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"May I find a soulmate, never to part until we grow old!"
By the Luoyang River, amidst the reeds, Li Nan gently held Safflower in his embrace.
"What if one day Safflower leaves first?"
Safflower shyly asked, feeling her entire body stiffen.
"If you leave first, I will not live alone. On the Yellow Springs Road, by the Naihe Bridge, I will accompany you!"
"Really?"
Safflower looked up into Li Nan's eyes and seemed to see no hesitation in them.
"Of course it's true! I, Li Nan, live this life for you, Safflower. If you leave first and leave me alone in this world, what meaning would that have?" Li Nan held Safflower's hand, placing it against his lips and gently kissing it. "Safflower, I, Li Nan, swear here that what I say today is from the bottom of my heart. If I go back on my word in the future, may I be struck by lightning!"
"No need for lightning. If you really forget in the future, I'll just assume I misjudged you."
"No! If there comes a day I forget, you must return from the Underworld and take my soul with you."
...
The past echoed in his ears, and the scenes of their vows vividly surfaced in Li Nan's mind.
Li Nan looked at Safflower's slightly upturned lips and the cold glimmer in her eyes, finally realizing that she was here to take his soul back to the Underworld just as he had once promised.
"Safflower! I'm sorry!" Li Nan closed his eyes slightly, his lips trembling. "I beg you... for the sake of our past feelings, spare me... please let me go?"
"Li Xiu Xian, what’s wrong with you? Don't just kneel on the cold ground! Even if you don't want to get up, your old mother should hurry and help you up!"
Li Mao gently patted Li Nan on the back.
In an instant, Li Nan felt the chill that had enveloped him dissipate, and his previously cold and stiff hands gradually regained sensation. He opened his eyes, and the face of Safflower was no longer in front of him. It seemed that something had changed in his injured eye.
Under Li Mao's urging, he had no time to think about anything else and struggled to get up from the ground. With Li Mao's assistance, he carried Mother into a private room at Xing's establishment.
Xing Ruyi was sitting by the stove, holding a bowl of porridge and eating. A fox was playing chess with Yin Yuan nearby, creating a warm and cheerful atmosphere that made Li Nan feel uneasy as he entered.
"Shopkeeper, this is Li Nan, and this is Li Xiu Xian. This is Li Xiu Xian's Mother. According to Li Xiu Xian, his Mother suddenly fell ill at home, so we came seeking medical help. If you have finished your porridge, please assist us."
"Oh, so it's Li Xiu Xian! We met at Sister Si's Family Tavern; do you remember?"
As Xing Ruyi spoke, she continued to eat her porridge without any delay.
"So it's Ruyi? Aren't you the head Shopkeeper of the Tavern?"
"Sort of, but this Xing is my real establishment!" Xing Ruyi handed the bowl to Li Mao. "Take this to Deer Lady; I've finished my porridge. The snacks can wait until later. Hmm, why is Li Xiu Xian and Madam Li all wet? Did they fall into water or get caught in the rain? Let's have Deer Lady make a bowl of ginger soup!"
"Thank you, Ruyi!"
Li Nan stammered a response.
"I just heard from my Clerk that your Mother is ill. If she is sick, why let her wear such wet clothes? Does Li Xiu Xian's family not have clean clothes for your Mother to change into?"
"Miss, you may not know this, but her clothes were changed before we left home. I don't know why they ended up wet again." As Li Nan recalled the situation with Safflower earlier, a chill ran through him, but he refrained from mentioning the word Haunted.
"May I take a look?"
"Of course! We came tonight hoping you could help us figure out what illness my mother has. She has not only been in a deep sleep but also seems to be sweating profusely."
"This symptom is indeed a bit strange. To be honest, the Fox Demon is something I have never heard of or seen before," Xing Ruyi said as she lifted Li Nan's Mother's eyelid. "I wonder if Li Xiu Xian has ever given Madam Li that Red Flower Wine. From the way the lady looks, it seems like cold energy has invaded her, and her mind is disturbed."
"When the young lady sent the Medicinal Wine, I wasn't home. When I returned, I found the Medicinal Wine placed at the door, with a design from Four Niang's Tavern on it, along with instructions for daily consumption. Since it was from Sister Si's Family and personally prepared by you, Ruyi, I naturally didn't hesitate and delivered it to Mother's room that very day. However, I haven't had the chance to ask Mother if she has taken the Medicinal Wine."
"Madam Li has been possessed; her soul has been drawn into a dream," Xing Ruyi stated, putting down her hand after checking the pulse. "This matter may sound a bit mystical; Li Xiu Xian is a scholar and might not believe such claims. But if the lady drank our Red Flower Wine before sleeping, she wouldn't be in such a deep slumber now."
"What do you mean, young lady?"
"I mean exactly what I said!" Xing Ruyi replied as she walked over to the fox and Yin Yuan, glanced at the chessboard, and pointed to a piece in the center, saying to Yin Yuan: "You lost; your Father Fox won!"
Without looking up, Yin Yuan responded, "We haven't reached a dead end yet; how can Mother think that Son has lost?"
