Banquet of a Hundred Ghosts

Chapter 37

Upon seeing this, Fei Xiao exclaimed inwardly, "Oh no!" A few drops of blood from the test tube had still splashed onto it.

Seeing this from behind, Zhang Ye's face was full of excitement. "It's a success! It's a success!" He jumped up, pulled open the door, and ran out as if he had lost his mind, shouting as he ran, "Xiao Chun, Xiao Chun, wait for me, I'm coming to get you!"

The sphere rose higher and higher, then suddenly burst through the red cloth. As if it were alive, it suddenly flew out of the window, glowing with a bluish-green light, heading straight towards the hospital.

Feixiao immediately recognized it as a human soul. He followed and broke through the window, reaching out to grab the soul. As long as it hadn't entered Changchun's body, Zijin could be saved.

Just as he was about to grab it, everything suddenly went black before his eyes, and he could see nothing. His body fell straight down from mid-air.

What's happening? Is it death? No, he's never died. Time has long forgotten him, just as he has forgotten time. But he's never experienced such boundless darkness before. He just fell straight down, his white clothes fluttering in the night wind, like a wounded moth falling into the endless darkness.

Chen Kai, Zijin, I'm sorry.

Chen Kai, who was in the hospital, was startled when he pushed open the door to the ward; the bed was empty.

He checked the room number and made sure he hadn't gone to the wrong place. The sheets on the bed were wrinkled and crumpled, clearly someone had slept there; they were still warm to the touch.

Where did Chang Chun go? Was he taken away? Could it be that Fei Xiao and Zhang Ye have returned? Thinking this, he followed the hospital corridor. There were several patients' family members chatting in the corridor, but he didn't see any familiar faces.

What exactly happened? Chang Chun can't move; someone must have taken her away.

In the midst of the chaos, at the corner of the stairs in the downstairs corridor, he saw a woman dressed in a patient's gown, struggling to hold onto the handrail, slowly moving her body down the stairs.

Chen Kai was so frightened that he stood behind her. The figure, the thin figure, looked like Chang Chun, but Chang Chun had been lying down for two years. Could it be? Could it be that Fei Xiao and the others had succeeded?

He called out softly, "Chang Chun?"

The woman in front turned around, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes beneath her messy hair. "Who are you? Do you know me?" she asked Chen Kai with difficulty.

She was a beautiful woman, though she looked haggard, her former beauty was still evident, except for her eyes, which were a bit too sharp.

"Come back with me quickly! It's too dangerous for you to be like this!" Chen Kai said, reaching out to pull her. Chang Chun had woken up, and no matter what happened, whether it was good or bad, he had to get her back to the ward first.

"No, I'm not going back. I don't know anyone here!" Chang Chun gripped the stair railing tightly.

As the two were locked in a stalemate, Chen Kai suddenly noticed that Chang Chun in front of him had stopped resisting and was looking behind him with an incredulous gaze. Just as he was about to turn around to look, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and everything went black. He knew nothing more.

When he woke up again, he was alone in the corridor. "What happened?" Chen Kai stood up groggily. His head was still throbbing, but he seemed to be alright. He staggered to the ward, which was still empty.

What on earth happened? What happened? Chen Kai endured the pain and walked to the hospital entrance. He was going to ask the inpatient department where Chang Chun had gone.

A light rain had started to fall outside, and there were few pedestrians. Chen Kai, looking through the rain-drenched glass window, suddenly seemed to notice something, and he pushed open the glass door and rushed out.

On the asphalt road, which had been washed clean by the rain, a white fox, covered in blood and mud, was slowly walking towards him.

Upon seeing this, Chen Kai felt a lump in his throat and immediately hugged the fox to his chest, letting its wet fur rub against his face. "Feixiao, Feixiao, what's wrong? What happened to me!" he cried, feeling a pang of sadness. "We didn't do anything wrong, did we? How could this happen?"

The fox remained silent, finding a comfortable angle to nestle in his arms, its bright, grape-like eyes filled with an empty gaze.

