Chapter Thirteen: The Woman Who Combed Her Own Hair

The woman was escorted to the ancestral hall, where a middle-aged man solemnly pronounced the verdict. Though his voice was distorted, the words were clear: “…Having already put up her hair, while working as a servant outside, she seduced the young master, disgracing herself and the family. According to the clan’s rules, she is to be punished—she shall be tied in the pig cage and drowned by the aunt who wears only an underskirt!”

It was because of what had happened before! No, the frail woman had clearly been forced! It was all that bastard’s fault! How had it become her seduction?

Tears streamed down the woman’s face as she pleaded her innocence, but no one cared what she had to say. Everyone watched as if it were a play, eager to see a scandalous farce. Maybe they had known the truth from the start, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the deed had been done; whether she was forced or not, the woman had to pay a terrible price!

The crowd lifted the pig cage and started toward the edge of the village. I wanted to stop them, but my body was still like air—I could do nothing to intervene.

They were really going through with it! How could such a barbaric punishment still exist in this day and age? Such vigilantism could easily be fatal…

I froze. What era was this supposed to be? My mind felt short-circuited, unable to process the thought.

I gave up trying, simply following the crowd.

They carried the pig cage to a tree by the river, tied heavy stones to it, and threw it into the water! The cage, weighted with stones, quickly sank.

No! I wanted to scream, but not a sound escaped me. Coldness instantly enveloped me, and a painful suffocation surged into my brain. I struggled to breathe, but water rushed into my nose as if I were drowning.

The agony was unbearable. What was happening?

My body wouldn’t move, as if bound by ropes. Panic and terror flooded my heart. This was what it felt like to be drowned in the pig cage!

Suddenly, the scene before my eyes became a glittering underwater world, and my body sank rapidly. Why was this happening! I had only been watching, so how had I suddenly switched roles? Was it me in the pig cage now?

It was excruciating. The icy river water flooded my mouth and nose as I twisted desperately, but it was useless. The more I struggled to breathe, the more water I swallowed.

I’m going to die! Someone save me! Anyone! Please, save me!

The agony intensified, my body settling at the riverbed, the water shimmering before my eyes.

I don’t know how much time passed. My consciousness gradually faded, my limbs ceasing to struggle.

In the end, no one came to save me…

“Industrious woman, no coffin, no one to carry her after death; Only a plank and half a mat, sisters help toss her into the sea…”

A dim, haunting song echoed—not through my ears, but from deep within my heart.

My consciousness slipped away.

I opened my eyes in a daze to a scene bright and clear. Did I survive? Was I still alive?

“Luozi! Thank goodness you’re awake!” A face appeared before my eyes.

I snapped back to myself. I hadn’t been drowned in the pig cage!

I immediately sat up and looked around. I was in the guest room at Wen’s grandmother’s house.

My head spun a little. What a strange dream. It had been hazy, yet now it was crystal clear in my memory, so vivid it was as if I’d experienced it myself. Especially that last sensation of drowning in the pig cage—I’d almost thought I’d actually died!

Noticing Old Chen standing by the bed, I remembered the ghost-summoning matter and quickly asked, “What happened with that ghost?”

“It’s already been discussed,” Old Chen replied.

I was stunned. Discussed? How? Hadn’t she disappeared at the time? How could there have been a discussion? When did that happen?

Wen looked at me like I was an amnesiac. “During the negotiation, the female ghost’s words all came out of your mouth. Don’t you remember any of it?”

Out of my mouth? I had no memory at all! Was this kid messing with me?

But he looked utterly serious, not at all like he was lying. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recall a thing.

Old Chen explained, “Of course you don’t remember. The female ghost borrowed your body to speak. You wouldn’t feel a thing.”

Wen grinned mischievously, “Last night you even started crying, sobbing your heart out.”

“Nonsense! You were sitting far away in the car during the ritual—what could you have seen?” I retorted, but my heart lurched. Damn! Could it be true? Had the female ghost used my body to do something weird? If she’d used my body to speak, wasn’t that possession? Why hadn’t this old man warned me that negotiating with ghosts literally meant letting them take over your body?

Wen didn’t argue, just kept grinning. From what I knew of him, he must be telling the truth. I couldn’t even imagine myself sobbing like that!

I tried to keep my expression neutral, not wanting to give Wen any more reason to tease me.

I asked about what had happened that night—what sort of ghost had they summoned, and what was the result of the negotiation.

Old Chen said, “It was the ghost of a hair-combing woman. In life, she’d gone to work as a servant for a wealthy family to make ends meet, only to be abused. When she returned to the village and word got out, the villagers punished her according to clan rules—she was drowned in a pig cage.”

Old Chen went on: the suffering of these hair-combing women didn’t end with death. Their bodies were not allowed back into the village, nor could they be placed in coffins or buried. Siblings and clansfolk were forbidden to attend their funerals.

Their bodies could only be laid on a plank by the sisters from the same women’s house, outside the village gate. A straw mat would be torn in half—one half to cover the corpse, the other to shield it from the sun. In accordance with clan custom, the body would be carried three times around the village to give thanks to heaven, earth, and parents for their care. Then, it would be taken to the riverbank and thrown into the water.

Wronged in life, resentful in death. Not allowed to rest in peace even after dying. No wonder such spirits were destined to become vengeful ghosts!

Hearing the story, my heart skipped a beat. Wasn’t this exactly what I had dreamed? Thinking back, that first ritual was the hair-combing ceremony, then the abuse, and finally being bound and drowned in the pig cage by the clan!

I described my dream to Old Chen and asked him what it meant.

“She borrowed your body to tell her story. It’s normal for you to see her past,” Old Chen said.

That last, vivid sensation of drowning in the pig cage was how she died. The clarity of it meant her suffering was immense, a pain she could never forget.

“What was the outcome of the negotiation?” I asked.

Old Chen sighed, while Wen’s face fell, discouraged. Clearly, the outcome was not good.

“The female ghost died with a great injustice, overwhelmed by resentment. Now, having been summoned unintentionally, she refuses to let go. She insists on claiming a life!” Old Chen said.