Chapter 36: Heading to the Town

Really, I am not unkind. I even felt like crying myself, but my cheap master’s expression was just too vulgar, and his eyes looked like they were being forced to tear up by chili peppers.

“This girl is truly too obsessed. Feelings, as long as they are real, are good things. Good things should be allowed to stay beautiful, like preserving a piece of beauty in memory. Why turn obsession into hatred, and force something good into a tragedy?” Old Man Jiang wiped his eyes and suddenly sighed as he spoke.

I could not understand it. Love and feelings were probably a bit too far away for a seven-year-old kid like me. I only felt that Li Fengxian was pitiful, and that she had not really done anything wrong. Deep down, I even felt that her liking women was not a big deal, just like I liked going to the drainage ditch in summer to splash around. As long as it made you happy and did not harm or affect anyone, it was fine.

“Little brother, you are quite open-minded. Didnt you say you liked Li Fengxian? Dont you think it is a pity that she liked girls?” the old woman suddenly asked.

“That... sigh... anyway, I only liked her quietly. Besides, do you think it is a pity that she liked girls?” Old Man Jiang twisted the question around and pushed it back onto someone else.

“I actually thought about it very simply at the time. I just felt it was such a pity that they could not be together. Nothing else really,” the old woman replied. That was the simplest and most honest feeling of the villagers. She admitted her mistake and sincerely wanted to bless them.

“Ah... thinking about it now, it was really tragic. I still remember when I was very young, how glorious she looked when she came back to perform. I never expected that more than ten years later I would see her die in the threshing ground. Sometimes life really cannot be guessed. Unlike me, simple as I am, I have lived to such an old age,” the old woman added.

“Mm, simple is good. Think simply, live simply, and most importantly, live without guilt. What is the point of overthinking everything? It only makes you unhappy and not at peace,” Old Man Jiang also sighed.

My bowl of cowpea rice had already gone cold, all because I had been listening too absorbedly. Now I had no choice but to eat cold rice. I glanced at my cheap master’s bowl. How hateful. When did he finish eating it completely?

“What did the villagers think after Li Fengxian died? Did anything happen afterward?” Old Man Jiang asked casually, as if still not satisfied with the story.

“Oh, if you hadnt mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten. After Li Fengxian died, her father went mad, but that was nothing. The main thing was that within that year, several people in the village died. They said it was an epidemic. I do not know for sure. I went to see them. It was very scary. Some people were foaming at the mouth, others had their mouths wide open... I even wondered if it was some kind of retribution. Those people seemed to be the ones who spoke the most harshly about Li Fengxian. But it also seemed like a disease. Before they died, they were very weak, unable to eat, sleeping all day,” the old woman answered enthusiastically.

“A strange thing like that? Nobody in your village understood it? Nobody called someone to take a look?” Old Man Jiang suddenly asked.

“They did. They really did,” the old woman slapped her thigh and said loudly.

“Oh? Who did they call? Who came?” Old Man Jiang asked.

“Who exactly called them, I do not know. Anyway, several people died in the village. First came a foreign doctor, not actually a foreigner, just someone who studied Western medicine. He said it was an epidemic, but could not identify what kind, and could not treat it. Later, a strange man came to the village, very mysterious. He said we should move Li Fengxian’s grave to that place, yes, to the current graveyard, and that everyone in the village should be buried there in the future. Strangely enough, after that, no one in the village died again. After a long time, people stopped talking about it,” the old woman replied in detail.

My cheap master gave a soft sound of surprise. This was the first time since I had met him that he had reacted like this, but I did not care. He was always acting mysterious anyway.

“Eldest Sister, do you still remember what that man looked like?” Old Man Jiang asked somewhat anxiously.

“Oh dear, now that you mention it, I really cannot recall. I only remember there was such a person, but what he looked like, I realize I have no impression of at all after so many decades. That is strange,” the old woman said, also puzzled, though it quickly passed. Ordinary people do not dwell on things too far beyond them.

After chatting a bit more with the old woman, Old Man Jiang and I prepared to leave her home. Before leaving, he sincerely thanked her for her hospitality, and I also sincerely thanked her.

Other things aside, what Old Man Jiang said during this visit carried a lot of weight for me. I had taken it in. In short, no one is born obligated to do anything for you. People should know gratitude and repay kindness.

After leaving the old woman’s courtyard, Old Man Jiang’s expression grew serious. He frowned, as if thinking about something.

I could not stand the silence, so I asked, “Master, what is wrong?”

“Nothing. Just some things I have not figured out yet. We will go settle Li Fengxian’s matter first,” Old Man Jiang clearly did not want to explain. But his words about resolving the vengeful spirit’s matter immediately sparked my curiosity. Before today’s conversation, I deeply hated that vengeful spirit. After today’s conversation, I felt somewhat sympathetic toward her. I really wanted to see how my cheap master would deal with her.

So I carefully asked, “Master, you are not really going to capture Li Fengxian, right?”

“You are such a blockhead! Didnt I already tell you? Ghosts are ghosts, demons are demons. We only capture demons! You always say I am clever, so how did I end up with such a stupid disciple?” Old Man Jiang said that he himself was clever and resourceful.

“It is not like I asked you to take me as your disciple,” I muttered quietly.

“What did you say?” Old Man Jiang glared fiercely, reminding me of the times he pulled down my pants and spanked me.

So I quickly said, “Master, how are you going to deal with Li Fengxian?”

“We can only dispel her resentment and guide her soul,” Old Man Jiang said with a rather emotional tone.

I did not ask him exactly how he would do it. Even if I asked, I would not understand. I was just very curious about one thing, so I asked, “Master, Li Fengxian was not a bad person when she was alive, so why did she become so evil after turning into a ghost?”

“Because she has resentment. Overwhelming resentment. After becoming a ghost, everything from her life turns into resentment. How much human feeling can remain? To put it simply, it is like making a bowl of ginger brown sugar water. If you put too much ginger and too little sugar, then it will just taste like ginger. Li Fengxian died full of resentment, and that resentment covered up all her other emotions from when she was human. That is all. To help her, we can only fulfill her wishes. Otherwise, we can only make her soul scatter completely,” my cheap master explained patiently.

After that, Old Man Jiang took me to the town.

I had never expected that coming out with Old Man Jiang to handle things would also let me go to the town. Overjoyed at my luck, I was practically grinning nonstop the whole way.

The village was not too far from the town. After walking along the yellow earth road, there was an asphalt road leading straight to the town. Most villagers walked on foot. In those days, even if there were roads, you could barely see any vehicles.

In total, walking to the town took about two hours. That was nothing difficult for villagers used to mountain paths.

But today, not only did I get to follow Old Man Jiang to town, I even rode in a vehicle for the first time in my life.

It was a green Liberation truck. It was extremely rare. While I was still staring blankly, Old Man Jiang shamelessly stopped it. I do not know what he said, but in any case, both of us were allowed to sit in the back cargo area.

Sitting in the back meant being surrounded by wind howling from all sides, along with a pile of cement. But none of that could suppress my excitement. The moment I got on the truck, I felt that this thing was something incredibly magical, even more magical than Old Man Jiang catching ghosts.