A group of merchants lodged at an inn in the capital city, their room adjoining the next one, separated only by a thin wooden partition.

At the seam where the planks met, a section had rotted away, revealing an opening the size of a teacup.

Suddenly, a woman poked her head through the hole, her hair styled in an elaborate phoenix bun, her beauty unparalleled; moments later, an arm, white as jade, emerged from the opening.

The merchants were terrified, suspecting the woman was a demon, and attempted to seize her, but she swiftly withdrew her head.

Presently, she thrust her head out again; separated by the thin wooden barrier, the woman's body remained completely unseen.

One merchant dared to creep closer to the partition, and the head immediately retracted.

A merchant, armed with a sharp knife, lay in ambush beneath the wall. Not long after, the head emerged once more, and the merchant brought his blade down in a swift strike; the head fell cleanly, blood spattering onto the dusty floor.

The merchants were aghast and reported the incident to the innkeeper.

The innkeeper, struck with fear, took the beautiful head to the magistrate. The government ordered the merchants arrested, but due to the sheer absurdity of the case, the interrogation dragged on for half a year with no progress, and no owner ever came forward to claim the body. Consequently, the merchants were released, and the beautiful head was interred.