Chapter 10
Looking at my brother’s grave before me, I felt overwhelmed with sadness. But thankfully, I had my master, my sister-in-law, and my nephew by my side, which helped me calm down a little. “Huhu…” The cold wind blew gently, making me shiver. I looked up at the moon and felt a bit regretful. It was all my own fault for trying to be heroic and insisting on encountering those ghosts. But then I glanced at my master, whose expression remained unchanged. I mustered my courage: After all, this was my first time encountering such things. If Lan Li Ross wasn’t afraid, then what was there for me to be afraid of?
After waiting for what felt like forever, the ghosts still didn’t appear. I began to suspect that my master might be lying to me. Just as I grew bored, something strange happened in the otherwise quiet cemetery: figures—no, ghosts—begged to differ—emerged from the tombstones surrounding my brother’s grave. They seemed like they had just woken up, stretching and greeting each other. I was quite surprised: ghosts weren’t scary at all; in fact, they seemed quite interesting. But soon, the ghosts noticed us. They turned their heads toward us. I was so scared that I hid behind my master, peeking at them secretly.
Seeing that they had no intention of harming us, I felt relieved. They must have found it strange as well—that someone would dare to come to a graveyard at night. I looked around at all the ghosts, but my brother wasn’t among them. I turned to my brother’s grave, silently hoping to see him again. Gradually, my brother’s figure appeared. When he saw me, his face was full of surprise. He asked in confusion how I could be there. “Brother, it was Master who brought me here. I’ve finally been able to see you again!”
The ghosts around us, seeing that my brother and I knew each other, also came over to talk to us. At that moment, my master explained, “There are good and bad ghosts in the world. Those around you are kind-hearted and won’t harm us. Our Maoshan sect promotes goodness and eliminates evil. We only kill those ghosts who have committed many wicked deeds. The reason I brought you here today is so that you could see your brother.” I looked at my master with deep gratitude. I knew he didn’t have to do this, but he went out of his way to arrange everything for me. Words got stuck in my throat; I didn’t know what to say.
“Leonardo, who is this person? I saw you call him ‘master’.” My brother asked, pointing at the master. I slapped my forehead in realization—I’d almost forgotten to introduce him. “Brother, this is my master. I learn Maoshan magic from him. He’ll help me bring your body back to life. My master is very skilled, don’t worry.” Then, the master told me to go play by myself, as he needed to talk to my brother in private. Seeing how secretive they seemed, I didn’t ask any further. Instead, I started chasing after those ghosts, having a great time playing with them.
Suddenly, I stood still in front of a little ghost. It slowly approached me. Then, I burst into laughter, scaring it so much that it hid behind a tombstone. I never thought a ghost could be afraid of me! After realizing what had happened, it muttered to itself, “That’s not right. We’re ghosts. It’s supposed to be us scaring him, not the other way around. How stupid of me!” Seeing this, I couldn’t help but laugh uproariously. At that moment, an old ghost emerged from the graveyard, baring its teeth and roaring, “Ah, I died such a miserable death! Come and join me!” Although it tried to act scary, I found it hilarious. I laughed out loud, and the other ghosts laughed along with me. It was like a group of fools laughing at each other.
That night, I not only understood the purpose of the “yin-yang eyes,” but also learned an important lesson. I used to think that ghosts were all terrifying. But it wasn’t until today that I realized they, like humans, can be good or bad. We shouldn’t reject all ghosts just because of those evil ones. One must learn to distinguish right from wrong. At that moment, my master came up behind me. I knew his conversation with my brother was over. I wanted to ask what they had discussed, but neither of them would say anything. “Young man, remember this: one should not go to extremes, nor should one shed innocent blood. Ghosts can be good or bad. Under no circumstances should one kill the innocent. This is a crucial lesson for you.” I knew that my master had done all this to teach me this lesson. I quickly nodded and said, “Thank you, Master. I’ve remembered everything.”
