Spirit Hunters of Maoshan Sect - c8

Chapter 8: The Ghost Wall
Ye Shaoyang, whom President Zhu had just praised as a hidden master, pushed open the door to room 408. A gust of wind blew in, carrying thick yin energy. His foot froze mid-step as he entered, his brows furrowing. This dormitory… was haunted?

Two occupants looked up at him. A chubby guy sitting on the bed clipping his toenails smiled, “The dorm manager just called about you. You’re the new guy, right? Hehe, sorry about the smell – too many dirty socks and clothes. You’ll get used to it.”

Beside him, a shirtless guy wearing glasses turned away from his computer and chuckled, “Brother, what’s with that outfit? Just finished being an extra in a period drama?”

Ye Shaoyang looked down at his attire – long robe, cloth pants, and traditional shoes. He wore these normally on the mountain without thinking twice, but in the city, this outfit was indeed rather eccentric.

“Haha, left the mountain in a hurry, forgot to change,” Ye Shaoyang scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

Inside, Ye Shaoyang surveyed the room. The conditions were decent – four beds total, with one empty one holding bundled bedding.

“The dorm manager just delivered that. I’ll help you make the bed.” The chubby guy helpfully made up Ye Shaoyang’s bed, introducing himself as Ma Mingliang, nickname Xiao Ma, then pointed to the fair-skinned young man at the computer: “That’s Chen Yu. There’s also Li Duo, but he’s found a job and rarely comes back.”

Ye Shaoyang looked Xiao Ma up and down. His complexion was dark, and his body was shrouded in yin energy – clearly he’d recently encountered a ghost. But having just met, Ye Shaoyang figured it would be too abrupt to ask directly, so he sat on the bed and chatted with Xiao Ma to build rapport.

Xiao Ma lived in Steel City, a hundred kilometers away. Also a senior, his family was well-off, so he wasn’t too pressed about job hunting and mostly stayed in the dorm playing games. His bed was covered in posters of beautiful women. Ye Shaoyang pointed to one who looked particularly beautiful and innocent, asking, “Who’s this beauty?”

“Teacher Sao – you don’t know her?” Xiao Ma was shocked. He didn’t know that while Ye Shaoyang had attended school in the county town below Mount Mao and had similar general knowledge to most people, small towns were quite behind in certain areas.

“She looks so innocent. She’s a teacher? What does she teach?”

Chen Yu snorted with laughter, chiming in: “Physiology.”

Being naturally generous, Xiao Ma ordered several dishes and a case of beer to welcome Ye Shaoyang. As the three new friends drank together, Ye Shaoyang felt comfortable enough to probe: “Have you experienced anything supernatural lately?”

Xiao Ma stared at him wide-eyed. “How did you know?”

“Well, what happened?”

Xiao Ma scratched his head, “Don’t be scared when I tell you.”

Ye Shaoyang mentally facepalmed. Even if the Black and White Impermanence appeared before him, he’d keep eating and drinking normally. Fear ghosts? He’d lost that trait since becoming a Maoshan disciple.

“I… encountered a ghost. I’ve been having nightmares ever since that night I hit the ghost wall.” Xiao Ma took a big gulp of beer and began his story:

“You might not believe this, but I was at a junior’s birthday party at a restaurant near South University. It ended around nine, and after waiting forever for a taxi, I decided to walk back since I needed to sober up anyway. I took a shortcut through South University’s old cemetery – people always said it was haunted, claiming they could see ghost fires from the dorm buildings at night. I didn’t believe in that stuff. When I reached a hollow, I suddenly heard laughter behind me – a woman’s laugh, very seductive, no, I mean very cunning.” Xiao Ma smiled sheepishly.

“I turned to look but saw no one. I was terrified and started running, but kept ending up in the same place no matter which way I turned. How to describe it…”

“You hit a ghost wall,” Ye Shaoyang said. “Continue.”

“Yeah, I can’t really describe that feeling. I was scared and desperate to leave, but my mind was fuzzy – maybe from the drinking. Every time I’d reach the slope, I’d get dizzy and find myself back in the hollow, with a grave right there. Later I remembered hearing that if you bite your middle finger and mark your forehead with blood, you can break through a ghost wall. I worked up the courage to bite my finger, and the shock cleared my head enough that I forgot about the blood mark and just ran all the way back.”

Xiao Ma sighed deeply: “People say ghost walls happen from vitamin deficiency or something, but I don’t believe it. Before it happened, I heard that woman’s laugh, and I’ve been having nightmares every night about a female ghost kissing me…”

Chen Yu snickered, “Those are wet dreams, not nightmares.”

“Hey, maybe in your world wet dreams involve rolling in bed with ghost women! Hey, Xiao Ye-zi, I’m telling the truth!” Despite Ye Shaoyang’s protests, Xiao Ma had already given him this feminine nickname after just hours of acquaintance.

Seeing an opportunity to accumulate merit, Ye Shaoyang said to Xiao Ma: “How about this – tonight, you take me to where you hit the ghost wall. What do you say?”

“That place is haunted – are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Not killed – ghost hunting.” At this point, he had to be honest or he’d never convince Xiao Ma to guide him.

Xiao Ma’s eyes grew even wider, staring at him like he was an alien. “Ghost hunting? You think you’re a Maoshan priest or something?”

Ye Shaoyang took a bite of pork head meat, wiped his mouth, and nodded: “I am.”

Chen Yu sprayed beer as he laughed. “Classmate, have you been watching too many Lam Ching-ying movies, fantasizing about being a Daoist priest?”

Xiao Ma joined in laughing. “Listen, Xiao Ye-zi, you can show off to girls with fortune-telling and divination, but don’t try to fool your brothers.”

“Then just take me there. I guarantee nothing will happen to you.”

“No way – I barely escaped with my life. You couldn’t pay me to go back there.”

Won’t believe it until they see the coffin, Ye Shaoyang thought. Then he had another idea – since the ghost came to feed on yang energy every night, he could just wait until midnight, catch the ghost, and see what they had to say then.

After eating and drinking, Xiao Ma flopped onto his bed with a long yawn. “Man, I’m done. Been feeling weak all over lately, just want to sleep as soon as it gets dark. I’m hitting the bed. Hey, Daoist Brother, remember to catch me a female ghost to play with. I’ll use all thirty-eight positions – riding the old man’s cart, mmm, the old tree winding its roots…”

This guy was clearly suffering from yin energy invasion, causing his weakness. It was only thanks to his strong constitution that he hadn’t succumbed after having his yang energy drained for so many days. But if this continued, he’d eventually lose his life.

Let’s see how strong you are when the ghost really shows up, hmm, old tree winding roots, riding the old man’s cart? What were these things anyway?

Xiao Ma’s weakened body soon fell asleep. Ye Shaoyang stayed awake, certain the ghost would return tonight. He lay quietly in bed, and within an hour, a cold wind blew through the window, thick with yin energy.

Ye Shaoyang opened his eyes to see a slender female ghost climbing through the window. She wore a t-shirt and short skirt – such modern clothing indicated she hadn’t died long ago. Her chest was full, her waist slim, and her short skirt revealed snow-white long legs.