiet and introverted,seldom speaking with the family unless necessary.But she had an affinity with the kitten who followed her everywhere and even curling up beside her on the sofa.
Thats strange Ah Gong told the family.lately one by one the expensive Japanese koi ive bred outside in the pond in the garden have vanished into thin air.I cant find the carcass or even anything.That kitten is too small to swallow such a big koi.Could be the neighbourhoods stray cats Said Ah Ma.Just spray cat repellant around the pond.
Now the 7 year rascal Ah soon chai his sisters son was cared for by grandma n grandpa who doted on him.Ah Soon Chai decided to sneak out of the house and secretly followed his uncle Ah Fu who went out for a stroll to the nearby padang with his girlfriend.He was smart.He kept some distance from them and hid behind the bushes to spy on what they were up to.He opened his eyes wide and heard smooching sounds.When he looked at their shadows on the grass,he had a fright of his life.His uncles girlfriend has two pointed ears on her head and a long bushy tail.he ran back as fast as his legs could carry to tell his mom.
Mama guess what!Ah Fus girlfriend is actually a cat spirit.i saw she has ears and a tail.
His mother asked him to stop imagining things
But benar i dont bohong.Shes memang seekor mao mao kucing.
When mom told it to Ah Fu,he burst into laughter.Ha ha.that kid memang bodoh.last nite was Halloween n she dressed as a witchs cat while i had fangs.He pulled out the sharp plastic fangs from the plastic bag to show Mom.
Mom didnt believe me at all.i will prove it.
Ah Soon Chai told Ah Gong what he saw and Ah Gong became his ally.Ah Gong told him dont worry lah this weekend i will take you to the Taoist sifu at the Sun Wu Kong temple and seek his guidance.
The sifu pretended to be Ah Gongs old friend and Ah Gong invited him home for dinner when uncles girlfriend came for the Mid Autumn festival dinner.
After that the medium went into a trance.
Im the Warrior Demi God Er Lang Shen.I used my third eye on my forehead that can unveil all disguises and deceptions.I saw a female Cat spirit who is a thousand years old.Looking at her,she has captivated the soul of your only son.
Here is my plan to catch her.listen carefully to my instructions.
The next day Ah Gong placed a statue of Er Lang Shen on the red altar table.He went to the animal shelter and adopted a mixed breed Pit Bull terror and a Rottweiler.
He told the family that they needed a guard dog as lately there had been a lot of break ins in the neighbourhood.Ah Gong tied the yellow amulet around the dogs collar to ward off evil spirits.
Strange whenever Ah Fus girlfriend came to our house,the dog became vicious and barked aggressively at her.She was visibly terrified of this predator.
Ah Gong said Er Lang Shen is a formidable warrior who wields a tri pronged double edged sword that can splice open a mountain.His loyal assistant is a vicious hunting dog.Xiao Tian Quan or Sky barking hound.Er lang Shen sometimes send his dog to hunt down and bite his enemies.Even the Monkey King Sun Wu Kong was defeated by Er Lang Shen and his dog.The Yang Qiaotou Hall Temple in Haichang, Penang Island, but is the only temple dedicated to Xiaotian Quan as a main deity.[16]
One night it was raining heavily and Ah Fus girlfriend went to his car parked outside to get the handphone she left inside the car.The vicious dog attacked her because he sense her power was weakened by the pouring rainwater and the thunder god wielding his laser spear to strike the earth.She used her umbrella to fight back,got drenched to the bone but was defeated by the ferocious Sky barking Hound.Ah Fu ran quickly to rescue her but it was too late.She died in his arms from heavy bleeding after the brutal attack on her neck.Ah Fu was inconsolable.
On the nite when her coffin was placed in the funeral parlour for visitors to pay their last respect,a stray cat came into the parlour.It cat loafed with paws folded in front and sat there silently for the whole night while the monks were chanting.Ah Soon Chai said there appeared to be tears in its eyes.
After the funeral,the Taoist sifu said he would help her with a ritual to reincarnate to the mortal realm in her next life.Looking at their birthdates,it seemed Ah Fu and Fei Xin were star crossed lovers.
After she passed away,the ,Shoppee boy delivered a dog house to our address.Fei Xin had bought a new home for the vicious dog.so there is a Chinese saying The dog that bites Lu Dong Bin.He was one of the 8 immortals of Taoism,a kind poet and scholar it means he who bites the hand that feeds it.
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