turned to face the two ghosts.
“
Who are you?” he demanded. “Why are you frightening people?” The two ghosts exchanged glances. Then,
they morphed into a beautiful lady and a clever-looking man dressed in minister’s robes.
“
How are you not scared?” asked the man pointedly. When Yan Long didn’t answer, the man continued, “I
was Li Cheng, advisor to Qin Shi Huang, the emperor who ordered the construction of this wall. And this is
Leng Li, first wife of Qin Shi Huang. I was the best advisor in the court, and gave my king good advice. But
others spoke ill of me in his presence. So I was killed.”
The woman, Leng Li, added bitterly, “The emperor accused me of conspiring with his enemies in the
North. But I was merely helping the poor and sick there. We were both executed, and so we started scaring
people, and laid a curse upon the royal family and their servants.”
Yan Long was quiet for a while, and then inquired, “So what can I do to appease you?” The two ghosts
answered in unison, “Please send a monk who can rid us of this misery so we can go to Heaven.”
Yan Long nodded and returned to the Palace. The emperor was overjoyed and acceded to his request. A
monk was summoned and did the appropriate rituals. Yan Long watched as both the ghosts’ forms dissolved in
the wind.
Yan Long got his reward of gold. He distributed the gold equally among all the people in his village. When
he went to the backyard of his house, he found flower petals on the ground, spelling out these words.
Thank you, Yan Long.
Li Cheng and Leng Li
* * *