Bang bang bang!
At the moment the fireworks bloomed, Nie Jiu sat cross-legged in the vast night, his arms crossed, looking left and right.
In front of him were tall buildings, and not far behind him was a park.
So, where was this place?
Suddenly, a hellhound appeared in his sight.
He quickly floated over, and before he could speak, he heard the hellhound bark:
"On vacation, no overtime, no overtime… I don't know anything, woof~"
Nie Jiu: "..."
He was silent for a moment, "Happy New Year."
Hellhound: "Happy New Year, woof~"
"It's the New Year, I didn't prepare any gifts. How about you lead me the way as a gift?"
"Woof???"
The hellhound was stunned, then it took out a bone, "Here you go, woof~"
Nie Jiu shook his head.
The hellhound took out two more bones.
Nie Jiu smiled and shook his head.
The hellhound dug around again, but before it could pull anything out, Nie Jiu picked it up.
"Woof woof woof…!"
It didn't want to work overtime!
It's just a dog, let it go!
...
On a mountain peak in the human world.
Li Xiao sat leaning against a tree, beside him was a tombstone with no words.
In front of the tombstone was a bouquet of fresh flowers.
He looked at the full moon in the sky and the faint fireworks in the distance, and said softly:
"Happy New Year, sis."
...
"Grandma, is this okay?"
Ji Yin was at Fu Jia's house, learning to wrap tangyuan with her.
He handed over a ball of dough. The dough balls were of varying sizes, some fat and some thin, but at least they resembled tangyuan.
Fu Jia looked at them, her face creased, "Yes, yes, you're learning quickly."
"Hehe…" Ji Yin smiled a little sheepishly.
He checked the time and suddenly said, "Grandma, Happy New Year."
Fu Jia was skillfully wrapping tangyuan, the dough balls turning into round white snowballs in her hands in no time.
Hearing Ji Yin's words, a nostalgic look appeared in her eyes.
"Happy New Year…"
...
The Underworld.
The Ghost Market was bustling with ghosts coming and going.
There were couples strolling hand in hand, families out for a meal, and brothers drinking on the street, sharing the good and bad things that happened in the past year.
On the other side of this liveliness, there were also many lonely figures and desolate corners.
Ghost Market Residential Area.
Two ghosts sat side by side on a dilapidated rooftop, their hands tucked into their sleeves in a farmer's pose.
This area was exceptionally quiet.
They looked at the lively Ghost Market from afar, sighed, their backs looking lonely.
Looking at their clothing again, it was all very worn and patched.
"I wonder when I will disappear," the ghost in blue cloth said leisurely.
His face had slight wrinkles, making him look about sixty or seventy years old, the age of a grandfather in the human world.
Beside him was a tall, thin male ghost dressed in black cloth.
He sniffled and asked,
"How long have you been down here?"
Blue-clothed ghost: "At least two hundred years…"
"I came down here even earlier than you."
The tall, thin ghost's eyes reflected the lights of the Ghost Market, "Why is human memory so short?"
The blue-clothed ghost's lips twitched, revealing a bitter smile, "Forget it, it's time for us old folks to go. What's the point of staying any longer?"
"… Alas!"
The two ghosts spoke no more. Against the backdrop of the Ghost Market, this space seemed even more silent and desolate.
Even the wind blowing through the air seemed to carry a hint of coolness.
"Wang Erdan, someone burned money for you, come and collect it."
From below the rooftop, a voice suddenly called out.
The blue-clothed ghost sitting on the rooftop enjoying the cool breeze suddenly stood up, his face showing disbelief.
"Calling me?"
"Yes, Wang Erdan. Come down quickly and see if the birth dates match." The voice below said.
Wang Erdan, dressed in blue, felt like crying and laughing at the same time, and also a little scared.
"I haven't received any money for so long, how could it suddenly…"
Even he himself didn't know which generation his descendants had reached now, what their children looked like, or how old they were…
But no matter what, he was very quick to get off the roof.
The tall, thin ghost next to him was stunned.
Not long after Wang Erdan went down, his excited voice could be heard.
Clearly, the money was indeed burned for him.
"…"
The tall, thin ghost was flustered in the wind. Weren't they supposed to embrace each other back-to-back and wait to disappear together?
He pursed his lips, suddenly feeling a bitter taste in his mouth.
The most heartbreaking thing in this world is not that everyone is going to die, but that when everyone is waiting to die, another person suddenly says they don't have to.
This feeling…
The tall, thin ghost got up, wanting to leave this place and cry quietly.
As soon as he turned, a voice from below called out again: "Li Houzi, why are you running, come down and collect money!"
"Ah?" Daifeng Novel
The tall, thin ghost Li Houzi was stunned. The foot he had just stepped out missed its mark, and he tumbled down from the rooftop.
"Ouch—!"
Li Houzi grinned as he got up from the ground, holding his waist and limping towards the place, saying anxiously:
"Is it me, is it me? Could the name be wrong? Did you mistake me?"
He rushed to the ghost messenger who called him, pointing at his face, "It's dark, sir, did you see clearly, is it this face?"
The ghost messenger opposite him simply threw him something, "You check it yourself, is it you."
Li Houzi looked at the name, birth date, and other information on the paper. There was even a hand-drawn, ugly portrait.
His eyes immediately blurred, and he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it's me, it's me, I'm the ghost on here."
"It's me, it's me…"
He wiped his eyes and said to the ghost messenger opposite him, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir, Happy New Year, Happy New Year…"
The expression on the ghost messenger's face softened a little, "Have a good New Year."
"Yes, yes, thank you, thank you…"
Li Houzi didn't know what else to say. He looked at the paper package in his hand, how could it be so sudden…
He sniffled and looked up at the sky of the Underworld, as if looking further through this sky…
The Human World.
On this day, when myriad lights illuminated the homes, and humans traveled thousands of miles to reunite with their families.
There were youths, children, and adults who were already married with children…
They flipped through their family trees, asking the older generation for more information.
"Grandpa, is our family tree complete?"
"Mom, think again, who else is in the older generations? Is there any information about them?"
Through the 'Live Stream: Daily Healing in the Underworld' broadcast, they learned that to specifically burn money for someone, clear information such as birth dates was required.
Or in a specific place, such as in front of a tombstone.
Separated by life and death, there wasn't much they could do.
In the past, they sought out their ancestors to ask for dreams or inheritance, to change their current lives.
But now, they just hoped that everyone could have a good year.
Perhaps, their ancestors also had a difficult time.
Even those who usually didn't believe in such things opened their family trees, seeking some peace of mind.
...
(ps: In this article, as understood by Mushroom, ghosts are a form of existence of another life form, and also a reflection of the human world. Another way of existence for humans. [This explanation is limited to this article and does not represent any other articles or interpretations.]
So, as ghosts existing as another life form, do they have kidneys?)