Chapter 3: The Ghostly Messenger of the Mortal World

  Just as I closed my eyes and was about to fall asleep, I heard the sound of a door creaking open in the room. This action made me somewhat annoyed, such an ill-timed behavior made me angry.

  Prolonged irregular sleep gave me a rather severe case of "getting out of bed", although I hadn't fallen asleep yet, but a nameless fire was born. However, thinking of my mysterious situation at this moment, I hurriedly sat up in a flurry, looked around, and following the creaking open of the wooden door, I saw a man about 50 years old, wearing a black cheongsam, sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed by a white-skinned, white-haired, white-browed, white-bearded, white-robed person holding a black paper umbrella, who came straight towards me.

  The person in the wheelchair had a sharp, angular face with short hair, deep eyes, and a serious expression. There was an inexplicable aura about him that felt familiar yet strange. The man behind him wore white clothes and appeared to be suffering from vitiligo, with his entire body covered in pure white skin, including the irises of his eyes. What's more, he had been holding a black paper umbrella in his left hand since entering, which reflected an eerie pattern under the sunlight, like dense, mysterious symbols that I had never seen before.

  Looking at the slightly eerie black and white combination in front of me, my first reaction was that the puzzle in my mind was about to be solved. My heart tightened inexplicably, and chrysanthemums suddenly bloomed, accompanied by a strong desire to rush out. I immediately flipped over and got out of bed, standing at the bedside, not knowing what to say, hanging my head in shame, like a prisoner waiting for sentencing, waiting for the mystery to be revealed: life or death, human or ghost.

  "Kid, just lie down for now, don't worry, don't worry, get some good rest. You've finally woken up, you slept for two days and two nights. Your complexion looks okay, so it should be no big deal. How does it feel to have gone through a near-death experience?" The person in the wheelchair spoke up naturally, without warning, as if they were having a casual conversation with family, their tone light and natural. Although I don't have any family, this feeling is really warm and cozy, just like I imagined.

  His voice was pleasant to listen to, gentle and soothing, with a hint of kindness that was quite different from his appearance. For someone like me who was used to cold words and phrases, it had a penetrating power that instantly softened me, and I was immediately intoxicated. The tension in my nerves suddenly relaxed, and I couldn't even muster the energy to lift my head. His voice seemed familiar, as if I had heard it somewhere before, but no matter how hard I searched my memory, I couldn't recall any clues or hints. After carefully recalling all the strange and bizarre things in my mind, I realized that someone like him shouldn't exist in hell.

  And the person behind him, who looked like a severe vitiligo patient, was always smiling but never spoke, standing next to the wheelchair, holding that black paper umbrella, I don't know if he was looking at me, and even more so, I don't know if he could see me, I'm very suspicious that this guy is blind.

  "Hello, old man! Can you tell me where I am? Is this hell or heaven? Who are you, and did I die? I clearly jumped off a cliff, was I rescued or have I become a ghost?" I blurted out these absurd questions in one breath, trying to break the awkward atmosphere. As someone who had died once before, thinking was obviously too tiring, and this bizarre plot was completely beyond my comprehension anyway, so I might as well just ask for answers directly. Moreover, with everything happening suddenly, I had already lost my ability to think.

  But I couldn't wait to find out what was happening to me now. Life and death, man or ghost, what had happened and what would happen?

  "Child, don't worry, you're still alive. This isn't heaven or hell, but the Cui family villa in Fendou's western suburbs. The entire western suburb cemetery is the Cui family's property, and it's also your home. I'm your biological father, my name is Cui Mubai. This is Xu Jun, you can call him Xu Bo, he's a messenger of the Cui family. We're all your family."

  My brain capacity suddenly overflowed, and after thinking for a moment, I seemed to understand what he was saying, but at the same time, I didn't know anything. Could it be that my suicidal jump from Chengmu City directly brought me back to my own home? This is too unbelievable! Could it be that the home I've been longing for day and night is actually located under the famous Yishan Cliff? If I had known something so absurd would happen, I should have jumped a few years ago! Alas, what a waste of time!

  What on earth is going on? This black and white combination of ups and downs is spouting a bunch of inexplicable nonsense, and this person who suddenly appeared out of nowhere is actually claiming to be my father. And after jumping off the cliff at Yishan, I somehow managed to escape unscathed, and even ended up in the western suburbs of Fengdu City from Yishan? This situation before me is truly something I never could have imagined in my wildest dreams. It's not just absurd, it's completely unbelievable!

