Ghost of holding

Once upon a time, at Lai trieu, Son nam had a foreign trader who had lived at Daiviet for many years. Because of his business secrets buying at harvest season and selling at planting season, lending money to get high interest after many years he had gotten large amount of property. None could count how much gold and silver in his house even nobles couldn’t compare with him about wealth.

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Then he thought about bringing his money to his country for his offspring but the country that time forbidden all people to bring any assets out from the country. Many people had ignored the rule but they couldn’t get pass the customs and course they were taken the assets and expelled. Because of that the foreign trader decided to hide his assets in the country then his offspring would come to and take the assets when the rule was canceled. He planned carefully. He requested people in the village to build a temple on the wild hill near his house. Because the people respected Buddha so they immediately agreed. When the foundation was building he also built a secret room under the foundation. Of course he had known that his assets might be stolen by thieves so he planned to make a dark magic called ghost of holding. That was very cruel as anyone used the dark magic that the person who did the magic would bury a alive virgin with assets and when the virgin died her soul would be bound with the assets forever until the heir came and took the assets away. Anyone who was not the heir dared to step to would be harm till they died. All things had planned. Now he had to find a virgin to finish his plan.

He knew a poor teacher living near his house who had an eighteen-year-old daughter, of course, she was a virgin. Then he brought gifts came to teacher’s house to ask his daughter to become his second wife.

The teacher knew the trader was wealthy and thought that his daughter would have easy life but he a little hesitation because he didn’t want to let his daughter marry with a foreigner and besides, he didn’t like trader who lent money to get high interest. The trader knew that so he brought ten one-kilo gram-gold bars to the teacher as a gift. As the teacher saw twinkling gold bars he thought about his debts which he couldn’t afford to pay. At last, the teacher agreed.

The trader brought his second wife to house and let her stay alone in a personal room. He took care of her carefully; sometime, he showed her the jealousy but he had never slept in her bed. And very strange he forced her to not eat fish, meat, onion, garlic and sometime she had to muttered Buddhist scripture. Each three months he brought her new clothes and went away.

Two years passed, the girl still stayed in the room alone. One day, she asked his husband to visit to her father’s house. Though the trader had refused but the girl insisted then he agreed. The teacher and the daughter after long time no see spent long time talking then the teacher asked her daughter:

“I have felt sorry since you went. If I didn’t have debts I would have not let you marry with him. How does he treat you? And why don’t you have any child?”

As the girl heard his father’s question she bursted into sobs and said her father things had happened.

“God, he have chosen you to become ghost of holding. I don’t dare to think about that. Do you see any strange thing?” said the teacher painfully.

“Before the the diner finishes he has locked the door but recently he usually brings shovel out and comes back in the early morning.”, said the daughter.

“Date nearly come.”, screamed the teacher then he spent a while thinking then gave his daughter a pocket of sesame seeds and kale seeds. He asked:

“You need to come back early to avoid his doubt and remember whenever he bring you out of the room you have to drop the seeds down the ground along the way.”, said the teacher.

The teacher visited to the room each three days to know that his daughter was safe. Though, he didn’t come in the room but stood out to see in till he saw his daughter’s face.

One time, he had a business and had to spend ten days to manage. After his business he went to his daughter immediately but he waited long time and didn’t see his daughter. He felt anxious and had to pretend that he came to visit his daughter. The trader saw the teacher come he treated him very well and said that his second wife, the teacher’s daughter, had went to city to do a business. The teacher kept him be native and agreed to have lunch with the trader. Then he pretend that he had a pee went to backyard and saw around. He saw seeds which grew sprouts leading to the hill.

Immediately, he came to a mandarin and presented all things. The mandarin forced soldier went toward a night without a rest. They followed the teacher along the way which had sprouts leading to the hill and saw a foundation which just had built.

“This is exactly the place. Dig up and check.”, said the teacher.

But the trader didn’t want they do that he said that the thing would touched to “dragon stream” which would cause bad effect to his fate and prevented soldiers. Then the mandarin forced both the teacher and the trader to have a commitment that if soldiers dug and didn’t see anything as the teacher had said the teacher had to indemnify for the trader and rebuilt the foundation and if they found the things as the teacher had said the mandarin would confiscate the things. The commitment letter was written but the trader didn’t sign his name on it and he also didn’t admit. The mandarin felt suspicious so he asked soldiers to dig without trader’s agreement.

They had no longer time to find out bricks was built under the ground they dug widely and found out that construction was large as a house. Then the dug deeply and saw a hatch. Though the trader screamed soldiers continued doing their work they opened the hatch followed the marble stair which lead to a room under ground few people's height. When the door was unlocked they saw a girl sat by two oil lamps her hands was tied to the chair and her feet was set on two coffer, her head now was down because of exhaustion. The teacher pained sprinted to take his daughter out the chair but he couldn’t he had to untied and unwrap the sticky tape on her mouth. The girl now was very weak so immediately they brought her up to take care and arrested the trader.

Soldiers checked all things in the room. Two coffers the girl stepped on one was notched “one thousand of gold bars” and the other was notched “five hundreds of silver bars”. They opened the coffers and counted. Course, number of gold bars and silvers was same as that.

The girl after very well treatment woke up and said to people that she had been buried for ten days by her husband. The mandarin separated the gold and silver into three parts and gave the girl and her father a part, the others were confiscated. The trader was sentenced to death and the thing was performed immediately.

THE END

"Translated by Hung Nguyen"

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