Yu Mingsheng, who had been in a daze for a long time, finally came to his senses. His lips trembling, he was about to pounce on Yu Qihuai. "Are you a brute, Yu Qihuai? That was our mom! What did you promise me when I went abroad? You said you'd take good care of her!"
Seeing that he was about to lose control, Feng Chengyuan grabbed him.
Yu Mingsheng's body trembled. When he watched Granny Yu close her eyes as Yu Nianping chanted the Rebirth Mantra and finally collapse limply, he couldn't hold back anymore. He knelt on the ground, covering his face and sobbing, constantly muttering, "Mom, may you rest in peace..."
He Zhiping turned around and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
When parents are alive, there is a place to return to in life. When parents pass away, life is but a journey towards the end.
Granny Yu's funeral was held three days later. Yu Mingsheng dressed her in clean burial clothes, tidied her hair and nails, and respectfully saw his mother off.
Zhou Feiyu frowned as she looked at Yu Qihuai's closed room. "Are you just going to let Yu Qihuai off like this?"
Yu Nian watched the departing funeral procession and said indifferently, "Granny Yu was a corpse with lingering yin energy. She attacked Yu Qihuai with great force, and the resentment entered his body. Yu Qihuai is as good as ruined. He'll either go crazy or die."
...
Yu Qihuai struggled to get up from the bed. But when he reached the middle of the courtyard, he was shocked to find that there was no one in the mansion.
In panic, a young voice came from behind, faint and distant.
"Mom, I want to eat pears."
Yu Qihuai whirled around and saw a beautiful young woman lovingly holding a little boy under a huge pear tree. Her voice was gentle. "Be good, Qihuai. It's not the season for pears yet."
The little boy's eyes showed a bit of disappointment. "When will they bear fruit then?"
The woman smiled and gently patted the little boy's head. "The seeds of this pear tree were left by your father. It grows very slowly. Maybe by the time our Qihuai gets married and has children, it will bear fruit. Then mom will make you lots of pastries and cakes."
The little boy's eyes lit up, and he nodded cheerfully. Just then, a gentle breeze blew, and white pear blossoms fluttered down, covering both of them.
A gust of wind blew, and the two figures dissipated like fine sand.
"Our Qihuai should grow up safely and live a good life."
"Mom should also live a long and happy life!"
Yu Qihuai's chapped lips moved. On his wedding day, the pear tree actually blossomed and bore fruit. But he thought the tree was inauspicious and had it cut down overnight.
On that day, Granny Yu sat quietly beside the tree stump for a long time but didn't say a word.
The fruits of that pear tree were never picked, and Granny Yu didn't live a long life.
Two days later, major newspapers reported Yu Qihuai's death. He died in front of the old tree root in his own courtyard on a sunny day. And the Yu Group was handed over to the eldest son, Yu Mingsheng.
The next day, Qingxin Temple received a large donation. The signature only had a simple sentence: For Yu Nian, niece.
Yu Nian didn't decline. After all, everything has its cause and effect. This inheritance was what the original owner deserved.
The summer night was stuffy, and there were mosquitoes in Qingxin Temple. Ming Mingzhong scratched his red cheek.
In a daze, it seemed as if something was blowing on the back of his ear. The cool feeling made Ming Mingzhong frown. He turned over and faced the ceiling, trying to fall asleep again.
Vaguely, he seemed to see a red figure flash before his eyes. It was somehow familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. This hazy feeling made him a bit uneasy.
The drowsiness gradually faded. Ming Mingzhong decided to get out of bed and drink some water, but the stiffness in his limbs made it impossible for him to move.
What's going on?
Ming Mingzhong's eyes suddenly widened. Was he experiencing sleep paralysis in the temple? But how was that possible? How could a ghost enter the temple?
Ming Mingzhong was suddenly panicked. He wanted to shout to call Yu Nian, who lived next door, but he found that he couldn't make a sound.
This feeling was extremely strange. Ming Mingzhong could clearly hear the chirping of insects outside the window and Qing Qing's snoring under the window, but he himself was trapped and couldn't break free no matter what.
Ming Mingzhong was a bit anxious. Just as he was about to concentrate and chant a spell, a faint sigh came from his ear. "Can you take me home?"
Ming Mingzhong was on the verge of tears. Not only was he, a Taoist priest, experiencing sleep paralysis, but the one doing it was also a male ghost!
"Hey, you're being unfair. I brought you back to the temple, not for you to bully people."
Yu Nian's lazy voice came from the door. Ming Mingzhong was overjoyed and used all his strength to let out a whimper from his throat. "Save me..."
Yu Nian smiled, leaped forward, dipped her finger in cinnabar, and gently patted the male ghost on the back.
The figure swayed and slowly floated off Ming Mingzhong's body as if it had no bones.
Ming Mingzhong, who was on the verge of suffocation, took a few deep breaths. Looking at the male ghost sitting limply on the ground with lingering fear, he finally noticed his appearance and attire.
A dark autumn outfit, a red scarf, and a shabby schoolbag...
Ming Mingzhong's eyes immediately widened, and he bombarded with questions. "Isn't this the roadside ghost? Why did you bring him back? My god, this is a temple! Won't he be completely destroyed?"
Yu Nian casually fiddled with the ghost on the ground. "Judging from his appearance, he should be a college student. Dying young on the street and becoming a roadside ghost without any resentment at all. Don't you find it strange?"
As Yu Nian spoke, she quickly opened the male ghost's schoolbag. A stack of neatly arranged test papers was taken out by Yu Nian, with a faint fragrance of ink. On the first two pages, in the name section, two characters were neatly written - "Lu Yao?"
Yu Nian softly read the name. She thought the male ghost might not remember his own name, but he slowly raised his head, and there was a faint glow in his eyes as he looked at Yu Nian. "Here!"
Ming Mingzhong:?
There was a look of curiosity in Yu Nian's eyes. She continued to flip through the test papers and found that the handwriting on the remaining papers was a bit more childish, and the content was mostly junior high school knowledge. Lu Yao had marked every mistake in red pen.
Ming Mingzhong was a bit puzzled. "Is he a test paper grader?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the male ghost's faint gaze fell on him, and Ming Mingzhong immediately fell silent.
Yu Nian looked at the handsome male ghost. "You can be a tutor, so your grades should be good. Do you still remember how you died?"
The male ghost's reaction was a bit slow. He thought for a long time and then slowly shook his head. "I don't remember. I only know my name is Lu Yao. I want to go home. Someone is still waiting for me."
As Lu Yao spoke, he seemed a bit anxious, and his fingers nervously tugged at the red scarf around his neck.
Yu Nian took in all his reactions. Lu Yao was at most eighteen or nineteen years old. What kind of obsession could make such a young boy reluctant to leave?
Yu Nian's hand slowly stroked Lu Yao's head and softly chanted the Peaceful Mind Mantra once. The originally restless boy gradually calmed down, but he still murmured softly, "Go home..."