Mythical Creatures Series 1: Ah-Jiang Chapter 7

Mythical Creature Series 1: Ah-Jiang

Chapter 07

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Ah-Jiang really lived up to his title of hundred-year-old malicious ghost. Once he held the piece of rock that had tripped him, he flipped him around as if he was playing with it. Constable Shi felt like he was a fish in a pan[1] being sauteed by the malicious ghost over and over again.

Shi Tou didn't know what spell Ah-Jiang had cast, but he kept on feeling like he had been on the bed for almost seven to eight hundred years. Once he woke up and saw himself lying on the bed all tidied up, he got up confused and originally thought that he dreamed a whole night's worth of a wet dream. But who knew that just as he tried to stretch, he almost rolled off the bed. A light chuckle in the wind rang by his ear, but it did not seem like one that was meant to laugh at him; instead, it was full of cherishing and helplessness.

Shi Tou supported himself by climbing up along the edge of the bed. Then he looked at the Lord Yi tablet on the table. Its red cloth had been lifted, and the three characters 'Jiang Yan Yun' suddenly leaped in front of his eyes.

He used great effort to get up to take a bath. Except for the bluish-black teeth marks on his shoulder, there really were no other marks on his body. Because there was still a bit of an odd sensation behind his back, as if the cold stuff was still in there, it made his walking position become unconsciously awkward.

Constable Shi went to the Yamen. Since his little house was too small, it could not be used to host a banquet for guests. The magistrate had cleared out the Yamen's backyard and placed many tables there, but when he came, they were all sleeping with their faces covered. Official Zhang and the old band head's cheeks were both red from drinking. The two old men were hugging intimately as their snores rang out, shaking the sky.

No one in the district knew why but all of them slept very deeply, and when they woke up, they all found out that everyone had long yet unpleasant dreams!

Right now, Shi Tou could only go back to his house to clean up the aftermath of the mess. Just as he pulled the door open, he saw that the little house was suddenly brand new. Taking just one step inside made it seem like he had entered another realm. He did not know when his little yard had transformed into a wealthy mansion. He looked at the elegant aura of all these decorations, even the mansion of Wang Yuanwai, the wealthiest man of the district, would be a great joke in the experts' eyes when compared to this.

"Guye."

The sweet voice almost made Shi Tou stumble upon hearing it. He then looked to see two young girls in bright makeup with cute and likable faces.

"Guye, please sit down to eat your breakfast. The lord is currently going to the east god palace to greet the god of the east. Just wait for a little while and he will return." The two girls pushed Shi Tou into his seat, and shortly after, servants entered with boxes of food. Fine appetizers and delicate pastries filled up two entire tables, and the two girls had chopsticks in their hands as they went near their guye and spoke sweetly, "Guye, Jing'er and Lan'er will help serve you."

Constable Shi obviously had never seen this kind of set-up. The two girls were earnest and attentive. Shi Tou'er had not yet realized what a husband who already has a husband should act, so he just sat there awkwardly and let them do whatever they wanted. "Guye, try this. Guye, these are the crystal dumplings from the capital's Yu Chun Restaurant[2]. Guye, drink some wine. Guye, guye…"

Suddenly, a gust of chilly wind came by and Constable Shi slowly raised his head from his bowl. The pair of servants showed panic on their faces and kneeled to the ground. Their whole bodies shook as if their bones were about to come apart. They called out in sync, "My lord…!"

Shi Tou looked in front of him to see the white-clothed male floating over.

Ah-Jiang wore a silverish-white robe today, and the end of it was wrinkled, dragging across the floor for a few inches like snow. He was just like a wind blowing by. His two wide sleeves raised slightly and a white jade was equipped by his waist. Three thousand strands of his hair were all tied up by one white jade hairpin. If his normal appearance were to be described as a clean, pure white lotus within the snow, now it was different. Right now, his beautiful eyes stared intensely as if they were a puddle of sparkling spring water melted from the winter snow.

"Ah-Jiang…" Constable Shi called hesitatingly.

