“Let you reincarnate? I’d have to be crazy to let you do that!” Granny Meng scoffed, then smiled. “You’re someone Nahe has his eye on—of course, I have to keep you here. Sure, it’s been getting harder and harder to pass the ghost guard exam lately, but do you know who I am? I’m the most senior official in the entire underworld! As long as I put in a word, convince the Judge to be flexible, getting you a job here in the afterlife would be a piece of cake.”
People indeed become ghosts after they die, but they still have two choices: one, reincarnate; or two, stay in the underworld and become a ghost guard. But not just any ghost can get the job—it’s like a civil service exam. Only those who pass can become officially employed.
Fengguang stayed silent for a long time. “There isn’t anything going on between me and that guy called Nahe. I just… started crying because I realized I was dead, that’s all.”
“Really?” Granny Meng paused, then leaned in. “Nahe didn’t do anything to you?”
She sighed. “He didn’t.”
“Then that boy’s an idiot! A beautiful girl in his arms, and he didn’t even flinch?” Granny Meng slammed the table, clearly disappointed in him.
A long while passed before Fengguang could finally squeeze out a sentence.
“So… now that you know nothing happened between us…”
“I know. But that doesn’t matter.” Granny Meng had already cooled down and sat back down, speaking in a mysterious tone. “Even if nothing’s going on now, something will eventually. He’ll fall for you sooner or later—it’s just a matter of time.”
Fengguang froze. “What are you trying to say?”
“Nahe, well…”
Granny Meng thought about the way Nahe had just gotten so angry. She hesitated, then changed her tune midway through.
“Better to let him tell you himself one day. All you need to know is that you two are tied together by a very unusual fate.”
“Fate? You mean… because I’ve come to the underworld twice?”
“Buddha said: ‘It cannot be said, it cannot be said,’” Granny Meng replied, shaking her head like some shady fortune teller, as if she were guarding some cosmic secret.
Fengguang couldn’t make sense of it, and no matter how she pressed, Granny Meng wouldn’t say more. With no choice, Fengguang temporarily settled down and stayed with her.
From Fengguang’s perspective, Granny Meng was just a delinquent girl disguised as an old woman. And now, Granny Meng was watching her like a hawk—like a mother-in-law eyeing her future daughter-in-law, which made Fengguang deeply uncomfortable. In the underworld, aside from the wandering spirits, everyone dressed in traditional robes. Granny Meng was the only one who broke the mold, but Fengguang didn’t want to stand out.
After rummaging through an old trunk, Granny Meng finally found a dusty teal luoqun (a traditional gauze skirt) she hadn’t worn in years. She tossed it to Fengguang, and under her persistent urging, Fengguang ended up working by her side at the Bridge of Forgetfulness over the next several days.
The job… was this: give a bottle of the legendary Water of Forgetfulness to souls preparing to reincarnate. After drinking it, they would forget everything about their past life.
Fengguang had seen countless souls arrive, crying and swearing they didn’t want to forget their husband or wife. But once that bowl of water touched their lips, all their stubbornness disappeared. That person they swore never to forget vanished from their minds. In the end, they crossed the bridge calmly, walked the Road of the Yellow Springs, and began a brand-new life.
Standing beside Granny Meng, Fengguang picked up a bottle of the Water of Forgetfulness, her expression softening with emotion.
Granny Meng, quick-eyed as always, snatched the bottle from her hand.
“You can’t just mess around with this stuff. If you drink it, you’ll lose your memories. And since you’re not reincarnating, losing your memory would be no fun at all.”
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 1