Speaking to Ghosts

The alluring figure drew closer, leaning in before Su Mo as though gazing into his eyes.

Su Mo still could not make her out, but she was far too close, making the strange feeling rising in his heart unbearably intense.

And what she said left Su Mo frozen on the spot.

Meet these wronged souls?

"I don't..." Before Su Mo could finish, she cut him off.

"Want to? All right... then I'll let you meet them! Aren't I merciful? They were lucky to die here with me... their souls haven't dispersed."

"But I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it... so let's start with just a few!"

As her words fell, the red mist before Su Mo dispersed, becoming a pitch-black world.

Within that utter darkness, the same eerie figure remained, only now she stood beside him.

"Look over there!" The eerie woman beside him pointed ahead, speaking playfully.

Su Mo's gaze unconsciously followed the direction she indicated.

In the darkness, a translucent person slowly sat up from the ground, bewildered.

The hazy figure gradually grew solid, taking on a human form.

It was an old woman!

Hunchbacked and stooped, the old woman shakily rose to her feet.

She looked around in confusion. All she could see was a pitch-black world, and she began to grow frightened and uneasy.

"Where is this?"

The old woman could not help asking, but no one could answer her...

Wrinkles covered her pallid face. She strained to open her eyes, yet could barely make out anything around her.

In that pitch-black world, the old woman was all alone.

She reached out for her familiar walking stick to support her aged body, which could scarcely move... but in the boundless darkness, there was only emptiness!

"Where... is this?"

The old woman asked again, her voice trembling with fear.

With shaking hands, she slowly lowered herself onto the ground, feeling around with both palms.

Her sluggish movements seemed to be searching for something to grasp... anything at all.

In that boundless darkness, loneliness and fear relentlessly assailed her mind.

"Old man... old man... where are you?" the old woman called, frightened and helpless.

"I can't see anything!" she said.

"Have I gone blind?" The old woman was beside herself with worry. "If I've gone blind, how am I supposed to look after you?"

"Old man... old man..."

The "old man" she kept calling seemed to have become her sole support. Even though no one answered, it was as though, so long as she kept calling, there would still be hope of a reply.

She did not know that all she had long since become was a departed soul...

She knew only that her "old man" at home still needed her care, even if she herself could barely move.

Two old people with one foot in the grave were still companions to each other...

Sadly, they could no longer stay together through their white-haired years!

"Old man... old man..."

The old woman's lonely, helpless voice echoed endlessly through the boundless darkness...

Every echoing call was filled with unease and fear...

A thunderous blow struck Su Mo's mind... he remembered his grandmother from his previous life. Before she passed away, he had still been immature enough to argue with her. That argument had become a pain he could never banish from his heart.

At that moment, the guilt and the debt he felt seemed to return in an utterly cruel way!

Su Mo stepped forward, wanting to reach out and take the old woman's trembling hands, which were like withered wood... yet those mere two steps seemed to span two separate worlds.

He could not cross over... could not touch her...

Su Mo sat blankly on the ground, his expression conflicted...

As he silently watched the frightened old woman lying on the ground, an unusual aura emerged from him.

That aura was shadowy and eerie... as though it led straight to the netherworld.

"Grandma!" Looking at the frightened, helpless old woman on the ground, Su Mo tried calling softly.

The old woman could not hear Su Mo's call. She merely curled up, trembling, her heart filled with fear of the boundless darkness.

Just then, the eerie woman's voice sounded beside Su Mo's ear, asking with keen interest, "You want to speak to her?"

"Unfortunately, the living and the dead walk different paths. She can't hear you..."

A figure appeared in the endless darkness, floating just ahead of Su Mo, and said languidly, "She's even forgotten she died long ago! Oh, it's normal for a departed soul her age to have such a scattered memory."

"Let me say a few words to her... I know you can do it. If you can let me see her, you can certainly let me speak to her!"

Su Mo spoke in a low voice.

"Oh? But... why should I help you?" The eerie woman seemed intent on teasing Su Mo.

"Unless... you beg me!"

Su Mo remained silent, glancing at the old woman's frightened, restless soul.

"...Let me say a few words to her!" Su Mo said after a long while.

When he spoke, he simply repeated that same sentence.

He had a way to make the old woman feel less afraid!

The shadow in the darkness paused.

How could she fail to see what Su Mo was thinking? How many years had it been since she had seen someone so simplehearted he seemed an idiot?