Two weeks later, Chen Kai was at home, basking in the sun while holding a fox.

"Feixiao, don't worry, Prince Jin hasn't disappeared! He even appeared in my dream yesterday!" Chen Kai said to the fox in his arms.

"I know now, that curse didn't even touch you!" it said, wagging its snow-white tail. "The one who was cursed is me!"

"When did the curse begin?" Chen Kai asked him, puzzled.

"Perhaps whoever's aura was tainted by those coins would be cursed! That afternoon, I helped you choose the coins, but my soul couldn't be drawn out by such a simple spell. Therefore, I was only stripped of one of my abilities!"

“Yes! The ability to see!” Chen Kai recalled that day at the antique market, when Fei Xiao looked at the coins by putting her eyes close to them.

"Thank goodness it's not vision problems!" Feixiao wagged its tail and walked around the windowsill twice. It's recovering faster now that it's in this state.

"Wow! I see dandelion fairies!" Chen Kai pointed out the window in surprise. After Fei Xiao lost her ability to see the strange world, she cast a spell to temporarily restore this ability. He could see spring fairies dancing in the sky, the souls of flowers, and hear the songs of grass. It turned out that the world in Fei Xiao's eyes was so beautiful.

"I can't see it!" Fei Xiao shook her head in frustration: "The biggest drawback of magic is that you can't cast it on yourself!"

It turned to a porcelain vase on the table and said, "I'm sorry!"

"Hehehe, I've already warned you, that Chang Chun is no good!" It was Xi Man's voice coming from inside. "Actually, isn't this pretty good? I'm already very happy to have met you all!"

"Feixiao!" Chen Kai asked him curiously, "Is it that you really can't stop it, or that you can't bear to stop it?"

The fox remained silent, curling up in a ball and lazily sunbathing.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Chen Kai didn't ask any further. Looking at the dandelion fairies fluttering outside, each dressed in green and carrying a small white umbrella, he suddenly felt relieved. Weren't those two people also pitiful? Even though they had done things that wronged him and Feixiao, he just couldn't hate them. He hoped that they could find happiness.

It was still a beautiful afternoon. Chen Kai and Fei Xiao were basking in the sun on the windowsill. The world was so beautiful, so why let hatred disturb this lovely time? Peace is here, let us enjoy ourselves!

Chapter Twelve: River of Oblivion

Two more months passed, and Feixiao still showed no intention of turning into a human. She enjoyed being a fox, enjoying eating her fill and lying on the bed basking in the sun, dozing off in the sunlight with her eyes half-closed every day.

"Feixiao, are you cultivating?" Chen Kai asked, looking at the snow-white mass on the bed. He remembered that when the accident happened, Feixiao had confidently told him that he would become a fox to cultivate, saying that it would help him recover quickly. But judging from his current appearance, it seemed that he was cultivating his already mastered Lazy Technique.

"Don't disturb me!" The fox wagged its tail as it rose from the bed. "The sunlight right now is perfect for me to absorb the essence of heaven and earth!"

"What essence is it?" Chen Kai looked at the late spring and early summer sunshine outside, which was indeed warm and comfortable to feel on his skin.

There was no answer to this question, because the fox on the bed, which claimed to be absorbing the essence, was already breathing evenly and had fallen asleep while sunbathing!

Chen Kai shook his head helplessly, closed the door, and left. He sat in the living room, flipping through a thin notebook containing another reflection he had written—the sentiments of an ancient soul towards modern society.

Since Fei Xiao was injured, Wang Zijin has started appearing frequently again. It seems that as soon as Fei Xiao's abilities weaken or she moves away from him, Wang Zijin becomes active again. Chen Kai has even learned to fall asleep in the shortest amount of time so that he can switch places with Wang Zijin at any time. This pedantic scholar seems to have found real fun in early summer. The contents of his notebook have transitioned from cynicism to descriptions of girls' clothing. Just like today, when he opened the notebook, he knew that Wang Zijin had probably gone to the mall again. The notebook was full of comments like "the skirts are too short, but they're so beautiful," with a sour and drooling tone.

