From outside came Mama Cui’s voice. It seemed that these days, Chun Tao had always been under surveillance.
The good news was that the person who came was Madam Liu.
The bad news was, if Madam Liu could find her, then Master Gu could too.
Li Si was originally fearless; as a ghost, he wasn’t afraid of death at all. Yet at this moment, he spoke with a nervousness that was almost commanding:
“Xia Yuan, run quickly. Escape from this town, don’t ever come back.”
“What are you saying? There’s still the shop young master left for me here.”
“If the shop is gone, you can earn again. If a person is gone, then they’re gone forever. I’ll go meet Madam Liu. While there’s still time, you two must hurry and leave.”
“How could I abandon you and run by myself?”
“She raised me. She will spare me. But if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to explain myself to your young master in the future.” Li Si curved his lips into a faint smile, a calm and unflinching heroic air seeping from his brows and eyes. He lightly pushed Xia Yuan’s waist with his hand and said softly:
“Don’t worry. Go, quickly.”
Xia Yuan stared at him, dazed for a moment, but soon snapped out of it. Pulling her little doctor, she slipped out from the back door. Xia Yuan’s mind was like a ball of yarn kneaded into a mess by a cat, all tangled up with Chun Tao. That was clearly Chun Tao’s face, yet smiling like that, she looked like someone else.
After confirming Xia Yuan had already gone far away, Li Si unhurriedly went to open the door. Outside stood Mama Cui. She had been standing there for quite some time, but was neither impatient nor annoyed. Upon seeing Chun Tao, she politely gestured toward the carriage not far away.
While Mama Cui was still busy finding a stool for Chun Tao to step on, Li Si had already grabbed the edge of the carriage and, with a light leap, jumped inside. Madam Liu sat properly inside with her eyes closed, resting. Hearing someone enter, she slowly opened her eyes, unhurried and calm. Time had not left obvious marks on her face; instead, it had bestowed her with a composed and unflappable grace. She glanced at Chun Tao, nodded, and signaled her to sit down.
At this moment, Li Si no longer wanted to repeat Gu Yunwu’s false politeness. He sat openly across from Madam Liu, meeting her deep, unfathomable gaze directly. Anyway, by now everyone had laid their cards on the table. Whatever you want to say, whatever you can say, I am all ears.
“You are actually not pregnant. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“And you already know something?”
“I know.”
“Heh.” Madam Liu let out a laugh. It was a self-mocking, bitter laugh, but she quickly gathered herself again.
“He never let me interfere in Wu’er’s matters. At first, I thought it was because he still missed his late wife, so he cherished this child all the more. At that time, I even held resentment toward Wu’er. But gradually I discovered things were not so simple.”
“You discovered the medicine was suspicious?”
“I only suspected, so I placed you in Yunsheng Pavilion. Although I instructed you to discard the decoction, I never told you the reason. As things are now, all this is my fault. I spoiled you; even when you acted recklessly, I did not interfere. I knew clearly that the pregnancy was a lie you made up, yet I still went to tell the master. It was all my own cleverness backfiring.”
“Madam, although things did not go as we wished, on behalf of the young master, I thank you.”
“Tao’er, your mother was my dowry maid, like a sister to me. You grew up by my side, and I almost treated you as my own child. Regarding this matter, can we just let it go? This carriage holds plenty of silver; both carriage and money can be yours. You can leave this place and live well somewhere else.”
Hearing this, Li Si understood Madam Liu’s intention. After all, she was Gu Changwei’s wife, bound to him on the same rope.
“I will not report this to the authorities. In the underworld there are civil and military judges who will decide Gu Changwei’s crimes. But for Madam’s sake, I’ll give one piece of advice: if he can confess and atone while alive, perhaps his judgment below will be lighter.” Li Si’s face carried almost no expression, his tone calm yet distant.
Madam Liu’s usual composure was completely shattered. Trembling, she asked:“You are not Chun Tao. You… who are you?”
“Keep your carriage and money. I take my leave. May we never meet again in this life.” Li Si bowed slightly, opened the door, and nimbly jumped down, striding away without looking back.
“Wu’er… Tao’er…” Madam Liu sat in the carriage, murmuring these two names again and again, until finally she could not hold back and broke down in tears.
Li Si wandered the night streets, pondering his next step. In fact, he could already return to report back, but there were still details left unclear — such as Gu Changwei’s true motive, why he imprisoned Gu Yunwu, and even tried to kill him. But to uncover the truth, he would have to confront Gu Changwei face to face. If he really did that, Gu Yunwu would surely think he had gone mad.
All night long, Gu Yunwu rarely spoke, silent and expressionless. Li Si always felt that, in the moment he left the study, something within him had been forever left behind in that room. He did not speak, and Li Si did not dare to open his mouth carelessly either. Li Si knew well he lacked the wit to “speak as people to people, and as ghosts to ghosts.” He feared making him sad, and didn’t even dare say comforting words. After much hesitation, he gently reached out and held his slender fingers.
Gu Yunwu suddenly shivered. Li Si thought he had startled him. But unexpectedly, he shouted:“Be careful!” and yanked him, shielding him with his body.
Yet the long white blade still pierced through his flesh. Blood spurted from his mouth. Through Gu Yunwu’s soul, Li Si saw those not-quite-familiar eyes behind the black mask.
