Boys at the age of eight or nine can be quite annoying. Chen Shi, now eleven, had passed that stage but still managed to be the little tyrant of Yellow Slope Village. Wherever he went, chaos followed. Even ducks passing by had to lay an egg out of fear. He was truly disliked by people and dogs alike.
One morning, after breakfast, Chen Shi put down his bowl and ran outside, shouting, "Grandpa, I'm going out to play!"
His grandfather, a tall man in a black robe embroidered with big peonies, stood in the main room, facing a table with offerings. He replied in a deep voice, "Don't go too far, stay away from the river, and come back early for lunch..."
"Got it!" Chen Shi dashed off before his grandfather could finish.
His grandfather continued to face the table, slowly chewing his food. After a while, he swallowed with difficulty, then put a candle into his mouth, took a bite, and slowly chewed it.
On the table were two candlesticks and an incense burner. One of the candles was eaten down to its base, and the incense was almost burnt out, releasing a thin smoke.
Grandfather set down the half-eaten candle, lit a few sticks of incense, placed them in the burner, and took a deep breath, looking pleased.
Behind the incense burner was a black memorial tablet with his grandfather's name on it: "In memory of Chen Yin, may his virtues shine forever."
"Eat well, and you won't eat people," he murmured.
Chen Shi spent the morning causing trouble. He made Granny Yuzhu's dog howl, led a pack of village dogs to fight those from the neighboring village, and climbed a tree to raid a bird's nest, only to be pecked by the mother bird and almost fall.
Later, he scared Erni from the east side of the village with a dead snake, making her cry for her parents. Then he stole melons from Old Lady Wuzhu's field and was chased for three miles before he managed to escape.
This was Chen Shi's simple and uneventful morning.
By noon, Chen Shi reached the Jade Belt River. Although he was sweaty and hot, he resisted the urge to swim.
In the river, three boys his age were playing happily. They were water ghosts, drowned two years ago, so Chen Shi dared not join them.
The last time he jumped in, they pulled him to the deep water, nearly drowning him. His grandfather had to jump in and beat the water ghosts to save him.
"Chen Shi, come play with us!" one of the boys called.
The other two, with innocent smiles, also waved at him, "Come on! It's more fun with four people!"
The older boy said, "Don't be scared, it's not deep, just up to our waists!"
"Come on, playing alone is no fun!"
Chen Shi ignored them and walked to the old willow tree on Yellow Ridge Slope.
The three boys stood in the river, their smiles gone, and slowly sank into the water.
"You Chen family's brat, you'll drown and take our place one day!" one cursed as the water covered their mouths, noses, eyes, and heads until they disappeared.
A pair of feet dangled from the willow tree, swaying in front of Chen Shi.
A scholar had hanged himself there. Seeing Chen Shi looking up, he stuck out his long, red tongue.
Chen Shi paid no mind; the scholar had been hanging there for a long time, his body decayed, leaving only his spirit.
He placed a piece of watermelon at the base of a stone tablet under the tree and bowed, "Godmother, I came to see you and brought you some sweet watermelon."
The stone tablet was his godmother. When Chen Shi was young, his grandfather said he needed a strong godmother to thrive, so he brought him to this crooked willow tree to bow to the stone tablet as his godmother.
During festivals, Chen Shi would come to offer sacrifices and incense.
In the countryside, people often chose godmothers like ancient trees, mysterious stones, or unknown statues, hoping for protection from evil.
Grandfather said the stone tablet was ancient and could protect Chen Shi, so he made him bow to it.
But in recent years, Chen Shi hadn't felt anything special from the tablet.
The stone was old, with faint words like "Grandmother" and "Spirit." Other words were buried, entwined by the tree roots, impossible to dig out.
After paying his respects, Chen Shi said, "Godmother, Grandpa's been acting strange, always with his back to me. I haven't seen his face in ages. He eats secretly... Yesterday, our chickens died, not by weasels. They don't dare come to our house..."
The tablet didn't respond.
But maybe it was a trick of the light, Chen Shi thought he saw a faint glow on the tablet's words, but it vanished quickly.
He didn't mind, lit some incense, and placed it in front of the tablet.
The scholar ghost hanging from the tree kicked his legs anxiously.
"Here's some for you too."
Chen Shi lit another stick and placed it under the scholar's feet. The ghost inhaled the incense smoke, looking pleased.
Chen Shi stretched lazily, lying under the tree with his hands behind his head, unafraid of the ghost or water spirits. He'd been seeing these "people" for as long as he could remember.
"Grandpa's probably done with lunch, but his cooking's been getting worse. Yesterday, the chicken was raw, bloody. Godmother, I think Grandpa's acting like he wants to eat me."
