“I don’t have a daughter-in-law like you who favors outsiders over family…”
The fifth day of the fifth month—an ill-fated day in an ill-fated month.
Yin and yang clash, life and death divide.
Dark clouds, thick as spilled ink, shrouded the mountains. Fierce winds and torrential rain lashed against tattered window paper.
Outside, the wind wailed mournfully, stirring unease.
Inside the room, a half-burned white candle flickered, its wax tears rolling down, piling in winding trails. The dim, distorted candlelight cast countless blurred, monstrous shadows.
A man sat in the deepest part of the chaotic light and shadow, his voice hoarse and low, yet each word clear: “I have seen a Ghost Bride before.”
At these words, the entire table fell silent instantly.
“One year during the Ghost Festival, I lost my way while walking at night and stumbled upon a grand mansion with vermilion gates in the wilderness. An old man with a pale, ashen face stood outside and dragged me inside without a word. Once I entered, I saw the hall filled with ‘double happiness’ characters and realized there was a wedding in the mansion that night. During the feast, the old man forced me to drink three cups of wine…”
“What happened next?”
“After that, someone draped a wedding robe over me, and two Faceless Paper Figures dragged me to the hall for the ceremony. Just as we were about to bow, the red candles suddenly turned green, and a gust of wind swept through the hall, carrying ashes of spirit money. A chill ran down my spine. I tore off the red veil covering the bride’s head—and what I saw was no human, but a Skeleton Ghost dressed entirely in red!”
Gasp—
Gasps and heavy breaths rose and fell around the table.
The wind seeping through the broken window tugged at the candle flame, making it writhe.
On the white wall, the shadow of a hand stretched out, clawing wildly toward the men and women gathered around the table.
“Hexian, stop fooling around.”
Eighteenth Lady impatiently brushed away the hand resting on her shoulder and turned to the man across from her, urging, “Yellow-robed Guest, you already married the Ghost Bride. How did you escape in the end?”
The surroundings fell into dead silence, and all eyes at the table turned to look behind her.
Eighteenth Lady forced herself to stay calm and slowly turned her head.
Right behind her, under the dim glow of a lantern, stood a man with a ferocious appearance, his mouth stretched wide in a bloodthirsty grin, fangs bared, silently sneering.
“A ghost!”
The lanterns flared to life, instantly illuminating the room as bright as day.
Meng Yingqiu stood awkwardly behind the man, watching the ghosts in the room scatter in panic.
“Lord Xiangli, the rain was heavy this morning, so they didn’t go out,” she explained, bracing herself before the man could erupt in anger. After finishing in one breath, she pulled Qiu Sese, who was hiding in a corner. “Sese, the auspicious words I taught you yesterday—say them to Lord Xiangli now.”
Qiu Sese trembled from head to toe, looked up at the tall man, and burst into loud sobs.
Meng Yingqiu quickly covered her mouth and forced a smile. “Lord Xiangli, today is the Dragon Boat Festival. Fúshān Tower wishes you golden rice dumplings, blessings, longevity, and good health.”
“Lady Meng, if you are incapable, I wouldn’t mind taking over Fúshān Tower for you.”
“I will heed your instruction, my lord.”
The man’s figure flickered and vanished in an instant.
It wasn’t until half an hour later that Eighteenth Lady and Moyu’er dared to crawl out from under the table.
Eighteenth Lady grumbled irritably, “This Xiang Liwen is always appearing and disappearing like a ghost, scaring us good ghosts. When I Ascend to Immortality one day, I’ll definitely banish him to the eighteenth layer of hell.”
Her jade hairpin was missing, so Moyu’er had to crawl back under the table, groping around while loudly agreeing, “Xiang Liwen has already been to the eighteenth layer of hell. If you ask me, he should be banished to the mortal realm to endure tribulations again—Love Tribulation, Lightning Tribulation… pile them all on!”
Meng Yingqiu shot the two ghosts a sidelong glance. “If you keep talking nonsense, you two can go live with Hexian.”
Xiang Liwen was merely chillingly indifferent, but Hexian was a genuine mad ghost.
Eighteenth Lady had always been flexible in her approach, immediately falling silent, leaving only her eyes darting about. Moyu’er curled her lips, the triumphant air of “I insist on speaking” just rising to her brows, but as soon as she looked up and met Hexian’s eyes, she instantly backed down.
Helan Wang strolled over to Eighteenth Lady’s side: “I have nothing to do today, why not accompany you to see your son?”
Eighteenth Lady showed disdain: “No. You talk too much; sooner or later, you’ll give us away.”
She had once heard Su Yingtang say: In this world, there are some greedy ghosts who specialize in snatching the Offerors of their peers.