That old bastard. Li Si clenched his teeth, sneered coldly, and staggered toward him step by step. The knife was still stuck in his body; each step brought agony tearing him apart. Blood dripped onto the ground, forming a short trail.
His opponent clearly hadn’t expected him to still move. Frightened, the man let go of the knife. Li Si yanked down his mask and seized his throat.
He glared viciously into his eyes.
“Master Gu. I’ll be waiting for you in the underworld. We’ll meet again.”
Finishing, Li Si’s body gave way, collapsing. He kept falling, down into endless darkness.
When he awoke again, Li Si found himself back at the edge of the Naihe Bridge. Lady Meng had set up a reclining chair and a red oil-paper umbrella by the river. Li Si was lying comfortably on it. Everything around him was the same as he remembered, as if he had never left, only taken a nap.
“You’re finally awake.” Lady Meng sat beside him, smiling as she fanned herself. “You slept for three whole days.”
“Three days?!” Li Si sat up with a jolt. He touched himself — whole and unharmed. Then reached for his pocket — the jade pendant and sachet were gone.
“I told you to be careful, didn’t I? If you’re in danger, you could’ve just broken the possession and fled. Why take that stab head-on? Even if it doesn’t harm us much, it still shakes the soul. Look, you were so startled you slept three days before waking.”
“Gu Yunwu? Where is he?” Li Si clearly didn’t care about her lecture. He only wanted to know where Gu Yunwu was.
“Ah, Young Master Gu? He stayed by your side for a day. Seeing you wouldn’t wake, he asked me to look after you and left. What? Can’t bear to part with him?” Lady Meng leaned closer, amused.
“What does it matter if I can’t bear it. He’s bound to reincarnate.”
“You didn’t deny it?” Lady Meng looked surprised.
“That’s not admitting it either, is it?” Li Si shrugged.
“I can understand. Standing at this bridge every day, I’ve seen countless faces. Sometimes I get so sick of them I want to vomit. That Young Master Gu is truly a rarity seen once in a thousand years. I don’t even remember when I last came across someone like him.”
“He’s not some object. What’s this ‘rare or not rare’ nonsense.” Another word from Lady Meng and Li Si felt his head would explode. Right now, he only wanted to quickly write up his memorial report, then ask Lord Yama when that old bastard Gu Changwei would descend to hell. Flipping off the recliner, he said, “Lady Meng, thank you for looking after me these days. Next time I’ll bring you some good bones to make soup.”
“Xiao Si, you’ve changed from this trip.” Lady Meng hid her mouth and nose with her fan, eyes half-smiling. “You’ve learned how to speak.”
Li Si chuckled. “I’m leaving now. Oh — I have a name. It’s Li Si.”
It took Li Si more than two weeks to finish his memorial report in bits and pieces. There were still many details he couldn’t explain — Gu Changwei’s motive, that genealogy missing Gu Yunwu’s name. But at this point, no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t find the answers.
He had never been good at writing. The words on the report were scratched like cat claws, messier than the case it described. If he were good with words, perhaps he could’ve joined the civil judges, recording cases and compiling yin-yang registers every day to accumulate merit. But the civil exams were too difficult; he couldn’t be bothered to memorize so many laws. Besides, civil work had low risk and low return — not as good as being a soldier. What if one day you caught a great evil spirit?
At this time, Li Si thought again of Gu Yunwu. As the first ghost he ever captured, Gu Yunwu really lacked the makings of an evil spirit. At the beginning, they both liked boasting: one saying he’d claim lives, the other saying he’d beat people up. Who would have thought it would all end so poorly. Was it precisely because of this that Gu Yunwu had left without a word, unwilling? Forty-nine days had already passed. Had he reincarnated?
Now, where was he? What was he doing?
But no matter how much he brooded, there would be no answer. However he thought, Li Si felt he would never see him again. With a sigh, he rolled up his report, tucked it into his sleeve, and headed toward the Hall of Yama.
On the road, scattered travelers walked — all souls not yet reincarnated. They were but passers-by in the Yellow Springs, stopping briefly before journeying onward.
Suddenly, Li Si caught sight of a familiar face among them. A young girl, bright-eyed, teeth like pearls, cheeks like peach blossoms. She was laughing as she walked. As she brushed past Li Si, he glimpsed a delicate sachet at her waist.
“Chun Tao?”
The girl stopped and turned back. “Do you know me?”
“Sort of… know you.” Li Si shrank back a little, guilty.
“Didn’t expect so many people to know me here. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have drunk the Mengpo Soup so soon.” She laughed cheerfully, covering her mouth, her eyes curved like crescent moons.
“There were others?” Li Si grew wary. At this moment, he felt like ants crawled all over him, itchy yet unreachable.
“Some days ago, a young master came looking for me. Said he was my old friend. He even gave me this sachet, said it was embroidered by me when I was alive.” Chun Tao lifted the sachet at her waist to show him. “I never thought I’d lived so well in life — not only skillful with my hands, but even acquainted with such a handsome young master.”
“You know where he went afterward?” Li Si asked.
“Don’t know. Probably reincarnated.” Chun Tao shook her head.
“Did he say anything else?” Li Si asked again. He wanted to know Gu Yunwu’s whereabouts, though he didn’t know why he wanted to know.
“The young master said… let me see…”
“He said: In my past life, I was indebted to the young lady’s care. May the young lady’s next life be safe and joyful, free from worries for a whole lifetime.”
