Cyber Ghosts

“So, what are you doing?” Xiao Hong saw that Hao Ning didn’t speak. Although what this Yan said seemed to be a bit sensible, his behavior was too strange. It was inevitable that there was some suspicion in Xiao Hong’s heart. He asked, “If so, why would you be here in the daytime? Don’t tell me that you are dealing with souls here. I have never heard that when the black and white unusual ghosts call for the souls, they will ‒ will eat these things, not doing business?”

What Xiao Hong said also made sense. It was said that black and white unusual ghosts often used the so-called Kusang Stick to call for souls. While as for this Yan, except for the mutton kebab in his hands seemed like the Kusang Stick, he held no other stick. But holding a kebab to go to call for souls? It was afraid that as the souls of people did not yet be hooked up, the kebab had already hooked the souls of countless Huskies.

“The world is developing, and the nether world is improving. You can’t always deal with things with your old eyes!” Yan smiled disapprovingly. “After the May 4th Seal God event, the system of reincarnation in the nether world gradually improved. There has been an automatic reincarnation system for the normal death, that they can reincarnate within one-click. How can it be still necessary to have so many black and white unusual ghosts? We these Yan are mainly responsible for the abnormal death. Occasionally, we will go to call for the soul personally for interests or practice. But you can see that the entire northwestern people are simple, and there is not so much pressure like these in big cities. How can there be so many abnormal deaths?”

Xiao Hong was a bit blushing for Yan’s words. In fact, he had also used the similar words of “the world is developing, and the world is improving” to laugh at the traditional and inherent understandings of gods of Hao Ning and others. Who knew that today these words would have been used on himself by Yan? But it was reasonable. Most of the things he understood came from Zhang Chi Hang. Zhang Chi Hang was the god mainly observed the “world of human”, and how would he not observe the “world of human” but have a hand in the development of the nether world?

Thinking of this, Xiao Hong asked quickly: “Less nonsense. I just ask you. What are you doing? Sauntering with the kebab in this graveyard?”

“Crap!” Seeing Xiao Hong still asking questions, Yan blushed and asked, “Can’t I want to eat some Northwest snacks? I don’t like to eat in places with lots of people, while here is quiet. I have a feeling of being at home when I am here.”

The feeling of being at home… Xiao Hong looked around and had to admit that what Yan said made sense, though it only made sense for Yan himself.

“Okay,” Hao Ning seemed to have relived from the stunning and he waved his hands. It seemed that although these Yan were different in personalities, they were all the foodie. When Hao Ning first met the Yan, the Yan ate a lot of snacks of G provinces first, such as Strewed Milk Beancurd and so on, and then came to work. So, Hao Ning explained to Xiao Hong, “These Yan may especially like to eat, while that Yan even likes to play games.”

“I see,” Xiao Hong nodded. Since Hao Ning began to speak, he stopped talking.

“You asked me, but I haven’t asked you yet!” At this time, Yan had justice on his side, and he said, pointing to Xiao Hong and Hao Ning. “Why did you read this kind of thing in our place? Don’t you know that this kind of thing is the most hurtful to the ghost?”

“Oh…” Xiao Hong looked at the sutra in his hand, and then slapped his own head. Just now he had been focused on saving Hao Ning, and actually forgot this thing!

The “Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra” did be a treasure sutra! If the soul was in the human body, it was very useful to calm the soul down, but if the soul was outside, it would make the soul unable to move. If it was chanted by a master, it would inevitably make more hurt. Xiao Hong was a master indeed. Moreover, the sutra in his hand was written by Bodhisattva, and the sutra written by Bodhisattva himself was, of course, greater than the sutra blessed by Bodhisattva. It was no wonder that when Xiao Hong had just chanted a few words, Yan had been scared out.

When thinking of this, Xiao Hong knew what he did wrong. He had been focused on saving the living person but forgot that this place was for the dead. If there were the new buried souls and they had some troubles because of him, his sin would be really great.

“I am really sorry,” Xiao Hong knew that he was in the wrong, and he said with an embarrassed smile, “I will pay attention later, pay attention later! Well ‒ we will go first!”

“Do you think to pay attention later is enough? How do you count the account of hurting the souls?” Yan smiled balefully, “Guys! Leave something!”

“Leave something?” Xiao Hong had wanted to run away quickly. After all, the people of the nether world were the once they could not offend. Who knew that this Yan would walk all over them when they gave him an inch? Great Saint Infant King got angry at the time, and with a boom, a Samadhi True Fire column emerged at the place three feet above the top of his head. Xiao Hong smiled grimly and stared at Yan. “What do you want us to leave?”

“Well, big brother, let’s calm down. Don’t get angry, OK?” When Yan saw this situation, he quickly turned the baleful smile into a pleasing smile, and the expression changed so quickly that it made Hao Ning amazed. “I just said please leave something. It means ‒ to leave me a mobile phone, OK?”

