Changshan Li Zhijun, on a journey to Qingzhou one time, encountered six or seven merchants whose accents suggested they hailed from Yan territory. Each merchant bore scars the size of copper coins on both cheeks. Puzzled, Li Zhijun inquired about the cause. The merchants recounted that last year, while traveling to Yunnan for trade, they became lost as dusk fell and unwittingly wandered deep into the mountains. They found themselves trapped amidst sheer cliffs and perilous precipices, unable to find a way out.

In a valley, there stood a colossal tree, its dense canopy shading more than an acre of ground, with branches several feet long drooping low. As the night wore on, having nowhere to seek shelter, they tethered their horses to the tree and rested beside it. Deep in the night, the howling of tigers and wolves filled the air, a terrifying and eerie sound. They huddled together, daring not to close their eyes.

Suddenly, a giant strode from the distance, easily over ten feet tall, arriving beside the great tree. His massive hand reached out, killing the horses one by one. He tore the flesh with his arms and devoured the raw meat in great gulps. In a mere instant, all six or seven horses were gone, eaten clean.

After finishing the horses, the giant snapped off a branch, captured the group in one swift motion, and used the branch to pierce through their cheeks, stringing the six or seven merchants together. He then tied the branch in a tight knot and weighed it down with a massive boulder before striding away.

Once the giant vanished, the men drew their knives, severed the branch, and fled in pain. They hadn't gone more than a few paces when the giant returned, this time accompanied by a companion. The men were paralyzed with terror, scattering into the undergrowth and remaining utterly silent.

The giant's companion towered four or five meters high. The two approached the tree, pacing back and forth, clearly searching for their prey. After a search yielded nothing, the companion became furious, shouting and roaring, his voice like the cry of a bird, demanding sharply, "Where is the quarry?" The first giant trembled, unsure how to answer. The companion exploded in rage, drawing both hands back and forth, delivering seven or eight slaps to the giant’s face. The giant bowed and scraped, utterly respectful, daring not to resist in the slightest.

Shortly after, the pair departed in annoyance. The men scrambled up from the brush and fled desperately, running for an unknown duration until they spotted firelight flickering atop a ridge. Approaching, they found a stone house. The male owner came out to greet them. The men rushed inside, babbling out the story of their ordeal. The owner invited them to sit and said, "Those two monsters are indeed detestable, but I cannot deal with them myself. Wait until my younger sister returns; if she intervenes, the matter can be resolved."

Before long, a woman returned from hunting, carrying two massive tigers slung over her shoulder. The men begged her to subdue the monsters. The woman declared, "Since these two monsters are so vicious, they must be eradicated." She retrieved an iron hammer from the stone house—weighing perhaps three or four hundred pounds—and walked out.

The man cooked the tiger meat to entertain the visitors. Before the meat was even fully cooked, the woman returned, saying, "I fought with the monsters just now, chasing them for dozens of miles, and managed to sever one of their fingers." As she spoke, she tossed a severed digit onto the ground; the piece was enormous, as thick as a leg bone. The merchants' faces turned ashen. They asked the woman her name, but she smiled and offered no reply. A short time later, the tiger meat was ready, its aroma filling the air. The men were starving, but the wounds on their cheeks throbbed painfully, making it impossible to eat. The woman produced a packet of medicinal powder from her bosom and instructed them to apply it to their injuries. The pain instantly subsided.

The next morning at dawn, the woman escorted them away. They arrived back at the base of the great tree; their belongings were still there, untouched. Each man shouldered his pack and set off for home, with the woman accompanying them for more than ten li. Midway, they passed through a desolate mountain range. The woman remarked, "This is where I battled the monsters last night." They observed that the rocks were stained with blood, pooled together in heaps—easily enough to fill a large basin.