“Daddy, Daddy”
A little boy of five or six years old went pitter-patter across the bluestone slabs with his bare feet, making crisp, clear sounds.
“Daddy, Xiao Ai needs to hear a story before he can go to sleep.”
“I told you, you have to call me older brother!” The young man in the courtyard put down the bamboo strips he was sanding and pinched the toddler’s dumpling-like cheek. “You’re getting so big, yet you still need your older brother to coax you to sleep?”
“But Xiao Yu said his mom tells him lots of stories, and his house has tons of toys! I even went to play at his house! His house is this big!” The little boy stretched out his arms to measure.
Children’s thoughts jump quickly. Thinking of toys now, he started counting on his chubby fingers: “He also has eight, nine, ten—ten little toy cars!”
“Xiao Yu?” The young man frowned. “Is that a new friend you’ve made?”
“Mhm!” The little boy nodded vigorously. “He seems to be lost right now and can’t find his way home. Can older brother help him get home? But can we do it a little later? He can’t find his way back, and I want to play with Xiao Yu for a bit longer.”
“Older brother will tell Xiao Ai a story first, and then we’ll send Xiao Yu home, alright?” The young man scooped him up, supporting his bottom with one hand while holding his chilly little feet with the other.
Hearing that a story was coming, the little boy instantly forgot about playing. He nuzzled against the young man’s shoulder and mumbled, “Then older brother has to wake me up later. Xiao Ai wants to say goodbye to Xiao Yu…”
“Alright, today we’ll tell the story of young Nezha…” Holding him, the young man walked over to a rattan chair, sat down, and began telling a story to lull him to sleep.
At first, the little boy listened with rapt attention, but sleep soon overtook him. Rubbing his eyes, he drifted off.
When he woke up, his older brother was nowhere to be seen. All around him, only paper figures and paper horses stared blankly with hollow eyes. Hearing a commotion from the back courtyard, and wanting to startle his older brother, he padded over barefoot, stepping lightly as he made his way toward the back.
He saw Xiao Yu and his older brother standing in the courtyard. A yellow piece of paper materialized in his brother’s hand, which he lightly flicked and stuck onto Xiao Yu’s forehead. Immediately, Xiao Yu’s entire body seemed to burst into flames. He watched as Xiao Yu writhed and rolled about in the fire, hearing his screams and cries.
“Waa” The little boy dropped the hand that had been covering his mouth and burst into loud tears.
The young man whipped his head around, his face a mask of shock and panic. He rushed over, scooped the little boy up, and buried his head against his chest.
“Xiao Ai, don’t look… don’t be afraid…”
“Did… did older brother kill Xiao Yu?” The little boy’s tiny hands beat frantically against the person in front of him. “Older brother is a bad guy! Wuuu… Lulu, did Lulu disappear the same way?”
“Cough, cough…” The young man muffled his coughs, enduring the toddler’s kicks and punches as he tightly clutched the child’s head. “Xiao Ai, don’t be afraid. Older brother is right here.”
Song Aiguo jolted awake from the mysterious coffin, his vision blurred by tears. He shielded his eyes with his arm, taking a long while to slowly steady himself.
Song Huaiyan was half-reclining in a rattan chair in the courtyard, soaking up the sun. It was a rare, clear day after the rain—truly fine weather.
“Brother…” A raspy voice reached him.
Turning his head sideways, he saw Song Aiguo standing behind the doorframe, half his body swallowed by the shadows.
“You’re awake?” Lying motionless, Song Huaiyan drawled lazily, “Hungry? There’s food in the kitchen, go get some yourself”
“Brother.” The next second, the teenager from behind the doorway lunged straight into his arms.
A weight of over a hundred pounds slammed into him, nearly knocking the wind right out of his lungs.
“Are you trying to murder your own brother?!”
Song Huaiyan patted the back of the boy’s head. The big lout buried his face even deeper into his chest, and… there seemed to be a damp, sticky feeling spreading across his shirt.
“How old are you, why are you still acting like a baby?” Grabbing the back of his collar, Song Huaiyan tried to peel the kid off him, but the young fellow clung desperately to his shirt and refused to let go no matter what.
“Brother, I remembered a lot of things again…” With his forehead pressed against Song Huaiyan’s chest, Song Aiguo spoke in a muffled, clinging voice. “I dreamed about Xiao Yu again.”
Lifting his face slightly to reveal his eyes, he asked, “Brother, were you trying to help Xiao Yu back then too, right?”
Song Huaiyan froze for a moment before reaching out to pat the boy’s head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to help him.”
Song Aiguo’s gaze dimmed slightly before he hugged Song Huaiyan even tighter. “It wasn’t Brother’s fault.”