The eerie figure waved her hand, and Su Mo instantly felt a faint connection form between himself and the old woman's soul.

"Grandma!"

Su Mo tried calling again.

Hearing him, the old woman immediately raised her head, as though she had found something to hold on to. "Who's speaking?"

"It's me. I'm here!" Su Mo said softly, afraid of startling her.

The old woman strained to open her eyes wider, trying to see something in the boundless darkness, but she could see nothing. All she could hear was a kindly voice.

"Who are you? Old Wang's little grandson from next door?" she asked.

With reddened eyes, Su Mo smiled. "Yes, I'm Old Wang's little grandson!"

"Good, good, good... that's good..." The old woman seemed to have found a bright lamp in the endless night. "Where is this? Why can't I see anything? Where's my old man?"

The old woman asked many questions in succession.

Su Mo sat on the ground with his head tilted up, his lowered eyes full of heartache. "You're in your own home. It's dark, and Grandpa has fallen asleep, so I haven't turned on the light. I'm afraid of waking him. You should get some rest too. Once daylight comes tomorrow, everything will be all right..."

"Oh, I'm in my own home!" The old woman felt a little muddleheaded. "When you get old, your eyesight fails! You can't see at night..."

"That's right, it's nighttime... get some rest!" Su Mo said gently. "Once daylight comes tomorrow, I'll come see you again!"

"All right... all right... I'll rest, then!"

The old woman murmured, but she had calmed down. "When you get old... your mind fails too... I've troubled you in the middle of the night!"

"It's no trouble. Just get some rest," Su Mo said softly.

"All right... all right... it's time to rest! First thing tomorrow... once daylight comes... Grandma will cook dumplings for you!" Curled up on the ground, the old woman gradually fell asleep.

Su Mo murmured softly.

"All right... first thing tomorrow, once daylight comes... I'll come back for those dumplings!"

Darkness swept in, and the old woman disappeared...

The alluring, eerie figure beside him watched this scene, briefly lost in thought.

She gently waved her hand, and another hazy figure appeared in the darkness nearby.

The figure gradually solidified, becoming a woman holding a swaddled infant...

At the sight of her, Su Mo shuddered!

The woman held her baby, gently rocking the swaddling bundle...

Her clothes were ragged, her body battered all over!

Su Mo slowly rose and walked over to her.

This was the very woman who had died tragically in the street two nights ago... she was the reason Su Mo had set foot here...

As though sensing something, the woman slowly raised her head and saw that youthful face, both familiar and unfamiliar to her.

The white robe was gone. He was dressed in black instead.

Only his neatly tied hair remained the same...

"Why were you so foolish..." Even ghosts could shed tears...

She assumed Su Mo had lost his life too!

Su Mo smiled calmly. "I couldn't let it rest. I couldn't wait any longer... so I wanted to come and see..."

"You... why were you so foolish!" the woman repeated over and over. "What did it have to do with you... what did it have to do with you..."

"I just wanted to come and see..." Su Mo said with a smile.

"Fool... fool..." The woman lowered her head and sobbed. "I brought you to harm in the end... I still brought you to harm..."

"You haven't harmed me, and I'm not dead..." Su Mo said.

"Why must you deceive... why must you... deceive me again?" The woman bowed her head, her shoulders shaking. "To think that in this vast world, there's someone like you."

"I don't know whether that's this world's tragedy or yours..."

Su Mo shook his head.

"I'm not deceiving you. I truly haven't died!"

"It's just... in the end, I still couldn't do anything to help you!"

The woman raised her head, a crimson glow reflected in her eyes. "The world is like this. It isn't your fault."

"If you truly aren't dead, if you cannot let this rest..."

"Then stop doing these impulsive, foolish things. Preserve your life so you can do something useful, and give this world a clear sky beneath which justice shines!"

"All right!"

Su Mo agreed.

"Then..." The woman smiled, looking deeply at Su Mo as though she wanted to carve his likeness into her soul.

Darkness swept in, and the woman gradually faded away.

"...That is enough..." Her words faded with her.

The pitch-black world became cold, empty, and quiet once more...

Beside him, the eerie figure tilted her head, studying Su Mo curiously, saying nothing for a long time...

Only after a long while did she speak.

"Want to see more?" Her voice had actually softened a little.

Su Mo turned his head...

"Yes..."