Strong Winds Return Home

All the torches in the city went after the scream. There was still candlelight in the houses of several families, but they were all blown out at this time. Except for the footsteps and shouts of officers and soldiers, there was no trace of human activity in the entirety of Huaizhen.

Liang Shu knocked outside: “Have you been frightened?”

Liu Xian’an slammed the door open with his heart beating hard, and saw the figures of several guards disappear in a flash. 

“Gao Lin has taken people over to investigate,” Liang Shu said. “I saw that the lights in your room were still on, so I came over to have a look. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, just a little alarmed.” He couldn’t sleep anymore after encountering this incident. Liu Xian’an asked, “Can I go over and have a look?”

Liang Shu smiled: “Of course. It’s cold outside, so put on some thicker clothing first.”

A-Ning had no objection to this, and carried a small medicine box when he went out. Whether it was a human or a ghost, to be able to scream in such a voice, it was likely that they were seriously injured. The three men rode two horses all the way to the north of the city to find out what had happened. Officials were gathered beneath a tree in an open space, and someone called: “Hurry, go get Doctor Ma!”

Liu Xian’an said: “Let’s go have a look.”

A-Ning dismounted the horse and ran all the way: “Where is the patient? I’m a doctor!”

His young voice was crisp and clear, and everyone followed it, wondering when such a foreigner had come to the city. Gao Lin was also at the scene, and brought A-Ning under the tree, saying: “The one who screamed just now should be this auntie. She’s sweating profusely and too faint to wake up.”

A-Ning nimbly gave her acupuncture. At this time, a man who looked like a minor leader of the troops came over to ask Gao Lin’s identity. He heard they were just passing Huaizhen on their way south, and said: “This city is haunted by ghosts, and the young masters are brave enough to run outside in such a situation.”

Gao Lin glanced at him: “My young master is a doctor who specializes in snatching lives from the King of Hell. If he was afraid of ghosts, he would not be able to do his job.”

Just as they were talking, Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an also came over. The little boss saw their looks and demeanor and was inwardly surprised, but said nothing more and took on a respectful attitude. Liu Xian’an knelt down and used two fingers to lift the auntie’s eyelid, saying: “Panic sickness. She fainted due to fright.”

“This……did she see the female ghost again?” Someone in the crowd murmured.

“Most likely, ba. This Aunt Mou is quite courageous. She has never lost a fight, and most people couldn’t scare her into fainting.”

“Ai, ai, she’s waking up!”

Mou Chuihua said “aiyo” a few times and opened her eyes, only to see the shining golden lights in front of her. The corners of her mouth twitched a few times, and the people around hurriedly called her name to prevent her from fainting again. The little boss fetched water and poured it for her. Mou Cuihua waited for a long time before barely managing to sit up. Liu Xian’an also wanted to go take a look at her, but was blocked by Liang Shu’s hand as he spoke to the side: “This auntie won’t be very sober at first. If she gets a look at you, I fear she will really think she has ascended to heaven to see the immortals, so just stand there and don’t move.”

Liu Xian’an: “…….”

That is also fine.

The two stood in the crowd, listening to the questioning of the little boss. Mou Cuihua pinched her thigh and said in a trembling voice: “I saw a ghost, I really saw a ghost. It was the daughter of Lao Wan’s family, covered in blood.”

The city was haunted, and every house closed when the sun went down. Mou Cuihua was no exception, but she had a son who was working in a foreign place and was unsure when he would return home.

“I was sleeping well when I suddenly heard someone calling for their mother in my ear. I thought it was Shuan Zi coming back, so I got up in a daze and went to open the door for him, only to see a female ghost floating in the sky.”

She had been wearing a dirty dress, bleeding from the head and face, with no eyeballs in the two dark sockets, just staring straight at her. Mou Chihua’s screams woke up half the city.

Nine out of ten female ghosts in the stories looked like this, which was not unusual. But what was strange was that Mou Cuihua fell asleep at home comfortably, so why was she tricked out by the ghost knocking on the door and calling for mother? Gao Lin asked, “Auntie Mou, have you ever offended anyone?”

Mou Cuihua’s face paled: “I quarreled with her father twice, but who in his city hasn’t quarreled with Wan Gui? Besides, that girl ate at my house for a long time when she was a child, and I paid for the doctor twice when she was sick, so how could I have offended her?”

“It also can’t be said that you didn’t offend her, ba,” an elderly clerk chimed in. “Didn’t you want that girl to marry your son? Later, Lao Wan disagreed, and you were chewing your tongue behind her back.”

Mou Chihua was left speechless, and felt wronged, so she simply pretended to be short of breath and refused to speak a word, and everyone helped her to her house first.

The officers who went to search elsewhere also returned at this time, and all said they had found nothing.

Liu Xian’an said: “If the female ghost cannot be caught, will there never be peace in this city?”

An old officer whispered to him: “Our lord has already reported this matter to the head commander of the Southwest Garrison. The army will arrive in Huaizhen City in a few days, and passage in or out will only be stricter at that time. Get out of town earlier, ba, why bother to join in this gloomy excitement, it’s so frightening.”

As he spoke, he chased off the rest of the people and continued his night patrol. The open space was quiet again. Liang Shu asked Gao Lin to bring A-Ning back to the inn, and said to Liu Xian’an: “If you don’t want to go to sleep, I’ll take you around the city again. Are you cold?”

“Not too cold.” Liu Xian’an clasped his hands. “Looking at the reaction of the aunt just now, it didn’t seem like she was hallucinating after taking medicine, nor did she seem to have any mental problems. She probably really saw something.”

