Twentieth: Willows by the Dike in Their Fragrance (Part Two)
"Shanliu, what's the matter?" Weng Yu looked Dangen up and down, but didn't have anything to say to her. He just asked Shanliu.
Dangen recognized Weng Yu at a glance; she was her mother. But seeing Weng Yu ignore her and walk past her directly toward Shanliu, the excitement in her heart, along with the heat she had felt from the journey, instantly dissipated.
“Weng Yu, look at this girl, doesn’t she look familiar?” Shan Liu was slow to process what she saw. Seeing that Dan Gen was being ignored by Weng Yu, she was a little confused. She quickly ran over and patted Dan Gen’s shoulder from behind. “I met her when I went to the city. She looks so much like you. If you ask, you’ll know that she is your daughter.”
After hearing his words, Weng Yu carefully examined Dan Gen a few more times. Her eyes were full of indifference. Although she wasn't looking at Shan Liu, Shan Liu could still sense an unfriendly aura, so she could only quietly comfort Dan Gen, telling her not to take it to heart for now.
“You don’t remember?” Dangen was startled and dared not speak. To avoid embarrassment, Shanliu quickly spoke up, “This is your daughter.”
“I know,” Dangen said, and a smile appeared on his face as he heard Weng Yu say that. Then he heard Weng Yu continue, “She’s the one who made me suffer for a whole day and night. I’ve lived for so long, I’m not even afraid of a woodcutter’s axe, but I almost got killed by her.”
Dangen had never heard such harsh accusations in her life, especially since it was her birth mother whom she had found at great cost. She couldn't stand still for a moment and staggered a couple of steps.
Although Shanliu hadn't studied any grand principles and spoke rather roughly, after hearing Weng Yu's words, he knew he had done something that had harmed these two people. Seeing Dangen unsteady on his feet, he quickly steadied himself, then bit his lip and said, "Weng Yu, what are you saying? You cherish even a single flower on a tree so much, let alone a child you had after you transformed into a human. Second Young Master, are you mistaken?"
"Shanliu, take her away. Don't bring her to bother me anymore. And don't come looking for me either. I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore." After saying this, Weng Yu turned into a petal and drifted away.
Before Dangen could utter a single word, Weng Yu vanished before her eyes. The shock she had just felt exploded after Weng Yu left, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Shanliu, realizing her good intentions had backfired, sat down on the ground to comfort her: "Don't cry. She's been in a bad mood these past few days, that's why she said such hurtful things. I'll go talk to her again in a few days when she's in a better mood."
"Never mind, never mind," Dangen wiped his tears with a handkerchief in both hands. "Perhaps it's because I'm the child born from a flower fairy in human form. When I saw her just now, I could feel the anger and resentment in her heart. She really didn't like me, which is why she abandoned me back then."
"Sigh, I didn't expect this either," Shanliu said helplessly, banging her head with her fist. "She's always smiling at everyone. You two clearly don't know each other very well, so why is she reacting so strongly? In that case, I'll take you home."
"Wait, wait a minute," Dangen stopped sobbing and stood up. Shanliu also stood up. "We're already out here. You've made both of us heartbroken. We can't just let it go like this."
"Then what do you want me to do? Just say it." Seeing this, Shanliu thought that he must seize the opportunity to alleviate his sins.
“I never mentioned it to you, but you know he’s the second young master of the family. You investigated my father’s affairs afterward, didn’t you?” Dangen stared at Shanliu and immediately revealed what Shanliu had been hiding. “Do you know where he is? Even if both of them despise him, I need to know why.”
"You really think so?" Shanliu felt this was not a good thing and tried to persuade her, "This is not a good thing."
“You don’t need to think too much,” Dangen wiped away his tears and put the handkerchief away. “I want to die knowing why.”
"I was just asking around," Shanliu said, seeing his expression. "He used to live in the same courtyard as Weng Yu, but because he ran out of money, he used his last bit of silver to buy two houses in the alley and has been living there ever since. He doesn't usually go out. When I went to inquire, I heard some noises coming from inside the courtyard, but there was a thick layer of dust on the door, so I knew he hadn't come out for a long time."
“He didn’t come back when my grandmother passed away. My uncle was furious. I don’t know how he is now,” Dangen recalled his shallow understanding of his father and had even less hope of hearing anything good from him. “Now that you’ve found him, let’s go quickly. Consider this as me owing you two favors. If there’s anything I can do to help you in the future, I will definitely do it.”
"Alright, I don't need your help with anything, let's go."
Following the same route, the two of them walked for more than an hour before arriving at the place where the second young master lived.
The streets were bustling with people, but luckily there was a slender willow tree planted near the second young master's residence. The two of them took the opportunity to climb onto the roof and then jump into the yard.
