Chapter 96

Early in the morning, Liao Yuan the Monk dressed himself smartly and handsomely to pick up his Sis Gu for work. To make sure Sis Gu would remember him sooner, he washed his face thoroughly, applied some baby cream-getting old makes wrinkles come easily, so he couldn’t skip the cream-and even rubbed his round, shiny head a few extra times. If he could, he would have liked to use some mousse or something, but alas, that was out of the question.

He went over all excited, but as he reached the door, he learned that Sis Gu’s house had caught fire the night before, and she had gone outside to seek refuge.

The news gave him quite a shock; he stomped his feet in anxiety. If he had known, he would have seen Sis Gu all the way to her door last night! Luckily, Jingxing held him back, persuading him not to panic. Though he himself was also worried, he managed not to lose his head and asked the old man, “Were the people inside hurt?”

“No injuries, indeed. When the fire broke out, no one was home. Feiyin was lucky-if it had happened late at night, something terrible would have happened for sure. Sigh, that house has terrible feng shui. Three lives were lost there before, and every tenant since has had bad luck. They say it’s haunted, and now this happened again, blah blah blah…”

It was only when Liao Yuan Monk heard that Sis Gu was unharmed that he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t listen to anything else, just patted his chest and said, “Thank goodness, thank goodness, Sis Gu is all right. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t know where to wait for her, nor do I have time to wait anymore.”

“…Sis Gu?” Jingxing looked at his shifu in surprise. If he wasn’t mistaken, his shifu had just called her “Sis Gu,” right? And by Sis Gu, did he mean Gu Feiyin, Shizhu Gu?

Jingxing couldn’t make sense of it. For Shizhu to be addressed as “Sis” by his shifu-just who exactly was this Shizhu?

“Shifu?”

“Come on, let’s go find Shizhu Gu!”

His shifu didn’t notice his confusion at all. Once he heard Shizhu Gu was safe, he hurriedly dashed downstairs, his two short legs moving fast, rushing toward the riverside while poking his phone frantically to call Shizhu Gu-his dexterity rivaled that of a young man. Though he was old, his energy was anything but.

Jingxing was afraid his shifu might get into trouble, so he hurried after him. Even though his shifu seemed energetic, he was still an eighty-nine-year-old man, with presbyopia, hearing loss, osteoporosis-all the usual problems.

But just as they got downstairs, they saw Shizhu Gu coming back. She hung her head, arms drooping, long hair scattered over her shoulders. When she learned they had come, she raised her stiff head gloomily, staring at them with blank eyes, her dark pupils turning as she said, “You’re here.”

Liao Yuan: “…”

Jingxing: “…”

Liao Yuan the old monk paused for a moment before jogging over. Seeing that Sis Gu was safe and sound, he complained, “Why didn’t you come find me when your house burned down? Where did you stay last night? Are you all right?”

Gu Feiyin shook her head, saying she was fine, her gaze lingering on Jingxing for several moments, leaving Jingxing baffled. Only then did she slowly explain that, of course, she had spent the night at the overpass. There were plenty of ghosts there, it was convenient, everyone knew the way, and with so many ghosts, it was easy to find company.

Both Liao Yuan and Jingxing were puzzled: “…Huh? Can people live there?”

They had been to the overpass before; the place was barren with no shelter at all-how could anyone live there? But when they arrived at the overpass and saw the long, flower-filled trench dug into the ground, both were stunned, unable to utter a word for quite a while.

Liao Yuan the old monk’s mouth twitched a few times, and he couldn’t help recalling a long, long time ago, when Sis Gu still lived inside his shifu’s monk staff. She had once escaped and gone into hiding, and it was his shifu who had dug her out of a pit in the ground…

So many years had passed, but this bizarre hobby of hers hadn’t changed a bit.

Of course, he couldn’t bear for Sis Gu to keep living in that pit-cold and damp, one careless moment and she’d get sick. “Sis Gu, come back to the temple with me. There’s a rest room prepared for devotees; you can stay there for a few days.”

Gu Feiyin had changed her opinion of monks somewhat, but fear was still fear. Had she ever passed a temple without taking a detour? Moving in would be walking right into the tiger’s den-no way. “I’m perfectly fine living here, nothing wrong with it. If I get hungry, I can just catch a fish and grill it nearby-so convenient.”

Water Ghost: “…”:)

This demoness finally remembered him. Why was he both excited and a little nervous? Time to go catch some fish!

Honestly, for Gu Feiyin, it didn’t matter where she lived; she wasn’t picky about these things, as long as it was safe. What mattered more now was Jingxing. Before, she’d only thought Jingxing looked familiar, like she’d seen him somewhere before. She hadn’t thought too much about it, assuming he just resembled someone she’d met. But now, it seemed he really did look like someone she’d known-her eldest brother.

Her eldest brother was dead; she’d seen him take his last breath with her own eyes. He’d left behind only a posthumous child. When she became a little ghost, the baby was still tiny, just born a few hours before, weighing nothing on her back. Now, she didn’t even know if he was still alive-if he was, he was probably dead by now.