Chen Kai shook his head helplessly again. It seemed that the ancient ghost had quickly found a place where he could find a large number of beautiful women. Fei Xiao and Wang Zijin, this pair of clowns, he really couldn't imagine what kind of life they lived before. If he had the chance, he really wanted to go back and take a look.

He laughed as he thought about it. Was meeting them his good fortune or bad luck?

"What are you laughing at?" a woman's voice asked him, puzzled.

"It's nothing, spring is leaving and summer is coming, I'm just enjoying this beautiful weather!" Chen Kai said to a porcelain bottle on the coffee table, inside which was another soul, but this soul belonged to a beautiful woman named Ximan.

"Is summer coming soon?" Ximan asked curiously.

“Yes!” Chen Kai said to her with a smile, “You can smell the sunshine!” Ever since Fei Xiao gave him the ability to see, his five senses seem to have become more acute.

"Sunshine!" Xi Man said mournfully, "I haven't seen the sun for hundreds of years!"

Chen Kai suddenly felt very sad after hearing this, as if his words had hit the nail on the head regarding what Xi Man cared about.

"Let's go out and soak up some sun!" Chen Kai said, putting the porcelain bottle in his pocket, opening the door, and going out. Outside was a vibrant and bustling scene, as if everything alive in the world wanted to display its most beautiful brilliance in this short period of time.

He walked on the soft grass outside the residential area. Feixiao hadn't yet turned human, and he, Wang Zijin, and Ximan were getting along peacefully. Sometimes Wang Zijin and Ximan would exchange stories, and he could explain things they didn't understand. He had also successfully corrected Wang Zijin's habit of mistaking fluorescent lights for the sun and swearing oaths to them.

They had a really happy time. If only time could stand still, the four of them could stay together and chat like this forever. Even a hundred years wouldn't be too short for such days.

Before he knew it, he had walked to the garden in the middle of the street. He lay on the lawn and looked at the blue sky and white clouds.

"Help me open the bottle cap!" the porcelain bottle in my arms protested joyfully.

"Aren't you afraid anymore?" Chen Kai said to her with a smile. It's truly springtime; even ghosts are eager to enjoy the spring.

"Just opening the lid shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Seeing that she wasn't afraid, Chen Kai guessed she was quite confident, so he reached out and opened the bottle cap, placing the bottle on the grass next to his head.

Looking at the vibrant spring scene, he said, "Ximan, have you ever seen spring this beautiful before?"

“Yes!” Ximan replied, “It seemed even more beautiful than it is now. Back then, on the third day of the third lunar month, girls would wear their most beautiful clothes, and scholars would wear their most magnificent headdresses to enjoy the spring outing!”

As Chen Kai listened to Xi Man's detailed description, he really longed to go back to the past. Yes, the flowers are similar year after year, but the people are different year after year. Everyone will be born, grow old, get sick, and die; everyone will face separation or death. Only the spring scenery, still indifferent to people's sorrows, blooms with the most beautiful radiance.

He suddenly felt sad, "Ximan, if you leave in the future, I will miss you!"

"Oh dear! You're such a child!" Ximan suddenly laughed upon hearing this. "As long as time exists, we will all face separation. If you meet someone a while ago, it means you're destined to lose that person a while later."

"Really?" Chen Kai was even more unhappy. Would Fei Xiao leave him in the future? Yes, Xi Man was right. Fate is time. As long as time keeps flowing, they will eventually face separation. Now he just hopes that day will come later.

As Chen Kai pondered these thoughts, he lay down on the soft grass, bathed in the warm sunshine, and drifted off to sleep.

"Chen Kai, get up quickly!" Xi Man suddenly called out from the side.

"What's wrong?" Chen Kai was startled and sat up abruptly.

"Look over there!" Ximan exclaimed, his voice filled with urgency.

Chen Kai looked ahead and saw a wheelchair carrying an elderly man with white hair, heading straight down the steep slope of the park towards the lake in the center. The wheelchair moved slowly, and the old man sat in it without saying a word, so none of the people enjoying the spring outing noticed.

