Lian Hua thought her father, being well-traveled and knowledgeable, must surely know, so she brought up the topic at the dinner table, asked her father if there were ghosts in this world. Were they frightening? Why had she never seen one?
Her father firmly told her there were ghosts, such as water ghosts by the water's edge that would eat people and were very dangerous. He warned her not to get close to rivers, lakes, and streams because water ghosts could drag little children into the water.
She was confused at that moment. The ghosts her father described didn't seem to match what her classmate had told her. How come these were in the water? Her classmate had mentioned ghosts in the houses of the deceased.
By rivers and lakes, she had been there before but hadn't seen any; could she have missed them?
Wanting to be sure, she asked her father again what ghosts looked like, but her father hesitated and couldn't say anymore.
