The Days I Spent With A Ghost

Later, Le Xi brought the ghost to the graveyard where they met, excluding a few children and women who passed away at a very young age and those who died a natural death, there were only a few graves to look into. 

After gathering the names into a list, Le Xi thought about what to do next. She considered visiting the families of these deceased individuals to investigate further, so she asked the ghost to draw a self-portrait of himself. 

Initially, the ghost excitedly drew an overly exaggerated version of himself where he looked more like a celestial being descending upon the mortal world, which Le Xi immediately rejected. Then, he dejectedly drew another by referring to his own reflection in the bronze mirror. 

Le Xi brought his self-portrait along and visited a few families, which all claimed that they didn’t recognize him. 

Although the ghost didn’t mind, Le Xi seemed rather downcast. 

“Pft. What are you being sad about? It would be unusual for someone to be able to recognize me now as I’ve been wandering around in that graveyard for so long. Even I myself was unable to find my own grave for all this time. If you could help me find it by just asking around like that, I’ll be utterly embarrassed.” 

“…You have a strange way of looking at things…”

“Alright. As a young lady, you should try and smile more often. Whenever I look at you, you either seem emotionless or look as if you’re stuck in a huge dilemma. How in the world are you going to find a good husband if you look like that all the time?” The ghost patted Le Xi’s shoulder. “Come. In return for helping me out, I’ll graciously draw a portrait for you .” 

Although Le Xi was already an adult, she had never once considered having her portrait drawn. She hesitated for a moment and agreed to his offer. 

The ghost’s artistic prowess was truly remarkable. Within an hour, Le Xi’s portrait was almost done. 

In the portrait, Le Xi wore her usual worn-out cotton robe. Her dark tresses rested upon her shoulders, framing her face beautifully. When she smiled, her cheeks were adorned with two adorable dimples and her round eyes were curved slightly, glinting with innocent radiance. 

I look so…delicate!

Le Xi’s eyes were glued to the portrait in adoration, a wide and goofy smile plastered across her face. When the ghost couldn’t bear looking at her silly expression any longer, he snatched the portrait away and Le Xi instantly turned to him with a dazed look in her eyes. As she realized he took away her portrait, she quickly grabbed it and tucked it into her sleeves. 

“Were you a painter in the past?”Le Xi asked. 

“How would I know?”

Le Xi contemplated for a moment while staring at her portrait. “But you’re highly skilled in painting.” 

“I don’t think so.” 

“Huh?”

“I can’t believe I made you look so beautiful. It must be because I practiced enough times with my own self-portraits. I would never accept any offers to draw portraits for another person, do you hear me?” 

“…Can you try to be a little more humble?”

“Humble? What’s that?” 

Le Xi rolled her eyes at the ghost that was leisurely leaning against the window with overflowing arrogance while waving a paper fan that he had obtained from god-knows-where in his hands. She couldn’t help but grin at him and said, “Alright, alright, I will continue and ask around for you.”

This time, Le Xi headed off to the Liu and Zhao family that lived in the west of town. They are both wealthy families who owned large estates, so Le Xi needed to wait for a long time before her request for a meeting was tended to. Unfortunately, none of them recognised the ghost in the painting. 

The sky had darkened when she was on her way home. She then decided to purchase a bowl of wontons to eat just to cheer herself up before she went home, otherwise, the ghost would definitely make a fuss when he sees her expression. 

Since when did I slowly get used to his presence? I’ll always expect him to ask me about my day or complain about something I did every time I got home. Even though I was still the only living person in the house, I never felt lonely anymore. 

As she thought about the ghost that was waiting for her in her home, she wanted to take a look at the portrait he gifted her. But when she checked her sleeves, she realized it was missing! 

Le Xi immediately leaped up from her chair and glanced around frantically, hoping that she dropped it somewhere nearby and to no avail, she figured she might have lost it after she visited the two families. 

The longer she thought about it, the more anxious she became. She abandoned her bowl of unfinished wontons and retraced her steps. She was so anxious that she couldn’t even think straight. To make things even worse, the whole town was already shrouded in darkness, which made her search even more difficult. 

It would be fortunate if someone picked it up. But if someone kicked it aside and stepped on it, I might have to throw it away even if I find it…

As time passed by, Le Xi couldn’t find the painting nor could think of a solution. 

She let out a sigh, wondering if she should just return home for the day. 

Suddenly, her eyes noticed two drunkards appearing from an adjacent street not far from her.  

“Hey, there’s a lady over there. I think she’s rather pretty.”

“Hah. Young lady, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night? Do you want me to bring you home?”

Le Xi wanted to run, but one of them caught her arm with a tight grip. It was not the first time she had encountered such trouble, so she calmed herself down and quickly thought about her options in this situation.

A high-pitched scream interrupted her thoughts. 

“AAAAAAAHHHHH! A GHOST!” 

The two men shrieked as their eyes looked at something behind Le Xi. They instantly released their grip on her and scrambled away as fast as they could. 

Le Xi warily turned around and saw a shadowy figure with a ghastly face just inches from her, sneering with its green, rotten skin, and long fang-like teeth. She stumbled a few steps backward in terror. 

Then the figure lifted its arms to remove the terrifying mask, revealing a familiar face with pale skin and attractive features. 

“What took you so long?!” He immediately shouted. 

“I-” 

He didn’t give her a chance to explain and continued furiously, “Do you know how dangerous it is for a young woman like you to be wandering out in the streets? That was a perfect example! If it weren’t for me coming to your aid just in time, what do you think would happen?…”

Le Xi lowered her face, completely aware that she was in the wrong. So, she listened to his scolding quietly until his voice became softer, suggesting that he vented enough. 

“The portrait.” She murmured softly.  

“What portrait?!” 

“I lost… the portrait you gave me.” 

“Idiot!” Confusion flashed through the ghost’s eyes for a moment before he raised his voice once again, “It’s just a painting! If you like, I could paint countless portraits of you anytime you wish! But I can’t believe you stayed out late at night just for that thing!” 

“…Don’t say that. You painted that for me…” Le Xi whispered. 

“Stop talking back!”

“I…” Her voice trailed off, unsure of what to say as this was the first time someone had scolded her fiercely. Not even her Master had once berated her for anything. 

Besides, why did he seem oddly experienced in scolding people… Le Xi thought. 

“Hmph! Time to go back!”

“Okay…”

After a while, the ghost calmly said, “Also, you don’t have to go around asking if anyone recognizes me anymore.” 

“Huh?”

“I’m not obsessively interested in my past life. Let what remains an unknown be an unknown.” 

“Oh.”

“Just that? Aren’t you going to say anything more in response?”

Le Xi ran after the ghost who had already drifted far ahead, her lips curled up into a smile. “Alright, I get it!”