Chapter 132: Reincarnation and a Day Trip to the Underworld
The mountain city had never seen such heavy rain in a hundred years. Thunder and lightning raged, and the wind howled past people's windows, as if some lonely soul was crying.
Residents living near Changle Mountain were awakened by thunder. When they opened their windows, they were shocked to discover a wildfire on the summit. They quickly called the fire department. The heavy rain threatened to cause flooding, making roads difficult to navigate. By the time firefighters arrived, the blaze, which had been raging, had suddenly subsided, leaving not even a spark.
The dark clouds that had been pressing down on the sky suddenly dispersed, and the sky was quiet and peaceful, as if the bad weather in the first half of the night was just a dream - if they hadn't seen the fallen and charred trees caused by the fire and the water on the ground that was deep enough to cover an adult's knees.
The fire was likely caused by lightning striking the trees, and the heavy rain extinguished it. Although the situation was critical, staff were fortunate to find only three injured people, who were promptly transported to Blue Mountains Hospital for treatment.
Chang Xile lay in her hospital bed, watching the news reporter's serious analysis on TV. Bored, she pressed the remote control's power button. Resignedly, she looked at Tang You, who sat beside her, and said, "I'm really fine now. Can I go see Anping?"
Tang You took a bite of her apple, glanced at the dripping IV hanging on the railing next to Chang Xile, and said calmly, "The doctor said you've been overworked and need to rest."
A few nights ago, Tang You ignored the raging fire in the woods and searched almost frantically for Chang Xile.
She had already lost a group of close friends in the fire and could not afford to lose her loved ones again.
However, Changle Mountain is so huge that before Tang You found Chang Xile, she actually encountered the fire brigade, civil organizations, and Li Chuanliu and his group who came to the mountain for rescue.
The Abnormal Event Management Bureau keenly detected the unnatural aura coming from Changle Mountain. This fire could not be extinguished by ordinary water. They wanted to persuade the firefighters to stop and not go any further, but they were unable to convince them.
Upon hearing that Chang Xile and the others had lost contact, Li Chuanliu and others immediately joined the search.
When the heavy rain extinguished the flames, Tang You finally found Chang Xile, An Ping, and Wessel. They were all lying unconscious on the ground, with varying degrees of burns on their bodies.
When Tang You wanted to pick up Chang Xile and take her to the ambulance, she realized that An Ping was holding her so tightly that she had to pry his fingers apart one by one to separate them.
Chang Xile was the least injured among the three, which was inseparable from Anping's protection.
"That's why I should go visit Anping." Chang Xile said, then turned to look at the air in the corner of the ward and asked, "What's your opinion?"
"I'll listen to my master." Junyi in the corner pulled Shunian's hand and turned to Tang You for no reason.
Chang Xile looked at the group of Changleguan Aboriginal ghosts crammed into the room, as well as the group floating outside the window because the ward was too crowded, and leaned back on the bed with apathy, saying, "Please, someone please tell me what Anping and Wessel are like now?"
She hadn't been allowed out of bed these days, and when she asked about Anping and the others' condition, she only said they were not in danger of death. But not in danger of death doesn't mean they're all right! Chang Xile was the one with the least injuries, and she had been unconscious for so long before she woke up.
"Tell me the truth, what happened to Anping?" Chang Xile's mind flashed through hundreds of melodramas, and she firmly believed that they must be hiding something. Otherwise, why wouldn't she even see them?
"The heart is still beating, he shouldn't be dead." The door of the ward was pushed open, and a small white cat with black pupils slipped in. It was "Your Majesty".
"It's just that he's been sleeping all the time and I can't wake him up no matter how I call him. The nurse told me not to disturb his rest." His Majesty lay on the ground and reported the situation to Chang Xile in a wronged manner.
After hearing this, Chang Xile lowered his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking for a moment.
After a while, a strange ghost suddenly shouted from outside the ward: "The official is coming! Run!!"
For a moment, all the ghosts in the room crowded outside the window. They looked at the door vigilantly through the curtains, ready to escape at any time.
Chang Xile and Tang You looked up at the same time and saw Xie Wuya standing at the door with his arms folded.
"Still alive?" He greeted Chang Xile, with no emotion in his tone.
Chang Xile glanced at the heartbeat recorder beside him that was beeping regularly, nodded somewhat confusedly, and told him, "Alive."
She glanced out the window nervously, afraid that he was here to capture Chang Le Guan's 300-odd wandering souls. Tang You seemed much calmer than she was, expressionless, simply watching Xie Wuya and Chang Xile converse.
"Very good." Xie Wuya nodded without speaking to Tang You at all.
"That's not good. May I ask if the props in the underworld are under warranty?" Chang Xile raised his wrist and shook it. The Soul-Catching Rope that had disappeared was now wrapped around his wrist again. "If it fails at a critical moment, is there any way to complain?"
"No." Xie Wuya said, "You can complain to me."
"But?" Chang Xile felt that he had not finished speaking.
"I have to wait until I finish what I have on hand."
