The night’s events must have taken a greater toll on me than I’d thought. When I awoke, the sun was shining high the window. I must have missed breakfast and be on my way to lunch. I might have slept through that too if Zhao Jie and Zhao Yuan hadn’t come over to play.

 

“You must have been tired.” My mom said and smiled at me when I came into the kitchen.  

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I took the plate of vegetables and rice from here and gobbled it down. I cleaned my plate and moved to leave with Zhao Jie and Zhao Yuan. My mom’s soft hand landed on my shoulder and pulled me back.

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“You can’t go out today.” She told me, looking very motherly. “Master Liu warned me before he left. You three can stay in the yard." She pointed her chin towards the window.  

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An image of a wrinkled paper chest flashed in my mind and I understood. “He’s looking for him.” I said, not asking.

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Zhao Yuan poked her head into the kitchen and asked my mom, "Aunty, what's wrong? Where’s Master Liu?”

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My mom beckoned her inside. Zhao Yuan came in, joining us at the table. "Master Liu, his friend,” She meant the green man, “And your fathers went into mountains to look for something. They will be back this afternoon."

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"What are they looking for?" Zhao Yuan continued.

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Mom grinned and put her palm on Zhao Yuan’s forehead, saying, "I don't know. Don't ask me.” She smiled broadly and pushed Zhao Yuan back playfully. “So many questions! Ask your father when he comes back."

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I knew that she wasn’t telling us everything. Maybe she didn’t want Zhao Yuan to worry, or to gossip.

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Zhao Yuan, Zhao Jie, and I went into the yard and played rubber band. We teased and tagged each other. A man walked past our house and I darted to the gate. It was only a mailman from the village.

 

“Are you looking for Master Liu?” Zhao Jie asked.

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“He said he’d take me with him…” I said. “Why wouldn’t he wake me up?”

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“Maybe he was afraid you’d ask him for more ice cream?” Zhao Jie

​

We returned to our game until lunch when Zhao Jie’s mother called them home.

​

I went inside and ate with my mother. “Do you think they can beat the paper man?” I asked her immediately. “I think he can fly!” She turned around and tossed a meat bun at me. It bounced off my head and onto the table.

​

"Eat.” She said, “Don't worry!"

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We ate in silence, chewing contemplatively on our meat buns. She suddenly put a hand to her chest, resting it above her heart. "Oh, my heart is beating so fast. Something’s happened…"

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I looked at her, concern growing in my head. A voice echoed from the street. Someone was shouting, "The car’s turned over..."

I rushed to the window, trying to see the man. “Get back here!” My mom called. “You have studying to do, don’t let this concern you.” Her voice trembled lightly and he hand was still on her chest.

​

I sulked back to my chair and took out my homework. I gripped a pencil in my hand but my mind wandered. “What car turned over? Was it the same cliff? Master Liu…?” I thought.

​

Zhao Jie’s mother came by shortly after. Zhao Jie and Yuan were with her. They stayed outside while our mothers chatted through the open door, speculating about the accident. I listened intently, hoping she’d change her mind.

​

“Fine,” My mother told Zhao Jie’s. “I don’t want to wait any longer.” She bid goodbye to the Zhao family as they turned back to their house. “Xiao Yong, put away your homework. We’re going to go see what’s what.” I dropped my things and ran out the door by her side. We trekked to the edge of town, following the grapevine and stopping at a house every now and again so my mother could inquire about the news. There was a small stream of people moving towards the western edge of town, towards the cliff.

When the cliff came into view my mother gasped audibly. A car hung over the edge of the turn, as if it’d been speeding and got caught like glue on the edge. “It hasn’t fallen yet!” I screamed and ran forward. My mother chased after me and we joined the crowd gathering at the base of the clearing. No one was in the car from what I could see.

​

“Someone saved the fellows in the car.” I overheard an older woman say.

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“Were there only two?” My mother asked her.

​

“Yes,” The old woman nodded, not noticing the relief on my mother’s face. “One of them was thrown from the vehicle, he landed in the clearing ahead. Paramedics already took his body back into the village. The driver walked away unharmed though.

“Do you see the blood?” Someone called.

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“I heard there was a ghost baiting people at the turn!” Another replied.

​

“Ghosts again? No way!”

​

The chatter around us built upon itself into an uproar as people argued over what the cause could have been. Several adamantly stated it had to be a ghost and sworn off going up the path. Others brushed off this worry as crazy sentiment and the anger surged.

Wang Yushan was standing pale faced near the rear of the crowd of people. He was speaking in low voices to a few people around him. I squeezed between some people and got closer.

​

I overheard, “…Paper Man must be hunting people to get back at us…” then someone bumped into me and I fell on my knees painfully. My mom lifted me up and knelt down to whisper in my ear, “Come sweet one, you don’t need to be around this.”

We walked back into the village, not looking behind at the cliff face or the clearing behind us. She led me to the Zhao house where it was my turn to stand outside while our mothers spoke. My mother lowered her voice as to not frighten the children and repeated the speculations we’d heard. I inched closer and craned my neck to listen. "Sister, do you think it’s true? Could the paper man have run away?” My mom nodded in response.

​

"Master Liu hasn’t told me anything. My son says the paper man could fly, I assumed it was the wind."

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The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself. I had to cut in, "It wasn’t the wind! It flew away into the darkness! And it can speak! It’s alive mom!"

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My mom shot me a look, saying, "Nonsense! Paper men can’t speak."

