Chapter Twenty-Six: The Original Leg Returned

My throat felt as if something were lodged in it, rendering me speechless. It was no wonder she had appeared so suddenly when I made a sound in the bathroom the other day. And yesterday, she must have been awake the whole time, otherwise, how would she have known I came to see her for the second time?

I had just told her to stay home tomorrow, and she must have thought I was annoyed with her and wanted to get rid of her. Otherwise, knowing her personality, she never would have said such sentimental things!

Her heart is fragile and cannot withstand such blows. In this world, I am the only person she can rely on. Her feelings for my grandfather are purely out of gratitude. She is terrified, wondering what she would do if I were to leave her.

Ignoring how dreadful the environment was, I stepped forward and pulled her into my arms. If I could have kissed her, I would have done so right then.

"Don't worry, I have never been annoyed with you, and I will never leave you!"

She is just a young girl who has done so much for me, yet she constantly worries whether I might leave her. Although she didn't show her concerns on her face, I could feel them.

In this life, having this one person is already enough. I am a person who is difficult to satisfy, but right now, I am content.

Hearing my words, tears welled up in Huang Ying's eyes and spilled over. This was the second time I had seen her cry. If not for the bizarre nature of this place, it would have been a truly harmonious scene.

After a long while, we began to search for the driver's severed leg again—a task completely at odds with the tenderness of the moment.

We searched through more than half the woods but found nothing. The dog must have dragged the leg out after I called the police, which was why they hadn't found it. Now that it was completely dark, we could only navigate the woods by the moonlight filtering through the branches.

Just as we were about to give up, I spotted a bloodstain the size of a palm on the fallen leaves. I stepped forward and, holding my nose, pushed the leaves aside.

The sight made me want to retch, and Huang Ying turned away immediately.

It was indeed the leg. Most of the flesh was gone, leaving the white bone clearly visible. Because several days had passed, it had severely decomposed and was crawling with maggots.

I took a plastic bag from my pack, reached over to brush off the maggots, placed the leg inside, and then tucked it into my backpack.

He could no longer be reincarnated because his physical body had been destroyed, but I felt a sense of guilt, so I figured I would do one last good deed by returning his leg to him. Huang Ying’s physical body was also destroyed, and she had been nailed to a wall as if cursed, which was why she couldn't be reincarnated either.

Afterward, I had Huang Ying enter the wooden box. I carried the box and kept the leg in my backpack; I didn't dare walk down the street carrying a human limb openly.

Back home, I told Huang Ying to stay put, but she insisted on coming with me. Although she didn't say it, I knew she was worried about my safety.

Huang Ying followed behind me as we approached the coffin. I don't know if it was psychological or if it was real, but a biting chill radiated from around the coffin.

With a homemade whip in my right hand and the human leg in my left, I crawled into the hole. Huang Ying had performed the same movement with such grace, whereas I was nowhere near her level.

I stood by the coffin, placed the leg on the ground, and pushed the lid open with all my might. The moment I opened it, a terrifying face inside suddenly opened its eyes.

This was so sudden that, even though I had been prepared, I was still badly startled and took two steps back. It was the driver inside the coffin; after my encounter with him yesterday, he looked even more horrific.

As soon as he saw me, he scrambled up. As he rose, I raised my whip. He immediately dodged to the corner, trembling as he looked at Huang Ying. I had thought he was afraid of me! Huang Ying is a ghost of over a hundred years, while he has only been one for a few days; it would be easy for her to deal with him.

"I'm here to help you!" I picked up the leg from the floor and waved it in front of him. When he saw his own leg, his entire body couldn't stop trembling. The car accident had been so horrific that even as a ghost, he felt terror at the memory. This must be what they call fear reaching into the very soul.

"I know it's hard for you like this, so I brought your leg back. I hope you'll stay in your grave from now on and not come out again," I said. I could have completely scattered his soul, but I didn't have the heart to do it.

He pondered for a moment and nodded. In truth, this was not the existence he wanted either.

Afterward, we crawled out of the hole. I told Huang Ying to go back first; I wanted to return the leg to his family. This time, she went back obediently.

I knocked on the front door of his home. A woman in her forties opened it, accompanied by a young girl of about twelve. Both the woman and the girl had swollen, red eyes. With a family member dead, I had expected this.

"Who are you looking for?" the woman asked.

"Are you Mrs. Lin, the driver's wife?" Many people were discussing the accident, and I had overheard his name.

When the woman heard the words "driver Lin," tears welled up in her eyes again.

"Yes... and you are?" she asked, wiping away tears, her voice choked with emotion.

"Could you ask the little one to go back to her room first?" I was afraid that if I brought out the leg, it would traumatize her.

"No, I want to stay with Mom," the girl said, clutching the woman's hand.

"Go inside for a moment," the woman said, and only then did the girl slowly head into the room.

Once she was gone, I pulled the leg out from behind me. Upon seeing it, the woman collapsed in shock. I quickly helped her up and said, "Don't be afraid, this is driver Lin's leg!"

The woman began to wail. Hearing her cry, the girl peeked out from the doorway. I immediately hid the leg, waiting until she pulled her head back inside before bringing it out again.

"Driver Lin came to me in a dream last night and said his leg was in the small woods near our school, and he asked me to help him find it!" I didn't plan on telling her that he had become a ghost, fearing it would only cause her more grief.

The woman took the leg, thanking me through her tears. She was so distraught at the sight of her husband's remains that she didn't notice the many flaws in my story.

After settling things with the driver, I returned home and sat comfortably on the sofa. I would call my grandfather later to learn more Taoist techniques, and then I had to go collect souls; I had a busy day ahead.

I called my grandfather first, and we spoke for several dozen minutes before hanging up. Afterward, I brought my laptop into Huang Ying's room. When she saw me enter, a smile appeared on her face.

I put on a new movie, and we watched it together. My mind wasn't on the film at all, but rather on Huang Ying, though I wondered if her mind was on me. We sat there until the movie ended, and then my next task was to go out and capture spirits.

"I want to go too!" Huang Ying said, looking at me with expectation.

I thought for a moment and agreed. I felt a sense of loss whenever I was away from her, especially at night—which was why I had been sneaking into her room every night to watch over her.

We didn't go far this time, just to a nearby public cemetery to collect spirits that hadn't been there long. Huang Ying already knew what I was collecting souls for from the previous night.

After we finished, we headed home. Walking side-by-side with Huang Ying, we looked just like a couple, yet we could never be like other lovers; physical intimacy was impossible for us.

At the time, I had promised to find a way for her to reincarnate, but until now, I hadn't even begun to look. It wasn't that I couldn't find a way; it was that I was afraid of finding one. So, I simply didn't look—and if that made me selfish, so be it.

In reality, even if I searched, there wouldn't be much hope. In my eyes, my grandfather was already a very powerful man, and even he had no solution. How would the petty Taoists out there know anything? Unless I could find those sects that specialized in ghost-catching, like Maoshan—but that was only in stories. In the real world, I had never heard of any Maoshan.

What still puzzled me was why my grandfather stayed in the countryside. Every time I asked him, he would avoid the question. According to my parents, my grandfather had lived in the city, but that was when my father was just a teenager—over thirty years ago. To stay in that place for so long, I suppose only my grandfather has that kind of patience.

Back home, I dialed his number. Every time I disturbed him so late, I felt like a very unfilial grandson. However, it was the only way I could spend a little more time talking to him. After my grandmother passed away, my grandfather had no one left to talk to, spending his days cooped up at home; I often wondered what he did with his time.