The story begins in the twenty fifth year of the Dragon Emperor reign.
"Come now child, don't be scare, tell me what happened?" then goatee man friendly smile
"Go on Mai, tell master taosih here what you saw." The father softly spoke with the little girl on his lap.
The little girl, 8 to 10 years of age, timidly staring at the goateed taosih while her father comfort her to tell the taosih what has happened.
"It's…" little Mai mumbling "it's… the ghost, the ghost caught big sis."
"Alright, then can you tell me where that happened and how is your sister disappeared?" the goateed taosih asked.
After a few minute patiently comfort the little, she finally opens up and retold what happened on the day her sister disappeared.
Five month ago, on a sunny day little Mai and her big sister Lan, 15 years old. The two sisters went to the nearby forest to gather firewood. At late noon, the girls go bathing at their favourite spot at a stream run through the outskirt of the forest, a wide and shallow pond, not far from that stream is an old rundown abandoned mansion, overgrow with brushes. The mansion sat on the other side of the stream, and the two girls can saw it clearly from where they stand. When little Mai was chasing a frog in the water, the little girl unknowingly come near the old mansion and something spooked her. Frightening, Mai ran back and cling to her big sister. Lan comforting her sister and ask what happened but little Mai won't speak, the girl just shaking in fear. Worrying, Lan decided to return home, when they passing the old mansion, little Mai bust into tear and refuse to keep going. Lan find that odd, they had walk passed that old mansion countless times before to get to their favourite bathing spot at the stream, but Mai never reacted like this until now. After a few minute of asking, Mai finally told her sister she saw something near the old mansion earlier, in the bushes. Seeing her sister still too scare to keep going, and twilight is approaching soon, Lan told her sister to wait at the side of the path and go check the bushes around the mansion. Little Mai reluctantly agreed and wait, everything was fine as first, Lan going into the thick brushes to have a look around, and spoke out loud to her sister that there is nothing here to reassuring Mai, but then, the teenage girl went silence.
Mai called out for her big sister but there was no one to answer her, just the rustling of the forest leaves and the wind blowing. Little Mai standing there, don't know what to do, tears rolling down her face, but the small girl dare not to cry out loud. Hours passed and the sky above is darkening, little Mai still standing there in trembling in fear. Finally, seeing no other choice the little girl muster all her courage and rust passed the mansion, running as fast as her leg's muscles allow, following the path lead back to town. The little Mai run and run for nearly an hour, dare not to look back, dare not to slow down, she run until she bumps into a lumberjack outside of the forest outskirt and been brought home by the kind man.
The town folks search for Lan that night, and the three next days. All of the old mansion's ground and the surrounding forest has been thoroughly search but no one can find a trace of the teenage girl. The only trace their found is Lan's footprints around the dense brushes surround the mansion, as if she has vaporized on the spot. As of Mai, the little girl was so frightened she can barely eat and sleep several days after the incident, and do not say a word of what had happened, just bust out in tear every time someone asked what happened. The local official can't do anything until little Mai can spoke about what she saw. Then finally 4 days after the incident, "a ghost caught big sis." Little Mai finally spoke. On that day, Mai said she saw a figure in the bushes, the little girl not sure whether that figure is male or female, she can only sure is that, the figure is about her high and either white in colour or wearing white clothes.
"And that is when the rumour of a haunting started?" the goateed taosih asked
"Yes, master taosih. The mayor doesn't know what to make of what's Mai said, so he just assumed she was traumatized and use ghost to rationalized what happened for her sister. After another week passed, the search for Lan still yield nothing and had been call off." the father's eyes swelling with tear "please, master taosih, if you can then please prevent this tragedy to happen again and help us find some answer."
"I'll do to the best of my ability." The goateed taosih said, politely bow and took leave.