Nobody's here.
The two called out twice, but no one responded, so they decided to push the door open and go in themselves.
The room was gloomy and dusty; touching anything left your hands covered in dirt. The two men cautiously explored the room, eventually fixing their gaze on a bed against the wall. A layer of dusty bedding covered the bed, and as they walked forward one after the other, a faint human figure came into view. Reaching the bedside, Dangen pulled Shanliu closer, standing near the headboard, and looked at the thin, bluish face.
The man's facial bones protruded, his eyes were bluish, and his lips were purple. Although his eyes were closed, he was not unconscious. His ears twitched as soon as the two men pushed the door open and entered. Now that Dangen was leaning over and blocking the light coming through the dusty window, he opened his eyelids to see who it was.
"He's still alive," Shanliu blurted out without thinking.
The second young master squinted, first looking at Shanliu who had spoken, then at Dangen who was closer, and said in a hoarse voice, "Weng Yu, why are you back?"
“No,” Dangen felt a pang of despair upon hearing those words, but the thought of mentioning his relationship with them made it difficult for him to say it. “I am her daughter.”
"Oh, it's you," the second young master said, his strength failing him, and he had to close his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"Why are you staying here instead of going back?" Dangen asked, looking at him.
"I...I'm not going back..." After saying this, the second young master closed his eyes and looked away.
Dangen and Shanliu both opened their ears wide, waiting to hear what he had to say next, but there was no follow-up.
Dangen froze, too afraid to move. Shanliu reached out and touched the young master's exposed, withered hand. Seeing no reaction, Shanliu felt for his pulse, then checked again; he was already lifeless.
"He's gone," Shanliu said regretfully.
"He's just gone like that?" Dan only wanted to hear the truth. After being shocked by Weng Yu's words, she suddenly witnessed the death of the second young master. Overwhelmed by the shock, she collapsed backward. "Why? He was perfectly fine before..."
Shanliu reacted swiftly, pulling her up before she fell. Dangen stopped crying again. Seeing this, Shanliu quickly went to the well outside and drew a bucket of water to tidy up the young master's face. The two remained silent in the house until Shanliu couldn't bear it any longer and spoke first: "I'll take you back. When you get there, just say I'm the young master's old friend. Before he died, he wanted to see the children and told me how to sneak in. You didn't want others to worry, so you came with me..."
Before he could finish speaking, someone else pushed the door open and came in.
Dangen and Shanliu turned their heads and saw a man and a woman walking over without saying a word.
"Who are you people?" Dangen asked.
Seeing that the two men were dressed smartly, he knew they were not friends of the down-on-his-luck young master. He felt uneasy, but he was powerless to fight them.
“We’re not human,” the woman responded first, then her gaze shifted between Dangen and Shanliu. “You’re not either, are you? What do you have to do with this person?”
"What are you two ghosts doing here?" Shanliu had seen them outside and knew their identities from the moment they entered. The woman spoke rather rudely, and Shanliu retorted just as rudely, "Lu Yuzhu, the person is already dead. You're late, aren't you? Have you graduated from Zhegui's apprenticeship?"
"What are you two mischievous spirits doing here again?" Lu Yuzhu ignored Shan Liu's subtle provocation and questioned with her arms crossed, "Shan Liu, don't go around causing trouble, or you'll end up dead somewhere. Also, who gave you permission to address Lord Ciyun by his full name?"
"You know them?" Dangen asked in a low voice. "And what is a 'Spirit Ghost'?"
“We’re not human,” Shanliu replied. “They’re not good people. But they can’t harm us.”
"Lu Yuzhu, isn't that enough?" The male ghost took out a sundial the size of a palm. Although there was no sunlight in the room, Dan Gen could see the sundial's pointer moving. "Why isn't this person reacting?"
"It's not that precise; it can be slightly earlier or later," Lu Yuzhu said helplessly.
"Is this the newcomer?" Shanliu sat at the foot of the bed, propping her feet up on her lap, looking at Lu Yuzhu. "What is your name?"
"My name is Yu Dayou."
Yu Dayou answered with a slight smile, and also bowed to Dangen.
Just as Yu Da finished speaking, Dangen, who was feeling uneasy and wondering about the relationship between the three people, heard a faint sound. She felt the sound was nearby, and after glancing around slightly, she saw a dark shadow slowly crawl out from behind her right eye. Startled, Dangen jumped up from the bedside and ran forward a few steps in a panic, bumping into Lu Yuzhu.
Lu Yuzhu grabbed Dangen's shoulder, but only frowned and glared at her. She then steadied Dangen with one hand and tossed her aside to stand.
