Ghost Festival
"Okay, let's go home." Liu Muze held Ye Jing'an's hand tightly. After leaving Dongyue Temple, he asked again, "You really don't want to worship? Aren't you afraid of being beaten by your father?"
"No, I don't believe in gods anyway." Ye Jing'an shook his head and said, "No, I believe in my ancestor, so I worship him. I already did it yesterday."
"Why do you believe in your ancestor instead of other gods?" Liu Muzhe asked.
"My great master is super powerful! Maybe he can help Brother Liu, but my great master is very mysterious. He said that he will only come to help me when my life is in danger. When he comes one day, I will ask him." Ye Jing'an said.
"Then your ancestor may not have this ability." Liu Muzhe suppressed his laughter.
"Don't look down on my ancestor. He knows everything and can do everything. He is much better than you!" Ye Jing'an said.
"Yeah." Liu Muzhe laughed.
"What are you laughing at? You don't believe it!" Ye Jing'an said excitedly, "I saw him when I was a kid, and he could even play with his phone!"
"Yeah, I believe it." Liu Muzhe smiled even more.
"If you don't believe me, forget it. Wait for my ancestor to come and let him deal with you first." Ye Jing'an said.
"I'll deal with you first. You don't know how to cast spells, you don't learn swordsmanship, and you keep Ye An around like a decoration. You're embarrassing your ancestor." Liu Muzhe pulled his ear, "You unlucky kid still doesn't learn his lesson and loves to stir up trouble."
Ye Jingan opened his hand and rolled his eyes: "Don't talk to me like a child. How good are you? All you do all day is eat and sleep. You're so lazy, and you still have the nerve to criticize me. My ancestor loves me very much, how could he possibly punish me?"
"..." Liu Muze looked at him and wanted to slap him. He didn't want to argue with him. He would settle the score with him after his identity was exposed.
Back at the hotel, although there was Ye Jingan, the chatterbox, making trouble around Liu Muze, he didn't encounter any strange things, and it was a peaceful day. Ye Jingan was very familiar with this area and knew where to find delicious food and fun things.
Ye Jing'an arranged three meals a day for Liu Muzhe's favorite foods, and they were different every day. After dinner, he took him for a walk by the river.
Liu Muze felt that it was good to have Ye Jingan around, as he didn't have to worry about what to eat. In the past, he didn't know what to eat so he just ate steamed buns, which were indeed not as delicious as the ones Ye Jingan bought for him. But if he went to buy them himself, he would not be happy to eat them.
Liu Muzhe didn't know how Ye Jing'an figured out his taste. He himself didn't even know what he liked to eat, but Ye Jing'an knew it clearly.
This comfortable period lasted for quite some time, until the night of the Ghost Festival, when Ye Jing'an was awakened by a loud noise. He remembered a business trip he'd once taken with Ye Zhuoran. They'd stayed in a privately built house at the foot of a mountain in the suburbs, with a highway just outside. At night, long-distance trucks would often come by, their brakes screeching with a long, piercing sound. Ye Jing'an ignored it, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
The sound lasted for a minute, and Ye Jingan felt something was wrong. Although the hotel he chose was on the edge of the city, the traffic was still relatively heavy, and even at night, the brakes should not have been pressed for so long.
He sobered up a little and listened carefully. The sound was very dull, like the painful howling of countless people trapped in containers.
Ye Jing'an climbed out of bed and glanced at the window. Only a few cars occasionally drove by on the road. He patted Liu Muze and said, "Brother Liu, wake up. Did you hear any strange noises?"
"Yeah." Liu Muzhe turned over.
"What's that sound?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"No." Liu Muzhe said.
Ye Jingan: “…”
The hotel was on a high floor, so the view was limited. Ye Jing'an planned to go downstairs to the roadside to see what was going on. It was customary here not to go out after 8 p.m. on the Ghost Festival. It was almost midnight, and there were almost no pedestrians on the road except for passing cars.
By the time he reached the road, the strange noises had stopped. A few steps down the road, there were three circles drawn with flour, filled with ashes from paper money burned for deceased relatives.
The city has stopped its bustle, but there are still some older people burning paper on the roadside. The management staff also turn a blind eye during the Ghost Festival and Qingming Festival. People have to have something to live for.
The evening breeze picked up, scattering the ashes of the money everywhere. The unburned paper money buried in the inner layer was blown by the wind and started to burn into sparks. Ye Jingan glanced at the calendar and remembered that today was the Ghost Festival. When he was a child, his father would always burn a lot of paper money for his mother at the door of the house.
Ye Zhuoran told him that on the day of the Ghost Festival, the gates of hell would open wide, and his mother would be able to come back to see him. Ever since he was old enough to understand, Ye Jingan had always believed that there were no ghosts in the world, and his father's words were just a spiritual sustenance. Now, after a series of events, his mother might really come back to see him on this day.