“I was ignorant, and even ignored you for a long time after that…” He buried his head again. “Were you… hurting a lot back then?”
The teenager’s voice was choked with tears, and his warm breath scorched through the soaked shirt straight against Song Huaiyan’s chest.
“It was older brother who didn’t handle things well.” Stroking the boy’s soft hair, Song Huaiyan let out a soft sigh. “I always thought some things needed to be explained to you slowly.”
“Brother, I’m all grown up now. You don’t have to shoulder everything by yourself and keep it all locked in your heart.” Song Aiguo rubbed his tear- and snot-stained face against his clothes. “I’ll study hard and do my best. I can help you share a lot of the burden.”
“Alright then, start by honestly confessing your mistake this time.” Unable to bear the kid’s messy rubbing any longer, Song Huaiyan disgustedly hoisted him up by the collar.
“Ah… confess what?” Half-dangling, Song Aiguo wiped his face, staring back at him with a look of pure, unadulterated innocence.
Song Huaiyan: “…”
“Where did you put the copper coin I gave you?”
“Huh? Oh…” Recovering his wits, Song Aiguo jumped back a few paces, letting his hands hang at his sides as he awkwardly rubbed the seams of his pants. “That… I lent it to someone.”
Song Huaiyan: ??
Springing up from the lounge chair in an instant, he felt his blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar all skyrocket simultaneously.
“Song Aiguo!” Pointing right at the bridge of the boy’s nose, he barked, “What did I tell you? You’re supposed to carry that copper coin on you at all times, not even taking it off when you shower. Did you just let my words blow past your ears like the wind?”
“No, Brother… I, I really have been carrying it properly all along.” Song Aiguo’s face turned a mixture of pale and red. “It’s, it’s just that the cord snapped, and the class monitor said she could help me restring it. I was afraid you’d get mad if the cord broke, so I temporarily gave it to her and let her help… And then, then the next day she asked me where I’d gotten such an amulet, saying she hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep in over half a month, but yesterday, perhaps because of this copper coin, she actually managed to sleep soundly through the night, and she wanted to go get one herself…”
“And then you just handed the copper coin over to her?” Song Huaiyan was equal parts furious and exasperated.
“N—no!” Lowering his head, Song Aiguo mumbled defensively, “I told her it was an heirloom and couldn’t be bought anywhere, so she asked if she could buy it from me, offering any amount of money she wanted. Of course I wouldn’t sell it, but she really has been in terrible spirits lately. I figured the copper coin must be helping her, and besides, not wearing it for a single night didn’t seem to cause any problems, so I said… she could borrow it for a few days, and return it to me after the holiday…”
Hearing this, Song Huaiyan fell silent for a moment before fixing him with an inscrutable, half-smiling look. “Do you like that girl?”
“Huh?” Startled, Song Aiguo flushed bright red, stuttering, “N—no, just, well, she’s our class monitor, she’s pretty, conscientious, and responsible, and she gets along great with everyone in the class…”
“Does she get along well with you?” Song Huaiyan asked.
Stiffening his crimson neck, Song Aiguo stayed silent.
“If you like someone, let them know.” Wearing the knowing smile of someone experienced in these matters, Song Huaiyan advised, “Though if she utterly loathes you, you probably shouldn’t say anything, just to avoid getting beaten up.”
The kid wasn’t an adult yet, but he was in university at least, so it didn’t count as puppy love. He wasn’t entirely opposed to supporting him.
“Huh?” Song Aiguo looked bewildered. “But she’s the class monitor…”
“So what if she’s the class monitor?”
“I mean, the class monitor is the class monitor, she can’t… What I mean is, the class monitor…” Stammering incoherently for a long while, Song Aiguo finally bit the bullet and blurted out, “I just like the class monitor!”
Song Huaiyan was genuinely taken aback by this confession. “Not bad, young man. So when are you bringing her home to visit?”
“Huh??” Song Aiguo’s brain short-circuited completely. “Brother, I’m being serious here!”
“Mhm, so you better work hard.” Song Huaiyan’s willow-leaf eyes narrowed slightly. “Bring both the girl and the coin back together.”
Dazed for a second, Song Aiguo suddenly clicked. “Brother, do you think there’s something wrong with her?”
“Look at you, showing flashes of intelligence every now and then.” Song Huaiyan chuckled. “Don’t worry, she’s probably just entangled by a nightmare; we just need to clear it out. There’s no rush, tell her whenever you feel the time is right. Asking you to bring her home is just a way to test your capabilities.”
Reaching into his pocket, he fished out a talisman. “Here, give this yellow talisman to her first. It’ll keep her safe from trouble for now, get the copper coin back, and wear it close to your body.”
