The night seemed to have gotten colder again.
The weather had just rained, and it was already cooler than usual. Wu Chun put on an extra jacket when he went out, but for some reason, the temperature seemed to have suddenly dropped.
“How did it suddenly get so cold?”
Wu Chun said instinctively, then felt a void next to him. When he turned his head, he found that Xu Shi Yao had already sat down in a faraway place.
The other person seemed weightless. Even if it was a very thin branch, Xu Shi Yao sat on it, and there was no change in the branch.
“I’m a ghost.”
Wu Chun: “……”
Is this sentence not finished yet?
Wu Chun just pretended to be angry but then heard Xu Shi Yao continue speaking.
“Ghostly coldness.”
As soon as Wu Chun was about to complain, he suddenly remembered the legend that “ghosts” come from underground, where it is cold and gloomy. The last time he hugged this pine tree, he felt as cool as holding an ice block, but that was when the weather was hot. Now, after the rain, the previous heat has dissipated, and sitting with Xu Shi Yao, the chill emanating from him naturally makes people feel cold.
It is estimated to be in the early hours of the morning, when the temperature is at its lowest. Wu Chun gradually felt colder, from just feeling a bit chilly at the beginning to the point where he had to move away from Xu Shi Yao.
Even if a person wants to embrace a ghost, there is still a time limit.Wu Chun looked at Xu Shi Yao sitting on the other end of the tree branch, his long hair draped over his shoulders, just enough to block his profile. In the quiet night, even though Xu Shi Yao was dressed in white, he blended perfectly into the darkness, exuding a kind of lonely beauty.
Every day at midnight, all memories of the day are erased, and people and events in the mortal world cannot be remembered. Most ghosts in the underworld have already entered reincarnation after seven days and have not lingered around him.
In Wu Chun’s eyes, Xu Shi Yao’s eyes were like a whiteboard, slowly written on by different people during the day, and erased easily at night, returning to their original state. In his world, Xu Shi Yao only knew himself.
“It must have been hard.” Wu Chun’s eyes were wet, and he managed to squeeze out a smile. “To have waited for five years without knowing the reason, it must have been tough.”
Xu Shi Yao slightly lowered his head but did not speak.
“Xu Shi Yao,” Wu Chun said, wiping away tears from the corner of his eyes with his sleeve. His voice choked.
“Don’t cry,” Wu Chun advised himself inwardly. He took a deep breath and quickly composed himself before continuing to speak to Xu Shi Yao. “I’ll only say this once, so remember it well.”
Xu Shi Yao still didn’t answer him, but Wu Chun noticed that the tree bark in front of him, which recorded Xu Shi Yao’s memories, glowed slightly.
Wu Chun smiled and carefully organized his thoughts. He looked up at the pitch-black night sky, took a deep breath, and slowly began to speak.
Wu Chun explained in great detail everything he knew from beginning to end. At first, he was worried that revealing everything at once would be too much for Xu Shi Yao, but then he thought that keeping it from him would probably be even more damaging.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Xu Shi Yao, don’t keep emphasizing that you’re a ghost. Being a ghost is just an identity, but you also have another identity—the hero of all the villagers in Shili Village, you know?”
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“Xu Shi Yao, do you know? The day I went to see the village chief, he told me that you grew up in this village when you were young, and the people in the village were very kind to you. When you got into college, everyone was happy for you, and they even planned a surprise celebration for you behind your back. You love this village and your grandmother. Xu Shi Yao, you have a close relative in this village, so do you know why you are staying here? Do your best to protect the people you love the most.”
Wu Chun said so much in one breath that he couldn’t guess what the other person’s mood was at the moment or whether hearing so much would make them sad.
In their prime, when they set out on their journey with ideals and aspirations, an accident took their lives. This would probably make anyone feel a sense of regret.
Xu Shi Yao must have a deep love for the land below the mountain; otherwise, why would he give up the chance to enter reincarnation and endure the pain of losing his memory every day by staying here.
Because of love, he guards and protects; this is the answer that Wu Chun gave.
