Chinese Ghost Fables 1 (4 page)

Undisturbed, the clerk-ghost grinned and reasoned with the hot-tempered visitor, "You are
very adamant, indeed. Even the Almighty, sometimes, will make mistakes. How could we,
the mediocre ghosts, be exempted? The world is not perfect. The wise will foresee, could
minimize, and would learn from their mistakes. Taking a notch down, the ordinary, which
most was the class that of us belonged to, can recognize and fix a mistake. It's only
common sense. At your age, you should understand this. Why do you keep rubbing in our
error? Your belligerent attitude is unhelpful and unappreciated. Please, save your invective.
It will only generate heat, smoke, and aggravate an issue. People need a beam of light to
guide them through the realm of the rationale, not inundated in the sea of accusations. Be
more constructive and focus only on resolving problems."
Mr. Han was suddenly awakened with sweat all over his body.
13
WRONG NUMBER

Mr. Ton traveled to the provincial capital in order to attend a governmental exam. In the
middle of the trip, he checked in a small motel on the outskirts of the city. Not knowing his
room was possessed; he had an eerie experience with an otherworldly creature. At
midnight, he was disturbed and awakened by a long-haired female ghost. Furious and
ferocious, she grasped and torn down the curtains, picking up and ripping his books apart.
Flying and floating all over the room like a jittery butterfly, the belligerent ghost was howling
and wailing, on the top pitch of a soprano voice.

Mr. Ton was a brave and upright gentleman. Committing no misbehavior, either legally or
morally, he doesn't think the wicked could offend him at all.

Not afraid of this odd-looking and overly excited intruder, he dressed himself, calmly sat
down and politely inquired, "To whom am I having the honor to get acquaintance with? I
don't know about my prior lifetime, however, in this life, I never did any unethical thing."
With bewilderment, this otherworldly creature showed a trace of exhaustion in her
paper-white face. She suddenly discontinued her vandalism, with eyes widely opened and
menacingly stared at Mr. Ton in disbelief, questioning. "Aren't you in room 47?"

Amused, he shook his head, beamed a smile and responded, "No, maiden. I'm afraid that
you destroyed the wrong room. This is room 49."

Obviously embarrassed, the female ghost sincerely apologized. With great effort and
labor, she carefully returned those damaged objects to their proper locations. Dejected,
she flew away. The next day, Mr. Ton heard that a renter who was staying in room 47 had
suffered a heart attack and was dead.

Mr. Ton is hapless in a very small way. Brave and upright, he dared to defend himself
and challenge the authority of an imprudent ghost. His loss was trivial; only a few books.
Otherwise, his soul might have been fetched by mistake.
14
CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Several highwaymen tried to rob and chase after a traveler. With great difficulty and
effort, he escaped and hid himself in a mountain. However, that night, under a full moon, he
surprisingly observed a ghost standing against an aged cottonwood. Frightened and
startled, he couldn't hold himself still and fell to the ground. Holding his head down with
both hands and avoiding eye contact with the otherworldly creature, he breathed carefully
and dared not to make any sounds. He made himself as inconspicuous as possible. In a
murmur, he prayed that ghost won't notice him and would quietly fly away.

The ghost detected the stranger and inquired, with amazement and curiosity, "Who is
there?"

 

Trembling and shivering, he stammered, "I'm afraid that I am only a man. I fear ghosts."

The ghost cackled and remarked, "Why are you afraid of our kind? We live in different
dimensions and have almost no connection with your kind at all. You don't need to fear us
and you wouldn't understand a ghost anyway. As long as we don't have a common desire,
we wouldn't compete with each other and couldn't become opponents. You are always
competing with your own kind, you human beings. You and I have no conflict of interest.
Why should you be afraid of me? You are running away from other persons, not from
otherworldly creatures." With an expression of disdain mixed with aloofness, the ghost
patiently preached and soberly vanished into darkness.
15
MAYOR GOO'S ADVISER

Mayor Goo's adviser woke up at midnight. Under a full moon, the room temperature
suddenly dropped down and became a little chilly, which was an indication of the visit of an
otherworldly creature.

From the light that was reflecting through the paper-pasted window panels, he could
vaguely observed a young woman sitting on a chair beside a tea table in his room, "Oh! Are
you a ghost? My God! Help! Please, someone come to save me," Horrified, he hysterically
shrieked.

"Don't be ridiculous!" The mysterious visitor, with contempt and detachment, made a
gesture of silence. She shot him an impatient side-glance, mocking. "Shut up! You coward!
I have lived in this room for centuries. We belong to different worlds and have co-existed in
harmony for many years. You couldn't and – rather, you shouldn't see me. By accident, you
perceive my existence tonight. No big deal! What is wrong with you, making a scene out of
such trivial inconsequence?"

Not comprehending her explanation, this adviser was emotionally devastated and raved in
complete perplexity, "You are not a man at all but a spoiled toddler! Give me a fat break and
clam up!"