"Mn," Ah-Jiang answered with a mild smile. He slowly helped Shi Tou'er up from his seat with two hands. His emotions of wanting to treasure him could not be described by words and he spoke warmly, "I didn't think you were gonna go out this early to do business. Please do not be mad at me, Little Rock."

"No, I'm not mad…"

"Then why won't Little Rock look at me? Is it because last night I──"

The pair of husbands walked to the yard together, and if looked from behind, Constable Shi's ears were already red as berries. But the ghost king was proud and joyous by his own doings. His feelings vibrated like boiling hot water and the little ghosts who saw the scene from the ghost mansion hid away while holding onto their hearts. These little ghosts lived under the ghost king, so their ghost auras were connected and they could naturally detect their king's happiness. Even when their king demolished three generations of his enemy and swallowed their soul so they could never reincarnate for revenge years ago, he was never like this. Just this pure feeling of like.

The king coaxed his new husband away and the ghost butler who went into the mansion saw the pair of beautiful girls kneeling on the ground quivering. He was extremely angry and pointed to who knows where inside the mansion then started to scold.

"Did my old self not order a while ago that fox demons cannot be left in the mansion?!"

He pointed to somewhere else, looking like he was scolding the air. "Also, those peach blossom ghosts, flower demons, rabbit demons, and koi demons, aren't all of those are on the list as well? Listen up, from today onwards, any of them that looks too pretty cannot be kept. If their aura is too outstanding, they cannot be kept. If they have past seduction experiences, then they definitely cannot be kept! Go, go, go. Give them some money and get them out of the mansion!"

The little ghosts heard and whined in their heads; sir, if we cannot keep any that have proper looks, then how are they supposed to find any other people…wait, that's not right. How are they supposed to find any other ghosts and demons as servants?

The ghost butler was about to keep the scolding going, but the ghost king's will was transported to him and it illuminated all the darkness and brightness.

"Wang Yue──the uglier, the better."

The ghost king took his new husband and circled around the ghost mansion in the river once. At first, Constable Shi did not dare to look at him, but in the end, he was attracted by the extraordinary scene. He ended up asking about this and that.

"Ah-Jiang, what is this?"

"Ah-Jiang, I think I just saw a robe flying in the sky. Could my eyes have seen wrong?"

"Ah-Jiang, that flower…could it be eating meat…?"

Shi Tou did not know that he was a monk who went through many hardships[3] in the past few lives, making his eight characters in this life extremely thick. If there were normal ghosts and monsters who did not have enough cultivation and were seen by Shi Tou'er, then it would not just be a simple matter. There wouldn't even be a single word mentioned from the ghosts to harm him. They knew that with people like him, they were worse to deal with for the ghosts and monsters. It's just that the east ghost lord had a unique taste and even dared to propose a yin wedding towards the east god forcefully, taking the blessed star back to look after his ghost mansion.

Shi Tou looked at the rich and elegant place then finally shook his head and smiled with a sigh when he and Ah-Jiang sat down together in the yard. "This place is just like paradise, but in the end, I'm still more used to my two small yards…" He suddenly realized he said something wrong in shock, and he quickly continued, "Ah-Jiang, that was not what I meant."

Ah-Jiang smiled softly. "I know." He also said, "I also like Little Rock's house."

If any other normal human saw the ghost mansion in the river, of course they would all be wooed by the sight. But in the end, the ghost mansion was placed outside of the mortal realm. So, if a human were to stay here for too long, they will be stained all over with ghost aura, and it would be unfortunate if their soul might not ever be able to return to their body. Lord Yi had already seen the evilness within the mortal realm before death, and then he controlled other evil ghosts for hundreds of years. So, with someone as pure and clean as Little Rock, it was impossible for him not to have the need to care for him. He wished he could just take his soul away and hide it within the Soul Sealing Tower, and not just those humans – not even the gods will be able to steal him away.

