The Seven Ghostly Sisters seemed to love bickering and teasing each other. It was later revealed that Aunt Fen and Xiao Er (literally, Little Two), the second of the Sisters, were dead much earlier than the rest, who died around the same period; hence they looked almost the same age.

Aunt Fen then explained to her ghost siblings of our purpose. All six of them bellowed with such joy and excitement that I could not resist asking Aunt Fen of their sudden outburst. Apparently, having long being cooped up indoors, the six of them were anxious for an opportunity to alleviate their boredom and we had just presented them with the means of doing so. They had longed to roam the open, grassy steppes of Inner Mongolia and to seek fresh adventures upon the vast prairies of the North. We could hardly suppress a weak smile; we would be in for a hell of a trip, I guessed. I began to wonder who ordinary folk would think if anyone were to know that we would be traveling up north with half a dozen female ghosts with us. Moreover, all six of the Ghostly Sisters did not meet peaceful ends when they died. This fact alone was the reason that they were no different from the vengeful spirits which harbored malignant intents. At least, I myself knew what Xiao Qi had almost done before.

I drew all six of them into my calabash gourd and we left the room. We came to the living hall, where Mr. Zhang was sitting on a couch, watching a ball game on the television. Seeing us coming, Mr. Zhang beckoned for us. “Come! Come! I’d wager that you’re all free this afternoon? Come sit with me for a while.” With no need for niceties, I plopped into a seat beside him and we began talking about our recent adventures while we enjoyed the game, and I revealed to him of our recent encounters.

Throughout our tale, Mr. Zhang expressed his wonder and amazement with various manners that I even lost count. In the end, I asked him, “So, Uncle. Since when did your ghastly sisters-in-law come here?” The question seemed to strike a nerve as Mr. Zhang’s expression turned dreary. “You know nothing of my plight!” He grimaced. “Dealing with the sisters of your Aunt Fen is no easy feat! Things are well during the daytime. But when Night falls, that’s when the sisters come out to wreak havoc! I receive regular complains from the security, saying that noises are coming out from my house on a nightly basis that my neighbors are all annoyed!” The three of us giggled. Indeed, how would anyone be able to withstand the noise and uproar from the rowdy carousing of six female ghosts? A disgruntled voice came suddenly from within the gourd. “You should be thankful, Brother-in-law! We’re here to keep watch on you and Sister! For a year we have waited, yet we’re still far away from seeing a baby! You’re already in your fifties; you got to be quick if you really want one!” A pink shade burned on Mr. Zhang’s cheeks as he became speechless with embarrassment while we burst out guffawing. “How about you seek help from my father, Mr. Zhang,” Lin Feng said to him, “You can learn some wushu from him to strengthen yourself. You might even discover added benefits!” Mr. Zhang’s face grew redder and redder. “Aye, quit teasing me, you brats… I’m already in my fifties… Can I hope for a child, surely not?” Another round of laughter swept across the room as we and the Sisters in the gourd erupted.

We began delving into the specifics of our trip. “How are you lot going tomorrow?” Mr. Zhang asked. “It’s all been settled,” I said, “We’re booked for a flight tomorrow evening.” Mr. Zhang nodded. “Good. It’s better to go by plane. Riding the train can be torturous. So, who’s coming for you when you arrive there? Do you need a car? I know a guy from a car rental service there.” Indeed, I thought. We could not expect to move around in Tao Gang’s patrol car there. That would be tantamount to informing the enemies of our presence. We agreed to Mr. Zhang’s offer and he helped us contacted the car rental service there. Both he and Aunt Fen were like relatives to us. I made him a promise that I would return with some dried beef jerky to which he merely laughed and remarked, “I am already thankful enough that you’re taking my sisters-in-law out for an outing!”

Just when we were leaving, a grumbling voice came from within my calabash gourd. “It’s too cramped here. Can’t you find us a wider space?” Feeling mildly irritated, I growled, “It’s 2 p.m. now. I’d gladly release you if you’re not afraid of the intense Yang energy around now…”

On the way back to the Center, we began chatting with the six Sisters. Our discussion strayed to how they died and Xiao Qi quipped, “Surely you still remember how I died?”

I asked about Xiao Liu, who replied that she killed herself by slitting her wrist. “Did you kill yourself when your heart was broken after a failed romance?” I asked as everyone else was chortling in delight, and my question roused another round of amused chuckles by the rest of the other Sisters. “You guessed right,” Xiao Liu said softly with a bashful smile. Some discussions later revealed that Xiao Liu was a quiet and introverted girl when she was alive, but her boyfriend defiled her and she took her own life out of shame and misery. Another cheery laughter diverted our gaze. “I’m a tad better than them both; I died because of sickness.” Hesitantly, I asked, “And, you are…” The voice chirped in response, “I’m Xiao Wu!” Xiao Wu had died at a very young age due to an incurable disease that had robbed her of any future.

