The Painted Skin 画皮
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The story
At dawn, a scholar named Wang met a beautiful young woman walking alone. She said she was running away from a cruel family. He offered to hide her in his study.
Days later, he peeked through the study window. A green-skinned demon sat at the desk, calmly painting a woman's face onto a sheet of skin. Then it put the skin on, and became the beautiful woman again.
Terrified, Wang ran to a Daoist priest, who gave him a horsehair whisk to hang on his door. Do not let her in, the priest said.
That night the demon tore down the whisk. But the priest came with his wooden sword, and the demon fled its disguise. By dawn, only an empty painted skin lay on the floor. This tale is over three hundred years old. Never trust a face you just met.
A modern reading (ours)
Pu Songling's warning about appearances: what looks beautiful may be painted on.
Source
Pu Songling, Liaozhai Zhiyi, 'The Painted Skin', 17th c. (public domain). Retold in English; illustrations are AI-generated.