Chapter 35: Chapter 35 Paper Burning to Summon Ghosts_1
Xiu Ai looked at Qin Sisi and mumbled, "You’re right, I’ve been dead for quite a while. Yet, I still vividly rember that day..."
Xiu Ai slightly raised her head, her distant gaze swept across the unfamiliar surroundings, traveled through over a century of ti, and returned to the devastated ti of the late Qing dynasty.
September 23, 1898, was just an ordinary day for others, but for Xiu Ai, it was as if she had been reborn.
The early autumn morning with a thin layer of sunlight lazily stretched across the Earth, the autumn breeze carried a slight chill.
Where Qin Sisi currently lives was a few crowded alleyways back then, dotted with several households. The wooden doors were rich in antiquity. A big red cloth was hanging on the front door of one of the houses, announcing so joyful event.
The people were buzzing around the elaborately decorated bridal chamber. A bashful girl sat by the pear wood round table, around whom a group of maids and matrons with gleaming new clothes and smiling faces were busily and orderly helping her with makeup, combing her hair, dressing her in the most brightly colored wedding gown...
"The headpiece filled with beads and jade is so heavy, it’s hurting my head. But I’m so happy because I will soon be living with brother Heng forever," she murmured.
The young girl’s eyes, as clear as a stream, emitted an odd glow, as if she had returned to that lively and joyful morning, fully imrsed in her longing and expectations for love and marriage.
Xiu Ai paused for a mont, when she spoke again there was a slight sob in her voice, "But, I didn’t get to see him after all. Brother Heng was arrested by the feudal officials for participating in the Reform Movent on the morning of our wedding day. I nearly fainted when I heard the news. My mother asked
to take off my wedding dress, but I refused. I waited for several days in my bright red wedding dress, but only received the news of Brother Heng’s death from disease in jail..."
Xiu Ai covered her face with both hands, sobbed softly, her delicate shoulders lightly shaking. The pain and sorrow of losing her beloved had lingered for over a century and showed no signs of fading away.
Qin Sisi couldn’t help but feel emotional. It’s often said that the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointnt. An unexpected event on the wedding day, turning hope and anticipation into nothing in an instant, is indeed hard to accept.
Qin Sisi asked softly, "What... what happened to you after that?"
Xiu Ai heaved a sigh, seemingly weeping silently, but also letting out a helpless bitter laugh. She slowly said, "I didn’t eat or drink for several days, and I followed Brother Heng to the afterlife."
Qin Sisi looked at Xiu Ai in shock. So Xiu Ai had died of broken heart. She was supposed to be marrying her bridegroom on horseback, but instead, she had to face a desolate reality of her lover being gone forever. Out of despair, she chose to follow him in death.
Xiu Ai continued, "After I passed away, there remained a hint of obsession in my heart. I refused to follow the ssenger of Death, insisting on staying in the world, waiting at the entrance of my house. I told myself that as long as I waited, he would definitely return."
Then, the flowers blood and wilted, the clouds gathered and dispersed. Over a century passed by, but the person she had been waiting for never showed up.
Qin Sisi began to understand this series of events. However, she couldn’t guess what further wish Xiu Ai, who had been waiting for over a century even knowing that her waiting was pointless, might have.
Thus, Qin Sisi asked, "Xiu Ai, here’s the thing. I need Soul Power right now. I can help you fulfill a wish in return. I hope you could confer your Soul Power to ."
Xiu Ai looked surprised at Qin Sisi. Long after, seemingly understanding what Qin Sisi ant, she downcast her eyelashes and said sadly, "Since waiting further is pointless, there seems to be no point for
to forcefully stay in this world anymore either. I can confer my Soul Power to you, but I want to have a wedding. I want to shine the lamps and lay the red candles of nuptiality with Brother Heng." Xiu Ai’s voice beca softer and softer. By the end of her sentence, her fair cheeks were flushed.
"A wedding?" Qin Sisi was shocked.
Xiu Ai firmly nodded her head and said solemnly, "I never encountered Brother Heng’s ghost, so he has likely been reincarnated."
"But..." Qin Sisi still thought this was unfeasible. Even if this "Brother Heng" had really reincarnated, who could tell if he’s an eight-year-old kid or an eighty-year-old elderly now? Even if he’s a man of marrying age, how could he possibly marry a ghost?
Just as Qin Sisi was about to persuade Xiu Ai to let go of this obsession, Ye You suddenly spoke up.
Qin Sisi, puzzled, replied to Ye You and handed Xiu Ai a piece of paper and a pen as he instructed, "Write down his na and his birth date and ti."
Xiu Ai nodded, took the paper and pen. Though she seed unfamiliar with these modern items and wrote slowly, her handwriting was neat. She carefully wrote down the information Qin Sisi needed.
Right when Xiu Ai put down her pen, Ye You’s purple eyes flashed slightly. A purple light shot out of his eyes, quickly enveloping Xiu Ai’s body. In an instant, Xiu Ai had disappeared into that purple light.
Qin Sisi goggled for a mont, but quickly ca back to her senses, "You’ve taken her back?"
"Um." Ye You replied. Then, he leaped onto the table and looked down at the white paper written by Xiu Ai, his expression unreadable.
Qin Sisi stepped forward, seeing the na that had haunted Xiu Ai for over a century — Shen Hengzhi, followed by his precise birth date and ti.
Qin Sisi hesitantly asked, "Do you think this can work?"
"How can we know without trying?" Ye You answered lightly, an aura of unwavering determination emanating from his relaxed deanor.
Although Qin Sisi was unclear about Ye You’s thod, his composed attitude assured her quite a bit.
Hence, Qin Sisi quickly adjusted herself and asked, "What’s the next step?"
Ye You pondered, "I rember you bought a packet of yellow paper a couple of days ago and put it in the cabinet."
"Yes, what about it?" Qin Sisi nodded. The anniversary of her mother’s death was approaching, and she bought a pack of yellow paper from a grocery store on her way ho from work intending to use it for her mother’s tomb.
Ye You said, "Burn it in the northwest corner of the room."
Qin Sisi opened her mouth and was about to say sothing in surprise when she noticed that Ye You was unusually serious. She swallowed her words, got up in silence, pulled out the yellow paper from the cabinet, and, per Ye You’s instruction walked to the northwest corner of the room and lit the paper on fire using a lighter.
Ye You also walked over, shaking so powder that twinkled with a faint glow from his claw onto the yellow paper. The powder floated gently onto the burning paper and instantly vanished.
The shimring flas quickly spread on the dark yellow paper, black ashes swirl in the air like nurous phantom-like specters.
Qin Sisi carefully observed her surroundings. Ye You must have reasonable grounds for such actions. Maybe, sothing unusual might soon happen.
Reviews
All reviews (0)