Chapter 4: Seeing Ghosts in Broad Daylight

I glanced at the time on my ticket—there was still more than an hour to wait. Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to go outside and take another look at the old man with the street stall, curious to see why he acted so strangely. But when I stepped out, he was no longer at the spot where I'd seen him earlier. That was odd—how could he have packed up and left so quickly?

Spotting the woman who had been selling breakfast nearby, I walked over and asked, "Auntie, do you know where the old man with the street stall went?"

Her answer surprised me. "What old man with a street stall? It was you talking to thin air earlier that startled me."

Talking to thin air? Did that mean the old man was a ghost? Good grief, can you really see ghosts in broad daylight?

"But now that you mention it," she added, "I do recall someone who used to set up shop there, but he passed away more than half a year ago."

I... I didn't want to listen any longer. "Thank you, auntie!" I hurriedly turned and made my way back toward the station.

But I'd only taken a few steps when I saw the old man again. He looked just as stern as before. "Didn't I tell you to leave? Why are you back?"

"You... aren't you dead? How can you—"

"You're the dead one! You must have asked that breakfast woman, didn't you? She's the dead one. Otherwise, why do you think no one ever buys her breakfast?" he barked.

I turned to look, but the breakfast vendor had vanished, along with her cart. Now I really felt the hairs on my neck stand up. So both of them were ghosts? I must be incredibly unlucky!

Frightened, I quickly took off my sunglasses and threw them at the old man before turning to run. As I dashed off, I heard his gruff voice behind me: "I already told you, I don't have what you need."

Back in the waiting hall of the train station, I felt utterly disconcerted, afraid even to look at the people around me—what if I saw another ghost and didn’t even know it?

Suddenly, I realized that the ghosts who come out in daylight are much harder to distinguish from the living than those at night.

"Where are you headed?" I was staring down at my phone, checking the time, when a familiar voice sounded beside me.

Wasn't that the female ghost who'd been following me all day? Why was she here again? But why did her voice, at this moment, actually sound somewhat comforting?

"You—" I started to speak, turning my head, only to see a pretty girl sitting beside me. Embarrassed, I quickly looked down and stayed silent.

"I'm not so scary now, am I?" she asked.

Hearing that the voice was indeed coming from the girl beside me, I sneaked a glance at her. She was smiling at me.

Seriously... This ghost was like the Monkey King—able to change forms at will, even turning into a beauty to lure me in. If I hadn't seen her original appearance, I might have thought she was some tragic heroine come to tempt me.

"Yangchai, you have to help me!" she suddenly said.

"How can I help you?" I asked, keeping my head down.

"I was murdered. The way you saw me before was how I looked when I died. The reason I left your house so suddenly was because my parents hired a mortician to restore my appearance. That's why I was drawn back into my body and emerged again," she explained.

I was stunned. So she really had emerged from her body again? That mortician must be something else—restoring not just the corpse's looks, but even the ghost's appearance.

But if she had returned to her body, why was she out again? I asked, "What do you want from me? If it's revenge, count me out."

"Why?" she pressed, a little agitated.

So my guess was right.

"I'm a Yangchai. Someone told me I can't do evil, or I'll die."

"Are you that afraid of dying?" she asked, as if it was ridiculous for me to be scared.

"Of course I am! I'm only twenty, not even that—why wouldn't I be afraid?"

"But I'm already dead. Can't you grant me this one small wish?" Her voice dropped, sounding pitiful, and her downcast expression made it hard for me to refuse.

"Please, Yangchai, if you help me this once, I can help you in the future. Really, you have to believe me!" She tugged at my sleeve.

Faced with such a lovely and adorable girl—well, ghost—I couldn't bring myself to refuse, especially when she called me "Lord Yangchai." Maybe it wouldn't hurt to help her just this once?

But it was still a serious matter. I didn't even know who she was. I glanced at her and whispered, "If you want my help, at least tell me about yourself. What's your name? Where do you live? Why were you killed?"

"There are too many people here, too much yang energy. I'll tell you everything on the train," she said, then vanished again.

