Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The Underworld: How to Return Yang

The story of sixty years ago is over, and the new ghost sixty years later is still thirsty. Wuyan walks with the old ghost on the bank of Huangquan, and sees many shirtless men on the other bank—maybe they can’t be counted as men, because their gender is already very unclear, they are all skinny and hairless, and they are all skinny and hairless. Hold it with iron tongs, put it on the fire and fry it repeatedly, fry the front side and the back side, meticulously, and make a "sizzling" sound. ——It is said that only fried little ghosts can be reborn and reincarnated. Those fried ghosts, as if they themselves have been fried, are so dry that there is not a single piece of meat left, only a layer of skin wrapped around countless ribs, even the layer of skin is not sure, more like a piece of cloth.Flesh and blood are the memories of the previous life, with meanings of joy, anger, sorrow, and joy. Only when they are cleaned, can they be a refreshing ghost, and they can be deacons and errands without any worries.

Wuyan asked the old ghost: "Why are there only little ghosts everywhere? Where is the king of hell? Where is the king of hell?" Erlang smiled: "People in the world say that when you die, you go to 'see the King of Hades'. Don't you know how many little ghosts can see the King of Hades? Isn't it just a matter of going to hell for nothing, suffering some suffering from reincarnation, and rushing away again It’s better to be reincarnated as a human, a pig, a dog, or a pig. If you want to see the king of hell, you have to practice and have that blessing. I have been in hell for more than 60 years, and I have only seen two sides of the king of hell. People are divided into three religions, and ghosts are the same. The underworld is the continuation of the underworld, and all living beings are not equal. The ghosts are not divided into classes. There are old ghosts and new ghosts, those who can be ghosts and those who can’t be ghosts. For example, I am an old ghost among old ghosts. Ghosts are well-versed and understand the principles of being a ghost; and you, a new ghost, don’t understand anything and don’t guard against anything, so don’t you suffer when you barge in so recklessly and ignorantly?”

"There are so many rules for being a ghost?" Wuyan frowned, "I was not good at being a human being when I was alive, and I probably wouldn't know how to be a ghost after I died. It's whatever. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid I won't be able to survive?" The old ghost laughed even more disdainfully: "Don't say anything bold, if you don't believe me, I will show you around and see if you are still so free from restrictions." Wuyan was a little frightened. Although she had never been to hell, she had heard a lot about those legends about cutting out her nose and cutting out her tongue. She had seen fried ghosts just now, and she might not have the guts to endure even more horrific scenes.I have been blind for more than twenty years, and finally I can see, but I don't want to open my eyes only to see some green-faced fangs and blood flying everywhere, so she perfunctorily said: "I will drink a bowl of Mengpo soup first, and then I will visit with you." .”

"You can't drink Mengpo's soup." Erlang stopped drinking. "Can't I drink Mengpo soup?" Wuyan was thirsty and anxious, "I'm very thirsty, I'm really thirsty. If you don't let me drink Mengpo soup, what should I drink?" "Drinking Mengpo soup, you will forget everything. All the memories about your life, all the love and hatred will disappear. Yes, you can go to reincarnation, you can go through reincarnation, reincarnation, but you are no longer Zhong. Wuyan, your past will become meaningless, and your death will also become worthless."

"My death is worthless in the first place. Maybe forgetting is the best choice. From then on, I will no longer suffer and despair, and I don't have to wait any longer." Feeling sympathy, but also a little self-ashamed curiosity, "You have waited here for sixty years without being reincarnated or drinking water, isn't that very lonely?" "No, how can I be lonely. I am very busy." The old ghost said seriously, "I have to be busy studying and thinking. I am very busy." "Study? Is there a university in the underworld? Is there any department that will award you a hell diploma? Or is it that the kid also relies on the diploma to find a job?"

"Of course ghosts have jobs." The old ghost was quite dissatisfied with Wuyan's smirking attitude, and said more seriously, "But ghosts don't need a diploma—what is a diploma?" "A diploma is proof of academic qualifications." "What is education?" Wuyan remembered at this time that this was a ghost that died sixty years ago, and he was an actor ghost. In his circle of life, there was probably no concept of academic qualifications and diplomas.So she explained succinctly: "Educational qualifications are your education level. Whether you went to elementary school, middle school, or university, you had foreign students at that time, that is, people who went abroad to study. That is their academic qualifications. When they come back from abroad, they always To mix up a diploma to show their academic performance."

