Duan Guangyi said he didn't know whose home this place belonged to, but he was sure that the place where the Bean Qi incident occurred was here.
"Absolutely sure?"
"Rest assured, I can calculate the Twelve Earthly Branches of the Book of Changes, and I have never been wrong." Duan Guangyi felt like I was doubting him, and he was a little unhappy.
I also noticed Duan Guangyi's suspicions and quickly added, saying, "Oh, oh, I just thought the address was too mysterious, and I didn't suspect you at all."
"Really, trust me, there's not a 'playground' here? You can assume a recording device on the 'playground,' and when you look at the video later, you will definitely discover something," Duan Guangyi explained to both of us the method of "witnessing the Bean Qi incident."
Wang Tianlai and I exchanged bitter smiles, saying, "Okay, we can only do this for now."
Duan Guangyi pulled me aside again and asked, "Mr. Wang, how does he feel? Whoever finds out that their previous life was an executioner is not happy."
"Yes, he always blames himself and feels like it's a stain on his life."
"It doesn't matter, it's all about the previous life." Duan Guangyi lit a cigarette and said, "Actually, I basically don't show people their past lives, unless there is a real demand. Sometimes, if you know too much, you will be unhappy."
I nodded and said, "Yes, people have to be a little foolish, the more foolish, the happier."
"More or less that's the principle. When you go back, follow what I just said, and you will definitely find the cause of the Bean Qi incident." Then, Duan Guangyi said to me, "Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you for a favor earlier, right? Do you have time tonight?"
"Yes! I have to take the plane back tomorrow, so I have time tonight." I patted my chest and said.
Duan Guangyi said, "Then please call 'Yin' people to witness the marriage for me and Yanzi?"
"Huh?" I didn't understand what Duan Guangyi was saying. He had two souls in his body, one male and one female, and Yanzi was the female soul. Could his own soul marry himself? This is strange!
Is there anyone who marries themselves?
Duan Guangyi noticed my expression and smiled awkwardly, saying, "Do you know why I have memories of three lifetimes?"
"I don't know." I shook my head. I've heard of people remembering what happened in their past lives, but someone who can remember three lifetimes is something I've never heard of.
"This has to do with my first lifetime. In my first lifetime, it should have been during the Qing Dynasty. I was born during the Jiaqing period, and Yanzi was my neighbor. We were childhood sweethearts, and later I went to the capital to take the imperial examination. Yanzi's family sold their house, pooled together fifteen taels of silver, and sent me to take the exam. I promised Yanzi that once I passed the exam, I would come back and marry her immediately."
As Duan Guangyi spoke, tears filled his eyes. He took out a wet tissue from his pocket and wiped his eyes. However, at this moment, Duan Guangyi's actions were very delicate, not like a man wiping his tears. I thought that it was Yanzi's soul helping Duan Guangyi wipe his tears.
He then recounted his past life--
--While going to the capital to take the exam, it wasn't as convenient as it is now, particularly in terms of transportation. It took three months to travel from my hometown to the capital. During the day, I would travel, and at night, I would study, all in order to pass the exam and return to marry Yanzi as my lawful wife as soon as possible.
After enduring a three-month long journey, I arrived in the capital. After resting for five days, I began the imperial examination. Throughout the examination, I felt as if I had divine assistance, and on the day the results were announced, I ranked in the top three of the examination.
To ascertain the precise rankings of the top three, an audience was needed at the Golden Luang Hall to be chosen by the Jiaqing Emperor.
At the time, all of us in the top three were eloquent. For a while, the Jiaqing Emperor was at a loss as to how to choose. In the end, by the time a joss stick burned, he chose me as the top scholar.
Due to my superior appearance compared to the others, the Jiaqing Emperor even provided me with a commentary, calling me "well-versed in poetry and books, eloquent, and knowledgeable in both scholarly matters and human affairs. The first scholar in the imperial examination!"
Being chosen as the top scholar, naturally I held my head high and wandered around Chang'an. The Jiaqing Emperor also asked me if I would like to take on a certain position.
I said I wanted to return to my hometown to bring some benefits to the people there, in order to exhibit His Majesty's great benevolence.
Upon hearing this, the Jiaqing Emperor praised me for being "grateful" and "thankful," and so he appointed me as the magistrate of the local government in Jiangcheng, bestowing on me the title of the third rank official.
Thus, I truly fulfilled my wish of returning in glory.
The journey back home was long, and I didn't want to stay for even a second longer than necessary; I just wanted to see Yanzi now.
But when I returned home, Yanzi was already dead.
At this point, I couldn't help interrupting Duan Guangyi and asked, "Ah? How did Yanzi die?"
"When I went to the capital to take the exam, Yanzi worried about me. At that time, there was a trickster in the world who deceived Yanzi, saying that he could help me achieve the top scholar position, with the condition that Yanzi had to give up her chastity. After thinking about it for a long time, Yanzi agreed, and after being insulted by that scoundrel, the next day Yanzi felt so guilty that she jumped into the Yangtze River and ended her life."
I gasped, shocked. It was supposed to be a perfect match, and it ended so tragically because of a swindler.
