As the car drove out of Kyoto, Yu Nian released the Ghost Hit by a Car from the Qiankun Pouch.
The Ghost Hit by a Car sat in the back seat, pressing against the window and staring unblinkingly at the scenery outside, lost in thought.
Finally, the car reached the small town where the Ghost Hit by a Car had lived before his death.
It was also raining here, but not as heavily as in Kyoto. The rain was fine and continuous, like cow hair. The soft sound of the rain echoed in the air, safeguarding the tranquility of the town.
The wind blew gently. Several unknown white flowers bloomed lightly by the roadside, swaying slowly. Due to the rain, there were few people in the town. Only the barking of a dog from a house deep in the town could be heard.
The Ghost Hit by a Car got out of the car and stared at the surroundings for a long time - the high walls, the carved eaves, the quietly standing river embankment...
"Mom, wife, Xiaolian... I'm back."
Yu Nian looked at the Ghost Hit by a Car quietly. She had noticed in the car that the closer they got to the ghost's hometown, the more translucent his figure became.
Now that they had finally reached their destination, the ghost was already in a semi - transparent state, as if he would disappear at any moment.
Yu Nian knew that this was a sign that his wish was about to be fulfilled.
She shifted her gaze and asked the Ghost Hit by a Car in a low voice, "Do you still remember where your home is?"
Perhaps due to the nervousness of approaching his hometown, the Ghost Hit by a Car's eyes were a bit red. He nodded excitedly, "I remember. It's the third house east along the river embankment. There's a huge loquat tree in front of the door. My wife and I planted it when we got married..."
The Ghost Hit by a Car talked on and on excitedly, constantly telling Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan about the things that had happened in his family.
Finally, they stopped at the river embankment. But in front of them was just an empty expanse. There was neither a courtyard nor a towering loquat tree.
The Ghost Hit by a Car stood there stupidly for a while, and the joy on his face faded away visibly.
"Is it gone..."
He still walked forward a few steps unwillingly and reached out his hand, trying to touch something. But all he could feel was a few wisps of cool wind blowing along the river surface.
The Ghost Hit by a Car was silent for a while, then pulled the corner of his mouth into a bitter smile, "Sure enough, it's gone..."
It turned out that he was really the only one left.
The Ghost Hit by a Car had fantasized about the mountains and waters of his hometown countless times in his heart. He had imagined that his daughter was still playing in front of the door, and his wife and mother were still looking forward to his return.
He had endured year after year relying on these thoughts. Now that he was about to leave, this self - deceiving thought finally dissipated.
Sixty years! How many sixty - year periods are there in a lifetime?
The Ghost Hit by a Car considered himself a muddle - headed person. He didn't like reading and disliked the overly subtle words in books.
He was too lazy to look up the meanings of words like "the white clouds turn into gray dogs" and "the seas change into mulberry fields". He always thought these words were far from his life.
But now, the home in his memory had completely changed. Standing alone in front of an empty space, he turned around and around like a lost child. Only then did he truly understand the meanings of these words.
After the drunken feast ends, the old friends will never return.
His mother, wife, and children had already returned to the loess. After so many years, maybe they had already entered the cycle of reincarnation and been reborn as humans.
The people he loved were no longer there, but his attachments remained. As time went by, perhaps these attachments would finally be buried in the lakes and seas and return to the dust.
The Ghost Hit by a Car took a deep breath, "Forget it."
Anyway, he had finally returned home.
The Ghost Hit by a Car slowly knelt on the ground, kowtowed heavily in the direction of his home, then kissed the ground under his feet and said in a low voice, "Mom, wife, Xiaolian, I'm sorry. If there's a next life, I hope I can still meet you..."
Yu Nian listened quietly by the side, and her eyelashes trembled imperceptibly.
At the same time, Feng Chengyuan saw Yu Nian stretch out her arm in the direction of the Ghost Hit by a Car and softly chant some incantations.
Yu Nian usually had a clear voice, but now when she chanted the scriptures, her voice was a bit hoarse. He wrapped the coat on Yu Nian more tightly and listened quietly, listening to the scriptures recited so distantly and desolately.
The moment the incantation ended, wisps of black mist detached from the Ghost Hit by a Car and gently coiled around Yu Nian's fingertips like a docile pet.
Yu Nian flipped her wrist and made a hand gesture, then pointed into the distance and softly reminded the Ghost Hit by a Car, "Look."
The Ghost Hit by a Car turned his head stupidly.
The fine rain was falling. He seemed to see the tall loquat tree again and the woman leaning against the door waiting for him to come home.
By the time the Ghost Hit by a Car came to his senses, his face was already full of tears.
After a while, he stood up, bowed deeply to Yu Nian, and said with a tearful smile, "Master, I can go now."
Yu Nian nodded. She found a low shed to shelter from the rain, took out yellow paper, vertical incense, and white candles from her bag, and placed them on a clean open space.
Yu Nian asked the Ghost Hit by a Car seriously, "What's your name?"
"Huang Tiesheng."
Yu Nian responded, then used a writing brush to neatly write his name and the current time on the yellow paper.
Then, with a twist of her long - sleeved fingers, she folded the yellow paper three times and lit it on the candle flame.
Feng Chengyuan watched intently and found that the thin yellow paper burned surprisingly slowly. A wisp of green smoke slowly rose, emitting a faint sandalwood fragrance, gently surrounding the Ghost Hit by a Car as he poured out all his attachments.
Finally, the yellow paper and the vertical incense burned out at the same time. The Ghost Hit by a Car heaved a sigh of relief, thanked them, and then his figure gradually disappeared.
At the same time, two extremely faint sounds suddenly rang out from deep in the alley, like the chatting and laughing sounds of a family of four sitting in the courtyard on an ordinary afternoon, fragmented and ethereal.
Yu Nian stood under the rain shed for a long time, silently staring at the misty rain.
Perhaps because the Ghost Hit by a Car had been sent away, the magnetic field had returned to normal. Feng Chengyuan tentatively moved his fingers and was surprised to find that he could move freely.
Feng Chengyuan walked to Yu Nian's side, tentatively reached out his hand to smooth the slight sadness between Yu Nian's eyebrows.
He gently hugged Yu Nian and used his spiritual body to shield her from the wind and rain. He didn't know if Yu Nian could hear him, but he still whispered what was in his heart at this moment.
"Don't be sad, because I love you."
Yu Nian's eyelashes trembled. In this life and the last life combined, she had lost count of how many deceased she had sent on their way.
Her fates with most people were fleeting, like a shallow stream. So Yu Nian never expected to meet them again in the future.
But only when she met Feng Chengyuan did Yu Nian hesitate. She hoped to be with him for a long time and prayed that their fate could be as endless as the rivers and seas.