The old ghost seemed to understand a little bit.He raised his head and looked into the distance, thoughtfully.Then, he said: "Your grandfather is a person with a degree. He has studied abroad, so he must have a diploma." Wuyan didn't want him to think of sad things, and interrupted him: "Then there are no schools in the underworld, and there are no degree holders. What are you studying?" "Learn about hell and think about death." The old ghost answered inscrutablely. Wuyan was a little dumbfounded by his overly serious attitude: "Then what did you think about?"

"About death, I think that death is actually a way. The way a person dies represents his way of living. In other words, the way a person lives determines his way of dying." Wuyan gradually put away her smile and began to think: "Then how do you think my death is? What does it mean?" "You? Your death is an illusion: it appears to be an accident, but it is actually suicide." "No, I didn't think about suicide..." "Maybe you didn't think so at the time, but your subconscious mind chose to do this. Your heart longs for destruction, destroying the world by destroying yourself, and refusing what you don't want to face. This is a kind of suicide—it's you The way you die is the way you live."

Wuyan felt his heart pounding like a heavy hammer.Is that right?What the old ghost said hit her heart, something she refused to admit to herself. "Falling in love with your back again and again, meeting again and again in dreams, even turning around, I can't forget that you are the farthest star in the sky." She can't get Lingzheng, can't wait for Lingzheng, but can't forget Lingzheng Righteousness, so I deceive myself and others, so I sit on the sidelines and wait for a rabbit, so I bind myself in a cocoon. "Who's love has never shed tears, whose infatuation will not be sad, if you call out your name loudly, will the erratic clouds fly away..."

suicide.It turned out that her death was a kind of suicide.She didn't want to see Ling Zheng and Rachel together, she didn't want to face her own failure and despair, she called out his name loudly, startled the drifting clouds in the sky, so she avoided this fact with death, Her death was actually a kind of suicide! Old Gui Erlang saw that his words had worked, and became more persuasive: "After drinking Mengpo soup, you can no longer desire and suffer; but if you don't drink Mengpo soup, you can have a soul." "Soul?" Wuyan frowned, "According to the knowledge learned in textbooks, the soul is a kind of idealism, but it doesn't actually exist."

