When Jiang Wenxin saw the elevator doors close, she quickly reached out to press the buttons for Basement Levels 1 and 2, but stopped halfway.
Although she didn't know Shen Siyuan, she knew he was an employee of Glorious Animation and often saw him at the company, so she wasn't worried about being unable to find him.
Right now, the most important thing was the daughter in her arms. Countless questions filled her heart, all of which she wanted to ask the little person in her embrace.
"Doudou, you…"
Jiang Wenxin opened her mouth but didn't know what to ask.
After a moment of thought, she asked softly, "Doudou, have you… have you been by Mom's side these past two years?"
"Hee hee~, and Dad's too," Doudou said with a giggle, rubbing her eyes.
But then she added with a hint of grievance, "But you couldn't hear me talk, and you couldn't see me."
"I'm sorry, it's Mom's fault."
Jiang Wenxin stroked her little face, her heart aching.
At three years old, Doudou's speech wasn't very clear, and she often mixed things up, but Jiang Wenxin was her mother, after all. Though she hadn't seen her daughter for over two years, her love and understanding for her were etched into her very bones.
So, with her gentle guidance, she quickly figured out the whole story.
"I drank lots and lots of water, I couldn't drink anymore, and my tummy felt like it was going to burst.
And the seawater tasted so bad…"
Doudou patted her little tummy, her small brow furrowed as if she could still feel the pain from back then.
"Then suddenly, my tummy didn't feel full anymore.
I felt all light and floaty, so I quickly swam up from the sea. Mom, let me tell you, I was so amazing then, whoosh whoosh whoosh… like a little sea turtle…"
Doudou waved her arms, her face full of excitement.
The reason she said she was like a little sea turtle was because her family had once kept one for her, and they had later taken her to release it into the ocean.
"When I got to the sandy beach… there were so many Police Officers on the beach… But you couldn't see me.
I saw Mom crying so sadly. I tried to comfort you and kiss you, but you couldn't hear or see me.
I was so sad…"
Doudou had drowned. Binhai was a coastal city, so it was very normal to go to the beach to play in the summer.
Doudou had gone to the beach with her Grandpa and Grandma when an accident happened, and she was swept away by a wave.
Jiang Wenxin had fallen gravely ill.
After she recovered, she fell into a deep state of self-blame.
She had always been the one to look after Doudou.
That day, something had come up unexpectedly, and since Grandpa and Grandma had also said they missed their granddaughter, Jiang Wenxin had sent Doudou to their place for a day. She never imagined that an accident would happen in just that one day.
Her husband, worried she would become depressed staying at home for too long, asked a relative to arrange her current, less demanding job.
Sure enough, after starting work, Jiang Wenxin slowly began to emerge from her grief.
"Mom, I was a good baby, you know? I always followed behind you obediently, or waited at home all by myself for you to get off work…"
There was a trace of pride in Doudou's voice, but also a hint of grievance.
Hearing this, Jiang Wenxin's heart ached, and she hugged her tightly before walking out of the elevator.
"Mom knows, my baby is the best…"
Basement Level 3 wasn't dark; it was brightly lit. Even so, in the past, when she got off work every day and walked alone in this silent space, Jiang Wenxin still felt a little scared and would subconsciously quicken her pace.
But today, she didn't feel the slightest bit of fear. Instead, she wished she could walk slower, for much longer.
"Mom~"
"What is it, baobei?"
"From now on, when you walk, can you walk a little slower, just like this?" Doudou asked, waving her little hands."Why? Mom doesn't usually walk very fast."
"No, you walk very fast, hmm…"
Doudou tilted her little head in thought, looking unbearably cute.
"One time, I went shopping with Mom, but you walked too fast, and I lost you. But I was very smart.
I didn't run around; I just waited for you right where I was. But… but…"
As Doudou spoke, her little lips started to pout, full of grievance.
"But I waited for a long, long time…" Doudou stretched out her tiny arms to illustrate.
Hearing this, Jiang Wenxin's heart broke for her.
It seemed she had lost her again. Thankfully, the Little One was smart and had waited for her right there.
But the thought of leaving her there, waiting all alone, made her heart feel like it was being pricked by needles.
"Some uncles and aunties said they could take me to find you, but Dad said I can't go with strangers, so I just waited for you there.
But… but Mom, I waited for too long, I got so anxious. So Mom, please don't walk so fast in the future, okay…"
Hearing this, Jiang Wenxin noticed a problem in her words and couldn't help but ask, "What uncles and aunties?"
"The uncles and aunties who died too," Doudou said innocently.
So Doudou already knew that she herself had also died.
Jiang Wenxin's heart skipped a beat.
If that was the case, weren't there a lot of ghosts in this world?
Could it be that after people die, they all wander the mortal realm? Shouldn't they go to Heaven? No, this was Great Xia, so they should return to the Netherworld.
*
Shen Siyuan saw an unbelievable scene.
There were ghosts everywhere outside. Some were pacing under the streetlights, some were strolling on the roads, and others were loitering outside the shops…
The living didn't avoid the ghosts, and the ghosts didn't avoid the living.
They were clearly demarcated, not interfering with each other.
The sight made Shen Siyuan want to summon the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and snatch up all these Wandering Souls.
Unfortunately, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was currently in a broken state, with most of its abilities lost. Sucking up souls on such a large scale was simply impossible right now.
Besides, he wasn't a Demon Cultivator; he wouldn't do something so utterly depraved.
In addition, he had just received this Opportunity and didn't fully understand this world yet.
It was better to be cautious.
Shen Siyuan walked out of the Office Building and into the Parking Lot, finding his little Electric Scooter.
All the while, he was observing these Wandering Souls.
This land of Heaven and Earth was truly strange.
There wasn't a trace of Spiritual Qi, yet ghosts existed.
And these ghosts, while seeming to lack any order, actually operated by their own set of rules.
Humans couldn't see ghosts, and ghosts couldn't affect humans. They could even potentially be harmed by a person's Human Body Three Fires.
A ghost could only latch onto a person if that person's own fortune declined and their Three Fires diminished. While it wouldn't cause any substantial harm, the person would suffer from Bad Luck, and Everything Goes Wrong for them.
The so-called Three Fires referred to the Crown Fire and the Left and Right Shoulder Fires. The stronger a person was, the brighter their Three Fires would burn.
Ghosts had to keep their distance, unless they were a person's own relatives.
This was what kept ghosts and humans clearly demarcated, not interfering with each other.
This point was actually quite similar to The Great Wilderness. But The Great Wilderness had the Underworld, the Netherworld, the Underworld Realm, Hell, and even the Pure Land, Divine Kingdom, Heaven, True Void Homeland, and so on.
Everyone had their own final destination.
But the ghosts of this world seemed to have no destination, leaving them to wander everywhere.
And because the Heaven and Earth Qi was turbid, no powerful Vengeful Ghosts or Evil Spirits could be born. In this way, this world had achieved a kind of balance, where everyone coexisted peacefully.
However, Shen Siyuan also noticed that some ghosts would turn into particles and disappear. Yet, Shen Siyuan didn't sense any power of Guiding; they simply vanished.
Looking at the Wandering Souls coming and going on the street, Shen Siyuan felt as if he had forgotten something.