Chapter 87

Old Man Wang, Granny Wang, Xiao Wang, and Little Wang were also by the window watching the children, but they were inside. Because the newborn’s crib was close to the window, even when they stretched their necks, they could barely catch a glimpse.

Little Wang pressed against the window, his face full of anticipation. “Is my little sister in there? When will she come out and play with me?”

“When your little sister was born, she got frightened. She needs to rest well before she can come out.”

“I know. I’ll protect my little sister. I won’t let her get scared again.”

Old Man Wang stroked his grandson’s head, filled with relief. Thinking of his daughter-in-law and little granddaughter making it through safely, he planned to go to the market at dawn to buy some chickens and ducks for stew. He also wanted to go to the overpass by the river to offer some sacrifices. If it weren’t for them, who knows if his daughter-in-law and granddaughter would have survived at all? Their whole family might have been doomed!

How could they still be here chatting and laughing like this?

Xiao Wang also let out a long sigh of relief. Now he sat outside the ICU, resting. His wife had passed the critical period, but she still needed to be observed and could only be transferred to the regular ward after forty-eight hours.

Xiao Wang finally had time to report their safety to friends and relatives. First, he posted on his WeChat Moments, saying his wife and daughter were fine, thanking everyone for their concern, and especially the neighbors who had helped-if it weren’t for them lending a hand, his wife wouldn’t have even made it downstairs. After thanking everyone one by one, Xiao Wang couldn’t help but call the traffic police brigade.

He wanted to report it!

Someone blocking the emergency lane nearly killed his wife and child. Those who disregard traffic rules are all executioners! Even if they didn’t kill anyone directly, they’re still indirectly responsible for people’s deaths!

But he also knew that filing such a report wouldn’t do much-at most, a few points docked and a warning. Still, if he didn’t do something, he’d have nowhere to vent his anger. If not for today…

Xiao Wang couldn’t help but recall what he’d seen earlier. The cars haphazardly blocking the way suddenly moved aside, as if a pair of invisible hands had swept them away, forcibly opening up a path for them. Even thinking about it now, he felt it was unbelievable.

At the time, he was anxious, restless and tense, afraid and worried, with no time to think. Now that he’d calmed down, it felt as though he’d overlooked something.

He stared for a moment. Could there really be ghosts in this world?

Impossible, right…

He thought it over, but couldn’t figure it out. He got up to see his daughter. Just as he approached, he saw his father sitting in the corridor outside, holding his son, who had already fallen asleep. There were still tear stains on the boy’s face, his eyes puffy. Xiao Wang gently stroked his son’s cheek, thinking that although the boy always said strange things that drove him crazy, tonight had truly scared him.

“You all head home first. I’ll stay here and keep watch.”

“Mm, we’ll head back in a bit. Go see your daughter. She’s so little, and already went through so much before she was even born. I’m thinking of going to the temple in a few days to get her an amulet for peace, to keep her safe.”

Xiao Wang smiled, standing by the window. “Alright, let’s get her an amulet for peace then.”

At this moment, he was willing to be superstitious for the sake of his wife and daughter’s safety. As the saying goes, better to believe it than not.

He stood on tiptoe, stretched his neck, and peeked inside. He could only see his daughter’s little basket, not her face, which left him a little disappointed. But in a blink, he suddenly saw a gloomy Long-haired Woman clinging to the opposite window. Her head hung low, and under the dim light her features were indistinct-but that shadowy head alone sent a chill down his spine.

He was startled and couldn’t help rubbing his eyes and looking again, only to find that there was nothing on the window-no Long-haired Woman at all. That glance felt like nothing more than an illusion.

Xiao Wang froze for a moment, feeling that perhaps he should also get an amulet for peace. Could there really be ghosts in this world?

His doubts were impossible to resolve. It wasn’t until the next day, when he went home to change clothes, that he saw his father reading posts on the computer. One post was about how, around eight or nine last night, a small car was stuck on Fumin Road because of an accident, but had mysteriously been moved out of the way.

The original poster wrote: “Really, I’m the car owner. I was stuck on the yellow line between the second and third lanes, and in the blink of an eye, I was moved over to the second lane! I even felt my car shake a few times! Like someone picked it up and tossed it aside. I have a dashcam-I watched the footage several times. It just happened all at once. Isn’t that weird?”

Someone replied, telling him to share the dashcam footage.

Unfortunately, the original poster didn’t reappear until a few hours later, and only left one sentence: “There are many strange things in this world, and none of them have answers.”

That comment set off a wave of speculation among netizens. Did the poster get summoned by the authorities? Or are there really gods and ghosts in this world? Is it a top secret mere mortals aren’t worthy to know?

“That’s so scary. Could there really be ghosts and monsters out there?”