"Doesn't exist? Then what are we?" Erlang sneered at the knowledge in the textbook, and then continued to talk, "If there is no soul, a person is nothingness during life, and nothingness after death. Life is a small segment of entity in two periods of nothingness." , can only be nothingness—then what is the meaning of life?” "But it's just a subjective opinion, right? No one has really seen the soul. It's not as visible and palpable as the body, but just an imagination." "Does nothing exist if you haven't seen it?" The old ghost laughed, "Zhong Wuyan, you couldn't see anything when you were alive, but you believed everything others told you; now you finally open your eyes and see To hell and ghosts, and you say they're fiction." "But there are only you and me here, maybe you and I are just a dream, a fiction, because you and I have not been scientifically verified. There is no scientific theory that admits our objective existence, so this is still a subjective idea , is that so?" Wuyan debated with the old ghost.She had always been a fluent eloquent during her lifetime. She had participated in many national college student debate competitions and had few opponents. She never thought that she would meet one in hell. The old ghost has been wandering the underworld for sixty years, understanding the mystery of life and death, and discussing the study of souls. He is really eloquent and eloquent, and the techniques he uses are completely tuned to college students' debate competitions, full of questions and rhetorical questions, and a lot of questions. Magnificent parallel sentence: "What is character? What is thought? What is emotion? These are things that cannot be touched but exist objectively. Then why is the soul not objective but subjective? Reason cannot control emotion, and behavior cannot exclude memory. Orders can’t prohibit desires, why? Soul! Because people have souls, body and soul before death, and souls are free after death. Death does not mean disappearance, just like life does not completely represent existence.” "If your statement is true, you are a human being in life and a ghost after death, the world cannot be cycled, and life and death cannot be replaced. Then, isn't the human world full of these invisible souls?" "Not necessarily. Some people didn't have independent souls during their lifetime, and they had to die with their souls after death. Their souls are not enough to exist without their bodies." The time limit is the same, and the soul is the same, and it is not immortal. People have a lifespan, ghosts have strengths and weaknesses, and most of them can't last long. But my longing and desire are too strong, and they make my soul last for sixty years. Years, already very tired. And I will continue to support until the end comes." Wuyan was a little silent, waiting for sixty years, just for an answer of love.And love and death, aren't they the same nothingness?Maybe what Erlang said is right, not being invisible doesn't mean it doesn't exist.In a sense, ghosts are the same thing as love. You can't see it, but as long as you believe it, it exists.Wuyan smiled wryly in her heart, no wonder people say "marriage is like a tomb". "Now, do you still want to drink Mengpo soup?" Old Ghost Erlang asked, "Most people would rather sell their souls for a bowl of Mengpo soup. But you, you are Zhong Wuyan, you have such a strong love Hehen, do you really want to forget everything?" "Or, I shouldn't remember all that at all." Wuyan sighed, "You and my grandma, at least once loved vigorously, and even planned to elope. It's always worth it if you wait for her; but I, it's just an unrequited love at all. , even if I remember that love, what's the point? I've committed suicide once, doesn't that mean I've decided to stop loving him? Then why keep the memory of love? " "No. You choose to die, not because you want to stop loving, or have decided not to love him anymore, on the contrary, because your love is too deep, too strong, too strong to express, so you continue and sublimate in the form of death, It's another level of explanation for the form of death, perhaps a little more positive than the suicide narrative." "Wow, you can say whatever you want." Wuyan almost wanted to worship the old ghost's eloquence, "Why did you change your view so quickly?" The old ghost laughed, and pointed Wuyan to look at the new ghost who was going to the Naihe Bridge to drink soup. The ghost was still very young, with long hair and a smoky face. He walked like a wandering ghost. From the appearance of being in the frying pan, one can tell at a glance that he died of drug abuse.The old ghost said: "The living use drugs to forget their pain, and the dead use Meng Po soup to comfort their hunger and thirst. In fact, they are all the same. When taking drugs, drug users will think that they have gone to heaven, but the people around them are watching. He said, "Ah, this man is in hell." What does this mean? For me, an old ghost who has lived in hell for sixty years, he is still alive. This is dialectic. So, anything Both can be explained in two ways, including love and death." Wuyan already admired Erlang so much.She looked at the Naihe Bridge from a distance, looked at Po Meng on the bridge, looked at the soup cup in Po Meng's hand, and watched one after another new ghosts come in despair, beg for a cup of soup from her, and drink it all up. Walk away in a daze.She saw a pair of lovers who died in love, holding hands on the Naihe Bridge, but after drinking a bowl of Mengpo soup, they went their separate ways, just like strangers. No, she doesn't want to be so cruel, she doesn't want to forget Ling Zheng, even if the pain he brings her is far greater than the happiness, the pain is rare pain for her.People will not give up roses because of thorns, so why should they reject love, or the memory of love, because of pain? It is said that the coffin is the final conclusion, and it is said that one death is a hundred. It turns out that it is not always the case. There is still a choice-between drinking a bowl of Meng Po soup or not drinking Meng Po soup. Do you want to forget?Do you want to end?Wuyan hesitated.She is not willing to forget Ling Zheng. Apart from Ling Zheng, she doesn't seem to have anything particularly worth