Ever since Helan Wang learned that she was impersonating Xu Jichun’s birth mother, he had followed her every step of the day, whispering and laughing with Xu Jichun behind her back. Moreover, yesterday Xu Jichun inadvertently revealed to her that he planned to set up an Ancestral Tablet for Helan Wang another day.
Helan Wang claimed to be protecting her, but behind her back, he was scheming to steal her Offeror.
This was intolerable; today, Eighteenth Lady absolutely refused to let Helan Wang accompany her into the city.
Seeing her face filled with anger, Helan Wang assumed she had been scolded by Xiang Liwen and was bottling up a fire with nowhere to vent.
As she repeatedly refused, he had no choice but to return to his room with Moyu’er and pick up a book to read.
Once he entered the room, Eighteenth Lady hurriedly slipped to the second floor, to the Yellow-robed Guest’s room: “Yellow-robed Guest, tell me quickly, how did you escape from the Ghost Bride?”
The Yellow-robed Guest beckoned her closer: “The Ghost Bride only loves handsome men in their prime of sixteen. When I met her, I was already over thirty. Alas! I didn’t mind that she was a ghost, but she thought I was too old and kicked me off the bed!”
Having learned the Ghost Bride’s fate, Eighteenth Lady turned and happily left the room.
As the door closed, Fúshān Tower returned to peace once more.
Meng Yingqiu stood on the third floor, gazing into the distance. The woman behind her urgently asked: “Xiang Liwen rarely comes here, why didn’t you speak up?”
“Let her be happy for a few more days.”
“A Ruo!”
The argument on the third floor did not cause much commotion.
This was Fúshān Tower, where each room housed a Ghost.
The female ghost living on the third floor often wandered in the rooms of the male ghosts on the second floor.
The male ghost living on the third floor dreamed of moving into the quarters of the female ghost on the first floor.
On this day, two ghosts from the third floor met in the same room.
“You get out.”
“You get out.”
“Should I get out?” Moyu’er stood between the two ghosts, cautiously speaking up.
“Get out!”
Moyu’er rolled out, all the way into the city, where she encountered Eighteenth Lady strolling about.
She approached with a beaming smile, but Eighteenth Lady merely rolled her eyes and ran off without looking back.
“Do I look that easy to bully?”
She decided: From today onward, she would become a ruthless ghost, cutting off all emotions and attachments.
Eighteenth Lady took a detour and ran far away, only feeling at ease to seek out Xu Jichun after confirming that Moyu’er had not followed.
At the end of last month, Xu Jichun moved from the Gaosheng Inn to a small house in Yiren Lane, intending to focus on preparing for the Ministry of Personnel examination in mid-June.
Living in the capital was not easy; the house was small and in a remote location, yet the monthly rent was four hundred coins.
Before entering, Eighteenth Lady deliberately stood outside the door and called out: “Zi’an, I’m coming in.”
The door opened from within. Seeing her standing alone as a ghost at the doorway, Xu Jichun curiously peered behind her: “Brother Helan didn’t come today?”
Xu Jichun was a poor scholar; supporting just one ghost like her was already extremely difficult.
Eighteenth Lady, fearing he might set up an Ancestral Tablet for Helan Wang, quickly interjected, “He’s in his room counting offerings. Many people in the city are rushing to make offerings to him.”
“Is that so?” Xu Jichun stepped aside to let her into the room, sighing regretfully, “Having known him, I felt we shared common aspirations. Just yesterday, he even offered to accompany me to the coffin shop.”
So Helan Wang really was trying to snatch Xu Jichun!
Eighteenth Lady’s eyes darted around as a plan formed in her mind. “Zi’an, I have a secret to tell you, but you mustn’t tell anyone else.”
Xu Jichun picked up a storybook from the table, pulled over a chair, and sat down beside her. “Go ahead.”
It was her first time playing the role of a petty person who gossips behind others’ backs. Eighteenth Lady hemmed and hawed for a long while, unable to bring herself to speak.
Xu Jichun, however, was in no hurry. He calmly flipped through the book, occasionally saying a few good words about Helan Wang.
Such as:
“I see he hates evil as much as he hates enemies, and he treats you well too.”
“The day before yesterday, he told me he has countless amounts of Nether-wealth and that Ghosts often come to him to borrow money.”
We’re both Ghosts from the same tower, why must we torment each other so?
In vain, she had once thought Helan Wang was a kind-hearted and helpful Ghost. It turned out he was actually a nuisance who loved exposing others’ weaknesses, even implying she was a poor Ghost who borrowed money and never paid it back.
In her anger, Eighteenth Lady blurted out, “He likes men!”
Xu Jichun looked surprised. “He’s a Ghost. How can he like men?”
