"Run, Young Master Liu, run! What are you still standing there for?" Old Man Tian shouted at Young Master Liu.

Under the moonlight, Young Master Liu turned back and gave Old Man Tian a somewhat sheepish smile.

The eerie smile on Young Master Liu’s face sent cold sweat pouring down Old Man Tian’s back. "What's wrong with you? Don't scare me like that!" he asked, backing away several steps.

Young Master Liu suddenly burst into laughter. "Uncle, I thought you had a bigger heart than me. Looks like even you can be scared sometimes. Look closely, that's not a ghost—it’s a paper figure." With that, he gathered the female paper effigy into his arms.

Hearing it was just a paper figure, the knot in Old Man Tian's chest finally loosened. He stepped closer and indeed saw that what Young Master Liu was holding was a paper figure. He glanced around and saw other paper constructs—buildings, sedan chairs, and so on, all made of paper. In the moonlight, anyone not looking closely would naturally mistake them for ghosts.

It turned out the two men were sitting on top of a fresh grave.

In the village customs, after someone was buried, items made of paper—such as a mountain of gold and silver, a sedan chair with bearers, and paper boys and girls—were often left beside the grave mound. The paper boy and girl symbolized that the deceased would have companions and servants to look after them in the afterlife. These items were left at the grave for a period before being burned. The two men had coincidentally chosen this fresh grave mound to rest upon.

"Stop fooling around, nephew. You like women so much, when you grow up, I'll introduce you to a girl to date. Hurry up and put that paper figure down. Be careful it doesn't turn into a spirit and come looking for you at your house tonight," Old Man Tian teased Young Master Liu.

Startled, Young Master Liu shoved the paper figure away and asked Old Man Tian with evident fear, "Really? Don't lie to me."

Seeing his lie had the desired effect, Old Man Tian stifled a laugh and added fuel to the fire, "Why would I lie to you? I heard the elders say that graves have too much yin energy. If the paper figure absorbs too much yin energy and then absorbs your yang energy, it will become a spirit and seek you out at night by following your scent."

"Then what should I do?" Young Master Liu asked in panic.

Old Man Tian laughed heartily. "Is there anything that good? Do you think a female ghost would really come looking for you? I was just scaring you."

"You brat! So you were trying to scare me, making me worry myself sick!" Young Master Liu shot Old Man Tian a side-eye glance.

Old Man Tian retorted, "Weren't you just trying to scare me a moment ago?"

"Go on, get out of here!"

By now, the night was deep, silver moonlight dappled the ground, and the desolate chirping of crickets filled the air. Having reached a truce, the two decided to continue their journey home.

Just as they were about to get up, Old Man Tian suddenly heard someone calling his name again. The peace he had just settled into was instantly shattered. He thought he was hearing things again due to ear ringing. So, he began cleaning his ear with his pinky finger.

Seeing Old Man Tian digging in his ear, Young Master Liu commented, "Uncle Tian, why are you digging your ear while walking? Be careful you don't damage it. Old Deaf Wang from the next village did the same thing while walking, slipped, and ended up deaf!"

Old Man Tian lowered his hand and asked Young Master Liu, "Nephew, did you hear anyone calling my name? It sounded like it came from far away."

"Nonsense," Young Master Liu cut him off. "You used the exact same line back at the Spirit Official Temple. You should change up your tricks. People might believe you if you cry 'Wolf!' once or twice, but after that, you just sound like a fool. Besides, out here in these desolate mountains, who else would be calling your name besides me? Don't try to scare me again."

Old Man Tian’s face flushed red as he defended himself. "I'm not talking nonsense! I really heard someone call my name just now, it sounded like Guoqiang. Otherwise, why would I be cleaning my ears for no reason?"

Young Master Liu observed him carefully for a long moment. Judging that Old Man Tian probably wasn't joking, he finally spoke seriously. "Uncle Tian, no matter who it is, whatever the name, absolutely do not answer! If you answer, your soul will be snatched away. Those ghosts are experts at mimicking voices familiar to people to lure them."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a voice drifted from the distance: "Tian Guangrong, Tian Guangrong, where are you? Hurry up and answer me!"

Now, it wasn't just Old Man Tian; both of them heard it clearly. Old Man Tian was terrified, his soul nearly fled his body. He looked at Young Master Liu in sheer terror and asked, "What do we do now?"

Young Master Liu cursed, "Damn it, these spirits just won't leave us alone! We just dealt with the Shadow Ghost, and now here comes the Soul-Snatching Ghost! What kind of rotten luck is this? The wind is up, let's scram!" With that, he shot Old Man Tian a look, and the two took off running.

As they ran, they could still hear the continuous, dreadful sound reaching their ears. The voice seemed to come from the depths of hell, incessant. Sometimes it called out for Young Master Liu; sometimes, for Tian Guangrong. Both men gritted their teeth, making sure not to utter a sound, fearing that one careless answer would lead to their souls being claimed.

