Chapter 18

In the middle of the night, I suddenly woke up. Listening to the sound of the clapper outside, I realized it was already the third watch.

I got out of bed to drink some water. Just as I picked up the teapot, I heard a ‘thump thump’ sound outside the window, and then, by the moonlight, the shadow of a long-haired figure was cast upon the window.

I put down the teapot and stared silently at the shadow on the window.

The shadow tapped on the window a few more times, and a coquettish voice called out, “Young Master, Young Master, open the door~”

I wasn’t afraid at all; in fact, I found it amusing. I never expected that the scene of a scholar spending the night in a deserted study, only to be approached by a ghost, fox spirit, or flower demon offering herself, would one day happen to me.

Quietly taking off my shoes, I climbed back onto the bed. I moved to the edge and, after a moment’s thought, gently tapped twice on the window lattice.

The figure outside seemed delighted, pressing almost against the window paper, her voice becoming even more tender: “Young Master, open the door~”

Seeing that I didn’t respond, the voice outside kept repeating the request for me to open the door.

After thinking for a moment, I asked, “Who are you?”

The shadow was silent for a moment, then replied, “Young Master, if you open the door, you’ll see.”

I laughed and said, “It’s the middle of the night, and a lone woman is knocking on my window. If I open the door and you turn into a ghost and eat me, what then?”

The figure giggled, “Young Master, you are so amusing. How could I be a ghost? Just open the door.”

I humored her for a while, but seeing that I wouldn’t open the door no matter what, she left in a huff.

I waited a while longer, and only when I was sure it was quiet outside did I lie back down.

I slept dreamlessly through the night.

The next morning, Song Lan woke me up. As he poured water for me to wash my face, he laughed, “Did a Female Ghost really come last night?”

I turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

Song Lan took a Gold Hairpin out from his sleeve. “I found this at the door when I came in. If it wasn’t left by a Female Ghost, could it be yours, Young Master?”

I took the Gold Hairpin and examined it. Seeing the pearl tassel hanging from the side, I suddenly recalled the shadow on the window last night, the ornament on her head swaying back and forth-it did look like it had a tassel.

So I recounted what had happened the previous night. Song Lan jumped three feet high and ran out shouting. Soon, he dragged Qing Mu back with him.

Qing Mu put the food box on the table, his face pale and breathing heavily.

“Young Master, are you all right?” Qing Mu rushed over to check me anxiously. “Did the Female Ghost do anything to you? If anything happened to you, how could I explain to Madam!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” I took Qing Mu’s hand off me and spun around in place to show him. “She didn’t do anything to me. Your Young Master didn’t even lose a single hair.”

Seeing that I was indeed unharmed, Qing Mu finally relaxed and instructed Song Lan to pour water for me to wash up.

He took out the breakfast from the food box and set it out on the table, grumbling, “No wonder when I went to get breakfast just now, the Waiter and the cook gave me strange looks. Turns out they already knew this courtyard was haunted, yet still let us stay there without telling the truth. Truly hateful!”

“You can’t really blame them,” I said, finishing my wash and sitting down at the table. “We insisted on staying, after all. Besides, I think there’s something odd about this Female Ghost. I don’t think she’s a ghost at all, but a person in disguise.”

Qing Mu was puzzled. “What do you mean, Young Master?”

I pointed at the door. “The gap under the door is quite large. Last night, though I didn’t open the door, when the Female Ghost left, I peeked through the crack and saw she had a shadow. How could a real ghost have a shadow?”

Hearing that it wasn’t a ghost, Song Lan immediately perked up. “Then it’s simple. Tonight, Qing Mu and I will lie in wait outside the courtyard. As soon as that woman shows up, we’ll pin her down.”

I took a bite of a bun. “Don’t be reckless. Let’s try to get some information from the Waiter first.”

After breakfast, we left the small courtyard and walked ahead. The people we met along the way all changed their expressions when they saw where we had come from.

When we reached the main hall, we saw a middle-aged man in fine clothes scolding the Waiter who had let us in the night before.

When the man saw us, he hurried over, apologizing profusely and inviting us to the back hall for tea.

In conversation, we learned that this man was Wang Yuanzhi, the Manager and owner of the inn.

He apologized again, explaining that someone had died in that courtyard before. Later, guests who stayed there died one after another-four in total-so the courtyard was locked up and forbidden to use. Unexpectedly, the Waiter, greedy for money, let people stay there while Wang Yuanzhi was away on business in another county.

“Fortunately, Young Master, you are blessed and nothing happened,” Wang Yuanzhi wiped the sweat from his brow. “If anything had happened, how could I live with myself? There are vacant rooms available today; I’ll arrange for you to move in right away.”

I waved my hand. “There’s no rush. I want to ask, Manager Wang, was the person who died a woman?”

Wang Yuanzhi’s face turned pale. “Young Master, did you see something?”

I told him what had happened the previous night.

Wang Yuanzhi listened, his expression turning odd. “The one who died in that courtyard was a Prostitute. She supported a poor Scholar to go to the capital for the exams, but after he passed, he abandoned her. In despair, she hanged herself in that courtyard. I pitied her, so I took care of her body and bought a coffin for her burial. After that, guests who stayed there would see the ghost of a woman who hanged herself. She would either barge into the room and strangle people to death, or sometimes just frighten them and spare their lives. But this is the first time I’ve heard of her knocking on the window and talking outside, as you described.”

“Oh? I see.” I didn’t press further, but changed the subject. “Manager Wang, I’m here to look for someone. Do you know Zhao Tiandong?”

“Yes, I do. His family lives just across from our inn,” Wang Yuanzhi replied. “He used to work as a runner in my inn for a while. Later, I heard he went to Anyang. He came back a couple of years ago, but then left again, and I haven’t seen him since.”

What the Manager said matched what the Li Family Brothers had told me, so I asked, “Does he have any family?”

Wang Yuanzhi said, “He still has his parents. They’re quite old and don’t get around easily. We neighbors help out when needed.”

We thanked the Manager and left the inn, telling him before we left that we were quite satisfied with the courtyard and would return to stay there that night.