Mystic in Hempen Robes

Black Book Case

Finding the furniture mall at the east end of the county town wasn’t hard. I pedaled my big “28” for about twenty minutes and arrived.

Ning Haoyu’s shop was easy to spot too. Walk straight in from the entrance, all the way to the back—the one right next to the restroom was his.

I pushed my “28” inside. No one greeted me or asked what I was looking for. Clearly, they didn’t think I could afford their stock.

At the entrance to Ning Haoyu’s shop, I saw a middle-aged man haggling with him.

Beside them stood a pure black writing desk. The man kept slapping the desk a few times, then chattering at Ning Haoyu.

The gist was that the desk wasn’t worth the price Ning Haoyu was asking.

Though Ning Haoyu looked bookish, he had a foul temper. Hearing this, he said, “If it’s not worth it, go look around nearby. If you find one cheaper, buy theirs. If not, come back—it’ll still be this price. Not a cent less.”

The middle-aged man had a quick temper too. He yelled at Ning Haoyu about not knowing how to do business, then turned and left.

As the man walked away, Ning Haoyu spotted me and greeted me with a smile. “Li Chu-yi, long time no see. How’s your grandpa?”

I parked my bike. “My grandpa’s gone.”

Ning Haoyu paused. “Oh… I’m sorry for your loss.”

Once inside his shop, I shoved his shoulder. “Sorry for what? He’s not dead. He just left—don’t know where. Anyway, got any new old furniture here? I need a piece or two.”

Ning Haoyu asked what for. I said I was planning to close the funeral goods shop and open a little fortune-telling store. From now on, I’d make a living telling fortunes.

Hearing this, Ning Haoyu burst out laughing. “You? Seriously? Can you even do it?”

I studied Ning Haoyu’s face for a moment. “Your Money and Treasure Palace is clouded with heavy gloom today. If I’m not mistaken, you haven’t made a single sale since opening this morning.”

Ning Haoyu rubbed his nose. “Alright, you guessed right. Fine, take a look. All my new stock is here. The warehouse is empty now. In a few days, I’m planning to switch trades anyway.”

As I browsed the furniture in his shop, I asked why he was changing trades. Wasn’t the shop doing fine?

Ning Haoyu said, “My uncle opened a bigger store in the city, wants me to help. I’m going in as a partner. This antique furniture business… it’s hard in our little county. Not enough wealthy folks. More rich people in the city, and my uncle has more connections. Easier to do.”

Then he asked if I’d seen anything I liked. After circling the shop, the only thing that caught my eye was that pure black writing desk by the entrance. I pointed. “That one. How much?”

Ning Haoyu looked over. “That thing? If you want it, I’ll deliver it to you for free on my electric trike. But as a friend, I gotta warn you—that thing’s a bit… off. At night, it keeps making these *tap tap* noises, like someone’s banging a magistrate’s gavel on it. Seriously creepy.”

“Huh?” Hearing this, my first reaction was disbelief, then I figured he was just trying to scare me. After all, I’d been in the death business with Grandpa for years and never saw any ghosts or weird stuff.

Seeing my skeptical look, Ning Haoyu insisted, “I’m serious!”

I shot back, if it was true, why didn’t he sell the desk to the guy earlier? Ning Haoyu smiled bitterly. “Business is business. Who doesn’t want to make more? I saw he liked it, so I tried to push the price up. Standard tactic. You wouldn’t get it.”

I laughed. “I don’t get your business tactics—driving customers away.”

Ning Haoyu told me to cut the crap. Did I want it or not? If yes, he’d deliver it free. If not, pick something else—but that’d cost money.

When it comes to money, I have one principle: save every penny possible. Since Ning Haoyu was offering the desk for free *and* free delivery, how could I refuse?

So I slapped my thigh. “I’ll take it!”

I also bought a chair and an old bookcase from Ning Haoyu, spending over four hundred yuan.

Ning Haoyu loaded everything onto his electric trike and delivered it to my place, even helping me arrange the room.

As for his own shop, he just closed up. Since he was planning to switch trades anyway, he wasn’t bothering to finish these last few days seriously.

After setting up my little shop, Ning Haoyu and I hit a barbecue stall near my place for some skewers and beer.

My alcohol tolerance is poor. After seven or eight bottles, I started feeling dizzy. Ning Haoyu was better off—he could still help me walk—but his tongue was getting loose too.