“…” Xiao Hong was tried to scare him, and he didn’t want to really take actions. Hearing Yan said “mobile phone”, he suddenly stunned and stopped his art. “That you asked us to leave something, is just referring to a mobile phone? What do you want to do with a phone?”

“Playing games?” Hao Ning looked at this Yan who bullied the weak and feared the strong and laughed. This Yan was more timid than that Yan, but their features of playing the game were exactly the same. “It seems that from the last time I went to the nether world to now, my two phones are quite popular.”

“More than that!” Yan laughed and said, rubbing his saliva and recalling, “There are more good things in the two mobile phones that you gave to the Niu and Ma. There are many good movies, about beautiful women, nurses, teachers, and so on. They are so scantily clad and so tempting. There are so many changes in posture, and the imagination is so amazing…”

“Eh-eh-eh! Enough is enough!” Hao Ning quickly stopped Yan continuing to say. He scolded in his heart secretly for he had just thought about deleting his own text messages and the communication-related information. Those things were forgotten to be deleted. Looking at Xiao Hong who was snickering at him, Hao Ning scolded. “What do you laugh at? I don’t believe that you don’t have these on your mobile phone! Take it out and let me have a check.” While saying, he was about to take out Xiao Hong’s mobile phone.

“Eh, no no no,” Xiao Hong quickly stopped Hao Ning. “There is nothing worth having a look, really!”

“Really?” Hao Ning glanced at Yan and said with a smile. “What Yan said is reasonable that it is not right for you to read the sutra here, so it is not too much to compensate Yan a mobile phone. Unfortunately, my mobile phones have been given to Niu and Ma, and now, I have no mobile phone. So, we have no choice but to give your phone to Yan!” After saying, Hao Ning blinked an eye towards Yan. Yan found it and couldn’t help laughing.

“No!” Xiao Hong said in a serious way, “I have some very important ‒ no, I have nothing in it!”

Hao Ning was almost laughing to death. This Xiao Hong was really not good at lying. He smiled: “Since there is nothing, I can set my mind at rest. You give it to Yan first, counting me owe you. I will buy you a new one when we go back. ‒ If you don’t, it is proved that there are some secrets in your mobile phone!”

Xiao Hong’s face turned red, and after thinking for a long time, he turned his head and said to Yan, “Isn’t it just a mobile phone? You wait!”

While speaking, Xiao Hong took out his mobile phone, and handed the sutra to Yan, “Hold it for me.” Yan trembled once and dared not to pick it up, and then he ran for a few tens of meters away: “If you want me to die, just say it!”

“I’m sorry. I forgot,” Xiao Hong handed the sutra to Hao Ning. “Hold it and wait for me to prepare. Don’t peek.”

Xiao Hong took his mobile phone and ran away. Finding that Hao Ning could not see him, he opened the phone and started to delete the contents on the phone.

“Haven’t you finished?” Hao Ning had waited for a while and was impatient. “You have been deleting for fifteen minutes!”

“Soon!” Xiao Hong shouted. “It’s almost done. Just wait for a little while.”

After an hour and a half, Xiao Hong handed the phone to Yan: “Take it.”

“How many secrets are there on your mobile phone on the earth!?” Hao Ning looked at Xiao Hong, smiling evilly. “It should take you almost two hours to delete?”

“It’s none of your business!” said Xiao Hong, with a red face, “Let’s go back?”

“…” After these things, Hao Ning’s mood was much better. Then he took a look at his brother’s grave and sighed. “Let’s go.”

“Wait!” When Xiao Hong was about to cast a spell, the Yan ran over. “Since you are so generous, is there anything that I can help you?”

“I have nothing!” Xiao Hong didn’t want to respond to him and pointed to Hao Ning. “You can help him.”

Yan nodded, and asked Hao Ning with his eyes.

“Well…” Hao Ning thought for a moment. He felt that he hadn’t seen that Yan for a long time, and a bit thought about him. “You help me take a message to that Yan of the Great Huaxia region. Tell him that if he has time, please get to find me.”

“I don’t dare.” Yan’s head swayed like a rattle. “That Yan’s temper is very strange, and he doesn’t believe what we say. Besides, you are in South Huaxia, while I am in the northwest. How can I explain to him how I met you? He definitely will ask me a lot of questions, and maybe he will think that I got the wrong person and entertained him, and maybe he will even deduct my wages ‒”

“Just say that you have met Hao Ning!” Hao Ning was anxious. “What is wrong with this?”

“What about the evidence?” Yan looked at Hao Ning, “There is no evidence to prove it.”

“We two take a photo,” said Hao Ning. “Is this OK?”

“Of course not. He will think it is a fake photo made by the retouching software,” Yan licked his fingers, “or using a straw man with the camouflage. The photo should be regarded as a lie.”

“How about I say some words to you?” Hao Ning said again, “Which only he and I know.”