At this moment, Wu Chun just happened to see a flash of light in front of him. He looked up and saw that the other party had given the answer below that question: to guard and protect for love.
“Family?”
“Yes.” Hearing Xu Shi Yao’s question, Wu Chun slid down from the tree, regardless of the fact that he wasn’t wearing anything on his feet, and stepped on the muddy soil, walking a few steps forward and pointing in the direction, “It’s the first household under the mountain in that direction; there’s a big tree in front of the door, and she will sit under the tree and look in your direction during the day. You can definitely see it if you stand higher up. That’s your grandmother and where you grew up.”
She’s waiting for you to come back every day…
Wu Chun swallowed the sentence and felt that the other person had already received too much information tonight. He also felt that this sentence, or perhaps more than the previous ones, had a greater impact.
“Let’s wait a little longer…”
With a smile, Wu Chun watched Xu Shi Yao effortlessly step on the pine tree branches again with his hands behind his back.
Wu Chun walked over and stood under the tree, looking up at Xu Shi Yao.
“How is she?”
“She’s doing well!” Wu Chun immediately replied, “The people in the village take special care of her, and I also visit her every day to chat with her.”
At that moment, when Wu Chun finished speaking, he seemed to see Xu Shi Yao’s mouth move.
Did he just smile?
Wu Chun smiled and looked at him, unconsciously putting his hands behind his back like Xu Shi Yao.
He must have smiled. Wu Chun thought to himself.
When Xu Shi Yao lowered his eyes, Wu Chun noticed that the confusion and uncertainty that had previously been mixed in his eyes had finally disappeared.
No longer lost, still determined, and occasionally gentle.
Wu Chun seemed to see the spirited Xu Shi Yao of eighteen.
“Thank you.”
” You’re welcome!” Wu Chun replied, climbing up the tree trunk and sitting on the other end of the branch. He saw Xu Shi Yao continue to record tonight’s events on the piece of tree bark.
From today on, Xu Shi Yao’s memory bank will no longer be a blank slate. Even though his brain would still reset at midnight every day, he would still be able to retrieve all his memories from the handwritten notes he made.
“Why can’t your memories last more than a day?” Wu Chun asked the question that was on his mind. No wonder the ghosts in the horror stories he read before couldn’t recognize their own family and friends and were willing to harm them. It wasn’t because they were cruel, but because they simply couldn’t remember them.
For them, except for themselves, everyone else was a stranger.
“After seven days, if they haven’t entered the cycle of reincarnation, it will be like this.”
“I see.”
It seems that ghosts don’t have their own consciousness. Within seven days after death, they mostly retain their consciousness from when they were alive, just thinking about going home. After seven days, they rush towards rebirth. Perhaps only someone like Xu Shi Yao, who hasn’t entered the cycle of reincarnation within the designated time, will gradually lose their memories of the living world and become forgotten.
Although it sounds a bit sad, at this moment, Wu Chun felt like standing up and singing. He counted the fingers on his two hands. The other person said sixteen words this time, which was a big improvement in their communication.
“You should go back now.”
It was already midnight. Normally at this time, Wu Chun would have already entered sweet dreams, but at the moment, he didn’t feel sleepy at all and felt like he could continue sitting for a while. If the sun were to come out, Xu Shi Yao would have to hide back in the pine tree. If they wanted to meet, Wu Chun would have to sacrifice his sleep time.
After all, it wouldn’t be a big deal for him to sleep a little less, but if Xu Shi Yao stood in the light, he might disappear.
“I’m not sleepy yet,” Wu Chun said. He didn’t even finish saying the words “can continue to sit for a while” when he suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing in his face, his eyelids uncontrollably sticking together, and his consciousness drifting away. He gradually closed his eyes.
When he woke up again, the sunlight had already shone into the room, and the rain had cleared up, revealing a rainbow in the sky.
Wu Chun opened his eyes and found himself lying on his grandfather’s bed.
His grandfather’s voice, yelling at the chickens, could be heard from the yard.
