Chapter 2

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Chapter 2: Old Grave Mountain

The Impermanence messengers aren’t here to claim Xu Yan’s life, but rather his master Xu Daoyuan’s life.

His master’s time should have come long ago—this much Xu Yan knows clearly, because his master’s body is truly too weak. But he doesn’t want to lose the old Taoist he depends on for survival. So from the age of nine, when he first saw the Impermanence messengers outside the temple, he began venturing into the mountains alone. Spending an entire day and night, risking being carried off by wild wolves, he finally found a wild ginseng root over a hundred years old. The old Taoist’s life has been sustained by these ginseng roots that Xu Yan finds every so often.

This has continued for a full six years!

The appearances of Black and White Impermanence have been getting shorter and shorter. Just last month, Xu Yan had found a ginseng root in the mountains, but unexpectedly, the Impermanence messengers who usually appeared every three to five months have returned after only one month.

Riding Clouds Temple houses statues of the Three Pure Ones. For Taoist practitioners, the Impermanence messengers show respect and won’t act unreasonably. Each time they wait quietly outside the temple, waiting for the old Taoist’s lifespan to run out. And every time Xu Yan sees the Impermanence messengers, he inevitably ventures into the mountains to search for ginseng.

This time is no exception.

Old Grave Mountain is the name of a barren mountain. When elderly people from Linshan Town who have no descendants pass away, the townspeople bury them on this barren mountain. As more and more graves appeared on the mountain over time, it gradually came to be called Old Grave Mountain.

“Xu Yan, are you afraid of ghosts? You always wrap a red string around your wrist when going into the mountains.”

A half-grown boy surnamed Li says disdainfully, clearly mocking Xu Yan for being too timid. His family is considered wealthy in Linshan Town and never lacks meat, so going into the mountains is just for fun and play.

“Who says Brother Yan is afraid of ghosts? Brother Yan isn’t scared at all!”

A little girl named Xiao Hua traveling with them wrinkles her nose in defense of Xu Yan. The little girl has just turned ten and is the youngest among these youths. Her coarse cloth dress drags on the ground—obviously hand-me-downs from her older sister. She’s thin and sallow, looking more like six or seven years old.

Being contradicted by a little girl, the fifteen or sixteen-year-old Li boy immediately says with displeasure: “If he’s not afraid, why does he wrap red string around his wrist? My mother said red string wards off evil—he’s clearly afraid of ghosts!”

“Alright, alright, who isn’t afraid of ghosts? Look, I’m wearing red string too.”

A slightly older, sturdy boy raises his hand. Indeed, there’s red string around his wrist too, though it’s very old and the red color is barely visible. His name is Tie Zhu, the blacksmith’s son, and he leads these children whenever they go into the mountains.

“Your red string is from when you were sick as a child—it’s worn so much the color’s gone,” the Li boy obviously knows the origin of Tie Zhu’s red string and says indignantly. “Xu Yan’s red string is always new—he’s just timid!”

On the mountain path, the young boys chatter away, discussing matters of courage and cowardice. Xu Yan walks at the back, listening with a smile, never arguing or rarely interjecting, looking somewhat foolish.

All the children in Linshan Town know about Xu Yan’s habit of spilling water along the way, so everyone thinks this little Taoist from Riding Clouds Temple is somewhat simple-minded. However, Xu Yan’s stone-throwing skills are indeed impressive. Catching wild rabbits in the mountains is very difficult without setting traps beforehand. Only with Xu Yan present can these young people avoid returning empty-handed. As for being brave or timid, it doesn’t really matter.

Perhaps the ongoing argument has stirred up anger, because by the time they reach the foot of the mountain, the Li boy’s face is red and his neck is thick. He doesn’t care what others say, but he can’t stand little Xiao Hua’s earnest defense and Xu Yan’s constant foolish grin.

At the foot of the mountain, the Li boy points to the graves covering the hillside and demands: “Xu Yan, tell me, are you afraid of ghosts or not?”

His loud shouting makes all the other youths somewhat unhappy, because once wild rabbits are startled, they’ll all run away. These youths who regularly catch rabbits all know the saying about cunning rabbits having three burrows.

Under the other’s loud questioning, Xu Yan still wears that simple-minded smile and says: “Afraid. Aren’t you afraid of ghosts?”

“I—I’m not as timid as you!” To bolster his courage, the Li boy’s voice gets even louder, and the words “timid” echo through the mountain forest.

Xu Yan still wears his somewhat foolish smile and says slowly: “Granny Zhang from East Street passed away just three days ago and was also buried on Old Grave Mountain. I used to often hear Granny Zhang tell stories about fox spirits and ghost women. I’m afraid of encountering Granny Zhang’s ghost in the mountains, so I tied on the red string.”

At the mention of the recently deceased Granny Zhang, not only the Li boy but the other youths also feel somewhat uneasy. However, these young people often chop wood or hunt rabbits on Old Grave Mountain, which is full of graves, and there are many of them, so while they feel uneasy, they’re not too frightened.

To prove his bravery, the Li boy lifts his head and says: “I’ve heard way more ghost stories than you. I’m not afraid at all. You just have to shout loudly and all the ghosts and spirits will be scared away! Woo! Ah!”

The Li boy’s random shouting at the foot of the mountain annoys everyone else. With someone like this along, it would be strange if they could catch any rabbits today.

After the other’s shouting, Xu Yan’s smile gradually fades, and his eyebrows furrow imperceptibly.