With annoyance, the ghost shook her head, smirked and continued, "If I really intended to
hurt you, nobody could save your life. You are well-read but you are not well-educated
person. In the bottom of your heart, you are mere a chicken-brained wimp!" After severe
reprimand, she stood up and neatly organized her clothes. Without further delay, the
female ghost flew through the paper windows - much like a breeze - and vanished in the
darkness.
16
TRUE EVIL

Mr. Ma's mansion was possessed. Weird things often occurred at night. Coming from
nowhere, stones and shingles were flying from different directions and hitting whoever
approaching this haunted house. From time to time, neighbors could clearly hear ghosts
moaning, screaming, wailing, and howling around midnight. A few people were even
molested by the otherworldly creatures. This strange atmosphere had continued for over a
year. Numerous exorcists were hired and had attempted fruitlessly to evict this nuisance.
Mr. Ma and his family couldn't tolerate it any longer and eventually, they moved out. This
house was on the market in a deep discount. However, no one dared to purchase a
possessed mansion. Mr. Ma started to rent this grandiose house out. All tenants moved out
after
a
short
duration.
They
couldn't
endure
the
monstrosity.
From
then
on,
this
richly-decorated mansion was ignored, gradually deteriorated and became a deserted
property. Weed invaded in the once flower-carpeted yard and spider webs occupied every
corner of the walls. It was so repellent that people would take a detour and avoid walking
near that haunted mansion. Not believing in supernatural and otherworldly creatures, an
old tutor bought this possessed mansion without hesitation. Of course, the price, which he
paid, was far below even the original construction costs.

From
the
day
that
he
moved
in,
strangely
enough,
the
disturbance
mysteriously
discontinued, "What a genuinely elucidated and well-admired gentleman!" Noticing the
unexpected change, neighbors vigorously gossiped with one another about it and highly
praised the new resident, "Even the dark creatures revere him and stop haunting that
house."

After a few months, some hooligans appeared and quarreled violently with that new
owner. During the past years, he had employed them to pretend to be ghosts, spirits, and
otherworldly creatures. Due to their laborious sabotage, they finally drove other residents
away. Learning that the tutor acquired that house in a great bargaining price, they also
wanted more money for their legwork. His conspiracy was exposed. Everybody looked
down upon and mocked at him.

An old educator heard the episode and remarked, "In stereotype, we often consider that
otherworldly creatures are low-life. Until today, I realized that this unscrupulous tutor, who
doesn't have a shred of integrity in his bones, is much worse than a ghost."

An evil-minded genius is worse than the dark creatures. For his personal gain, the
former actively and willingly calculated to do wickedness to others. That kind of egotistical
mentality is unforgivable. By nature, the later might harass star-crossed people. On the
other hand, if a ghost does kindness to other creatures or even human beings, he could
earn his way back to earth. True evil is from the heart and reflected to its misdeed, which
has no relationship toward the owner's status.

17
A FAKE HANGED GHOST

Lady Li was married and relocated to a neighboring village. One day, she heard that
her mother was in serious illness. Without notifying her husband, she hastily traveled back
to her native village alone. At midnight, on the road, under a crescent moon, she sensed a
stranger stalking her. With uneasiness and vigilance, she started to run. She thought that
stalker intended to rob and even rape her. The stranger also accelerated. They raced into
an uncultivated land, where are sprinkled with deserted or ill-maintained graves. Lady Li
cautiously hid herself under a cottonwood tree behind a weather-beaten tombstone.
Abruptly untying her long hair, muddling and placing it in front of her face, she released the
clothes belt, wrapped it around her neck, protruded her tongue, stood up, and menacingly
stared at the coming stranger. The stranger ran toward and unexpectedly observed a
hanged ghost glancing at him.

Howling and moaning to catch his attention, she sternly gestured him to sit beside her.
Frighten
and
flabbergasted,
he
collapsed
to
the
ground
and
immediately
lost
his
consciousness. Withholding her emotion and amazement, Lady Li resumed her trip. She
arrived at her mother's house and her folks were all startled, and they noticed her
grotesque appearance. Without any disturbance, she patiently explained the
whole
episode to them. Her family members were amused. A few days later, Lady Li heard a tale.
A young man was found lying on a deserted grave. He was insane.

An ill-minded person will allure troubles. Due to his own wicked intention, the young
man weakened his good energy and his body became susceptible. Noticing that, the black
creatures could explore it for his disadvantage. Evils invade and conquer the feeble.
Whether this malicious young man was bewildered and forfeited his sanity by a genuine
ghost, a female fox spirit, or by resourceful Lady Li is inconsequential. However, there is
one precious lesson that we should learn by heart: With or without the Almighty looking
over us from above, we must treat others as we have expected to be treated by them. Fair
and square is the name of the game. Otherwise, calamity will eventually catch up with you.
18
AN APPEAL JUDGE

In traditional China, central government would routinely dispatch judges to inspect
local government. On behave of an emperor; they often reviewed serious lawsuits and
man-slaughtered cases. An appeal judge, Mr. Tan, visited a remote province and, at night,
scrutinized the written testimonies of a homicide case. Vaguely discerning a wailing sound
from afar and gradually approaching his study room, he vigorously instructed one of his
bodyguards to go out and investigate. In a few minutes, he heard a loud bang. The
well-trained soldier collapsed and fainted on the ground. He cautiously peeked through the
edge of the curtain. The judge detected a ghost whose body was thoroughly covered with
blood kneeling on the backyard, a few feet away from his windows. How could a dark
creature dare to appear in front of the highly respected representative of an emperor?
What a rude breach of protocol? With vexation and annoyance, Judge Tan severely
reprimanded this otherworldly visitor.

The ghost respectfully bowed and explained, "Your Honor is reviewing my case. It is a
miscarriage of justice. I am the victim. The real murderer is so-and-so. Here is my proof. I
wouldn't be in peace if the offender is still at large." The judge promised to carefully study
this new evidence and re-exam this case. The ghost bowed again and politely left.

The next day, after meticulous examination, he found this evidence was collaborated
with the ghost's testimony. Convinced, he confidently changed the verdict and dispatched a
number of policemen to arrest and bring that alleged person to court. Without much effort,
that person was found guilty of the first-degree murder.
With indignation, the local judge
couldn't accept this outcome and violently argued with the royal representative. How could
this happen? One of judge Tan's intimate assistants felt suspicious and privately asked him
about the reason for his new judgment. He honestly revealed this episode.