A Ghost

"What's this 'Lost City' stuff? What is all this? This is just a forest, isn't it? Where'd a village come from?"

Xiao Ran stared at the blood-red words before him, his heart beginning to race. This was completely different from the training he'd expected, and far beyond anything he could comprehend.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

The sound of the night watchman's gong rang out again, clearer and closer than before.

Far away, a lamplight gradually emerged from the fog.

As it drew nearer, the hazy white mist seemed to recede like rainwater, revealing the surrounding ocher walls and gray-green bricks and tiles.

Xiao Ran looked in astonishment at the unfamiliar surroundings and couldn't help thinking, There... really is a village here?

"Who's there?!"

A gaunt, sallow face poked out beneath the lamplight. The man looked just as surprised as Xiao Ran. "Who are you?"

The sudden voice startled Xiao Ran too. He collected himself, then examined the man carefully in the light.

The man wore a coarse, gray-green shirt, with a crooked blue patch sewn over the cloth buttons at his chest.

Judging by the man's clothes, he didn't look modern. He looked more like someone dressed in the style of the previous century. Though Xiao Ran was suspicious, he soon calmed down.

Smiling, Xiao Ran explained, "Sir, I'm just passing through. The rain's getting heavier, and I saw there were houses here, so I thought I'd find somewhere to take shelter."

After hearing him out, the man gave Xiao Ran a careful once-over. Then he shook his head with a troubled expression, as if talking to himself. "What a poor sap. How'd he end up here?"

Xiao Ran heard him clearly and thought, Like I wanted to come here.

The man grumbled for a while, then looked up at the sky. "There's going to be thunder soon!"

Then he turned to Xiao Ran. "All right, I'll take you somewhere to shelter from the rain. It's a little dirty, but if you don't mind, come with me."

The man motioned for Xiao Ran to follow. They crossed through the rain and walked along a stone-paved road.

As they went, Xiao Ran looked at the scattered houses around them, his doubts growing stronger by the minute.

Raindrops pattered on the bluestone slabs, their sound echoing through the village.

Walking behind the man, Xiao Ran watched his back, his gaze occasionally dropping to the man's feet.

At last, they reached the village entrance. The man raised his oil lamp and shone it ahead. "Here we are. You'll have to make do."

Xiao Ran looked up. An old, dilapidated house stood before him. It was clear from its condition that the place had been abandoned for some time. The windows had nothing but bars; anyone passing by could peer straight inside.

"Creak—"

The man pushed open the door. In the lamplight, Xiao Ran stood at the entrance and narrowed his eyes as he looked inside.

A black coffin sat in the room.

"This coffin's empty. Don't be scared. There's a bed inside. You can make do for one night."

The man set his oil lamp on the table and pointed to the bed beside it.

"That's fine. Having somewhere to rest is good enough."

Xiao Ran nodded. An empty coffin didn't bother him; even if someone really were lying inside, it wouldn't faze him.

The man seemed pleased with Xiao Ran's cooperation and nodded. "Get some rest tonight. We'll see what happens after the rain stops."

As he spoke, the man got up to leave. Just before going, he turned and said, "Oh, I forgot to warn you. Nights aren't very safe around here. Make sure you lock the door. If you hear someone knocking, don't open it."

Xiao Ran's heart stirred, and he hurriedly asked, "Sir, what should I call you?"

"Li Ji!"

Li Ji said this as he headed out.

After Li Ji left, Xiao Ran shut the door and changed out of his soaked clothes. Fortunately, he had a change of clothes in his backpack.

He took out his phone and saw that, sure enough, there was no signal. Thinking over what the man had said, Xiao Ran began to puzzle things out.

He'd clearly been drawn into some kind of special place. According to the prompt, he had to complete the Main Quest if he wanted to leave.

But what was the Main Quest?

Was he supposed to explore, like in a game?

Or was this a test?

Just as Xiao Ran was lost in thought,

the tightly shut door suddenly scraped with a harsh creak, as if someone outside had shoved it hard.

"BANG!!!"

The sudden noise made Xiao Ran's heart jump. He held his breath without meaning to.

"Pitter-patter..."

The rain outside grew louder. The room fell so quiet that all Xiao Ran could hear was his own heartbeat. After a while, when nothing more came from beyond the door, he finally let out a long breath.

"Am I just being paranoid?"

Xiao Ran furrowed his brow, went to the door, and pushed it firmly shut again. Then he wedged a chair against it.

Just as he was about to return to bed, his body suddenly stiffened. He glanced toward the window.

A disheveled woman stood outside the ruined window. Xiao Ran had no idea when she'd appeared. Her face was almost pressed to a crack in the frame, and her bloodshot eyes stared straight at him.

In the pitch dark, even Xiao Ran, who often dealt with corpses, was startled by the sudden sight.

The woman's eyes darted over him, then shifted to the coffin in the room. She looked at Xiao Ran again.

Her ashen face took on an even more complicated expression. She beckoned him over.

Xiao Ran took just two steps forward and was about to ask what she wanted when the woman first made a shushing gesture,

then pointed at the coffin and shushed him again.

"There's a... ghost in the coffin!"

A flash of lightning split the night, turning it briefly to daylight. Its light shone across Xiao Ran's face, but there wasn't a hint of emotion in his eyes beneath his brows.

Then came the soul-shaking thunder.

"RUMBLE!!!"

The deafening crash sent a chilly breeze through the window. Damp and cold, it slipped straight down his collar.

"A ghost?"

Xiao Ran looked back at the coffin, baffled, but when he turned around again, the woman had vanished.

He hurried to the window and looked outside. The woman, dressed in white and barefoot, was running through the rainy night. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared.

"A woman in white?"

Xiao Ran watched the woman vanish into the darkness. She didn't seem to mean him any harm.

Still puzzled, Xiao Ran turned to the coffin behind him. After thinking for a moment, he walked up to it and placed both hands on the lid.

Ghost or no ghost, he'd find out for himself.

"Thump! Thump-thump-thump!"

Xiao Ran knocked on the coffin. Following the old custom of calling to the spirits, he knocked four times in a row and called out, "Anyone home?"

"Your takeout's here."

"Want to add a side?"

"No one's home? Should I leave it inside?"

"Thump-thump-thump-thump..."

Xiao Ran knocked for a good while, but there was still no reply from inside the coffin. Once he was sure there was no answer, he gave it a hard shove. With a "clack," the lid slid open without much effort.

Unexpectedly, there was no stench of decay. Instead, a faint musty smell wafted out.

Xiao Ran peered into the coffin through narrowed eyes. It was empty, except for a set of dusty clothes. There was no corpse.

Rather than looking pleased, Xiao Ran seemed a little disappointed.

A cenotaph was usually made when a body couldn't be found, with the person's clothes and belongings used in its place.

Just as Xiao Ran was about to close the coffin, he suddenly thought the clothes inside looked familiar.

He spotted the large blue patch on them and furrowed his brow. Bending over the coffin, he reached in and lifted the edge of the clothes.

Beneath them lay a wooden clapper and a bronze gong.

"It's him!"

The image of the gaunt, sallow face from earlier flashed through Xiao Ran's mind. He hurriedly continued searching the coffin and, sure enough, found a small wooden figurine beneath the clothes. The name Li Ji had been carved onto it in crooked characters.