With a blade of grass in his mouth, Chen Shi looked mature beyond his years, murmuring, "Last night, Grandpa made me soak in medicine, but the fire was too hot, the water boiled. I think he wants to cook me..."
After a while, the scholar ghost finished the incense, stretched, and said, "I'm good now. Little Shi, you can ask."
—Little Shi was Chen Shi's nickname, sometimes called Little Honest, often sarcastically.
Chen Shi put aside his worries, took out an old book, and asked, "I don't understand this part, 'The first to make clay figures, will they have no descendants?' What does it mean?"
Yellow Slope Village was remote, with no school, and the Chen family was poor, so Chen Shi couldn't study. Luckily, the hanging scholar was a learned man. Chen Shi found some old books at home and often came to the willow tree to ask the scholar for help.
The scholar ghost, satisfied with the incense, would answer his questions, so Chen Shi, despite being young, was well-read.
"This means, Confucius said, 'The first to offend me has been punished with no descendants.'"
The scholar ghost explained, "Confucius teaches us to eliminate threats completely, especially those who wrong us."
Chen Shi nodded, somewhat understanding, and read on, asking, "What about 'Since they're here, let them stay'?"
"Enemies are here, so they shouldn't leave, but be buried here."
"And this one, 'Standing by the river, the past flows like this, never stopping day or night'?"
"Confucius stood by the river and said, 'Truly powerful people should be like me, standing by the river, watching enemies' bodies float downstream day and night. Confucius was amazing, filling the river with enemies' corpses. We scholars should learn from him.'"
After asking all his questions, the scholar ghost answered smoothly, earning Chen Shi's admiration. He looked up and said, "When I grow up, I want to be like Confucius, winning people over with virtue! By the way, Scholar Zhu, you're so knowledgeable, why did you hang yourself here?"
The scholar ghost sighed, "The court's full of villains, and petty people control the literary world. Despite my knowledge, I failed the exams ten times, disgracing the sages and my family, so I hanged myself here."
Just then, the sound of wheels approached.
Chen Shi closed his book and stood up, seeing a fancy carriage surrounded by horses coming down the path.
The riders were strong men in red uniforms, sharp-eyed, scanning the area.
"Sir, there's a child!" one said, bowing to the person in the carriage.
"A child? Good, good," a woman's voice replied from inside, laughing. "Children are simple, easy to handle, no complications. Fang He, go ask the child."
"Yes!" A man in uniform dismounted and approached Chen Shi, holding a small piece of silver, smiling kindly, "Little one, take this silver to buy candy. I want to ask if you've seen any strange children in the village, like porcelain dolls."
The scholar ghost warned, "Little Shi, don't talk to him! He's an Imperial Guard, a lackey of the powerful, up to no good. Their money is cursed, take it and risk your life!"
Though still the Great Ming Dynasty, the emperor's power was weak, and local nobles had risen. The Imperial Guards were no longer royal protectors but served the noble families.
Chen Shi eyed the silver, tempted, but shook his head, "Grandpa says not to take things from strangers."
The man in uniform smiled more warmly, "I'm Fang He. We were strangers, but now you know my name, so we're not strangers anymore. This is a reward, not from a stranger, right?"
Chen Shi nodded happily, taking the silver.
Fang He smiled, "Since we're friends, can you tell me if you've seen those porcelain doll-like kids?"
Chen Shi nodded, "Are they less than a foot tall and move in groups?"
Fang He looked pleased, nodding quickly, "Sir, they're really here..."
Before he finished, a figure flashed from the carriage. Chen Shi smelled a fragrance and saw a beautiful woman in purple appear under the tree.
The other guards quickly dismounted and surrounded Chen Shi and the woman.
The woman was pretty, with fair skin, wearing a purple uniform and skirt. She seemed excited but tried to stay calm, smiling, "Little brother, have you seen those porcelain dolls? Where are they?"
Chen Shi didn't answer, looking oddly at her shoulder.
The woman hesitated, glanced at her shoulder, seeing nothing wrong.
"Little brother, the lady's talking to you!" a guard stepped forward, sternly.
Chen Shi looked away; he'd been staring because the scholar's feet were resting on her shoulders.
The woman stood right where the scholar had hanged himself.
She glanced at the guard, frowning, "Rude!"
The guard stepped back.
The woman softened her tone, "Little brother, we're from New Township, not bad people..."
Chen Shi looked up, meeting her eyes, and smiled sweetly, "Big sister, you're so pretty, prettier than Zhu Youcai!"
The woman was pleased, thinking, "This kid knows how to talk. Maybe I'll leave him intact. But Zhu Youcai sounds like a man's name. Must be a pretty woman, though the name's crude."
—Failed at stocks, back to writing!