Encountering a Ghost

Jiang She and the others looked over.

There were plenty of people in the post station: a caravan with goods loaded onto its carts, and two scholars seated with them. They had likely hired on with the caravan and were traveling under its protection, to keep the road safe.

There was even a tonsured monk in robes, head bowed as he waited for his meal.

Horses needed fodder, which cost extra.

If an official came through, the court covered those expenses for his attendants, up to the permitted number. Li Bai didn't care about a few coins. While Mr. Jiang went to inspect the horses in the stable, he had a servant take a string of cash from a box and give it to the station attendant.

"Do you have any upper rooms?"

The young attendant looked at the group. They were richly dressed, traveling on horseback, and had brought along so many trunks and boxes.

With the money in hand, he grew a little more respectful. "There are still three—no, two rooms left."

Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu exchanged a glance.

Li Bai chatted casually. "We'll take the upper rooms. One room for each of the rest of us. As for the food, bring us your best dishes and wine. Will that be enough?"

"Enough, enough..."

Yuan Danqiu, dressed in a Daoist robe, asked, "The attendant just said there were three rooms. Why did he suddenly change that to two?"

The attendant eyed his robe.

He hesitated.

He didn't want to drive these guests away. Station attendants were mostly registered commoners or men from the frontier. Only the station chief received an allowance; the rest earned no wages. Most of their yearly income came from the lodging fees paid by ordinary travelers and merchants, along with tips from guests. Making a little money was no easy thing.

And these guests were generous with their money.

The attendant stared at Yuan Danqiu's Daoist robe.

After a moment, he lowered his voice. "I'll tell you in confidence, sir. Please don't let it get out."

"I don't want to hide it from you, either. There's been talk of strange noises in this station, like it's haunted. That room was one of the upper rooms at the back, but we don't let anyone stay there anymore."

Yuan Danqiu was puzzled.

"Then why did you first say there were three upper rooms? This can't be the first time it's been haunted, can it?"

The attendant looked embarrassed.

"The upper rooms cost more..."

As he spoke, he hurriedly apologized, hoping the distinguished guests wouldn't take offense.

The attendant added a few muttered words. The haunted upper room was at the very back. If the guests heard anything strange that night, it was nothing to worry about. They just shouldn't go outside, lest they offend whatever was there.

They hadn't expected the reason to be that upper rooms fetched a higher price.

Yuan Danqiu was momentarily at a loss for words.

At least, when he'd finally changed the number back to two, the station attendants had shown some conscience.

When Jiang She returned, Yuan Danqiu told everyone what he'd heard over dinner.

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Bai. He knew that Li Bai could now see things other people couldn't, and egged him on to go take a look with them that night.

Jiang She lowered his head and watched the cat eat meat.

The cat had slept all day, but by nightfall, it was full of energy. It was bold, too, trying to climb onto the table, its eyes fixed on the fish and never letting go.

The fish was bigger than the cat.

The merchants at the next table found it unusual that someone had brought a cat along on the road and looked over several times. Seeing it stare so intently at the fish, eager to get at it, they all laughed.

"That cat's got some nerve!"

"It's traveled farther than my son!"

"How old is it? Two months? It looks so little, but it sure loves its food... Oh! It's got a temper, too. It'll make a fine rat-catcher one day."

Jiang She gently pressed the cat's head down, keeping it farther from the fish.

Old Deer Mountain God watched from beside him, stroking his beard. He couldn't help but smile.

He hadn't sat in a hostel or post station, eating lively meals with people, for a hundred or two years. The experience was quite novel. His hair and beard were completely white, and he trembled with every movement, so everyone treated him with great care. Even the rowdiest merchant showed him the utmost respect.

Jiang She asked, "I heard this place is haunted. What's the story?"

At the mention of ghosts in the post station, the merchants' cheerful faces fell. They furrowed their brows, fear rising in their hearts.