Shi Tou asked carefully and found out that his soul had temporarily left its body. So, after all, a ghost and a human's path were still different as they're two creatures from two different realms. If Ah-Jiang wanted to take him here, he would have had to take out one part of his soul[4]. Then there would be no harm when the soul returns to its body a few shichens later. Shi Tou could not help but start to think about the chaotic storm from last night; so, Ah-Jiang was like this too. Since he took his yang soul away, it was no wonder that he had no marks on him at all; yet, he was so tired he could not straighten his back.

Ah-Jiang said, "If I were to appear in the mortal realm, I would normally have to wait until midnight. If I were to break the rule, then I'm afraid my ghost aura will stay in the mortal realm and do harm to your life."

Shi Tou wondered, "Then, during the winter, why could I still see you during the day?"

Ah-Jiang smiled and Shi Tou shivered from the look. Then he listened as he spoke coldly, "Originally, I wanted my yin aura to wrap around you so that you would die from sickness. The escorter of the dead from hell would recognize my ghost aura so he would not dare to take you away at his own wish. Then I will be able to take your soul back and keep it by my side to cook for me every day."

Constable Shi was shocked. So when he ended up with such a horrible illness, it was really caused by Ah-Jiang.

"Your blessing was too heavy and when I wanted to pull your yang soul away, there would even be a Cheng Yaojin[5] coming out of nowhere to help solve your danger." Just looking at Great Master Yun Hai, he was a solid example of this himself; the holy monk could have traveled at any time, but he had to choose now.

Ah-Jiang seemed a bit regretful. "If I had to forcefully change heaven's fate, then that is fine, too. The most it will do is add another harsh mark on the debts of my sin. But I saw that your master and shidis all treated you truthfully, and Little Rock, I could not bear to let you be in sorrow. It is even more frightening that you might come to resent me in the future, so I could only put my head down against the east god for him to let you marry me. I agreed to the east god that I will not harm anyone from now on. Instead, for all the sins I have cost before and after death, I will do 9,999 good deeds to pay for it."

Shi Tou listened in a daze. He did not know whether he should be scared or be touched. He did not know that Ah-Jiang had such deep feelings for him, nor had he thought the malicious ghost really wanted to harm him before! Thinking it over and over, he could only shake his head. He could not cry out nor speak a word. He was basically sold out by his dear relatives, father, elders, and that crap-ass east god altogether. Now he felt regretful for the words he'd once said. Is he supposed to do such a thing like repudiate his wife or what?!

A question towards the thousands of citizens in this world: this kind of first-class ferocious ghost king, would you dare to repudiate him?! Anyway, our Constable Shi definitely does not have the guts!

Shi Tou sighed again. "Even if that's so, you should not have harmed the lives of those three innocent girls." Thinking back to the three girls who had no fate with him, brother Shi Tou still felt extremely guilty. Now that he knew they really all died because of him, Constable Shi could not bear it.

But who knew Ah-Jiang just blinked upon hearing those words with a look that looked like he did not know anything.

Shi Tou was then angered. Was it not Ah-Jiang who interfered and made him so unlucky?!

The ghost king would like to say he was accused wrongly!

He has harmed countless people and was never afraid to admit his wrongs, but Shi Tou being a nemesis of wives happened before they met by the river shore. Plus, that time his power was damaged greatly by the human, and many ghosts had been waiting for that day. Every day there would be ghosts wanting to swallow him to take up his spot as king of ten thousand ghosts. So, he did not have the time to go down the shore to get his revenge from the human. When everything had finally settled down, that was when Shi Tou went to drink wine beside the river shore crazily and made him gain an interest in him.

Constable Shi had a doubtful face; he did not believe him.

Ah-Jiang had no choice but to lead Shi Tou to the front of the river with a 'humph' in order to prove the east ghost lord's innocence.  "Little Rock says that I am to blame for your deceased wives. You should just look for yourself." Even when he finished, he turned his head over with a soft humph sound.

Ah-Jiang's five fingers turned and as his wide sleeve flew, a clear picture appeared on the clean river water.

