Chapter 10: Hold Me Tighter, My Love

The sound was mournful and intermittent, carrying a sharp edge that made listeners shudder involuntarily. I struggled awake from my sleep and saw a white figure by the window; its back turned to me as it gazed outside.

“Chu Pei, who’s crying out there?”

Without turning to look at me, he chanted: “The seventh month’s mid, the ghost gate opens wide. Spirits of the wronged weep, dry bones buried deep. Where to go, where from? The path between yin and yang, the killing energy of life and death. The seed of karma, new bones remain.”

As his words faded, a bloody palm slapped against the window with a sharp crack. Terrified and chilled to the bone, I grabbed the blanket and shrank into the corner. At the same moment, Chu Pei flicked a string of blood red beads from his right sleeve.

The beads, adorned with red tassels, spun rapidly in midair. A piercing scream was heard, and the bloody palm print vanished like dissipating smoke.

The beads automatically wound back around Chu Pei’s right wrist. After a flash of red light, they disappeared as if merging into his very flesh and blood.

“Just now… that was…”

Chu Pei glanced back at me and said, “The living and ghosts are fundamentally different paths that should not interfere with each other. But if someone can see them, possessing a half yang half yin body, they easily become targets for possession of your flesh and blood.”

Because I had been staying with Chu Pei for so long, my Yang energy had become low, allowing me to see these things.

“Is there any way to replenish Yang energy? Or… or perhaps protective talismans for defense?”

He stared at me for a long moment before speaking quietly: “Don’t forget, I don’t belong to your human realm either. Do you regret it now?”

I looked up at him sharply, this time hesitating.

Chu Pei took a sharp breath: “If you regret it, I will disappear from your sight forever, never to appear again.”

“No! Don’t!” I rushed forward and held him tightly in fear: “Don’t disappear, Chu Pei. I love you. Perhaps meeting you was destined. I don’t know why I’m now… being so reckless, so crazy. So, before we have all the answers, don’t leave me.”

His expression remained indifferent, but a flicker of emotion passed through his eyes. He raised his hand to gently stroke my cheek and whispered: “From now on, I won’t give you another chance to regret it!”

Dawn broke outside the window, warm sunlight filtering through the windowsill in dappled patterns. I held him reluctantly: “You’re going to disappear again. Chu Pei?”

I instinctively looked up at him. The sunlight penetrated his Soul, yet he stood firm and unmoving.

He leaned close to my ear and murmured: “Hold me tighter, my love.”

Tears welled up in my eyes instantly. All I could do was tighten my arms more forcefully, wanting to shield him from all harm, yet feeling utterly powerless.

“Why are you crying?” He lowered his head to kiss away my tears, his voice husky and magnetic, filled with tender affection.

I slowly released my hold. Though reluctant to let go, I couldn’t be so selfish. Standing in the sunlight must be causing him great pain, and he might even face complete dissipation.

I pushed him slightly and said: “Hurry, go back quickly.”

The corners of his lips curved into a faint smile as he extended his slender right hand, allowing the strand of sunlight to pass through his palm. I could see traces of black energy slowly dispersing in the sunlight.

My heart constricted. I grabbed his hand, protecting it tenderly in my palms, using my entire body to block that ray of morning light. Choking back tears, I asked him: “Does it hurt?”

“In truth, we cannot feel physical pain; only spiritual oppression can cause harm. As I’ve said before, I am no ordinary ghost. Sunlight cannot harm me, though it does drain my energy and leaves me exceptionally weary.”

I suddenly recalled the string of beads on his wrist it seemed the wandering spirits were terribly afraid of him.

“What are those beads? They seem quite powerful.”

This time, he answered without hesitation: “They’re called Soul Strainer Beads, forged from the ashes of an ancient, enlightened monk. When I was young and alive, I was frail and sickly, born with an extremely yin constitution. By chance, I received grace from a Taoist priest who helped me overcome many dangers.”

“What about when you were alive ”

“Shh~” He pressed his index finger to my lips. “Don’t ask too much now. You’ll find out in time.”

“Chu Pei…” His soul gradually faded from my sight, likely having returned to his host body to rest.

Lately, the village atmosphere has grown peculiar. Incense sticks and joss paper were frequently seen burning along country paths normally this wouldn’t be strange during the Ghost Month, but what was unusual was how villagers avoided eye contact with me.

On my way to school, I often saw a five-year-old boy playing alone in the fields. No other children in the village would play with him.

Later I heard that both his parents had contracted AIDS and left the village no one knew if they were still alive leaving him alone to survive on food provided by different households.

Sometimes I’d bring him something to eat. He was terribly shy, his eyes reflecting deep distrust of people. I wanted to help him but didn’t know how.

After not seeing the boy for two days straight, I asked Xing’er during dinner: “That child called Little Stone have you seen him recently?”

Xing’er jerked her head up, unable to hide the fear in her eyes as she shook her head frantically. “No, I don’t know.”

“Really, you don’t know?”

“I don’t know, I know nothing…”

I was certain something was wrong, but seeing Xing’er’s reaction, I didn’t press further. Returning to my room, I found Chu Pei carefully examining that painting.

Blushing, I snatched it from him. “Why are you going through my things?”

He chuckled softly. “That painting… it’s of me.”

Hugging the painting to my chest, I turned away in frustration. “If you knew, why mention it?”

He embraced me from behind, whispering close to my ear as usual: “From now on, with me here, you won’t need that painting anymore.”

I smiled faintly. “But it’s you in the painting. If you ever leave me one day, I’d like to keep it as a memento.”

He kissed my earlobe, then released a long sigh, simply holding me gently as time seemed to stand still.

“Chu Pei.” I suddenly remembered the recent strange occurrences in the village. Perhaps he would have some answers.

“Hmm?”

“The village has become so strange lately, and Little Stone has disappeared. Do you know where he went?”

He released me, his expression turning grave.

“On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Gate opens. If the deceased have unfulfilled wishes before death, they linger by the Bridge of Helplessness, unwilling to reincarnate. They wait for the day the Ghost Gate opens to return to their living relatives, conveying their final desires. But having stayed in the underworld too long, they forget the way home, so their relatives burn incense to guide their path.”

I knew this well. From childhood until now, this custom has been passed down among the villagers in my hometown’s small town. Yet here, there was an indescribable strangeness.

I was about to say something more when suddenly panicked cries from outside the village interrupted my thoughts. By then, the world beyond the window had plunged into complete darkness. I glanced back at Chu Pei and hurried out after the commotion.