Chapter 366 - 378: Farewell
The other attendants and the railway police had left. Only An Ning, Lin Cuihua, and the mother and son remained in the train car.
An Ning glanced at Lin Cuihua. ’It should be fine,’ she thought. ’Everyone at home knows I’ve been studying with a Feng Shui Master and can handle a thing or two with ghosts and spirits, right?’
"You said you saw my husband?"
The woman asked impatiently. She hadn’t believed it at first, but when An Ning described the special, inverted-triangle-shaped red mole behind her husband’s left ear, she started to have some faith.
Listening from the side, Lin Cuihua felt a chill run down her spine and grabbed An Ning’s wrist.
"Mom, don’t worry. I’ve learned a lot from my master."
At that moment, Lin Cuihua really wanted to say: ’Even if you’d studied under Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad himself, I still wouldn’t be at ease!’
However, her daughter was at work, so Lin Cuihua kept quiet, only shuffling a little closer to An Ning.
If something really happened, she could at least shield her daughter.
"I can see him. You could say I’m half a Feng Shui Master."
An Ning pointed to a spot. "He’s right here. You can see Daddy, can’t you, sweetheart?"
The little boy jumped out of the woman’s arms. Completely unafraid of the bloodstains on the man, he hugged his legs and called out affectionately, "Daddy!"
The man wanted to respond, but he couldn’t. He looked at An Ning again.
"The living and the dead are meant to be forever separate. If you communicate with people in the mortal world, they will be harmed."
Hearing this, the man shook his head vigorously. ’No, no, I don’t want them to be harmed.’
’This is fine, too. At least I can see them.’
An Ning looked back at the woman, who was staring in the boy’s direction, though she couldn’t see anything.
"He... he’s right there?"
"Yes."
The woman stood up and took a deep breath, the skin on her face taut with effort. One step, two steps, she stood before the man.
"Is he... hurt?"
The woman’s first question made the man’s soul tremble. He shook his head, begging An Ning not to tell the truth.
"No, he passed without any pain."
What was the reality?
The man had been an undercover police officer. After his identity was discovered, he endured unspeakable torture. Yet, with his last breath, he managed to send out his final message.
It was precisely because of the message he sent that a group of criminals who had harmed their countrymen was eliminated.
"As long as it wasn’t painful. As long as it wasn’t painful."
The woman said, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, "You don’t know... I dreamed you were hurt. It hurt so, so much, and my heart ached along with you."
The woman’s words made the man shed tears as well. He so desperately wanted to wipe away the tears from her eyes, but he couldn’t. His hand hovered over her face.
"Ah? Is he touching me? I felt a current of air, didn’t I?"
The woman looked at An Ning, desperate for confirmation. An Ning nodded.
The woman wept with joy.
"I... I knew it. He could never bear to see me sad."
Lin Cuihua, on the side, had long forgotten her fear. She was now holding a handkerchief, constantly wiping her tears.
’Who the hell could stand this!’
"Aidang, I’ll take good care of myself, our boy, and our families. I’ll handle everything, so you can rest easy."
The woman began to speak. She didn’t know if any of this was real, but deep down, she didn’t want her man to pass on with burdens or worries.
"And don’t you dare blame yourself. Don’t feel guilty. The greatest joy of my life was marrying you."
"Our boy is so proud to have a father like you, and our parents are proud, too."
The woman kept speaking, and from her words, An Ning could tell that the bond between them was profound.
The man was already a mess of tears. He truly didn’t want to leave, but he knew his current state couldn’t last for long.
"Daddy, don’t cry! I’ll be a good boy! I want to be a great hero! I want to be a policeman!"
As the second person who could see the man, the little boy blew softly on his father’s wounds with his small hand.
Seeing that practiced motion, the woman clutched at her heart, the pain so overwhelming she could barely breathe.
’She knew it...’
The woman had never seen his body; she had only received his ashes and his medal.
"Resolve the knot in your heart, and all the pain will disappear."
At An Ning’s words, the man looked up.
Something must have resonated with him. The wounds on the man’s body began to disappear, bit by bit. The swelling on his face subsided and then vanished completely.
As his lingering obsession faded, the man’s wounds vanished. He returned to his best self—the way he looked in his police uniform.
"Daddy’s handsome!"
The little boy’s cry, combined with the soothing and gentle healing from An Ning’s spiritual power, allowed the heartbroken woman to gaze into the void with eyes full of hope.
"He’s... all better now, isn’t he?"
"Yes. Everything is fine now. Both his body and his soul have found comfort and peace."
The woman’s withered heart found solace.
But a second later, she realized what this meant and asked, "He has to go now, doesn’t he?"
"Yes. The living and the dead are separate; it is not good to linger. It would be harmful to you, to your son, and to him."
The woman nodded in understanding. As she gazed peacefully into the void, she seemed to see the man in the police uniform who had married her.
"Aidang, you look most handsome in your uniform."
The woman’s words made the man’s soul step forward and place a light kiss on her cheek.
"I..." The woman touched her cheek. Seeing her look, An Ning nodded and said, "He’s kissing you."
"We’ve been married for so long... He always loved doing things like that."
Perhaps with his wish fulfilled, the man’s soul dissolved into motes of light and vanished, bit by bit.
"Daddy— Daddy’s gone!"
At her son’s cry, the woman knelt and hugged him tightly, stroking his back. "Mommy’s here. Daddy will always live in our hearts. The three of us will always be together, okay?"
"No— I want Daddy!"
The little boy began to wail. The woman just held him, comforting him, her own tears unknowingly soaking his shoulder.
At some point, the little boy cried himself to sleep.
An Ning took the little boy and laid him on the bed to sleep peacefully for a while.
She took a leaf-shaped Jade Pendant from her bag and placed it on the boy’s stomach.
"Children’s eyes are the purest, which is why they can sometimes see certain things."
"This will help ward off any negative energies for him."
After An Ning’s explanation, the woman gave her a deep, formal bow and offered a heartfelt thank you.
Even now, the woman wasn’t sure if what had just happened was real, but she hoped it was.
"Please, get up. This was our fate."
An Ning looked at the boy lying on the bed. ’I wonder if he has a natural Yin Yang Eye, or if it’s just the simple innocence of a child’s sight.’
’If he really does have a natural Yin Yang Eye, has my master finally found his apprentice?’
An Ning turned and asked the woman, "Where are you headed?"
"Beijing."
’Even more fated.’