Having done all this, the ghost matchmaker gave me a deep look and said that the ghost marriage had been established, and it was time for her to leave.
Before I could speak, she turned and in the instant of leaving the room, she disappeared without a trace.
Looking at Fei Xuemin and He Tingyun, I touched Xia He's head and said, "Okay, your affairs have been settled. Let the police handle the case of the car accident two years ago."
Fei Xuemin remained silent, while He Tingyun nodded slightly. I took out my phone and dialed the police hotline. After explaining the specific location, fearing that this matter would involve me, I gave Dou Xiaolan a signal and then left the room.
In the elevator, Dou Xiaolan surprisingly did not ask any questions.
It was already past ten o'clock when I dropped her off at her house. Returning to my rented house, as I opened the umbrella, Yu Rubing appeared before me.
She looked at me and complained, asking where I had been just now, making her wait in the car for so long. I recounted what had just happened, and Yu Rubing sighed thoughtfully, saying that there were too many tragic women in the world.
Ignoring her question, I went to the bathroom to take a shower. When I walked out, Yu Rubing asked me if I had a longer rope.
I nervously asked her what she wanted to do, but she said that she had a habit in recent years that she couldn't sleep without lying on a rope.
I sighed in my heart, thinking she really thought she was the Little Dragon Girl, and said that without a rope, I went to sleep. But she was just as stubborn as Du Xiaolan, and she kept bothering me for a long time. Eventually, I had to reluctantly bring out two sheets tied together and let her deal with it herself.
The next day, after meeting with Du Xiaolan, I asked her to stay in the shop and prepared to go back home to have my grandfather help Yu Rubing with the reincarnation. But Du Xiaolan wanted to come back with me and said today was National Day; according to the company's previous rules, we would have a three-day holiday.
Working in this profession, I didn't really have much feeling about holidays. After she said this, I realized that it was already October.
Under Du Xiaolan's coaxing, I reluctantly agreed to let her come with me.
After buying some things, we rushed all the way back home. By the time we arrived, it was already past three in the afternoon.
I had already called my grandfather yesterday, and my grandmother had prepared a sumptuous lunch. After Du Xiaolan finished eating, she praised my grandmother's cooking tirelessly, making my happy grandmother ask a lot of questions.
Seeing that the two of them got along well, I took the umbrella and followed my grandfather into the inner room.
Opening the umbrella, Yu Rubing appeared. Facing my grandfather, she looked at him with suspicion and, after seeing the layout of the room, respectfully greeted him, "Master, can you help me with the reincarnation?"
My grandfather, sitting by the kang, smoking a pipe, said, "I have already heard from Mingyang that your soul has been extracted but can become a spirit, which is already very rare. Wanting to reincarnate is not an impossible thing, but many things during this period are very tricky."
Yu Rubing immediately became troubled: "But I don’t have any money right now."
My grandfather waved his hand and said, "I'm not asking for money. What I meant by tricky is that if one detail is not handled properly, you may disappear forever."
Yu Rubing firmly said, "As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I want to try."
"Alright, then I will give it a try." After speaking, my grandfather asked Yu Rubing to return to the umbrella and told me, "Mingyang, since you took on this matter, it's up to you to handle the details."
I nodded repeatedly: "Grandpa, just tell me what needs to be prepared."
My grandfather finished smoking the pipe and then said, "Her soul has disappeared. To reincarnate, we must find her soul."
"Are you saying that I have to find her soul before I can do anything?" I was extremely surprised; this was extremely difficult. Not to mention whether I would be able to find the young man who had extracted Yu Rubing's soul, even if I did, with my personality, it would be impossible for me to retrieve her soul.
My grandfather smiled and said, "Even if you find her soul, it won't help. Her body has already decayed, and her soul has also disappeared. Finding her soul is impossible. What needs to be done now is to find a body for her. With this body, we can cover the eyes of the Yin Division and allow her to enter the place of reincarnation."
I shrugged and asked, "But where do I find a body for her?"
