When the oil was exhausted, the lamp was dry1油尽灯枯, yóujìndēngkū: When the oil is exhausted, the lamp is dry. It is a Chinese idiom. When the lamp oil is boiled dry, the fire is also out, which means of life exhaustion until old age.. Yi Qingqing felt her whole body relaxed.
Oh no, she is a ghost now.
This year, she was only 20 years old. She was relieved at the moment of death.
She no longer had to be a burden to her family.
She no longer had to be groggy from physical fatigue all day long.
Her parents were accompanied by her younger brother, and all they gave her was the medical expenses paid to the hospital. Presumably, no one would be sad when she passed away.
Yi Qingqing floated to the side, looking at her body on the hospital bed. She was so skinny and so young, but she had spent most of her life in a hospital bed. Now she could finally go somewhere else to look.
She read a lot of novels while she was ill, so she was curious about the world of being a ghost when suddenly she heard a low voice without any fluctuation. She vaguely heard what it said.
“Yi Qingqing, female, was born at 3:00 noon on July 7, 2030, and died of illness at 3:00 noon on July 7, 2050…”
This seemed to be talking about her, right?
“Here comes the soul!”
With this thought, she was completely knocked out of consciousness by the cold voice. When she regained her consciousness again, she was already in a dark and forbidding hall.
“Strange…”
The face of the figure in the hall could not be seen clearly. He was flipping through a bamboo slip with a somewhat doubtful tone.
“Am I coming to the underworld now?” Yi Qingqing looked at a plaque on the temple, which was exactly the three words ‘Yan Jun Dian’ in seal script.
So the person in the temple was Yan Jun, right? Don’t tell her, although the voice was a bit cold, it sounded pretty good.
Hearing Master Yan Jun say that it was strange in confusion, Yi Qingqing couldn’t help but ask: “What’s strange? Is there anything strange about my death?”
Yan Jun raised his head and stared at her for a long time. “You are a person of great merit. You should be rich and glorious for a lifetime… This early death is just the beginning of your life. There is still a destined marriage waiting for you… Take these two signs and continue your life.”
Two wooden signs flew into her hand.
Yi Qingqing picked it up and took a look, “Travel and Rebirth lottery card? Soul Golden Finger lottery card?”
Before she could ask more questions, Yan Jun gently flicked his sleeves and sent her away with the wooden signs.
She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but she felt that Yan Jun’s movements were much gentler.
Yi Qingqing was sent to a square. There were only a few people in the square, but outside the square, various ghosts stared inside as if there was some big treasure inside.
A ghost officer in official uniform saw her appearance and came forward, “Girl, go and draw the lottery. Don’t worry about those jealous dead ghosts.”
Yi Qingqing followed the guidance of the ghost and saw two huge lottery machines standing in the square. The light sign on the top of the lottery machine on the left said ‘Time Travel and Rebirth’, and the one on the right said ‘Golden Finger of the Soul’.
The colorful neon lights were incompatible with the gloomy world.
There was a man smoking in front of the one on the left, so Yi Qingqing also walked over, wanting to take a look at the situation first.
She saw the man put a wooden card that was the same as hers into the slot of the lottery machine.
“Ding-ding-dong, ding-ding-dong…”
The lottery music sounded. Then, a ball of golden light poured out from the lottery machine and merged into the man’s body.
“Hahaha, a fantasy world? I’m going to dominate this other world!” The man laughed so hard that his ghostly look faded a bit.
*****
Translator’s Little Encyclopedia:
The Afterlife in Chinese Culture (Part 1)
After death, the soul is transferred to the world of the dead (yīnjiān, 陰間) through the Ghost Gate or Gate of Spirits (鬼門關, guǐ mén guān). From there, the deities guarding the door move the soul to the first of the ten courts of the underworld. The soul will spend three years until it is put on trial by each of these courts, and punished according to its actions in life.
Remember that this underworld is not a hell in the Christian sense of the word, but rather a purgatory through which all souls must pass on their way to their next existence.
The end of the journey: the River of Oblivion
After the tenth trial in the last of the courts of the underworld, the soul is free, ready to be reincarnated. But to do this it must first cross the so-called River of Oblivion (忘川, Wàng Chuān).
At the end of the Yellow Springs Road (黄泉路, Huángquán lù) is the Nàihé River. The river flows from hell and its flow is of blood and smells of rot.
This river already appears in the descriptions of the underworld of the Táng dynasty. However, in the manuscript found in Dūnhuáng that tells the story Mùlián Rescues His Mother (目連救母, Mùlián jiù mǔ), it is mentioned as Nài hé or Nài River. Above this river is a bridge (奈河橋 Nài hé qiáo) that souls must cross to reach their reincarnation.
In the Míng dynasty, this river began to be known as Nàihé, short for wú kě nài hé (無可奈何), which we can translate as “having no alternative”.
Next to the river is the so-called Stone of Three Lives (三生石, Sānshēng shí), where souls can find inscribed everything about their previous, present, and future life. On the bridge, an old woman named Mèng Pó (孟婆) forces the deceased to ingest a potion, known as “Mèng Pó soup” (孟婆湯, Mèng Pó tāng), which will make the soul forget its previous existence. That is why the Nàihé River is also known as Wàng Chuān, that is, River of Oblivion.
Mèng Pó seems to originate in the Qīng dynasty and the first mention of her appears in the Jade Records (玉歷寶鈔, Yùlì Bǎochāo). It seems that both Mèng Pó and the concept of the River of Oblivion could be derived from the influence of Greek mythology and the River Lethe (厲司河, Lìsī hé).
Hello, everyone, this is @Orthez, your lovely translator!
This is my new translation. ٩(＾◡＾)۶ ٩(＾◡＾)۶ ٩(＾◡＾)۶
It still with a 70s period theme.
Previously, I released ‘My Dad is the Male Protagonist in a Stepmother-Era Story’, which is also in the 70s theme.
This novel tells the story of an army family in China around the 70s.
This new translation ‘Signing In At 70s: The Female Supporting Role of Educated Youth Is Pampered by The Boss’ tells the story of a girl who is going to be an educated youth in a village.
I try to find another perspective of China around the 70s for you to enjoy.
This new translation is a bit more slice of life. You can read this with peace during your spare time without ‘adding a load’ to your full mind, hehe…
I like this novel because it’s so motivating. I also like the friendship between the characters, especially the friendship between the girls, which reminds me of my youth days and my friends (Oh, I am so old!).
Hopefully, you will like it. ♥️
The updated schedule for this novel is on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. But, during promotional time, it will be released every day this week. Next week, it will follow the set schedule.
Promotional Time: May 1st – 5th, 2024
You can leave a comment, suggestion, or your advice for my translation. I really love to know your ideas/thoughts.
Thank you for always supporting my translation!
You can support your lovely translator by buying me a cup of Ko-fi ( ˘▽˘)っ♨
I will really appreciate it. ❤️❤️❤️
Ghost cloudd On WBICDPH Chapter 130