White temples
Wen Ya and Si Mucheng went home with Shi's father.
After the initial excitement subsided and Mr. Shi calmed down completely, he repeatedly bowed to the police officers and apologized, his face full of remorse, saying, "I'm sorry for disturbing your work."
Wen Ya watched from the side, and Shi Lu always showed the same expression.
People who are too respectable are often bullied. They don't want to make things too ugly, they don't want to embarrass others, and they don't want to have conflicts with others, so they swallow all their grievances for the sake of their dignity.
But what's the use of being respectable? Why should you swallow your pride for the sake of appearances? Others don't care about your feelings, so why should you care about theirs?
Mr. Shi was like a sturdy tree, enduring wind and rain without ever growing old. After apologizing, he obediently turned and left.
Looking at his slightly hunched back, Si Mucheng felt worried and went forward to escort him home. Wen Ya glanced at Shi Lu beside her and followed.
The Shi family lived in an old neighborhood, and even in this situation, Mr. Shi was still very apologetic, saying to Si Muchengwenya, "Thank you for your trouble... for bringing me back."
Si Mucheng waved his hands repeatedly: "Anyway, we're fine. Uncle, don't be so polite."
Mr. Shi led them through the narrow stairwell to the fourth floor, opened the door, and invited them in: "You've had a long journey, come in and have a seat."
Shi Lu remained silent the entire way, staying by Wen Ya's side, but her eyes never left her father.
The Shi family had Shi Lu's old belongings. Wen Ya placed a talisman on "her" spirit, so "she" entered her former home without any hindrance.
The Shi family's decor still retains the style of the millennium, and due to the erosion of time, the whole house looks old. Even so, it is not hard to see that the owner of this house cherishes it very much. Not only is it cleaned very well, but it is also kept in an orderly manner.
The living room walls were covered with numerous certificates of merit, a vase sat next to the TV cabinet, a badminton racket leaned against the corner, and a framed photo with a group portrait sat on a small table beside the sofa. The young girl smiled, her eyes crinkling, leaning against the middle-aged man, who wore a warm smile. The two shared a resemblance in their features.
Wen Ya had never seen such a smile on the face of the ghost Shi Lu.
Wen Ya gleaned glimpses of the life the father and daughter, who once depended on each other, from the details of this room. Now, however, the certificates on the wall were faded and curled, the vase was empty of flowers, and the badminton racket showed signs of age. The only bright spot was the photo frame, which clearly had been handled and examined many times.
"Please sit wherever you like. There's not much to eat at home, so I can only offer you boiled water." Mr. Shi said, looking embarrassed as he held up his water glass.
Si Mucheng took it and said with delight, "Thank you so much! How did you know I was thirsty and wanted a drink of water?"
Wen Ya took it but didn't drink it.
Mr. Shi assumed that Wen Ya and Si Mucheng were young plainclothes officers who had brought him back on orders from their superiors. He was curious about Wen Xiaofeng on Wen Ya's shoulder, but didn't say anything. He just rubbed his hands together, seemingly a little nervous: "I'm sorry to have disturbed your work... I... I just heard that someone found a body near the Second Middle School... I was just afraid..." He explained his rudeness, but actually, none of that mattered. It was just that the man seemed to have found an outlet for his emotions, and his voice was slow and soft.
“Actually, I had a premonition that Xiaolu had been missing for so long… After all, she’s a child I raised myself. But I always felt, what if? What if she was just abducted and sold, or what if she had her own secrets and secretly rebelled without my knowledge, finding the right opportunity to run away from home? No matter what, even if she was abducted and sold, even if she suffered, even if the worst happened and she was injured or disabled, as long as she’s still alive, there’s always hope. At worst, I’ll take care of her for the rest of my life.”
Hearing these words, even Si Mucheng couldn't maintain his smile. He and Wen Ya both knew that Shi Lu was right here, "she" had become a ghost, and Shi's father's ephemeral hopes had long since turned to dust.
“Xiaolu is such a good girl… When she was little, after her mother passed away, she was still quite naive, but she never cried for her mother. At first, I wasn’t very good at taking care of her. If the milk I made was too cold, she would drink it without saying a word. If I didn’t know how to braid her hair and took her to get it cut short, she wouldn’t cry. She’s so sensible, sometimes so sensible that it breaks my heart… In the years she’s been missing, I’ve always reflected on myself, wondering if I haven’t done enough, if I should have cared for her more… Teenage girls must have a lot of thoughts, and she kept them all bottled up inside. How much she must have suffered…”
Shi Lu stared blankly at her father, then softly said, "No, Dad. I'm not suffering... You've done so well. I'm so happy to be your daughter. Don't blame yourself too much. We did nothing wrong. As my sister said, the one who did the bad thing is wrong. Don't be sad, Dad..."
Only Wen Ya and Si Mucheng could hear "her" voice, but they remained silent, a silence born of helplessness. They had no way to let Shi's father know of Shi Lu's existence; they could only watch and witness, and let it become a shared secret.
"Oh..." Mr. Shi suddenly came to his senses, quickly wiped his wet eyes, and smiled at Si Mucheng and Wen Ya, "You flatter me, I'm fine now, you can go back to your work."
