Grandma Wang's Ghost

While Ding Shi was lost in thought, Zhao Liu and Blind Zhao had already begun scuffling over there. Zhao Liu insisted he didn't believe in ghosts, yet refused to let Blind Zhao leave, all the while shouting that he was going to leave himself—whoever wanted to be the grandson could be the grandson. Everyone stepped in to break up the fight. Blind Zhao seized the chance to shake off Zhao Liu's grip and strode out the door. "Xiao Ding, take me back." Ding Shi jogged over to get his bicycle. Zhao Liu kicked the brazier flying, peeled off his mourning clothes, flung them onto the ground, and prepared to leave the Wang residence. The clan elder and village seniors blocked him, trying to convince him to stay. Ding Shi rode his bicycle and escorted Blind Zhao home, saying politely, "Uncle Zhao, I'm heading out." "Wait." Blind Zhao stopped Ding Shi. After pondering for a moment, he said, "I don't think that grandson of the Wang family can handle this." Ding Shi thought: The Ding family's grandson can't handle it either. If you try to make me do it, I'll deal with you first. Blind Zhao continued on his own, "If things aren't settled tonight and that grandson doesn't stay at the Wang house, that thing will search all over for him." Ding Shi's heart trembled. "You mean if Zhao Liu runs off, the whole village might suffer?" Blind Zhao said, "Not quite. Only a few unlucky wretches will suffer. Once the seventh day has passed, she'll leave on her own. Watch yourself. After eleven o'clock tonight, don't leave your room. Your room, not just the house. Also, if someone knocks on the door after eleven, don't just open it. A living person knocks three times; that thing knocks four times. Go on back." With that, Blind Zhao stepped into his courtyard and shut the gate. Ding Shi glanced at the pitch-black night and swallowed hard. He had survived hails of bullets and mountains of corpses—why were his calves trembling a little now? ... Back at the village chief's house, Ding Shi felt entirely wide awake. He checked the system time: 10:30 PM. He rolled out of bed, got dressed, took his flashlight, and headed out. The way to conquer fear was to face it head-on. Besides, Blind Zhao had said tonight was safe. Still, Blind Zhao had also mentioned that outsiders couldn't show up at the Wang residence tonight, or Grandma Wang's ghost wouldn't appear. The spot Ding Shi chose was Cuihua's house, right next door to the Wang residence. A persimmon tree grew in her courtyard, some ten meters tall. Ding Shi scaled the wall into the yard and climbed about five meters up the persimmon tree, giving him an unobstructed view of the Wang family's front yard and part of their backyard. Every light that could be turned on in the Wang house was ablaze. Ding Shi didn't spot Zhao Liu and had no idea where the grandson had gone. Couldn't he show a shred of responsibility? If you cause trouble, you ought to clean it up yourself. Looking back, if not for this bunch of lousy teammates, this would truly have lived up to being a casual instance. To be honest, Ding Shi rather liked this village—the villagers were warm and friendly, the spring water was sweet, the food delicious, and the mountains and waters scenic. How had a ghost popped up here? Amid his wandering thoughts, eleven o'clock arrived. Grandma Wang abruptly appeared outside the Wang residence's main gate. She wore the clothes she had died in. Short in stature, her feet did not touch the ground as she slowly floated upward, clearing the courtyard wall and drifting into the front yard. How could he describe it? It was bizarre, yet not particularly frightening. She looked no different from a living person, but closer inspection revealed many differences between the ghost granny and the living. First, she cast no shadow. Second, her feet never touched the ground. Third, her arms didn't swing when she moved forward or backward. Suddenly, Grandma's ghost turned her head to look at Ding Shi, more than ten meters away. Ding Shi gripped the tree trunk with his left hand and gritted his teeth, doing his best to suppress the fear in his heart as he stared back at her. Think I'm scared of you? There's no death penalty in this instance, you know that? You know that? Yet he was still a little scared. Her gaze seemed hollow, yet appeared capable of seeing straight through a person's soul. A chill crept up from the soles of his feet. Ding Shi couldn't tell whether the chill was a physical attack or a mental one. Confronted by the ghost's stare, Ding Shi strained to stick up his middle finger. A man in the jianghu might lose a fight, but he could never lose his swagger. To Ding Shi's shock, an irresistible force pressed his middle finger back