Xiao Wu would have continued with a tale of her own, when another voice spoke. “I died the most painful death,” she said, “I hanged myself.” I was looking for the origin of the voice when the same voice said, “Oh, I forgot. I’m Xiao Si.” Xiao Si’s predicament was an utter antithesis to Xiao Qi’s plight; Xiao Qi killed herself by jumping into a reservoir when her family was objecting strongly to the choice of her sweetheart, whereas Xiao Si hung herself to death when she was forced into a marriage against her own will. Xiao Si finished her tale, and another voice spoke suddenly, “Actually, it was I who had died the most painful death…” Compelled by our budding interest to know more, we were about to ask but Xiao Qi seemed to have read our minds. “Second Sister was burned to death alive.” The three of us emitted a long and trailing “oh” and Lin Feng immediately asked, “What caused you to kill yourself?” “I did not kill myself; I was killed!” Xiao Er snapped, much to our surprise.

It was only then we were told that Xiao Er had wanted to rescue someone from a huge fire, only to have herself trapped within the burning wreckages while the person was successfully rescued; she had instead become kindling for the huge fiery inferno that day. Both she and Aunt Fen were the ones who had their lives ended in tragic accidents.

I began ticking off on my fingers and found that we were still short of one, when I realized that Xiao San has yet to speak. “How did Xiao San died?” I asked and Xiao Qi’s impish voice came again. “Well, she’s not called Xiao San for nothing! She died after being wrongly blamed!” Beside me, Yuan Chongxi burst into stifled giggles. Xiao San spat angrily at her sister, “Curses! You insolent witch! You sure enjoy poking fun of me! You want a taste of dying after being wrongly blamed?” Xiao San then confessed of her past: she was hit by a car and died succumbing to the injuries, but the perpetrator of the accident had escaped and until today, he remained at large, causing her to turn into a vengeful spirit with the strongest grudge among all seven Sisters. But through her interactions with the rest of the Sisters, Xiao Qi was closest to Aunt Fen and Xiao San; she was the only Sister who dared to tease the tempestuous Xiao San.

It was already 3 p.m. when we reached back at the Center. I collapsed into the couch and released the six Sisters from my gourd. To be honest, the six Sisters were all gorgeous after their changeover. By “changeover”, I was referring to the looks that they retained before they died. Ghosts were able to retain the features and appearance of their once-alive selves before they were dead with the help of some magic. Without this transformation of their appearance, Mr. Zhang would long have been frightened to death himself; Xiao Er would be nothing but a blackened corpse, Xiao San would merely be a mangled pulp of bloody human remains, Xiao Si would have her tongue protruding like the White Herald of Hell (the White half of the Heibai Wuchang), and Xiao Wu would be a sickly bag of bones. Xiao Liu would hardly have any difference, since she died due to the massive loss of blood, but her pale and deathly-white face would be enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone, whereas Xiao Qi would be an unrecognizable mass of a swollen carcass salvaged from the water.

I sat down to think and extracted four talismans from my pocket. “I will not have you all in my gourd tomorrow,” I said to them, “There might be times where we might need to split up; hence I hope that the six of you can be divided into pairs to follow each of us.” The six Sisters had no objections, alleging that being about to come out to roam was already a favor to them. It would help that they were so amenable, I mused. After some evaluations, I made my decision. “Xiao Er and Xiao Liu seem to be more collected; you will both follow Brother Lin. I’ll leave it to you both to act on your own discretion if anything arises. Xiao Si and Xiao Wu look to be more of the witty types; you will assist Chongxi then, since he’s the block-head of our group.” I turned to Xiao San and Xiao Qi. “Since Xiao Qi knows me well, we three might work well as a team. How’s that, Xiao San?” “I’ll go wherever Xiao Qi goes to!” Xiao San remarked irately through puckered lips.

We began going through other details, and Lin Feng asked, “Do we need to buy some equipment or clothing, Shiyan? Some windbreakers, knapsacks, and tents?” That made sense, I thought. We would best have some of these “props” since we were going undercover as tourists. With the six ghosts with us, we drove out and after a search around the neighborhood, we found a store selling outdoor apparels and equipment. Before entering the store, I noticed its name, Fox Hunters. Of all the names the proprietor could have chosen, I wondered as I stood outside, gazing at the signage of the store. Even “Flying Tigers” (the colloquial name for the Hong Kong Police’s Special Duties Unit) would have been better than this! My mother would have torn down the sign and wreck it into shreds with her bare hands if she had seen the name! Both my parents were nice and gentle people, but my mother had a strange fixation for canines that extended to wolves and foxes. An old memory, long dormant, rose up from its slumber in my mind and sent a chill down my spine: there was once when I repeated a hometown phrase that I had picked up from a classmate which turned out to be a derogatory name for foxes, and that had earned me a tight slap on my cheeks.

When our purchases were completed, the new additions to our inventory were three windbreakers and three backpacks, a non-smoking camping stove with some flashlights. A glance at our gear might even induce the notion that we were actually tomb raiders, I wondered. We busied ourselves late into the night, until the next morning.