Chapter 1, The Living Ghost

Fang Shi picked up the flashlight and walked towards the door. In his view, so many people should have left together. A lamp hung in the courtyard, casting dim light, and Fang Shi did not see anyone. The door to his grandfather's room, several meters away, remained tightly closed.

Grandfather's house is very large, and the yard is also quite spacious. Grandfather even specially made a swing for Fang Shi. When Fang Shi got tired of playing, he looked up and saw a girl sitting on the swing who seemed to be about the same age as him. This girl was wearing a yellow kindergarten uniform, her skin was fair, as if she had never been exposed to the sun, and she was staring at Fang Shi without blinking.

The girl ignored Fang Shi, and Fang Shi did not mind. He simply sat down on the ground beside her and began to dig in the soil with a plastic shovel. Being talkative was also one of the reasons why the teacher found Fang Shi troublesome. He kept talking about the city, comparing it to the countryside, what he liked to eat, what he liked to play, which teacher he liked the most, and which classmate he liked the most

After several days, Fang Shi's family returned to the city. During a meal, after answering his parents' endless questions about kindergarten, Fang Shi mentioned seeing a girl at his grandfather's house. He explained that this was because another kindergarten student had come to Qingmiao Kindergarten for a social event, and Fang Shi noticed that their uniforms were very similar to the girl's outfit

"The little devil has trapped me here for decades; I will take the life of his grandson first." As she spoke, the woman in the hemp robe had already reached Fang Shi's side, and with a flick of her sleeve, the young woman was sent flying several meters away.

Fang Shi softly called out: "Is anyone there? Is anyone there?" No one answered

Whenever Fang Shi asked this question, his grandfather would always pat his head. Year after year, Fang Shi had not seen his parents, while San Bao's parents returned home every year for the New Year. He seemed to understand that his parents were not trying to earn money, but rather that they no longer wanted him, and he never brought up the matter of his parents again

Fang Shi's vision blurred for a moment, and a young woman appeared more than ten meters away, standing beside him. This woman was dressed in a female student uniform from a hundred years ago, which Fang Shi had only seen in movies

Fang Shi is one of the most troublesome students for teachers in the kindergarten, primarily due to his lively emotions. Fang Shi walked over to greet a girl: "My name is Fang Shi, I am from Class 2 of Yumiaao Kindergarten, what is your name?"

The adults were conversing in the hall. In the courtyard, I saw my mother crying, while my father was shouting in anger. My grandfather, in his fifties, was thin and wiry, spoke very little, and silently watched them cry and make a fuss.

When Fang Shi came to his senses, everyone had already disappeared

Fang Shi first encountered a ghost the day before his fourth birthday. His parents had originally planned to celebrate his birthday at his grandfather's house in the countryside. However, due to his grandfather's ill health, his parents took him to the hospital that evening and asked the neighbor aunt to look after Fang Shi. While the aunt was asleep, Fang Shi played with a shovel in the yard, making sandcastles. This was also the first time in his life that Fang Shi stayed up past nine o'clock at night

Grandfather does not work, does not farm, and does not raise chickens or ducks. His daily income comes from drawing talismans. Whenever someone from the front village or even neighboring villages moves into a new house, they will come to grandfather's home to request a door-guarding talisman, offering a red envelope of varying sizes according to their economic status

On the sixth day of his visit to his grandfather's house, Fang Shi encountered a ghost for the second time. That day happened to be New Year's Eve. After playing with firecrackers to celebrate the New Year, Fang Shi returned to his small room. Having grown up in the city, he felt a cockroach on the wall, which then crawled into his sleeve, causing him to scream in fright and jump up and down in place

The young woman looked very nervous as she gazed at the woman in the麻衣, saying: "He is the grandson of Fang San"

However, the business is not very good; it takes a month, or even several months, to receive a red envelope. Nevertheless, my grandfather is not financially strained; every month when he goes to the village market, he always brings back many delicious and fun items

Faced with the ugly woman in a coarse garment, Fang Shi trembled in fear, when a voice came forth: "Sun, you are seeking death." The speaker was the old woman who had supported the young woman, the one who exterminated cockroaches.

