During the reign of Qianlong, Shen Yihe encountered an incredible thing when he was in Leiyang, Hunan.

One day, a thief who was stealing money in the street was escorted to the lobby of the county government office. Shen Yihe, who was handling official business in the hall, felt familiar when he saw the thief, but he couldn't say his name for a while, so he asked, "Who is kneeling in the hall?"

The thief trembled and said, "Master, my name is Golden Tiger, from Dongxiang."

No wonder he thought he looked familiar. It turned out to be the Golden Tiger! He knew the Golden Tiger, and a month ago he was sent to the county yamen for stealing other people's hens and was punished with a rod. But the Golden Tiger kneeling in the lobby at this time was obviously quite old, his face was full of wrinkles, and even his hair and beard were gray.

Shen Yihe frowned and reprimanded: "Nonsense! I have seen the golden tiger before, and it was still beaten here a month ago. You are clearly not him, you are his father!"

The golden tiger kowtowed on the ground and said, "Master, I am really the golden tiger! I was the one who was caned a month ago, and the villain dared not tell a lie."

At this time, several yamen next to him also said, "Master, this man is really a golden tiger, but I didn't expect him to age so fast."

When Shen Yihe heard what everyone said, he was surprised. He never expected that a person would suddenly become so old after only a month. A month ago, Golden Tiger was still a young man in his twenties, but now he is at least sixty years old. What's going on?

Shen Yihe was curious about the reason for his rapid aging and decided not to ask him about stealing. Shen Yihe walked over and looked at him carefully and asked, "Golden Tiger, are you suffering from progeria?"

Golden Tiger said, "I've always been in good health, and I don't know why, but recently I've aged a few dozen years. I used to be a twenty-year-old boy, but now children call me an old man." The people in the hall heard that and laughed.

Shen Yihe did not smile. He slowly circled the golden tiger and found that the golden tiger was wearing a brand new set of clothes. He asked, "Golden Tiger, tell me the truth, maybe I can solve this mystery about you.

The golden tiger nodded and said, "Yes, sir. Recently, I have been able to steal more easily. Not only did I improve my food, but I also made myself a few new sets of clothes."

Shen Yihe asked strangely, "Since you were able to steal it, why were you caught again?""

The golden tiger said with some confusion, "I'm also puzzled. I've met an old man several times in the past month, and I've never been caught stealing his money, but I was caught just stealing someone else's money today."

Shen Yihe's eyes lit up and he said, "Tell me how you stole that old man's money."

"Okay."   The golden tiger nodded and said one by one. Ghost uncle ghost story.

A month ago, when the golden tiger was wandering in the market, he saw an old man selling two piglets, put the silver money in his arms, and followed him silently. Then he deliberately knocked the old man to the ground, and while helping the old man get up, he stole the broken silver in his arms. The old man didn't realize it. The golden tiger easily stole one or two pieces of silver from the old man selling piglets. The next day, the golden tiger saw the old man again on the street, and he had just come out of a bank. The golden tiger concluded that the old man had the goods on him, and quickly followed him up. Sure enough, he stole another ten taels of silver. During the next month, the golden tiger stole forty taels of silver from the old man intermittently, but the old man never noticed it. From then on, the golden tiger noticed that his body had changed significantly and was getting older day by day. Although he was very puzzled, he didn't take it seriously. Instead, he thought that his stealing skills had improved a lot, and today he let go and stole another person's silver, but he was caught on the spot and sent to the county government office.

Hearing this, Shen Yihe stroked his beard, thought for a while, and said, "Golden Tiger, I know the reason for your aging, you were stolen by someone."

The golden tiger asked in astonishment, "Stealing longevity? How does the master know?"

"Because there are people in my hometown who can do this kind of magic," Shen Yihe said. "In fact, this old man is the best thief. He doesn't have much longevity, so he came to you and deliberately let you get sweet from him, and the moment you steal money from him, your life is also taken away by him. Because when you focus on stealing from others, you don't care what you have on you."

Hearing this, the golden tiger's face changed greatly, and he asked eagerly, "Then how many years have I been stolen by this old man?"

Shen Yihe said, "One tael of silver a year, you can calculate it yourself!"

The golden tiger bowed his head and counted, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh my God! I stole forty taels of silver from him, and he took my forty years of Yangshou. This person may not be too damaged, no wonder I 'm aging so quickly."

Shen Yihe said slowly, "Stealing longevity means taking someone else's lifespan and transferring it to yourself. It is a very immoral spell, so it is not widely spread."

The golden tiger cried out and said, "Please call the shots for me, catch this old man, and give me forty years of Yangshou!"

Shen Yihe nodded and said, "This old man is too immoral. This county is in charge of you, and arrest him immediately."

After saying that, Shen Yihe instructed several yamen to follow the golden tiger to the streets to find this old man, and be sure to catch him back. But the old man was like he had evaporated from the world, and he could not be found.

From then on, the golden tiger walked around the streets every day, but could no longer find the old man. The golden tiger grew older day by day, and finally died of depression.

Ten years later, Shen Yihe returned to his hometown, thousands of miles away.

One day Shen Yihe came to a Taoist temple halfway up the mountain with a generous gift to visit a spirited old Taoist. During the chat, he talked about the mysterious case of stealing life back then. Shen Yihe asked, "Taoist, do you know who came to my jurisdiction to steal life back then?"

Old Dao sighed and said, "It's my third brother who didn't live up to his expectations. Back then, when he wandered to you, his Yangshou was about to be exhausted, so he stared at a thief with a bad record and stole the thief's 40-year Yangshou by casting spells without authorization. After I found out, I immediately took his spell and punished him severely, and he couldnot cast spells again after that."

Shen Yihe said, "Can the priest teach me this spell?"

Old Dao shook his head and said, "This spell can no longer be passed on. If it is learned by someone with bad intentions, it will be very harmful."

Shen Yihe said with a face, "Daoist Priest, I am different from your third brother. After I learn it, I will never do it indiscriminately."

Old Dao gave him a sideways look and said, "Actually, you are similar to my third brother, and you are also a person with a bad heart. Otherwise, when you return home, how did you get so many gold and silver treasures?"

When Shen Yihe heard this, his face turned red and white, and he lowered his head and went down the mountain.