After running for who knows how long, they finally stopped when the calling voices ceased.

Young Master Liu suddenly said, "I think I remember the elders saying that if you get lost by a spirit, all you need to do is pass some water. The Path-Misleading Ghost will—will make way for you."

Old Man Tian, also breathless, exclaimed, "Oh, I remember that too! Nephew, you're not being very considerate. You let down all the training the organization gave you. Why didn't you say so sooner? You made us run for so long! What are we waiting for then? Let's just go take a leak!"

"I only just remembered," Young Master Liu replied.

Old Man Tian clutched this like a lifeline, forgetting all about elegance and refinement. He hastily unbuckled his belt and started urinating. Young Master Liu was equally swift, unbuckling and straining with all his might. From a distance, it looked like two water dragons spurting out water.

After emptying his bladder, Young Master Liu felt immensely relieved. Seeing Old Man Tian still standing with his back to him, he asked, "Why aren't you done yet? Didn't you already go before we entered the mass grave? Do you drink too much, making you need to pee more?" He started to laugh.

Old Man Tian tightened his belt and cursed, "Damn it! If I knew we were going to run into a Path-Misleading Ghost, I wouldn't have peed before coming in here. It made me strain for ages at the crucial moment, only managing to squeeze out a dozen drops. Even a cat's pee would be more than mine."

Young Master Liu laughed heartily, "If only we knew! If only we knew we'd run into a Path-Misleading Ghost, I wouldn't have walked this path with you."

"That's true," Old Man Tian conceded.

"Look!" Young Master Liu said, looking up at the sky. "Why is the moon gone all of a sudden?"

Old Man Tian also looked up. "Well, that's strange. Why are there so many clouds for no reason? They've completely covered the moon."

Neither man dared to point at the moon. According to a legend in the folklore of the Old Northeast, if a person points at the moon in the sky, the moon in the sky is pointing back at the person on the ground. One moon, two moons; one ear, two ears. Because a person's ears resemble the moon, if you point at it, it points back, and your ears will inexplicably rot away.

The two stared at the sky for a moment, and the moon completely vanished. Young Master Liu declared, "Who cares! Escaping with our lives is what matters."

"Uh oh!" Old Man Tian shouted, pushing Young Master Liu, who was still looking up. "Nephew, I can't see the path anymore! The fog is so thick!"

Young Master Liu lowered his head and looked around. Visibility was zero; everything was shrouded in dense white mist. He also yelled, "It's over! Everything is over! I can't even see the path."

As the saying goes, even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Angered and desperate, Young Master Liu jumped up and started shouting into the darkness, "Damn it! You want our lives, don't you? Show yourselves! I'll wait right here for you to tear me open! Come out! Stop playing games and being spooky! I’m telling you, I’m not scared of squat! If I die, I’ll become a ghost too, and I’ll keep fighting you until the sun and moon are obscured by our chaos!" With that, he raised his fists in a brave, defiant posture.

Old Man Tian yelled at Young Master Liu, "Nephew, a wise man avoids immediate conflict. Can you calm down? Let's just sit here and wait for dawn. It can't be that far off."

"Easy for you to say! How can I calm down? Right now, we're less than ants, toyed with in someone's palm, and we don't even know if it's a person or a ghost! Ah!—Ah!—" Young Master Liu suddenly screamed and tumbled forward.

Hearing Young Master Liu's cry, Old Man Tian scrambled up from the ground and asked the fallen man, "Nephew, what happened?"

Young Master Liu, still on the ground, replied, "I'm fine, not dead. Something tripped me, I think."

Old Man Tian walked over to help him up and looked closely at what had tripped him. "Look, isn't this the bamboo pole I dropped earlier?"

"When did you pick up a bamboo pole?" Young Master Liu was momentarily confused.

"Oh, when I saw that paper figure, I thought it was a ghost, so I grabbed it for self-defense, right? Later, when nothing happened, I just tossed it behind me," Old Man Tian said with an embarrassed smile.

"Ouch!" Young Master Liu, feigning agony, grimaced. "Uncle, you’ve really done me in! Ouch, my hand! It’s going to break! You have to compensate me—at least three packs of Grand Reunion cigarettes!"

Old Man Tian leaned in to rub his hand and asked, "Nephew, is it better now?"

Young Master Liu seemed to remember something. "Hey, Uncle, even if you were holding the bamboo pole, wasn't it behind us? How did it get in front of us again?"

Old Man Tian replied, "Yes, I think that's strange too. I dropped the pole and we’ve been running forward ever since. When did the pole get ahead of us?"

The two exchanged glances and said in unison, "We're back!"

Both felt utter despair. Young Master Liu threw himself onto the ground, refusing to get up, and said dejectedly, "It's over, it's over! We've walked around half the night and still can't get out of this damned mass grave! If I had known, I’d rather die than follow you down this path!"

