蛙僧 Original

Adapted from Xuanshi Zhi, a Tang Dynasty ghost story collection. A Tang merchant Shi Xian encounters a sandstorm illusion at Yanmenguan Pass and meets a compassionate lantern-holding monk. He follows the monk to a corridor of thousands of Buddha statues and a dark pond. The water turns icy cold the moment he touches it, and the monk morphs into a frog before his eyes. He wakes up realizing the whole experience is just a dream. The fantasy tale interprets the Buddhist philosophy that all appearances are illusory.