"We only heard about it after we got here. We asked around, but the attendants were so evasive they didn't explain what was going on."

He swore under his breath.

"We're leaving as soon as tonight's over. If we'd known, we should've pushed on. There's another hostel ten li up the road..."

Jiang She could tell they deeply regretted stopping here.

He asked, "I just heard them mention someone called Wang San. Did he suddenly go mad these past couple of years?"

Li Bai raised an eyebrow slightly as he held his wine cup.

The merchant asked, "Was Wang San a former attendant here?"

"No. I heard he was a butcher who was good at slaughtering pigs."

"Then I don't know. There are plenty of people surnamed Wang in this world, and even more third sons. I'll ask around for you later."

The merchant lowered his head to eat, then spoke to the person beside him, complaining that the scholars traveling with them had held them up during the day, so they hadn't reached the next stop earlier. Otherwise, they'd rather have camped out in the wild than stayed in this haunted place.

As they talked, the merchants looked over at Yuan Danqiu in his Daoist robe.

Then they looked at the monk quietly eating in the room.

They seemed to harbor a faint hope.

With a monk and a Daoist here, they ought to be safe...

None of them knew there was a true god in the room.

As one of the station attendants brought out dishes, he overheard them. He slipped back into the kitchen, his heart in a panic, and discussed it with the others.

"They know this place is haunted. What should we do?"

The middle-aged attendant listened to the voices in the main hall, then looked away. "Turn a blind eye."

"Huh?"

"They've already paid. You think they'll leave?" The middle-aged attendant laughed. "There isn't a single post station under heaven that gives refunds! If they dare ask us to pay them back, the laws of Great Tang will deal with them."

The attendant asked, "What if they run off tonight?"

"We've already got their money. Who cares if they run? That just means fewer people to serve."

The young attendant was thoroughly impressed. Old Zhou really was experienced; no matter what happened, he could keep his cool.

He still had a lot to learn.

Outside the kitchen, Old Deer Mountain God looked at Jiang She, took a sip of the slightly sour cloudy wine, and smiled.

"These mortals are rather interesting."

"Everyone has their own way of getting by," Jiang She said.

He lowered his head and stroked the cat, which still wanted some fish. Then he used clean chopsticks to put a little in the cat's own bowl.

The cat ate, purring softly.

Unlike what the station attendants expected, Jiang She and the others might or might not have stopped here. They'd only decided to come closer because they heard the place was haunted and found it interesting.

Merchants valued money above all else. Having already paid, they certainly wouldn't leave that night.

The next hostel was ten li away, and the two scholars lacked the courage to travel alone in the dead of night.

The sky gradually darkened. Clouds hung low, and the wind rustled through the trees.

Two station attendants stood together, lighting a lantern by the door.

They looked outside. Seeing no one coming, they shut the gate and dropped the bar into place.

They'd met wealthy guests that day and earned a string of cash. Even after paying for food and lodging, they still had plenty left. For once, they didn't skimp on expenses: they lit lamps inside and set candles burning.

The candlelight swayed gently in the breeze.

It flickered faintly, brightening and dimming.

Everyone had finished dinner, and the table was a mess. For some reason, not one person who'd eaten in the main hall had left.

The monk was reading with his head bowed.

The two scholars sat close together, pressed shoulder to shoulder, afraid a ghostly wind might slip in between them.

The merchants, the largest group there, grew quieter and quieter. They picked at the leftovers with their chopsticks, forcing each tasteless bite into their mouths, and occasionally lowered their heads to take a few sips of wine.

Trying to chase away the chill in their hearts.

The dining area in the main hall was where the most people gathered. Once they returned to their rooms, they'd be separated from everyone else.

Jiang She studied the merchants and watched their faces grow paler and paler.

Li Bai had always been bold. Holding his wine cup, he surveyed the surroundings.

Yuan Danqiu lowered his voice.

"Well, did you see anything?"