Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 49 Courage

Chapter 49: Chapter 49 Courage

Hongxia, my daughter:

Time has slipped by, and the days no longer return. Without realizing it, more than thirty years have passed since your father ventured out into the world, my heart wild as untamed grass, only desiring to live freely, which led me to neglect your mother and you, causing our relationship to fracture and ultimately end in separation.

Over the years, your father has missed you terribly. I still remember the day you were born, the insane joy in my heart. When you lay in my arms, so tiny, with sparse hair on your head – at that moment, I experienced a feeling I’d never had before, like drinking ice water on a hot summer day, a chill spreading throughout my body...

Writing this, Shen Siyuan paused, looking over towards Lu Guanchang, unsure of how sincere his words were.

Perhaps everything he was saying was true, but then why did it change? Why did he abandon them, not inquiring after them for so many years...

It is only after one has experienced pain that they understand regret.

If it weren’t for wanting to try and see, to help such a person, to see if there was any merit in it, Shen Siyuan would have never agreed to help him.

"What’s wrong?" Lu Guanchang noticed Shen Siyuan had stopped writing and came back to reality.

"Nothing, continue," Shen Siyuan said.

So Lu Guanchang resumed organizing his thoughts.

He began with reminiscences, recounting many interesting moments between father and daughter when she was young, then expressed his remorse towards his daughter, and only at the end did he speak of his own matters, how his lifelong efforts had come to naught and he felt unwilling to accept that, all of it should have belonged to her; he hoped she would come to Bin Hai to meet him face to face.

Throughout he never mentioned his own death, only that his days were numbered.

Lu Guanchang’s manner of speaking was somewhat understandable; if he said he was already dead, a lot of things would become unclear.

"That’s all, thank you, Master," Lu Guanchang said respectfully.

"Tomorrow I will send it off via express delivery, Ci’en is quite close, she should receive it the day after tomorrow..."

"Good, good, thank you, Master, thank you~" Lu Guanchang kept thanking him, his face full of joy.

Shen Siyuan gestured with his hand and said, "You should leave, I need to rest as well."

"Alright then, I will... I will first make a trip to Ci’en," he said after thinking for a bit.

"That’s fine," Shen Siyuan nodded.

This way, he would know in advance whether his daughter would come to Bin Hai or not.

Once Lu Guanchang left, it wasn’t long before Yin Xingyue and Dou Dou flew into the room through the window with Yin Wind.

"You two don’t need to keep me company here, especially Dou Dou, you should go home and be with your dad and mom."

Shen Siyuan picked up his cellphone which had several messages from Jiang Wenxin, seemingly discussing an upcoming blind date, but in reality, she was inquiring if Dou Dou was with him or if she had gone missing.

"Oh? Do dad and mom miss me? I miss them a little too."

Dou Dou, who had forgotten her parents in her playful distractions, was reminded by Shen Siyuan and suddenly remembered her mom and dad.

"Goodbye Potato, goodbye Sister Xiao Yue..."

After waving her little hand at the two, she hopped onto the Yin Wind, hastily flying out the window.

"This little one..."

Shen Siyuan shook his head helplessly, then turned his gaze to Yin Xingyue beside him and said, "If you have nowhere to go, feel free to stay here."

Yin Xingyue shook her head and replied, "I want to see if the police have found him..."

Shen Siyuan knew who she was referring to and nodded in agreement.

Yin Xingyue also took off with Yin Wind, and Shen Siyuan looked at the time; it was almost half-past ten.

He then picked up his clothes to change into and went to the bathroom, deciding to take a shower before going to bed.

However, upon finishing his shower and exiting the bathroom, he found Yin Xingyue had returned unbeknownst when and was sitting obediently on the sofa as if waiting for his return.

"What’s up?" Shen Siyuan asked in slight astonishment.

"He’s dead," Yin Xingyue said in a calm tone.

His abrupt statement puzzled Shen Siyuan for a moment, but he quickly realized what was meant.

He hurriedly asked, "You mean, your stepdad died?"

"He’s not my dad," Yin Xingyue seriously corrected.

"Alright, my mistake. So, Fang Yunlou is dead? How did he die?"

Yin Xingyue nodded, then shook her head, and said somewhat timidly, "I saw him, then I came back. I don’t know how he died."

Shen Siyuan stepped forward and patted her on the head.

"Don’t be afraid, now he should be the one afraid of you, isn’t that what you told Dou Dou yourself?"

Yin Xingyue’s fear of Fang Yunlou stemmed from the control and mental intimidation she endured while he was alive. As a little girl still in elementary school, there was much about the world that perplexed and confused her. Her mother didn’t stand by her, she was bullied at school, and even her teachers didn’t look favorably upon her...

Eventually, she completely broke down and chose suicide.

But her death didn’t mean the fear of Fang Yunlou disappeared.

However, she needed to come out of it herself, Shen Siyuan couldn’t help her with that.

"Don’t be afraid, you still have me. Now you’re my protector, I won’t let anyone hurt you..."

Shen Siyuan’s words seemed to give Yin Xingyue a lot of courage, as a pale blue light began to emanate from her body, the light of the Netherworld Fire she had gathered within her.

Yin Xingyue looked up at Shen Siyuan and whispered, "Thank you, brother."

Shen Siyuan smiled faintly and patted her little head, "Go on, do what you want to do."

Yin Xingyue nodded, then turned into a gust of Yin Wind and disappeared within the room.

Fang Yunlou was dead, his death was a gruesome one, filled with torment.

He died full of unwillingness; his career was about to soar to a new height, he still had so much money unspent, and there was so much joy waiting for him to experience. How could he just die like this?

But dead is dead, no matter how furiously he raged, no matter how loudly he roared at his killer, attempting to fight for his life, it was all in vain.

In the end, he could only choose to return home despondently, home, the ultimate resting place for the soul, a place that brought him a sense of security, even as a ghost.

On his way back, he encountered all manner of ghosts. Few retained a complete human form, most were grotesque and contorted, just like himself.

His upper body was human, but his lower body was like that of an octopus, covered in gooey tentacles. These tentacles were short and disgusting.

As a new ghost, after witnessing the other side of the world, he was extremely cautious, avoiding contact with other ghosts as much as possible.

It was only after he cautiously made it back home that he took a deep sigh of relief. But upon seeing his still-glamorous wife, he couldn’t help but feel resentful.

I’m dead, why should she still be alive? Moreover, all my wealth would go to her.

The more he thought about her spending his money, moaning beneath another man, the more his eyes filled with rage and hatred, the more tentacles grew, eventually spreading throughout the house, until he completely transformed into an octopus monster.

With his tentacles, he ensnared Yang Xuejiao, taking her away with him.

Even as the three fires on her body sizzled and smoked under his grasp, he was unwilling to let go.

Thanks to his relentless effort, Yang Xuejiao’s three fires grew weaker and feeble, flickering like candles in the wind.

But just then, a gust of Yin Wind blew into the room, and a small figure appeared before Fang Yunlou.

Seeing the newcomer, Fang Yunlou’s eyes showed a malevolent glee, his mouth splitting into a horrific smile.

"I’m not afraid of you anymore."

Blue flames rose.

PS: To explain, ghosts cannot hurt people, but being haunted by a ghost brings misfortune, a decline in luck, all things going awry, losing of wealth, or suffering from a serious illness.

I’ve mentioned this in Chapter 7, the setting hasn’t changed.

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