Female Ghost Song and Dance

"Let's clear the weeds from the courtyard tomorrow. Since it's not dark yet today, let's go out and buy some things first." Song You said to Three Flower Cat. "Will Three Flower Lady stay in the courtyard to rest, or come with me?"

"Three Flower Lady will go with you."

"Do you want me to carry you?"

"Hmm?"

Three Flower Cat tilted her head and stared at Song You.

"..." Song You smiled at her. "I was just thinking that you've been walking all day and might be tired."

"Not tired."

"Good..."

Song You pushed the door open again and walked out.

Three Flower Cat followed him with tiny, mincing steps.

The world seemed to be in a transitional phase from two meals a day to three. Depending on their personal finances, quite a few people had already begun eating three meals a day, while others sometimes ate three meals and sometimes only two. At this hour, those who ate three meals a day had just begun eating, while those who ate two had already finished. Thus, many idle people could be seen sitting beneath the great trees, chatting and enjoying the shade. Some held palm-leaf fans to swat mosquitoes, while others carried bowls. The whole scene was steeped in the flavor of ordinary life.

When Song You came out of this courtyard, the people taking the air all stopped their idle chatter in unspoken agreement, unable to keep from casting strange looks at him.

When they saw that he was wearing a Daoist robe, their gazes grew even more peculiar.

His talking points seemed to have increased again.

Though Song You was only staying temporarily, he still nodded to them in greeting before continuing into the distance.

Great Yan had no ward-market system. People could buy things wherever they wished, though shops were still clearly concentrated in certain areas. This part of town was mainly residential, so to buy anything, he had to head downhill.

They had not gone far before those people began discussing him again.

Song You did not listen closely. It was nearly dark, and he had to hurry. He merely walked along while muttering to himself, going over the things he needed to buy.

Bedding was not the most urgent matter.

It had only just passed the Start of Autumn, and End of Heat had yet to arrive. The weather in the city was still hot. He had been able to spend the night in the mountains despite the cold, so what was there to fear in the city?

Before leaving, Song You had looked around. The courtyard still had brooms, dustpans, and other cleaning tools, and quite a bit of the furniture was complete. What it lacked were pots, bowls, and ladles. His first priority was to buy a pot and a bucket, season the pot while there was still time, then fetch water and buy firewood. Song You needed a hot bath.

Following the straight little alley downhill from the entrance brought him to the bustling heart of Yi Capital.

White walls, blue-gray tiles, and eaves like a forest.

Shops lined both sides of the road, and outside each one hung all sorts of highly distinctive signboards, utterly unlike the ancient-costume dramas of later generations.

Some signboards almost reached into the middle of the road, while others were enormous. Some shops hung huge flags overhead. Others wrote their names on the giant curtains hanging down over their entrances. Still others built enormous gate towers at their doors, taking up a considerable portion of the street. To get past them, pedestrians either had to detour a little or duck beneath the gate towers. Some shops had already lit their lightboxes before dark.

In short, they did whatever made them look grand, whatever attracted attention, whatever displayed their strength.

People in later generations often said that ancient towns had become overly commercialized. By comparison, the ancient towns of later generations were actually quite plain. At least their signboards all followed a uniform style, and municipal authorities would never have allowed shops to build gate towers out into the street.

In this era, however, it was a form of culture.

"Wow~"

Three Flower Lady could not help exclaiming at the sight, almost forgetting to walk.

By the time she came to herself, Song You had already gone some distance ahead. From her angle, all the pedestrians' backs looked more or less alike. She stood there in a daze for quite a while before finally spotting Song You waiting up ahead, then hurried after him at a little run.

Even as she ran, she held her head high and looked wildly from side to side.

They had not gone far when they came upon a shop selling wooden buckets and basins.

Song You bought a bucket and a basin, then casually asked the shopkeeper where he could find a store selling cookware. After putting the bucket and basin away, he went straight there and picked out an iron pot. Iron pots had not been popular in this world for very long, but their superior qualities had already carried them into countless households.

He also took the opportunity to buy a pair of wooden clogs.

By the time they headed back, the sky had darkened.

The lightboxes outside some shops and on the doorways of some upper stories had already been lit. They could be understood as enormous floor lanterns—glowing signboards welcoming Great Yan's night market.

Yes, there was no curfew here.

"So many lanterns and candles."

"Does Three Flower Lady like them?"

"They're so bright!!"

"Once we finish tidying up tomorrow, how about I bring you out for a stroll at night?"

"Hmm..."

Three Flower Cat did not answer. Instead, she turned her head toward Song You. "Do you like it? The glittering night?"

Song You only smiled and did not answer.

The night here was still nowhere near bright enough.

That night.

Constable Luo sat at the head of the bed. His feet, freshly removed from the wooden basin, were flushed red from soaking, while a woman used a cloth to wipe away the beads of water.

"I heard someone moved into the courtyard across the way again? I heard people talking about it as soon as I got back from my shift."

"I heard it's a young Mister."

"A Young Mister?"

"Yes." The woman picked up the cloth and stood, speaking to him face-to-face. "Maybe he's capable. If he can stay a while longer, and if he can make that courtyard peaceful from now on, that would be a good thing."

