Chapter Five: Huang Ying

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I slowly lifted my head, but saw nothing—just complete darkness. Grandpa followed me up, tossing the torch upward, and it landed just above the cellar. The oppressive weight pressing down on my head immediately eased.

Bang—

The moment I stepped out of the cellar, a headless skeleton fell from the wall and shattered on the ground.

I glanced back—and saw something even more terrifying: a white silk ribbon, identical to the one I held in my arms!

I was paralyzed with fear. Could there be other ghosts besides her?

Grandpa grabbed me and we dashed out of the old house. I could hear mocking laughter behind us, eerie and chilling.

Once outside, I said to Grandpa, “I…I saw a white silk ribbon in the cellar, and I have one too!”

Trembling, I took out the white cloth from my怀抱. I suspected the stains weren’t urine but something that had leaked inside the cellar.

The moment Grandpa saw my white silk, he panicked, snatched it from me, and said anxiously, “How… how did you get this?”

“I picked it up…”

“Ah…” Grandpa sighed deeply and turned back into the house.

That night, Grandpa and I didn’t sleep. We sat there until dawn.

At dawn, I went to the grave behind the house and sat on a stone.

“I went to the old house yesterday.”

Hearing my voice, she emerged from the coffin, standing in the shade and watching me, waiting for me to continue.

“I found your lower half, but… there were other things in the house. I couldn’t bring out your bones—they were shattered.”

Her expression grew tense when I said “but.” After decades as a ghost, she was weary and no longer wished to exist like this.

“I found a white silk ribbon in the cellar. Is that yours?”

She looked dazed, and I could tell she was disappointed. The shattered bones meant she would have to remain in this state forever since reincarnation requires soul and body to be united.

“No… it’s not mine.”

Her voice lost its usual icy tone, sinking into another kind of cold abyss.

“Do you know whose it is?” If it wasn’t her, that meant besides her, another ghost was near me.

“Your grandpa knows.” She said without much thought.

“My grandpa?”

“Yes, your grandpa has crossed paths with her.”

This time, I didn’t feel fear but endless astonishment. In my mind, Grandpa was just a toothless, stern man who liked smoking—those were his defining traits.

I asked more, but she stood silently in the shade, not answering.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Seeing her lost expression, I couldn’t bear it. Before coming to the countryside, I never imagined I’d have such a conversation with a female ghost.

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“No, thank you.” Her stiff voice echoed around, and “thank you” was perhaps the first time she had ever said those words.

“Why? I could help with something.”

“Forget it. She’s already come for you. I fear your grandpa isn’t a match for her. You’d better leave soon!” She vanished from the spot, probably retreating back into the small coffin.

“Her presence is all over you, even in your breath. She’s already entwined with you. You should leave now.” She continued.

I knew her presence clung to me because I had spent several nights with the white silk.

But to sense her breath in mine—that made me ponder deeply.

Could it be the thing that flowed into my mouth that night? If so, the one who came for me wasn’t her but someone else.

“How did you harm me?” I asked. Even I found the question strange, but it was the only way I could express myself. I needed to know which of these things she was responsible for.

She paused, seeming embarrassed.

“Just that time on the bedspread!”

“Only that once?”

“Yes, but I gave up halfway because I heard you call him ‘grandpa’!”

Um… Even though she’s a ghost, I suspected some ambiguity in that statement. Could it be that Grandpa and she…? Oh no, I dared not imagine. I never thought my old-fashioned Grandpa would play such tricks. Quite a strong taste!

“Your grandpa saved me, and… he hunts ghosts!” She realized I misunderstood and quickly explained.

“He was the one who reburied me here!”

“Your grandpa hunts ghosts?”

“Yes!”

“Besides that time on the bedspread, nothing else?”

“Only that once.”

Based on what she said, the figure outside the window and the white shadow over the pigsty weren’t her but someone else. I thought I wouldn’t be afraid anymore, but cold sweat trickled down my back again.

Yet what must come, will come. I just need to wait patiently. Besides, she said my grandpa hunts ghosts; he won’t let me be harmed.

“What’s your name? Your old tombstone is already illegible.”

“Ah?…” She seemed either not to understand or unwilling to believe. As a ghost, no one had ever spoken to her like this, let alone asked her name.

“Huang… Huang Ying!” Her voice held both fear and joy. Hearing it, I felt a pang of sorrow. If she had been born in my era, none of this would have happened. She could have gone to school, watched movies at home—yet she never had even one happy day.

“That’s a beautiful name.”

“Thank you!”

“Your lower bones are shattered. What are you going to do now?”

“Forget it. It’s fate. I accept it.” Her voice turned cold and merciless again. Perhaps she would live forever in this state.

I looked at the lonely coffin lying on the ground and suddenly made a decision.

“Come with me.”

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Thud—

Even the coffin trembled.

“Come with me. I’ll think of a way to help you slowly. If you don’t want to, that’s fine!”

Silence stretched long—about a minute passed before I picked up the small coffin and headed for Grandpa’s house.

Some things don’t need to be said clearly; we naturally understand their meaning.

“Grandpa.”

He was sitting on the doorstep, smoking a pipe. When he saw the coffin in my hands, he paused—it was the coffin he made himself. How could he not recognize it?

“Are you planning to help her?” Grandpa stubbed out his pipe.

“Yes.”

“Give her to me first.”

From Huang Ying’s words, I knew Grandpa was the only good person she had. Not only did he bury her properly, but he also visited her grave every year during festivals, repaired the tomb, and, as she said, he hunted ghosts. I hoped Grandpa had a way to save her.

I handed the coffin to Grandpa. He placed it on the ground, then turned to me and said, “Go get me that red bottle from the drawer in the room you sleep in. Also, there’s a brush and some yellow paper—bring those too.”

Aren’t those things used in movies to exorcise ghosts? Could Grandpa be preparing…

“Grandpa, you…”

“It’s fine. Your grandpa is a good man.”

I went inside and fetched the items for Grandpa.

He took the bottle and spread the thick red liquid all over the coffin. It immediately turned bright red and began to heat up. Then Grandpa grabbed a handful of glutinous rice and sprinkled it on the coffin. The rice stuck to the red liquid, releasing white smoke. Soon, the rice turned black—probably burned.

I heard Huang Ying emit a muffled groan from inside the coffin.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I could tell she gritted her teeth to say those words.

Grandpa moved his lips, chanting softly, then tore a small strip from a large sheet of yellow paper. He filled it with intricate, obscure symbols using the brush.

Two minutes later, nine talisman papers were completed and pasted all over the coffin.

Boom—The papers suddenly ignited, releasing a terrifying heat from the coffin.

“Ah…”

Huang Ying finally screamed. Ghosts fear fire, and such intense heat was unbearable.

I began to suspect Grandpa wasn’t helping her but was trying to capture her.

“Grandpa, stop! …She’s already pitiful enough.” I shouted.