Si Mucheng paused for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Uncle, I'll leave you my phone number. Call me if you need anything."
In fact, everyone knew that even if something happened, Shi's father wouldn't bother him, but Si Mucheng just wanted to do something, as if only in this way could he feel a little more at ease.
After leaving the Shi family's house, the two went to have lunch.
Si Mucheng was actually very hungry, but the matter of Shi's father made him feel uneasy, which also affected his appetite. He sighed and groaned while eating.
Hearing him sigh for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Wen Ya finally lost her patience, put down her chopsticks, and looked at him expressionlessly: "Is this food really that bad?"
Upon hearing this, the shop owner, who was resting nearby, immediately sat up straight and stared intently at them.
Si Mucheng quickly turned to look at the boss, then said to Wen Ya, "Hey, keep your voice down... You know perfectly well that's not the reason."
Seeing his worried expression, Wen Ya sighed silently: "I reminded you not to worry about anything else. As a soul exorcist, you only need to resolve your obsessions and send ghosts into reincarnation. The more other things you do, the more entanglements you will have."
All beings suffer; there is no need to investigate the causes and effects of other people's lives.
“But,” Si Mucheng frowned, “human emotions are very complicated. I’m a soul exorcist, not a machine system that can just ignore things or stop thinking about them. Humans worry and feel empathy. Aren’t all humans like that?”
Upon hearing this, Wen Ya was about to speak when she suddenly realized that strong empathy was part of Si Mucheng's personality. She had known this since she met him. Why did she have to teach others how to do things? In fact, even if she was unwilling to admit it, it was a fact that she was influenced by him. Moreover, she couldn't say that what he did was wrong.
Seeing that Wen Ya didn't speak, Si Mu Cheng poked at his rice with his chopsticks, muttering, "I just can't stay out of it."
Wen Ya picked up her chopsticks again and ate, saying in a low voice, "Then let's follow our hearts."
Si Mucheng paused, looking at Wen Ya. Her slightly heroic features remained unchanged, yet Si Mucheng could glimpse her heart within them. He smiled slightly and changed the subject: "Hmm! This chicken is delicious."
Wen Ya sighed helplessly, "Xiao Feng is still here, keep your distance." Hearing its name, Wen Xiao Feng, standing at her feet, cooed twice.
Si Mucheng smiled and said, "Then tell me quietly."
"Eat quickly, we still need to go to the hospital to change the dressing."
The police information came faster than expected.
When Wen Ya and Si Mucheng arrived at the police station, they heard a painful and suppressed sob coming from somewhere while they were still in the stairwell.
Everyone present fell silent. Even the police officers, who had witnessed many such scenes of losing loved ones, felt a mix of emotions at this moment.
After seeing Wen Ya and Si Mucheng, Jiang Shuo walked over and said, "The identity of the remains has been confirmed. Next, we will prosecute Sun Zhiyong. His crime is certain, but since you are one of the parties involved, we need you to cooperate in giving some statements."
Wen Ya had no objection; she didn't want to let Sun Zhiyong off the hook, and what he had done to her and Si Mucheng should also be counted.
Shi Lu's obsession vanished the moment her father saw "her" remains.
Si Mucheng found a scenic spot in the suburbs. There stood a large banyan tree, its thick branches adorned with numerous red ribbons and wooden plaques inscribed with wishes and blessings. People often have a strange sense of ritual and a reverence for nature, clearly regarding the tree as a wishing tree.
When Shi Lu saw the tree, she smiled and said, "I've been here before, with my dad. I even hung up a wishing plaque there."
She once wrote, "I hope Dad is healthy and that we can live a good life together." But the tree spirit couldn't attend to all her wishes, so her wishes probably didn't come true.
"I really like it here. Thank you all." Shi Lu smiled, looking relieved.
The sun was setting in the west, and the fiery clouds were ablaze with color, like spilled paint. Shi Lu watched for a while, then turned her gaze to Wen Ya. She remembered what she had said; she had kept her word. She had seen her father, and she had witnessed such a sunrise and sunset. The person who killed her would be brought to justice, and she could finally leave in peace.
Wen Ya's mind stirred, and she met Shi Lu's gaze.
The girl's eyes were bright; even though she was already a ghost, she still retained her original innocence. Ghosts enter the cycle of reincarnation after their obsessions are dispelled, but Wen Ya knew that "she" was different; after being dispelled, "she" would only become fuel for the resurrection lamp.
Because she was too kind, she didn't even harbor resentment in death, so even as a ghost, she was exploited. Kindness has become a cardinal sin.
For the first time, Wen Ya felt resistant. But as the ghost's obsession dissipated and its spirit vanished, even if she did nothing, "she" would still enter the resurrection lamp and light up that petal.
It was as if the resurrection lamp had started acting strangely, and she had been being pushed along ever since. Whether she wanted to or not, she was walking on the predetermined path.
Wen Ya cleared her mind of distractions and parted her lips slightly: "All things return to dust, all delusions vanish. Break!" The talisman burned at her fingertips, and in an instant, Shi Lu transformed into stars, gradually fading away.
Wen Ya opened her eyes; she didn't want to remain passive any longer. She wanted to take the initiative and see what the person behind it all was up to.
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