The Gold Mountain Temple at Huating stood by the sea; it was the shrine of General Huo of Han. Tradition said that when Qian the Martial-Serene ruled Wuyue, the god often lent invisible troops to aid him, and so the splendid shrine was built.
At the end of the Chunxi era, the locals gathered in throngs for a festival. A sorcerer was just burning incense and opening his prayer, chanting of blessings and curses, when Shen Hui, a steward of the Qian family, alone had no faith and jeered and mocked. His friends urged him to stop, fearing he would draw disaster. The sorcerer pronounced a harsh rebuke, and Shen was just arguing back when suddenly he stumbled and fell, foam flowing from his mouth, as if struck senseless.
His servant ran to tell his family; his wife came to see and bowed to the sorcerer begging for his life. The sorcerer said: “He did not repent and apologize early; the god is already furious. He has seized and registered his spirit-soul and delivered it to Fengdu — death is in an instant, beyond saving.”
His wife, at a loss, could only beat her breast and weep over the body. Then Shen suddenly sprang up. The onlookers scattered in fright, thinking a violent ghost drove him. Shen laughed: “I was only playing with you all; I saw nothing at all.” The sorcerer slunk away in dread, and all in the temple left.
