Chapter 28: The Haunted House
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The great house was now a haunted dwelling in the truest sense.
Seventeen people had died under one roof, their resentful spirits lingering and entwined. It was not merely a haunted house—it was worse than one.
Even so, to Li Po, the smell inside was far better than it had been that night.
The house was naturally in complete disarray. Li Po had also deliberately made things look as bloody as possible that day, so large patches of dried blood still remained scattered throughout the rooms.
Yet the air inside was quite fresh, carrying only a faint moldy scent. That was what a house ought to smell like.
Two vagrants in their thirties crept timidly into the house. That was their usual posture, one that perfectly reflected their lowly status.
Of course, fear was mixed in now as well. Without Li Po leading them, they would probably rather return to their own thatched huts than remain here for even a moment longer.
Li Chun was hardly any better. In places where Buddhism flourished, tales of ghosts and monsters had long since taken root in the hearts of the people. Without such things, the Buddhas would have no way to display their radiance.
The child clutched Li Po’s sleeve so tightly that he seemed determined to tear the whole tattered garment from his arm.
“Big brother... Why did you choose this house? What if someone comes seeking our lives...?”
Ever since learning that his elder brother had chosen this house, all his joy had vanished. He had muttered those words into Li Po’s ear countless times already.
Smack!
Li Chun received a blow on the head.
“What’s there to fear from ghosts? It’s people who are frightening. Since we’ve moved in, even a ghost will have to make room for us.”
In truth, aside from the fact that the great house was spacious and had a courtyard behind it, Li Po had also chosen it because he wanted to see just how capable the tax official really was.
He had not expected the man to give him a definite answer that very night. This could only mean that, although the man was currently stationed at the city gate, he was nothing like Yuchi, Luo San, or Sergeant Liu—those wretched laborers struggling at the bottom.
The measure of power had always been how great a matter one was capable of handling.
A bloody case had occurred here only days ago, and the verdict had barely been settled. Yet the man had already managed to arrange for someone to move in. That alone demonstrated his ability—and suggested that his backing was unimaginably solid.
Still, Li Po did not think too much about it. In his present circumstances, he had no room to think too far ahead. He could only take one step at a time.
“Get things in order. Bring over everyone who can no longer endure it there. We can’t leave that place empty either. Whoever comes over can stay. Discuss it among yourselves. In any case, now that we have this place, everyone will be able to survive...”
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At those words, the eyes of the other two men immediately reddened.
There was no need for empty talk. They simply set to work.
Thus, in the eyes of the people in Mayi’s human market, the great house—once so deathly silent and unmistakably a place of ill omen—began to grow lively again.
At first, many had come merely to watch the spectacle, guessing how long it would be before someone arrived to drag out these brazen little beggars, beat them severely, and haul them away to be punished.
Unexpectedly, no one came to interfere, even by nightfall.
Some asked the two market patrolmen. Others questioned the clerk in charge of the human market. The answers were all the same: the great house had changed owners. As for who the new owner was and what background he possessed, they could go and ask for themselves.
In truth, even the petty officials who managed the human market found it strange. What sort of person possessed such influence that, immediately after such a bloody case had been settled, he could take possession of the dead man’s property?
Of course, it was not entirely unheard of.
The crimes attributed to Zhang Dalang were no minor matter, and all the assets of his household had been confiscated.
Taking over the property of convicted criminals from the authorities was an ordinary enough occurrence. Before long, perhaps even the family members of Zhang Dalang and the others would appear in the human market.
Naturally, this time they themselves would become merchandise.
What was even more astonishing was that the vagrants from the nearby refugee camp began trickling into the human market. They came directly to the great house, with children crying and adults shouting, turning the place into a spectacle for the entire market.
At first, some speculated that a charitable man from the city had rented the great house, taken pity on the suffering refugees, and allowed them to stay there temporarily—perhaps also to dispel the house’s malevolent aura.
Others, with darker thoughts, imagined that before long these refugees would become human livestock belonging to the merchant.
But regardless of what others thought, the great house and the courtyard behind it were soon occupied by the refugees.
The great house was cleaned up, and all its rooms found occupants. Together with the several rooms in the rear, there was more than enough space to accommodate everyone from the refugee camp.
Only the thatched huts in the camp still had people living in them.
By then, the refugees no longer cared whether the house was haunted or not. The weather was growing colder by the day, and to have a place where they could settle down and keep the bitter winter wind outside was, to them, worth braving even if it was hell itself.
Once the people had settled in somewhat, Li Po urged them to begin boiling water, for the air inside the house had once again grown foul.
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Although Li Po himself had always stunk and had long since grown accustomed to such odors, things were different now. In his view, they ought to pursue at least a slightly better quality of life.
They had to bathe and wash their clothes. No matter how ragged everything was, it still needed to be kept as clean as possible.
That day, the refugees did almost nothing else. Basin after basin of dirty water was carried outside and emptied. Fortunately, in these times, no one charged for water. Otherwise, the amount they used in a single day would have been enough to send Li Po to prison.
At noon, they continued to collect gruel.
By now, solving the problem of food had become the greatest difficulty facing Li Po.
He still had to rely on others. There was no alternative. With nothing at all to his name, life was hard.
That noon, Li Po brought Li Chun to collect a bowl of gruel. In the eyes of the petty officials distributing it, he did as usual: he sat leaning against a spot not far from the pot, warming himself by the fire while eating. Once he had finished, he could collect another bowl.
He had enjoyed this special treatment for quite some time.
Today, however, after finishing his gruel, Li Po went over to one of the petty officials and said with a smile, “You’ve worked hard, Second Brother Zhang.”
This Second Brother Zhang was one of the minor leaders there, a warehouse clerk in charge of provisions.
He was responsible not only for guarding a storehouse in the northern part of the city, but also for distributing gruel at the refugee camp after it was established and submitting the accounts. In addition, he was charged with assisting the soldiers in overseeing the camp.
The refugees in the northern district were few and generally well behaved, however, so he had never once entered the camp.
That was thanks to Li Po. Thus, when Luo San first sought him out, he had reluctantly begun looking after Li Po. By now, he could turn a blind eye to some of Li Po’s more unconventional behavior.
In truth, this insignificant refugee named Li Po was a rather unusual figure in the eyes of the tax official. In the eyes of this petty official distributing gruel, he was no different...
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