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On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Zhengyang and Li Bingjie went to Beijing to pay New Year's visits.
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Ouyang Ying bid farewell and left, taking a ride with Chen Chaojiang and Ye Wan to the capital. As she left, she smiled and said to Xu Rouyue, "I have to go to my uncle's house to pay my New Year's respects, and also visit my dad..."
The tenth day of the first lunar month.
A shocking and heartbreaking message arrived: Ouyang Ying had taken a large amount of sleeping pills and passed away in her residence in the capital.
Volume Six, Chapter 323: I can grant you one wish.
Regarding Ouyang Ying's death, Xu Zhengyang did not show the same level of shock and grief as the others.
Back when Ouyang Ying and Xu Rouyue returned from Country M, Xu Zhengyang had already noticed Ouyang Ying's unusual behavior and had even asked the ghost messengers to keep an eye on her to prevent any tragedy from happening at Xu Zhengyang's home in Shuanghe Village. If such a situation were to occur, there would be no way to explain it.
If a person is determined to face death, then no one can stop her.
The best outcome would be to be able to comfort and guide her when things start to look wrong, so that she can get out of her psychological shadow on her own.
If she can't get over it herself, then I'm sorry...
Aside from deities like Xu Zhengyang who can clearly see into people's hearts, perhaps the only person who can truly understand Ouyang Ying's depressed and desperate state of mind is her best friend, Xu Rouyue.
As a child from a wealthy family, though not quite a super-rich one, her material conditions from childhood were certainly superior to what most people would envy or even be jealous of. However, her family environment—her parents' arguments, divorce, and even hatred—deprived this pampered girl, who should have been very happy, of much emotional care from a young age, making her temperamental and eccentric. She had almost no common topics of conversation with her parents and relatives.
Relatively speaking, she is already considered a broad-minded girl.
He was content with himself, indulging in the mere financial care and attention his parents gave him, enjoying the rare genuine friendships, and trying his best to be happy and joyful...
However, blood is thicker than water, and the bond of kinship is an unbreakable, albeit seemingly intangible, emotion. Past resentment was merely a form of venting, a kind of spiritual rebellion. In reality, when faced with the stark reality—her mother leaving behind only a sum of money and taking her brother with her, while her father was likely to go to prison and the company went bankrupt—Ouyang Ying's despair, resentment, anger, and heartache reached their peak in years.
She realized that her life had been like a drunken stupor, without any clear goal.
Apart from her closest friend Xu Rouyue, she had no one she could confide in.
But now, in a moment of impulsiveness, she made a resolute move, expressing to Xu Zhengyang the emotions she had suppressed or occasionally revealed. It was unstoppable… Just as Xu Zhengyang had thought, once these words were spoken, without achieving a definitive outcome, it would only lead to an awkward situation for both of them.
Perhaps for most people, this is not enough to drive someone to despair.
But for Ouyang Ying, this was her only reason to keep living.
Even when she made this decision, she doubted herself countless times: Do I really love Xu Zhengyang? Or am I just being stubborn, throwing a tantrum, or being competitive? It's a very contradictory feeling... But clearly, it's not absolute love.
Unfortunately, this became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Xu Zhengyang wouldn't shirk his responsibility for this, but what could he do? Forcibly cleanse Ouyang Ying's mind with his divine sense? That would be too cruel... Who would watch over her and protect her? It wasn't realistic... Before going to the capital, Xu Zhengyang had instructed his sister to take good care of Ouyang Ying, to comfort her, and to make sure she didn't do anything foolish.
Xu Rouyue couldn't discern anything from Ouyang Ying's behavior and attitude. Even with her brother's reminder, she was worried and cautious, but she couldn't possibly imprison Ouyang Ying.
After this incident, Xu Rouyue begged her brother if he could save Ouyang Ying's life.
Xu Zhengyang said calmly, even somewhat ruthlessly in Xu Rouyue's eyes, "If she wants to die, does that mean she won't die again once she's saved?"
Although the intelligent Li Bingjie didn't say anything as a wife, she understood some things in her heart.
However, upon hearing Xu Zhengyang's words, Li Bingjie, like Xu Rouyue, was somewhat surprised and astonished.
Xu Zhengyang, however, was unable to offer an explanation...
He couldn't possibly accept Ouyang Ying as a mistress just to keep her alive, could he? Admittedly, if he had done that, probably no one would have said anything, not even his wife, Li Bingjie. But Xu Zhengyang couldn't do it!
Of course, there was guilt and self-blame in my heart, after all, it was a life; moreover, my family was poor back then, and Ouyang Ying had given my younger sister so much help when she was studying in the capital...
