The Haunted Incident at Baiyun Mountain Villa

Want to find those yin objects, still have to rely on that drunkard?"

Upon hearing my words, Xie Yilin leaned against the head of the bed, her two small legs naturally crossed and five jade-like toes peeking out from her slippers, exuding playfulness and cuteness.

"Could it be that you know the location?" My gaze inadvertently swept over her round and smooth thighs. The soft curve made me feel envious for a moment. I subconsciously swallowed my saliva and quickly stole a glance at Jietou next to me but found that this bastard was sitting upright in his seat with eyes fixed ahead as if he hadn't noticed Xie Yilin's appearance at all.

This bastard learned how to clear his mind of desires after only a few days in the temple. Impressive.

I couldn't help but praise him.

"I certainly know the location. It's at Baiyun Mountain Villa," Xie Yilin said.

"Baiyun Mountain Villa?" I wasn't familiar with Mo Du Mountain so I asked: "What is it?"

"It seems like it's time for me to give you guys some knowledge about Mo Du Mountain's scenic spots."

As she spoke, Xie Yilin stood up and walked over to the mirror on the wall. Holding a small comb provided by the hotel, she combed her hair while introducing us: "Overall speaking, there are eighteen famous scenic spots in Mo Du Mountain from bottom to top: Moganshan Lake, Shimenka, Huating Hall, Dicui Tan (Dripping Emerald Pool), Biwu Longtan (Jade Dragon Pond), Zhuji Shan Zhuang (Residence of Immortals), Yueya Spring (Crescent Moon Spring), Tianchi Temple (Heavenly Lake Temple), Guai Shi Jiao (Strange Stone Corner), Luhua Dang (Reed Flower Marsh), Baiyun Mountain Villa, Wuling Village, Guanri Terrace (Sunrise Pavilion), Huanghou Hotel (Empress Hotel), Xuri Ting (Rising Sun Pavilion), Jianchi (Sword Pool) and Huang Miao Temple. The topmost is Lei Chi."

"It seems like you really know this place," I said.

"My school is nearby. I've been studying here for three years and have been to Mo Du Mountain at least twenty times before and after. How could I not know?" Xie Yilin turned around to look at me with a light smile then continued: "Among these scenic spots in Mo Du Mountain, there's no need to mention the origin of Jianchi - it's where Gan Jiang and Mo Ye washed their swords; the waterfall there creates a beautiful rainbow that's absolutely breathtaking. Let me introduce you guys specifically to Baiyun Mountain Villa and Empress Hotel."

"Let's talk about Empress Hotel first. It's located southwest of Mo Du Mountain and consists of more than ten villas. There's a General Building inside which is particularly famous. Rumor has it that Chen Yi, Peng Dehuai, etc., founding marshals all stayed there when they visited; in 1954 Mao Zedong also stayed at Empress Hotel leaving behind a seven-character quatrain poem so if you're traveling to Mo Du Mountain, Empress Hotel should be your first stop," Xie Yilin said.

"I have a map of Mo Du mountain tourism here. You can explain while pointing at the map," I took out the map I bought on the square at the foot of the mountain and spread it out on my bed.

"Here is where Empress hotel is located," Xie Yilin pointed to a location on the map.

"Well, this hotel has an excellent location - backed by mountains facing water with wind gathering qi and strong yang energy. There shouldn't be any problems here. Moreover, this place has been illuminated by many founding marshals and even the light of leaders so there definitely won't be any yin objects here," I said to Xie Yilin. "Let's skip over this location since it has nothing to do with us and we won't go there this time. Tell us about other places."

"Forget it, are you worried that writing ghosts will offend the leader? Pfft!" Just as I was speaking, YunQingYue suddenly spoke up.

I could only dryly laugh and tacitly agree.

"You're right - Mo Du Mountain is heavy in yin energy but Empress Hotel has never had rumors of being haunted. The real haunted place is Baiyun Mountain Villa," Xie Yilin said.

"Baiyun Mountain Villa is located on a hillside above Luhua Dang (Reed Flower Marsh), surrounded by dense forests with a quiet environment consisting of thirteen Republican villas in total; among them, the most famous three villas are called Baiyunshan Gongguan (White Clouds Mansion).

Of course, who doesn't know about the Queen Mother's household affairs?" I smiled.

"Do you know about the three Shen sisters during the Republic of China period?" Xie Yilin asked with a smile.

"I haven't heard of them," I shook my head.

"The three Shen sisters were from Jiaxing. The most famous one was the eldest daughter, Shen Yiyun. When she was eighteen years old, she met Huang Fu, who was thirty-two years old at that time. They fell in love at first sight. However, Huang Fu was already married and had children by then. Later on, he divorced his wife to marry Shen Yiyun. Huang Fu was the chief strategist and sworn brother of *******. He took on many criticisms for ******* and after resigning from office, he lived in seclusion at Baiyunshan Mansion with Shen Yiyun as his devoted wife. Not only did they share common goals but also wrote books together. Eventually, he made it through and ******* re-employed him before leaving Modu Mountain." Xie Yilin spoke eloquently; she seemed to be very fond of the romantic era during the Republic of China period - perhaps this is an unerasable "Gone with Wind" plotline in women's hearts.

They may think that Gone with Wind is very romantic but forget that women are often short-lived while men suffer more tragically...

"After Huang Fu moved into Baiyunshan Mansion there were rumors about ghosts," said Xie Yilin.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"There are three villas in Baiyunshan Mansion: one is undoubtedly where Huang Fu and Shen Yiyun lived; another villa is usually empty except for housekeepers and servants looking after it when guests visit - this villa is called 'Yiqing Villa'. Whenever ******* visited here he would stay at Yi Qing Villa; finally there is the third villa where Huang Fu's ex-wife and child lived. The haunted villa is this third one, called Yunshen Bieyuan. It has a relatively small overall structure and is located deep in the bamboo forest - if you don't pay attention, you might not even see it. Huang Fu's ex-wife Wu Ciren and their child had been living there all along. Later on, Wu Ciren disappeared inexplicably with her child also missing; since then Yunshen Bieyuan began to be haunted by ghosts which was why Huang Fu moved away from that place. After he left, no one looked after the villa anymore so it became increasingly dilapidated over time with weeds and vines covering everything while snakes and rats ran rampant inside - it was completely like a ghost house ruin."

Xie Yilin sighed: "This situation continued until the early 1980s when the government organized manpower to clean up Baiyunshan Mansion for tourism development of Modu Mountain; most of the villas were rebuilt except for Baiyun Mansion which couldn't start construction because an accident occurred on that day - someone heard laughter and children's voices coming from inside the villa; some even saw people wearing white clothes floating around inside! Those workers were too scared to approach that area so those three Baiyun Mansions have never been repaired or rebuilt."

"Later on, following public opinion, they developed that place into a haunted house attraction instead which eventually became Modu Mountain's most famous spot; almost everyone who comes here will explore this haunted house." Xie Yilin frowned slightly as if she was lost in thought before saying: "I've only been there once but I dare not go again."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Because I really think there are ghosts inside," said Xie Yilin solemnly.