The first story only has a few chapters , but bear with me
THE LITTLE GHOST REPAYS KINDNESS
In the reign of Tianxi, a wise ruler was at the helm, and the country was at peace. People at that time sighed deeply at the unprecedented prosperity.
Compared to the prosperous capital, Anhe Village looked very insignificant and free from conventions. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, clear lakes and green mountains, the people in the village lived close to each other, more than neighbors and blood relatives, except for the Xue Liehu in the south of the village.
Xue Liehu named Xue Lin before, who migrated from out of town in his early years, wasn’t a native. He was taciturn, and he sported an imperious beard that hid his appearance. He also always carried a murderous air and a bloody stench that elicited fear and resistance from the villagers.
This was true for adults, not to mention children. Whenever kids saw Xue Lin from afar, their legs trembled. They were too terrified to even breathe, much less play with him. In order to make the children more obedient, some adults even made up nonsense to convince them that if they were naughty, Xue Liehu would catch them, cook and eat them.
In various scary legends, Xue Lin had become a monster who killed people and drank blood. The villagers were suspicious of his identity, saying that he was a wanted criminal, or that he was a bandit who had come to their place to escape disaster. In short, he was a terrible man.
Xue Lin had settled down in Anhe Village for so many years, so he wasn’t ignorant of the suspicions of the villagers, but he didn’t care. He built a small hut in the south of the village and went hunting in the mountains every day, keeping half of his prey as rations and selling the other half to the butchers for a living.
One day, Xue Lin woke up at five o’clock as usual, made some porridge and pancakes to fill his bell, then carried his bow and arrow and basket on his back and went up to the mountain.
The mountain was very foggy and visibility was extremely low, but Xue Lin was already familiar with the mountain path, so he only complained about the fog deep within and went deeper into the woods without stopping.
He had set up a few traps in advance before going down yesterday, so he should have caught something today.
However, Xue Lin didn’t know if it was the fog, but he circled around the woods for a long time without finding the traps he had set up yesterday. He felt a little depressed.
He walked with his head down and searched through the bushes, sparing no corner, yet he still found nothing.
Xue Lin was a little discouraged, thinking that the traps were probably taken by beasts. He put down his basket and prepared to look for prey again, but suddenly noticed something in the bushes nearby.
Driven by curiosity, Xue Lin strode to the edge of the bushes and plucked away the overgrown weeds – It turned out to be white bones!
Xue Lin was more calm than ordinary men, but the shiny white skeleton still left him reeling. Nevertheless, besides terror, he felt more suspicious and impatient.
How could there be such a skeleton appear on the mountain? And although this skeleton was strewn in the wilderness, it was indeed as clean as a whistle, without a trace of pickling.
I wonder what this person did in life that his corpse ended up in the wilderness without anyone to tend to him, Xue Lin contemplated.
Everyone in the village thought that Xue Lin was a “bad guy” who didn’t get along well, but he was in fact good. He couldn’t bear the sight of the remains left in the wild, so he took off his robe, wrapped them and put them in his basket.
After such an adventure, Xue Lin was no longer in the mood for hunting. He still has a half a deer for food at home, so he shot a few pheasants, carried the fully loaded basket, and made his way down the mountain.
Xue Lin returned to his hut, and put the hatchet and the back basket down. He took out the skeletons again, and thought to himself: I’ve heard people say that only in the ground can we be at peace, or else we will be turned into a lonely ghost, wandering around, unable to reincarnate.
In the spirit of sending Buddha to the West[1], Xue Lin first went to a garment shop to buy a good outfit, and then to a coffin shop to buy a wooden carved coffin. The villagers were shocked by Xue Lin’s actions, yet instinctive dread hindered them from probing further, and they could only keep their blind suspicions to themselves.
Xue Lin turned a blind eye to them. After buying all the burial tools, he returned to his own residence, and with a clean cloth roughly wiped the skeleton, until it was all cleansed.
Xue Lin did everything seriously. On the other hand, Zuo Qin, who was watching attentively by the side, blushed.
Zuo Qin was the owner of this skeleton, a confused man who didn’t remember much of anything from his life. He only knew that he had never done evil, but was eaten by a wild beast for no reason, leaving only his white bones behind. His bones trapped his soul day and night and he couldn’t depart.
When Xue Lin carried the skeletons down the mountain, he was actually under Zuo Qin’s watchful eye, who was curious about this tall, bearded man. His appearance might look evil, but his heart was good. He even thought of burying him.
Xue Lin casually wiped the skeleton, but when he got to the lower part, Zuo Qin completely reddened. He knew there was nothing but white bones on the skeleton, yet he couldn’t stop himself feeling shy. His limpid eyes blinked as he stared at Xue Lin.
Xue Lin was naturally unaware of all this, and after cleaning him, he covered the skeleton with the new clothes, and placed it in the brand new coffin. He also dug a pit on the hill not far from his hut and buried the coffin in it.
Xue Lin muttered while burning joss paper, “Uhm, errr… Friend, I don’t know your name, and I can’t erect a tombstone for you either. Now that you’ve been buried, I hope you can be reincarnated better in your next life.”
Zuo Qin was silently watching all of Xue Lin’s actions and naturally heard his words.
He felt a warm current flowing into his cold soul, and his eyes warmed up a bit. Since becoming a lonely ghost for so long, this was the first time he felt the love and care of others.
He is a good person, Zuo Qin thought to himself.
His father said that to be a man, one must know how to repay kindness. Although he wasn’t considered a man now, he has to repay his kindness even as a ghost. In a play, Xu Xian saved the White Snake, who promised his body in return. But he and his benefactor were both men, how could he pledge himself to him?
Zuo Qin scratched his head in some distress, his cute little face all but scrunched up.
Right! Zuo Qin was struck with an idea and his eyes suddenly brightened. As long as he could help his benefactor, he would be able to return the favor!
Zuo Qin rejoiced after figuring that out. It just so happened that Xue Lin was done burning joss papers, so Zuo Qin followed him back to the hut.
When Xue Lin fetched water, Zuo Qin secretly helped to carry it; when Xue Lin made a fire, Zuo Qin helped to fan it. Xue Lin was totally unaware, but Zuo Qin was delighted because he was able to help his benefactor.
Summer nights were always stiflingly hot. Xue Lin fanned himself with a cattail leaf fan and barely slept. However, he still felt so hot that he tossed and turned in his sleep. Zuo Qin witnessed this beside him, and also saw the fine sweat on Xue Lin’s forehead.
He became a ghost and couldn’t feel the heat, but he also remembered how uncomfortable summer nights were. After mulling over it, he got an idea.
Thus, Zuo Qin sat on Xue Lin’s headboard and blew out the heat for him. Ghostly winds were cold and chilly, but pleasantly cool on a sultry summer night.
Xue Lin slept in a daze and suddenly felt a chill. Feeling greatly comfortable, his tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed. Since then, he has fallen into a good night’s sleep.
T/N: 1. Send Buddha to the West – means to see a good deed to the end.
2. Legend of the White snake – didn’t really pay attention to the story when I watched it long ago 🙂
Peek-Aboo 
Thank you so much for your hard work!Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ
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