Actually, I didn't understand myself at all.
I often thought about one question: Who was I?
Was I Jiang Xiaobai, Eccentric Song, Duan Hongbin, or Chu Ge?
I was Jiang Xiaobai. At least, I had always firmly believed that I was Jiang Xiaobai. My father was Jiang Chengyue, and my mother was Chen Fang. My father was a bus driver, my mother was a nurse, and we lived on the fourth floor of Unit Two, Building Number Two, Green Garden Residential Area, Qiao City.
But that wasn't the truth. Green Garden Residential Area was nothing more than an unfinished development. My home wasn't there, yet that place somehow carried nearly ten years of my memories.
And then there was Eccentric Song. Xie Yi was right—he didn't truly exist. But there was one thing Xie Yi got wrong. Eccentric Song wasn't someone I had imagined. At certain times, he was me, and I was him. More often than not, there was no difference between us. Besides him, there were two others: Duan Hongbin and Chu Ge. The four of us were one. We shared glory and disgrace alike.
It was just that Duan Hongbin was too lazy, and Chu Ge was too detached. They rarely showed themselves. But I knew that whenever I needed them, they would always stand by my side.
Xie Yi took me to Second Provincial Hospital. He told me that Uncle Long and Aunt Qin were here. Their condition wasn't good; they had already lost consciousness. In other words, they were what people commonly called vegetables. Xu Qiuyan was here as well.
"Do you know what kind of hospital this is?" Xie Yi, who was walking ahead of me, suddenly turned to look at me.
I nodded. "The best psychiatric hospital in the province."
Xie Yi smiled. His smile was somewhat strange. I knew what he was thinking, and I said coldly, "I don't have multiple personalities. I know my own condition, so don't look at me like that."
The smile on his face deepened. "No mentally ill person would admit that they were mentally ill."
I stopped walking. "What do you want? Are you planning to lock me up here too?"
Xie Yi shrugged. "I'm not that bored. Whether you're mentally ill or not has nothing to do with me. My task is only to investigate what happened at Little Ancestral Hall Entrance ten years ago and, if possible, lend those people a hand. Honestly, although I'm very curious about you, I'm not someone who likes to meddle in other people's affairs. So don't worry. You're safe with me."
I sneered and said nothing more.
Neither of us spoke after that. He took me to the thirteenth floor of the inpatient building. When we exited the elevator, I saw two men in black suits standing by the elevator entrance. Xie Yi nodded at them, but their gazes fell on me.
"Only the three of them are staying on this floor."
I knew the three Xie Yi meant were Uncle Long, Aunt Qin, and Xu Qiuyan.
He took me to Uncle Long's room first.
The person lying on the hospital bed was indeed Uncle Long. He simply looked as though he were sleeping soundly.
Compared to ten years ago, he had barely changed at all. He still looked the same.
"All his vital signs are normal, but he's been sleeping like this and can't wake up." Xie Yi raised an eyebrow as he spoke, then suddenly asked, "Do you believe in ghosts and gods?"
"I do," I answered.
Xie Yi seemed somewhat surprised. "I thought you were an atheist."
"Why?" I asked.
"Most people who study philosophy are atheists."
I laughed. Apparently, he didn't know that philosophy included not only materialism, but idealism as well. Many early philosophical ideas had been idealistic.
But I didn't say much. I didn't think there was any need to explain it to him.
"Since you believe in ghosts and gods, this will be easier. Let me put it this way: when we found him and Qin Yueying, they were already like this. The doctors said they had no idea why they had become vegetables, but in my opinion, they're like this because they've lost their souls."
Xie Yi stared straight at me as he spoke.
"That's right. They really have lost their souls. Their three souls are gone, but their seven spirits remain." A lazy voice sounded by my ear. I turned my head and saw Duan Hongbin slouching against a nearby hospital bed, yawning as he spoke.
"Can they be found?" I asked.
As I spoke, I noticed Xie Yi instinctively glance around. Then his gaze followed mine to the hospital bed beside us. I coughed. "His name is Duan Hongbin. He's one of my closest friends too."
Xie Yi nodded thoughtfully.
Duan Hongbin also glanced at Xie Yi. "What was lost can naturally be found again. But if it wasn't lost on its own and was instead seized and imprisoned by someone, it'll take some effort to get it back."
