Qian Shanyi and Linghui Mei sprung to their feet and away from their little table - albeit in two different directions.

  The waves of fear had spread slowly all throughout the square. Without a cultivator’s senses, not everyone could hear the screams beyond the noise of the market - and out of those who could, fewer still could parse the words. Some turned to flee right away, while others looked on in confusion, trying to understand what was happening. Momentarily frozen by indecision.

  But indecision killed. If a ravenous ghost had truly gotten loose in the market, dozens might be torn apart before the sunset - and hundreds before the sun rose once more.

  Qian Shanyi had meant to sprint towards the commotion before her chair had even tumbled to the ground - but immediately had to spin around when she noticed her disciple flee in the exact opposite direction. Foolishly, at that, for she was caught instantly; Linghui Mei had to pretend to move at a normal human speed - but Qian Shanyi didn’t.

  In her panic, Linghui Mei had almost pulled them both down to the ground, but Qian Shanyi resisted, and started to drag her disciple along by the hand. “Where do you think you are going?” Qian Shanyi said. “Come on, it’s our responsibility.”

  “Shanyi, let me go!” Linghui Mei hissed, unsuccessfully resisting the pull. Her eyes were open wide in sheer terror, feet digging into the ground so much they left behind two narrow scratches. “You heard those screams! It’s a ghost!”

  People all around them gasped in shock at Linghui Mei’s announcement. More fear, spreading quickly this time.

  Qian Shanyi rolled her eyes. That was sloppy on Linghui Mei’s part, but she very much doubted anyone else would remember who said what, with all this excitement. “Exactly,” she said cheerfully, using her other hand to push aside the crowds. “Who else is going to deal with it, if not us? There really is no need to worry.”

  How long did it take for a ghost to consume an ordinary person? Half a minute? Less? They were wasting time, but she couldn’t afford to simply run off.

  She smiled at a particularly terrified grandmother, giving her a light nod. Already she could see the people around them start to calm down when they heard every little joke she made, when they saw her smile, her quick, but self-assured walk. There was a cultivator in control of the situation - and so they were all going to be safe.

  Showing even a hint of fear here was unacceptable. The last thing she wanted was to provoke a mass panic. That grandmother would get trampled by the crowd in a single blink.

  The market was not built with any kind of plan in mind, and so Qian Shanyi’s didn’t try to rush for the screams right away. What she needed was a vantage point to plot her path, and so her first target was a tall pole - a tree trunk stripped of bark and painted red, serving as a little permanent landmark. They were spread all throughout the market, connected to each other with thin ropes and decorated with flags and talismans.

  Unfortunately, Linghui Mei had other ideas. She tried to grab the edge of a low fence they passed by - but Qian Shanyi yanked her just enough that her fingers missed the wood by mere millimeters.

  “Let me go! It will kill -”

  Qian Shanyi yanked Linghui Mei further and clapped a hand over her stupid mouth before she could say anything even more inadvisable. “You’ll be safer with me, and I might need your help,” Qian Shanyi whispered in irritation, glaring directly into Linghui Mei’s eyes. “Now shut up before you scare any more people and follow after your master, disciple Mei.”

  Linghui Mei winced. That little chastisement had seemed to have finally done the trick - she relaxed her hand, and stopped resisting the pull.

  They were at the pole in mere moments. Qian Shanyi leapt up, quickly starting to climb, all the while cursing at the paper talismans covering its surface that made it so easy to slip.

  Damnable ghost festival.

  The pole was only four meters tall, but its top was quite flat and mercifully free of obstructions, so Qian Shanyi pulled herself up, to gain a bit more height above the market. She stood straight, and spun around, looking for any sign of violence -

  - and sucked in a sharp breath when she spotted it right away. It was absolutely impossible to miss.

  On the other end of the market, an enormous dome had risen up above the stalls - as if a blizzard had been stolen from the sky and soaked through with ink, wisps of purest black and brilliant white swirling and dancing all across its surface. It was almost perfectly hemispherical in shape, and easily ten or twelve meters wide - but quite transparent otherwise.

  A ghost with a domain, and a large one, at that… What are the chances?

