"We're not playing with you! You don't understand us at all, so stop pretending to pity us!"
"That's right! You haven't been abandoned by your mother, so you have no right to talk about us!"
"We refuse to be reincarnated! We'll stay with Grandpa. No one can drive us away! Humph!"
The resentful spirits laughed at Yan Shouyi and snatched the ball from his hands, intending to play elsewhere.
However, Yan Shouyi suddenly smacked the ball.
This startled the little ghosts.
"What are you doing? Trying to bully us because you're older? Be careful, we'll report you to Grandpa!" the little ghost threatened.
Yan Shouyi lowered his head, his hand pressed on the ball motionlessly, and said in a deep voice:
"Your parents abandoned you, and that was wrong of them. But there's no parent in this world who would willingly abandon their child. They have their own difficulties, their own pain. I know you're sad, but you can't blame them entirely!"
The little ghosts noticed that Yan Shouyi's emotions seemed off. They dared not argue with him and just stared at him blankly.
"Some parents are children themselves. Due to a moment of pleasure, they made a mistake. But they have their own lives and had to make the painful choice to sacrifice you. You still have a chance to start over, but they don't."
"It's not kinship that's wrong. You shouldn't refuse to face a beautiful future and accept the next life just because of some unpleasant past. Parents are the greatest people in this world. You should experience it for yourselves."
"You haven't experienced mother's love, so you can criticize your mother. But I've never even met my mother. Yet, she sacrificed everything for me. She abandoned me too, left me, but I don't even have the chance or reason to blame her. How I wish I could see her one more time, to see her face, hear her voice, and feel her embrace..."
As he spoke, Yan Shouyi's shoulders began to tremble.
Perhaps it was because he had experienced too much recently, or he had borne too much alone, or perhaps he simply needed to vent.
A man doesn't cry easily, but before his mother, Yan Shouyi was just a child.
His throat choked, his cheeks ached. He managed to squeeze out two tears and quickly wiped them away.
"You have your own futures to face. Don't stand still. Grandpa also has things to attend to, so I hope you can go to reincarnation with peace of mind and truly enjoy the feeling of being a child."
The few resentful spirits stood there, perhaps moved by Yan Shouyi's words, and remained silent for a long time.
The most mischievous child suddenly said weakly, "What if my new mom and dad don't like me?"
"They will. Children are the most precious gifts bestowed by heaven upon parents. They will cherish you as much as their own lives," Yan Shouyi replied with a smile.
Another resentful spirit asked, "Will they give me candy? Will they tuck me in and tell me stories? When others bully me, will they stand up for me?"
Yan Shouyi said, "Of course. They will want to give you the best of everything."
Upon hearing Yan Shouyi's words, the little ghosts' hearts began to waver.
"I... I kind of want a mom and dad now," one of the children confessed, unable to hold back their tears.
This time, the children's emotions were genuine, and tears streamed down their faces. The other children were affected as well.
Children are still children; they long to be protected and cherished.
Yan Shouyi's empathetic words seemed to ignite a fire within them.
At this moment, Zhang Shantong suddenly put down his wine bottle and walked up to the children.
"Do you want your own parents?" Zhang Shantong asked.
The children looked reluctant: "But we don't want to leave you, Grandpa."
"Grandpa is Grandpa, not your parents," Zhang Shantong sighed. "If you wish to find your parents, I can give you reincarnation slips and send you on your way."
The little ghosts, with snot running down their noses, sadly made their decision.
They wanted their own parents.
Zhang Shantong couldn't help but sigh.
These mischievous brats had actually been persuaded by Yan Shouyi.
It was for the best.
He was not their real grandfather, after all, and couldn't protect them forever.
Although he felt reluctant too, Zhang Shantong hoped the children would find their own better lives.
So, Zhang Shantong wrote reincarnation slips for each of the children.
With these slips, the underworld officials would not dare to make things difficult for them when they arrived in the underworld.
Perhaps, if they met old acquaintances, they might even arrange good families for them to be reborn into, based on past connections.
"Children, when you go, don't look back, don't regret it. If we are fated, we will meet again!"
Zhang Shantong hugged each child goodbye.
Yan Shouyi watched silently from the side, as Zhang Shantong sent the children away one by one.
Perhaps having resolved their inner conflicts, the children, after receiving their reincarnation slips and bidding farewell to Zhang Shantong, dissipated into starlight.
In a short while, the boisterous children were all gone.
The old house fell silent.
"Alas, I'm so used to being bothered by these mischievous kids. It's quite strange how quiet it is now," Zhang Shantong chuckled.
Of course, he felt reluctant, but having lived for so many years, he had long since accepted everything.
Severance, letting go, detachment – it was all destiny, and it would arrive sooner or later.
Yan Shouyi said in a low voice, "Grandpa, you sent them all away to help me. Aren't you angry?"
"What's there to be angry about? Should they really stay in this old house forever to keep this old man company? I'm surprised you could persuade them. This is good; they will all have their own happy lives," Zhang Shantong replied calmly.
"What about you then?"
"What about me?"
"Without them, will you feel lonely?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Zhang Shantong laughed, "Lonely? Nonsense! Your Grandpa has disciples all over the world and has left quite a few karmic debts too. In this vast land of China, do you think I'll have nowhere to go? It's good that I can come out of seclusion this time. I'll go help you first, and then I'll travel around and fulfill some of my unfulfilled wishes from before I died!"
Seeing that Zhang Shantong already had arrangements and plans, Yan Shouyi felt less guilty.
He took out a piece of Yin wood and said, "Grandpa, could you bear to rest inside this for a while?"
Zhang Shantong glanced at it and almost lost his temper with Yan Shouyi:
"Who do you think your Grandpa is? I was a Daoist priest of Longhu Mountain in my lifetime. Do I need to hide in your broken piece of wood?"
Yan Shouyi smiled sheepishly, "What if there's sunlight during the day?"
"Then I'll sunbathe!"
After all, he was a ghost with substantial power, and his words carried weight.
Since Zhang Shantong had said so, Yan Shouyi naturally wouldn't force him. He put away the Yin wood and asked Zhang Shantong if he needed to pack anything.
Zhang Shantong was unburdened and had nothing to pack. He even stepped out of the old house before Yan Shouyi.
Emerging from seclusion after many years, Zhang Shantong appeared quite excited.
Yan Shouyi said, "Grandpa, I'll take you to meet my friends. The car is waiting outside."