Painted Skin · chapter 3 of 4
The Night Visitor
夜里的客人
With the whisk on the door, Wang and Chen wait in the dark, until a sweet voice knocks and asks to come in.
Read what you hear
- Chen 王生，你把这把毛毛的东西挂在门上，是要给我们家扫地吗？
Wáng Shēng, nǐ bǎ zhè bǎ máomao de dōngxi guà zài mén shang, shì yào gěi wǒmen jiā sǎodì ma?
Wang, why did you hang that fuzzy thing on our door? Are you planning to sweep the house with it?
- Wang Sheng 娘子，小声一点。那个姑娘……她不是人。
Niángzǐ, xiǎoshēng yìdiǎn. Nàge gūniang… tā bú shì rén.
Dear wife, keep your voice down. That girl… she isn't human.
- Chen 你说什么？她那么小，那么瘦……
Nǐ shuō shénme? Tā nàme xiǎo, nàme shòu…
What are you saying? She's so small, so thin…
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Painted Skin is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Wang Sheng 我亲眼看见了！她的脸是绿的，牙是尖的！
Wǒ qīnyǎn kànjiàn le! Tā de liǎn shì lǜ de, yá shì jiān de!
I saw it with my own eyes! Her face was green, and her teeth were sharp!
- Chen 你是不是书读得太累了？来，喝口水……
Nǐ shì bu shì shū dú de tài lèi le? Lái, hē kǒu shuǐ…
Have you been reading too many books? Here, have some water…
- The Girl 王先生，夫人，你们睡了吗？我一个人，有点怕。
Wáng xiānsheng, fūrén, nǐmen shuì le ma? Wǒ yí gè rén, yǒudiǎn pà.
Mr. Wang, madam, are you asleep? I'm all alone, and a little scared.
- Wang Sheng 别出声。别开门。
Bié chūshēng. Bié kāi mén.
Not a sound. Don't open the door.
- The Girl 我做了一碗热汤。开门好不好？外面好冷……
Wǒ zuò le yì wǎn rè tāng. Kāi mén hǎo bu hǎo? Wàimiàn hǎo lěng…
I made a bowl of hot soup. Won't you open the door? It's so cold out here…
- Chen 王生……我一直听着。我没有听见她走路的声音。
Wáng Shēng… wǒ yìzhí tīng zhe. Wǒ méiyǒu tīngjiàn tā zǒulù de shēngyīn.
Wang… I've been listening the whole time. I never heard her footsteps.
- The Girl 门上挂着什么？
Mén shang guà zhe shénme?
What's hanging on the door?
- The Demon 那个老道士的东西！他以为一把破拂尘，就能拦住我？
Nàge lǎo dàoshi de dōngxi! Tā yǐwéi yì bǎ pò fúchén, jiù néng lán zhù wǒ?
That old Taoist's thing! He thinks a little worn-out whisk can stop me?
- The Demon 现在我不进去。可是我还会回来的！
Xiànzài wǒ bú jìnqù. Kěshì wǒ hái huì huílái de!
I won't go in now. But I'll be back!
- Chen 她……她走了。王生，你说的是真的。
Tā… tā zǒu le. Wáng Shēng, nǐ shuō de shì zhēn de.
She… she's gone. Wang, what you said is true.
- Wang Sheng 天快亮了。也许，她不会再来了。
Tiān kuài liàng le. Yěxǔ, tā bú huì zài lái le.
It will be light soon. Maybe she won't come back.
- Narrator 夜更深了。王生和陈氏靠在一起，慢慢睡着了。
Yè gèng shēn le. Wáng Shēng hé Chén Shì kào zài yìqǐ, mànmàn shuìzháo le.
The night grew deeper. Wang Sheng and Chen leaned against each other and slowly fell asleep.
- Chen 什么声音？！门……门开了！
Shénme shēngyīn?! Mén… mén kāi le!
What was that?! The door… the door is open!