  The wisps made it a little hard to see, but the domain had expanded in front of the doors of a prestigious-looking house. Qian Shanyi could only see two people caught up inside - a woman collapsed in the entryway, and right in the middle of the street, at the exact center of the domain, a single cultivator, sword at the ready.

  He was dressed well, if not extravagantly so, and at first glance gave the impression of an austere scholar - clean white robes, hair tucked neatly under his black hat, and a well-tailored bag at his side. He was clean-shaven, and fairly attractive, from what she could see in between the wisps.

  The ghost itself was, for now, hiding.

  For a moment, Qian Shanyi considered running there across the pole lines - it would get her there in mere seconds - but that would separate her from Linghui Mei, and well…

  Her paranoia was rising up. Why was this ghost here?

  There was one obvious reason for it - but if that was the case, then she definitely couldn’t afford to attract attention, not until she knew exactly what was going on. The poles made it easy to see the entire market - but they also made it easy to be seen.

  Deciding quickly, Qian Shanyi hopped down from the pole, landing right next to Linghui Mei. “Quietly now, and stay close,” she said, gesturing for her disciple to follow. “There’s a cultivator there.”

  “So leave it up to him!” Linghui Mei hissed, matching her tone. “What does it have to do with us?”

  “And if he needs help?”

  “What do I care?”

  “Watch your words lest I slap them out of your mouth,” Qian Shanyi said, giving Linghui Mei a very dark glare. “A ghost would not be sated on one man alone, so what are you suggesting? That I abandon my responsibility as a cultivator and leave ordinary people to be torn apart?”

  “And you prefer for it to tear us apart?!”

  Qian Shanyi pursed her lips, the look she gave Linghui Mei changing to that of confusion. Out of everyone here, a jiuweihu should have had the least to fear from a ghost. So why was Mei so on edge? She hadn’t made any of their prepared signals yet, so it wasn’t about her heritage. She simply seemed… terrified.

  “Slaying a ghost is not that complicated, for a proper cultivator,” Qian Shanyi finally said. “This domain is a bit large, but as long as that is all it is, we should be fine.”

  “Have you ever actually slain a ghost before?”

  “Have you?”

  “Of course not! Now answer me!”

  “I know the theory,” Qian Shanyi hedged. She read about it years ago, admittedly, but her memory was good.

  “You know the theory -” Linghui Mei scowled. She still looked terrified out of her wits, but it seemed anger had finally started to push some of the fear away. “Oh, kshir herma, of course you’d be so unreasonable!”

  “I am the very avatar of reasonableness. In fact, despite years of searching through all the empire, scholars have struggled to find even a single person more reasonable than me.”

  “You mean more shameless.”

  “Are those not the same thing?”

  Before Linghui Mei could respond, Qian Shanyi raised a finger to her lips. They came out on the other side of the square, and stopped, ducking behind a vegetable seller’s stall to stay out of sight. The street was, thankfully, already almost empty - only a scant few foolish onlookers left to worry about.

  The cultivator was still there, his sandals scraping slightly along the ground as he spun in place. His eyes flickered all over the street, from the road, to the buildings around them, to the villagers watching him confront the ghost. Fortunately for Qian Shanyi, he hadn’t spotted them yet.

  Her eyes slid off him and focused on the only other person she spotted in the ghost’s domain - that woman, who hadn’t moved from where she had collapsed. Watching her chest, Qian Shanyi gave a sigh of relief - it moved, so she was still breathing. Her cheeks had color, too. Even if she had been drained, it was still not too late.

  Of course, that could change at any moment. Without a spiritual shield, she was entirely defenceless.

  “So what now?” Linghui Mei whispered directly into her ear.

  “Nothing. Just observe, for now.”

  “We came all this way, and now you aren’t even going to help him?” Linghui Mei sneered.

  “How heartening it is to see you finally care.”

  “I do not. I am merely surprised.”

  Qian Shanyi hummed noncommittally. She had several reasons to watch, but the most important of them was simple. “I am worried about this ghost,” she said, “Newly born ones aren’t supposed to have domains this large. And if it’s old, or came from a cultivator - it could be trouble. I want to see it make a move first.”

