Yi Chang

Yi Chang has no home of his own and sometimes takes rooms lent by others. When he hears of an old house in Ink Town that has stood empty because of hauntings, he decides to investigate. He calls his elder brothers, Hugh and Haw, and several relatives to help clean the house and keep watch. One room is locked; through a crack they glimpse an empty chair, a stringless harp, worn shoes and scraps of wood. Near midnight, music and a crowd’s voices seem to rise from that room. A sword is thrust through the partition, and a sharp blue blade appears from the other side. The company stops probing the house, waits for daylight and leaves.

Chang later tries a second vacant house in the South Ward with friends and relatives. Two dogs, one black and one tan, lie still on its verandah. At midnight they rise and bay at the dark sky. A visitor in ceremonial robes arrives; the dogs greet him, then five or six many-coloured demons appear and bow. The visitor leads the dogs and demons around the house, and all disappear. The group returns the following night and sees the scene happen again. At daylight they leave and do not return. Hugh and Haw later confirm Chang’s account to a friend who asks about it.