Chapter 15: The Kind Male Ghost

By late morning, everyone had their brunch together. After eating, Mrs. Su went to work in the fields, the two younger children tidied up the house, and even bought some nails from the village chief’s home. Xiang Dayong, meanwhile, used a machete to chop the bamboo that Xiang He had brought back.

Xiang He seemed to have endless strength, going back and forth carrying bamboo home, who knows how many trips she made. As dusk gradually fell, Mrs. Su returned with two buckets of water, and Xiang Yun also came back with a big bundle of wild vegetables—her little face all smudged with dirt.

The plot of land they were allocated only had millet growing on it, so Xiang He planned to open up a vegetable patch in front of their house. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any wild vegetables in winter, let alone money to buy them.

“Ah! Just in time! I brought some bowls, and even some steamed buns and Chinese cabbage. Let’s sit down and chat properly tonight!”

Fourth Aunt came up the slope carrying a basket. When she saw the table sturdily tied together with bamboo, she immediately praised it, “Old Third’s craftsmanship is really good! Come by and make something for my place sometime—I’ll pay you!”

Xiang Dayong smiled honestly, “Not—not very stur—sturdy.”

“Oh! He’s really talking now! Life’s definitely going to get better and better!”

Fourth Aunt was a capable woman. After putting down the basket, she helped Xiang Dayong tie up a small stool. With only one hand, he could only brace it against his leg, so it wasn’t very secure, but with her pulling both sides tight, it became much sturdier.

“I remember you used to cry when you were little—how come you stopped talking?”

Xiang Dayong’s face stiffened. Fourth Aunt realized she’d said the wrong thing and quickly waved her hand, changing the subject, “Oh dear, I really know how to say the wrong things. So what are we eating tonight?”

“Rabbit…”

“Rabbit meat? That’s great! I’ve been craving that for ages! My man’s useless, never manages to catch anything. Tonight I’m in for a treat!”

When Xiang He returned, she was greeted by a warm and lively scene. Her pink dress was already dirty and messy, but she didn’t care about appearances—filling their bellies came first. She quickly called Xiang Yun over to start the fire, since she wasn’t very good at it herself.

Even though she had the original host’s memories, doing it by hand was still different.

After a good while of busyness, they finally managed to enjoy a hot meal. Everyone sat around the newly made table eating rabbit meat. There wasn’t much, but getting one or two pieces each was already more than satisfying.

With Fourth Aunt joining them, both Mrs. Su and Xiang Dayong became more talkative.

It wasn’t until the sky was fully dark that Fourth Aunt reluctantly prepared to leave. As she walked down the slope, she looked back and called out, “Ah Ci, are you going to the market tomorrow? Your family still needs to buy some essentials—otherwise, you don’t even have bowls to eat with.”

Fourth Aunt couldn’t see the troubled look on Mrs. Su’s face, but Xiang He darted to her side and waved her hand. “I’ll go with Mother tomorrow. Fourth Aunt, wait for us later, okay? Take care on your way back!”

“Got it!”

Watching her figure disappear down the path, Mrs. Su still looked uneasy. “We don’t have much…”

“Don’t worry, essentials come first,” Xiang He said, gently pushing her mother’s shoulders toward the house. “Go help them wipe off and get cleaned up. I have something to talk to you about later.”

Hearing that, Mrs. Su’s shoulders visibly stiffened. Xiang He didn’t say more and simply sat outside, gazing quietly at the bright moon in the night sky.

She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there when the sound of a door closing and limping footsteps came from behind. Xiang He finally turned around and looked at the two people coming out. She pressed her hands together in front of her abdomen and formed a seal, drawing upon the surrounding yin energy.

Before long, a faint white light rose up beside her. Xiang Dayong’s eyes were filled with emotion, while Mrs. Su was overwhelmed with nervousness—unsure whether she could bear what she was about to see.

That identical shadow appeared again, and Mrs. Su immediately burst into tears. She rushed forward to try and embrace the drifting figure, only to pass right through it. Covering her mouth, she tried to hold back her sobs.

“He girl…”

Xiang He let out a soft sigh and walked over to the table to pick up the clothes Mrs. Su had just put down. “Say whatever you want to say, but keep your voices low—don’t let Xiao Yang and Yun girl hear, or it’ll scare them. I’ll go wash up by the river in the back mountain and be back shortly.”

Mrs. Su turned around anxiously. “He… girl…” She didn’t know what to call her.

Xiang He only tilted her head and smiled. “I share the same name as your daughter—it’s fate, and it was meant to be.”

Without saying another word, she picked up the clothes and walked off, following the path in her memory up the back mountain. Her expression was calm, and the warm smile she had shown earlier was gone.

She walked in the moonlight, climbing halfway up the mountain until she finally arrived. Down the slope, the small river sparkled under the moonlight. She hurried down, looked around carefully to make sure no one else was around, and then took off her clothes and entered the water.

The autumn river water was much cooler, but after being sticky and sweaty all day, she felt uncomfortable and had to wash up no matter how cold it was.

Trees surrounded the area, and the moonlight could only filter through gaps between the branches. She kept alert to every sound around her. In the pitch-black night, the evening breeze rustled the leaves, and the shadows of the trees swayed with the wind, looking like countless hands moving around.

Xiang He wiped her body without looking up. “Stop fooling around.”

The shadows continued to move. Xiang He sighed helplessly, “I just want to take a proper bath. You better behave, or else…”

The two words slipped out quietly. The shadows suddenly stopped. Strangely, though the branches still swayed, the shadows on the ground froze — anyone seeing that would be scared out of their wits.

But the stillness lasted only a moment before the shadows started moving again. Those “hands” seemed to see her and rushed straight toward Xiang He.

She abruptly stood up, splashing water to shield herself. Quickly, she put on her clean clothes, flicked her long hair, and turned around. Her right hand formed a seal, and the shadows on the ground froze once again.

She slowly raised her eyes, cold light flashing in the darkness. Her gaze landed on a large tree straight ahead. “If you have something to say, say it. Don’t waste time with such childish tricks.”

Suddenly, all the shadows shrank back and returned to their normal form. A faint figure flickered beneath the tree. Under Xiang He’s cold stare, the figure gradually became clear.

After a moment, the figure transformed into a person wearing coarse clothes, bowing their head. They trembled as they pointed toward a spot—deeper in the back mountain. Xiang He turned her head to look in that direction.

Xiang He picked up her cloth shoes from the ground and walked over barefoot. “What’s over there?”

“Someone…”

Just one word made Xiang He feel a headache coming on. For someone to be deep in the mountains at this time of night—either they were injured and unable to move, or they were sneaking around doing something shady.

If it was the first case, she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. But if it was the second… well, seeing what they were up to might be kind of fun.

“You want me to save them?”

The male ghost nodded vigorously. A smile quickly spread across Xiang He’s lips, and she raised her chin. “Looks like you’re a kind ghost. I can save the person, but is there a reward? I’m kind of short on money lately.”

The male ghost seemed flustered, scratching here and there nervously. “There’s… there’s a big cat that died… I know where it is…”

“Huh? Big cat? A tiger?”

“Mm…”

Hearing it was a tiger, Xiang He perked up immediately!

With a quick turn of her head and body, she straightened up with righteous energy and said, “Lead the way!”