  Only no move seemed to be forthcoming. The wisps had swirled around the cultivator, slamming into his body and throwing him off balance - yet the ghost’s core stayed quiet.

  Perhaps it was trying to exhaust him first.

  The more Qian Shanyi watched, the more she began to frown. Twice, the wisps came together into a humanoid form - and twice, the cultivator had swung his sword to disperse them. What was he even doing? Was he still relying on his eyes to find the ghost? If it was her, she would have closed them entirely, and concentrated on her other senses.

  Straining out her own spiritual cilia to the fullest, Qian Shanyi reached out towards him. Judging by the flow of his spiritual energy, he was somewhere in between middle and low refinement stages - though with how unsteady and uneven it flowed, Qian Shanyi wondered if the ghost had gotten to him already.

  She also sensed the ghost’s core, slowly coming up from directly underneath his feet. The man remained oblivious.

  “He isn’t very good,” Qian Shanyi concluded grimly.

  Linghu Mei snorted. “Yet you still will not help him?” she said mockingly, “What happened to the solidarity of cultivators?”

  “I told you, I am waiting for the ghost.”

  “I didn’t expect you to sacrifice him so cynically.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “He is a cultivator. He should be able to take a hit. At least one.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I don’t, I am guessing,” Qian Shanyi said bluntly. Admittedly the man’s spiritual energy shield already flickered like a candle in the wind. “In either case, there is little I can do while the ghost’s core is still below the ground. Best for him to serve as bait than for us to reveal all our cards right away and lose.“

  Perhaps she was willing to sacrifice him to an extent, but the thought felt strangely neutral in her mind. Something about this man, this scene… It scratched at her subconsciousness. Something didn’t quite add up.

  “I should never have underestimated your cruelty and viciousness, Shanyi,” Linghui Mei said sarcastically. “Truly, I am sorry.”

  “You should be,” Qian Shanyi parried back. “Just because I will help doesn’t mean that I will rush in blindly.”

  Qian Shanyi glanced at the collapsed woman again. If the ghost went for her, the cultivator certainly couldn’t have stopped it, so Qian Shanyi would have to intervene. She was entirely defenceless.

  So why is it ignoring her?

  The ghost still circled around beneath the ground, sending more and more shadows against the cultivator, inching ever closer. Like a school of sharks circling a boat, looking for an opening - and ignoring a bloody carcass just a few meters away.

  And then, in a single blink, it sprung up out of the ground right between the cultivator’s feet. Just a blur of warped air - barely even visible beyond the wisps. It slithered along his body, burrowing into his weakened spiritual energy shield and tearing at the edges of his soul.

  The man stumbled back, hissing in pain - and tried to slap the ghost away, but it easily slipped around his strikes. His spiritual energy shield dimmed quickly, energy pouring out of it in waves as the ghost greedily sucked it all in, until the ghost’s soul began to manifest in truth.

  Another shadow appeared in the air, but far more detailed than the ones before. Pale white and inky black wisps spread out like the strokes of an artist drawing a quick sketch. Clawed hands came first, tearing at the man in front of it. The wisps spread out from there, into a well-built chest and shoulders, and then up towards the head - one with a strong, chiseled jaw, and a pair of deep-set eyes.

  A young man, perhaps not even twenty - though it meant little, with ghosts. The soul took on the shape imposed on it by the person’s will. He could have just as easily been a hundred years old, back when he still lived.

  Just as the visage bit at the cultivator’s neck, the man finally managed to turn his sword around, and slid it along his spiritual energy shield. Spiritual energy poured off the blade, and the ghost sprung back - flowing through the air with no resistance, lips split in a triumphant grin.

  It spoke nothing, for it had no lungs to speak with. Its hand simply drew a single finger across its ghostly throat, until it started to drift closer once again.

  Qian Shanyi didn’t waste any more time - the cultivator’s spiritual energy shield was barely holding on as it was. She snapped her hand off to the side, and her sword exploded out of its scabbard, tearing through the air with a scream.

