Chapter 26:
It’s a Mystery – In an Instant, the Great Ghost Moved Away…
It was a quiet night. Chen Henian slept on the second floor, wearing only a thin, pale shirt that accentuated the darkness of his hair. Zhongshan suits were fashionable these days, respectable, with a scholarly air, and his shirt had a similar elegance.
He lay flat on his back, hands at his sides, his hair spread across the pillow, the window open, a gentle breeze rustling the curtains, the coolness brushing against his skin. He was used to the sound of the wind, his sleep deep and undisturbed.
Black mist coalesced by the bed, suddenly, blocking the moonlight.
It was silent, its presence barely perceptible, its hair swaying gently, its form towering over the bed, like a clay statue, its indistinct face devoid of emotion. It reached out, its fingers brushing against Chen Henian’s shirt.
It tilted its head, peering at his face, its touch light, cautious, as if not wanting to disturb him.
It moved around the room, sometimes by the bed, sometimes hovering near the ceiling, silent and still, its presence colder than the breeze, its gaze fixed on the sleeping man.
The mirror ghost’s face appeared in the mirror by the bed. It sensed a disturbance, an unseen pressure, and cautiously emerged, only to see the great ghost looming over Chen Henian.
Chen Henian’s face was peaceful. The great ghost wasn’t actually touching him.
The mirror ghost was startled. Was it absorbing Chen Henian’s essence?
The great ghost turned its head, its gaze falling on the mirror ghost. The mirror ghost flinched. The great ghost placed a finger to its lips, a silent warning, and the mirror ghost retreated back into the mirror.
Chen Henian’s eyelids twitched.
In an instant, the great ghost moved away from him, returning to its position by the bed, its presence imposing, yet strangely respectful.
How strange.
A strange ghost, a strange occurrence.
Chen Henian woke up later than usual, two hours late. The mirror ghost floated beside him, its head propped on its hand, its expression unusually serious.
“What?” Chen Henian knew it had something to say.
Seeing his normal complexion, the mirror ghost asked curiously, “Are your… kidneys alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” The mirror ghost hesitated, seeing no signs of essence depletion. It decided not to mention what it had witnessed last night. What if the great ghost found out and crushed it?
But Chen Henian wasn’t easily dismissed. His expression hardened. “Speak,” he commanded.
One ghost after another, all eager to challenge him. The mirror ghost sighed. “I was wondering if you could share some of your essence with me.”
“Do you want another slap?” Chen Henian replied flatly.
The mirror ghost snorted, turning to retreat into the mirror.
“Wait,” Chen Henian stopped it. “What’s this paper doing here? Joss paper for the dead.”
“Did you put it here?”
“Of course not,” the mirror ghost replied. “Don’t bother me with this. I need to go back and replenish my yin energy.”
The mirror ghost vanished. Chen Henian examined the paper. He hadn’t put it there. If it wasn’t the mirror ghost, then who?
He held the paper to his nose, sniffing it, but the scent was too faint to identify.
Just a piece of paper, not a knife.
He dismissed it, putting it aside.
But then, he kept finding pieces of paper appearing mysteriously, sometimes on his nightstand, sometimes on his desk, even floating into the bathroom while he showered, landing on the wet floor.
This wasn’t human.
It was a ghost, one that could conceal its presence very well, or perhaps a weak ghost.
He shouldn’t ignore it. He retrieved his suitcase.
It wasn’t Ghost Festival yet, and there was no malevolent energy in the house. He assumed the ghost wanted something. He took out a brazier, placing some joss paper inside, but the flames were extinguished by a sudden gust of wind.
It didn’t want money?
Then what did it want?
He didn’t offer free help to humans or ghosts. He drew three talismans, placing them in the corners of his bedroom, preventing the ghost from entering.
Finally, he could sleep in peace.
But the next morning, another piece of paper appeared on his desk, along with a pen.
He checked the talismans. They had turned black. A ghost that could bypass his protective talismans wasn’t ordinary. He had never failed to exorcise a spirit before. He ignored the paper and pen, trying to relax.
But the strange occurrences continued.
When he entered the kitchen, a bowl would fall from the cupboard, just one, and the cupboard doors would slam shut repeatedly.
This continued for three days.
While showering, his clean clothes would fall to the floor, getting wet and dirty.