“Oh.” Taking the talisman paper, Song Aiguo nodded obediently. “Brother, when will I be able to learn these things?”
“When your summer break starts—provided your grades aren’t too terrible.”
“Oh… Right, Brother, how is Grandpa Xu doing?” Song Aiguo abruptly changed the subject.
“Just remembered the massive mess you stirred up?” Song Huaiyan slanted a look at him.
“I’m sorry…” Lowering his head, Song Aiguo looked thoroughly guilt-ridden. “Did Grandpa Xu… go to be reincarnated already? What was his obsession, really?”
“What he wanted was an end to his sins. Not a fabricated, out-of-nowhere perfection, nor salvation through reliving his life.” Song Huaiyan spoke slowly. “Xiao Ai, the dreams in people’s hearts are often built upon their real-world pain and genuine needs. You cannot craft an illusory dream for them from the perspective of what you feel is complete. Sometimes, what they need isn’t a beautiful dream, but an end to their nightmares.”
Song Aiguo nodded with a half-comprehending look. “So that’s why Grandpa Xu said back then that he should remain outside of the reincarnation cycle for all eternity…”
Though young and naive, the teenager possessed an innate sensitivity and comprehension.
“Planting willows unintentionally only to alter someone’s life, trying with all your might yet failing to save a single soul—such is the impermanence of the world, beyond our control.” Seeing the sorrow on Song Aiguo’s face, Song Huaiyan couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
“However, since he has resolved his obsession, he will now enter a new cycle of rebirth, leaving his past lives behind him. All you need to do is remember him well.” He let out a soft sigh. “As a ferryman, you will witness all kinds of people, experience their love and hate, greed and anger, obsessions and grievances, and weave unique dreams for them. Do you still want to keep experiencing these things?”
Song Aiguo stood silently with lowered eyes for a moment before looking up, his dark eyes flashing with solemn and resolute light. “Then how can I weave better dreams for them?”
Song Huaiyan smiled faintly. “Read more web fiction.”
Song Aiguo: “Huh?”
Pillowing the back of his head with one hand, Song Huaiyan offered earnestly, “Accumulating experience on your own is too slow. Novels have every kind of plot imaginable; read enough of them, and you’ll naturally learn how to weave them.”
Dawning comprehension washed over Song Aiguo. “No wonder you’re always reading web novels whenever you have free time…”
“Alright, grab something to eat and head back to school.”
“So soon? Doesn’t Qingming have a three-day break?”
“Today is already the third day.”
Song Aiguo: …So he’d slept for two days straight?
Song Aiguo hurried back to school, leaving the small courtyard quiet once more.
Song Huaiyan lay back in the bamboo chair, quietly gazing up at the sky.
…Xiao Yu. That child.
Song Aiguo was born during the Ghost Festival when the yin-yang malevolent energies were exceptionally heavy, making him vulnerable to haunting by ghosts and nightmares from a young age. Growing up, he often played with little ghost spirits wandering around the mortal realm.
The child named Xiao Yu was a young young master from a wealthy family during the Republic era. After being murdered by a concubine, his corpse was concealed inside an urn and sealed with sorcery and dark arts. It wasn’t until villagers broke the urn while digging foundations for a house that he was finally released. Because his resentment was too deep, he rapidly transformed into an adversity (E).
Lacking a mature intellect and the complex obsessions of adults, the only thing he wanted was to go home.
He sought out Xiao Ai for the purpose of soul-snatching possession. By the time Song Huaiyan discovered it, a portion of Xiao Ai’s soul had already been trapped inside Xiao Yu’s nightmare realm.
Song Huaiyan entered Xiao Yu’s nightmare while Xiao Ai was asleep to extract his soul, but the deranged Xiao Yu grew even more violent as a result, refusing to even enter his Sahā Realm. Having little prior experience dealing with adversities back then, Song Huaiyan made the desperate choice to eliminate the adversity for the very first time.
To his dismay, Xiao Ai witnessed the entire process of that elimination.
Damaged soul coupled with the severe fright, Xiao Ai fell gravely ill and his constitution remained poor ever since.
One afternoon in the summer of the following year, Song Huaiyan was in the courtyard making paper offerings while Xiao Ai played outside for a bit before sleepily heading indoors to nap.
“Brother, Xiao Ai is sleepy…” Rubbing his red eyes, he had spoken in a soft, slurry voice. “It’s so hot, I want some mung bean soup.”
“Go sleep then, brother will make it for you when you wake up.”
“Mhm, brother, I want to hear the story of the Monkey King again tonight…”
He fell asleep hugging his pillow in his small bamboo chair, and simply stopped breathing.