Man Sells Ghost

"Selling ghosts?!"

Li YueLin's expression faltered slightly. There were all sorts of businesses in the world, but he had never heard of anyone selling ghosts. He was both anxious and confused, and quickly urged, "What's going on? Tell me quickly."

Li Yixian took a sip of tea, recalled for a moment, and then slowly began to narrate.

It was a night journey. I was doing business near the Capital City.

I had calculated everything meticulously. I thought that even if I didn't make much profit, at least by associating with those important figures, I wouldn't lose all my capital.

Unfortunately, I still lost money.

I was too stupid, too stupid!

The important figures in the dynasty, while appearing friendly on the surface, were more ruthless and vicious than anyone when they acted. They drained me dry, stripped me to the bone, and left me with nothing.

I lost all my money and had no face to return home.

So, I wandered around outside, thinking and thinking, hoping to find a way to recoup my losses, but I couldn't come up with anything. I thought about going home, but I was really unwilling to return home so dejectedly. I was so unwilling!

I walked and walked, and before I knew it, I had reached the old locust tree three miles outside the city.

That's when I met the ghost.

It appeared suddenly.

I summoned my courage and asked it who it was.

It said, "I am the ghost!"

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

I was dirt poor at the time, but I was still afraid of death. I said that everyone dies eventually, and with a gritted teeth, I declared, "I am also a ghost!"

The ghost was full of doubt. It circled me for a while and said, "Where are you going?"

I replied, "I'm going to the Grand Market in Wancheng."

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

My blood ran cold. I knew that this "Grand Market" might not be what I thought, but the words were out, and I couldn't take them back.

So, the ghost followed me.

I had no choice but to walk with it.

With a ghost behind me, my limbs felt stiff. The ghost, however, was relaxed and at ease. It said, "Walking like this is too slow and too tiring. Why don't we carry each other? How about that?"

The ghost stared at me, its eyes glowing green. I didn't dare to refuse, afraid it would see through me.

I just gritted my teeth and agreed.

The ghost carried me first, covering ten miles in one go.

Then it asked, "Why are you so heavy? Are you not a ghost?"

As the ghost spoke, its eyes turned green, fangs protruded from its mouth, and saliva dripped out.

My heart nearly stopped. I forced myself to say, "I just died, so I'm a bit heavy. Don't overthink it."

Then it was my turn to carry it. The ghost was light as a feather, so I could quicken my pace. We took turns carrying each other like this for a full three rounds. My fear lessened slightly. I thought that if this continued, I would eventually be exposed and eaten by the ghost. So, I lied to it, saying, "I just died. I'm new to being a ghost. Are there any taboos for ghosts?"

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

As we continued walking, we encountered a river. When the ghost crossed, it practically floated over without a sound. When I crossed, the sound was very loud.

The ghost began to suspect me again.

This time, red light flashed in its eyes, and its saliva was already dripping. Even its fingers had grown black, hook-like nails, and its fingers turned a sickly green.

"Why are you making such a loud noise?!"

My heart was about to leap out of my chest, but it seemed to not notice.

I forced a smile and said, "I just died. I'm a newly deceased ghost, and I'm not used to crossing rivers the way ghosts do. Please forgive me."

The ghost stared at me from head to toe, but said nothing.

I felt that it wasn't that it couldn't tell, but that it was treating me as livestock, a mount, intending to sell me at the Ghost Market, to rip out my heart and drain my marrow...

Indeed, it didn't go to the regular Grand Market. Instead, it went to the old locust tree outside Wancheng, knocked three times, and shouted "Open!" several times. Then a path appeared in front of us. With a surge of desperation, I took the opportunity while we were taking turns carrying each other, hoisted it up, and ran inside, shouting, "Selling ghost, selling ghost!"

The ghost didn't expect—

When a person is poor, even ghosts get sold.

The ghost shouted on my back, trying to climb down. It used its transformation ability and turned into a sheep, breaking free. I bit my tongue, and the blood sprayed onto it, preventing it from transforming further.

But I was worried that over time, he would change back, so I sold him to an old Daoist priest. The old Daoist priest led the sheep with a rope inlaid with jade and pulled it away.

He gave me a package. My heart was pounding, and I ran back to a safe place. When I opened it, I was almost blinded by the glare.

Inside were a full one hundred and fifty taels of gold.

The pot of tea was finished.

Li Yixian's story was also finished. His hands were trembling as he spoke, and it took him a long time to calm down. It was clear that even though his memories were now clear and organized, he had been terrified at the time.

One wrong step, even just one, and he could have died.

Li YueLin listened, almost forgetting to drink his tea. He then kindly comforted his brother. Li Yixian let out a breath and said, "But it's good now. We have so much gold, so much, so much gold."

"Our family can not only establish ourselves here."

"We can also go out, to the prefectural city, to the county seat!"

"To bigger places!"

"To bring glory to our ancestors, I have wronged neither my ancestors nor my parents!"

Li Yixian's words became a bit jumbled again.

As Li YueLin comforted him, he suddenly thought of something. Looking at the gold on the table, he said, "But this gold, after all, was obtained from the Ghost Market by selling a malevolent ghost. Will it attract more malevolent ghosts?"

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

"I was worried about this very thing, which is why I specifically went to the Capital City. I prayed devoutly in a Daoist temple there and invited a Daoist master to ward off evil and avoid misfortune. Only then did I feel at ease and return to our home in the Central Province."

"This time when I return home, I don't plan on going out again."

"I'll get married and settle down."

"Don't worry."

Li Yixian smiled and comforted him:

"Absolutely, absolutely nothing will happen."

Crack!

The axe fell, splitting the firewood.

Qi WuHuo raised the axe and looked at the already split and piled firewood beside him. Then he raised his head and looked at the distant mountain. In the sunlight, the mountain gave off a peaceful and tranquil feeling.

"The snow isn't heavy; it hasn't sealed the mountain."

"That's a good thing."

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

PS:

The story prototype for this chapter comes from Cao Pi's "Lie Yi Zhuan" (Record of Strange Tales), specifically the story of Ding Bo Selling a Ghost.