“Do you think they’ll eat people? They seem so powerful-they could move all those cars in an instant. If they wanted to hurt someone, wouldn’t it be the easiest thing in the world?”

“Wow, thinking about it that way is terrifying. If ghosts and monsters are really that strong, will they take over the world? Will it become a world ruled by spirits, and will we humans have any place left at all?”

“If you don’t know, stop making things up. I was there at the scene. The cars were moved so the ambulance could get through-there was a pregnant woman who had fallen and was bleeding heavily, it was critical. Someone blocked the emergency lane and wouldn’t let the ambulance pass. If the cars hadn’t been moved, maybe we’d have two corpses now!”

“No way, really? Are you saying that pregnant woman is some kind of immortal? The moment she got into trouble, supernatural forces showed up to save her?”

“Hahaha, you actually believe that? Don’t you know the saying, ‘Those who are not of our kind surely have a different heart’?”

Xiao Wang scrolled through the posts and saw his dad-“Old Man Wang from next door”-had replied: “Would all this have happened if you hadn’t blocked the road? And you’re still afraid of ghosts and monsters? Blocking the road was practically murder-you should be more afraid of yourselves! Even if there really are ghosts and monsters, so what? At least they didn’t block the ambulance!”

“You think the scariest thing is ghosts and monsters? The scariest thing is people who harm others with no self-awareness, and still think they’re so innocent! Hah, some people are born human but insist on doing things that aren’t human at all. Such people can’t be called human at all-they’re the real outsiders.”

“OP, shameless! OP, get lost!”

“Pah!”

Xiao Wang could practically picture his dad’s emotional state from those replies-he couldn’t even bring himself to say his dad was wrong. After last night, he understood something: the scariest thing in this world isn’t ghosts or outsiders, but those who harm others and don’t even realize it, still thinking they’ve done nothing wrong.

Wait, his dad’s comments were clearly siding with the ghosts and monsters, weren’t they? His dad…

“Dad, do ghosts and monsters really exist in this world?”

Old Man Wang looked at his son with a mysterious expression. “What do you think?”

…That’s exactly why he was asking!

Old Man Wang looked up at the sky and said, “Sometimes, knowing less is actually good for you. Just live your life as an ordinary person.”

He no longer hoped his son would understand him. After all, he had a grandson now, and as long as his grandson could inherit his legacy, that was enough. The fact that his son still doubted the existence of ghosts and monsters only proved he was just an ordinary man, fated by Goddamn Heaven to remain so.

Old Man Wang sighed and turned away.

Xiao Wang: “…”

Xiao Wang rubbed his forehead, feeling a persistent ache. What exactly did his dad mean, anyway?

Of course, all that was an afterthought. For now, Gu Feiyin, after checking on the children, was ready to go home and rest. The strange memories in her mind hadn’t troubled her much-she wasn’t the type to force herself to recall things. If she couldn’t remember, she simply didn’t dwell on it. Those hazy, fragmented memories were quickly set aside; she couldn’t be bothered to think about them. After seeing the kids, she was ready to leave.

Mainly, she wasn’t at ease because there was still a child waiting at the hospital entrance. But when they stepped outside, she saw that three little monks were still standing beside Wei Xu. Gu Feiyin asked in confusion, “Why are you still here?”

Liao Yuan the monk replied, “We just wanted to check how the mother and daughter were doing.”

The woman in red ghost waved her hand and said, “Don’t worry, they’re fine now. The child was born safely, and the mother’s all right too. If you ask me, if it weren’t for those heartless people blocking the emergency lane, Xiao Wang’s wife wouldn’t have had to suffer so much. Even if she takes years to recover, her health might never be the same.”

Gu Feiyin said, “Health really is a big deal. Even a small problem can be such a hassle.” Just like her own situation now-her arms felt awkward no matter how she used them, and she had to swing them every few steps. Even eating required someone else to feed her. She wondered when Goddamn Heaven would finally cut her some slack.

Maybe she should have the Water Ghost bring back some nutritious seafood for the kids, or send a few little ghosts up into the mountains to dig up some wild ginseng or something. Eating more supplements would help their bodies recover. She could even have some herself-if her health collapsed, she wouldn’t be able to work. Without work, how could she survive among the living?

The woman in red ghost perked up at this suggestion-she’d eaten the pig head meat Old Man Wang and his grandson had sent, so returning a few wild ginseng roots seemed only fair.

After saying goodbye to Gu Feiyin and her group, she floated off toward the Ghost House at the overpass. Digging up ginseng in the mountains was a big project, and she was just one ghost-she’d need to get some little ghosts to help.

Jingxing and Zhen Du pressed their palms together, beaming, and said, “Amitabha, well done, well done.”

“Shizhu, you have a kind heart. For that mother and child to meet you is their great fortune.”

