White Serpent Castle Read Online Free PDF

that she was lying and that she was confident she would recognize Shigeteru. Her air of suppressed excitement might mean that Shigeteru was actually here in the castle and she had already seen him!
    If Zenta suspected the same, he gave no sign. “Are you expecting me to start an uprising on Shigeteru’s behalf? If so, I shall have to disappoint you. Your plan sounds foolhardy and I want nothing to do with it.”
    In Ume’s wrinkled face her small eyes flashed menacingly, but all she said was, “Of course you have only just arrived, sir, and don’t wish to commit yourself yet. We shall see.” She moved to the door. “I’ll have food sent and order some maids to prepare a bath for you.”
    Zenta called her back. “Just a moment. There is something else I want to ask you. We heard that you have seen the White Serpent Ghost. Can you describe it for me?”
    The old woman looked wary. “It’s not easy to describe something not of this earth. All I can say is that I saw a long white thing, faintly shimmering as it crawled along. I also heard strange flute music in the background during the appearance of the ghost.”
    She gave a shudder which struck Matsuzo as false. He exchanged a smile with Zenta, and at that the old woman stiffened. “I was not the only person to see the ghost!” she said angrily. “Since that first night many other people have both seen the ghost and heard the music!”
    â€œJihei said it was probably a woman’s sash that you saw,” said Matsuzo.
    â€œI know what a woman’s sash looks like! That monstrous thing which I saw was thick and fleshy! Of course, a henchman of the chamberlain would talk like that.”
    â€œWhy a henchman of the chamberlain particularly?” asked Zenta.
    Ume smiled grimly. “Because the ghost is a warning of what would happen to the chamberlain if he tried to marry Lady Tama.”
    â€œThis is what some of the villagers said, but nobody would give me a good explanation,” complained Matsuzo. “What exactly is the story of the White Serpent Ghost?”
    â€œAh, you’ve asked the right person,” said Ume. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat for launching into the story.
    â€œA hundred and twenty years ago, the lord of this region had an only child, a daughter who was surpassingly fair. Her skin was white and sparkled like new snow. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also a most talented musician. The lord could not find a husband who was worthy of his daughter’s hand.”
    Ume rolled off the narrative smoothly, as if she had told it many times. Matsuzo suspected that it was Lady Tama’s favorite bedtime story. “It happened that the lord died suddenly after a short illness. A dispute followed about who should be his successor. One of the strongest contestants was a cousin who was only a distant relative. But he was a powerful man with many supporters, and he decided to strengthen his position further by marrying the daughter. However, she was still beside herself with grief for her father, and she hated this cruel, ugly suitor. Nevertheless, preparations for the marriage went on despite her protests. “Then on the night before the wedding, she sent away her attendants and shut herself in her room. As time passed, the attendants began to worry, and they decided to look in. They found the room empty. Her clothes were in a heap on the floor, but the girl had disappeared. It was thought at first that the desperate girl had thrown herself into the moat, but several witnesses saw something very long and white crawl away from the moat into the trees. They claimed that it looked like a huge white snake.”
    Matsuzo shifted his position uneasily. He knew it was only a story, but told in Ume’s low, hoarse voice, it made uncomfortable hearing.
    â€œThe ghost was seen in the castle soon afterwards,” Ume went on. “It was always a