Ye Jingan thought about not going back to the hotel to sleep and walked along the road. Although he couldn't see his mother, she would definitely see him. After walking about a kilometer, Ye Jingan saw a man in white clothes standing at the intersection. He had loose hair and looked very similar to Brother Liu.
The man looked at Ye Jingan, walked towards him and asked, "Where are you going?"
When Ye Jingan saw that it was really Liu Muze, he asked, "Brother Liu, aren't you sleeping in the hotel?"
"I came to see you." Liu Muze said with a smile, "Are you looking for someone?"
"Yeah, I miss my mother." Ye Jing'an said.
"I'll take you to find it." Liu Muzhe said.
"Really? My mother hasn't been reincarnated yet?" Ye Jing'an asked.
Liu Muzhe nodded and walked to the left of the intersection.
A cold wind blew around, and a piece of paper money blew onto Ye Jing'an's face. He always felt that something was wrong. He used to feel at ease when he was with Brother Liu, but today he felt very uneasy. Ye Jing'an asked, "Brother Liu, where are we going?"
"You'll know when you get there." Liu Muzhe said.
When Ye Jingan wanted to continue asking, his shoulder was suddenly pinched and a familiar voice sounded in his ears: "Where are you going?"
Ye Jing'an turned around and saw Brother Liu staring at Brother Liu next to him with a cold face. He immediately took two steps back and stared vigilantly at Brother Liu whom he had met before.
Seeing his identity exposed, the ghost tried to escape, but was caught by Liu Muze, stuffed into a talisman and burned to the Black and White Impermanence. He said to Ye Jingan, "You can't even recognize me?"
"Of course I recognize him, but I haven't figured out how to deal with him yet." Ye Jing'an said with a smile.
"Why are you not sleeping on the night of the Ghost Festival? What are you doing out here?" Liu Muzhe asked.
"I miss my mom. I haven't seen her since I was a child." Ye Jing'an said, "Brother Liu, can you let me see her?"
Liu Muze tilted his head slightly to look behind him, then said to Ye Jingan, "Okay, close your eyes."
Ye Jingan felt his head suddenly dizzy and fell backwards, being caught by Liu Muze. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a young woman in light blue standing in front of him, smiling at him, familiar yet unfamiliar. He stared at her blankly for a long time, then called out, "Mom."
"Our Jing'an has grown up." Zhou Yunxi said with a smile.
Ye Jingan's mind was in a mess, and all the words were stuck in his throat. He shouted again: "Mom."
Zhou Yunxi lowered her eyes and smiled, saying, "Your father is right. She doesn't look like us at all. I don't know who she takes after."
Ye Jingan walked over and wanted to hug her, but his hand passed through her shoulder.
Zhou Yunxi shook his head at him.
Ye Jingan looked at the translucent Zhou Yunxi and said, "Mom, I'm sorry... I hurt you. I wish you hadn't given birth to me."
"What nonsense! You are just like your father in this respect," Zhou Yunxi said.
"I'm not stupid. I'm very smart. I almost always get first place in every exam. This year I was admitted to the best university in our city, but I haven't started studying yet. I'm still out gaining experience." Ye Jing'an told her all about his outstanding achievements since he was a child.
Zhou Yunxi listened attentively with a smile on her face.
"By the way, Mom, this is Brother Liu, my new friend! He has saved me several times and is very nice to me." Ye Jing'an said.
"I know." Zhou Yunxi bowed slightly to Liu Muze, "Jing'an has caused you trouble. Thank you for taking care of him."
"Mom, he is only a few years older than me. It doesn't seem appropriate for you to call him 'you'," said Ye Jing'an.
Liu Muzhe shook his head at her.
Zhou Yunxi understood and laughed, "I was confused."
"Mom, what do you think of Brother Liu?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"Very good. I feel relieved that you can stay with him." Zhou Yunxi said with a smile.
"As long as mom thinks he's good, that's enough." Ye Jing'an suppressed the joy in his heart.
"Well, you guys go back and have a rest. I'm going back and will come to see you next year, okay?" Zhou Yunxi said.
"Okay, goodbye, Mom." Ye Jing'an smiled and waved to Zhou Yunxi. After her figure completely disappeared, he lowered his eyes and sighed.
Liu Muze patted his shoulder and said, "Go back."
Ye Jing'an nodded, followed Liu Muze and said, "Brother Liu, thank you. I thought I would never see her again."
"You will always meet the person you care about all the time," said Liu Muzhe.
"Well, you will meet the person Brother Liu cares about again. I will wait with you." Ye Jing'an said.
Liu Muze smiled and said, "Okay."
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