Huh? Gu Feiyin was baffled. “I didn’t save anyone-the ones who did were the little ghosts.” Even the idea to help had come from the woman in red ghost; it had nothing to do with her. Well, if you counted the nutritional supplements, she had suggested that, so maybe she’d contributed a little.

Jingxing smiled, and Zhen Du also smiled slightly. How could saving people have nothing to do with Shizhu Gu? The reason why the ghosts and monsters gathered by the overpass was all thanks to her. Without her, how could the incident of the ghosts moving the cars have happened?

Zhen Du said, “Shizhu Gu, you’ve been busy all day. You must be tired. Go home and rest early.”

That was true. She was really tired and needed to rest.

She yawned and brought little Wei Xu home, settling him on the sofa in the living room for the night. Little Wei Xu’s eyes were bright, and he couldn’t sleep at all. After all, he had personally witnessed and participated in the car-moving incident. Hugging his blanket, he said, “Grandma, you and Sis Gu are real heroes who save people without leaving your names.”

Old Lady looked at him with a stiff face and patted his shoulder with her cold hand, once, twice, again and again.

The familiar feeling made Wei Xu sleepy in no time. He snuggled into the blanket, smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

Only after making sure he was asleep did Old Lady, holding her broom, float away into the darkness.

Gu Feiyin also collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow. Who would have thought that on that very night, she would have a dream-a dream in which there was a little girl who looked almost exactly like her. The Little Girl lay on the table, mumbling, “Sister-in-law, when will Brother and Father come back?”

A young, beautiful woman sat on a stool, stroking her belly as she replied, “Soon, I think. Your father said he would come back when I give birth to Jun’er.”

“When will that be?”

“Don’t worry. The world outside is in chaos, maybe they’ve run into some trouble.”

“Oh, alright then.”

…

In a blink, it was night. Suddenly, a great fire broke out somewhere. Cries and shouts for help rang out from outside the house, as if a huge disaster had struck. The Little Girl ran through the crowd, stumbling and shouting something. Gu Feiyin couldn’t quite hear her, but the way she looked was clearly not good.

She was covered in blood-her hands, her clothes, all stained. Her face was filled with confusion and helplessness. Because she was running so frantically, she tripped and fell flat on her face, looking utterly pitiful.

Gu Feiyin thought this Little Girl looked so much like her-what a twist of fate. She wanted to help her, but just as she was about to act, she realized she passed straight through the Little Girl’s body. She had no strength at all; she couldn’t even pick up a needle, let alone help. What was going on?

Back when she was a ghost, she could at least gather some Resentment Energy to touch things in the mortal world. Even after becoming human, she had never been this weak. What was happening?

As she hesitated, she saw the Little Girl run into a house. Gu Feiyin’s thoughts turned, and she followed, floating inside. As soon as she passed through the wall of a side room, she was hit by the heavy stench of blood. She heard a woman’s painful cries-this voice was not unfamiliar. It was exactly the same as what she had heard that night at Little Wang’s house-even the things the children beside her were saying were almost identical: relax, inhale, exhale, push only when told, and so on.

Was there a childbirth happening here too?

She slipped through the curtain and saw a woman lying on the bed, exuding a thick smell of blood. Her face was pale, drenched in sweat, and she was clutching the bed sheets in agony.

A middle-aged woman, dressed with an imposing air, stood by the bed. Her face was serious, her hands tightly clenched, a rare severity on her face. “Has the midwife been found? Why hasn’t she arrived yet?”

“No doctors from the town have come?”

“Yin’er?”

The Little Girl shook her head in panic, her eyes brimming with tears: “Mother, Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. I tried, I really did, but there was no one at the midwife’s house, and not a single person at the pharmacy. I don’t know where they’ve all gone. I wanted to bring someone back to help, but I couldn’t find anyone… I just couldn’t…”

…

The scene shifted again. The young woman was screaming in pain from childbirth. Only the mother and daughter were struggling in the room. Even with everything prepared, without a midwife, the birth became impossibly difficult.

As Gu Feiyin watched, she drifted through the roof and looked out toward the town. All she could see were flames everywhere, gunfire and explosions booming along with cries and screams-it was like hell on earth.

Finally, she saw a middle-aged man rush into the house from outside, shouting loudly, “Madam, Madam, something terrible has happened! Master and young master were attacked by bandits on their way back-they’ve all been killed!”

“Hurry, we have to leave! Master told me to come back and tell you to run-the bandits will be here any minute!”

These words struck the three people inside like a bolt of lightning.

“Ah!!!”

With the woman’s agonized, desperate scream, the wailing cry of a newborn baby suddenly pierced the room. Gu Feiyin sank into the house and saw the mother, just after giving birth, looking barely alive, tears streaming down her face: “Go, go, take the baby, leave… don’t worry about me…”

The Little Girl was covered in blood, rigidly holding the child, not daring to move.