The moment I saw the woman, I was stunned. Du Xiaolan turned her head and glanced at me with a puzzled look, as if she was asking me if this woman was a relative of mine.
I shook my head at her, then looked back at the woman. She was the same woman I had seen standing by the stone at the gates of the underworld.
Her appearance at this moment made me feel inexplicably uneasy. If she was a soul-reaping messenger, and I had left the gates of the underworld without permission, she might take me away from here.
As I was at a loss, the woman's gaze swept over Du Xiaolan, and with a puzzled look, she then looked at me, smiled and nodded, saying, "My name is Meng Xier."
Regardless of whether she was a friend or foe, I couldn't be too cold. Just as I was about to introduce myself, she asked, "Are you Yin Mingyang?"
I nodded in surprise, and she then looked at Du Xiaolan and asked, "Are you Du Xiaolan?"
Du Xiaolan squinted her eyes, and I could see that she was also extremely surprised.
"Don't be so surprised, I mean no harm," Meng Xier said as she came to sit opposite Du Xiaolan, then looked at me and said, "I saw you once before. I felt that you were not an ordinary person, so I came here specifically to find you."
"What do you want from me?" Despite her words, I remained cautious.
Meng Xier shook her head, revealing a bitter smile. "I don't know either. But I saw a glimmer of hope in you."
"You saw hope in me?" I asked in astonishment. Seeing Meng Xier hesitate, I quickly said to Du Xiaolan, "I'm a little hungry now. Can you get me some food?"
"Sure, I'll go now, you guys can chat," Du Xiaolan agreed readily and walked out of the ward.
After closing the door, I gestured for Meng Xier to sit down. I cleared my throat and asked, "Can you tell me now whether you are human or ghost?"
"I am neither human nor ghost," Meng Xier said, sitting upright, looking at me with a half-smile.
I asked again, "You can appear inside the gates of the underworld, so you must be a Yin messenger, right?"
"No," she shook her head and said, "You might have heard of the legend about me."
I struggled to sit up from the bed and asked anxiously, "What legend?"
Meng Xier looked at the window and said, "There is a Naihe Bridge in the underworld, and all the souls who want to be reborn must drink Meng Po's soup."
"Are you Meng Po?" I widened my eyes, looking at Meng Xier in disbelief.
She did not deny it and nodded, "Yes, I have helped countless people resolve their unresolved feelings, but I can't resolve my own."
Her expression was very complicated as she spoke, but she seemed very calm on the surface.
I didn't know what to say. The legendary Meng Po had appeared before me, and it made me feel both honored and surprised. But the next moment, I became wary again, afraid that she might suddenly bring out a bowl of Meng Po's soup and force it into my mouth.
The ward became quiet in an instant, and Meng Xier played with her hair and asked me, "Can you help me?"
I was taken aback and asked, "How can I help you?"
She said, "Help me fulfill my feelings."
I felt dizzy and asked her what I should do. She sighed and said I would meet the person she wanted to see. Just as I was about to ask further, Du Xiaolan walked in from outside, holding a bowl of porridge.
Meng Xier stood up, nodded to Du Xiaolan, and smiled at me, "Take care of yourself, I'll go back first."
"Yeah!" I let Du Xiaolan send her out of the ward, closed my eyes, meditated for a long time, but couldn't figure anything out.
After Du Xiaolan came in, she asked me who she was, and I casually changed the subject. After finishing the porridge, I finally asked indirectly, "Xiaolan, have you ever heard the story of Meng Po?"
"Yes." Du Xiaolan took out a packet of potato chips from her pocket and asked as she ate, "Why are you asking about this?"
I leaned against the pillow and said, "During the time I was unconscious, I felt like I went to the underworld and saw Meng Po at the Naihe Bridge."
She swallowed the potato chip and asked eagerly, "Really? What does Meng Po look like? Young or old? Is she pretty?"
Her series of questions caught me off guard, I smiled and said, "She is young and quite pretty."
Du Xiaolan nodded and asked, "Okay, then what? What else did you want to ask?"
I asked, "Why do you think Meng Po is giving ghost souls Meng Po soup at the Naihe Bridge?"
"I'm not really sure, but there's a legend from my hometown." Du Xiaolan ate a chip and continued, "The legend says that Meng Po was once a very ordinary woman who was in love with a Taoist. Because of societal norms, the Taoist couldn't be in love, and they faced a lot of obstacles. Eventually, the Taoist left, and Meng Po came to the Taoist temple, but the Taoist, being devoted to his faith, ignored her. Desperate, Meng Po threw herself off a cliff in front of the temple."
She paused to eat a chip and then continued, "After Meng Po's death, the Taoist realized that what he truly longed for was not the Tao, but Meng Po. To atone for his mistake, after comforting Meng Po's spirit, he severed his own emotions."
"And then?" I asked anxiously as she paused again.
Du Xiaolan smiled mischievously and said, "And then? Sing a song for me, and I'll tell you."
After singing a song, Du Xiaolan commented that even though my singing was a bit unpleasant, at least it wasn't like a duck's voice. I looked at her disdainfully and urged her to quickly tell me what happened next.
Du Xiaolan gave me a look and then said, "After severing his emotions, the Taoist was devoted to his faith and eventually achieved enlightenment, becoming a deity and ascending to heaven."
"Is that it?"
"That's it!"
I was speechless, "Big sis, I asked you why Meng Po gives souls Meng Po soup, and these stories have no clues at all."
"You're thick-headed." Du Xiaolan scolded, "Can't you guess? Meng Po didn't sever her emotions, that's why she jumped off the cliff. Because she had lingering feelings, so she makes the ghost souls forget all their past events and memories. After being reincarnated, they won't be bound by their past lives."
Her explanation seemed to make sense, and I had to say sorry to her, which made her stop giving me dirty looks.
Since I didn't really have any issues, just a weak body, I was discharged after two days of rest. Du Xiaolan, this girl, had some conscience and paid for my medical expenses, which moved me deeply.
However, I only found out later that the price was massaging her for a month.
After returning to the store, I finished massaging her, then sat on a stool and picked up my phone to check the news from the past few days, when the glass door was suddenly pushed open, and a man in a suit walked in.