Chang Xile vaguely felt that the corners of Xie Wuya's mouth rose slightly, and she fell back on the bed in despair - that meant that the case would never be accepted.
"This joke is very painful to me too." Xie Wuya comforted Chang Xile seriously.
He seemed to have really only come to confirm whether she was dead or not. After he finished speaking, he turned around and was about to leave, saying goodbye to her: "Then I won't take you back."
"Wait." Chang Xile called him again.
Xie Wuya turned around and waited for her to speak.
"That day... the names I saw in the Book of Life and Death... will those people still die?" Chang Xile asked.
Xie Wuya didn't say anything for a moment, but just nudged his cheek with the tip of his tongue and said suggestively, "You'll know soon."
Before Chang Xile could say anything else, Xie Wuya had already disappeared from his sight.
Tang You watched Xie Wuya leave, then looked at Chang Xile, who seemed to be hesitant to speak, and asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
Chang Xile was choked by her straightforward style and completely forgot the remarks he had just made.
She paused before saying, "What do you think of the dream I mentioned to you earlier?"
Tang You just looked at her without saying a word. Chang Xile dared not breathe, fearing that if they disagreed, this woman would take over 300 Taoist nuns and leave for the end of the world, never to see them again in this life.
But not only did Chang Xile understand what Lady Xiaoyu meant, she also heard it very clearly.
Tang You looked out the window and said, "My words don't count."
"Hmm?" Chang Xile was a little confused and followed her gaze out the window. The nuns' spirits hadn't gone far, but gathered around the window. They stopped frolicking and became lost in thought.
"Just like you did before, it's up to you to lead them to the afterlife," Tang You said. "Whether they are willing or not is entirely up to them."
After saying that, Tang You lowered her eyes and left the ward, probably not wanting to see how Chang Xile persuaded them to pass away.
After Tang You left, the nuns rushed into the room again. This time, they were unusually silent, even the most lively Shu Nian and Jun Yi were silent.
"What do you think?" Chang Xile tried to break the silence and seriously asked the ghost's opinion.
"I have to say goodbye to my sister." After a long silence, Junyi spoke first.
"For me, living this extra time and celebrating several more New Years with everyone is already a great reward. I don't have any family left in the first place."
"Yeah. I just want to try some of the sugar cakes sold at the city gate. They're really delicious. I heard they have new flavors recently."
"Hey, I want to bask in the sun again."
Shunian thought for a long time, then scratched his head and asked, "Will I still be a human in my next life?"
Chang Xile was stunned for a moment and told him, "I don't know. But when you pass by the Three Lives Stone, you can go and take a look."
Shunian asked again, "In my next life, all my memories will be gone, right?"
Chang Xile nodded.
"That's great. I can read my favorite books again." As soon as Shu Nian finished speaking, everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Chang Xile looked at everyone with emotion, and understood that they were not opposed to a new life, but they each had regrets.
In the past few years, they have been staying in Changleguan and have had little contact with the outside world.
Chang Xile pondered for a moment, clapped his hands and said, "How about this, let's agree on three days. During these three days, I won't let any ghost messengers disturb you. Everyone can do what they want to do but haven't finished. After three days, we will..."
She paused, trying to put a more beautiful spin on the idea of "going to the underworld." But the next second, a tall, thin Taoist nun raised her hand and said, "Go and reincarnate!"
Everyone started discussing:
"In my next life, I want to be a human."
"Being a human is too tiring, isn't it? I'd rather be a kitten, lying on the ground and sunbathing my belly every day."
Hearing this, His Majesty, who was originally basking in the sun on the windowsill, shook his fur. He felt that the air here was a bit cold, so he simply turned over and ran out.
"Hey, I want to be the maiden under the seat of Lady Laughter."
A round-faced Taoist nun looked at the clock and said, "My favorite candy and cake shop is about to open! Let's go first!"
As soon as she left, all the ghosts in the room scattered. In an instant, the ward became empty and extremely quiet.
Chang Xile was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but smile. She looked around, confirmed that no one was around, and then glanced up at the IV drip—it was empty, so she could remove the needle.
She didn't press the nurse bell, but pressed the injection site herself and then simply pulled out the needle. As the saying goes, long illness makes a doctor. After so many hospitalizations, I've seen pigs run, but I've seen pork.
Chang Xile pressed the needle hole on the back of his hand, walked out of the ward, and checked the names of the patients posted in the adjacent wards one by one.
The corridor was empty. Chang Xile's footsteps became faster and faster, and he almost bumped into someone at the corner.
The other person held her arm and chuckled above her head: "You're running around even when you're sick. You're really worrying."
When Chang Xile heard this voice, her blood froze. She didn't dare to look up, but kept blinking to keep the tears from falling.
She replied in a muffled voice, "I haven't seen you for a long time, so I came out to look for you."
After saying that, she asked angrily, "Who is the one who makes me worry less?"
"I just came to find you." An Ping sighed, gently holding her in his arms, stroking her back with his palm, and coaxing her, "Don't cry. I heard you crying in my dreams, and it makes me sleep uneasy."
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