In the Ezho region of Hubei Province,there was a merchant named Guo Mou.Later,Guo Mou went to the capital to do business.However, housing prices in the capital were extremely high,and as a newcomer,he didnot have much capital.To save money,Guo Mou stayed in a deserted temple far away.Every day,he set out in the morning and returned in the evening,day after day.

Soon,a year passed,and Guo Mou earned a considerable amount of money.He planned to go home in a few days.

That day,Guo Mou passed through a secluded alley and saw someone performing puppet shows.Finding it interesting,he squeezed into the crowd to watch.After watching for a long time,the puppet show ended,and Guo Mou intended to go back.At that moment,he habitually touched his waist and immediately felt his heart sink.His silver was gone!

Guo Mou had earned hundreds of taels of silver.To ensure safety,he wrapped these silver around his waist(In ancient times,when people went out,they would wrap silver and such around their waists.The term"pánchán"for travel expenses originated from this).Who knew that a thief had noticed and stole all the silver while he was concentrating on watching the puppet show.

After returning to the temple,Guo Mou grew angrier and angrier.He had worked hard for a year,only to benefit some scoundrel.He was both angry and sad,and didn't eat any food.Sitting in front of the lamp,he sobbed.

Suddenly,there was a sound of roof tiles colliding over his head,as if someone was walking.Could it be that the thief followed him back and still wanted to take more?Just as he was thinking,suddenly a person jumped from the eaves,as light as a swallow and as agile as a monkey.Guo Mou was frightened and quickly hid under the bed.

The man came over and pulled Guo Mou from under the bed and said,"Sir,don't be afraid.Did you go to the puppet show during the day? Did you lose a lot of silver?" Guo Mou nodded,feeling a little relieved.He saw that the person had fair skin,beautiful eyes and a long beard,and an outstanding appearance.He didn't look like a thief,so he replied, "It's me.But why did you come here?"

This person said: "Your silver was stolen by Xiaosanlang.Just now,he was dividing the silver with his accomplices.I overheard their conversation.I knew that all your possessions were here and was worried that you might do something rash after losing the silver,so I snatched the silver back and returned it to you."After saying this,he handed the package to Guo Mou.

Guo Mou took a look and sure enough,it was his package and not a single tael of silver was missing.Overjoyed,he expressed his intention to give half of the silver to his benefactor.This person waved his hand and said:"I'm called Wuyuan.Because of my fair complexion,everyone calls me the White-Faced Gentleman.The capital is not good.I plan to move away with my wife.I happened to see Xiaosanlang and his accomplices dividing the spoils,so I killed Xiaosanlang conveniently."

When Guo Mou heard this,he felt it was a pity and said:"Perhaps Xiaosanlang was very poor and only did such a thing.Why did you have to kill him?"The White-Faced Gentleman said:"Xiaosanlang is addicted to smoking and gambling,and has voluntarily fallen into depravity,resulting in his wife leaving and his family falling apart.Such a person,if not killed,what's the point of keeping him?To harm others?"Guo Mou thought it made some sense and asked him where he planned to move to.

The White-Faced Gentleman said he hadn't decided where to go yet,and added that as long as the neighbors were kind and easy to get along with.So,Guo Mou invited him to his hometown,saying that his house was big enough to accommodate them.The White-Faced Gentleman was overjoyed,expressing that this was the best.There would also be someone to talk to along the way,so it wouldn't be too boring.

The two agreed on time,and the gentleman with the white face left.

When the time came,the white face came with his wife and maid.His wife,named Xue Gu,looked very beautiful.

When they arrived in Ezho,Guo Mou gave the three rooms on the east side to the white-faced gentleman to live in,while he himself lived in the rooms on the west side.Over time,Guo Mou gradually got to know the white-faced gentleman well.

The gentleman with the white face loved heroic deeds and had a straightforward nature.He liked to help those in need and fight injustice.For those kind people in difficult situations,he was always willing to offer a helping hand.However,if someone did not obey him,he would beat them up,and the blows were not light.When he was in a rage,Guo Mou did not dare to dissuade him.

The local county magistrate was corrupt and oppressed the common people.When the white-faced gentleman heard of this,he broke the magistrate's legs directly in the middle of the night, and even cut the flesh from the magistrate's thighs.Soon,the common people heard of this incident,but no one knew it was done by the white-faced gentleman.