My grandfather squinted and said, "This body must be a lifeless object, and it must have very heavy Yin energy. If either of these conditions is not met, when she takes possession, her soul will completely dissipate."
"Do I need a lifeless object with heavy Yin energy?" I asked in puzzlement, then slapped my thigh and exclaimed, "Grandpa, I know what it is, coffin wood!"
"Yes, it's coffin wood!" My grandfather nodded, counted on his fingers, and said, "The older the coffin wood, the better, and it must be dug up at midnight, or else it won't be of much use."
I nodded repeatedly and looked at the time, saying, "Grandpa, then you should rest quickly, and in the evening, we'll go together."
"I'm not going." Grandpa waved his hand and smoked his pipe, saying, "I'm old now. If I desecrate someone's ancestral grave, it would be the end of me. You're just a kid. Even if you dig it up, even if someone knows it's you, they won't say much!"
"What? You want me to go alone?" I was dumbfounded. I've really seen ghosts, but going to the graveyard in the dead of night to dig up someone else's ancestral grave, even the bravest person wouldn't dare to do that.
"Go back to your room and rest. I need to prepare the items for her reincarnation," Grandpa said, leaving me alone in the room, lost in thought as he walked out.
Grandpa was a man of his word. If he said he wouldn't go with me, no matter how much I begged and pleaded, not even kneeling would change his mind.
Looking at the parasol on the table, I didn't feel as scared anymore. If Grandpa wouldn't go with me, maybe Yu Rubing could. After all, she's a ghost, and any danger she could handle it for me.
With this thought in mind, I lay down on the kang and closed my eyes.
Outside, I could faintly hear Grandma and Du Xiaolan chatting and laughing. Sometimes I wonder if the me in the swaddling clothes didn’t have a ghost bride, I'd probably be married and have children by now.
I slept until after ten o'clock, and Grandpa woke me up with a start. Rubbing my eyes, I jumped off the kang. Du Xiaolan and Grandma were preparing supper in the kitchen. I was about to open the parasol when Grandpa stopped me and asked what I was up to.
I grinned and said, "Since you won't go with me, maybe I can take Yu Rubing with me. With her around, other spirits won't do anything to me."
Shaking his head, Grandpa said, "You're overthinking it. She can't go with you. She still has many things to do here."
Upon hearing Grandpa's words, I deflated like a balloon. Just as I was pondering, Du Xiaolan's voice came from outside, "Mingyang, come out quickly, dinner's ready."
I hadn't thought Du Xiaolan's voice was so pleasant before, but today, it sounded like heavenly music.
I turned to Grandpa and quickly asked, "You didn't give Du Xiaolan any tasks, did you?"
"No!"
"Then can she come with me?" I asked tentatively.
After thinking for a moment, Grandpa nodded and said helplessly, "Fine, I was actually curious about how brave you are. It seems you wouldn't dare go alone."
I could only smile ingratiatingly; there was no point in arguing.
After dinner, I looked at the time and saw that it was already midnight.
Du Xiaolan had been about to go to bed, but I lied to her, saying that there were many rabbits and hedgehogs in the fields at night. She was overjoyed and insisted that I accompany her to catch some.
Of course, I should have refused several times, but in the end, I readily agreed.
Watching Du Xiaolan walk ahead and behind me, Grandpa couldn't help but give me a thumbs-up.
Carrying a flashlight and a shovel and hoe on my shoulder, we walked towards the graveyard. Along the way, Du Xiaolan asked me why I brought these tools for catching small animals. I smiled and said that these little animals were cunning; catching them wasn’t easy. We had to dig holes and wait for them to fall in.
Du Xiaolan was truly naive and gullible, wholeheartedly believing what I said, and even taking the shovel from my hand, insisting on sharing the work with me.
This girl was really naive. If I sold her now, she might even help me count the money.
After walking for a while and reaching the cemetery, Du Xiaolan nervously huddled next to me and asked uneasily, "Mingyang, didn't you say you wanted to catch small animals? Why did we come here?"
