Chapter 56: A Grandmother

“Wow, that young man is so amazing...”
“Is the little girl running a fever? Will she be alright...”
“Is she the Red Boy...”
“Oh, she’s a girl, the Red Boy is a boy, or was it a girl again...”
“Blue flame, then she must be the Blue Boy, haha...”
...

Zhu Guangfa hadn’t remembered how long it had been since his daughter was this lively.

She circled around her mother, chattering nonstop.

Du Xiuzhi had intended to keep some mystery, to tease her a bit, but couldn’t resist her persistent coaxing.

Zhu Guangfa stood on a chair and took down two bottles of liquor from the cabinet top.

Du Xiuzhi stood below, reaching out to catch them directly.

Zhu Guangfa widened his eyes in surprise, “How can you catch things now?”

“You’re only realizing this?” Du Xiuzhi gave him a sideways glance.

Then she explained, “I’m not exactly sure myself. Mr. Shen formed a finger seal, and suddenly a soft blue light washed over me. Then I felt my body grow heavy, like my feet were firmly planted on solid ground—gone was the usual sense of being weightless and drifting with the wind...”

“Even though everyone still can’t see me, I feel almost indistinguishable from a living person now...”

This wasn’t surprising. After all, the Lord of the Nine Nether Shadows had bound tens of thousands of vengeful souls to the Soul Banner, which not only could incite warfare but also charm people and draw their essence. While not a ghost cultivator herself, Du Xiuzhi, empowered by the Soul Banner, now possessed some ghostly abilities.

Hearing this, Zhu Guangfa instantly brightened, excitedly saying, “Then let’s ask Mr. Shen to let you stay by my side forever.”

“You think the two breaths I gave you are something good? Prolonged exposure will erode your body and turn you into living dead...”

“Is it that serious?”

“Mom, how long can you stay with us?”

Beside him, Zhu Tingting quieted down too, her face full of sadness. Zhu Guangfa’s expression also grew solemn.

“Alright, don’t be like this. Being reunited with you again is already a great blessing. Why demand more?” Du Xiuzhi reached out and hugged them both.

Seeing his daughter upset, Zhu Guangfa quickly changed the subject, “These two bottles of wine for Mr. Shen—aren’t they a bit too light a gift?”

Du Xiuzhi smiled, “For Mr. Shen, anything you give is too light. If that’s the case, give him your best.”

“Alright then, later we’ll go out and buy some more. Just two bottles of wine alone doesn’t seem proper.”

“But you haven’t even dared to drink these two bottles of Xifeng wine yet?”

“Hehe~ I keep them as a memento.” Zhu Guangfa scratched his head and grinned sheepishly.

His words piqued Zhu Tingting’s curiosity.

“What kind of memento?”

Du Xiuzhi smiled and explained, “This was the wine your father brought to my family the first time he visited, bought with his very first paycheck.”

“Then why is it here at home now? Doesn’t Grandpa drink it?”

“No, because your grandfather couldn’t bear to drink it either, so I took it back.”

Mentioning Grandpa, Zhu Guangfa quietly asked, “Have you seen them?”

Du Xiuzhi shook her head, smiling gently, “Probably because you took such good care of me, satisfied with you, with no lingering attachments, that’s why they left.”

Zhu Guangfa looked at her deeply, pursed his lips, and said softly, “Not really...”

He had long felt guilty over Du Xiuzhi’s passing, believing he had failed to care for her properly.

-----------------

Yin Xingyue’s hometown was a small, remote village.

The village was mostly inhabited by the elderly and children; Yin Xingyue had once been one of them.

But she refused to consider herself a left-behind child, since her father had died rather than having gone off to work elsewhere, leaving her behind. Sometimes, this thought even brought her a small measure of relief.

Yin Xingyue’s grandmother was called Granny Yi by everyone; no one, not even Yin Xingyue, knew her real name.

Even the surname she bore wasn’t her own—it belonged to her late husband.

Granny Yi’s life had been harsh: widowed in youth, losing her son in old age, and then left with only her granddaughter...

She had completely broken down, her back bent so much she couldn’t straighten it, walking with her head down.

Her steps were slow but deliberate. She didn’t know why she was still alive, but for now, death was not yet upon her.

Sometimes, living itself was a kind of suffering.

But for Granny Yi, it was just that—her life had been filled with so much pain that she had become numb.

For her, being alive brought no joy, and dying would cause no sorrow.

Life was just life—meaningless.

The only thing that frequently made her sigh and feel regret was entrusting her granddaughter, Xiao Yue, to her daughter’s care.

She couldn’t understand why Xiao Yue had taken her own life—wasn’t living better?

She often asked herself this question but had no answer.

Yet she hoped Xiao Yue was alive, hoped to see her again, to hear her call her grandmother...

So she regretted it—deeply, deeply regretted...

And her back bent even more...

“I don’t want this either...”

-----------------

This was Granny Yi’s most common refrain.

But—

Xiao Yue had a little dog, very obedient, who would happily run to her whenever she called.

One day, when Granny Yi asked about the dog, Xiao Yue smiled and said she had split it—half given to Uncle Si, half to Wang Dana, who lived to the west of the village.

She already knew she couldn’t keep Xiao Yue by her side anymore. Xiao Yue had to be like her father—go to school, go somewhere better to study.

But why did it have to be this way? “I don’t want this either...”

Granny Yi regretted it.

She struggled to drag her small cart, a gift from the village store owner who had received it from a laundry detergent company as a promotional item. The elderly in town liked to pull such carts when shopping, so the owner had given her one to make it easier to collect scraps.

Inside her cart were piled all sorts of rubbish—cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, scrap wire—filled to the brim.

She had to drag them to town to sell. The town wasn’t far, just about ten miles, a half-hour bike ride.

But for Granny Yi, bent and stooped, the town already felt very distant. Each trip took her half a day to complete.

She clasped her hands behind her back, massaged her aching waist, and stopped to rest.

But not for long—soon she resumed pulling the cart and continued on her way.

This time, it felt much easier, but she quickly realized it wasn’t just her strength—someone was pushing from behind.

She turned around and saw a familiar figure standing there, smiling warmly at her.

“Grandma~”

Bathed in the afternoon sunlight, her smile was dazzling.

Granny Yi felt no fear, no surprise—only an indescribable peace and joy.

She grinned widely, showing her missing teeth, every wrinkle on her face seeming to radiate happiness.

“It’s Xiao Yue,” she said.

“Grandma~” Yin Xingyue called again.

“Have you come to take Grandma away?”

Death, after all, was something to be welcomed.