  It was just a bit too slow. The moment the sword had entered the ghost’s domain, it sprung back into the ground, instantly vanishing beneath the earth. Qian Shanyi’s sword just barely scored a cut across its retreating form.

  The ghost had fled.

  Qian Shanyi had clicked her tongue in disappointment, watching the domain collapse, stormy wisps of black and white falling down below the ground, or vanishing entirely. Now this was going to get quite a bit more complicated.

  “Listen to me,” Qian Shanyi said, turning back to Linghui Mei. “I really do need your help.”

  Linghui Mei looked at her a little warily. Perhaps understandably, after Qian Shanyi had just dragged her around the entire market. “With what?”

  Qian Shanyi nodded towards the street. “This whole thing stinks,” she said, “I want to go talk to that cultivator, but I can only look in one direction. So I need you to be my second pair of eyes. Look where I am not looking.”

  Linghui Mei held her gaze for a long moment. “I will do my best,” she finally said.

  Qian Shanyi nodded, and stood up. “Well, no more reason to dawdle,” she said, calling her sword back to her hand, and sheathing it in a single smooth motion. “Let’s go and meet them.”

  By the time they reached the cultivator, he had already collected himself and was helping the collapsed woman get back up on her feet. From the scraps of their conversation Qian Shanyi overheard, it seemed that she’d mostly fainted from the shock.

  “Ah, fellow cultivator!” he said, turning towards Qian Shanyi with a wide smile. “Oh, I was just telling Miss Li about how we have scared off this ghost. Your assistance is appreciated!”

  Assistance? You would have died if I didn’t intervene.

  From this close, Qian Shanyi could tell that his face was covered in layers of makeup - concealing what had to be some truly impressive bags under his eyes. She knew the look well, having seen it in the mirror dozens of times.

  “It really was nothing,” Qian Shanyi said with a light laugh, covering her mouth with one hand. “I was merely passing through the market and decided to offer a hand. Fellow daoist Tang Jisheng, I presume? You may call me Xing Qiaoli, and this is my assistant, Xue Mei.”

  She gave a small bow to Tang Jisheng as well as to Miss Li - though the woman still seemed far too out of it to notice. She was leaning up against the doorframe, fanning her face with one hand.

  Tang Jisheng gracefully returned her bow. His control over his posture was impeccable - if she couldn’t feel his atrocious spiritual energy recirculation, she could have almost believed he just came off a walk around town, and not a fight for his life against a powerful spirit.

  “Ah, so you’ve heard about me?”

  “It would be hard not to, fellow cultivator Tang,” Qian Shanyi said, laughing again. “Everyone around here knows about you. Even in the few weeks we’ve been here, I’ve already been told many excellent things.”

  In truth, she had known little. She knew Tang Jisheng was a cultivator and a healer - the only other cultivator in the local area, in fact - and she knew he served many of the richer farmers. Song Bo was ready to talk her ears off about the man, but all his adoration held little of her attention; he could have simply said he was impressed with his work and left it at that.

  Once she heard that there was another cultivator nearby, Qian Shanyi had put some effort into asking about him - but the herbalists they traded with had little to say about the man, as he didn’t seem to be a frequent customer. In the end, she decided to simply avoid him, until fate had forced her hand.

  But now that they met… Whatever was going on here, she’d need Tang Jisheng’s cooperation to get to the bottom of it, even if she had to lie to get it - and pride was an almost universal lever. She could already see him preen from such insignificant praise.

  “Well, the ghost appears to have fled for now, so I will take my leave,” Qian Shanyi said with another bow. “I wish you luck in all your endeavors, fellow cultivator Tang.”

  She turned to leave, and saw Tang Jisheng scramble to push Miss Li back into her house. “Wait, fellow cultivator Xing!” Tang Jisheng called after her, quickly catching up and falling in step at her side. “Would you have a minute?”

  From out of the corner of her eye, Qian Shanyi saw Linghui Mei following after them, but giving them a respectful distance. A great way to observe what happened. “Hmm?” Qian Shanyi said, flapping her eyelashes daintily. “I thought honorable healer Tang was busy with his customer?”