That noon was the first time in a year that Mother accompanied Fang Shi for a nap. By the time Fang Shi woke up, he could no longer see Father and Mother, and he searched everywhere but could not find them. Grandfather had been watching from the side. When Fang Shi cried himself out, Grandfather came over, patted Fang Shi's head, and asked, "Are you hungry?"

It was not until the aunt went to the bathroom and discovered that Fang Shi had not yet rested that she called him back to his room to sleep. Fang Shi returned to his room and looked at the girl from the window; she was still sitting motionless on the swing.

... ...

The winter vacation is approaching quickly. As soon as the vacation begins, Father and Mother take Fang Shi to travel everywhere. Whatever Fang Shi wants to eat or play, Father and Mother do not object. One week before New Year's Eve, Father and Mother take Fang Shi to the distant home of his grandfather, of whom Fang Shi is even unaware.

The woman in the linen robe named Sun let out a sharp laugh: "I have been dead for two hundred years, what do I have to fear about death?" After saying this, she lunged forward, merging with Fang Shi, and transformed into a wisp of black smoke that surged into the top of Fang Shi's head.

Many people gathered around Fang Shi, all quietly watching Sun. Sun's coughing became increasingly rapid, and her body began to fade away more quickly. In less than a minute, both Sun and the sound of her coughing vanished into the night

Almost instantly, black smoke billowed out, and Sun's figure appeared to flicker in and out of sight, her hand pressed against her chest as she coughed incessantly, with each cough causing a small part of her body to disintegrate into nothingness

A strong feeling rose in Fang Shixin's heart as he walked through the kitchen and into the backyard. The backyard of his grandfather's house was very large, planted with no less than one hundred peach trees, arranged in a staggered manner, with the most remarkable aspect being that the spacing between the peach trees was uniform.

Fang Shi did not expect that after listening, his parents' expressions changed dramatically. They looked at each other for a long time, and his mother was overwhelmed with grief, tears streaming down her face

Fang Shi walked into the peach orchard, feeling a sense of something, and turned to see a figure drifting into the darkness. This sensation was intense; he could feel his heart beating gently. If it were not for his trust in his own eyes, Fang Shi would even know that there were at least four people in the darkness to his left and at least six people in the darkness to his right watching him

As Fang Shi continued to walk forward, suddenly his heart raced, and in a moment of confusion, a middle-aged woman in a coarse garment quietly appeared behind him. This woman had purple lips and bloodshot eyes, with a particularly hideous leaf-shaped scar on her right cheek. One of her hands reached out silently, grasping towards the back of Fang Shi's head.

The term "active ghost" may seem to the average person merely as a colloquial expression, an emotional outburst. However, in the context of dialect, it functions as a verb, akin to verbs such as going to school or taking a shower

In that fleeting moment, Fang Shi saw the room filled with people. An old woman grabbed Fang Shi's hand and shook it lightly, causing cockroaches to fly out of his sleeve like bullets, crashing against the wall and turning into a mushy mess.

Fang Shi nodded, and then his grandfather took Fang Shi's small hand and sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, before going to the kitchen to cook noodles. The grandfather and grandson had a meal together like this. After that, Fang Shi settled down in this village called Shangqian. At that time, he thought he was like a child named Sanbao in Shangqian Village, because his parents had to earn money in the big city and were too busy with work, so they entrusted him to his grandfather's care. Fang Shi asked his grandfather: "When my parents make a lot of money, they will definitely come to pick me up, right?" At that time, he thought he was like a child named Sanbao in Shangqian Village, because his parents had to earn money in the big city and were too busy with work, so they entrusted him to his grandfather's care. Fang Shi asked his grandfather: "When my parents make a lot of money, they will definitely come to pick me up, right?"