remembering during her lifetime; but what about remembering him?She is already dead, they have to end if they don't end, and they have to give up if it doesn't happen, it's not up to her to choose. "You can choose, you can change." The old ghost seemed to hear her heart, and seduced her, "If you do what I say, you can live again, and you can hope to be with Ling Zheng." Are you with Ling?Wuyan didn't even dare to think about it before he was alive. Could it be that after death, can he have extravagant hopes?Can death have greater power and energy than life?She couldn't believe it, but the fire of hope was ignited, she stared at the old ghost, waiting for him to elaborate- "There are rules of hell in hell, just like Naihe bridge, Mengpo soup, fried ghosts, and reincarnation. These are all rules. The rules teach that every ghost should forget the previous life, reborn, and reincarnated as a human. But all the rules will have The exception, this exception is some special rules, such as the reborn person with the memory of the previous life, the marriage between the two lives, or the resurgence night, are some special rules for special ghosts, if you master these rules, you can live in Travel through the yin and yang worlds to the maximum extent, and control your own life and death, but there is still a limit." The more Wuyan listened, the more confused she became, but there seemed to be a ray of light shooting into the confusion. She knew that she was approaching the core of that light, which would be a big secret that determined the meaning of her life and death. If she knew that secret, her life would be destroyed. It would be different for that--yet, wasn't her life over?The moment she rushed to the wheel. Erlang said that it was a kind of suicide, but also the sublimation of love. Her thoughts surpassed death itself, so if she refused a bowl of Mengpo soup, she would have a soul, and her soul would have certain abilities. , beyond life and death and Yin and Yang. Wuyan understood somewhat, she looked at Erlang: "Then what should I do?" "First, don't drink Mengpo soup, never forget anything, every minute, every second of life; second, not only that, you have to go back and pick up all the footprints of your previous life, and cherish them , Dedicate them as gifts to Hades, as compensation for not drinking Mengpo soup - either forget everything, or bear everything, this is the rule of hell; third, when you complete your mission and return to hell When the time comes, you must bring back the soul of the person you love, then you can be reborn together, meet in the next life, and fulfill your wish in this life, this is the legendary fate of rebirth." Rebirth?No face leisurely fascinated.Can she form a rebirth relationship with Ling Zheng, and finally fly together in the afterlife? "However, how can I go back to the world to pick up those footprints?" "How old are you?" "What?" Wuyan was taken aback. "How old are you?" the old ghost asked again. Wuyan could only answer: "25 years old. What?" "Then you will have 25 days." Erlang explained, "I will clear all the checkpoints for you and let you return to the world, but you only have 25 days, each day represents a year, counting backwards from your 25 years old, sailing against the current, returning When you are born, connect your after death with your life; and in this process, you must get Pei Lingzheng's love and bring his soul back to the underworld, so that you can be reincarnated together and keep your life. Memories of this life." "Really? Can I really go back to the human world? Can I see Ling Zheng again? Oh, I can really see Ling Zheng!" Wuyan became excited, but also a little nervous and uncertain, "After returning to the human world, I can still see Ling Zheng." See? Am I going to be blind again?" "The choice is yours." The old ghost smiled, "There is another rule involved here, you can't go back anytime and anywhere, but wait for an opportunity: only when a girl of your age dies suddenly, and Pei Ling happens to pass by, Only then can you take advantage of the moment when her yang qi is still alive, and appear in front of Pei Ling in time. If this girl is not blind, then you will not be blind." "How difficult that is!" Wuyan exclaimed, "One person's life may not happen to meet another person's accidental death, and I don't want another young girl to die because of me." "But this is the rule, and it's also the origin of the saying 'replacing the dead ghost' in the world. Many ghosts try to harm people in order to repay their yang, so that they can borrow his yang energy." Erlang looked at Wuyan, "but I know you We won't do that, so we just have to wait and resign ourselves to fate, if you should go back, someone will die in time." Waiting again.Perhaps, this is fate.Wuyan felt desperate again, despair, is it also his own destiny?She looked at the old ghost: "I'm sorry, I don't want to return the sun." "What?" The old ghost was startled and angry. He spent a long time talking, arguing, inducing and explaining the rules. Is it all in vain? However, Wuyan is very firm: "If I listen to you, I will probably be like you, waiting for 60 years and still not getting anything. Or if Ling Zheng and Rachel are both dead in less than 60 years, then I There is no need to wait anymore, I still have to drink Mengpo soup alone to reincarnate. Instead of that, it is better to decide to give up now. And if the price of rebirth is to let Lingzheng youth die, then I am murder. I would rather not have a soul than Memories, but only a bowl of Mengpo soup." The wind is howling, the sound of the spring is whimpering, and the phosphorescence of ghosts is floating. Those are wandering souls who have made mistakes. They have lost the chance to reincarnate, and they are unable to return to the world of heaven. They can only turn into a little spark and wander persistently until the day when the ashes disappear. . "Then before you drink Mengpo soup, tell me your story, okay?" The old ghost Erlang sighed and begged, "I have been waiting for Xiaocui for sixty years, and I have finally waited for you. Do you want to chat for a while? If you drink Mengpo soup and forget everything, then we have nothing to say." It was a fair offer, and a request too hard to refuse.Wuyan