Xu Yan doesn’t care about rabbits at all. His purpose for entering the mountains is to search for ginseng. Scaring away rabbits is a small matter, but if he scares away the ginseng spirits that possess spiritual energy, this trip would be wasted.

Ginseng roots over a hundred years old all develop ginseng spirits. Others can’t see them, but Xu Yan can.

If old ginseng has no spirit, its medicinal effect is reduced by more than half and can’t sustain Xu Daoyuan’s life. The red string around Xu Yan’s wrist is used to catch ginseng spirits. Only by binding them with red string can the ginseng spirits be imprisoned within the old ginseng.

Helplessly rubbing his head, Xu Yan stops the Li boy’s random shouting and asks: “Since you’re not afraid of ghosts, have you heard the last story that Granny Zhang told?”

“The—the last story?” the Li boy asks puzzledly. “Was it about the fox spirit lord breaking into the government office at night to save the wrongly imprisoned, or the snow woman giving gold to help a scholar succeed in the imperial examinations?”

Xu Yan shakes his head and says in a somewhat low voice: “It seems you haven’t heard it. It’s not about fox spirits or snow women, but about painted flatbread.”

Granny Zhang from East Street had no children and loved telling ghost stories to others. Most of these half-grown youths had heard stories told by Granny Zhang, but no one had heard this story about painted flatbread. So the curious children began urging Xu Yan to tell the story of the painted flatbread. Xu Yan doesn’t refuse and begins narrating in a slightly low voice.

“A scholar traveling to the capital for examinations passed through a very, very long graveyard. He walked and walked but could never reach the end. Hungry and frightened, an old woman appeared before the scholar and asked if he wanted a drink of water. In his fear, the scholar didn’t dare drink water from a graveyard, shook his head and said he wasn’t thirsty. The old woman heard his stomach rumbling, so she asked if he wanted some freshly baked flatbread. The scholar was truly too hungry, so he thanked her and took the flatbread, eating as he walked. When he took the first bite, he found his left ear couldn’t hear anything. After the second bite, his right ear couldn’t hear either. After the third and fourth bites, his eyes couldn’t see. After eating ten bites, only a mouth remained on the scholar’s face—his nose, eyes, and ears had all vanished!”

Xu Yan pauses slightly here, and the youths listening to the story all swallow simultaneously. The Li boy stands challengingly in front of Xu Yan, curling his lips. Though his legs tremble somewhat, he still acts as if he’s not afraid of this story at all.

“When the scholar turned over the half-eaten flatbread…” Xu Yan’s voice becomes even lower, saying somewhat eerily, “his own face appeared on that half of the bread. He was holding his own face, eating it as if it were flatbread.”

The somewhat frightening story, especially beside a graveyard, scares all the surrounding youths considerably. The Li boy standing directly in front of Xu Yan is so frightened his face turns pale, yet he still pretends to be calm.

Xu Yan smiles and turns around, saying: “I also think it’s not scary at all. How can there be ghosts in this world? After Granny Zhang finished telling this story this morning, I even laughed and said it wasn’t scary at all…”

After Xu Yan turns and says this, the Li boy behind him starts chattering his teeth, his face pale without a trace of color.

Xu Yan’s story isn’t really that scary, but Granny Zhang from East Street died three days ago—why would she still be telling stories this morning?

Turning his back, Xu Yan takes something from his chest, rubs his head, then suddenly turns around.

In his hand is a flatbread with a gap in it. The gap has been bitten off by something, but the shape isn’t what a human mouth could bite—it’s somewhat elongated, and the edges of the gap are covered with long tooth marks.

“Strange, my flatbread—who took a bite out of it?”

Xu Yan looks down at his flatbread in puzzlement, then raises his head expressionlessly and asks the Li boy in front of him blankly: “Do you know?”

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“Pig Eats Tiger” (猪吃虎)

This is a Chinese idiom that refers to someone who appears weak or foolish but is actually very capable or cunning. It’s similar to the English expression “wolf in sheep’s clothing” but with a more positive connotation, suggesting hidden strength or intelligence rather than deception.

Ghost Messengers (鬼差 – Guichai)

In Chinese mythology and folk religion, ghost messengers are supernatural beings who work for the underworld bureaucracy. They are responsible for various duties related to death and the afterlife, including collecting souls, delivering messages between the world of the living and the dead, and maintaining order in the spiritual realm.

Yin and Yang Worlds

The concept of “unclean things” (不干净的东西) refers to supernatural entities that exist between the world of the living (Yang) and the world of the dead (Yin). In Chinese cosmology, these entities can sometimes be perceived by individuals with special spiritual sensitivity.

Three Pure Ones (三清 – Sanqing)

The Three Pure Ones are the highest deities in Taoism, representing the three aspects of the Tao. They are: Yuanshi Tianzun (Original Beginning Heavenly Venerable), Lingbao Tianzun (Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Venerable), and Daode Tianzun (Moral Virtue Heavenly Venerable, also known as Laozi). Temples dedicated to them are considered sacred spaces that even supernatural entities respect.

Red String Protection (红绳辟邪)

In Chinese folk belief, red strings or threads are powerful protective talismans against evil spirits and supernatural entities. They are commonly worn around the wrist, ankle, or neck. The color red is considered auspicious and has the power to ward off negative spiritual influences.

Flatbread (大饼 – Dabing)

A traditional Chinese flatbread, typically round and unleavened. In ghost stories, food offered by supernatural entities often has sinister properties, representing the danger of accepting gifts from the spirit world.