In the quiet lanes south of Kunshan City, Zhou Mingyuan, the only son of the Zhou family, diligently manages the household, though he has yet to marry. One autumn night, a woman in white, with skin as fair as snow and a cool, herbal fragrance about her, slips into his room and says she has lost her way and needs a place to stay. From then on, they meet night after night. Zhou Mingyuan falls deeply under her spell, unaware that disaster is closing in. He grows thinner by the day, coughing up blood and burning with fever. The best doctors are helpless, diagnosing him with consumption. One day, a wandering Daoist passes by the general store and immediately sees that Zhou Mingyuan is entangled in demonic energy. He declares that the young man has little time left. Horrified, Old Zhou presses his son until he confesses to his nightly meetings with the woman, and concludes that a supernatural creature is behind it all. He gives his son a pair of scissors and orders him to cut off a corner of the woman's clothes when she isn't looking. Fighting back his fear, Zhou Mingyuan follows the plan, only to find that he has snipped off a tuft of snowy-white fur! Following the clues, father and son discover a listless white dog at a neighbor's house, with a bald patch on its back. The truth comes to light, and an enraged Old Zhou joins forces with butcher Wang to kill the dog. Once the creature is gone, Zhou Mingyuan makes a miraculous recovery. After this ordeal, the Zhou family understands that evil spirits bring harm, and only by following the righteous path can one find peace. Zhou Mingyuan works hard, eventually marries and has children, and returns to a quiet, ordinary life. Yet the chill of that fragrant, moonlit night still sends a ripple through his heart now and then.