Shi Tou went up and watched with wide eyes. The picture showed a mansion of the mortal realm. It was quite familiar and a delicate and pretty girl wearing pink ruqun[6] appeared. Shi Tou looked at that face and suddenly remembered; Wasn't that his second bride, Lady Li?

"You sure remember well." Ah-Jiang slipped in the comment and Shi Tou was silenced then. He decided to just squat down with his head lowered, looking away from him.

In the picture, a bright moon hung in the sky, and Lady Li stood beside the mansion's pond as she looked around, but it was unknown as to what she was worried about. Suddenly sounds of walking steps were heard, and just as Lady Li was about to turn her head back, her mouth was blocked by a cloth. It seemed like the cloth was stained with some kind of drug. Lady Li did not have the time to struggle before her power drained out and her eyes closed as she fell. Later, she was pushed into the water, and the delightful soul faded away quietly.

The murderer stood under the moon, out of breath. Shi Tou clenched his fist harshly and he focused his eyes to realize that there were two of them! One was the young butler from Lady Li's mansion and the other was her step-mother who her father married after the death of her mother.

Ah-Jiang's voice came by. "This girl had accidentally seen her step-mother and the butler cheating, so her step-mother purposely wanted to meet her at night just to murder her."

"This is outrageous!" Shi Tou yelled angrily. "I'm gonna go and take these two evil ones back to the Yamen for trial!"

But Ah-Jiang pulled him back and said, "It's been two years since the case. The evidence was already destroyed by them. Even if you catch them, you won't be able to do anything. Instead, they can charge you for false accusation."

Constable Shi was not a reckless man so he could only bite down on his teeth as his eyes saw red.

Ah-Jiang could not bear to stand by and see him anger himself like that, so he spilled a little secret. "The two of them: one was not faithful towards her husband and the other bit the hand that fed him. Then add on them killing a life – this has already angered the god above. Just wait for two more years and when the lord of the mansion passes away, the evil wife would then fight over the family's fortune with her partner and end up in a violent death. The butler will escape in the night but will suffer from continuous disasters and die in the end with no tomb to rest in." The corner of Ah-Jiang's lip slightly curved up coldly. "It will be even harder for the two harmful humans in death as ghosts; they will have to suffer through forty-nine days of burning in fire and eviscerate in the eighteen levels of hell[7]. For three lives, they will be reincarnated into the lives of animals[8] so that they could pay back for their sins in this life."

When Constable Shi heard the last part, he felt a wave of coldness attack his body. As the saying goes, sinners will naturally face karma. The wise man did not lie.

"What about the other two?" Shi Tou asked.

Ah-Jiang's finger turned and the image in the river changed again.

Right now, the water reflected a thatched cottage with a few little kids running around playing outside. Then it seemed like there was a loud yell from inside the house, and a wide-waisted woman was shown carrying a baby in one hand and a rolling pin in the other as she chased to beat a man!

"What a shrewish wife!" Shi Tou exclaimed in astonishment.

Ah-Jiang was rather happy as he smiled. "Little Rock, look closer at who she is."

Constable Shi focused on the old woman and when he saw the beauty mark beside her mouth, he immediately remembered and slapped his thigh; it was the bride that went missing on the day of his wedding!

Ah-Jiang spoke, "Before she arranged the wedding with you, she had already promised to stay with a servant in her mansion for the rest of her life. Under the will of staying with him, she ran away with the servant. The couple now bickered every day and even though it is not a wealthy life, it is still fulfilling and wonderful."

Constable Shi watched the woman swinging the rolling pin as it exposed her fierceness. He couldn't help but gulp slightly and let out a little breath as he said, "What a true heroine…"

As for the first girl, she really did not have many blessings as she was already fated to die at a young age. It was really not related to Constable Shi at all.

When Shi Tou listened as Ah-Jiang finished, he spoke happily, "Then, I really am not a nemesis of wives? Ha!"

Ah-Jiang's eyeball turned with a gleaming light. "For Little Rock to be this joyful, are you planning to go and tell the whole world? Then to search for a few sisters for me, mn…?"

