Selling a Ghost

"Sell a ghost?!"

Li YueLin's expression faltered. There were all kinds of businesses in the world, but he had never heard of anyone selling ghosts. Anxious and confused, he hurriedly urged, "What exactly happened? Tell me quickly."

Li Yixian took a sip of tea and recalled the past for a moment before slowly beginning his tale.

It happened one night. I was doing business near the Capital City.

I was careful with every penny, and I always thought that even if I didn't make much, at least I'd have the backing of those powerful people. Surely I wouldn't lose everything.

Alas, I still lost money.

I was so stupid. So very stupid.

Those powerful people in the empire seemed all smiles on the surface, but when they struck, they were more underhanded and ruthless than anyone. They drained my marrow and stripped away every last scrap of flesh, leaving me without a penny of my original capital.

I'd lost money. I was too ashamed to go back to my hometown.

So I wandered around outside, thinking and thinking, trying to find a way to win back my losses. But I couldn't think of anything. I considered going home, but I just couldn't stomach returning to my hometown in such disgrace. I couldn't bear it.

I wandered here and there, and before I knew it, I'd reached the old locust tree beneath the road three li outside the city.

That was when I met a ghost.

It appeared out of nowhere.

I summoned my courage and asked who it was.

It said, "I am a ghost!"

Then it asked me, "And who are you?"

I was dirt poor at the time, but I still feared death. I gritted my teeth and said, "Everyone dies eventually. I'm a ghost too!"

The ghost looked puzzled. It circled me for a good while, then asked:

"Where are you going?"

I answered, "I'm going to the great market in Wancheng."

The ghost was overjoyed. "I'm going to the great market in Wancheng too!"

My hands and feet went ice-cold. I knew this great market might not be the same kind of place I had in mind, but the words were already out of my mouth. There was no taking them back.

So the ghost followed me.

I had no choice but to travel with it.

With a ghost behind me, my whole body stiffened. The ghost, on the other hand, was perfectly at ease. "Walking like this is too slow and tiring. Why don't we carry each other on our backs? What do you say?"

The ghost stared at me with a pair of oily green eyes. I didn't dare refuse, afraid it would see through me.

I could only grit my teeth and agree.

The ghost carried me first, walking ten li without stopping.

Then it asked, "Why are you so heavy? You can't be a ghost, can you?"

As it spoke, its eyes glowed green. Fangs emerged from the corners of its mouth, and drool dripped down.

My heart nearly stopped. All I could do was force myself to say:

"I only just died, so I'm a little heavier. Don't overthink it."

Then I carried it. The ghost was as light as a feather, so I could quicken my pace. We took turns carrying each other three times in all. Once my fear had eased a little, I thought about how I'd surely give myself away if this went on too long, and the ghost would eat me. So I tricked it, asking:

"I only just died and became a ghost. Are there any taboos I should know about?"

The ghost answered, "I only dislike blood from the tip of the tongue."

As we continued on, we came to a river. When the ghost crossed, it practically floated over without making a sound. When I crossed, I made a terrible racket.

The ghost began to suspect me again.

This time, red light glimmered in its eyes, and drool ran from its mouth. Even its fingers had grown black, hooked nails, and its hands had turned a ghastly green.

"Why are you making so much noise?!"

My heart was about to leap out of my chest, but it didn't seem to notice.

I had no choice but to keep a straight face and say:

"I only just died! I'm a newly dead ghost, and I'm not used to crossing rivers the way ghosts do. Please don't hold it against me."

The ghost stared me up and down without a word.

I thought it had already seen through me. It was just treating me like a pack animal, planning to wait until we reached the Ghost Market to sell me, cut open my chest, and pull out my heart, tendons, and marrow...

Sure enough, it didn't take me to an ordinary market. Instead, it led me to the old locust tree outside Wancheng. It knocked three times and shouted "Open up!" several times. Then a road appeared ahead of us. I seized my chance while we were still taking turns carrying each other, hoisted it onto my shoulders, and ran inside as fast as I could, shouting, "Selling a ghost! Selling a ghost!"

The ghost never expected—

that when a person was poor, even ghosts could be sold.

As it shouted from my back and tried to climb down, it used a transformation spell and turned into a sheep, wriggling free in an instant. I bit my tongue and spat blood from its tip onto the ghost. Then it couldn't transform again.

But I was afraid it would change back if I waited too long, so I sold it to an old Daoist. The old Daoist led the sheep away with a rope set with jade, and gave me a bundle.

My heart pounding, I ran back somewhere safe and opened it. The sight nearly blinded me.

There were a full hundred and fifty taels of gold inside.

The pot of tea was empty.

Li Yixian had finished his story. His hands had trembled as he spoke, and it had taken him a long while to steady himself. It was clear that although he could recount everything in an orderly fashion now, he must have been terrified out of his wits at the time.

One wrong step, even just one, might have cost him his life.

Li YueLin had been so engrossed that he had nearly forgotten to drink his tea. He gently comforted his younger brother. Li Yixian let out a breath and said, "But things are good now. We have so much gold—so, so much gold."

"Our family can not only put down roots here,"

"we can go farther—to the prefectural city, to the commandery city!"

"To even bigger places!"

"I'll bring honor to our ancestors. I haven't let them down. I haven't let Father and Mother down!"

Li Yixian's words grew somewhat jumbled again.

Li YueLin comforted him, then suddenly thought of something. Looking at the gold on the table, he said, "But you got all this gold by selling an evil ghost at the Ghost Market. Could it attract more evil ghosts?"

Li Yixian shook his head. "Don't worry, big brother."

"I was worried about that myself, so I made a special trip to the Capital City. I prayed devoutly at a local Daoist temple and asked a Daoist priest to drive away evil and ward off misfortune. Only then did I feel at ease and return to our home in Zhongzhou."

"This time, I don't plan to travel again."

"I'll get married and settle down."

"Don't worry."

Li Yixian smiled reassuringly.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing, will happen."

Crack!

The axe came down and split the firewood.

Qi WuHuo lifted the axe and looked at the pile of split wood beside him. Then he raised his head and gazed at the distant mountain. In the sunlight, it seemed peaceful and serene.

"The snow isn't heavy. It hasn't blocked the mountain."

"That's a good thing."

Speaking of which, tomorrow was the day Li Puyü had invited him to the Li family.

P.S. The story in this chapter was inspired by Dingbo Sells a Ghost, from Cao Pi's Records of the Strange.