A Chinese Ghost Story IV

Ning Choi-San, a timid debt collector, travels to a rural town to collect taxes but quickly finds himself short on funds. With nowhere else to turn, he takes shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the town’s edge. That night, he meets a beautiful and alluring young woman, Nip Siu-sin, and he falls in love.

In the morning, as he recalls the night’s events, fear and superstition take hold after a Taoist priest warns him that the people he saw in the temple are ghosts. That night, he returns and confirms Nip is a ghost.

Nip explains that she is trapped by a sinister Tree Demoness. As long as her remains lie at the foot of the tree, her spirit is enslaved. Desperate to free her, Ning seeks help from Yin Chik-ha. Yin battles the Tree Demoness and tries to release Nip’s soul but fails. As punishment for betraying her master, Nip’s soul is banished to the Underworld.

Ning refuses to give up and insists that Yin help him. Yin reluctantly opens a temporary portal into the Underworld and brings Ning along to search for Nip. The Underworld is crowded with spirits, making the search difficult, but they finally glimpse Nip briefly near dawn as they manage to return to the world above.

When sunlight falls on the urn containing Nip’s cremated remains, Ning shields it with a curtain to prevent Nip’s soul from being destroyed by sunlight. Before leaving for good, Nip tells him that the only way to save her soul is to rebury her remains at a more auspicious burial site. Following Yin’s advice, Ning buries her remains near the crest of a hill, lights a joss stick, and prays for Nip’s soul as Yin watches solemnly.

The story closes with Ning and Yin riding off toward new adventures, a rainbow arching across the sky.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:47