Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 23 Letting Go
Qianqian appeared somewhat dazed, as if she didn't recognize Wang Qingshan at all. She completely ignored him and instead felt frightened by Wang Qingshan's flushed face and angry demeanor, instinctively moving closer to Duan Yang.
At that moment, Duan Yang spoke up, saying, "Uncle, I was the one who brought Qianqian here."
Hearing this, Wang Qingshan no longer feared Duan Yang. Perhaps it was his love for his daughter that drove him to rush over and grab Duan Yang by the collar, shouting, "Why did you bring her here? Why are you tormenting my daughter? Why?"
Duan Yang was momentarily stunned by Wang Qingshan's outburst, appearing flustered and unsure of how to respond.
Seeing Duan Yang's reaction, I suddenly realized that this Duan Yang seemed completely unlike an Evil Spirit. How could he be afraid of Wang Qingshan's anger? This situation felt very unusual to me.
At this point, Wang Qingshan questioned Duan Yang again. When he saw that Duan Yang didn't answer, he slowly released his grip on Duan Yang's collar and then suddenly knelt down on the ground in front of Duan Yang. A big man began to cry uncontrollably, clutching at Duan Yang's legs and pleading for him to spare his daughter’s life and leave them a way out.
You can imagine how pitiful and desolate it must have been to see a man in his fifties, helpless and terrified of losing his daughter, kneeling before a Young Man—the very person whose life he was begging for mercy for his daughter.
Duan Yang panicked and tried to pull Wang Qingshan up, but at that moment, Wang Qingshan was willing to give up his own life just to plead for mercy for his daughter.
Witnessing this scene, Duan Yang suddenly became agitated and emotional. He shouted, "Why? Why won't you let me be with Qianqian? Is it really such a mistake for us to be together? Can’t I make Qianqian happy? Why do you all want to tear us apart?"
This left me stunned, so I replied, "It's not that we want to deliberately break you apart; it's just that you two are not mutually in love. Qianqian doesn't even want to be with you anymore; why do you still insist?"
Upon hearing my words, Duan Yang became even more agitated and yelled, "No! You're lying. Qianqian likes me; I like Qianqian! If not, just ask her—she definitely likes me!" As he said this, he pulled Qianqian over and asked her if she liked him. Although Qianqian had ignored Wang Qingshan before, she nodded when Duan Yang asked her.
Seeing Qianqian nodding made Wang Qingshan jump up from the ground in desperation, crying out to her about what was happening. However, Qianqian completely ignored him.
At this moment, Duan Yang pointed directly at me and shouted angrily, "You! It's you! Why do you have to break us apart as soon as you arrive? My parents said you came to take me away with you. I don't want to leave; I don't want to be without Qianqian! But they insist on making me go..." As he spoke, Duan Yang broke down in tears, clearly having experienced the pain of separation from his parents before.
Hearing these words helped me understand some things. Although Duan Yang didn't say it outright, I realized that his parents had left. The person I saw watching us from the window earlier must have been Duan Yang's parents. They likely recognized that I was a Yin-Yang master and were afraid of any harm I might bring them; hence they hurriedly fled. They probably intended to take Duan Yang with them but he couldn't bear to leave Qianqian behind and chose to stay instead. This also explained why we hadn't seen Duan Yang's parents but only him.
I understood that Duan Yang should also be like his parents—a Paper Figurine yet to find its Paper Figurine counterpart—hence he had a physical body unlike Qianqian's ethereal soul. Even though I knew his identity, I suddenly felt sympathy for him and even a touch of emotion within myself.
Yes, for the person he loves, he gave up being with his parents and chose to stay. I think when his parents asked him to leave together before, they must have told him that staying could lead to losing his life. Yet, he ultimately stayed and even returned to the Villa. One must ask, in the face of such genuine feelings, who could remain unmoved? Even if this person before me is a malevolent being, I cannot harbor any thoughts of wanting to end its life.
I think if they were both alive, I would even advise Wang Qingshan to let them be together. But fate plays tricks; Duan Yang is not human. No matter how touching this love may be, I still have to separate them. Because the living Qianqian, upon discovering that Duan Yang is dead, would not want to marry him; their being together is a mistake!
I sighed and said, "Duan Yang, you say you love Qianqian. Don't you want her to live safely and happily in this world? Sometimes, love doesn't necessarily mean possession."
"Of course I want Qianqian to be safe and happy! I can give her all of that, which is why I want to be with her," Duan Yang replied anxiously.
"But you are separated by life and death; don't you realize that? Qianqian's life is in danger now; she only has one breath left, and this is all your doing!" As someone who feels deeply, I couldn't bring myself to harm him, so I tried reasoning with him.