down, though it caused him no harm. Ding Shi could now be certain that his physical reactions—his trembling body, the chill rising from his feet—all stemmed from Grandma Wang's ghost. The ghost turned her head, floated into the memorial hall, and stood blankly for a few minutes before drifting toward the kitchen. A few minutes later, she emerged from the kitchen and floated to the doorway of her own room beside the memorial hall. She reached out, pushed open the door, and entered the room. Ding Shi took the opportunity to flash his middle finger again. Old hag, what can you do to me now? The ghost floated back out. Ding Shi retracted his finger: Respecting the elderly and loving ghosts—a traditional virtue. The ghost seemed thoroughly bewildered, drifting back and forth across the Wang residence, wandering aimlessly. As the minutes ticked by, she drifted through every single room, not even sparing the attic, and even opened her own coffin to search inside for a long time. As time passed, Grandma's ghost grew increasingly frantic. Blood-red tears streamed from her eyes, and she began rummaging through the woodpile and the vegetable patch. Ding Shi pulled out a Daqianmen cigarette given to him by a villager and lit it. He wasn't addicted to smoking; he only used it to pass the time while waiting out of boredom. He especially disliked people who were late, believing they were wasting his life. Taking stock of the intelligence: First, he couldn't beat this thing. Second, its intelligence was very low—it could hardly even be considered an intelligent being. Third, it possessed no human emotions, showing not the slightest reaction even upon seeing its own corpse. At three in the morning, Grandma's ghost quieted down. She sat quietly on the steps before the spirit altar, hands on her knees, posture ramrod straight, eyes fixed on the front gate. At five in the morning, her body faded until she vanished without a trace. Having obtained the information he needed, Ding Shi slid down the tree, hopped the wall, and headed back to the village chief's house. ... Day three! Ding Shi was awakened by pounding on the door. He checked the time: 9:30 AM. Opening the door, he saw the person knocking was the village chief, who immediately assigned a quest: "Xiao Ding, the Wang family sent someone to Grandma Wang's natal family first thing this morning to deliver the death notice, but they were beaten out. The other side said Grandma Wang severed ties with them long ago. Can you make a trip over there?" Ding Shi asked, "Village Chief, is your goal just for me to make the trip, or do you want me to bring Grandma Wang's natal family to the funeral?" The village chief said, "How can you speak like that, child? Of course it's to invite Grandma Wang's natal family over, otherwise the burial can't proceed smoothly." According to local custom, once the natal family arrived, they had to inspect the funeral proceedings. If they were dissatisfied with a single day of funeral rites and demanded a three-day, three-night Water and Land Deliverance Liturgy, the husband's family had to comply. At a time like this, the natal family held absolute authority. Ding Shi yawned. "I'll just head over to the village office and make a phone call." The village chief said, "Their village office won't even call them over for you." Ding Shi replied, "Village Chief, you have to believe there are more good people in this world." After speaking, Ding Shi first washed up and used the toilet. The village chief's daughter-in-law had left breakfast in the pot. Ding Shi thanked her, finished his breakfast, and headed to the nearby village office. Ding Shi cranked the telephone, reached the township switchboard, and asked the operator to connect him to Yutan Village. Before long, the call went through. "Hello, this is the Taoyuan Village office." The voice on the other end responded, "Go ahead." Ding Shi said, "Grandma Wang passed away yesterday..." The other person cut him off. "She was already expelled from the genealogy." Ding Shi said, "Oh. Is that so? Before Grandma Wang passed away yesterday, she asked our village office to hand over a jewelry box to her natal family. I wanted to ask if she still has any natal relatives. If not, we'll dispose of the jewelry box on her behalf." The other person answered immediately, "Yes, she does! She does!" Ding Shi said, "Wasn't she expelled from the genealogy? Goodbye." He hung up the phone. On the other end, the caller slammed down the receiver, rallied friends and kin, boarded a tractor, and charged menacingly toward Taoyuan Village. When they entered Taoyuan Village, the system notified Ding Shi that his quest was completed. Reasoning with people never worked as well as talking money.