The constables tried to appear calm as they patrolled the courtyard with torches. But when one of them reached the eastern corner, he discovered a string of wet footprints that had not been there before. They were tiny, like the imprints of an embroidered woman’s shoe, stretching from the base of the wall all the way to the main room. Yet not a single blade of the wild grass beneath them had been pressed down.
Even more horrifying, when the lantern light swept across the paper window of the main room, a blurry shadow appeared on it. The shadow had no head—only a swaying torso that slowly moved along the paper.
“D-Don’t make a sound…” someone stammered through chattering teeth, shrinking back into the corner.
The entire abandoned house fell silent. Only the wind whimpered outside, occasionally mingling with a faint rustling sound from somewhere nearby. It sounded like someone scraping their fingernails against the door—or like countless insects gnawing at the wood.
Cold sweat soaked everyone’s backs. They stared fixedly at the doorway, terrified that the next moment might bring the sight of something pushing open the rotten wooden door.
“Chief, this place… there’s something wrong with it.” A young constable edged closer, his voice trembling. “Why don’t we leave?”
“Leave? In the middle of the night, with the rain still coming down? Where do you suggest we go?” the constable captain snapped, spitting outside. The flecks of saliva mixed with mud and were instantly washed away by the rain. “There isn’t a village ahead or an inn behind us. If we spend the whole night out in this rain, half of these pampered gentlemen will probably drop dead! And when our superiors come looking for someone to blame, will you take responsibility?”
Just then, a light appeared in the distance and slowly drew nearer.
A hunched figure trembled into view at the entrance to the courtyard. It was an old man, so thin he looked like a bundle of firewood. He wore a tattered straw rain cape, and beneath his bamboo hat was a deeply wrinkled face. His eyes were cloudy, yet there was an indescribable shrewdness in them.
He carried a lantern covered with a layer of waterproof oiled cloth, casting a hazy glow.
His appearance on such a rainy night was deeply eerie.
“Who goes there?”
The constables gripped the swords at their waists, their expressions wary.
“Gentlemen, please don’t be alarmed. I’m the village chief. My surname is Sun. I came to warn you.” Village Chief Sun rubbed his hands together, his voice hoarse. “This place… isn’t safe.”
“Evil spirits caused trouble here years ago, and many people died. Everyone in the village moved away. You should… keep going and find somewhere else to rest.”
The constable captain struck a flame to light his torch. At those words, he lifted his eyelids and said irritably, “Find somewhere else? In these deserted mountains, where exactly do you expect us to go?”
Village Chief Sun was momentarily speechless. A glint of something difficult to detect flashed through his murky eyes. He moved a little closer and lowered his voice.
“Officer, I’m not trying to frighten you. This house… makes strange noises at night. It isn’t clean. A few refugees once spent the night here several years ago. The next morning… they had vanished without a trace.”
He did not speak loudly, but in the dead silence of the house, his words carried clearly into every corner.
Several of the more timid men immediately shrank back and glanced around in terror. Even a few of the constables looked grave.
The captain had lost patience. He waved a hand. “Enough. I’ve traveled all over the country. What kind of situation haven’t I seen? A few wandering ghosts think they can turn the world upside down? With me and the blades in my brothers’ hands here, even a dragon will coil up and a tiger will lie down. Now get out of here and stop disturbing our peace!”
Village Chief Sun opened his mouth as if he wanted to say more, but when he saw the captain’s hand resting on his sword hilt, he ultimately said nothing. With a sigh, he turned around, hunched over, and disappeared into the hazy curtain of rain.
Cheng Yao leaned against the cold wall with her eyes closed, but sleep would not come.
There was something strange about the village chief’s appearance, and his words seemed to carry a hidden meaning.
It was the dead of night, the rain had not stopped, and everyone was exhausted. Under ordinary circumstances, no one would have left.
Yet he had gone out of his way to come through the rain and urge them to leave, repeatedly emphasizing that the house was haunted. It was all far too deliberate—and completely unnecessary.
Cheng Yao could not figure it out. She heard Zhan Haoting speak to Xiao Fu in an almost inaudible voice.
“Stay alert tonight. Guard the entire clan.”
“Yes, General.” Xiao Fu hesitated, then asked, “What do you make of Village Chief Sun?”
“For now, we observe and wait. The human heart is treacherous. Keep your guard up.”
“Yes, General.”
The night pressed down like cotton soaked through with ink.
The rain had weakened, but it had not stopped. Drop by drop, it tapped against the broken roof tiles, like countless little demons whispering among themselves.
The constables took turns standing watch. Most of the prisoners huddled in the corners, wrapped in their cold, damp clothes as they tried to sleep. But fear and chill made sleep a luxury.
Every so often, a muffled sob could be heard, only to vanish into the sound of the rain.
It was just past midnight when even the constables on watch began to doze.
Then the crying started again.
At first it was very soft, like a woman’s sobbing, broken and intermittent. Gradually, it grew clearer, mournful and anguished, as though filled with endless grievance. It echoed through the empty residence, chilling everyone to the bone.
Everyone was jolted awake, and a commotion spread through the darkness as panic filled the air.
“A ghost! There’s a ghost!” someone shrieked, his voice breaking with tears.
“Shut up!” The captain had been roused as well. He stood with his sword in hand and shouted harshly, “Who’s playing tricks? Show yourself!”
The only response was the increasingly heartrending sobbing—and it was drawing closer.
Then a ball of eerie green ghost fire drifted past the broken window lattice, casting a sickly green pallor over everyone’s faces.
The screams erupted one after another.
The captain led two of the bolder constables outside, cursing as they went to investigate.
The crying and ghost fire seemed to move farther away, but neither disappeared. They continued to drift around the courtyard.
Amid the confusion, Cheng Yao moved to the window and peered outside through the broken frame.
Rain fell in silvery threads, and the courtyard was pitch-black. The ghost fire flickered unpredictably, while the crying seemed to come from first one direction and then another.
But when a flash of lightning split the night sky, she thought she saw the grass near the distant corner of the wall stir. It did not look as though the wind had moved it. Rather, it looked as if someone had crouched low and hurried past.
The captain and the others searched the grounds but found nothing. They returned in foul spirits, drenched to the skin and looking even more grim.
Putting on a show of calm, he reassured everyone that it had only been a feral cat calling for a mate, and that they had set the fire themselves. He told everyone to stop frightening themselves.
But the seeds of fear had already been planted.
No one could sleep peacefully after that.
The rain, the wind—every faint sound made their hearts jolt with terror.
Just before dawn, the rain finally dwindled to a stop, leaving only the steady patter of water dripping from the eaves.
Just as everyone began to relax, an utterly bloodcurdling scream suddenly rang out from the adjacent side room.
“Ah! Someone’s dead!”
Everyone leapt to their feet in shock.
The captain rushed over with the constables. Soon, muffled cries of alarm and retching came from inside the room.
The dead man was the young constable who had urged the captain to leave the village the night before.
He lay on his back, eyes bulging wide, filled with utter terror.