Liang Shu wrapped the cloak tightly for him. This was a new one bought by A-Ning on the road, and was not expensive, but was thick and light, with a ring of fur on the neckline that made Second Young Master Liu’s face look more like a crown of jade. There was a little more gentleness and delicacy that was not revealed when wrapped in a big robe — he went from the unrestrained Sleeping Immortal in the bamboo grove running barefoot, to a Sleeping Immortal who had been raised well in a beautiful palace within the bamboo forest.

Liu Xian’an was pondering the haunting. His blood prickled, and he was so engrossed in his thoughts that when he looked up and met His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s gentle gaze, he was as frightened as if he had heard the ghostly cry just now: “Your Highness?”

Liang Shu raised his eyebrows: “En?”

Liu Xian’an waved his hand in front of him, probing, “Is the prince listening to me about the haunting?”

“No.” Liang Shu grasped his fingertips. “You have been telling me to rest more and use my brain less. Now that I am resting, you are urging me on again. How can there be such a doctor?”

Liu Xian’an explained: “I didn’t urge you.” I just asked.

It was fine to rest now. Anyway, if they wanted to ask questions, they would have to wait until tomorrow. He said: “Then I’ll also take a break.”

Liang Shu really liked his righteous laziness, and it may be that beauty was in the eye of the beholder. After all, if Lieutenant General Gao put on airs and said “I want to take a break,” His Royal Highness Xiao Wang would probably kick this person back to the military camp to continue working. But if it was Second Young Master Liu, this sort of behavior exuded cuteness everywhere. Not to mention resting for a while, even if he rested for a lifetime, a big bed could be set up in Xiao Wang Palace immediately.

Liu Xian’an’s mind was empty, and he followed Liang Shu aimlessly. A city that was haunted was naturally not worth seeing, but he still thought it was good to take a stroll like this. His thoughts inadvertently drifted eight thousand li away. Liang Shu saw it out of the corner of his eyes and warned: “Look at the road.”

Liu Xian’an immediately twisted his foot.

Liang Shu quickly grabbed his arm and didn’t let go. With someone pulling him, Second Young Master Liu was increasingly free to look at the road, then he simply closed his eyes and staggered along. Although every step was like stepping into the unknown, he also knew that he would never fall. This sense of being on the boundary of the known and the unknown was something he had never experienced before, and was quite novel. He took another big step forward, but Liang Shu grabbed the back of his collar.

“Hm?”

“Don’t run around.”

In front of him was an old house with a big lock. The building itself was not large, and the steps were covered in dust. Liu Xian’a’n returned to his senses: “The south of the city. Is this the new house built by the Wan father and daughter?”

“Yes,” Liang Shu said. “Let’s go inside and have a look.”

Going in to have a look was fine. Liu Xian’an said: “It turns out the prince has finished resting so soon.”

Liang Shu smiled: “Watching you walk with your eyes closed is also considered resting, we just happened to come here.”

He took the other party’s waist and easily jumped up the wall, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Liu Xian’an also glimpsed the clue. There seemed to be somebody in the opposite room, and under the moonlight, they suddenly disappeared.

Liang Shu signaled him to keep quiet, and the two of them landed soundlessly in the courtyard, then quickly disappeared into a dark space. As for the dark space, it was naturally not very spacious. Liu Xian’an clung tightly to Liang Shu’s arms. He only felt his heart beating and the other person’s heart beating, and his ears rang, so he turned his head to the other side and tried to see a ghost to calm down.

It turned out there was no ghost.

Liang Shu pressed his back: “Don’t move around.”

Liu Xian’an thought, but the distance between us is too close.

They were so close that he could hear the other breathing next to his ear, and the entire patch of skin there was hot. At this moment, Liang Shu also noticed the temperature rising from his ears. They were bright red, and didn’t look like they belonged to a forty-eight thousand year-old man. He laughed softly.

His laugh made Second Young Master Liu become increasingly uneasy. Why are we spying like this? Shouldn’t it be very tense and exciting? I mean, not this sort of tense and exciting. He gathered up his cloak a little, but accidentally knocked down a pile of rotten wood in the corner. It clattered, but there was no immediate movement in the room.

Now that they had been exposed, Liang Shu did not continue to hide, and led Liu Xian’an to push open the door: “Come out!”

The other party did not show himself, and there were only a few inaudible breaths in the room. After a while, a black figure suddenly jumped up and rushed toward the window, but was hit on the calf by a flash of silver light and fell back into the room, numb all over.

Under the moonlight, it could be clearly seen that the other party was a young man. He dragged his half-paralyzed body and looked at the two people in front of him vigilantly: “Who are you?”

Liang Shu said: “Looks like you have a bit of skill. Are you the one pretending to be a ghost?”

“What pretending to be a ghost? I’m here to catch a ghost.” The young man stood up limply. “You two strangers, why did you run into this haunted courtyard?”

“Coincidentally, we are also here to catch a ghost.” Liang Shu asked, “May we have your name?”

“Liu Meng.”[1] The young man guessed, “Are you the wizard invited by Yu-daren from a foreign country?” After speaking, he frowned. “Forget it, you don’t look like it.”

He moved his legs twice. “I must leave as soon as possible. If the officials find out, they will interrogate me for a long time, and I’ll get in trouble with my mother. I’m not a bad person, and you don’t look like bad people either. Since everyone is catching ghosts based on their ability, then today’s matter is over, and no one should say anything about it.”

[1] This is a different Liu. Liu Meng uses the 刘 character for Liu, and Liu Xian’an uses the 柳 character. ⮐