nodded, trying to answer all questions: "What do you most want to know? My grandma? She disappeared before I was born." The memory of grandma is a cold plaster statue.She stood in the pond in the garden of Zhong's family for more than half a century, despite the wind and rain, staying in her youth forever. Rachel has described the image of the plaster grandma to Wuyan, but it does not sound like a real person; Grandma Wu once secretly told Wuyan some rumors about her grandma, all of which are bits and pieces that she has served in the Zhong family for many years There is not much credibility to come or guess, because even she has never met grandma. Grandpa is different. In Wuyan’s mind, Grandpa is an omnipotent god. He is majestic, dignified, and his works are as good as his. He never makes mistakes. Go to college until you graduate from college.Occasionally, he would talk to Wuyan about old things about his grandmother, saying that she was a beautiful and elegant lady, and he also read her a poem by his grandmother: "Listen to the wind and rain everywhere, and always care about love every night. The candle will never die Let's wait for the dawn with tears." This is probably the most tangible memorial grandma left for Wuyan. "Listen to the wind and rain everywhere, and always care about love every night. The wax torch will never die, and shed tears to wait for the dawn." The old ghost repeated, shaking, Xiao Cui wrote this poem for him?Written in the days of their separation?Did she miss him so much that she couldn't sleep at night? Wuyan ignored him, looked helplessly at the bowl of deadly soup in Meng Wan's hand by the Naihe Bridge, swallowed his longing, and continued to tell his own story—— She grew up day by day, from a fluffy little girl to a juicy girl, to a big girl, to go to college, to find a job, but grandpa is not necessarily old, he is still as handsome as she remembered, So unrestrained, calm and demeanor. He just has the kind of majesty that can tie time and time, only allow him to control them, and not allow them to change him. If she wanted, he could even let her continue her graduate studies, or even pursue a doctoral degree. It's a pity that she was born so many years late, otherwise he might be able to be her mentor.But it's nothing now, as long as she is willing, he can still find the best tutor for her and give her the best education, as long as she is willing. But Wuyan didn't want to read any more. It's not that she doesn't like reading, on the contrary, she really likes going to school, because she likes to use the report card to prove that she can do the same as the discerning people, or even better than them.But since she wants to be an ordinary person, she is more eager to work, be self-sufficient, and self-reliant.She wants to spend every penny she earns and survive entirely on her own. Grandpa introduced her to many jobs, many of which had good conditions and a relaxed environment, but she refused, saying that she had to rely on herself, and she had to let herself arrange it for herself no matter what.She really found a job for herself - as a teacher in a school for the blind. The teachers in the school for the blind are all discerning, but when she went to apply for the recruitment, the principal and dean hardly stood up and saluted—what could encourage blind people to become useful than having a blind teacher teach them?They seem to have suddenly discovered a new field of education for the blind, and they are sensitively aware that this may be a major news point in the school, which may attract media attention and bring benefits other than teachers. No experience is required, no assessment is required, as long as she stands here holding a regular university diploma, this alone is enough.A diploma can speak in the world. "Are you a good teacher?" the old ghost asked.Gradually, he became more focused, and he could hear God. "I'm a good teacher." Wuyan replied, "The students all respect me and like me." "When you teach them, do you also tell them stories?" "Yes, I tell them the stories in the books, and I also tell my own stories, and encourage them to say that blind people can do well, better than sighted people." "Then you die, will they cry?" "They will cry very sadly." Wuyan was also a little sad and wanted to cry.Yes, when she died, why didn't she think about those students?She died, what about those students?They have always respected her, liked her, and regarded her as a role model, but she committed suicide. What role model? Wuyan confessed sincerely, and looked at Huang Quan under the bridge without speaking for a long time.Maybe she really should go back once, maybe the meaning of her going back is not limited to Lingzheng, maybe the meaning of her existence is not as thin as she thinks. But the old ghost wanted to hear stories, and didn't want to discuss life and death right now, so he urged her: "Have you met Pei Lingzheng again after you became a teacher?" "I've never, 'seen', Pei Lingzheng." Wu Yan replied sadly. In the past, she always wanted to see Ling Zheng, loved someone deeply, but couldn't know his appearance, wouldn't that become an online dating or a believer? Wuyan once asked Rachel: "Rachel, what does Ling Zheng look like?" "Lingzheng, he is so handsome, so handsome, his hair is neither long nor short, handsome and gentle..." Rachel gradually digressed as she spoke, and her voice was full of laughter, like ripples on the surface of a lake. The water will overflow. So Wuyan knew that Rachel also liked Ling Zheng. Wuyan had already made up her mind not to compete with Rachel. But she can't fight against herself. Her way of fighting is not aggressive, but waiting.Her waiting is not getting, but despair... The old ghost was right, her death was a kind of suicide, an escape.Not only was she escaping when she died, but she was also escaping during her lifetime. From the moment she knew that Rachel had also fallen in love with Ling Zheng, she was trying her best to avoid this fact. Order is correct. "Pei Lingzheng!" Suddenly, the old ghost pointed at Huang Quan and shouted, "Is that boy Pei Lingzheng?" Huang Quan suddenly became gentle and clear at this moment, there was an uncertain reflection of a man in the ripples, it was a handsome young man, who is he?