Once upon a time, there was a Great Ghost King who loved to wear red. Although the Great Ghost King was a powerful man and possessed mountains of gold and silver—more than a lifetime’s worth of fortune—he was very unhappy. That was because he was very lonely and yearned for a wife.
Although he waited for centuries, there was no sign of his beloved, so he went to request the guidance of an old immortal who was highly skilled in the art of divination.
The Great Ghost King asked the Old Immortal, “Where is my wife?”
The Old Immortal told him, “You and the one you are waiting for will unite in marriage upon a mountain. Your wife will come riding in a marriage sedan and wearing red bridal robes.”
The Great Ghost King was determined to find his wife, so he went to that mountain and waited patiently.
Meanwhile, in a place far, far away, there was a Scrap Immortal.
The Scrap Immortal was a collector of scrap, which was why he was the poorest of the heavenly officials; he was even poorer than many mortals. However, despite his extreme poverty, he was very kind.
One day, on his way home from collecting scraps, the Scrap Immortal saw a girl crying by the roadside.
The Scrap Immortal asked the girl, “Miss, why do you weep so?”
“I am about to marry,” the girl replied tearfully, “but I must cross a mountain on the day I depart, and a Ghost Groom lives on that mountain. He steals brides who pass by; only a few have ever been saved from his clutches. I will be taken and killed!”
The Scrap Immortal was sympathetic to her plight and resolved to rid the people of this evil. He decided to marry in that woman’s stead to vanquish the monster.
The Scrap Immortal had two good friends. Because one was ornery and one was petty, they were called the Ornery Immortal and the Petty Immortal.
As they fought each other with their fists, they explained to him, “The Ghost Groom is a Great Ghost King with a very bad temper, and he is very sly. He detests gods. If you attempt to capture him, you will definitely be eaten!”
But the Scrap Immortal was adamant, and thus, they built him a marriage sedan. On the day of his departure, the Scrap Immortal wore beautiful wedding robes borrowed from Lady Wind Master in order to disguise himself as a bride. He mounted the wedding sedan and was carried up the mountain by his two friends, who fought and attacked each other the entire way.
Wicked gales bellowed in the pitch-black night. When the wedding sedan reached the top of the mountain, there was no one left by the Scrap Immortal’s side.
He waited and waited, waited and waited, until his groom finally arrived.
When the Scrap Immortal lifted his bridal veil, he was surprised to discover that the Great Ghost King was an exceptionally handsome young man. Even more surprising was that the young groom was very polite—he was well mannered, gentle, and considerate. He did not remove his human skin to reveal a monstrous true form, nor did he force the Scrap Immortal to do anything untoward. He was nothing like the horrible Great Ghost King of legend.
The mountain was immense indeed, and the Great Ghost King brought the Scrap Immortal to his lair within its depths.
“From this moment onward, I am your husband, and you are my beloved wife,” the Great Ghost King said to the Scrap Immortal. “This entire mountain belongs to me, and now to you as well. You can roam wherever you please. However, remember this—on the other side of the mountain, there are two houses that you must never enter.”
“Why not?” asked the Scrap Immortal.
His groom, the Great Ghost King, answered thus: “That is my secret; there is no need for you to know. However, it will be impossible for you to enter the houses even if you wish to do so. A barrier is installed at each gate, and you must possess something of mine before you can cross.”
“What is that something?” asked the Scrap Immortal.
The Great Ghost King answered, “One house hides filthy trash. To open its door, you must use something of mine found on me by touch—something that is copious in amount. The other house hides a formidable spiritual weapon. To open its door, you must use something of mine not found on me by touch—something that is burning.”
Naturally, the Scrap Immortal did not listen. Although he pretended to be compliant and docile in front of the Great Ghost King, the Scrap Immortal snuck off to the other side of the mountain as soon as he left, leaping and flying across walls and roofs. Sure enough, he heard terrifying screams and cries for help coming from the house that hid the filthy trash.
The Scrap Immortal suspected that this was where the missing brides were being confined. Thus, he decided to steal something of the Great Ghost King’s to open the mysterious house.
But what was the “something” he needed to steal?
The Great Ghost King had a head of long, shiny, jet-black hair, which was sometimes loose and at other times tied up crookedly. The first plan the Scrap Immortal devised was to steal a few strands every day.
And so, he asked, “May we sleep in the same room?”
“Of course,” his groom replied politely. “We are married.”
Thus, they moved into the same room. Although they slept in the same bed, the Scrap Immortal refused to allow his groom to strip him of his clothing. Because of this, the Great Ghost King also respectfully refrained from attempting to touch him.
However, the Scrap Immortal soon discovered that not a single strand of hair fell from his groom’s head. There was not one loose hair to be found, no matter how many times he brushed his groom’s hair in the morning and before they went to bed at night—none on his pillow, the bed, the floor, or the comb!
Now this was becoming a headache. The Scrap Immortal took up a sword, hoping to cut a lock of the Great Ghost King’s hair in secret while he slept. However, the Great Ghost King was exceptionally alert, and his eyes shot open as soon as the Scrap Immortal drew near him. Even though he had been caught red-handed, the Scrap Immortal remained calm. To escape the Great Ghost King’s suspicion, he immediately cut off a lock of his own hair and gifted it to him.
The Great Ghost King was elated to receive it.
The clever Scrap Immortal soon came up with another idea. He asked the Great Ghost King, “May I kiss you?”
“Of course,” his groom replied in delight. “We are married.”
Thus, the Scrap Immortal embraced his ghost groom and kissed him hard for a long time. When at last he’d captured a bit of his groom’s taste, he quickly shut his mouth and ran to the other side of the mountain.
But when he got there, he discovered that this method wouldn’t work—he needed a copious amount of the “something,” and what he had taken wasn’t enough. He could stick his head into the house, but not his body. No matter how he tried, he still could not enter.
The Scrap Immortal was dejected. He had thought that stealing something found on the Great Ghost King would be an easy task—he never expected it to be so difficult.
The Scrap Immortal thought of his good friend Lady Wind Master and thus paid a visit to the Temple of Wind and Water.