Chapter 346: I only ache for the infant spirit

When I saw Character: Tang Zheng being bewitched by that dirty infant spirit, step by step walking toward the open windowsill, I wished I could become the haloed protagonist of movies and novels, who always creates miracles at the critical moment to save a life. Or perhaps a master would descend from heaven to lend me a hand.

But reality is reality; no matter how beautiful the fantasy, the moment of returning to reality inevitably means facing cruelty. The imagined miracle never appeared; instead came a "plop" sound, completely shattering my fantasy.

Character: Tang Zheng's figure in a leather suit fell straight onto the windowsill. Angrily, as a Daoist, I could only watch helplessly as a life vanished before my eyes. I witnessed it all, yet was powerless to stop it. No one understood my regret; no one understood my helplessness at that moment.

Even though I am a disciple of the Jue Sect, and even though the Yin Shan Sect's people are called the most ruthless lineage in the Xuan Gate, watching a life slip away would make anyone's heart ache unbearably.

I flew into a rage, venting all my anger onto the restrained female ghost. At that moment, I had only one thought: I wanted her dead. I forgot good and evil, right and wrong; all I felt was the sorrow of watching life slip away.

However, just as I was about to annihilate the female ghost, with victory seemingly beckoning, a chair flew toward me through the air.

It was manipulated by the infant spirit; as a son, he naturally wouldn't stand by and watch his mother be destroyed. When I turned my head, the chair was already lunging at my face; instinctively I released my grip restraining the obese female ghost's spirit and naturally shifted my body to dodge the chair.

Although my reaction was fairly timely, I still couldn't avoid being struck in the temple by the stool's leg as I sidestepped.

The temple is the body's most vulnerable spot, directly linked to the brain's nerves. Struck by surprise, I felt a wave of dizzy darkness, a buzzing tinnitus ringing in my mind, causing me to stagger backward involuntarily.

As I fell, I seemed to press against a soft, warm mass; immediately I heard an "ah" scream, and when I cleared my head a little and looked up, I saw Taozi blushing, clutching her chest.

At this moment I finally realized what I had pressed against when I fell: it was Taozi's chest, and the impact knocked her awake from her faint.

I had no time to apologize; I told her to take Yao Yirong and leave quickly. I stood up, shielding her behind me, and watched as the mother-and-child vengeful spirits approached step by step.

"Li Li…… you"

Suddenly, Taozi behind me called out a name. Upon hearing it, the approaching obese female ghost's body involuntarily trembled, and on her ashen face an unusual hint of pain appeared.

"Miss……" the obese female ghost's body shuddered, and a hint of color appeared in her icy gaze.

"Baby, come back quickly, don't hurt Miss" she gestured, calling the infant spirit back.

"Li Li sis, it's really you……" Taozi pushed me away, gazing excitedly at the mother-and-child spirits before her: "Li Li sis, aren't you already dead? How are you here?"

"Don't get close to her; they're both ghosts—that infant spirit just killed Character: Tang Zheng!" I grabbed Taozi's fair hand and pulled her back.

After hearing my words, Taozi gaped, staring incredulously at the obese female ghost called Li Li. She glanced at the windowsill, then looked disbelievingly at the ghost and said: "Li Li sis, what he says is true—why are you doing this?"

A flicker of pain appeared in the obese female ghost's eyes; she shook her head, lamenting: "Miss, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was bewitched, I listened to Character: Tang Zheng's sweet talk, embezzled hundreds of thousands from the company…… I'm sorry to you and to your father."

The obese female ghost's expression was full of sorrow; the resentment around her dissipated bit by bit, and the hall filled with an atmosphere that made one feel she was now remorseful.

"Mommy, don't cry, don't cry." A slightly childish voice rang out—it was the dirty little child standing beside her speaking.

"Li Li sis, what on earth is going on? What does your embezzling company money have to do with Manager Fang? And Xiao Ling—how did she become an evil ghost?" Taozi bit her lip, pressing the obese female ghost for answers.

At this moment I, too, was curious, so I paused to wait for events to unfold.

From their conversation I vaguely grasped the whole story: the female ghost Xiao Ling I had collected in my Daoist robe, the fallen Character: Tang Zheng, and the mother-and-child spirits before me were all tied to the same incident. What struck me as absurd was that this little boy was actually Character: Tang Zheng's son—meaning the one who had just killed Character: Tang Zheng with my own hands was his biological son.

I was astonished, yet after hearing the events I genuinely felt anger—anger toward the obese female ghost before me and also toward the deceased Fang Zheng.

The obese female ghost before me was named Li Li; she was Taozi's company accountant and also a married woman. Not long ago, Character: Tang Zheng began ardently pursuing her, and at that time she happened to be arguing with her husband; over time she could not resist Character: Tang Zheng's honeyed words, and they became involved.

What Li Li didn't expect was that Character: Tang Zheng didn't truly like her; he exploited her authority to transfer public funds to cover his gambling debts in Macau. After winning her over, Character: Tang Zheng then hooked up with a company staff member—the very female ghost Xiao Ling I had just placed in my Daoist robe.