"What does it matter whether it's peaceful or not? She hasn't easily disturbed you, and once you're asleep, she quiets down too." Constable Luo said, "Besides, how many truly capable masters are there? Plenty of them can catch a few little demons and ghosts, though."

"It still gives me the creeps."

"If you do nothing shameful by day, you won't fear ghosts knocking at your door at midnight. If you stand straight and sit upright, and they're all familiar neighbors, how could a good person while alive become bad after dying? What are you afraid of?"

"Then tell me, how long can this Young Mister stay?"

"Young people have strong nerve. Perhaps he can hold out a little longer."

"How long is 'a little longer'?"

"Who knows..."

Weariness seeped through Constable Luo's voice.

Just then, the faint sound of a woman singing drifted over from across the way. The song was plaintive and mournful, as though sobbing and pouring out her grief. In the night, it carried a chill, and the sound was familiar to every nearby resident.

The two of them immediately stopped what they were doing and held their breath as they gazed ahead, as if their eyes could pass through the doors and courtyard walls to see the scene in the courtyard opposite.

Constable Luo sighed inwardly.

That Young Mister would probably report it to the authorities again tomorrow morning, and he would once more have to symbolically send someone over there. He had gone through this several times over the past few years. In any case, he could never find that female ghost, no matter what he did.

Gradually, his heart instead settled. He leaned back against the wall and actually began listening intently to the little tune.

At the same time, in the diagonally opposite courtyard—

Song You had just finished a hot bath and changed into clean clothes. Moisture still clung to him. The garments were loose, their fabric rough but not abrasive, and they were extremely comfortable.

Listening to the singing, he paused for a long while at the doorway. His hand had already settled on the doorframe, yet he did not push it open. Only when the song ended did he step outside. On the white courtyard wall, a black shadow swayed faintly. Long hair fell past its waist, enough to make anyone shudder.

Song You merely gave an unhurried bow. "My lady, you possess a fine singing voice, and your skill is even more remarkable. Might you sing another?"

The black shadow abruptly paused.

Then, with a sudden whoosh, it vanished without a trace.

Song You was stunned as well, and could not help shaking his head.

Lowering his gaze, he saw a three-colored cat crouched at the doorway. From the looks of it, she had been guarding him there throughout his entire bath.

"What does Three Flower Lady mean by this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Wasn't Three Flower Lady investigating her new home? Why did you come back to sit at the doorway?"

"I finished investigating. I heard you making water noises inside and was afraid you'd drown, so I ran to the doorway to wait for you." Three Flower Cat tilted her head and stared at him, her eyes glittering with curiosity. "What were you doing in there?"

"Bathing."

"People are so strange."

"I wasn't going to drown."

"Strange, strange..."

Song You did not bother arguing with her. He walked back into the room in his wooden clogs, every step creaking loudly.

The room had already been cleaned, and fresh bedding had been laid out.

By the moonlight, he could vaguely see a cat dart from beside his feet and leap onto the bed ahead of him. She turned to stare at him, then said again:

"That ghost was talking just now."

"I heard it."

"Her voice sounded so strange."

"That's called singing."

"What is singing?"

"An artistic form of pleasant expression."

"I don't understand."

"That's all right." Song You paused, then looked toward Three Flower Cat. "Will Three Flower Lady sleep beside me tonight too?"

"You sleep over there." Three Flower Cat glanced at the other end of the bed and indicated where he should sleep. Then she withdrew her gaze and continued sitting with her paws tucked beneath her chest. "Three Flower Lady can sleep curled up in this corner tonight."

"That works too."

The bed was still quite large.

Song You lay down, but for a while he could not fall asleep.

It was not because of the female ghost in the courtyard.

He did not know where the female ghost had come from or what she wanted. In any case, he had rented the house through the proper channels, and he truly could not afford another place in the city. He would have to stay here for some time. Since he had to sleep here no matter what, he might as well get some sleep first and worry about the rest later.

What troubled him was how to make arrangements for the future.

His master had sent him down the mountain. Surely it was not so he could change locations and continue cultivating in a daze. Yet figuring out how to find some amusement had racked his brains.

On the way back from shopping that day, he had passed a stretch of Tile Houses and pleasure quarters. Their lights had been quite bright. They seemed to be comprehensive entertainment venues combining many forms of performance—drama, song and dance, storytelling, acrobatics—as well as sports, food, and drink.

Perhaps he could give one a try.

He should also buy a few books to read.

It would be even better if he could find some "travel books." Not only would they give him plans for the near future, they might also offer suggestions on where he should go later.

Before he knew it, Song You had fallen asleep as well.

At night, someone seemed to be moving faintly outside the door. Under the moonlight, human and tree shadows mingled across the ground, hazy and indistinct.

This did not disturb Song You.

What truly disturbed Song You was Three Flower Lady.

Three Flower Lady had said she would sleep in the corner of the bed, but she was unconsciously drawn by the warmth beneath Song You's covers and instinctively burrowed into them. Cats slept lightly and loved to move around at night. Whenever she heard the slightest disturbance outside, she would crawl forward beneath the covers, poke her head out to investigate, then burrow back in. Sometimes she even woke Song You to ask what they should do.

But perhaps he had not slept in a bed for many days. Even after being disturbed like this throughout the entire night, Song You somehow still slept quite well.

He woke to the sound of roosters crowing at dawn, refreshed from head to toe.