"Are you okay...?"
After a long while, She Zishu held back such a sentence from his throat. She should be grateful, but she couldn't describe how she felt now. Should we hate him and complain about him? But the kid did nothing wrong—perhaps his fault was just being a little playful. But isn't this the nature of all children, even all cubs? They have not yet been injured by the sharp edge of life and survival. This is a rare stage in their lives where they have the right to remain ignorant...
Innocence also killed her "children".
The boy clutched his clothes in embarrassment. He may have witnessed everything, or he may not know what happened. He didn't look injured, and his clothes weren't torn, just a little dirty. He may not have hid by the river, but instead went to the nearby woods. He looked at her timidly, as if a little apologetic.
"Sister, I'm sorry... I caused you to come to me and wet your clothes."
Zishu looked at him with his mouth open, but did not speak. The boy may have seen someone familiar and ran over from his hiding place. Since the child is fine, don't waste time on him yet. Zishu looked at the silent grandma. She had been frozen in place. Her dark gaze fell on a fixed position, without looking at Zishu. That was the place where the previous ghost disappeared—the place where the quilt was burned away.
How can humans recognize what a soul looks like...? Zishu couldn't understand. She remembered that it was clear that many people couldn't do it, most people...but it wasn't impossible. Why can she do it? Or maybe the special bond of humans allows them to detect something unusual. What's the use of these? It's better to ask yourself, if you were calmer at that time...
The noise of the people became clearer and clearer, and she saw the light framed by torches approaching. She felt an inexplicable fear.
And after that? People will think that she saved the child, and although the child will clarify, he and the people will still thank her... And what about the old lady? Will she use that hoarse voice to wail and cry about losing her granddaughter again? It had obviously been so many years since this incident, but the brief reunion and loss once again gave her such a strong impact. Can she ever recover from that dazed state? Maybe she will get better, maybe not; she may tell what Zishu did, but no one will believe it, or even if they believe it, there will be no more feelings. It was a ghost after all, and it was not his child after all.
Before people discovered them, She Zishu imagined almost all possibilities.
Then she finally made her choice.
"Don't let your mother worry... Go back with grandma and help me take care of her." She said to the boy, "Also, say goodbye to grandpa and your friends for me."
She smiled a little bleakly, and the tips of her wet hair were still dripping with water. When the evening breeze blew by, she felt a little chilly and stinging slightly. This is the "cold" people should feel. And when she laughed, she couldn't help but wonder if she had ever laughed unconsciously and from the bottom of her heart before. At this moment, she knew it wasn't true.
"Sister Zishu, won't you go back with us?"
"Well, it's time for me to go. There's still a lot to do."
I can't stay here any longer.
"But, but your clothes...you are covered in water, so cold -"
"Don't forget that I am a powerful miko."
She spread her arms in relief. Her body became very hot, and her clothes quickly bloomed with light patches of color. The moist areas dry out, and the moisture in the skin, hair, and fabrics quickly evaporates. Her whole body exuded a faint red light, and occasionally a spark-like light point flickered. The little boy frowned, feeling strange and sad at the same time.
He watched her turn around and disappear into the cold night. The light in front of him dimmed, and the crowd behind him came. As soon as he turned around, he was hugged by his mother who bumped into him. People laugh, people celebrate. The old man went to pull the still sluggish grandma. She seemed to have come to her senses, but said nothing. The last thing she looked at was the direction Zishu had left, but there was nothing there except darkness.
She headed into the sparse woods. Because we are in the south, not many trees have lost their leaves. But this did not relieve the depression in her heart. The nameless depression made it difficult for her to breathe, but she didn't know what it was. If she were really a human with amnesia, she would definitely be able to recall similar feelings. Having said that, even a monster should have its own joys and sorrows. What kind of monster am I that I am so insensitive to this? Or maybe as a youkai, she had completely forgotten those feelings.
Zishu didn't want to think about it anymore. She seemed to have no ability to think about it anymore. Just as she was walking silently at night, a light song sounded in her ears again. It was so close this time that she immediately looked around, trying to determine where the sound was coming from. She knew very well that this must be the sound she heard underwater.
The sound of music came from diagonally behind, and she immediately turned around and ran towards that location. Not long after, she saw a familiar figure in the bushes. At that moment, the loss in her heart was temporarily forgotten, and she felt a sense of surprise.
"Yin Hu...?" she shouted, "Is that you?"
The familiar apricot yellow clothes looked like Yin Quan who had been away from her for a long time. She was alive and seemed uninjured. Zishu put his hand gently on his chest and took two steps forward to look at her carefully. Yin Huan didn't show much surprise, as if it wasn't the first time he saw her at this moment.