  Isn't it just a big joke that I've even mastered the art of teleportation? I thought back carefully, and I realized that I had given my last penny to Zhou Mu, and with an empty pocket, I really didn't have anything worth using. No money, no influence, alone and penniless... could it be that I really did travel through time and space and into the body of this young noble? But my memories, my current situation, and the oil stain on my clothes from eating hot pot all clearly told me that what was in front of me was just reality, with no signs of time-traveling.

  Just as I was racking my brains, I heard Cui Mubai, who was sitting in a wheelchair, burst out laughing and say: "Kid, where would there be any crossing over? That's just nonsense. If there really were crossing over, history wouldn't become history. Young people should read more authentic histories, don't put your mind on those empty and fanciful things. You are the young master you think of, this is your home, so to speak, your desire for death helped you achieve survival, and it's precisely because of your desire for death that we can reunite, you can come home, your true home."

  Choi Mu-bae's tone gives off an air of authority, like a father teaching his child, but the logic is clearly flawed. Yet, this demeanor, this tone, doesn't seem like that of a madman either? Am I going crazy or is he? And how does he know what I'm thinking? Also, why do his eyes have a blue glow to them at this moment, is he wearing colored contacts?

  "Are you talking about Buddhist scriptures? Uncle! Life and death, death and life, can't you speak properly in Mandarin that I can understand?! If you want to kill or torture, do it quickly, don't pretend to be a ghost and scare people. I've attempted suicide before, don't try to intimidate me with such trivial matters of death! I, Zhuo Fan, have integrity in my chest and two tiger-like gallbladders on either side. Having good kidneys and being fearless is my characteristic."

  This rhyming phrase is so smooth, I even gave myself a thumbs up. Maybe it's because the chaos in front of me finally made me a bit annoyed, although I have a strong sense of closeness to this man in front of me, but the fear of the unknown makes me give up my original reserve, I want to emphasize something to make my courage really sufficient, to deal with this strange situation. As the saying goes, when facing an unfamiliar environment, I know that pretending to be cool is the sharpest weapon!

  Facing my rudeness, the person named Cui Mubai didn't seem to get angry, but instead smiled at me again and emphasized: "I'm Cui Mubai, indeed your biological father!" Although I ignored his words, he said that, and I subconsciously took a closer look at the appearance of this person in front of me. Only then did I realize that the original familiar feeling was actually due to our similar looks, especially around the facial features, which were quite similar to mine.

  This discovery really made me tense, before that, I had thought about the scene of recognizing my biological parents, but it was clearly not the rhythm in front of me! So calm, no loud crying, no hugging and sobbing, no bitter reason for separation, no hard pursuit of searching for relatives thousands of miles away. It was as natural as a child coming home from outside, we just stared at each other for a few seconds, I couldn't read any information from his eyes, neither guilt for leaving us alone for over 20 years nor excitement for reuniting after 20 years, it seemed like everything was natural and normal, this made me very puzzled and more suspicious of the fact in front of me and what he said.

  There are countless examples of similar appearances, the little guy who plays idol dramas on TV looks very much like me, although I'm obviously more handsome than him, many people say so, and I've heard it from two people, one is Li Ayi in the university cafeteria, and the other is naturally myself. So it's clear that appearance can't be used as evidence!

  I rubbed my face hard with my hands, trying to wake myself up a bit and rouse the dormant part of my intelligence. "You've got the wrong person! Uncle, I'm Zhuo Fan, the good-for-nothing Zhuo Fan, the penniless Zhuo Fan, the Zhuo Fan who's accomplished nothing, the Zhuo Fan who jumped off a cliff to kill himself!

  I'm an orphan, my home is in the Ande Social Welfare Institute in Fendou. Where did you come from, father? If I really had a father like you, living in such a luxurious house, only a fool would think of dying, only a fool would be a hoodlum, and only a fool would end up in an orphanage! If you have money to spare, go do some good deeds at the welfare institute. Thank the children there for me!

  Looking at this face with sharp features like a sculpture, smiling directly at me, just like the father I imagined should look like. Home is my forbidden zone, it's the most painful wound in my heart, and also the source of all my humility. I don't allow anyone to desecrate it.

  Anger overcame fear, and I was yelling hysterically.

  "Look at the back of this self-proclaimed father of mine in a wheelchair, that 'vitiligo patient' who always smiles. I shouted: "What are you smiling about? Are you laughing at your little sister? Can't even get up with vitiligo? If you have money to live in a mansion, go to Japan for treatment! Why come out and scare people?! Holding a black umbrella in the daytime, has your brain gone rotten?! What a ridiculous hairstyle!"

  However, strangely, in the face of my rudeness, that white-clad weirdo didn't make any move, still smiling as usual, like a puppet, with white eyes, white pupils and everything white, making me feel not a hint of anger, like a dead person. But I clearly saw him pushing Cui Mu Bai's wheelchair into the door just now?