The Priest Kept a Ghost in His Gourd and Let Him Out Every Night novel · Chapter 17 of 24
Chapter 17: The Gourd Lantern
Pingan stood in the empty common room and called Auntie's name twice.
Nobody answered.
The bread was still in the oven, black and smoking.
A pot of porridge had boiled over and put out the kitchen fire.
On every table, a bowl sat half eaten.
Zhuoran came down the stairs behind him, buttoning his crimson robe.
He took in the benches, the seal on the door and the quiet street.
"Pingan."
"I know."
"All of them? The child?"
"I know."
Pingan put a hand on the doorframe, and the yellow Bureau seal hissed under his palm.
Upstairs, something rang.
It was a clear, bright note.
They both went up the ladder fast.
The red gourd was glowing on its shelf.
The hum had risen to a tone Pingan could feel in his teeth, and the lacquer was warm to the touch.
"It's been doing this since the dock," Pingan said. "It wouldn't tell me anything."
"Because you didn't ask it properly."
"You can't ask a gourd."
"You talk to it all day."
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Priest Kept a Ghost in His Gourd and Let Him Out Every Night are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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