Chapter Twenty-Nine: Causes of the Past Life, Consequences of the Future Life

After the rush of the enrollment season subsided, the university town was no longer as bustling and noisy as it had been in early September. Lao Liao and I entered Wang Zihao's campus, where youthfulness permeated every corner. For someone like me—a dropout who never attended university—it was truly an enchanting place. After all, “the good life of university” was a universally acknowledged truth among people of our kind.

Right away, we saw Wang Zihao standing on the roadside, arms wrapped around a girl, flirting openly. “Hey, this kid is really fearless. If that female ghost sees him, won't she tear him apart?” Lao Liao grumbled angrily. “Xu, maybe we should leave him alone. Let’s wait until his talisman runs out—he’ll get what’s coming to him then.”

I shook my head, strode over to Wang Zihao, grabbed his wrist, and dragged him toward the campus gate.

“Wait for me!” The playboy, dragged away with one hand twisted behind his back, managed to wave to the girl with his free arm.

We wandered through the alleyways of the bar street in the university town. I had to admit, these young people had some truly novel ways of playing. Some bars were designed like secret agent rendezvous points. To enter, you simply had to say a password to the greeter outside, who would then manipulate a remote control to open a hidden door, allowing you in.

“Wow, it’s like being in a movie. Young people these days really know how to have fun.”

After circling several times, we still couldn’t find the little convenience shop we remembered. Lao Liao grew anxious. “What’s going on? Are you sure it’s on this street? Haven’t we been here before?”

Wang Zihao muttered, “Yes, I saw the old lady running her shop here last time…”

I gazed into the darkness at the end of the alley, sensing something odd. I stepped forward and pushed against a blocked wall, and with a creak, a small door opened.

The three of us exchanged glances, nodded, and entered. Before us lay a shabby little convenience shop: a counter for cigarettes and alcohol, a wall-mounted TV playing, a freezer cabinet filled with cold drinks, and four chairs at the bar.

Sounds of shuffling came from the inner room, and an elderly woman in a black robe emerged, trembling as she leaned on her cane. Her face was kindly and benevolent; one hand gripped the cane, the other held a pipe, and she eased herself into a chair.

“You three aren’t here to buy cigarettes, are you?”

Lao Liao took a half step back, bowed deeply, and greeted her, “I am Liao from Qingfeng Temple. Forgive our intrusion.”

“You must be the little apprentice from the ancestral temple, right? I held you when you were a child.” The old lady’s gaze was full of warmth as she looked at Lao Liao.

Lao Liao was startled. “May I ask who you are, elder?”

“Now, I’m just a decrepit old woman who tells fortunes for people’s marriages. Call me Granny Hua.”

Lao Liao’s expression flickered with uncertainty. I tugged at his sleeve, wanting to ask what was going on, and he shot me a look—I understood: this Granny was someone extraordinary.

“Granny Hua, today we…”

“You're here about that ghost marriage, aren’t you? Let’s put that aside for now. Let Granny give you a divination first.”

I watched in surprise as she took out a tortoise shell with several copper coins inside. Lao Liao’s expression grew even more astonished. Could this old lady be a Daoist, too?

Granny Hua shook the shell, and two coins fell out. She glanced at Lao Liao. “A rare talent in the Dao, gifted and intelligent. Success and renown await you; the younger generation is formidable. These sixteen words describe your past.”

“As for your future, I can only reveal half: If you fail to restrain yourself, heavenly calamity cannot be avoided. The final eight words depend on your own fate.” Granny Hua sighed. “As for your romance, don’t blame yourself too much. The beginning and end of every relationship are predestined.”

Listening to this strange exchange, I noticed Lao Liao’s fists clenched tightly, a shimmer in the corner of his eye. I refrained from probing further—Liao had secrets of his own, and he promised to tell me slowly in time. As his brother, I simply needed to stay quietly by his side.

Granny Hua turned to me. “Nine Yin converges—how many years since I’ve seen this fate! Young man, you’re born to walk the path of the Yin.” Her words struck me, and I quickly replied, “Granny, please teach me.”

She shook the tortoise shell again, but this time, despite the coins rattling inside, none fell out. Granny Hua shook her head. “I cannot divine your fate, not even the heavens have decreed it. Your life is filled with secrets waiting to be uncovered. You carry extraordinary skills; remember to honor the legacy you’ve received.”

Each of us was lost in thought, except for Wang Zihao, who was confused. “Old lady, what did you do to me before? Hurry up and break this cursed romance!”

Granny Hua took a puff from her pipe, smoke rings rising and fading away. “The cause of the past life, the fruit of the next. The debt you owed in your previous existence must be repaid in this one. Stop hiding—come forth.”

A chilling wind blew through, accompanied by the sound of opera singing, and the festive tones of suona seemed to echo in my ears. A woman in a bridal dress drifted in from outside, her feet not touching the ground. She was covered in red from head to toe, a red veil over her head—clearly a bride.

It was the ghostly woman from the Wu family. As she floated in, she sang with a haunting melody: “The voice of the void carries Xu Feiqiong; at first, it seems like the wind from another courtyard. Within the mournful notes, whose moonlit night brings the sound of three strokes on the zither? Counting the songs of parting, the tune never ends.”

Being familiar with opera, I recognized the song as “The Jade Hairpin,” but her singing was so sorrowful, as if she were telling her own story.

Granny Hua blew a smoke ring. “Debts from a past life must be repaid in this one.”

“What logic is that? Mistakes from a previous life have nothing to do with this one! You’re just pairing lovers at random!” I slammed the table angrily and looked at Lao Liao, signaling him to intervene.

He shook his head. “In the world of Yin, everything has its cause and effect. If this ghost is here because of a romantic debt Wang Zihao incurred in a past life, it’s reasonable for her to seek him out now. We don’t have the moral high ground.”

Seeing that arguing further was pointless, I stepped forward and blocked the space between the ghost and Wang Zihao.

The atmosphere grew tense. Granny Hua sighed softly. “Enough. Let these old bones tell you the story of this ill-starred romance.”