The son of a neighbor was disobedient.After being scolded by his parents,he disregarded his wife's scolding and ran to Yin Si's house.He became sworn brothers with Yin Si and became the son of Yin Si's father,even changing his surname.Yin Si was not a good person either.His friend had entrusted three thousand taels of silver to him,thinking their relationship was good and didn't write a proof.Yin Si,being greedy for the money,broke off friendship with this friend and occupied the three thousand taels of silver.The friend was extremely angry because he had no evidence.

When the white-faced gentleman heard of this,he seized an opportunity and secretly killed both the neighbor's son and Yin Si when they were together.Some people already suspected that it was done by the white-faced gentleman,but they didnot dare to say.

Guo Mou privately asked the White-Faced Gentleman,and the White-Faced Gentleman didn't hide it at all,admitting that he was the one who killed them and also said that he was the one who broke the magistrate's legs.He also expressed that as long as he was alive,he would definitely kill all these unfaithful,unfilial,unkind and unjust villains.After hearing this,Guo Mou was secretly shocked and didn't dare to ask anymore.

The gentleman's wife,Xue Gu,was very beautiful and also good at painting.Xue Gu often slept in the yard.

One night,Guo Mou went to look for the White-Faced Gentleman.The maidservant informed him that he wasn't there and then went to sleep.Guo Mou glanced and saw Xue Gu sleeping,with thin clothing and skin as fair as jade,looking very charming.Guo Mou had been single for twenty years.At this moment,seeing Xue Gu so charming and alluring,he couldn't help but have improper thoughts.Seeing that there was no one around,he wanted to secretly kiss Xue Gu.

When he approached Xue Gu,he suddenly came to his senses:The gentleman with the white face was his friend and even his benefactor.If he had any improper thoughts about his wife,wouldn't he be a beast?Thinking of this,his desire vanished immediately, and he walked out properly.

Just as he walked out of the door,the White-Faced Gentleman had already come with a sword,saying:"You're a smart person.The sea of sin has a shore to return to.You saved yourself.Otherwise,I might have given you a sword just now."Guo Mou was greatly shocked,knowing that his actions just now had been seen,and felt extremely ashamed.But the White-Faced Gentleman didn't mind and continued to chat and laugh as usual.

Another night,Guo Mou heard a commotion outside on the roof and the walls,knowing that many people had come,possibly robbers.He didn't dare to go out and call the White-Faced Gentleman.He blew out the lamp and was about to hide when he heard someone outside saying,"How dare you rats do this?Don't you know that the White-Faced Gentleman is here?"Immediately,there were sounds of jumping,fighting,weapons clashing,and begging for mercy.

Very soon,the sounds died down.Guo Mou knew that the White-Faced Gentleman had dealt with these people.

He lit a fire and came out holding a lamp,wanting to see exactly what had happened.When he walked outside,Guo Mou held up the lamp and saw the most terrifying scene of his life:The White-Faced Gentleman and his wife Xue Gu were eating people.Xue Gu was eating a person's hand,while the White-Faced Gentleman was eating a person's thigh.His mouth was full of blood and he was still tearing at the flesh.

Guo Mou was greatly frightened in his heart.He wanted to leave but didnot dare .He could only force himself to ask: "Why do you eat people?" The white-faced gentleman said: "My wife and I like to eat people.Eating people can strengthen our bones and muscles." Guo Mou asked him where the robbers had gone.He didnot answer.Guo Mou asked again,and the white-faced gentleman said: "These little things,I have already eaten them all."

Guo Mou didnot speak again.However,he wasnot afraid of the gentleman with the white face because of this.Instead,he admired him even more.

Guo Mou had an uncle who was an official in a certain place.Hearing of the excellent martial arts skills of the white-faced gentleman,he hired him with a thousand taels of gold to help him.It turned out that there were many robbers in this area and many attempts to capture them had been unsuccessful.Guo Mou's uncle thought of the white-faced gentleman,hoping that he could come forward to solve the problem of robbers and let the common people live a peaceful life.

When the white gentleman heard that he needed to fight the robbers and help those in need,he readily agreed.After arriving there,the white gentleman did his best.He was active at night and led people to understand the details of the robbers everywhere,and then eliminated them one by one.Soonthere were no more robbers in the area.

A person from Xiji Mountain heard the story of the White-Faced Gentleman and greatly appreciated it.He also said: "Punishing the corrupt official for his greed for money,killing the disobedient son,and eliminating the greedy person is really brave!Nowadays,there are too many unfilial and unjust people in the world.I really hope there are more White-Faced Gentlemen to punish these villains."