Xiaolin was taken aback. She felt that the figure was extremely familiar. Her entire attention was drawn to it, and she walked towards it uncontrollably.
As she got closer, Xiaolin finally recognized that the figure was her grandmother.
The old woman looked the same as when she was alive, wearing that dark - blue burial gown with a huge white flower embroidered on the front.
When Xiaolin saw her grandmother, her first reaction wasn't fear but the thought that she was dreaming.
She had grown up in her grandmother's house since childhood and had a very deep affection for her. Now, seeing her, she couldn't hold back her tears. The tears streamed down more and more fiercely, and she couldn't stop them no matter what.
"Grandma, why are you here?"
When the old woman saw Xiaolin, she also shed tears. But the way she pronounced words was very strange, as if she was forcing the sounds out of her throat. Every word she said seemed to cost her a great deal of effort.
The old woman kept gesturing in the air and repeating the same sentence over and over again: "It hurts, it hurts."
Yu Nian appeared behind Xiaolin at some unknown time. She looked at the old woman in front of her. The old woman was wearing a complete burial gown, so she should have been buried peacefully by her family. Then why was she haunting her son and granddaughter?
The old woman's expression was restless. She repeated the words painfully again.
"It hurts, it hurts so much!"
Yu Nian was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Old lady, where does it hurt?"
"My feet, my feet!"
Yu Nian looked down and only then noticed that the old woman's insteps were strangely turned outwards, oozing pus continuously. It was less like she was standing and more like she was forcibly propping herself up on the ground in a strange posture.
Yu Nian tentatively asked, "Is it because your feet hurt that you can't walk?"
The old woman seemed very surprised that Yu Nian could understand her meaning. She quickly nodded and then cried loudly.
Yu Nian understood immediately. No wonder the old woman refused to leave. It turned out that there had been an oversight when her family arranged her funeral.
People have a lifespan when they are alive and a spiritual lifespan after they die. Everything has to follow the process.
All the other wandering souls had gone in groups to report to the Underworld, but this old woman was still stuck in the Yellow Springs because her shoes didn't fit. It was normal for her to be angry.
However, according to Xiaolin, the old woman had more than one child. Why did she single out Jiao Qi to torment?
Xiaolin looked at her grandmother and seemed to want to say something. But suddenly, the ground under her feet began to tremble violently, and the old woman in front of her disappeared in an instant.
A hurricane blew by, and the strange people who had been lingering around also disappeared without a trace.
Only then did Xiaolin realize that the current scene was probably not a dream. She asked Yu Nian blankly, "Where on earth is this?"
"The Yellow Springs."
The terrain here was very unique. Although there was only a road separating the left and right sides, the scenery was completely different.
On the left was a vast expanse of desert, stretching out boundlessly with continuous undulations. A red, full - round sunset clung tightly to the ridge of the desert, making the whole land look gloomy.
People seemed so tiny in it. At first glance, there seemed to be no signs of life at all.
On the right side of the road was a large expanse of a flower sea. The flowers looked very strange. They were blood - red all over but had no roots or leaves. From afar, they seemed to be floating in the air.
On one side of the flower sea, there was a clear stream, winding and leading to an unknown destination. It was like a large flawless emerald, shining with a strange and beautiful luster.
Xiaolin stared at the stream for a while and felt an unprecedented thirst.
There seemed to be an ethereal voice in her mind constantly guiding her towards the stream. For a moment, Xiaolin had only one thought - to take a sip of the stream water.
Xiaolin was stunned and walked blankly towards the stream. Just as she was about to scoop up some water to drink, her hand was suddenly restricted.
Yu Nian shook the water out of her hand and whispered, "Don't drink it. This is the water of the River of Forgetfulness. If you drink it, you'll forget everything."
Xiaolin suddenly came to her senses when she heard this. She was startled by her own abnormal behavior and quickly took a step back.
Yu Nian suddenly asked, "Did you also put the shoes on the old lady when she passed away?"
Xiaolin was stunned for a moment. Suddenly remembering something, she shook her head and said, "My dad did it. After I put the burial gown on my grandma, I couldn't help but want to cry, so I hid outside the door. The rest of the things were arranged by my dad and aunt."
Yu Nian nodded thoughtfully, "I see."
She told Xiaolin, "No matter what you see later, don't panic. I'll take you back safely."
Although the girl in front of her was about the same age as her, she always gave people a reliable feeling. Xiaolin nodded blankly and obediently agreed.
As the two walked forward, a burst of laughter suddenly came from not far away.
The laughter was shrill and thin, making people feel dizzy.
In the blink of an eye, a group of ghosts carrying their own heads flew straight towards them.
Afraid that Xiaolin would be scared, Yu Nian whispered an explanation, "They are all ghosts who died a violent death. They are rushing to queue up for reincarnation."
Yu Nian pinched a magic seal and quickly released a golden talisman paper, forming a barrier. While shielding their auras, it also concealed their figures.
A headless ghost rushed forward recklessly and was knocked back a step by the barrier. It stood there blankly, muttering from time to time, "It's really strange."
The ghosts in front saw it stop and impatiently looked back at it, "What the hell are you doing? Let's go!"
The headless ghost hissed, "Dude, you may not believe it, but I just seemed to encounter a ghost wall."
The other ghosts:???
One ghost couldn't bear it anymore. He flew behind the headless ghost and kicked him, "Stop scaring us! Aren't we ghosts? How could we possibly encounter a ghost wall?"
The headless ghost suddenly realized and let out an "oh". He followed the main group while looking back three times at every step.
Although he had no head, Yu Nian could still tell from his gestures that he was feeling confused.
Xiaolin had been trembling with fear at first, but when she heard the headless ghost's words, she couldn't help laughing, and most of her original fear dissipated.
With Yu Nian by her side, she didn't seem to be so scared anymore.
Yu Nian silently recited a few incantations. When Xiaolin opened her eyes again, she was back in the hospital.
She felt as if she had had a strange dream. Everything was extremely fantastical and unreal.
Xiaolin blankly looked up at the wall clock and was shocked to find that only one minute had passed!
Jiao Qi, who had been in a nightmare, was back in bed. After exhaling a long breath, he slowly opened his eyes but still coughed non - stop.
Xiaolin quickly helped her father up and gently patted his back.
After the man's breathing evened out, Yu Nian asked, "When you put the shoes on the old lady, did anything unexpected happen?"
Jiao Qi stammered for a while and finally told the truth, "I did put the burial shoes on my mom. But I didn't know her shoe size. When I bought them back, I found that the shoes were two sizes too small. I was in a hurry at that time and didn't think much about it... so I just bent two of her toes and forced the shoes on."