Dangen rubbed his slightly aching shoulder, then his gaze was drawn to the dark shadow. Shanliu also tactfully moved away from the bed, leaning against the wall at the foot of the bed, watching the ghost that the second young master had become stand before Yu Dayou as he strode forward, looking at him with a puzzled expression: "Who are you?"
"What is this?!" Dangen was confused. He slowly moved to Shanliu's side, looked at the Second Young Master who had just died, and at this strange but unknown thing.
"Do you still remember who you are?" Yu Dayou held the sundial in one palm and placed it in front of the evil spirit.
"I am... I am the second son of the family in the east of the city. This is... where is this place?" The sundial seemed to have some effect, causing the previously hesitant and confused ghost to speak up unconsciously, "What's going on now?"
“You are a vengeful ghost now,” Yu Dayou said with a meaningful smile. “You became a vengeful ghost after you came back from the underworld.”
"By the way, I just walked back from a gloomy road, it seems like it's getting dark. I'm a ghost now, it seems that's true." The second young master's ghost combined his memories with Yu Dayou's words and confirmed his current situation.
“Come with us,” Lu Yuzhu said, “to the place where the evil spirits should go.”
"Alright," the second young master's ghost replied, lifting its leg to walk towards Lu Yuzhu.
"Wait a minute!" Seeing that the evil spirit still had some memory, Dangen wanted to ask him for clarification. Unexpectedly, the evil spirit actually planned to leave with Lu Yuzhu and the others, so he hurriedly took a few steps to catch up. "Wait a minute!"
Lu Yuzhu and Yu Dayou weren't in a hurry; they wanted to see what she was planning to do.
Dangen grabbed the ghost's arm, his eyes filled with tears, and said anxiously, "Do you still remember Weng Yu? And your children? Why don't you go back? Why didn't you come back when Grandma passed away? Why are you torturing yourself here!"
“You,” the ghost moved very slowly, and Dangen felt like he had waited all day for it to turn around and look at him, but its eyes were unfocused and seemed unable to fix their gaze, “Who are you?”
"Think again! Don't you still remember that you're the second young master?" Dangen said anxiously.
"Don't yell at him," Shanliu said helplessly without moving. "He can't remember right now. Let's go."
Lu Yuzhu had a sudden inspiration and, before Shan Liu could react, grabbed Dan Gen's arm: "However, just because he can't remember right now doesn't mean he'll never remember. If you wait a little longer, you might be able to wait until the day he remembers."
"When will that be?" Shanliu sensed something amiss and realized she had been too hasty in letting Dangen and Luyuzhu talk. "Let's hurry and find someone to handle his funeral arrangements."
“If we leave,” Shanliu pulled Dangen, whose mind was in a daze, and quickly walked back, but Lu Yuzhu had no intention of stopping, “Do you think there will be a chance to meet again in the future?”
These words struck a chord with Dangen, who promptly stopped in his tracks.
Shan Liu couldn't pull her away, so he could only curse Lu Yuzhu in his heart.
“We not only welcome evil spirits from afar, but we also hope to befriend spirits and monsters,” Lu Yuzhu asked, raising her eyebrows.
Yu Dayou stood behind her and smacked his lips lightly.
"Hey," Shanliu frowned, slapping Dangen's arm with such force that Dangen stumbled to the side. "You weren't swayed by her, were you? This person is dead. Even if it's his ghost speaking, can it really be trusted?"
“You might not remember careless details, but incomprehensible choices and secrets buried in your heart are certainly etched in your mind. Even in the underworld, you will savor them,” Lu Yuzhu said calmly, suppressing her smugness as she looked at the scene. “I still remember why I died and came back to life.”
"Really?" Dangen asked tremulously.
Shanliu stared intently at Lu Yuzhu, who showed no fear of him, looking straight at him with resentment, her eyes seeming to say, "Serves you right for meddling in other people's business, now you can't clean up the mess."
Dangen clearly didn't choose Shanliu either, which angered Shanliu so much that she shook off Dangen, strode open the door, and left.
Lu Yuzhu took on the task and casually wrote a letter to the second young master's family, informing them of his death. The family was currently anxious and worried about their young lady's mysterious disappearance. Upon receiving the letter, they were skeptical and sent two servants to investigate.
Soon, a white cloth was hung on the originally dusty door.
"Let's go," Lu Yuzhu urged, seeing Dangen's lingering gaze. "You are a flower fairy, and your fate is different from that of ordinary people. Besides, you must choose what is important and what is not. If you get separated from us, you will never find the answers to the questions in your heart."
“I know,” Dangen lowered his head, “I’ll come back when I get my answer. Where are we going?”
"Yishan." Lu Yuzhu walked away without looking back, waiting for Dangen to catch up.
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