"What separation of yin and yang? What danger to Qianqian's life? What are you talking about? Isn't Qianqian fine?" Duan Yang looked utterly confused.
Seeing him like this made me curious. Did he really not know he was dead? With this thought in mind, I directly told him, "You are dead; don't you know? And Qianqian is alive. You called her soul out; do you think that's love? She's only in her twenties! Because of your selfishness, you are forcing her to end such a young life. Isn't that too cruel? As the saying goes, humans have their path and ghosts have their Ghost Path; humans and ghosts are on different paths. What should be let go should ultimately be let go."
"No! I'm fine! I'm alive! I'm human..." At this point, Duan Yang suddenly went mad, completely unable to accept the fact that he was dead.
He roared for a while but gradually calmed down and then slumped down on the ground, muttering that he wasn't dead and that he was human.
It seemed he truly didn't know he was dead. I sighed and told him not to deceive himself anymore; he was indeed dead. His parents were also dead; he should accept reality. If he still didn't believe it, he could come with us to the Royal Family and see Qianqian on the bed. Then he would understand that what was beside him was just the soul he had called out.
Duan Yang stared blankly for a while and finally agreed to my suggestion to return with us to the Royal Family to see if what I said was true. So we took Duan Yang and Qianqian's soul back to the Royal Family!
When we returned to Wang Qingshan's house again, it was already midnight. We entered the house and went straight to Qianqian's room. When Duan Yang saw Qianqian lying motionless on the bed without any color in her face, he finally froze in shock, panic written all over his face. He kept looking at Qianqian on the bed and then at Qianqian's soul beside him, speechless for a long time...
I pointed at Qianqian on the bed and said to Duan Yang, "Look, she's right here. But because of you, if you continue this way, it won't be long before she can no longer live."
Duan Yang trembled all over; I couldn't tell what he was thinking at that moment. After a while, he slowly pushed Qianqian's soul toward the bed, and then the soul directly entered Qianqian's body.
I thought he had come to his senses; I thought it was time for him to leave. But instead of leaving, he quietly stood at the bedside, silently watching Qianqian on the bed.
After a long while, he touched Qianqian and called out a few times. At that moment, Qianqian woke up from his call, slowly opening her eyes and staring blankly at us. When she saw Duan Yang, she suddenly felt a bit scared.
Duan Yang said, "You don't need to be afraid; I won't harm you. I just want to ask you: do you remember when we first met? How we fell in love at first sight? Do you remember our time together? You once said we would be together for a lifetime; do you remember?"
Qianqian heard Duan Yang say these words and suddenly started crying, silently nodding her head, saying she remembered and would never forget the days spent together.
Duan Yang said, "Qianqian, don't cry. As long as you remember, that's enough. I just want to ask you, I am a dead person; would you still be willing to marry me? If you are willing, no matter who tries to stop me today, I will risk my life to take you away. If you do not want to be with me, I will not bother you anymore. I will leave immediately and let you live the life you desire."
Hearing this from him, Qianqian cried even harder. But I knew that at this moment, it was useless for me to say anything to Wang Qingshan. As long as Qianqian truly wanted to go with him, I might not stop her anymore because they were both willing. The Ghost Marriage contract was something I could not intentionally interfere with.
Qianqian cried for a long time, and Wang Qingshan also shed tears, fearing that Daughter would leave him and unable to bear such a life-and-death separation. Finally, Qianqian wiped her tears and turned to Duan Yang, saying, "I still love you, but I cannot go with you because I have my concerns. I have parents; I cannot abandon them because I am their everything."
By the end of her words, Qianqian was already in tears, feeling reluctant about love and also about her parents.
Duan Yang did not speak; he slowly walked out of the room. Qianqian called out to him several times. He turned back and simply smiled at Qianqian, then turned and left the room...
Not long after, a sudden thunderclap echoed outside, and we were momentarily stunned. Suddenly, I realized something: Duan Yang was the Paper King, and now that he was not hiding in the paper coffin, it was easy for him to attract heavenly lightning because the Paper King is indeed a being of extreme yin and malevolence.
Immediately, Qianqian rolled off the bed and rushed outside, and I hurriedly followed her. What we saw next was a charred black Corpse, still emitting smoke from the burns...
That night, Qianqian did not return to her room; she just threw herself onto the charred Corpse and cried all night long until her parents persuaded her to return home in a daze.
What remained was dealing with the aftermath. I chose a good Feng Shui plot for Duan Yang and buried him there. In fact, for someone like him who had been struck by lightning and whose soul had scattered, there was no need for a good Feng Shui plot. However, I chose this particular spot not for any other reason but so that he could let go...
As they say, souls return to souls, earth returns to earth; whether human or ghost, everything is just a dream. Perhaps being too attached can also be a kind of pain!
Comment 0 Comment Count