Old Man Tian, feeling guilty, sat beside Young Master Liu to comfort him. "Nephew, what's the use of regretting it now? We’re here now. It seems we’re stuck here tonight. Don't even think about getting out. Instead of wandering aimlessly, we might as well sit and wait for the roosters to crow at dawn. We’ll naturally be able to leave then. Look around—it's all thick fog; even if there were a path, we might not see it."

Young Master Liu nodded in agreement. "I guess that's all we can do. Ugh, I’m exhausted after all that running around half the night. Let’s just sit down and sleep for a bit!" He then leaned against Old Man Tian’s back and drifted off to sleep.

Old Man Tian was aching all over. They had certainly tired themselves out running around aimlessly half the night. But he couldn't sleep at all. Looking at Young Master Liu snoring peacefully, he gave a wry smile. You’re lucky, sleeping so soundly. Poor me—with how you sleep, you wouldn't even notice if a ghost carried you away.

Old Man Tian recalled what his grandmother, who was superstitious in his childhood, had told him: Path-Misleading Ghosts usually won't kill you; they just trap you in place so you can't leave. It suddenly dawned on him why they had run so long without escaping, yet no vengeful spirits had appeared to claim them—it was all due to their own fear. Their suspicion had conjured up phantom fears, leading to hallucinations. But both of them had been utterly terrified at the time and couldn't possibly stay calm. In doing so, they played right into the hands of the Path-Misleading Ghosts. Frightening themselves and running frantically was just futile; they ended up right back where they started.

As he thought, Old Man Tian felt his eyelids growing heavy, as if filled with lead. The sensation was indescribable—just overwhelming sleepiness, stronger than any sleeping pill. After holding on for a few tense seconds, his head finally drooped. But he would instantly clear his head for a moment, only for his weary head to nod down again like a chick pecking grain. Amidst the haze, he felt a cool sensation on his face, as if a pair of small hands were patting around. Old Man Tian slowly opened his eyes. What greeted him was a group of short children, dressed in the burial robes of the old society, patterned with copper coins, wearing landlord caps. Each cheek had a patch of bright red rouge, and their cherry-like mouths contrasted sharply with their deathly pale faces. Seeing Old Man Tian open his eyes, the little spirits were clearly displeased. They bared their teeth, grinned, raised their sharp nails, and lunged at him.

"No!" Old Man Tian jolted awake, trembling uncontrollably.

The hand that had been resting on his knee slid away. He slowly woke up, muttering to himself, "Thank heavens, it was just a dream. That was close. I must be too tired to be having such strange nightmares." He raised the back of his hand to wipe the cold sweat beading on his forehead, and the sounds of crickets chirping vigorously in the nearby grass, along with the sound of two hungry stomachs growling in the vast darkness, returned to his ears.

Just then, a series of footsteps approached from not far away. Old Man Tian tensed up and nudged Young Master Liu, who was still sleeping soundly against his back. "Nephew, wake up! Listen, it sounds like something is walking toward us."

Young Master Liu woke up, listened carefully as Old Man Tian suggested, and said, "You're right, something is coming our way."

"Could it be another strange thing?" Old Man Tian felt a surge of uncertainty.

"Damn it," Young Master Liu grabbed the stick that had caused him to fall flat earlier and cursed, "Who cares what it is! If it dares come near us, I'll greet it with this stick."

Old Man Tian quickly placed a hand on Young Master Liu’s shoulder, signaling him to stay put. "Don't be rash. Judging by the sound of the footsteps, it should be a person. Ghosts don't make noise when they walk."

The two stared in the direction of the sound. The noise grew steadily closer, the heavy footsteps pounding in their chests like two iron hammers.

Young Master Liu’s eyes shifted, and he slowly lowered the bamboo pole. "Who would be coming to a place like this in the middle of the night, just like us? Are they not afraid of ghosts?"

Old Man Tian stared fixedly at the source of the sound, a flicker of pleasant surprise crossing his face. "I don't know, maybe! Look! There’s a light over there! Someone must have arrived."

The two peered into the mist and indeed saw a light approaching them, growing brighter and closer. The light seemed somewhat blinding, forcing them to shield their eyes with their hands.

Suddenly, Young Master Liu yelled, "Ghost!"

"What now? What is it this time? Are you never going to stop causing a ruckus?" Old Man Tian hastily took his hands away from his eyes and was startled himself. Why? Because a wavering shadow stood before him—stooped, with a back hunched high like a small hill. In its hand, it held a dull, yellowish lantern. For some reason, the slightly greenish light illuminated only half the person's face, one side green, the other yellow. The face was wrinkled and craggy; in the dark night, it was enough to scare one to death, or scare a pair to death.

Before Old Man Tian could ask who the person was, a puffing voice came from ahead: "You little whelp, you're the ghost!"

"This is truly like hitting Lü Dongbin’s dog, not knowing a good heart when you see one! We came here in good faith to find you, and they call us ghosts!"