Constable Shi shuddered and backed away slightly. "Ah-Jiang, you, don't talk nonsense. How can I, Shi Tou, be that type of person…"

"Since Little Rock was born with such handsomeness, I've heard from the elders of An Ling: Sir Shi is the district's best-looking man. If he were not a nemesis of wife, then he would've already had enough concubines to make a line all the way to the capital. Are such words false?"

Constable Shi was crying inside now. Those old men backstabbed me! He shook his head rapidly and denied strongly, "Don't listen to their nonsense, Ah-Jiang. In all my twenty-one years of living, I, I, Shi Tou have never thought of anyone else except, except…"

Ah-Jiang's face immediately turned cold upon hearing the words and asked coldly, "Except who?!"

Constable Shi's two cheeks flushed red. He bit down on his teeth. "Except the one who knocked on my door that winter night – the pig trotter-loving and greedy malicious ghost!"

Ah-Jiang was instantly shocked and he jumped forward the next moment, pushing Shi Tou into the water. Constable Shi struggled in his embrace with a red face, but then he saw the pale face that seemed to be tainted with rouge and the thick eyelashes that shivered slowly. The other's thin lips curved up a degree and spoke touchingly, "Little Rock, make pig trotters for me every day from now on, okay?"

Ah-Jiang asked in such a light voice with droopy-looking eyes and as if he was afraid of this human rejecting him, his two ears slightly reddened.

"Okay…" Constable Shi slowly nodded with his body soaked in the water.

Ah-Jiang's heart throbbed, and he kissed him as if it was a reward for him, then continued, "This entire life?"

Shi Tou answered, "This entire life."

Ah-Jiang's scent covered him. It was so good it could make one drunk.

"What about the next, next next, and next next next life?"

Shi Tou spoke, "Ah-Jiang is so greedy." How was he supposed to know about this type of stuff?

Ah-Jiang smiled as he gave him a soft peck. His Shi Tou'er grew smarter and knew that the malicious ghost would not take jokes lightly.

Yet he did not know, to be married with a ghost, even if this life ended, there will still be a mark left in his next life. Then his other half will come to find him to continue the marriage from the previous life.

With the sun and moon together, proven by the sky and earth, this love will not die throughout their many lives.

Translator: Crispyfry

Proofreader: CSchick911

QC: Xiao

Xiao's Comments: “Oh, that? I was totally trying to kill you but your luck was just too great.” Ah-Jiang is kinda scary…

Translator's Notes:

[1] pan – 砧板, actual translation would be "chopping board" but that did not make sense for rest of the description so it was changed.

[2] Yu Chun Restaurant – 玉春楼, literally means "jade, spring/youthful/joyful, building"

[3] 苦行僧 – the translation was based on what I have read and remembered from the whole story, but this term can also mean "sadhu" which is a religious ascetic, mendicant (monk), or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who have renounced the worldly life. Which I don't think is exactly what the author meant.

[4] soul – 一魂一魄, the literal translation would be "one soul, one soul" both the first and second character translates to "soul/spirit" and the difference between them are explained by religious beliefs. The first soul (魂), is related to the yang (陽) side of the soul and the second soul (魄) is related to the yin (陰) side. It is believed that there are three yang-related souls and seven yin related souls in one's body. See more here;

[5] Cheng Yaojin – 程咬金, not sure how it relates to the setting of his "blessings" but this is the name of a famous Chinese general from the Tang dynasty; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Yaojin

[6] Ruqun – 儒裙, an item of traditional hanfu primarily for women but also for men, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruqun

[7] Eighteen levels of hell – 十八层地狱, the depiction of "diyu" (hell) which is a subterranean maze with various levels and chambers to which souls are taken after death to atone for the sins they committed when they were alive, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyu#Eighteen_Levels_of_Hell

[8] Animals – 畜生, the literal translation would actually be "domestic animal" and it is an insulting term people from ancient China used to called animals since they viewed them as low-lives. It is also a word of insult by comparing a person to animal, which can also be translated as "bastard"

                                                                                            Chapter 8

Chapter end