Rules of Strange Tales and Extraordinary Files

Chapter 23 Making a Decision!

"I didn't go into the mountains, Grandma. I'm staying in that mushroom house..."

"It's good that we didn't go into the mountains, it's good that we didn't go into the mountains..." Grandpa visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Jiu seized the opportunity to ask, "Grandma, I have a question. What happened to me when I was little that made you bring me to Fulong Mountain?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone; apart from Grandpa's irregular breathing, nothing could be heard.

"Grandma?" Li Jiu called softly, tentatively asking, "Did Grandma develop dementia because of me?"

Li Jiu's question was like a knife stabbing into his heart. He glanced at his wife, who was basking in the sun outside, pursed his lips, hesitated for a long time, and then let out a long sigh.

Several more seconds passed before Grandpa's voice rang out again, this time filled with weariness and helplessness:

"Sigh... Now that you've arrived at Mount Fulong, you'll remember what you're meant to remember sooner or later..."

"But since you're so eager to know... then Grandma will tell you..."

"well……"

"Jiujiu, you had a life-threatening illness when you were a child."

"You were so young then, and you were seriously ill, on the verge of death... Your grandmother thought you were possessed by an evil spirit, so she took you to Jiding Temple on Mount Fulong..."

Grandpa paused, as if recalling something.

"That Jiding Temple is where your grandmother goes to burn incense and worship Buddha every year. It's said to be blessed by the Buddha of Tranquil Peace, and it's quite efficacious..."

"It's strange, but since you came back from the temple, your illness has really been getting better day by day."

"But the old monk in the temple said that this is karma, and that when you were sick, you were attacked by evil spirits, which frightened your soul away..."

"Your grandmother knelt before the Buddha all night to pray for your safety, willingly leaving her 'soul' there, begging the temple deities to find your soul..."

"So after that, your grandmother developed Alzheimer's disease and couldn't remember anything..."

"well……"

"After you recovered, you forgot everything that happened before you got sick..."

"When you were little, you were very attached to your grandma. You would cry and fuss if you didn't see her for even a short while. We didn't want you to be sad at such a young age, so we didn't tell you these things..."

"When you grow up, you won't remember anything from when you were that young anyway..."

Grandpa sighed heavily.

"well……"

"Who would have thought you'd run back to Mount Fulong..."

"I'll still think about these things while I'm at Fulong Mountain..."

Grandpa's words were like a stone thrown into a deep pool, creating huge ripples in his heart.

Li Jiu fell into a long silence, his hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the phone, almost causing it to buckle.

It turns out that the warmth he felt in his dream was real.

It turns out that his grandmother wasn't mentally challenged from the time he could remember.

It turns out that his nearly twenty years of peaceful growth were obtained by his grandmother at the cost of her own "soul".

So, it turns out, all of this was for him.

And in the nearly twenty years he has grown up, he has completely forgotten his grandmother's love for him.

Even during those innocent and formative years, he subconsciously harbored a sense of estrangement towards his grandmother because of her unfamiliarity with him…

He had no idea what terrible sacrifices his grandmother had made for him behind her now-unsmiling face.

For some reason, thinking about this, an indescribable bitterness and heaviness choked Li Jiu's chest, so heavy that he could hardly breathe.

Those fragments of memories, lost and then regained, brought with them belated and overwhelming emotions, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly shattering all his preconceived notions of childhood.

Seeing that Li Jiu remained silent for a long time, Grandpa immediately asked worriedly, "Jiu Jiu? Jiu Jiu? Are you listening?... If nothing's wrong, Grandma will hang up?"

"Grandpa..." Li Jiu spoke, his voice a little hoarse.

"Oh, you say it," Grandpa replied immediately.

Li Jiu took a deep breath and then asked, "Grandma, what exactly is that 'soul' that Grandma left behind... Is it still at Jiding Temple? If I... if I find it... can Grandma turn back into the way she was before?"

"Oh dear, no, no! No, no!" Grandpa exclaimed anxiously. "Silly child! That's a karmic debt from our ancestors, it's retribution!"

"You absolutely mustn't go! You absolutely can't do something foolish! Listen to Grandma! You...you...you leave Fulong Mountain first! We can talk things over properly once you're back safe and sound, okay?"

"Oh dear, oh dear..." Grandpa was so anxious he was incoherent. "If I had known you would have this idea, Grandpa... Grandpa shouldn't have talked to you so much... If something happens to you, your parents will definitely blame me..."

"If your grandma finds out, she...she'll blame me too..."

"Jiujiu, don't be silly. Listen to Grandma, come back first, okay?"

In the end, Grandpa's tone even carried a hint of pleading.

"...Okay, Grandma, I understand." Li Jiu's voice lowered.

He silently hung up the phone.

He sat on the bed, head down, the light from his phone screen reflecting on his silent profile, like a frozen sculpture.

……

So... are you still leaving now?

A voice, drowsy yet unusually clear, broke the heavy silence.

Tang Mubai had woken up at some point. He didn't get up, but lay on his side on the bed, propping his head up, and quietly watching Li Jiu.

Clearly, he heard the entire contents of that phone call.

Only when he saw Li Jiu turn to stone did he speak up and break the silence.

Li Jiu remained silent, as if he hadn't heard Tang Mubai's words. His eyes were unfocused as he stared ahead, lost in thought.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice low and calm, as if stating an objective fact: "My father wants me to leave."

My grandfather wants me to leave.

"My grandmother traded her 'soul' for my life... she certainly wouldn't want me to stay and risk my life."

"I didn't call my mom... because I knew that calling would only make her more worried and unable to sleep."

Li Jiu listed them one by one, in a clear and organized manner.

Tang Mubai slowly sat up, leaned against the headboard, and said softly, "But I guess you don't want to leave now, do you?"

"You want to go to Jiding Temple to find your grandmother's 'soul'."

Li Jiu's silence was deafening.

After a long silence, he spoke slowly, his tone soft, as if answering Tang Mubai's question, or as if reaffirming his own conviction: "If I know nothing, then I can leave with a clear conscience..."

"But now that I know... I have to give it a try no matter what..."

Tang Mubai rolled out of bed, patted Li Jiu on the shoulder, and nodded approvingly: "Well done! This is the Li Jiu I know!"

Li Jiu looked up at him: "And what about you?"

Tang Mubai shrugged, spread his hands, and answered crisply, "Then of course I can only fly solo!"

His expression was matter-of-fact, as if he had no psychological burden whatsoever.

Li Jiu nodded, thinking to himself, "You're great too. This is the Tang Mubai I know."