On the train? Was she planning to follow me home? I really had no way to shake off a ghost once she latched on. Resigned, I slumped into my seat in the waiting area, pulling my hat down over my eyes.

When boarding time came, I picked up my suitcase and went to the gate. I found my seat on the train—there weren't many people nearby. No wonder the ghost girl wanted to talk to me here.

But would she show up? The train was leaving soon.

"Are you looking for me?" her voice suddenly came from behind.

"Why would I look for you? I'm worried you'll follow me!" I hurried to explain.

"Well, I should tell you, this train isn't clean. With me around, I can protect you. But if you don't want me here, I'll just leave," she said, making as if to go.

"Wait! Let's talk about how I can help you." Honestly, I wasn't worried about unclean things; I just wanted to help her.

"Alright!" she replied, grinning triumphantly as she sat down across from me. "Can you pull the curtains? I can't be in the sunlight."

I sighed and closed the curtains on both sides.

"Go on," I said.

"My name is Tan Xiao, but you can call me Xiaoxiao." She yawned, looking sleepy. "I'm so tired. I'm going to nap for a bit. Don't wake me up for meals."

She promptly leaned back and pretended to sleep, which annoyed me—I felt like she was playing with me. I nudged her foot, but she didn't react, just kept on pretending.

Forget it. No point bickering with a ghost. I hadn't slept all night, hiding from her in an internet café. I might as well catch up on some rest.

When I woke again, it was already evening, and a clamor roused me. I opened my eyes to find the carriage packed with people—even the aisle was full.

Wait, these couldn't all be people, could they? Otherwise, why was Tan Xiao's seat across from me empty? People can't see her—was this entire carriage full of ghosts?

Seeing me staring in horror, Tan Xiao flashed a ghostly smile. "Surprised?"

I nodded, wanting to get up and check the other carriages. But Tan Xiao stopped me. "Don't bother. Every carriage is like this."

"Why?" I asked, bewildered.

"Tomorrow is the Ghost Festival. A lot of spirits come out—some died far from home and are taking the train back, others are visiting their children living far away. See that old lady over there? She’s over eighty, died years ago. Her son hasn't visited her since. So now she's going to see him herself."

"Is that really to visit her son? Seems more like she’s going to give him a scare," I muttered, not daring to move, especially since the old lady who'd been quietly napping was now leaning against my shoulder.

Judging by her clothes, she must have died years ago. I was afraid to wake her, worried she'd get angry with me.

"But isn't the Ghost Festival tomorrow? Why are there so many of you today?" I asked Tan Xiao, avoiding the word "ghost."

"With so many dying every year, the underworld is overwhelmed. Sometimes, to avoid a backlog, they let some of us out a bit early."

"So you just returned from the underworld today?" I remembered she’d appeared after I met Wu Yan last night—so it was all today.

"No, I never left," she answered, looking away.

"Why? Because of your revenge?" I pressed.

She didn’t answer, instead nudging the old lady who was napping on my shoulder. The old woman woke, glaring at her. "Girl, I was sleeping just fine—why did you kick me?"

"Auntie, this is my boyfriend. If you want to sleep, that's fine, but could you not lean on him? You're old enough to know better than to bother young men," Tan Xiao retorted.

What kind of talk was this? I stared at Tan Xiao in disbelief.

But the old lady wasn't one to back down. Offended, she stood and pointed at Tan Xiao. "Young lady, mind your tongue! I just dozed off and leaned over without noticing. Besides, I haven't even seen what this young man looks like, so how could I be harassing him?"

"Oh really? If you haven't seen him, how do you know he's handsome?" Tan Xiao sneered.

For some reason, I felt embarrassed. Were these two fighting over me? Should I say something?

Forget it—they’re ghosts. What could I possibly say?

"Now I see him. And if he's your boyfriend, why aren't you sitting next to him?" The old lady turned to me. "Young man, is she your girlfriend?"

I forced a smile. But seeing Tan Xiao glaring at me, I had no choice but to nod.

But did this ghostly auntie know I was human? Why would she ask me that?

Just as I was wondering, she suddenly reached out a hand toward my mouth, then looked at me in shock. "You’re alive?"