五妹 The Fifth Sister
莺莺本多娇，燕燕爱嬉笑。
姐妹同相亲，只忧人间扰。
Orioles are charming, swallows love to play,
Sisters close in bond, let them not be swayed by worldly fray.
朱家五妹，适处华年，颜色艳丽，堪称国色。
这夜，乌云遮月，凉风过岭，似是有场暴雨在即。五妹陪二姐在兰喜村督办小妖们做活，远远瞥见有个赶路的书生来此避雨。她玩心大起，有意作弄作弄他。
这书生也是个呆子，因担心大雨浇湿书箱，竟一头撞入荒村，丝毫未发觉妖精们。他堪堪进屋，插好了门，点上油灯，屋外顷刻间大雨滂沱。
书生对着窗外的雨，诗兴大发，赶紧背诵道:“赫赫明明。王命卿士，南仲大祖，大师皇父……”
一道炸雷，轰隆响起。书生见那院门似乎晃了一下，并未留意，继续道：“……徐方经骚，震惊徐方。如雷如霆，徐方震惊。”
此句刚完，书生又觉窗棂动了一下。他以为是风雨作祟，便急急关上了窗。如此这般，直待他诵完全诗，神清气爽，才惊觉确有人在敲门。
他见门上的窗纸，映出个娉娉袅袅的身影，不由心中一惊，料想来者必定是个妖精。但心念一转，又觉自己此生窝囊颓唐，若做个风流鬼倒也洒脱。
他慌忙起身，将那房门猛然一开一
也不见什么绝色的妖精，却是个披头散发，双目流脓的女鬼站在那里，他怪叫一声，撞开对方狂奔而逃。
门外的五妹正捏着兰花指，款款倚在墙边，未料被撞了个趔趄。她愤愤不平地走进屋内，口里骂着那书生不懂怜香惜玉，恰巧看见书案上有面旧铜镜，自己随手拿来一照，原是狂风暴雨洗掉了她的妆容，徒留一片斑驳的色彩绚在那脸上，湿发一遮，真真吓人，连她自己也被气笑了。
The fifth daughter of the Zhu family, in the prime of her youth, was renowned for her stunning beauty.
One night, dark clouds obscured the moon, and a chilly wind swept over the ridge, signaling an impending storm. The fifth sister was accompanying her second sister in the village, overseeing the work of the lesser yaoguais, when she spotted a traveling scholar seeking shelter from the rain. Feeling mischievous, she decided to play a trick on him.
The scholar, being somewhat naive, was worried about his bookcase getting soaked and rushed into the deserted village without noticing the yaoguais. He barely made it inside, bolted the door, and lit an oil lamp just as the rain began to pour heavily outside.
Gazing at the rain through the window, the scholar was inspired to recite poetry: "Xu's land in turmoil, the court in disarray, Like thunderclaps in clear skies, they sway...."
A clap of thunder roared. The scholar thought he saw the window shake but paid it no mind until he finished reciting, feeling refreshed.
As he finished the line, he noticed the window lattice move again. Assuming it was the wind and rain, he hurriedly shut the window. After finishing his poem, feeling refreshed, he suddenly realized someone was knocking at the door.
He caught a glimpse of a graceful silhouette on the door's paper screen, and a sense of alarm washed over him as he entertained the thought that it could be a yaoguai. However, considering his own wretched and unremarkable existence, he somehow found solace in the idea of becoming a victim of beauty.
As the scholar hurriedly got up and flung the door open, expecting to see the stunning yaoguai, he was instead met with a horrifying sight—a ghost with disheveled hair and pus-filled eyes. Overwhelmed with terror, he let out a scream and instinctively pushed past her, desperate to escape the haunted house.
Outside the door, the fifth daughter, playing with her delicate fingers, leaned gracefully against the wall, only to be knocked off balance. Angrily, she walked into the house, cursing the scholar for his rudeness, and happened to see an old bronze mirror on the desk. Picking it up, she found out that the storm had washed away her makeup, leaving her face a patchwork of colors, and with her wet hair covering it, she looked truly frightening. Even she couldn't help but laugh.
