Chapter Twenty-Eight: Don’t Do That

Hearing Wang Ying say this, I felt deeply moved. I gently wrapped my arm around her shoulder and said, “Silly girl, don’t say so much. It’s late. Let’s rest.”

Wang Ying gave a graceful smile. “Mm-hmm, let’s sleep. So I won’t disturb you, I’ll take the sofa and you can have the bed.”

I shook my head. “No, I want to hold you while I sleep.” Perhaps it was the alcohol emboldening me; I felt bolder than usual.

Wang Ying grinned. “Well, that’s fine, but no funny business.”

“Why not?” Looking at her charming expression, I couldn’t help but feel a little tempted.

“What else could it be! First, I’m not mentally prepared. Second, I’m a ghost and you’re alive. If we really did that, it would be terrible for your health. So, it’s a no…” Wang Ying sat across from me, her delicate, tired face arousing my deepest affection.

Since this ghostly girl said so, I couldn’t press the issue. Whether human or ghost didn’t matter. Since we were married, we had a long road ahead, plenty of time for such things. She was so exhausted now; how could I stop her from resting? But no matter what, I couldn’t let her sleep on the sofa.

I gently pressed her onto the bed. “Wife, you sleep here. This is your body. You two should be together on the bed. I’ll take the sofa.”

Wang Ying smiled affectionately. She didn’t refuse, just lay down slowly. I got off the bed and stretched out on the old sofa. Lying there, looking at the bed where a solid body and a faint spirit—corpse and ghost—lay together, I felt a sense of comfort I’d never known. To others, such a scene might seem terrifying, but to me, it felt like happiness.

The corpse lay unmoving, Wang Ying’s soul gradually growing calm. I was exhausted from half the night and too much wine, drifting off into a hazy sleep until a sharp knocking at the door roused me.

I opened my eyes to bright light. Startled, I sat up, only to find myself in the bed, not on the sofa. Looking closely, there was no sign of Wang Ying—only the female corpse beside me.

How could this be? A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. “Wang Ying, Wang Ying, where are you?” A sense of dread swept over me. Could it be that saving Wang Ying last night was all just a dream? That couldn’t be! My heart ached, a wave of loss and regret bringing me to the brink of tears.

When I got off the bed, my fear was confirmed—it had all been a dream. My Dragon Abyss Sword still hung on the wall, my shoes still drying on the balcony. Everything that happened last night was an illusion, a dream, not reality. If it was all a dream, then Wang Ying hadn’t returned. Everything she’d said and done had been only in my mind.

Thinking back on the dream, I fell into utter despair, unable to stop my tears. Why? Why was it like this? If I couldn’t find her, so be it, but why make me dream such a dream? Empty joy in sleep, only to wake to harsh reality. The pain was unbearable.

I don’t know when Wei Qi came in—perhaps he knocked and no one answered, so he climbed in from outside. Seeing my grief, he put his arm around my shoulder and said, “Brother, don’t be sad. Everything is fate, everything is karma.”

I let the tears flow for a while, finally managing to compose myself. I asked Wei Qi to help me get a car; I wanted to take the corpse back with me. No matter what, Wang Ying had used it once—it was a keepsake for me. Her soul was gone, but if I buried her, at least there’d be a mound of earth to visit. Most of all, I didn’t want to do this work anymore. Since I was a child, my uncle told me that arranging ghost marriages was a way to accumulate virtue. I’d matched so many spirits for others, yet gained nothing and ended up like this! So I decided to quit, go home, even farm the land if I had to. Most importantly, I didn’t want Wang Ying’s body to be sold off to someone else. I had to take her and bury her properly.

Wei Qi didn’t say much, just agreed that I could leave, but said it wasn’t the right time in broad daylight—we’d wait for nightfall, and finding a car wouldn’t be hard.

That whole afternoon, Wei Qi and I smoked in silence in the main room. I could feel that he, too, mourned Wang Ying’s disappearance. At noon, Yingzi came by and cooked us a good meal. Wei Qi gave her money to buy wine, and she cheerfully returned with plenty. We drank on—me to drown my sorrow and longing, Wei Qi to vent his frustration and helplessness at not being able to help a friend.

As we drank, we both got drunk. Wei Qi collapsed on the floor, and I went to the bed where the corpse still lay motionless. Thinking that I’d be taking her away tonight and burying her tomorrow, an unbearable sadness washed over me. My tears fell, landing on the dead woman’s face.