She held up something to show to Zishu, and Zishu discovered that it seemed to be an agate of good quality. But if she looked closer, she would find small black holes on it. Isn't this exactly...
"Is it that magic weapon?"
Yin Huan nodded. Then, she pointed in the direction from which Zishu came, and then pointed at herself.
"You mean, where are you from?" Zishu quickly understood, "Did you see me?"
Yin Huan nodded again.
"Why didn't you earlier..."
Yin Huan sighed softly, as if he had some unspeakable difficulties. But there was no need to explain too much. Zishu could also imagine how difficult it would be for her to deal with her current mood if Yin Huan appeared next to her again when she was panicking. She stopped asking and just looked at her with some nostalgia. But what makes Zishu feel strange is that she doesn't seem so... so familiar to him. It's hard to say why, maybe it's because we've been apart for too long, and a lot of things have happened... Yin Hu has changed a lot.
Her appearance didn't change much, and her aura didn't seem to be unfamiliar to her. Maybe it's her temperament - she has matured a lot, and her behavior has the air of someone who has been in the world for many years. But did they have to be separated for that long? She didn't even know why fate brought them to meet here. This is different from a lively and information-rich place. It can be regarded as a wilderness. How can they meet again in the vast wilderness? Somehow, everything seems to have been arranged. She wanted to ask Yin Huan, but she knew she wouldn't be able to answer for a while.
There was a different kind of maturity in Yin Huan's eyes. But at this time, she called Zishu closer and showed a playful and cunning smile - which made her look like a lively child for a moment. She put the xun to her mouth and played a sweet song. At this time, every tree crown in the forest was swaying gently, looking eerie in the latter half of the night. Zishu became vigilant, but soon discovered that many birds were flying out one after another. Their movements were a little slow, as if they had just woken up.
Many birds, big and small, black and white, flew over. Soon, clever squirrels and small moles came towards them. Within a certain range, all animals are awakened. They circled around the chanting phoenix and sang songs, as if in response to the song.
It's quite a dreamy scene. Zishu stared at all this blankly, and his mood improved. The woods became lively. But at this moment, the chanting that was playing suddenly stopped. The music suddenly stopped, and the little animals reacted. After a brief daze, they immediately ran away in panic. Some birds collided with each other, and many messy fine velvets fell from the air, like snowflakes. Soon, there was no sign of any living things around.
Yin Huan spread his hands helplessly, as if to say, "As you can see."
"It's really a magic weapon... and you can use it." Zishu muttered, "Well - just like what the national master from heaven did in the past."
Ye Yinhua nodded repeatedly. Then, she gestured on her waist, as if measuring the height of something. She pointed to the direction where Zishu came from again, and then brought the xun to her mouth, but she only made the movement of playing, but did not blow. After a series of actions, Zishu seemed to understand what she meant.
"You mean, you...saved that child?"
Yin Huan continued to nod. Her expression was a little happy, as if she was very happy that she had accomplished this, and Zishu understood what she meant. Zishu continued to reason:
"Before me, was that boy really a water ghost? So in desperation, you used music to control him and didn't let him go into the river. Only when the villagers came did you feel free to let him out. ? He didn’t seem to see you, and he didn’t tell me what happened. Of course, I didn’t ask... I heard music playing while I was looking for him, was it you who directed him to come back? "
Yin Huan kept nodding in agreement with her reasoning. Zishu wanted to sigh, but he didn't. Perhaps those four cute little water birds were too far away from her location at that time, not to mention the firelight attracted her attention. She did not hear any sound as the birds ran desperately down the river. But does she want to blame Yin Huan too? No, she shouldn't blame anyone, including herself.
That's it, that's all, don't think about it anymore. Now that we have met Yin Quan, it is already a great joy.
"Why are you here? I thought I would never see you again..."
Yin Huan thought for a while, and finally squatted down and used a stone to scratch the dry land. She only wrote one word, and Zishu immediately understood what she meant.
That is the word "die".
"You want to go there too..."
If so, their reunion would seem more reasonable. Is there really such a coincidence in the world? Maybe...it's really such a coincidence. She didn't believe in fate or God, but there might be something really compensating for her misfortune. These two words came to her mind - yes, unfortunate, this should be enough to describe her situation.
But from now on, everything should be fine.
The clothes the two of them wore were so old, and were worn too thin in many places, almost torn. There were still patches on Yin Huan's body. Her clothes are all made of materials used by wealthy people who don't travel far and don't do heavy work. Until now, they have been cherished enough.
It's almost dawn. They accompany each other and move forward in the darkness that is gradually dispersed by light.
