Hunting ghosts at the station

Without needing to be refined, the Heavenly Official's Blessing Pill turned into true qi and flowed into his eight extraordinary meridians.

Wang Qilin immediately knew this pill was good stuff.

He was enjoying the warmth inside when a sudden gust blew in, bringing a chill from outside.

A window had abruptly opened.

Wang Qilin looked gravely at the half-open window.

Something fishy was going on in this station!

So he went to find Xu Da and ask about the station's past.

Xu Da was in the courtyard tossing a stone lock around. It had to weigh forty or fifty jin, yet he spun it around with effortless ease, like a mule turning a millstone.

Wang Qilin couldn't help applauding. "Beautiful!"

Xu Da loved an audience. With someone watching, he put even more energy into his performance. The enormous stone lock traveled from fist to shoulder, over his head and between his legs, now behind his head, now before his eyes. He made it dance through all sorts of tricks.

Finally, he tossed the stone lock high into the air, planted one hand on his waist, and raised the other overhead to catch it as it fell, shouting, "Heavenly King holds the pagoda!"

Wang Qilin had been hoping to see him fumble, but he never did.

What a disappointment!

Xu Da wanted to keep performing, but Wang Qilin stopped him. "Put the training aside for now. I need to talk to you. I think this station might be haunted..."

"By a pauper ghost?"

"No."

"A lecherous ghost?" Xu Da grinned and waggled his eyebrows at him.

Wang Qilin said impatiently, "I'm not joking. There really is a ghost. A window in the archive opened by itself yesterday, and one in my bedroom did the same today, just like the mortuary door closed by itself last night."

Xu Da looked doubtful. "Did they?"

Wang Qilin let the facts speak.

He closed the doors and windows of every building in the station, then took Xu Da up to hide atop the gatehouse and secretly watch from above.

But there was little room atop the gatehouse, and Xu Da was tall and brawny. The two could only squeeze together.

Gradually, Xu Da's breathing grew heavy, hot breaths washing over Wang Qilin's face.

Wang Qilin turned and eyed him warily. "What are you doing?"

Xu Da said, "You're making it hard for me to breathe."

Wang Qilin shifted aside, trying to give him as much room as possible.

Xu Da was the sort who took a mile when given an inch. As Wang Qilin yielded ground, the fellow spread himself out to claim the space.

Helpless, Wang Qilin could only bend his leg and brace it against Xu Da's waist.

Xu Da complained again. "You're hurting me with that."

Wang Qilin snapped, "Why do you have so many damn complaints?"

Xu Da grew angry too. "Pull your leg back and I won't have anything to complain about!"

Just as the two were about to come to blows, a window in the archive was slowly pushed open from inside...

They strained their eyes, but saw no sign of anyone behind the window!

At this, Wang Qilin sucked in a cold breath. "Did you see that?"

Xu Da stopped fooling around. He opened his mouth wide and kept sucking in cold breaths, as though he had a ventilation fan in his mouth.

Then a tabby cat nimbly leaped out from behind the window.

Xu Da deflated at once. "Oh, look at how easily you scare! That's Master Cao's beloved pet, Hupi. So he was the one opening the windows."

Wang Qilin realized he had made a mistake too. "How is this my fault for being timid? You've been at the station for a year, and you didn't even know Hupi could open windows?"

Xu Da said with perfect confidence, "Who pays attention to this cat-and-dog crap? Your jumping at shadows scared me hungry. How about buying me a bowl of braised mutton for lunch?"

"Dream on! Unless you give me that Nine-Herb Great Replenishing Pill. Then I'll treat you."

Xu Da stared at him in horror. "How deficient are you that you need two replenishing pills? Careful you don't replenish yourself so much you poke a hole through your quilt. We only get one set of bedding each."

"None of your business. Just tell me whether you want braised mutton."

"I do."

"Then hand over the replenishing pill!"

"Can't hand it over. Can only shit it out."