She stared at him for quite a while. As she watched, the young monk before her seemed to transform into an old monk. The young monk was pushed aside, stumbling a few steps and nearly falling. He turned back helplessly to glance at his Shifu, who was currently wearing a wrinkled smile that was both ingratiating and awkward. “Shizhu Gu, my little disciple here isn’t much to look at. His looks are quite average, not nearly as dashing as I was in my younger days.”

… Jingxing finally couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

Gu Feiyin studied the old monk’s face seriously for a moment. The old monk blinked his small eyes, looking at her with an expression that was both expectant and nervous. “Shizhu Gu, what do you think? How do I look?”

Gu Feiyin thought about it seriously and said, “You look… just average.”

“…” Liao Yuan, the old monk, froze for a moment. He touched his wrinkled face, looking aggrieved, and said, “I was really quite handsome when I was young. Many little girls would blush when they saw me.”

Gu Feiyin nodded sincerely. That was probably true. After all, most little girls didn’t have her high standards. Even someone average-looking could be considered handsome to them.

Liao Yuan: “…”

“But I have to say, your eyes look somewhat familiar. I once knew a little monk-ugly, dark, skinny, and small, almost unbearable to look at. If he hadn’t been so obedient, I wouldn’t even have wanted to take him under my wing. Sigh, you do resemble him a bit. He also liked to blink his little eyes and stare at me.”

“…?!!”

What did she mean by that? Was she talking about him?

Liao Yuan’s body stiffened. He looked at her in shock, suddenly feeling nervous. He didn’t even have time to be angry about the image she had of him in her mind. Instead, he asked uncertainly, “A little monk? Which little monk? Have you remembered everything?”

Gu Feiyin nodded slightly. “More or less.”

She counted on her fingers, recalling that she had been unconscious for many years. When she woke up, the whole world had changed. After calculating carefully, she said, “It’s been many years, hasn’t it? He’s probably dead by now.”

“Then… what if he’s not dead?”

“Not dead? If he’s not dead, he’s probably even uglier by now.”

Unlike her, who was naturally beautiful no matter the time, always stunningly gorgeous.

Liao Yuan, the old monk: “!!!”

He had imagined that when Sis Gu remembered him, they would have a heartfelt reunion. He would tell her that he had waited for her for so many years, that his Shifu had waited for her for so many years, but only he had managed to find her.

But what he hadn’t expected was that when Sis Gu finally remembered him, he no longer wanted to reunite with her at all.

The world is indeed unpredictable, ever-changing, and full of surprises.

…

After glancing at Liao Yuan for a moment, Gu Feiyin’s gaze shifted to Jingxing. Liao Yuan, the old monk, couldn’t help but pout, sneaking several sour glances at her.

Gu Feiyin sighed and said, “You really look a lot like my elder brother.”

Jingxing asked in confusion, “Your elder brother?”

Liao Yuan’s expression turned serious as he looked at Gu Feiyin.

Gu Feiyin nodded. After her elder brother was killed, he left behind a child. As for what happened to that child, she had no idea. Was he killed like her, or was he lucky enough to be saved? She didn’t know.

She asked him, “What’s your name?”

Jingxing replied, “Me? My name is Jingxing.”

“No, I mean your name before you became a monk. What’s your surname and given name? Where is your family from?”

Jingxing shook his head blankly. From as far back as he could remember, he had been at Baiyu Temple, growing up under his Shifu’s care. He had only ever had one name-Jingxing. He couldn’t help but look toward his Shifu. Gu Feiyin also turned her gaze to Liao Yuan, the old monk.

Liao Yuan, suppressing the ache in his heart, explained, “If I’m not mistaken, Jingxing is likely one of the descendants of the Gu Family.”

After learning about Sis Gu’s background from his Shifu, he had made a point of inquiring in the town. He discovered that when Gu Family Town was massacred, Gu Xianxi’s family of six had four members killed. The only surviving bloodline of the Gu Family was a baby born amidst the chaos-a tiny infant who had almost perished in the turmoil but was saved by a passing Yu Lifeng.

Yu Lifeng, a kind-hearted man, recognized the child as belonging to the Gu Family and returned him. He had initially thought all the Gu Family members were dead, but to his surprise, Hong Ying was still alive. Hong Ying, Gu Chong’s wife and the child’s mother, took the baby back into her care. She wept bitterly, then gathered her strength to bury the four members of the Gu Family. Not long after, with no one to rely on, she took the child back to her own family.

It was said that Hong Ying named the child Gu Sheng-“Sheng,” symbolizing life and vitality-because he was the life that Gu Feiyin had exchanged her own for. Unfortunately, Hong Ying passed away a few years later. It was said that her health had been severely weakened during childbirth, and her grief over her husband’s death had taken a further toll. Her body eventually gave out, and a sudden, severe illness claimed her life.

Gu Feiyin said, “Gu Sheng? His name was Gu Sheng? That’s a beautiful name.”

Liao Yuan replied, “So many years have passed; he’s surely dead by now.”

Dead? That would make sense. Human life is fleeting-birth, aging, sickness, and death. If he weren’t dead, he would have become a ghost like her.