The Fortune-Teller Beneath the Bed

Bi An was born blind, but later had a pair of ox eyes transplanted. They cannot see the wickedness in people’s hearts, but they can see through the boundary between life and death. Whenever tears trickle from the corners of his eyes, it is a deadly omen that disaster is near.

He looks extremely delicate and feminine, with a deathly pale face, and spends most of his time curled up beneath the bed like a damp insect afraid of the light. Though he has a gift for fortune-telling, his nature is as innocent and childish as a young child’s. His body is strange, and he can endure hunger exceptionally well: one filling meal can last him for years. But if he goes hungry too long, his flesh and blood fade away until all that remains is a thin, weightless human skin with a fine, soft texture.

Because of his appearance, the shriveled Bi An has been mistaken countless times for a finely crafted “doll” and picked up from garbage heaps, only to be taken home and toyed with at will.

For a hundred years, two women, one human and one ghost, have loved him deeply. Bound to him by an unending entanglement, they have gone through countless partings and reconciliations, living out a bizarre romance that transcends life and death.