Zhaoxi is a powerful ghost, a powerful ghost who has been dead for a thousand years, a powerful ghost who has been dead for a thousand years and still hasn't been reincarnated!
She has lost count of how many kinds of weeds have grown over her grave. The great-great-great-grandchildren of the little bean she watched grow up now have grandchildren of their own, and still she hasn't been reincarnated.
She can't let it go, and she's determined to do something about it.
Her ghostly powers are formidable. She turns the Underworld Palace upside down without breaking a sweat. Later, the Underworld, afraid she'll cause more trouble, assigns her a little sidekick to help calm her down.
The sidekick says, "The Underworld has reincarnation spots available now."
Zhaoxi is delighted.
The sidekick adds, "But you didn't make the list."
Zhaoxi kicks him into the sky in a fit of rage.
What an idiot. She'll just have to show them what she's really capable of.
At last, the sidekick brings good news: "Lord Yama says you only need to do him a small favor, and then you'll get your chance to be reincarnated..."
Yama wants her to become the orange cat at the Noble Consort's side. If she helps him meet this year's performance targets, he'll pull some strings for her.
Zhaoxi thinks the people in the Underworld must have been addled by ghostly energy. Furious, she finally gives in.
*
She becomes an orange cat with nothing to do all day but laze in the sun, bat around dried fish, and sneak into the imperial kitchen for a bite when nobody's looking.
Her life is so comfortable that she loses herself in it and forgets all about the world beyond. Zhaoxi decides that living this way isn't so bad.
Then a message arrives from Yama: Find evidence that the chancellor is plotting a rebellion, then throw it in front of the emperor.
Zhaoxi gets the little task done in no time. But as she carries a letter proving the chancellor's collusion with the enemy into the Hall of Diligent Governance, a large, muscular dog suddenly charges out.
Cats are naturally afraid of dogs, so Zhaoxi clutches the letter in her teeth and stays perched on the hall's plaque all night. Her drool smears the letter until its contents are unreadable.
Mission failed.
Another message comes from Yama: The Noble Consort and the emperor are deeply devoted to one another. Find a way to turn them against each other.
As a brilliant ghost, Zhaoxi quickly comes up with a plan. She hides the birthday gift the emperor prepared for the Noble Consort in the Cold Palace. Then, on the day of the Noble Consort's birthday...
On the birthday itself, the black dog uses its extraordinarily keen nose to search the entire palace and finds the gift before nightfall.
Inside the hall, the two of them are cuddled up together, deeply in love, with dazzling fireworks overhead.
Zhaoxi's fur stands on end like a hedgehog's. Her teeth grind furiously.
After that, several more missions end in failure because of that black dog.
Zhaoxi decides it's the only thing in the world she can care about. She smashes a dried fish with her paw. "You mangy mutt, I'll make you pay!"
As a ghost who's read countless books, Zhaoxi uses the "Thirty-Six Stratagems of the Ghost Realm," including "Lure the Dog with Food," "Sneak Past the Dog," and "Strike the Dog While It's Down," to lead it around by the nose.
After tossing the black dog 3,800 li away, Zhaoxi drains a cup of wine and climbs onto the roof, ready for a good night's sleep.
In a daze, she opens her eyes. Moonlight falls on the muscular black dog below, and she jumps. Then she realizes she must be dreaming.
Otherwise, how could that annoying black dog transform into a striking, dignified man and kneel in front of her, calling her his wife?
Written on 2025.9.16 at 21:00
Theme: I am willing to wait through the long years until we meet