- Wang Sheng 拂尘！它掉在地上了！
Fúchén! Tā diào zài dì shang le!
The whisk! It's fallen on the floor!
- The Demon 一根旧毛，也想拦住我？老道士，你太小看我了！
Yì gēn jiù máo, yě xiǎng lán zhù wǒ? Lǎo dàoshi, nǐ tài xiǎokàn wǒ le!
A bunch of old hair wants to stop me? Old Taoist, you underestimate me!
- Wang Sheng 娘子，快跑！别管我！
Niángzǐ, kuài pǎo! Bié guǎn wǒ!
Dear wife, run! Don't worry about me!
- Chen 不！我不走！王生！
Bù! Wǒ bù zǒu! Wáng Shēng!
No! I won't go! Wang!
- Narrator 妖怪的手一碰到他，王生就倒在地上，没有醒过来。
Yāoguài de shǒu yí pèng dào tā, Wáng Shēng jiù dǎo zài dì shang, méiyǒu xǐng guòlái.
The moment the demon's hand touched him, Wang Sheng fell to the floor and did not wake.
- The Demon 哈哈哈！明天，我还是那个漂亮的小姑娘！
Hāhāhā! Míngtiān, wǒ háishi nàge piàoliang de xiǎo gūniang!
Ha ha ha! Tomorrow, I'll still be that pretty little girl!
- Chen 王生……天亮了，你说话啊。你的手，怎么这么冷……
Wáng Shēng… tiān liàng le, nǐ shuōhuà a. Nǐ de shǒu, zěnme zhème lěng…
Wang… it's morning. Say something. Why are your hands so cold…
- The Taoist 开门！我是那个道士！
Kāi mén! Wǒ shì nàge dàoshi!
Open up! It's me, the Taoist!
- Chen 道长！求您救救我丈夫！他一直不醒！
Dàozhǎng! Qiú nín jiùjiu wǒ zhàngfu! Tā yìzhí bù xǐng!
Master! Please save my husband! He won't wake up!
- The Taoist 妖怪拿走了他身上的热。我的力气不够，救不了他。
Yāoguài názǒu le tā shēn shang de rè. Wǒ de lìqi bú gòu, jiù bù liǎo tā.
The demon has taken the warmth from his body. I'm not strong enough to bring it back.
- Chen 那怎么办？他……他不会醒了吗？
Nà zěnme bàn? Tā… tā bú huì xǐng le ma?
Then what can I do? Will he… never wake up?
- The Taoist 市场里有一个疯乞丐。也许，只有他可以救你丈夫。
Shìchǎng lǐ yǒu yí gè fēng qǐgài. Yěxǔ, zhǐyǒu tā kěyǐ jiù nǐ zhàngfu.
There's a mad beggar in the market. Maybe he's the only one who can save your husband.
- The Taoist 可是他很怪。他会让你在很多人面前丢脸。你受得了吗？
Kěshì tā hěn guài. Tā huì ràng nǐ zài hěn duō rén miànqián diūliǎn. Nǐ shòu de liǎo ma?
But he is strange. He will shame you in front of a crowd. Can you bear it?
- Chen 他要我跪，我就跪。只要王生能醒过来，我什么都不怕！
Tā yào wǒ guì, wǒ jiù guì. Zhǐyào Wáng Shēng néng xǐng guòlái, wǒ shénme dōu bú pà!
If he tells me to kneel, I'll kneel. As long as Wang can wake up, I'm not afraid of anything!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Chen joke the whisk on the door is for?
“是要给我们家扫地吗？”
- What strange thing does Chen notice about the girl outside?
“我没有听见她走路的声音。”
- What does the demon say when she sees the whisk?
“现在我不进去。可是我还会回来的！”
- What happens after the door bursts open in the night?
“王生就倒在地上，没有醒过来。”
- Who does the Taoist say might be able to save Wang?
“市场里有一个疯乞丐。也许，只有他可以救你丈夫。”