Rubbing his eyes, Wu Chun realized that he had cried too much last night and that his eyelids were slightly swollen and reddish. He ran off the bed and looked at himself in the mirror to confirm his suspicion.
“Chun Chun, you’re up,” said his grandfather as he walked in with a bowl of corn. Wu Chun turned around and greeted him with a smile: “Grandpa!”
“You didn’t listen; didn’t I tell you to go to sleep early last night? What were you doing outside? You even fell asleep outside. Fortunately, I came back to check on you, or else you would have been bitten by mosquitoes all night.” The old man leaned forward and saw the slightly swollen and red eyes of Wu Chun, immediately feeling sorry for him. “Look, look, your eyelid was bitten by mosquitoes. Wait, Grandpa will find something to rub it for you.”
Saying that, the old man quickly put down the corn in his hand and went into his own room.
Wu Chun gently touched the swollen area with his hand, feeling only a little bit of swelling and no pain. It should not be a mosquito bite.
Besides, last night, Xu Shi Yao knocked him out and sent him back. He must have found a way to prevent him from being bitten by mosquitoes.
However, when Wu Chun thought of being sent back in such a way, he was still angry!
He must go and ask for an explanation later.
…
After breakfast, Grandfather still went to help the family, while Wu Chun walked and arrived at the foot of the mountain again.
Wu Chun wandered back and forth at the foot of the mountain before climbing up. The pine tree was there. People passing by might be attracted by the beauty of the tree, but they would never think that a hero lived inside.
Imitating the other person, Wu Chun stood with his hands behind his back and walked around the tree twice, pretending to say, “Let me tell you, Xu Shi Yao, if you ever send me back unconscious without my permission again, I’ll… I’ll…”
After thinking for a while, Wu Chun realized that he had no way to deal with the other person.
The power gap was too great, and the other person had special abilities while he could only be bullied.
Wu Chun pouted and felt very aggrieved.
“You can’t bully people like this! If I’m tired, I don’t need you to tell me; I will go back on my own.” Wu Chun decided to reason with him: “I wasn’t even tired, but you knocked me out without my consent. That’s too overbearing.”
As he spoke, Wu Chun’s tone became increasingly pitiful, and he simply brought over a rock and sat down next to the pine tree.
Although the sky had cleared, the temperature hadn’t risen with it.
Wu Chun came out today wearing a thicker coat and felt okay at the moment. He picked up a stone from the ground, tossed it up, caught it in his hand, and continued to mutter.
“I knew a lot of things about you when you were a child. If you bully me like this again, I won’t tell you.”
Wu Chun decided to go to Grandma Wang’s place every day from now on and listen to everything about Xu Shi Yao. First, he wanted to play the role of Xu Shi Yao’s memory transfer carrier, and second, considering the current situation, maybe he could use it as a magic weapon.
Wu Chun looked at the bald spot not far ahead and remembered that the tree had been planted and then pulled out by someone. Although Xu Shi Yao had the ability to scare away people who secretly cut down trees, he could not replant the trees that were pulled out, so that spot remained empty.
“What do you think about planting a tree here?” Wu Chun asked.
He stood up and walked to the bald spot. It had rained recently, so the soil was still soft, and there were one or two small saplings growing under almost every pine tree that could be dug up and replanted elsewhere.
“Wait for me to find a tool at home and come back. I’m going to transform this mountain!”
With that, Wu Chun turned and ran down the mountain…
Yi Zhi Mao Dou :
Hahaha, there’s nothing more painful than just starting to write and then getting assigned by the teacher again, hahaha. I don’t know how many days I’ll be busy, so I’ll just release all the drafts first.
Student’s life is hard
Thank you for your translation 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
»“ You’re welcome!” Wu Chun replied..« “You’re
»The other person said thirteen words this time..« If this refers to the last sentence of XSY, then it’s 16 words in English… don’t ask me why I went back and counted them lol
».. immediately feeling sorry for her.« for him
Don’t try to threaten him with memories you don’t know yet, he could write a reminder on his tree bark xD
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