  “Oh, she’s quite fine already,” Tang Jisheng laughed nervously. “It’s just this ghost attack…”

  Qian Shanyi nodded, pulling some of the blood out of her cheeks to whiten them, as if in terror. “Ah yes. That must have been terrifying. I am sure I would have fainted just like Miss Li if I was right in the middle of it - sending my sword in was already the best I could do.”

  Tang Jisheng already knew who saved him. There was no need to rub it in - best to give him some face and let him initiate the dialogue. If he needed something from her, then she could ask her questions without arousing suspicion.

  “Was it someone you knew?” Qian Shanyi asked, casually turning to Tang Jisheng.

  “What?”

  “Was the ghost someone you knew?”

  Tang Jisheng shook his head right away. “No. No, of course I didn’t know him.”

  Qian Shanyi smiled. “I see. Well, how could I help you?”

  “It is our duty to vanquish it, don’t you think? It will surely attack again.”

  “Oh, will it?” Qian Shanyi said, scratching her head. “But isn’t that for the spirit hunters to deal with?”

  “Ah, no, I am afraid,” Tang Jisheng said, giving her an easy smile. “If you have only recently arrived, you wouldn’t know this, but they are quite busy this time of year - I am often deputised to handle such small problems in their stead. I would send an official request, of course, but who knows how long it would take for one to come.”

  Qian Shanyi nodded. “I see… Well, of course I would do the best I can. Perhaps there is somewhere we can discuss our strategy in private?”

  Tang Jisheng grinned, gesturing further down the street. “Absolutely!” He said, “My practice is right above the river. How about I show you the way?“

  “Certainly. Right after you, fellow cultivator Tang.”

  Tang Jisheng’s house looked almost as well-made as that of Song Bo - if built as a tower instead of a wide manor. Three stories tall, it stood on an outcropping overlooking the river below and was surrounded by a beautiful, well-maintained garden. Its design was very sharp and angular - geometrical patterns carved in wood, square windows and a sloped roof, guiding the eye alongside the structure as if by the hand of a diligent teacher.

  It certainly looked beautiful - but not much like a doctor’s practice. It was far more fitting for a country estate of an eccentric merchant. That it was built a fair distance away from the rest of the town certainly didn’t help.

  As Tang Jisheng led them towards the entrance, Qian Shanyi took note of the paper warding talismans decorating the door frame. There were a good two dozen of them, going all the way from the footboard to the transom above. Even with the upcoming ghost festival, it seemed excessive.

  “Ah, I haven’t seen this style yet,” she commented, taking hold of one of the talismans once they stopped in front of the door. “Is it local?”

  “Oh, this?” Tang Jisheng said, barely paying attention. He was busy jingling with a ring of keys, trying to find the right one to open the door. “I bought them from the market. It’s just… tradition.”

  Qian Shanyi nodded. “They are fascinating little things. Not a scrap of spiritual energy, yet they are said to repel ghosts - and they truly do seem to work! I heard that every region has their own design - sometimes even one unique for a given village. Did you know that the mechanism behind them had been a complete mystery for a good thirty years?“

  “Really?” Tang Jisheng said, still distracted. “I don’t know. Do they really work so well?…”

  Qian Shanyi smiled again, momentarily glancing at Linghui Mei. She was mostly speaking for her benefit in the first place - it never hurt to share a bit of obscure knowledge.

  “It truly had been,” she continued, turning back to Tang Jisheng. “I read a paper about them about a year ago. It seems that their function is actually psychological - ghosts fear them because they think they should fear them, with what little remains of their shattered mind. After all, for all their life, four times a year they’ve put them up with that exact purpose. The way the scholars discovered this was most curious…”

  “Ah, yes, that is very interesting, fellow cultivator Xing…” Tang Jisheng said, just before his lock had finally clicked open. “There we go!” he said excitedly, stepping away from the doorway and giving a short bow to his two guests. “Welcome to my practice!”