...
Because of Ouyang Ying's death, Xu Rouyue postponed her trip to the United States.
After the Lantern Festival, Ouyang Ying's funeral ended, and Xu Rouyue returned to her hometown in Fuhe City in a daze. She had no heart to go back to school to continue her studies. Her friends from the day were gone, and going there would only make her feel more lonely and sadder.
Now I can only wait until I calm down before going.
Xu Zhengyang felt sorry for his sister. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke up: "Rouyue, if you miss Ouyang Ying, well, your brother can let you see her... but she is a ghost now, so you should be prepared."
"Really?" Xu Rouyue said in surprise.
The sorrow and helplessness people feel about death stem from the deep-seated belief that death is the complete disappearance of all things.
However, when one learns for certain that one can still see the deceased, the joy in one's heart is unimaginable.
"Alright, relax. I'll go ask Ouyang Ying... After all, the living and the dead are different, whether she's willing to see you is another matter." Xu Zhengyang sighed, turned around and slowly walked away.
Xu Rouyue calmed down and thought about what to say to Ouyang Ying. She had no doubts about her brother's words, because her brother was truly extraordinary.
When Ouyang Ying passed away, Xu Zhengyang was in the capital. Upon learning of Ouyang Ying's passing, he immediately ordered Li Haidong without hesitation to quickly summon Ouyang Ying's ghost into the City God's Mansion, treat her well, and not subject her to any punishment.
This is naturally also to prevent the new ghost from encountering secondary harm in the human world. For example, strong sunlight, electric current, or even the masculine energy of humans.
For more than ten days, Xu Zhengyang did not personally go to the City God's Mansion to see Ouyang Ying.
It wasn't that he felt guilty, or that Ouyang Ying's direct expression of affection had made Xu Zhengyang feel awkward. Humans and ghosts are different; now that she's a ghost, Xu Zhengyang will naturally treat her with a different perspective and attitude when facing her again.
Xu Zhengyang only hoped that during these ten days or so, Ouyang Ying could seriously think things through and see things more clearly in the City God's Mansion.
In fact, ever since Xu Zhengyang created the city scroll and established the City God's Mansion for Li Haidong within it, Xu Zhengyang had never visited this so-called City God's Mansion. Therefore, Xu Zhengyang's personal arrival this time gave Li Haidong a feeling somewhat like the emperor's arrival. Thus, when Xu Zhengyang suddenly appeared out of thin air in the City God's Mansion's government office, Li Haidong quickly rose from his seat, walked to the hall, and knelt down with several ghost messengers.
"Get up." Xu Zhengyang waved his hand and walked to the seat where Li Haidong had been sitting in the main hall and sat down.
He felt rather uncomfortable. Although he was already quite used to being worshipped by ghost messengers, he still wasn't used to such a devout kneeling posture unless he was in a really bad mood.
However, this is unavoidable; rules cannot be abolished, after all, this is not the human world.
Even Li Haidong had accepted this rule, so Xu Zhengyang, as the prefectural god, couldn't very well break it. There was still a lot to do in the future, and the scope of the operation was expanding. If he were to abandon this rule simply because of a momentary impulse, how would he manage things in the future?
"You may all leave now," Xu Zhengyang said calmly.
Li Haidong and several ghost messengers stood up and left.
Xu Zhengyang sat quietly for a while, then with a thought, instantly moved Ouyang Ying's ghost from a quiet room in the backyard to the main hall.
In the blink of an eye, without knowing how, she went from the small quiet room to such a spacious and solemn hall. Ouyang Ying was quite surprised. She looked around and then her gaze fell on the young man in a simple and casual Tang suit sitting behind the table in the hall.
"Zheng, Brother Zhengyang?" Ouyang Ying exclaimed in surprise.
Xu Zhengyang looked at Ouyang Ying quietly without saying a word. An aura of power, emanating naturally and without deliberate effort, filled the government office.
Only then did Ouyang Ying feel the overwhelming pressure, and she immediately trembled with fear.
Maybe... I mistook someone else for someone else?
Why is Brother Zhengyang in this strange place?
After taking the sleeping pills that day, Ouyang Ying never imagined that suicide by taking sleeping pills would not be as peaceful and painless as she had thought. When the drugs took effect, she experienced a painful feeling of being unable to live and unable to die.
After enduring unbearable pain, the pain finally subsided. When I felt a sense of lightness and liberation, I was astonished to find myself suspended in mid-air above myself.
Oh, it's above my own body.
He died... So it turns out that people really do have ghosts after they die.