I looked at Xie Yi. "You heard that, right?"
Xie Yi shook his head with a bitter smile. "What did he say?"
"He said Uncle Long's soul wasn't lost. It was imprisoned by someone."
Surprise appeared on Xie Yi's face. I ignored him and said to Duan Hongbin, "Uncle Long and Aunt Qin were very good to me when I was little."
Duan Hongbin stretched lazily. "I've been lazy long enough. Looks like it's time to get up and loosen my limbs. Oh, ask him whether he's heard of the Soul Guiding Incantation."
Soul Guiding Incantation? What was that?
Though confused, I still asked Xie Yi. When Xie Yi heard me say "Soul Guiding Incantation," his face filled with shock. "How did you know about that?"
I shook my head and looked at Duan Hongbin. Xie Yi immediately understood. Duan Hongbin had said it.
Xie Yi took a deep breath. "I considered using the Soul Guiding Incantation too. Two months ago, I went to the Jiangxi Lu Family, but the Lu family told me that the Soul Guiding Incantation had gone missing. Because of that, Lu Laoda, who was responsible for guarding it, was nearly beaten to death by the old man of the Lu family."
I looked at Duan Hongbin, but his expression remained calm. "I have a way to find that thing, but it'll take some time. Also, I need his help." He pointed at Xie Yi. I relayed his words to Xie Yi, and Xie Yi immediately nodded in agreement. As long as they could find the Soul Guiding Incantation, Uncle Long and the others could be saved.
"Where do we look? How do we find it? What preparations do we need to make?" Xie Yi asked me. How could I possibly answer? I could only look at Duan Hongbin again. Duan Hongbin picked at his ear. "He already knows exactly what to do. He's asking on purpose. Don't bother with him."
After saying that, he vanished.
Xie Yi kept looking at me. He was waiting for my answer.
"He said you already know exactly what to do."
Xie Yi's eyes widened, and he looked toward the hospital bed again. I told him that Duan Hongbin had already left.
"I think I understand now why you were the only one who didn't meet with trouble." Xie Yi sighed as he spoke.
I didn't answer. I walked over to Uncle Long's bed and quietly looked at him. About two minutes later, I said that I wanted to see Xu Qiuyan.
I didn't go to see Aunt Qin. She was probably just like Uncle Long, and there was no point in seeing her. So I asked to see Xu Qiuyan.
When Xie Yi led me to the door of the room at the end of the corridor, I heard a children's song drifting from inside.
"The dark, dark sky hangs low, bright, bright stars shine along, little bugs fly, little bugs fly, who are you missing..."
For some reason, hearing that song made my heart clench. It was her favorite song, and I liked it too. I remembered how, when we were young, I would often beg her to sing it for me. Whenever she sang it, she put her whole heart into it, making anyone who listened feel their eyes grow wet.
At that moment, my eyes stung too. Ten years had passed, yet that feeling had never changed.
I reached out and gently pushed open the door to the room.
She had grown into a young woman. She had always been beautiful, but now she was even more so. Even in a hospital gown, she couldn't conceal her graceful figure. She was singing as she danced.
She sang beautifully, and she danced beautifully too. She was so absorbed that she hadn't even noticed Xie Yi and me arrive.
I stopped and stood there quietly, admiring her singing and her dancing. The scene was so beautiful that I couldn't bear to disrupt it.
I softly hummed along.
"Little bugs fly, flowers sleep, a pair together is most beautiful. I'm not afraid of the dark, only of a broken heart. Whether tired or not, no matter how far apart we are."
Perhaps my singing startled her, or perhaps the song had ended and she emerged from the music and dance. She stopped and stood where she was, looking at me. Her gaze was still as clear as ever. Those eyes seemed familiar.
"Xiaobai!" A smile appeared on Xu Qiuyan's face, and she rushed toward me. I didn't dodge. Instead, I embraced her.
Only after a few seconds did we separate. She actually seemed a little embarrassed, her face flushed as she lowered her head.
"You can still recognize me." Ten years had passed. I no longer looked the way I once had.
She nodded. "I've seen what you look like now."
"Oh?" Her words surprised me.
"Yes. I've dreamed about you several times. You looked exactly like this now."
Before you continue