  The first thing that caught Qian Shanyi’s eye was the fresco that took up one entire wall. Four legendary beasts clashing in a battle of tooth and claw - a sky dragon, a Zhuque bird, a western mist tiger and a yin tortoise. Each beast had its own color - blue, red, white and black - splitting the fresco into four sectors, each with its own theme.

  “Impressive,” Qian Shanyi noted. It really was an incredible painting. She wouldn’t have been surprised to see it adorning a sect’s halls.

  “I’ve had it commissioned,” Tang Jisheng preened, gesturing towards it. “But please, let us go upstairs.”

  Impressive as it may be, is such a violent picture really appropriate for your patients? Surely something more soothing would have been better.

  Aside from the fresco and a dressing area, the room was mostly empty; there was a staircase leading upwards, and four doors - all of them closed.

  “Please, let’s go to my office,” Tang Jisheng said, gesturing towards the stairs. “I have some good spirit wine…”

  Behind them, Linghui Mei stumbled slightly, putting one hand on the wall to steady herself. “Ah, master,” she said, wiping a bit of sweat off her forehead. “May I be excused? This walk has been exhausting…”

  When she tried, she was quite good at lying. Qian Shanyi even felt a little proud. Splitting up now was perfect - Linghui Mei could snoop around, while she dealt with Tang Jisheng.

  “My assistant had not taken the ghost well,” Qian Shanyi said, turning to Tang Jisheng with a pained expression on her face. “Is there anywhere she could rest? A kitchen, perhaps?”

  “Oh… Certainly,” Tang Jisheng said, gesturing towards one of the doors. “It’s right through there.”

  “Thank you.”

  Tang Jisheng already paid Linghui Mei no mind. “Shall we?” he said, gesturing towards the stairs.

  “Do you live alone?” Qian Shanyi asked as they began to ascend. She could hear the kitchen door close behind them - but the click of the latch never came.

  “Mostly,” Tang Jisheng said with a little laugh. “I have a maid come in the mornings, to cook and clean. I haven’t found a wife yet, you see?”

  He gave Qian Shanyi a look that she pretended not to notice. She was more than used to it.

  The more he ogles me, the better, I suppose. Will keep him distracted.

  The second story was far more mundane. The staircase ended in a comfortable living room - pillows and couches alongside the walls, and a pair of small tea tables - as well as a hammock, looking entirely out of place.

  “I hear those are quite comfortable,” Qian Shanyi said, gesturing towards the hammock.

  “Oh, I just prefer to sleep closer to my work, instead of going up to the bedroom,” Tang Jisheng said offhandedly. He stepped over to one of the cabinets, and took out a bottle of spirit wine, and a pair of glasses, gesturing with them towards Qian Shanyi. “Do you drink?”

  Qian Shanyi smiled, and reached a hand for the glasses. “Allow me,” she said. “I prefer to pour my own wine.”

  Taking the bottle, she ran a finger over the cork: still sealed, and the glasses were clean. She put a finger up against it, and pulled it out with her spiritual energy, before pouring the spirit wine with practiced ease.

  “Well, fellow cultivator Tang,” Qian Shanyi said, settling down on one of the pillows. “Let us discuss this ghost.”

  “Yes! We must vanquish it at once, before it claims any victims.”

  “Very much so,” Qian Shanyi agreed. “It seemed to me that the ghost fixated on you, in the market. It had fled for now, but I worry that it might attack those you know. Your family, friends, anyone else - we have to check up on them as soon as possible. Imagine if we had found out that one of your valued customers had been killed while we talked? It would be unconscionable.”

  “Ah… Yes, that would be quite bad,” Tang Jisheng said, wincing.

  “I have heard that you work with people all around this region,” Qian Shanyi continued. “Me and my assistant can visit those in distant villages, ask if they have heard anything - while you prepare spirit strengthening pills for the victims. If we find the ghost, we can easily set a trap. Would that be acceptable?”

  “Most certainly.”

  “Excellent,” Qian Shanyi said, leaning back. “So what can you tell me about this town?”

  Tang Jisheng began to speak - and to flirt, if only a little bit. As the wine flowed, his tongue loosened quickly.

  He never even noticed that Qian Shanyi had stayed on the same glass all throughout their talk.