He told me the desk he’d given me today came from a house where an old man had died. Apparently, it was the deceased’s favorite spot for writing and painting while alive. After he died, the desk would make noises every night. The family couldn’t take it anymore, so they got rid of it.

Ning Haoyu, seeing it was made of ancient pine and good quality wood, had bought it without asking too many questions. Only later did he realize something was off. After asking around, it was too late to back out.

Ever since he’d brought that desk into his shop, business had gotten worse and worse. Sometimes he’d go days without a sale. He’d thought about throwing it away, but every time he considered it, he couldn’t bring himself to—after all, he’d paid good money for it.

Tipsily, I asked Ning Haoyu if the desk made noises every night. He said, “Not always. Sometimes it goes for several nights in a row, sometimes it’s quiet for half a month.”

Talking, we reached my place. Ning Haoyu was staying over. Since Grandpa was gone, he could sleep in Grandpa’s room.

But he wasn’t keen, saying he didn’t like old people’s rooms. He wanted to sleep in my room and have me take Grandpa’s. Ning Haoyu was a guest, had given me a free desk, and helped me out a lot, so I went along with it.

Fueled by alcohol, we both fell asleep quickly.

Sometime around two or three in the morning, I heard a faint sound in the yard—like a door opening, or maybe someone moving a table.

*Creak.*

I rolled over and kept sleeping. Probably one of the second-floor tenants coming home. Besides the chubby internet café manager, there was another night-owl tenant up there—a woman in her late twenties. Plain-looking but with a nice figure. Worked at a KTV and often offered to “pay” her rent with certain favors, but I always refused.

I didn’t want to lose my virginity so casually.

But soon after I settled, another *creak* came—this one several decibels louder and piercing, raising goosebumps all over me.

Half-asleep, I yelled into the yard, “Can’t you come home quietly in the middle of the night? Don’t you know people are sleeping?”

After my shout, it was silent for a while. But just as I was drifting off again, another series of *creaks* came from outside. This time, it was clearly not a door—it was the sound of someone dragging a table across the floor.

I bolted upright in bed. Then I remembered the desk now sitting in my shop. Could it really be haunted, just like Ning Haoyu said?

I peered out the window. Nothing in the yard, no one on the staircase. Just darkness, shapes barely visible.

Just as I was staring intently, a black shadow *whooshed* past my line of sight. I jumped back, startled, and yelled, “Who’s there?!”

No answer. The shadow seemed to have darted toward my little shop.

I turned on the yard light, grabbed a flashlight, and slowly stepped out of the room. Maybe it was a thief.

At that moment, Ning Haoyu emerged from his room too. Seeing me, he whispered, “You heard it too?”

I said I’d also seen a shadow go into my shop. Probably a thief.

Hearing this, Ning Haoyu lowered his voice. “A thief? Let’s catch him.”

I covered the flashlight with my hand, letting just enough light to see the path, and together we crept to the back door of the shop.

It was a solid wooden door, no window, so we couldn’t see inside. I checked the lock—it was intact, no signs of tampering.

Ning Haoyu said, “Chu-yi, are you sure? The lock’s fine.”

I was puzzled too. Had I imagined it? Or maybe the thief went upstairs?

Just as I was lost in thought, a soft *tap* came from inside the shop. Clear as day—like someone striking the surface of my new desk with an object.

Ning Haoyu looked terrified, whispering urgently, “That’s the sound, damn it. Creepy, right?”

I nodded and started fishing for my keys. Ning Haoyu grabbed my hand. “What are you doing?”

I said, “Just hearing it isn’t enough. I need to see if it’s really a ghost.”

Ning Haoyu held my hand tight, whispering anxiously, “Are you insane? What if there really is a ghost?”

I thought for a moment, then bit my finger and drew a vertical line with my blood on my own forehead, then did the same on Ning Haoyu’s.

He asked what I was doing. I explained, “The spot between the eyebrows is a ‘gate’ vulnerable to evil influences. That’s why people haunted by ghosts often have a darkening there. Using yang blood to seal this gate prevents a ghost from possessing us or harming us.”

I paused, then added, “But this is just something Grandpa taught me. I’ve never actually seen a ghost before. No idea if it really works.”

Ning Haoyu thought it over. “I’ve never seen one either. Let’s go take a look. If things go bad, we run. There are plenty of tenants in this yard—no need to be too scared, right?”

Agreed, we huddled together and unlocked the shop door. As it swung open, I mustered my courage and shone the flashlight inside.

The desk we’d placed in the center had been dragged noticeably askew.

And crouched by one of its legs was a shadowy figure.