Chapter 2: Poem about Plum Blossoms and Spring Rain

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  The mandarin duck girl also came to support, saying: "Young master, don't scare Mei Cai, she's just a little maid of over ten years old, how can she withstand this kind of ordeal, it will be bad for her, and the Dragon God will not let it pass."

  The mandarin duck girl opened her mouth, and Wei Gongzi finally lifted his thick legs, panting heavily as he sat down, his eyes wide with bloodshot eyes, sunken in, looking very haggard, still muttering to himself: "What's good about this, I'm doomed..."

  The mandarin duck princess hastily asked: "Young master, why haven't you been seen for several days? You've become so disheveled. Although I'm not talented, I'd like to share your worries."

  Wei Gongzi let out a sigh, his hand slightly trembling as he pointed. Luan'er quickly brought over a cup of warm wine and Wei Gongzi picked it up, downing it in one gulp to calm his nerves. However, his face still showed a hint of fear: "This...I'm afraid you won't believe me, but I almost got eaten by ghosts..." As he spoke, his whole body began to shake like sieved flour.

  "What ghosts?" The Mandarin duck girl and her maid Lian'er exchanged a glance, hastily asking: "Young master, where did you see them?"

  Wei Gongzi seemed to be parched, and with great effort swallowed a mouthful of saliva, saying: "I didn't want to say it, afraid of scaring you all. I thought that if we see something strange, the strangeness will defeat itself. But now, I really can't bear the shock, and my appetite is gone, almost unable to hold on. That ghost... is in the back garden of the Smoke Rain Pavilion."

  I deliver night snacks every evening and often pass by the backyard, but I've never seen anything strange. Besides, I'm a person who loves to watch lively scenes and interfere with trivial matters. My mother always says that even when chickens are fighting at the entrance of the alley, I'll go forward to take a look. So, how could I not ask about this big matter? As soon as I heard it, I hastily asked: "What did the ghost you saw look like?"

  Wei Gongzi hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice: "That day, I was riding my horse back home from the Smoke and Rain Pavilion. As I was riding, I heard something whizzing behind me, accompanied by the sound of wind, making a 'whoosh... whoosh...' noise. It sounded like something was being thrown at me. When I turned around to scold whoever it was, I saw that it was actually a rotting human head, staring at me with eyes as big as fists, flying towards me from the back garden. I was so frightened that my soul almost left my body. In my panic, I spurred my horse on, and we galloped all the way home. I didn't dare look back, but kept hearing the 'whoosh... whoosh...' sound of something cutting through the air. When I arrived home, one of the servants heard my call and opened the door. The lights were bright, and only then did I work up the courage to turn around and take a look. But there was nothing there - just an empty, dark space."

  "Can you really see clearly that day? Didn't you mistake something else for a human head?" Although I'm just a 15-year-old little girl, I've always been fond of listening to strange and bizarre stories. Even if they come every night, I have to deliver the pastries ordered by the Smoke Rain Pavilion at our family's pastry shop, which means I have to take the night road. But whenever I hear these things, I still can't move my feet, I have to listen until I'm satisfied.

  Wei Gongzi was startled and said, "I naturally also only wish I had misseen it, but that night, while I was sleeping soundly, I vaguely heard a hissing sound by my ear... The rotten head was hanging right in front of me, just a few inches away, spewing out some foul-smelling air from its mouth, and seemed to be gasping for breath. To be ashamed to say, I was so scared that my crotch got wet, but I couldn't move at all. I wanted to scream loudly, but no sound came out, and could only stare at the head hanging in front of me for who knows how long, until it suddenly disappeared into thin air with a satisfied expression...

  The mandarin duck girl also took a cold breath: "Young master, aren't you having a nightmare? It's so scary, did the madam see it too?"

  Wei Gongzi's big head shook like a rattle drum: "Absolutely not, since that one time, I always see that rotten human head hanging above my head when I wake up at night. From time to time, I can even feel the head sucking in air towards me, and the smell is unbearable..." Wei Gongzi's face showed a look of nausea: "My mother, the old tigress, sleeps beside me, but whenever that head comes at midnight, I am paralyzed with fear and cannot move. My mother, however, snores loudly, sleeping soundly. I couldn't make a sound or wake her up, so I had to wait for the head to finish sucking in air before it disappeared... When dawn broke, I trembled with fear as I told my mother about it, but she just said that I was being punished for coming to this street and..." Wei Gongzi sighed, carefully looking at Yuanyang girl: "for being seduced by a fox spirit, thinking too much, and having nightmares is also self-inflicted."

  The mandarin duck girl, although pale as paper from fright, having experienced more, was still calm and advised: "Since the lady can't see, there will inevitably be some misunderstandings. If the lady doesn't want the young master to come to the Smoke Rain Pavilion, then he should come less often!"

  Luan'er heard this and was so frightened that she stuck close to me, trembling like a leaf: "Wei Gongzi, could it be... is a ghost sucking away your yang energy?"

  Wei Gongzi nodded hastily and said, "I also suspected as much. Ever since I encountered this strange affair, my spirit has been worsening day by day. My whole body aches, I have no strength at all. Whoever sees me can't help but ask if I've contracted an illness. If things go on like this, I'm afraid that man will suck the life out of me..."

  "Wei Gongzi hasn't come for so long, I thought he had found a new love and didn't want to come anymore! Who would have thought that something strange like this would happen." Yuanyang said with forced calmness.

  Wei Gongzi hastily said: "Where is that, the person's head was tied up on this side of the Smoke and Rain Pavilion. I didn't dare to come again, but I invited countless Taoist priests and monks, and they chanted scriptures and beat gongs and drums, reciting incantations endlessly, but it had no effect. I heard people on the street say that Mei Cai, this little maid, is the messenger of the Dragon God, so I came to ask her to pray for me, and it will definitely work. That's why I'm brave enough to come here, and I won't leave until I've asked Mei Cai to think of a solution for me, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda!" He almost kowtowed as he spoke.

  I hastily helped up Wei Gongzi and repeatedly said, "This can't be, it's a disaster for Mei Cai! You've always treated Mei Cai well, so Mei Cai will definitely ask the Dragon God to protect you!"

  Wei Gongzi was overjoyed, as if he had taken a tranquilizer, and thanked me profusely. He didn't even bother to finish his tea, but instead urged me to accompany him immediately to the Longshen Temple to offer prayers.

  Luan'er's face turned pale as she asked: "Mei Cai, you've been serving the Dragon God for so long, have you ever heard of such a thing?"

  "I hastily replied, 'Neighbors and fellow villagers who ask me to pray for the Dragon God's protection, are mostly hoping for wealth and prosperity, or an early birth of a noble son, or topping the imperial examination. But encountering such a strange event is a first for me.'"