"Sir, let me pedal the cart.
You rest—just tell me the address."
I knew when to be helpful.
The old man didn't decline, probably tired.
So he sat in the back of the tricycle while I pedaled upfront.
"Sir, how should I address you?"
"My last name is Ma. Everyone who knows me calls me Old Ma Tou. You can call me Uncle Ma."
I pedaled hard: "Uncle Ma, thank you for saving me tonight."
He smoked in the back, saying between puffs: "No need to thank me. Meeting me tonight means your time isn't up yet."
Next, Uncle Ma told me the story of the red-cloaked female ghost.
Her name was Lu Xiaona, born into wealth.
The neighborhood the fat guy sold houses in was a newly built rich district.
Before that, the area had been an old villa community
Where only wealthy people lived.
Lu Xiaona was kind-hearted and beautiful.
In her early twenties, she fell in love with a poor guy from the countryside.
The guy was motivated, hardworking, and seemed honest.
Ignoring her parents' objections, she married him without hesitation.
Her parents couldn't bear to see their daughter suffer, so they gave her cash, a company as a dowry,
And bought a villa registered under the couple's names.
After marriage, Lu Xiaona had two daughters and a son, staying home to care for them.
With her parents-in-law's help, the poor guy built his own career.
But then, Lu Xiaona's younger brother died in a car accident—killed instantly.
Lu Xiaona became her parents' only child.
Naturally, all the Lu family's property would eventually go to the couple.
But the poor guy couldn't wait.
"…One day, the man worked overtime at the company.
An accidental fire burned down the house, killing her parents, Lu Xiaona, and their three children.
All evidence pointed to an accident.
The man inherited all his late wife's family property.
By the second half of the year, he married a young, beautiful woman and lived like a king ever after."
I guessed the reason faintly: "Could it be… her husband did it? For her family's wealth?"
Uncle Ma hummed in agreement: "That place became haunted afterward, badly.
The ghost was Lu Xiaona.
Her parents didn't become ghosts, but she and the three children did.
Her resentment was so strong she refused to move on, vowing to get revenge on the man.
Moreover, she wanted to raise her ghost children.
That's why she harms people—sucking the yang souls of the living to feed her three ghost kids."
As we spoke, we arrived at Uncle Ma's home.
He rented a corner room on the first floor of an urban village.
Pushing the door open, the space was less than 30 square meters.
The environment was simple but neatly tidied.
Uncle Ma cheerfully invited me in, pouring me a glass of cold boiled water.
"I was born with a 'lonely star' fate—no wife, no children my whole life.
When I was young, I married a wife. She was a good woman, but she died early.
Later, I learned 'ghost-sending' skills from my master.
That's when I realized my fate clashes with wives and children.
After that, I chose to live alone.
In the blink of an eye, I'm sixty this year.
Time flies—this life is almost over…"
He sat on a plastic stool, sighing with a smile.
His gaze stayed on a black-and-white photo on the wall.
It was an enlarged old photo in a frame,
The surface of which was wiped clean.
Inside were a young man and woman.
The man wore a white shirt, staring seriously at the camera.
The woman had braids, wore a floral shirt, sat upright with hands on her knees—
A typical pose for older generations in photos: solemn and earnest.
Listening to his words, I felt a pang of emotion.
Some people love one person their whole life.
Others can harm their own wife and children for profit.
Uncle Ma looked away, continuing about Lu Xiaona.
After the villa area was redeveloped, her ghost lingered in that building.
But usually, she wouldn't leave it—
Because her three children's ghosts were weak and needed her protection.
Now that she'd targeted me,
It was likely I had something that attracted her specifically.
But Uncle Ma couldn't tell what exactly made me so appealing to her.
For now, the only help he could offer was making a substitute effigy,
Letting Lu Xiaona think I was dead.
Then she'd stop troubling me.
As he spoke, he dragged an old box from under the bed.
Opening it, it was filled with strange items:
Cloth scraps, talisman paper, dried vines, withered grass roots…
All sorts of things stuffed the box.
Uncle Ma said: "I'll make your substitute now."
He pulled out some items,
First sewing and patching colored cloth scraps,
Then stuffing withered grass roots inside to form a roughly human-shaped doll.
When closing the final stitch, Uncle Ma had me cut a lock of my hair and nails to tuck inside.
Next, he pricked my finger to get blood,
Using it to dot eyes on the doll.
He wrote my birth date on yellow paper, burned it,
And rubbed the ashes onto the doll, making it look dirty.
After finishing, he handed me the doll:
"This is a substitute effigy made from century-old grave grass roots and a deceased's clothing scraps.
Take it now, go to the nearest crossroads.
Stand still, close your eyes,
Spin three times clockwise, then seven times counterclockwise.
Open your eyes, and walk straight in whichever direction you face.
If you hit an obstacle, stop and spin again.
Keep going like this
Until you meet the first person.
Walk up to them and ask, 'Look at me—am I human or ghost?'
If they say 'human,' tell them they're wrong and make them look again.
Keep at it until they change their answer to 'ghost.'"
I was confused by this.
Asking a stranger that question—
They'd probably call me crazy.
Seeming to read my worry, Uncle Ma patted my shoulder:
"Go. Remember, you must get an answer before dawn.
If not, this substitute ritual will fail.
And I'll be powerless to help."
I held the substitute doll, feeling it was bizarre, but Uncle Ma was the only expert I knew.
At this point, I had no choice but to try.
I said goodbye to Uncle Ma and walked to the first crossroads outside the urban village.
It was 4 a.m., with about an hour until dawn.
Not a soul was on the road.
My time was running out.
Closing my eyes, I started spinning—
Three clockwise, seven counterclockwise.
Luckily, when I opened my eyes, there was a straight road ahead,
Not a green belt or community wall.
I began walking.
Since it was a main road, there were no obstacles.
After nearly half an hour, I finally saw someone:
A drunk man staggering toward me on the sidewalk,
Mumbling curses:
"Fuck you, bastard boss.
I get paid 5,000 but do 50,000 worth of work…
Still have to drink with you? I'll... vomit... I'll drink with your mother... vomit..."
The stench of alcohol wafted over with his vomit.