Upon seeing this, Chen Kai grabbed the bottle, tucked it into his arms, and ran after the wheelchair.

He ran as fast as he could, but he was only a dozen meters away from the wheelchair and knew he couldn't catch up.

"Ximan, help me!" Chen Kai shouted hoarsely.

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a chill rush through his chest, followed by a powerful force pulling him by the collar. The force was so great that his body was lifted into the air. Chen Kai was startled and frantically grabbed at the air. "Xi Man, you're going too far!" Before he could finish speaking, he started falling again. He grabbed the handle of the wheelchair, and at the same time, he crashed heavily to the ground. "Ouch!" Chen Kai cried out in pain. The impact made his chest ache. He was dragged half a meter by the inertia of the wheelchair, but the wheelchair that was rushing down also stopped. The person on it also rolled over and lay on the grass.

Chen Kai breathed a sigh of relief, got up from the ground, and patted the dirt off his body. Although he had scraped himself in many places from the fall, he was still very happy to have saved someone's life.

"Dad, are you alright?" Before Chen Kai could even catch his breath, a middle-aged woman ran up to him, panting.

"Thank you so much!" she said to Chen Kai, then hurried to help the elderly man on the ground. "My father has Alzheimer's disease, and I accidentally caused this!"

"Let me help you!" Chen Kai said as he walked over and helped the person on the ground. The old man was about 70 years old. There were many age spots on both sides of his cheeks, his eyes were empty and lifeless, and there was drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

The two people struggled to put the old man back into the wheelchair. The old man, like a baby who had just learned to speak, kept muttering things like "It hurts!"

"I... I was so careless! I only said a few words to someone, and it turned out like this!" The woman looked to be in her forties, with messy permed hair and a face full of wrinkles, appearing excessively aged as if forced by life's hardships.

"It's alright, luckily I saw it!" Chen Kai smiled at her, glanced at her slightly overweight body, her back slightly hunched, and how she was struggling to push the wheelchair uphill. At her age, she really shouldn't be taking an elderly person who can't take care of themselves out for a walk.

The woman seemed to sense what Chen Kai was thinking. After they pushed the wheelchair to a level spot, she extended a hand: "My surname is Huang, you can call me Aunt Huang. Thank you so much for today!"

"My name is Chen Kai, and I study in this city!" Chen Kai said, shaking her hand. Her hand had rough calluses.

Upon hearing this, the woman surnamed Huang seemed to remember something: "You mean going to university?" Then she added, "I could have gone to university, but I was born in the wrong era, so I didn't get to go!"

"If you miss it, I can help you!" Chen Kai said enthusiastically. "Our school is currently recruiting adult students, some of whom are over fifty years old and still going to study!"

"Hehe, no need!" The middle-aged woman waved her hand, glanced at the person in the wheelchair, and said, "I have to take care of my father, and I also have a daughter who is still in school. I don't have time!"

Chen Kai listened without saying anything; this woman seemed to be overwhelmed by the burdens of life.

"Chen Kai, right?" Aunt Huang smiled at him and said, "Are you coming again tomorrow? I'm making braised chicken tonight, I'll bring you some tomorrow!" Her smile was full of kindness, reminding Chen Kai of his own mother.

He had initially intended to decline, but then he remembered that there was someone at home who loved eating chicken, so he quickly nodded, "Come on, come on! I can watch over your grandpa for you!"

The middle-aged woman smiled, waved to him, and pushed her wheelchair away. "Study hard, see you tomorrow!"

Just then, Chen Kai suddenly noticed that the old man in the wheelchair's eyes had become bright and alert. He glanced at Chen Kai with a cunning look in his eyes, a stark contrast to the dazed expression he had just seen.

Chen Kai was startled when he saw it. What was going on? Was the old man pretending to be stupid?

"Ximan? Did you see it?" Chen Kai asked.

"What?" Ximan didn't understand what he was talking about. "What did you see?"

It seems Ximan didn't notice either; was he the only one who saw it?