All of this Li Li remained unaware of, kept in the dark. Only when she discovered she was pregnant with Character: Tang Zheng's child did she learn the heart-wrenching truth.

As a philanderer, Character: Tang Zheng naturally wouldn't take responsibility for the child in her womb; after all, he had merely been using Li Li all along. When Li Li confronted Character: Tang Zheng, saying the baby in her belly was his, they began to argue. In his desperation Character: Tang Zheng said: "You don't even need a mirror—do you really think I like you? I'm only using your power to pay off my gambling debts. If we talk marriage, I'd rather wed Xiao Ling than you; at least her figure is far better than yours."

It was precisely that remark that made Li Li realize the truth, and also realize that there was a third person involved between her and Character: Tang Zheng.

Consequently they turned against each other. But Li Li did not commit suicide; in reality, no woman who knows she's being used would willingly die to win back a man's heart, especially since she was a married woman. What Li Li needed to do was naturally to expose Character: Tang Zheng's embezzlement of public funds to cover personal debts.

Knowing Li Li's plan, Character: Tang Zheng, after his pleas failed, resorted to a drastic measure: he drugged her with sleeping pills, then threw her from the rooftop, staging it as a suicide driven by fear of punishment for embezzling public funds. The one who helped Character: Tang Zheng hand her a coffee laced with sleeping pills was his lover, Xiao Ling.

After Li Li's death, Character: Tang Zheng casually shifted all blame onto her, evading the responsibility he should have borne. He never imagined that in this world there exists something called a ghost—a vengeful ghost.

On the night of her return as a spirit, Li Li killed the on-duty Xiao Ling. She had intended to send Character: Tang Zheng off together, but coincidentally Character: Tang Zheng had been dispatched on a business trip; for a while she found no chance to strike, so she could only wait for the opportunity.

The so-called opportunity was tonight. Tonight Taozi summoned a fake Daoist to exorcise ghosts, also allowing Character: Tang Zheng, returned from his business trip, to assist nearby. While I had collected the lingering female ghost Xiao Ling wandering the company and run to the restroom to look for the grave official, Li Li seized the moment to kill Character: Tang Zheng.

The cause and effect of all this began to become clear; everything was merely a tragedy brewed from the interests and emotions between men and women.

"Miss, I'm sorry, I've betrayed your and your father's trust, I'm sorry" Li Li kept apologizing to Taozi: "I never meant to harm you; I only wanted to take the lives of that despicable man and woman, so they'd get what they deserved."

Taozi stood there stunned for a moment, her expression shifting, unreadable. Perhaps it was because this Li Li had disappointed her.

I quietly tugged at Taozi's sleeve from behind and whispered: "This ghost is begging for your forgiveness; if you don't forgive her, she won't leave."

Most lingering ghosts in the mortal realm refuse to reincarnate because of obsessions; Li Li's obsessions are two: one, to kill Character: Tang Zheng and Xiao Ling; two, to seek Taozi's forgiveness. She has fulfilled the first, and is now working on the second. If Taozi forgives her, the obsession will vanish and she will naturally dissipate, no longer clinging to this world.

Yao Yirong gritted her teeth, sighed, and said: "Forget it, it's all in the past; you're already dead, let bygones be bygones. I'll pretend I didn't see this, and I won't tell your husband."

"Thank you…… thank you! Your and your father's kindness, Li Li, I will repay by serving as an ox or horse, thank you……" At the end, Li Li took hold of her son and walked out step by step.

Where to? Naturally to the Yinjian Difu to register.

The little boy turned his head to glance at us; his eyes were as pure and flawless as any child's, and when he looked back with that smile, it was innocent and charming.

I suddenly felt like stepping forward and hugging him tightly. Though I feel no sympathy for anyone here, I genuinely pity this little boy from the bottom of my heart.

What fault does the child have? From beginning to end he's merely a sacrificial pawn in this farce.

Watching them leave, my heart filled with an indescribable heaviness, as if something weighed on my chest that I couldn't articulate or clarify, yet I wanted to ask?

I wanted to ask: what must this world become before it will cease its wickedness and deceit? When will people be able to cast off their pretenses and treat each other sincerely?

What should have been a lifelong bond forged by ten years of sharing a boat and a hundred years of sharing a pillow was worn away by time's destruction; in the wash of years the passion faded, and a woman could throw herself into another's embrace, forgetting husband and duty.

What should have been a promising future for a man turned into an obsession with gambling, unrepentant, using women's feelings to achieve his goals; even after his conspiracy was exposed, he would stop at nothing to conceal the facts.

In this farce I saw only one willing to strike, two who suffered resentment as the actors, and an innocent life lost because of the farce.

They say life is like a play, everyone wearing masks, indulging freely under the neon lights of blossoming flowers and willows. They say drama is like life; everyone constantly seeks a pitiful excuse for their hateful deeds, practicing the art of lying without blushing or racing heart.

Is it the human heart that has changed, or society? Is it that people must change to adapt to a society awash in material desires, or is it the falseness of the human heart that has shifted society's course?

This is a drama-filled question, just like human nature itself, forever possessing dual contradictions. I think no matter how I ask, I will never find an answer.