東海古蹟島，有五色耐冬花，四時不凋。而島中古無居人，人亦罕到之。登州張生，好奇，喜游獵。聞其佳勝，備酒食，自掉扁舟而往。至則花正繁，香聞數里；樹有大至十餘圍者。反復留連，甚慊所好。開尊自酌，恨無同游。忽花中一麗人來，紅裳眩目，略無倫比。見張，笑曰：「妾自謂興致不凡，不圖先有同調。」張驚問：「何人？」曰：「我膠娼也。適從海公子來。彼尋勝翱翔，妾以艱于步履，故留此耳。」張方苦寂，得美人，大悅，招坐共飲。女言詞溫婉，蕩人神志。張愛好之，恐海公子來，不得盡歡，因挽與亂。女忻從之。相狎未已，忽聞風肅肅，草木偃折有聲。女急推張起，曰：「海公子至矣。」張束衣愕顧，女已失去，旋見一大蛇，自叢樹中出，粗于巨筒。張懼，幛身大樹後，冀蛇不睹。蛇近前，以身繞人並樹，糾纏數匝；兩臂直束胯間，不可少屈。昂其首，以舌刺張鼻。鼻血下注，流地上成窪，乃俯就飲之。張自分必死，忽憶腰中佩荷囊，有毒狐藥，因以二指夾出，破裹堆掌中；又側頸自顧其掌，令血滴藥上，頃刻盈把。蛇果就掌吸飲。飲未及盡，遽伸其體，擺尾若霹靂聲，觸樹，樹半體崩落，蛇臥地如梁而斃矣。張亦眩，莫能起，移時方蘇。載蛇而歸，大病月餘，疑女子亦蛇精也。
东海古迹岛，有五色耐冬花，四时不凋。而岛中古无居人，人亦罕到之。登州张生，好奇，喜游猎。闻其佳胜，备酒食，自掉扁舟而往。至则花正繁，香闻数里；树有大至十余围者。反复留连，甚慊所好。开尊自酌，恨无同游。忽花中一丽人来，红裳眩目，略无伦比。见张，笑曰：「妾自谓兴致不凡，不图先有同调。」张惊问：「何人？」曰：「我胶娼也。适从海公子来。彼寻胜翱翔，妾以艰于步履，故留此耳。」张方苦寂，得美人，大悦，招坐共饮。女言词温婉，荡人神志。张爱好之，恐海公子来，不得尽欢，因挽与乱。女忻从之。相狎未已，忽闻风肃肃，草木偃折有声。女急推张起，曰：「海公子至矣。」张束衣愕顾，女已失去，旋见一大蛇，自丛树中出，粗于巨筒。张惧，幛身大树后，冀蛇不睹。蛇近前，以身绕人并树，纠缠数匝；两臂直束胯间，不可少屈。昂其首，以舌刺张鼻。鼻血下注，流地上成洼，乃俯就饮之。张自分必死，忽忆腰中佩荷囊，有毒狐药，因以二指夹出，破裹堆掌中；又侧颈自顾其掌，令血滴药上，顷刻盈把。蛇果就掌吸饮。饮未及尽，遽伸其体，摆尾若霹雳声，触树，树半体崩落，蛇卧地如梁而毙矣。张亦眩，莫能起，移时方苏。载蛇而归，大病月余，疑女子亦蛇精也。
On Guji Island in the Eastern Sea there are camellias of five colours that never fade in any season. From of old no one has lived on the island, and people seldom go there. A scholar of Dengzhou named Zhang loved strange things and was fond of roaming and hunting. Hearing how fine the place was, he packed wine and food and rowed himself out in a little boat. When he arrived the flowers were in full bloom, and their scent carried for miles; some of the trees were more than ten armspans round. He wandered back and forth among them, lingering, and found it all he had wished for. He opened his wine and drank alone, sorry only that he had no companion. Suddenly a beautiful woman came out from among the flowers, in a red skirt so bright it dazzled the eyes, a beauty beyond compare. Seeing Zhang, she smiled. “I thought my fancy was out of the common,” she said. “I never expected someone of the same tastes to be here before me.” Startled, Zhang asked who she was. “I am a courtesan from Jiao,” she said. “I came here just now with the Young Master of the Sea. He has gone soaring off in search of the sights. Walking is hard for me, so I stayed behind.” Zhang had been feeling lonely, and finding a beauty he was delighted. He asked her to sit and drink with him. Her words were gentle and soft, and they set his head swimming. Zhang wanted her, and fearing the Young Master of the Sea would come back before he had his fill of pleasure, he pulled her to him to lie with her. She went along gladly. They had not finished their play when suddenly he heard the wind whistling, and grass and trees bending and snapping. The woman pushed Zhang up in haste. “The Young Master of the Sea is here!” she said. Zhang tied his clothes and looked round in alarm; the woman was already gone. The next moment a huge snake came out of the thicket, thicker than a great barrel. In terror Zhang hid behind a large tree, hoping the snake would not see him. The snake came up and wound itself round both him and the tree, coil upon coil. His arms were bound straight down against his thighs, and he could not bend them in the least. The snake raised its head and pierced Zhang’s nose with its tongue. Blood poured from his nose and pooled on the ground, and the snake bent down to drink it. Zhang was sure he was going to die. Then he suddenly remembered the pouch at his waist, which held poison for killing foxes. He pinched it out between two fingers, broke open the wrapper and heaped the powder in his palm; then he bent his neck to look down at his palm, letting the blood drip on the poison. In a moment his hand was full. Sure enough, the snake came to his palm and sucked. Before it had drunk it all, it suddenly stretched out its body and lashed its tail with a sound like a thunderclap. It struck the tree, and half the tree split and fell; the snake lay on the ground like a beam, dead. Zhang too was dizzy and could not get up, and only after a while did he come to. He loaded the snake into his boat and went home, and was gravely ill for more than a month. He suspected that the woman had been a snake spirit too.