“There’s a male Ghost in Fúshān Tower named Moyu’er. He often goes to Moyu’er’s room. I’ve heard Su Yingtang complain that he monopolizes Moyu’er all day long, refusing to let go.” Eighteenth Lady looked at Xu Jichun with a sorrowful expression. “You’re even more handsome than Moyu’er. He might have taken a fancy to you.”
However, to prevent Xu Jichun from getting scared, she patted her chest and promised, “Zi’an, don’t worry. If he dares to lay a hand on you, I’ll protect you!”
Xu Jichun’s mouth twitched. “Who are Moyu’er and Su Yingtang?”
Eighteenth Lady rolled her eyes. “A pair of weird and unpleasant dog-man-and-woman.”
By noon, Xu Jichun had finished reading. He opened the window and looked outside.
Pomegranate blossoms dazzled the eyes. After the rain, the sky had just cleared, and paper kites soared high in the distance.
“What day is it today?”
“It’s Duānyáng.”
“In the past, in Héngqú Town, whenever Duānyáng arrived, my aunt would take me to the City God Temple in the neighboring town to pay respects, and then we’d watch dragon boat races and fly kites.” Alone in a foreign land as a stranger, Xu Jichun couldn’t help but feel a bit sentimental.
Seeing his distant gaze and his fingers pinching the corner of a book page, unmoving for a long time, Eighteenth Lady knew he was homesick again.
But she was a Ghost. She couldn’t take him to the City God Temple or accompany him to watch dragon boat races and fly kites.
Unable to bear seeing him sad, she suggested, “There’s a City God Temple behind Míngjiào Lane. How about I go find Mingye to accompany you for the festival?”
Xu Jichun withdrew his gaze and, taking the opportunity, closed the book and walked out. “The Lu family ancestral graves are on Shàoshì Mountain outside the city. Going there and back would take at least two days. Mingye probably isn’t home. It’ll be you then. You accompany me for the festival.”
Eighteenth Lady said, “Then let’s go to the City God Temple first.”
After walking for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the City God Temple was right before them.
It happened to be Duānyáng. Outside the temple, the fragrance of mugwort filled the air, while inside, incense smoke curled upward. A steady stream of people came to offer incense and make wishes.
Eighteenth Lady strode ahead to lead the way, with Xu Jichun following behind her.
When they reached the Ten Halls of Yama, Eighteenth Lady stopped and pointed at the clay statues seated inside the hall. “You should pay more respects to the Ten Halls of Yama. That way, when you die and go to the Underworld, you won’t suffer.”
The City God Temple in Luòjīng was no different from the one in the neighboring town.
Xu Jichun had been paying respects for many years. At this moment, he pinched incense, bowed, closed his eyes in silent prayer, then steadily inserted the incense sticks into the burner—his movements flowed like clouds and water, practiced to perfection.
He knelt and bowed before each clay statue one by one. When he reached the King of Reincarnation, Eighteenth Lady suddenly spoke in a sinister tone, “Don’t bow to the judge on the left side of the King of Reincarnation.”
“Why?”
“Because he always scares me!”
In this solemn place, Xu Jichun could only suppress the laughter welling up inside him. He picked up a stick of incense and offered it before the nameless clay statue on the left side of the King of Reincarnation: “Since he received my incense offering today, he surely won’t trouble you anymore in the future.”
“I don’t have a son who sides with outsiders like you!”
After bowing to the Ten Kings of the Underworld, Eighteenth Lady followed Xu Jichun out of the hall but caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the distance. She immediately fled: “Zi’an, I’ll wait for you outside.”
With her gone, Xu Jichun offered incense alone in the temple.
Before leaving the temple, he bought two sachets. One was embroidered with winding lotus vines, the other with a treasure flower.
Eighteenth Lady waited in a corner outside the temple for a long time before Xu Jichun finally emerged: “Zi’an, over here.”
Xu Jichun followed the voice and found her trembling behind a door plank. Concerned, he asked, “Did the talisman papers in the temple burn you?”
“I’m a Ghost managed by the Underworld—talisman papers can’t harm me.” Eighteenth Lady sighed heavily. “I ran because I saw my enemy in the temple.”
A Ghost managed by the Underworld?
Xu Jichun frowned deeply. “Are Ghosts divided by who manages them?”
Eighteenth Lady urged him to go watch the dragon boats on the Luo River, explaining as they walked: “Fúshān Tower is managed by the Underworld, so doesn’t that make me a Ghost managed by the Underworld? We’re different from other Ghosts—we can’t possess mortals, and we have to do good deeds every day to accumulate Karmic Merit.”
“And who is your enemy?”
“Xiang Liwen! That judge you insisted on offering incense to earlier—that’s him!”
Author’s Note:
Why does Xiang Liwen only scare Eighteenth Lady every time?
Answer: Because both of them are stubborn as mules—one always sits by the entrance, and the other always slaps the person by the entrance.