"You don't understand. They like to come out here the most at night," I said, although I also felt uneasy inside.
Even coming here at noon felt eerie, not to mention coming here at midnight.
Looking around, the densely packed and disorderly arranged graves. I took a deep breath to encourage myself, then turned to say, "Follow me."
"But I'm scared," Du Xiaolan said nervously.
"There's nothing to be afraid of here. The people buried here are all from my village, they won't harm us," I reassured her.
"But they are still people from your village, not mine," Du Xiaolan said timidly.
"Don't worry, if they want to harm you, I will stand in front of you," I said, pulling Du Xiaolan's arm and looking around.
Finding ancient graves is not easy, we had already walked to the innermost part. I used a flashlight to look around. When I saw a nearly desolate mound, I stopped.
Du Xiaolan rubbed her arms vigorously and asked, "Mingyang, should we go back? I don't want to stay here anymore, I feel like there are countless eyes watching me."
"How come I don't feel it?" I responded, picking up a shovel and starting to dig.
Du Xiaolan looked around anxiously and asked, "Mingyang, have you heard someone talking?"
"I didn't hear anything," I replied impatiently, handing her the flashlight to help me.
Du Xiaolan shone the flashlight around constantly, still out of breath. At least she didn't run away, which reassured me.
Finally, I dug out the coffin, and Du Xiaolan, who saw it, jumped in shock, "Mingyang, didn't you say you were going to dig a hole to catch small animals? Why did you dig out a coffin?"
"You'll know in a moment." I didn't have time to explain, I had to quickly take the coffin home and give it to my grandpa.
I shoveled for a long time before finally prying out a roughly half-meter-long and twenty-centimeter-wide piece of coffin.
When I took it in my hands, I saw that the body inside the coffin was already decayed into a pile of bones. Wiping off the wet mud, I climbed out of the pit, making Du Xiaolan gag and hastily cover her nose, "Yin Mingyang, you are committing a sin."
"What sin? I am accumulating yin virtue!" I gave her a look, gesturing for her to hurry back.
This eerie place was definitely not where normal people would stay. We both ran out of there, chased by urgency. Just as we were about to reach the edge of the cemetery, a scream stopped us in our tracks.
It sent shivers down my spine, and holding the flashlight in front of me, Du Xiaolan mechanically turned her head towards me. Under the moonlight, her face was extremely pale, "Mingyang, did you hear something just now?"
I swallowed hard and nodded. Just as I was about to speak, the scream came again.
Urgently, I turned my head to where the sound was coming from, behind a new grave, where I could faintly hear someone gasping.
"What should we do?" Du Xiaolan was already in extreme fear, her hair standing on end.
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and whispered to her, "I'll go check, you wait here. If there's any danger, just run back."
Seeing her nod, I turned around and slowly walked towards the new grave.
As I approached, the sound of gasping became clearer. When I reached the new grave, the name on the tombstone startled me.
The person buried in this new grave was called Zhao Xiaocui, and I knew a little about her.
She was only twenty-nine years old, and her husband died in a car accident two years after their marriage. Widows in this village often faced criticism, but whenever I came back, I would exchange greetings with Zhao Xiaocui, and she would always greet me very warmly.
In my impression, Zhao Xiaocui was very healthy. She had only been away from home for a short time, and her sudden death was difficult for me to accept.
But now that I was at the new grave, I felt it was very necessary to see what was behind it.
Carefully, I peered around to the back. In the moonlight, I saw a woman of about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, heavily pregnant, squatting on the ground with her legs spread, panting heavily.
Zhao Xiaocui!
The name flashed through my mind like an electric shock. How could a widow be pregnant?
Before I could even react, she looked up at me, gritted her teeth, and called out, "Mingyang, help me, I'm in so much pain."
Clearly, Zhao Xiaocui was already dead, but because she was pregnant, the child would still be born after her death. I had never done the work of a midwife, and I was a man - I was well aware of the principle that men and women should not get too close.
I turned to the pale-faced Du Xiaolan and waved, saying, "Come here, we need you!"