"A dog's belly can't hold on to two taels of lard. You sure swallowed it fast!"

Footsteps sounded in the street, followed by Du Cao's voice. "What are you two doing up there in broad daylight?"

Wang Qilin turned and saw Du Cao striding toward the station entrance with a sturdy young man whose face looked ready for a funeral.

He jumped down and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Master Cao."

Du Cao nodded. "I went to the clinic this morning. You two did well."

The three had missed each other: when he went to the clinic, Wang Qilin and Xu Da had been on their way back.

Wang Qilin wanted to give Du Cao the details of last night, but Du Cao spoke first. "Go open the main hall. This young fellow has something to tell me."

The sturdy young man had dark skin and wore a blue homespun round-collared tunic with narrow sleeves and open-crotch trousers. Despite the lingering cold, he had only hemp shoes on his feet, without cloth socks. At a glance, he was clearly a tenant farmer fresh from the fields.

To ordinary people, the Heaven-Listening Bureau, which dealt with ghosts and spirits, was even more mysterious and frightening than the authorities. Once inside the station, the young man bent his back and hunched his neck, cowering like a sparrow in heavy rain.

After entering the hall and taking a seat, Du Cao sipped some tea. He said nothing, his expression gloomy, commanding respect without showing anger.

Wang Qilin questioned him, and the young man stammered, "Y-your honorable lordship, this lowly one's humble name is Zhong Erniu. My father's name is Zhong Daniu. My father never went to school and has no learning, so he named my older brother Zhong Xiaoniu, me Zhong Erniu, and my little sister..."

Through his rambling, jumbled account, the three barely managed to understand what had happened.

Zhong Erniu came from the Zhong Clan at Dismount Ridge and was a tenant farmer of the Zhong family. He had come because the Zhong household was haunted. The ghost had tormented his wife until she wanted to kill herself, leaving him no choice but to report it to the Heaven-Listening Bureau and ask them to save her.

Zhong Erniu did describe what the ghost had done to his wife, but his anxiety and nerves left his account so confused that Wang Qilin never quite understood. All he gathered was that his wife occasionally became like a child.

Once he finished, Du Cao asked in a deep voice, "I know the Zhong Clan of Dismount Ridge well. Your family head, Zhong Youfu, visited me several times. If the Zhong household is haunted, why didn't Zhong Youfu come to me?"

Zhong Erniu dropped to his knees again with a thud. Kowtowing, he cried, "Your lordship, please understand! Our family head is dead."

Du Cao frowned. "Zhong Youfu is dead? He had only just turned thirty. What a pity. He was a capable man. How did he die?"

Zhong Erniu said, "I'm from a farming household in the lower quarters. I don't know what goes on in the upper quarters, but I heard people say he caught a sudden illness."

Du Cao asked, "When did the ghost begin haunting your wife?"

Zhong Erniu said, "About three or four days ago."

Du Cao fell silent for a moment. "I understand. Tomorrow, I'll take some men to the Zhong Clan and have a look."

Zhong Erniu grew anxious. "Your lordship, could you go today?"

Du Cao said calmly, "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to your wife before I arrive."

He flicked a talisman out of his sleeve. "Go back and stick this over her heart. I guarantee no ghost or evil spirit will touch her for twenty-four hours!"

Watching Zhong Erniu leave joyfully with the talisman, Xu Da turned back. "Master Cao, are you still feeling unwell?"

Du Cao relaxed the stern expression he had maintained. He coughed, showing a hint of fatigue. "It's nothing. I'm just a little low on energy. Another day's rest and I'll be fine."

Xu Da said, "Why not put this case off for a bit? It's been cold these past few days. I reckon you've caught a chill."

Du Cao shook his head. "It's not a chill. I know my condition. This case can't wait. I'm afraid something might change."

Then he gave another strange smile. "The Zhong Clan's head passed away, yet I, an old friend, received no word. Heh, heh. Then their household started being haunted. I'll have to go see just what sort of ghost business they're up to!"