Duan Guangyi's eyes were now red, and he continued, "In fact, at the time, I didn't understand Yanzi's feelings. It wasn't until now, when she and I became one, that I understood what she was thinking back then. Yanzi wanted, if she didn't die, no matter what, to marry me. As a top scholar, how could she marry a deformed and defeated person? Wouldn't that insult the top scholar's dignity? Yanzi was afraid of causing trouble for me, so she chose to end her life by jumping into the river."
"Poor thing, such a pity," I sighed. I felt very uncomfortable, but at the same time, I gave Duan Guangyi a thumbs up. No wonder little Duan speaks so eloquently, turns out he was the top scholar of the Jiaqing era. My apologies, my apologies.
"If it weren't for this top scholar, how could I and Yanzi have been separated by life and death?" Duan Guangyi looked up at the sky and said, "When Yanzi died, I already had the desire to die. However, if I were to die in vain, how could I face the top scholar appointed by the emperor? In the years I worked in the government office, I worked tirelessly every day, never stopping for a moment. If I stopped, I would think of Yanzi who had passed away."
Duan Guangyi sighed, then said, "I lived to the age of fifty, suddenly fell ill, and died. My 'Yin' soul took the road to the afterlife, into the netherworld, until I crossed the Bridge of Helplessness. There, I saw a familiar figure standing next to Meng Po. She was the Yanzi who I longed for day and night. It turned out that Yanzi, in order to wait for me, resolutely pleaded with the Ten Temples of Hades not to let her transmigrate and be reborn. She wanted to see me before she reincarnated."
Because I had performed meritorious deeds for the people, the judge granted me a special favor and asked me what my greatest wish was. I said my biggest wish was to be reborn together with Yanzi and be a couple again.
Thus, Duan Guangyi began his second lifetime.
"In the second lifetime, both Yanzi and I were born in Henan. At this time, we had no memories of our previous lives. We were still childhood sweethearts. I was an ordinary farmer, and Yanzi was a well-known female physician. It was 1942, and Henan was struck by the largest famine in history. In that famine, five million people starved to death. I saw dead bodies surrounding me, and everyone had nothing to eat. They didn't even spare the bark of trees, and some people even used knives to cut 'meat' from their own 'legs' because they were so hungry, but there was no 'meat' left on their bodies. When they made a cut, it went straight to the bone and they died from the pain."
Duan Guangyi's eyes were filled with horror at this moment, and he said, "At such a major famine, Chiang Kai-shek didn't open the granaries or provide relief. He allowed us to starve to death. At that time, Yanzi and I fled. During the journey, we were separated, and I sought news about Yanzi everywhere. After searching for two days and exhausting the food I had brought, I was fortunate to find out about Yanzi."
I asked him, "Where did Yanzi go?"
"Yanzi was a female physician with extraordinary medical skills and a compassionate heart. She treated many people who didn't die from starvation but from overeating, resulting in acute gastrointestinal illness. Therefore, she turned around and ran in the opposite direction in hopes of saving some people."
I was amazed. Faced with famine, she still went to the disaster area to save people. Yanzi's moral character was truly noble.
Duan Guangyi said that when he found Yanzi, she had already died. Her stomach was stuck to her back, and her mouth was full of indigestible soil - she was so hungry that she even ate soil. When she died, she was still holding onto a sachet that Duan Guangyi had given her.
"I was furious. When Yanzi and I fled, most of the rations were on me. If we had anticipated that we would be separated, we would have split the rations in half, and Yanzi wouldn't have starved to death." As Duan Guangyi spoke, he began to cry again. In the end, he said, "I buried Yanzi's body, and finally, the army arrived, and a soldier gave me a steamed bun."
"Is it the Red Army?"
"No, it's Chiang Kai-shek's troops. They pulled me to serve as a soldier, 'forced' me to fight," said Duan Guangyi. "I died on the battlefield and once again descended to the underworld. This time, the chief Yama, King Qin Guang, spoke.
King Qin Guang said, "The two of you are connected by the matchmaker's red string, a heaven-sent bond, but you cannot have a good ending in both lifetimes. So be it, I will let you carry the memories of your past two lives and start a new third life. Aren't you always dying before others? I will let you live in one body and see if you can have a good ending this time."
Therefore, Duan Guangyi transformed into the current appearance, possessing the memories of three lifetimes, with two souls.
After hearing Duan Guangyi's story, my heart couldn't calm down. This is truly a cross-century fate. I became the witness of the marriage for Duan Guangyi and Yanzi. This is also a great honor.
I immediately agreed and asked, "How do you plan to get married?"
"We don't want an ordinary underworld wedding," Duan Guangyi told me. "I want you to help me find Yanzi's body and bring her back to her original corpse, making her a complete woman. I want to personally put a diamond ring on her, sing a song for her, and put a headpiece on her, even if it's for only ten minutes, five minutes, or one minute."
Hearing that Duan Guangyi wanted to find Yanzi's body that had been buried for a hundred years, I couldn't help but feel a chill.
I thought, maybe he only used his skills to convince me because he wanted to find the body. So, would I join our 'underworld' group?
But even if I wanted to find it, could I?
I felt my head was about to explode, and asked Duan Guangyi, "Yanzi lived through two lifetimes, so there are two bodies. Which one are you looking for?"