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During the Zhongping era of Emperor Guangwu of the Han (Note: “Zhongping” should be “Zhongyuan,” since Guangwu had no reign era called Zhongping. Alternatively, “Guangwu” may be an error for “Emperor Ling”), a creature dwelt in the waters of the Yangtze. It was called the yu, or the “short fox,” and could hold sand in its mouth and shoot it at people. Those it struck suffered tightness in their muscles and sinews, headaches, and fever; severe cases ended in death. The people along the river used spells and remedies to subdue it, whereupon sand and pebbles could be extracted from the flesh. As the Book of Songs says, “Be you a ghost, be you a yu”—you cannot be fathomed. Nowadays it is commonly called “stream poison.” Earlier scholars believed it was born of the disordered energies arising when men and women bathed together in the same river, with licentious women chiefly responsible.