Will there be a hell? Will ghost messengers come to take me away? Will I enter the underworld, drink the Meng Po soup, forget everything, and then be reincarnated?
One question after another made Ouyang Ying suddenly feel as if the sky had fallen and she was filled with resentment.
It turns out I still cherish the life I had while I was alive. There are so many people, things, and events in this world that I love and am reluctant to part with...
She lingered in the room for a long time, guarding her physical body, unwilling to leave.
She cried, regretted, and was sad, but no one paid any attention to her.
The phone rang, her cell phone rang, she wanted to answer it, but she couldn't.
Finally, the doorbell rang. She tried to open the door, but couldn't. She ran to the door and went through the closed door, where she saw her cousin, Diao Yishi, looking anxious and worried. She tried to talk to him, calling and calling him frantically, but he couldn't hear her at all.
Diao Yishi made a phone call to the police, and property management staff and police officers arrived.
The door opened, and they discovered Ouyang Ying's already cold body.
People started getting busy.
Soon, Ouyang Ying's relatives arrived. Some were crying, some were coldly indifferent, some were numb and expressionless, and some were sighing.
Ouyang Ying was eager to see how her relatives would discuss and view her death, and whether her parents and brother would come back.
However, she no longer had the chance to wait and make it happen.
A person dressed in strange black attire appeared before her and politely led her here. It was an ancient, solemn, and dignified courtyard, yet imbued with a touch of serene indifference. Here, there was no distinction between night and day; the sky was perpetually pale and hazy. The towering trees and the few green plants planted in the courtyard had never changed, like plastic products, devoid of any life.
Ouyang Ying guessed that the person who brought her here must be the legendary ghost messenger. She was uneasy, not knowing what she would encounter next.
Is this the underworld or hell?
It doesn't seem like it.
What happened next was incomprehensible to Ouyang Ying. The ghost messengers arranged for her to stay in a quiet room. She could move freely within the courtyard, and even walk out of the government office gate. However, there was nothing outside.
Ouyang Ying didn't know how long she had been there, because there was no concept of time here.
Occasionally, she would see several ghost messengers hurrying in and out of the government office, as well as an old man who looked somewhat familiar but was dressed in ancient official attire.
But nobody paid any attention to her.
Soon, Ouyang Ying felt that this place was the underworld, no, it was hell.
How painful it is to be ignored like this, to have nowhere to talk to someone, to vent your feelings, and to have no one to talk to! It's a torturous punishment!
Before suddenly appearing in the main hall of the government office, Ouyang Ying was regretting her impulsive decision. Why did she choose to commit suicide? Her life would have been wonderful. Even without her parents' love, she still had the large fortune left by her mother, two properties, a luxury car, the affection of her uncle and cousin, friends like Xu Rouyue, and Xu Rouyue's parents who treated her like their own. She also had Xu Zhengyang... such a good brother.
Standing quietly in this spacious, solemn, and imposing hall, filled with an aura of fear and dread, Ouyang Ying gazed at that familiar yet utterly unfamiliar face. A complex mix of emotions welled up within her, and she couldn't help but sob. But… now she was a ghost, unable to shed tears, unable to fully express the anguish in her heart.
"Yingying, why are you doing this to yourself? Sigh..." Xu Zhengyang sighed deeply.
"Brother, I, I...I'm sorry, sob sob sob..." Ouyang Ying sobbed uncontrollably, then suddenly looked up at Xu Zhengyang and said, "Brother, what are you doing here?"
Xu Zhengyang stood up, walked to Ouyang Ying, gently patted her head, and said, "After a person dies, they become a ghost and enter the underworld, walking the Yellow Springs Road... suffering endless hardships until reincarnation. I can't bear to let you suffer that kind of pain, so I'm asking you now, do you want to be reincarnated or stay in the human world?"
"Brother, are you really... a god?" Ouyang Ying asked in astonishment.
Before this, Ouyang Ying had heard some strange rumors and was astonished by the many unbelievable events that had happened to Xu Zhengyang. Occasionally, she would glean something from Xu Rouyue's snippets of conversation. She had been skeptical and curious, but she had never truly believed that there were gods in this world, much less that Xu Zhengyang was a god!
It was precisely out of this curiosity about Xu Zhengyang, and his rapid rise to power and unpretentious masculine charm, that she developed a somewhat unrealistic admiration for him.
Xu Zhengyang said gently, "Yingying, I am a god, I can grant your wish, so tell me."
“I…” Ouyang Ying was stunned for a moment.
What are your wishes?
It's like a scene from a fairy tale, where by chance you meet a deity who says they can grant you one or three wishes... But when the deity actually appears in front of you, you don't know what to grant.