Chapter 36: Which is good or bad? A gentleman judges deeds, not hearts.
"Now that you mention it, I really remember it." Chang Xile smiled as he recalled that scene. "When other people were kids, they wrote about their mothers carrying them to the hospital in the middle of the night. I wrote about my aunt rushing back from a long, dark journey to tell me there are no ghosts in the world."
"Later, your grandmother said that your horoscope was weak, so she asked someone to help you take a look. Finally, she performed a ritual and asked you to worship Lady Xiaoyu as your godmother and become her adopted daughter." Tang You continued.
"Is it possible to do this?" Chang Xile had no recollection of this incident. He had never heard the adults in his family say this since he was a child.
"Something happened at home, so your grandmother took care of you for a while. When we came back, the ritual had already been completed a few days ago." Tang You frowned slightly. "If you had asked me in advance, I would definitely not agree."
"Is this a bad thing?" After all, from a results-oriented perspective, Chang Xile seemed to be just like a normal person later on and didn't encounter too many strange things.
Tang You touched her hair, thinking about how to explain.
Normally, when it comes to godmothers, people tend to choose well-known and powerful deities. However, the deity "Laughter Goddess" is relatively unknown, with few temples in various locations. According to Chang Xile's grandmother, lesser-known deities don't have as many believers to care for, and therefore have less time to care for their adopted daughter.
Choosing a god wasn't important. But Tang You didn't think it was necessary. A god could help Chang Xile temporarily, but not forever. Chang Xile was eighteen, an adult. In the eyes of the adults, or rather her stepmother, she should walk her own path.
But her understanding of gods and ghosts is still the same as that of the child she was when she was little, which is very dangerous.
Since we can't avoid it, at least we should know how to deal with it.
Tang You thought for a long time before finally telling Chang Xile what she wanted to say: "You should have known these things when you were little, but your mother wouldn't let you. Now that I think about it, it wasn't a bad thing. You could have grown up peacefully like any other child."
"But when it comes to your safety, I must remind you." Tang You told her word by word, "There are good ghosts and bad ghosts. Some people avoid them, while others seek them out to satisfy their own goals."
Even the same person can have two different minds before and after death. Ghosts do have good and bad sides, but it's difficult to tell them apart with the naked eye. If you wait until they've actually killed someone before avoiding them, it's too late.
"So even if you think you've encountered a good ghost or monster, you shouldn't trust them completely for a moment. Your life is always the most important. Do you understand?"
Chang Xile's heart tightened after hearing Tang You's words, feeling as if she were hinting at something. Did she know about Dai Shanyan's existence? But it didn't look like she was. If my aunt knew she carried a ghost within her, she'd probably object, right?
But what Tang You said made sense. Chang Xile nodded and said carefully, "I understand."
The next day, when Chang Xile and Shunian went to see Yang Guisi with breakfast, she had already gotten up early and was sitting on the steps outside the room in a daze.
Yang Guisi had no appetite and only took a few bites of the steamed bun after Chang Xile persuaded him.
After they finished breakfast, Xuanji and Renxin also arrived. Yang Guisi was not too hostile to them this time and cooperated with Xuanji in treating her.
Chang Xile asked her, "Guisi, what happened that night when you got lost?"
Although Renxin and the others inferred that Yang Guisi fell and fell unconscious, this alone should not be enough to make him possessed by an evil spirit.
Yang Guisi's expression was not right. She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I don't remember."
The remaining people looked at each other in confusion. Master Xuanji's expression became serious when he heard this. He said, "Symptoms of amnesia? Maybe he hit his head. That could be a serious matter. I guess we need to go to a large hospital down the mountain for a checkup."
Yang Guisi's eyes flashed, and he immediately said to Chang Xile, "Yes, I want to go down the mountain. When should we leave?"
Chang Xile was still a little worried: "The way down the mountain is very difficult. Can you hold on?"
Yang Guisi nodded without hesitation: "Okay."
She simply didn't want to stay in Changleguan any longer.
So the two of them decided to rest for a while before heading down the mountain.
When they heard that Chang Xile was planning to leave, many Taoist nuns from the temple came to give them things.
"You can't eat this vegetarian food down the mountain, so take it with you on the way."
"Come and play again when you have time, Xile!"
Renxin gave them a map and told them to follow it when going down the mountain: "I won't send you off in person."
Shunian had already established a revolutionary friendship with Chang Xile over the past few days. He stood aside, looking reluctant to leave her, and asked her, "Sister Xile, will you come again?"
Without waiting for Xile to answer, Renxin patted his head and said, "Everyone has joys and sorrows, separations and reunions. Meeting is fate. We will meet again when the time comes. You don't need me to promise you'll come back."
Shunian lowered his head sadly and said nothing more.
Chang Xile, however, felt that these words were a bit heavy. Humans have seven emotions and six desires, and it's normal to feel reluctant when parting. Even an elderly person who has experienced many things may not be able to endure the pain of separation, so how can we expect a child to understand such a truth so early? So she also touched Shunian's head and comforted him: "Shunian, grow up quickly. When you can come down the mountain, you can come and play with me."
After hearing this, Shunian didn't care that being patted on the head didn't mean he wouldn't grow taller. He turned to look at Renxin, and seeing her nod in agreement, he immediately turned from sadness to joy and said to Chang Xile, "Then I must eat well, get more sleep, and practice more, and strive to grow taller as soon as possible. I want to be taller than all of you!"
Renxin was rarely amused by him, so she pretended to be serious and said, "Why don't you go practice martial arts quickly? Exercising more is also an important factor in growing taller."
Shunian chuckled, bowed to Chang Xile, and ran towards the training hall in the temple.