This angered him. He stormed out, his hair still wet, and used the protective array his master had set up in the main room, creating a bridge between yin and yang with red string and a yin knife.
No ghost, no matter how well hidden, could escape his sight in this boundary.
“Come out!” he yelled, water dripping from his hair.
The ghost materialized before him.
“You?” He was surprised, frowning, his hand still gripping the red string, but not throwing it.
It was the great ghost within him.
The red string on his finger hadn’t reacted. The ghost seemed stronger.
Of course, Ghost Festival was approaching, amplifying the power of all spirits.
The ghost’s form was more human-like now, but its head was turned away. A gust of wind blew, momentarily blinding him, and the ghost almost destroyed the room again.
Then it vanished.
It didn’t say a word, simply leaving.
Chen Henian was left to ponder its actions. He no longer needed to search for the ghost. The great ghost was so close, yet it hadn’t harmed him, so it wasn’t a threat.
But his confusion had multiplied.
What did the ghost want?
A piece of paper, a pen, what was its purpose?
And its silence, its reluctance to face him, was strange, incredibly strange.
The first to lose patience wasn’t Chen Henian, but the mirror ghost.
“Do something! It’s going to destroy my mirror!” it roared in his ear.
Chen Henian hadn’t expected the great ghost to target the mirror. The mirror, placed carefully on the table, would be thrown across the room, crashing against the walls. When he picked it up, it would be thrown again, even harder.
The great ghost seemed to be deliberately provoking him.
The mirror ghost was miserable, its existence in the mirror like a constant earthquake.
“What does it want?” Chen Henian wondered aloud.
“I should be asking you!” the mirror ghost said. “It drools over you every night, maybe it’s hungry. Why don’t you just satisfy it and save me from this torture!”
Chen Henian said, “If it wanted to eat me, it could have done so already. I prefer directness. Since neither of us understands, I’ll have to ask it myself.”
He made up his mind, taking out the paper and pen, placing them neatly on the table, lighting three incense sticks.
“What do you want?” he asked the air. “If you don’t want to speak, write it down.”
“If you’re going to disrupt my peace, we’ll have to settle this.”
The table leg snapped, and the table tilted precariously.
“Are you angry?” Chen Henian asked. “What do you want? If you don’t want to speak, write it down.”
The pen finally moved, the ink strokes uneven, like ancient calligraphy.
Two characters appeared on the paper.
“Name?”
Chen Henian glanced at it. “You’re asking for my name? You have a pact with me, don’t you know my name?”
The pen moved again.
“Give name?”
What did that mean?
Was the ghost illiterate, writing “name” instead of “life,” actually wanting to take his life?
I want a name.
The ghost continued writing.
“Really just a name?” Chen Henian was puzzled. “You want me to give you a name?”
Yes.
Chen Henian chuckled. “That won’t do. I asked for your name, and you refused. Why are you asking me to give you one now?”
I don’t have a name, the ghost wrote.
“That won’t do either,” Chen Henian said. “Your true name is important.”
“You have to tell me your name first.”
The pen stopped moving.
“Don’t you know your own name?”
The pen moved again, not writing, but scribbling frantically, tearing the paper, then stopping.
It really couldn’t write its own name.
Silence fell upon the room, as if the ghost had vanished. Chen Henian was annoyed. “Why don’t you show yourself?”
“Come out.”
The ghost didn’t respond.
He kicked the table, sending the pen rolling to the floor.
“Come out.”
“I don’t like being ignored, not even by you.”
“I’m not afraid of death, so I’m not afraid of you.” He rested his head on his hand, tapping his forehead impatiently. He waited, then continued, “If you dislike me, why not break the pact? A thousand-year-old ghost, free from this human body, wouldn’t that be blissful?”
“No.”
The ghost’s voice echoed through the room. It appeared, its form materializing before him.
Chen Henian saw it clearly, its massive form, imposing and dangerous, yet strangely alluring.
But it didn’t seem hostile. How exciting would it be to conquer such a powerful ghost?
He smiled. “You’re a mystery.”
The ghost spoke slowly, “Dislike…”
“Dislike what? Me?”
“No… yes… you… you dislike…”
The ghost seemed distressed.
“What? Dislike what?”
“Me,” the ghost replied.
