Hello, Son. I'm Your Mother

Xu Jichun lost his parents when he was young and was raised by his maternal aunt. The night he placed third in the imperial examinations, he drank alone beneath the moon and passed out at his desk. When he awoke, a young female ghost was stroking his hair. “Hello, son. I’m your mother!” The ghost called herself Shiba Niang. She said she had missed him for years and had refused to be reborn. Now she wandered the world as a lonely ghost, with no one to offer her food or sacrificial gifts. She had appeared today because she wanted him to fulfill his filial duties. “Son, I specially waited until you passed the imperial exams before sending you a dream. Oh, and I’m not picky. Three bowls of pig’s trotters a day will do.” Xu Jichun did as she asked, paying his respects every morning and evening and offering her three large bowls of pig’s trotters each day. Later, Xu Jichun joined the Ministry of Justice as a vice minister. Strange cases involving monsters and ghosts plagued the capital, leaving him frantic. Fortunately, his mother was there to point him in the right direction, and together they solved several cold cases. As mother and son spent more time together, his mother grew tired of pig’s trotters and developed a craving for roast pork. She grew tired of his late father and fell for handsome men instead. “Son, I’m afraid of the dark. Burn a few handsome paper effigies for me to keep me company overnight.” Xu Jichun: “Wouldn’t that be unfilial if Father found out?” Shiba Niang: “Your father was the most broad-minded man alive. He always encouraged me to find more!” Xu Jichun did as she asked, making paper effigies by day and burning them by night. After he had burned fifteen handsome paper effigies, his mother called a halt. “Son, you’re handsome too. You don’t need to burn an effigy of yourself for me.” Xu Jichun: “I’m willing to make a paper effigy to serve you in my place.” Shiba Niang: “...” His mother is wonderful, but she does attract far too many admirers. There are three candidates for his stepfather alone, both living and dead. Rain may fall, and a mother may remarry. Xu Jichun frets and worries about his mother remarrying. Half a year later, his aunt arrives in the capital. Xu Jichun tells her all about Shiba Niang, his mother. But after listening, his aunt’s expression suddenly changes. “Jichun, I’m your mother! I eloped and gave birth to you back then, and I made up your backstory to hide the truth...” That night, Xu Jichun looks at Shiba Niang, who has come to ask him for more offerings again. “My mother is alive, so who are you?” “Shiba Niang counts as your mother... doesn’t she?” A few days after learning that Shiba Niang isn’t his real mother, Xu Jichun finds the three stepfather candidates and tells them, “You can all give up. Shiba Niang has someone she loves.” The three candidates: “Who?” Xu Jichun: “That’s right. It’s me.” Since he’s looking for a stepfather for himself, why can’t he be his own father? #A ghost who impersonates his mother to demand offerings x a vice minister devoted to filial piety Upcoming story divider Husband, Please Breathe Your Last! Yue Jinghong, a dog demon who has cultivated for a hundred years, has only one wish in life: to become immortal. An elder of her clan teaches her a ten-word shortcut to immortality, each word worth its weight in gold: A dying husband’s tears turn into immortality. In other words, if she wants to become immortal, her husband has to die first. Yue Jinghong immediately sets her sights on Li Jibai, a sickly scholar who is famous throughout the city and the son of the Li family. He is twenty years old, has been taking medicine since childhood, and has just been told by every doctor in town that he won’t live another six months. He’s practically the ideal husband. Just then, the Sun family, whose daughter was betrothed to Li Jibai at birth, sends word from a thousand miles away to break off the engagement. Yue Jinghong acts at once, pretending to be the Sun family’s daughter, Sun Shiqing, and marrying into the Li family. Her plan is simple: behave herself for six months, wait for Li Jibai to die, take his dying tears, and ascend to immortality. On their wedding night, she gazes at the pale-faced Li Jibai, coughing so hard he can barely catch his breath, and prays devoutly beneath the moon. “Heavenly Dog God, please bless me. My husband absolutely has to breathe his last on schedule!” The sickly scholar Li Jibai, courtesy name Lanjie, is a remarkable man indeed. By day, the slightest breeze could knock him over, and he can barely get out of bed. At night, he takes her over walls to investigate cases and capture demons, moving as swiftly as the wind. Yue Jinghong spends six months anxiously waiting, but instead of her husband’s dying tears, she gets one piece of bad news after another. Li Jibai’s health has recovered, and he’s vigorous in bed. Li Jibai solves case after strange case and is about to head to the capital to take up an official post. Li Jibai puts on his official robes, and the Li family rises again. When it becomes clear that Li Jibai won’t be breathing his last anytime soon, Yue Jinghong has no choice but to confess, planning to find another sickly husband. That night, the moon is red. Before Yue Jinghong can say a word, a huge wolf’s tail slowly emerges from behind Li Jibai. So shocked that her own dog’s tail slips out, she says, “...You’re a demon too?” Li Jibai slowly wraps his wolf tail around her dog tail. “I’m a wolf, and Honghong is a dog. We’re of the same kind, and made for each other.” Yue Jinghong is on the verge of tears. After a long moment, all she can manage is, “...The elder said that a wolf is a fox.” “Honghong, your husband is both a fox and a wolf.” “...” A fox that lures dogs, a wolf that devours dogs. That’s what a wolf-fox is. Theme: Last night I dreamed of going home; I entered the hall and saw my loving mother