​

I bit my lip and fell silent. There was no point in arguing with her, but I know what I’d seen. Mom invited the Zhaos to our house to wait for Master Liu and our fathers to return. Zhao Jie and Yuan came out with their backpacks on, but grinned at the chance to get out of the house. We trooped back to my house, making jokes and talking about school. When we got home, our mothers went into the kitchen to sit at the table and talk. Zhao Jie, Zhao Yuan, and I set up to do our homework on my father’s large desk.

​

I heard the green man cackling outside the window and knew that our fathers had returned. Master Liu walked in the door at four o’clock. Our fathers followed him in, the green man was last, laughing at nothing and walking in great bounding strides. The men marched past us into the kitchen.

​

Zhao Yuan, Jie, and I peeked in after them. Our fathers were both sweaty and exhausted looking. Master Liu, too was sweating, but his eyes were alight with energy. Mom offered them dinner, but Master Liu shook his head. “Water for now dear, just water.”

I walked into the room quietly and approached Master Liu.

​

“Did you find the paper man?” I asked. I could feel Zhao Yuan and Jie inching closer to try and overhear.

​

Master Liu took a long drink of water. He took a deep breath and told me, "We never saw him. In time though, he can’t leave the vicinity."

​

“Why not?” I dared.

​

Master Liu took out a red ribbon from his pocket. “Is that?” I asked.

​

“From the Wang’s house last night, yes.” A needle had been tethered to one end of the ribbon and hung limply down from it. Master Liu pointed to the needle, saying, "This needle is linked to his vitality. The further he moves from it, the quicker it will unravel until the ribbon is only a string. If that happens, he will fade from our plane of existence."

​

He must have seen the confusion on my face  and so continued patiently, "Do you remember the red ribbon I asked for last night?"

I nodded. He continued, "I stitched a thread of this ribbon into the paper man’s chest to represent his vitality. This will give us a modicum of control over it."

​

I nodded my head in amazement, a smile dawning on my face. Master Liu touched my head, saying, "It's like a curse, my boy. I used ribbon and needle to curse him. Like the nose ring and rein that tie cattle, only my rein is more powerful.” The old man smiled, his eyes sharp.

​

“This ribbon will keep him in our area, and in the mean time I will track him down. We’ll find him one day.” He told me.

​

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but my mom placed a soft finger onto my forehead. "Stop badgering the man, sweet one. Can’t you see they’re tired? Back to your homework now."

​

I pouted,but followed her pointing finger. Zhao Yuan, Jie, and I walked from the room back to our work.

​

I heard the adults mutter and chuckle from the other room. Their conversation sounded light and relaxed at first, then quickly turned serious. Zhao Laohei and my father exchanged in low voices and I heard Master Liu sigh. I could imagine him shaking his head at them.

​

After a time my mom brought in bowls of sweet mung bean soup for us. It’s an excellent relief for summer heat. I’m sure she made it to soothe our fathers and Master Liu’s aches.

​

I strained my ears while we paused our work to drink the soup. Master Liu said to my dad, "Our lunatic will remain here tomorrow. I’ve arranged for someone from the village to pick him up around noon. Please keep him here until then."

​

“Will I not be going with you tomorrow?” My father asked.

​

"No, Zhao Laohei will come with me. We don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen.”

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My feet guided me to the doorway, the soup bowl clutched in my hand as an excuse to be away from my schoolwork. “Godfather, who’ll pick up the green man?”

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“Green man?” He paused. I dipped my bowl towards the man. He was sitting away from the adults, half snoozing with a bowl of mung bean soup in his lap. Master Liu laughed and said, "I asked a dear friend of mine to find a place in town for our ‘green man’. He will pick him up tomorrow."

​

I took another step into the kitchen, but my mom took the bowl from my hand and asked, “Have you finished your homework?”

"Not yet." I told her. I bowed my head and walked back into the other room.

​

My ears pricked back up when they resumed their conversation. “Do you think your paper man caused the accident today?” Zhao Laohei asked.

​

"No.” Master Liu replied. “There wasn’t any trace of him there. It was probably a coincidence.” He cleared his throat. “The man who died today might become a ghost himself. If he wasn't ferocious in life, he’ll disappear soon. If the opposite, then we will deal with him too."

​

“That curve in the road is proving to be quite dangerous.” Zhao Laohei told them, “Maybe we should talk to the town for supplies to build a ramp.”

​

I looked at Zhao Yuan. She put a finger in her mouth and made a gagging face. Zhao Jie leaned to me, “Dad talks about road work all the time.” We started to play games in the main room, our schoolwork forgotten.

​

After a while, the Zhao family returned to their home. I went to Master Liu, curious whether he had collected any treats in his travels.

​

I pushed the door open slowly, cautious because I knew the green man was inside.  I remembered the headless spirit on his back and I felt a chill tingle up my back.

​

The green man was sitting on the bed, rocking back and forth and giggling quietly. Every now and then he’d let loose a loud barking sound and laugh wildly. When he saw me, his head darted in my direction and he spoke in words I didn’t understand.

​

Master Liu looked at me from where he stood across the room. "What's wrong? What do you need?"

​

I scratched my head and tried not to smile, "Godfather, when will you teach me? I’ll be in first-grade  soon."

​

Although I was young, I knew that it’d be shameful to ask for food directly, so I  tried to save face and made an excuse.

​

Master Liu looked stunned, "You want to learn Taoism, eh? Okay, I will teach you Da Hong fist. It is my most powerful skill.”

That was the start of our lessons. Many of the things Master Liu taught me would later save my life.

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