Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?-Chapter 348: Crossing with Eyes Closed

Shen Siyuan felt some confusion; even now, he couldn’t figure out if Wei Fengying truly loved Qi Siguo, or if it was merely due to a sense of guilt. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

After Qi Siguo chose to return to nature and completely dissipate, Wei Fengying also stopped talking about reentering reincarnation and made the same choice to return to nature.

Shen Siyuan respected her choice, so he did not stop her.

However, Shen Siyuan hadn’t gained nothing at all; not only did he obtain a strand of Merit, but their story also meant he didn’t come away empty-handed.

Choices determine fate, and everything that happened to Wei Fengying and Qi Siguo afterward was related to Wei Fengying’s two choices.

If Wei Fengying had chosen Qi Siguo the first time, perhaps the later events might not have occurred.

After all, the two families had been friends for generations; if they had really been pushed to get married, could Wei Fengying’s parents have forcefully separated them?

Wei Fengying said Qi Siguo later earned quite a bit of money, indicating he was actually a very capable person.

Had Wei Fengying gone with him, their life together would presumably have been not too shabby.

But there are no what-ifs in life...

Because of her two choices, she destroyed Qi Siguo’s life.

Of course, this was also a choice made by Qi Siguo himself.

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"Brother, where are you heading? Need a lift?"

As Shen Siyuan walked step by step, a car slowly drove up beside him.

The driver was a middle-aged man, round-faced and of a round build, with a crew cut, an ordinary appearance, driving a small box truck. It seemed like he had just finished a delivery, barely concealing weariness on his face.

"Big Brother, thanks, but there’s no need to trouble you," Shen Siyuan replied politely.

"No trouble at all, it’s on my way. There’s still over twenty kilometers from here to the next town. I can take you there, it’s easier to get around town late at night," the driver said with a chuckle.

"Since that’s the case, thank you, Big Brother."

Shen Siyuan didn’t refuse his kindness any further and got into the vehicle, taking the passenger seat.

He then saw a row of cute little figurines on the dashboard, the most conspicuous being two bobblehead kids.

A boy and a girl, both smiling brilliantly.

Noticing Shen Siyuan’s gaze, a happy smile spread across Big Brother’s face.

"These are my two kids, cute aren’t they?"

"Very cute, how old are they?" Shen Siyuan asked casually.

"The elder brother is fifteen, started high school this year, and the little one is only five, still in middle class of kindergarten..."

Talking about his children, Big Brother’s mouth lifted in a subconscious smile.

"Big Brother, you’re quite blessed," Shen Siyuan commented with a smile.

"Blessed? Life’s got to be stumbled through with eyes shut; open your eyes, and it’s unbearable..." Big Brother heaved a sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"Every family has its own tough pages to read. These days, life’s pressures are high, you toil and get no money. The kids’ expenses: money is needed every step of the way. The elder one’s health isn’t good, with the wife at home taking care of them both, she can’t work... Ai..."

With that last long sigh, Big Brother’s earlier happiness turned bitter.

"I just don’t know when there’ll be an end to it."

"Things will get better," Shen Siyuan said to comfort him, though it was just a casual remark.

In fact, had he not received the inheritance from the Jiuyou Demon Lord, had he not met Ruan Hongzhuang.

His future might not be much different from this Big Brother’s, with his whole life in sight at a glance.

"When?" Big Brother asked with a smile in return.

"If I really wait for things to get better, I’m afraid I’ll be old by then. Life is just these short decades... sigh..." Big Brother sighed deeply once again.

"That’s why I say, we can only live life with our eyes closed, never to open them. Seeing too clearly when you open your eyes, it makes you think about death."

"That’s too negative, Big Brother."

"It’s not negativity, it’s just how life is. Sometimes, I really do think about dying. But then I think of my two kids, and I don’t even dare to die. If I were to die, how would their mother cope for even three days, especially the eldest, who’s like a medicine jar, constantly needing medication, it costs so much..."

"What illness is it, is it that serious?"

"Lupus, it’s incurable." Big Brother said with a face full of worry.

"Eh, can boys also get this kind of illness?" Shen Siyuan was surprised. In his impression, it seemed like only females would have this disease.

"Yes, it’s just that the incidence is very low. That’s why it’s called being unlucky. I just happened to encounter it, I don’t know what sins I committed in my past life..." Big Brother said.

Shen Siyuan didn’t know what to say to comfort him.

But at this moment, Big Brother let out a long sigh of relief and said: "Actually, it doesn’t matter. Life goes on as it should, thinking too much is of no use."

"Life is better in a state of confusion. Thinking too much, seeing too clearly, can easily lead to depression."

"Big Brother, you have a way with words." Shen Siyuan said casually.

But to his surprise, this sparked Big Brother’s spirit, and he immediately said: "Back when I was in school, I had the best grades in Chinese. My essays were read as models by the teacher on stage, they said I had a real talent for writing."

"Since then, I fell in love with writing. I’ve had a few articles published in magazines, and later on, I even wrote novels online. Unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately, after writing several books, I didn’t even earn a penny, not to mention being chased and cursed at by readers. I swear, I’ll starve to death, die poor, but I’ll never write novels again..."

"Heh, having dreams is always good. Who knows, maybe one day one of your books will become a hit."

"That’s impossible. You don’t know how demanding readers are these days. You work hard for an entire month, and they’re not even willing to give you a single monthly ticket..."

...

Big Brother was quite the talker; they went from discussing outer space to the womb, from the Bible to the inner classics.

He was a man of broad knowledge, knew a little bit about everything, yet not too deeply. But this didn’t stop him from talking about them, after all, it was just chat, not an academic report, who would delve too deep into it.

The journey of a little over twenty kilometers, with fewer cars on the road at night, took just half an hour to complete.

"This is Ma Town, this is the real ancient town. It’s said to have a history of more than five hundred years. You can take a good look around the town. The Tidal Town you came from was built for tourists, it’s a new town. The so-called attractions are all fake, with no real flavor."

At the entrance of the small town, Big Brother dropped Shen Siyuan off.

Throughout the journey, Shen Siyuan didn’t ask for Big Brother’s name, nor did Big Brother ask for Shen Siyuan’s.

Meeting by chance, connections form and dissolve, why bother to be so clear about it.

It was already past midnight, and the town was mostly devoid of people and vehicles, with only a few neon lights flickering in the darkness. Other than that, a few dog barks could be heard. Big Brother specifically left him at the doorway of a small hostel, but Shen Siyuan didn’t go in.

Instead, he walked slowly in a certain direction. After about ten minutes, he came upon a long stretch of ancient city wall.

The ancient city wall bore countless years, full of mottled marks, weathered by the wind and frost.

Shen Siyuan walked slowly to the top of the city wall and saw the ocean under the moonlight not far away.

The moon in the sea reflected the moon in the sky.

This was indeed a curious parallel to his "Sun Observation Method."

So he sat cross-legged on the city wall, feeling the vigorous Water Element Qi within the sea.

At the same time, in his Sea of Consciousness, an image of the blazing sun emerged.

...

PS: More to come~