A cool breeze blew.

A layer of moonlight gradually spread over the dark hillside.

The eclipse of the moon by the celestial dog was over.

I placed five memorial tablets in front of the ancestral grave of the Diao family and lit them. The wood crackled in the flames, accompanied by the screams of women.

Naked, I looked at these women and thought of their tragic backgrounds, feeling somewhat sorrowful.

As the fire burned, thick white smoke rose from the memorial tablets.

Five young women emerged from the smoke, smiling and bowing to Li Laosì, then disappeared.

Only Qiuge remained.

In that instant, Qiuge returned to her former appearance.

She was still the same Qiuge, with a smile on her lips and a stubbornness in her eyes.

I was so frightened that I tried to run away.

Li Laosì said:

"Why are you running? The ones you saw before were sent by the Diao family to harm you, but this time it's real."

I wasn't running because I was afraid of her, but because I was afraid she would see me in my current strange state.

I squatted on the ground with my legs folded, facing Qiuge.

It never occurred to me that this would be our final farewell.

Li Laosì took off his shirt and tied it around my waist.

Then he said to Qiuge:

"Say what you need to say quickly, midnight is approaching."

Qiuge smiled, opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

That's when I remembered that her tongue was still in the Diao family's memorial tablet.

A few crackling sounds came from the flames, and finally, they burned out. Qiuge's mouth finally made a sound.

"Brother..."

As soon as the words came out, tears immediately streamed down her face, but she was only crying.

Li Laosì reminded her from the side:

"Say what you need to say, the gate is closing."

Qiuge pursed her lips, smiled, and waved to me.

"Brother, I can't go with you anymore. Study hard and go on!"

My throat tightened, and I didn't know what to say for a moment.

After a gust of wind, Qiuge disappeared.

I looked sadly at Qiuge's tombstone.

"Why did such a good girl have to return to the underworld?"

Li Laosì said:

"There's always a process for everything. Just ascending from a hungry ghost to a ghost is progress. This child was pitiful in her life, and I can't let her suffer in death. I brought the gold she swallowed with her, so in her next life, she won't have to worry about food and drink."

I felt somewhat disdainful.

"There's no need to keep talking about the next life. No one remembers what happened in the previous life. What does it matter if the previous life was good or not?"

Suddenly, I felt a bit of resentment.

"If retribution is truly real, it should appear in this lifetime."