"Losing means losing; the deadlock is set. Struggling is futile. It would be better to scatter all the pieces on this board and start anew. Perhaps before dawn, you might win a game."
"Son doesn't believe it!" Yin Yuan insisted stubbornly as he made another move.
The Black Piece landed, confirming total defeat!
Xing Ruyi smiled slightly and pointed at the chessboard while addressing Li Nan: "In fact, life is like this chess game; every step taken before is calculated for the final outcome. During the game, you might think that one or two wrong moves are insignificant, but little do you know that this game has recorded everything about you."
"I'm feeling frustrated; I don't quite understand what White Maiden means by this."
"You actually do understand!" Xing Ruyi pointed at Li Nan: "When I first mentioned that your Mother was possessed and her soul was drawn into a dream, there was clearly a hint of fear in your eyes. You know very well why your Mother is in this state."
"My mother can be a bit impatient and strict with others, but fundamentally she is not a bad person and hasn't done anything truly evil. So I don't understand why she would be entangled by a demon."
"You understand; you just don't want to admit it because you are also an accomplice in what your mother has done," Xing Ruyi said as she held onto Li Nan's hand and pressed it against his mother's cold forehead. "I have found the cause of your mother's illness, but whether we can save her depends on you as her son. Remember, once you go in, you will see what your mother is experiencing. Don't hesitate; just bring her out."
"Bring her out? To where?"
Li Nan felt his arm growing colder, as if something was pulling at his body, dragging him towards a specific place. He was terrified and struggled desperately, but it was as if he had been pinned down by someone, unable to move at all.
"When the time comes, I will light a lamp. After you find your mother, don’t ask anything, just run towards the direction of the light. Remember, you must not look back while running."
"What if I look back?"
"If you look back, you will remain in the dream and never be able to escape."
As Xing Ruyi's words fell, Li Nan felt himself being sucked into a black hole. The silence around him was terrifying; there were no sounds and no sense of temperature. He didn't know how long it had been when a glimmer of light finally appeared in his eyes. As the light grew brighter and larger, he could see clearly that it was his own yard, and he was standing under the eaves.
He saw Safflower kneeling in the yard, cold rain falling on her frail body. Beside her lay a bun, one that had been nibbled on and was hard and yellowed.
He had seen this scene before, but at that time he wasn't standing under the eaves; he was sitting in the bedroom. What was he doing then? Was he reading? No! He was watching Safflower through the window. Did he feel heartbroken? No! Instead, he felt some resentment towards her for not listening to their mother’s words and foolishly sneaking into the kitchen to steal a bun. If this got out, it wouldn’t matter what others said about his mother; they would criticize him for being unable to manage his wife and would blame him for mistreating her.
Such remarks might not matter to others, but they would affect his reputation as a scholar. So when Safflower looked up at him with pleading eyes, he merely coldly closed the door and window. Later on, Safflower fainted and was diagnosed by a visiting doctor as being pregnant. And him? He felt no joy at becoming a father; instead, he thought about how Safflower wouldn’t be able to work for some time. Without her working, there would be no money at home. Without money, where would his ink and paper come from? How would he afford meals and tea while discussing knowledge with other students in the city?
Thinking of this made Li Nan feel a pang of guilt. He stared blankly at Safflower kneeling there and stepped out from under the eaves.
"Safflower!"
He called out cautiously, fearing to see a ghostly face.
Safflower, kneeling in the yard, heard his voice and slowly raised her head. It wasn’t Safflower’s face; it was one lined with wrinkles, looking somewhat sharp-tongued and even ugly.
Li Nan felt disgusted but couldn’t help but call out that word: "Mother?"
"Nan... Nan'er? Help... save your mother!"
"Why are you kneeling on the ground?"
"It's all your mother's fault. She shouldn't have stolen the offerings meant for your father and grandmother, so they came to punish her!"
"My father's and grandmother's offerings?" Li Nan lowered his head and realized that what had rolled aside was not a steamed bun, but an apple that had been bitten into several times.
"Not Safflower?"
"Safflower? No! Not Safflower!" Li Nan's Mother trembled as she spoke. "Nan'er, when I was kneeling on the ground just now, I thought of many things. It’s my fault, and I also owe Safflower an apology. I never imagined that kneeling on the ground while being beaten by the cold rain would feel this unbearable, this torturous!"
"What good is that now?" Li Nan helped his mother to her feet. "Come on! I'll take you out!"
"Out? Where to? This is our home, Nan'er!" Li Nan's Mother shook her head vigorously. "I won't leave; this is my home. If anyone should leave, it should be your deadbeat father and your dead grandmother!"
As soon as Li Nan's Mother's words fell, a cane struck heavily on the ground.
"Mother!" Li Nan gasped in shock and then widened his remaining half-open eye. Through that half-open eye, he saw his grandmother, the one who had passed away years ago.
At that moment, she stood before him wearing a cheap funeral garment, her face pale and ghostly. Her slightly squinted eyes emitted a chilling light.
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