“Honey, what are you doing? Drinking yourself to tears?” Just as I was wallowing in grief, Wang Ying’s voice suddenly came. I froze, ears straining to listen.

“Honey, what are you doing?” As I wondered if this was reality or just a dream, the voice came again. It was unmistakably Wang Ying. I pinched my arm hard—pain shot through me. This was no dream; it was real.

“Wang Ying, where are you?” I was wild with joy.

“Oh, good grief, I just took a nap and you two got yourselves so drunk!” The female corpse sat up gently across from me and spoke.

“You… you’re Wang Ying?” I stared at the corpse, unable to believe my eyes.

“It’s your wife, of course. When dawn came, I felt the yang energy was too strong, so I slipped into this body. Besides, it’s so hot these days—if I didn’t move in, this body wouldn’t last. What if it spoiled?”

“Wang Ying, tell me this isn’t a dream, this is real, please?” I was so agitated my voice trembled.

Wang Ying took my hand. “Da Chuan, this is real. Truly real. It’s not a dream. Last night you saved me, we came back together, then you slept on the sofa and I took the bed. When dawn broke, I carried you to the bed and entered this body.” She gestured to the corpse beside her.

I hugged Wang Ying tightly. “Wife, I don’t care—even if it’s a dream, you can’t leave me.” This time, I meant it with all my heart. I couldn’t let her leave me again. I wanted to make her my wife forever. It felt as if, if I let go, she would be lost to me.

The corpse possessed by Wang Ying let me hold her, her hand gently stroking my back. “Darling, not now—someone else is still here!” The mischievous ghost girl glanced at Wei Qi, snoring on the floor.

I understood at once, gently releasing Wang Ying and getting out of bed. I went to pull Wei Qi up from the floor. “Uncle Qi, you should go home and rest.”

He lay there snoring, mumbling, “Da Chuan, this is your darkest moment. I won’t leave you. I’ll stay with you.”

Though he was a drunkard, he was a true friend. He’d never let me down.

I helped him onto the sofa, poured him a glass of water, and patted his face. “Uncle Qi, you don’t need to keep me company tonight. With Wang Ying here, that’s enough.”

“Wang Ying, Wang Ying…” Hearing her name, Wei Qi’s eyes fluttered open, blankly staring at me. “Da Chuan, I know you miss Wang Ying, but we’ve done all we can. She’s really not coming back. It’s late. Get some rest.” With that, he closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep on the sofa, snoring away.

I was speechless. His eyes were open—why didn’t he look at the bed? I was about to wake him again when Wang Ying got off the bed, pinched Wei Qi’s ear, and said, “Uncle Qi, you should go. Da Chuan and I need to rest.”

Perhaps it was the volume of her voice, or its peculiar force, but Wei Qi instantly sat up, staring blankly at Wang Ying, then fully awake. “You… you’re back?”

“Uncle Qi, I’ve been back for a while. I was just so tired I needed to rest. I see you’re drunk too—how about I walk you home so you can get some sleep?” Wang Ying smiled politely, though her words were clearly a gentle nudge to leave, making me feel a bit embarrassed.

Wei Qi finally came to himself, standing up with a broad grin. “You’re back, that’s all that matters. You have no idea—this guy was beside himself while you were gone. Now everything’s fine. Get some rest, I’ll go.”

“Uncle Qi, take it slow! Have a good sleep tonight. Tomorrow morning I’ll make you a good breakfast,” Wang Ying said sweetly, personally seeing him out the door.

When Wang Ying came back, the door wasn’t even closed yet. I wrapped my arms around her from behind; her body was cold but soft, especially her chest—so full and round under my touch.

“Honey, let’s sleep. It’s late and you’re exhausted; these past couple days have worn you out.” She turned and smiled at me with gentle warmth.

“Darling, I want to sleep with you,” I said, holding her and caressing her chest.

Wang Ying smacked her lips. “You rascal, what are you up to?”

“I… I want everything.” After all I’d been through, I didn’t want to wait any longer. Tonight, I wanted to be with her completely, to truly be husband and wife, never to be parted again.

“No, I can’t give you that.” Wang Ying turned and kissed my forehead.

“Why not?”

“There are two reasons. Want to hear them?”

“Yes.”

“First, I don’t want you to lose any of your lifespan because of me. Second, this isn’t my own body. If you really want that, wait until I’m back in my own body, all right?” As she spoke, Wang Ying gently patted my back, as if comforting me.