On the other side, Yang Guisi had already walked some distance. She turned back and waited for Chang Xile, looking a little impatient: "Xile, hurry up, we have to get down the mountain before dark."
"Hey! Wait a moment." Chang Xile responded and turned to ask Renxin, "Isn't my aunt here?"
Her eldest niece is leaving, so as her aunt, can't she at least say goodbye?
"Are you saying bad things about me?" Tang You appeared behind them at some point, walked forward with her hands behind her back, a smile on her lips.
"How could I? I can't bear to leave you." Chang Xile lowered his head and rubbed the soles of his shoes on the spot, looking awkward.
"Here." Tang You stretched out her hand and handed Chang Xile a stack of talismans and a book. "I heard in the book that you have a talent for drawing talismans. Try practicing it whenever you have time."
"Thank you, auntie!" Chang Xile took the two things in surprise and joy.
"Alright, hurry down the mountain. Remember to tell your mother." Tang You waved her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yang Guisi standing in the distance, watching them laughing and joking with a cold look. She pulled Chang Xile again and whispered a few words into her ear.
After Chang Xile and Yang Guisi walked down the mountain with the map, they were both silent along the way. I don't know if it was because Anping was missing, but there was no bickering between the two of them, nor was there a chat between the three of them. In short, it was not as lively as when they went up the mountain.
Speaking of which, I don’t know how Anping is doing now, and whether he made it down the mountain safely.
A quiet environment makes people think too much.
Chang Xile couldn't help but recall what Yang Guisi had said to her before they parted.
"Be careful of companions you've already parted with."
"Because, when we meet again, the other person may not be the same person."
Chang Xile lagged slightly behind Yang Guisi, observing her words and actions quietly. He indeed felt that Yang Guisi was different from before, and wondered if it was still about exorcising ghosts.
She hesitated and then broke the silence: "Guisi, my aunt asked me to bring you a message."
Yang Guisi was studying the map carefully and turned around to look at her expressionlessly.
"She said that ghosts are part of the living beings in the three realms. If it's not a very serious crime, it's a good thing to enter reincarnation early." Chang Xile recalled what Tang You said, trying to remember every word.
Yang Guisi was silent for a long time before he let out a long breath, nodded and said, "I understand."
After that, the atmosphere between the two of them relaxed a lot, and Yang Guisi finally remembered to think about other things. She asked, "Where's Anping? He's not here?"
Chang Xile was still worried about this. She shook her head and asked, "Guisi, when did you lose your memory? Do you remember what happened when we separated? I just remember that in the blink of an eye, you and Anping were gone."
"I remember. We probably encountered a ghost wall or some kind of Qimen Dunjia, which is why we couldn't see each other and lost our way." Yang Guisi's expression was a little serious as he recalled the situation and said, "Anping is really a bit strange."
"After you disappeared inexplicably, Anping was not panicked at all. He didn't say a word to me afterwards and just walked away on his own. He had a map and should have known where Chang Le Guan was, but why didn't he come?" Yang Guisi analyzed the situation to her word by word.
Chang Xile's mood is mixed.
Ever since she fell ill and was hospitalized, she'd encountered so many things she couldn't understand. Everyone told her different things, and she couldn't tell who was good and who was bad, who needed to be wary of and who was trustworthy.
She looked at Yang Guisi with a complicated expression, and finally asked only one question: "Later, you didn't go down the mountain by yourself, but came to find me, right?"
"That's right." Yang Guisi glanced at her, seemingly not quite understanding the significance of the question. "That's not important. Did you hear what I just said?"
The next second, her voice stopped abruptly because Chang Xile hugged her tightly.
"This is very important, Guise." Although everyone told Chang Xile to be careful in distinguishing the good from the bad in those around her, she was not good at distinguishing the truth from falsehood through words. For her, the most intuitive way was to see what the other person did.
A gentleman judges by deeds, not by heart.
Even though Yang Guisi didn't tell her everything, she had no intention of harming Chang Xile. She helped Chang Xile again and again, just like the fox spirit in the strange story who didn't harm the people traveling with it.
So even though she was a little different from before, Chang Xile didn't feel afraid.
"Let's go." Chang Xile took Yang Guisi's hand and said firmly, "Go down the mountain and accompany you to the hospital. As for Anping's matter, I will ask him myself."
Similarly, Chang Xile also has to make his own judgment on Anping’s affairs.
Yang Guisi felt a little uncomfortable and muttered, "What's the big deal... I can't just leave you here alone."
But then she frowned and suddenly shouted angrily behind her: "Who, come out!"
Chang Xile looked in the direction of her gaze nervously, but there was nothing but green trees and red flowers.
"Is anyone there?" Chang Xile asked. She knew that Yang Guisi could sometimes feel things that ordinary people couldn't perceive. According to her theory, she was probably one of those people whose five senses were more acute than those of ordinary people.
Yang Guisi shook her head and said nothing. She dragged Chang Xile to confront a patch of grass for a long time. It was not until the grass moved and a lion cat scurried from one bush to another that the atmosphere eased.
"Sui Sui?" Although the cat ran very fast, Chang Xile could still see its long white fur and blue eyes clearly.
"Sui Sui?" Yang Guisi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was just a cat. She repeated Chang Xile's words, a little puzzled, "Who?"
"It's a kitten. Sui Sui is the name I gave it." Chang Xile smiled and guessed that Sui Sui was accompanying them down the mountain.
She recalled the cat she had met while lost in the woods late at night while sketching with the photography club. Could it be Sui Sui too?
"It's a good cat, it's okay, let's keep going." Chang Xile smiled at Yang Guisi.
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