“No, no! The words only you and he know must be private. If I told him, he would think ‒” Yan quickly waved his hands, “He would think that I used some methods to enter his memory and steal it! This is more possible than meeting you!”

“…” Hao Ning was speechless. His thoughts did be different from those of the gods and ghosts.

“This!” Hao Ning thought for a while, and then he took out a kit from his pocket and opened it, in which there were two blue little gem-liked things. These were what that Yan gave him at the time. Hao Ning had thought these belonged to Zhou Yuan, but when he went back and found Zhou Yuan to identify, Zhou Yuan said that he did not know what they were either. Hao Ning took out one from them and gave it to Yan. “This is what he gave me. There are two in total, and there is no way to forge. Is it OK?”

“OK‒” Yan took and looked at the blue gem, and then he nodded to Hao Ning. “I admire you very much. Don’t you be afraid that I am a fake Yan and I will take this away from you?”

“How can you be a fake one?” Hao Ning smiled. “And this is not valuable. I have one more. If I use it to exchange your meat clips, will you exchange it?”

“Of course, I won’t change,” After he finished speaking, Yan understood. “Well, you can go!”

…

“Brother Hao Ning,” Xiao Hong drove back to the company, next to the freshly-cooked mutton soup and pancakes that they bought from Changan. “As to this sutra of the Bodhisattva, you hold it.”

“Why?” Hao Ning was glancing at the sutra. He had not thought that Zhang Chi Hang’s brush writing would be so good. “I’m just curious to have a look. I’ve recited it.

“There are a lot of things that people have recited but they don’t really understand ‒ I mean, you have lost your mind recently,” Xiao Hong continued. “I will be more relieved if there is it to protect you.”

“Oh, thanks.” Hao Ning smiled relievedly and said, “What Yan said makes sense…”

“Yan?” Xiao Hong thought about it, but he seemed to have not found out anything meaningful. “Which sentence? He said so many words.”

“Although all the Yan have the same faces,” Hao Ning said with a smile. “and come from the same source, they have been independent respectively since they were separated because of different personalities. They should keep on their own road. Why bother to force each other and repent of the past?”

“The Yan are like this; parents are like this; brothers ‒” Saying here, Hao Ning looked at the traffic in front of him, people coming and going, and then he sighed, “Is it the same?”

“I…” Seeing the red light illuminate, Xiao Hong stopped the car, with his right hand protecting the swaying mutton soup. “I don’t have your experience, so I don’t know. But like this driving, although sometimes the red light will be bright and the car will stop, since it is a car, and since it is a road, you have to go forward. You can reverse the car when you drive, but can you always drive back? Even if you can keep driving back, the car can’t stand it, right?”

“It makes sense!” Hao Ning smiled and nodded. He took the sutra to pat Xiao Hong. “I have not found that you can speak out such meaningful words. Is it what your Brother Zhang taught you?”

“No,” the green light turned bright, and Xiao Hong stepped on the gas. “The things he taught me are about “empty”, and I surely couldn’t remember it. Later, he didn’t teach me anymore, and just let me realize by myself. What I just said is my own feelings.”

“Didn’t teach you anymore?” Hao Ning did not believe, and he looked at Xiao Hong and said half-jokingly, “As he has spoken and seen so many scriptures, isn’t there any sutra that he can teach you? It is unlikely. You are smashing that the Bodhisattva has nothing to teach you.”

“It is not nothing to teach, but unnecessary,” Xiao Hong said with a smile. “I was only low-educated when I was a child, but I was not a fool. Brother Zhang said that he had read a sentence on a book, and then didn’t teach me anymore. It is not that he has nothing to teach me, but he said that the best way to teach people like me is to let me put down the scriptures and realize by myself.”

“Which sentence?” Hao Ning was curious and was attracted by Xiao Hong’s words. “Which sentence can let Zhang the great Bodhisattva put down the scriptures and do not teach you, but let you realize by yourself?”

As the car turned into the garage, Xiao Hong pulled up the car and stalled it, and then looked at Hao Ning with a smile: “It is said that life is a great book.”

Hao Ning quietly looked at Xiao Hong and did not say any word for a long time. He knew that this sentence was a famous saying in the works of the academic master Ch’ien Chung-shu. Because of this famous saying, the master Ch’ien Chung-shu, the man of great talent with his eyes higher than the top, only dared to use the title “the Marginalia of Life”, saying that even if for himself, his written text could only describe the edge of life, to express the fear of the proposition of life.

But Hao Ning hadn’t thought that this sentence would actually come out from Zhang Chi Hang’s mouth. When thinking about it, Hao Ning thought it was reasonable. The ten thousand laws belonged to the one. As to the great understanding of the master Ch’ien in his own field, and the view of Avalokitesvara in his own world, who could say that they could not be the same?

People who had been looking at for so long would often feel a little shy or embarrassed, but Xiao Hong was particularly calm at this time. He also smiled and looked at Hao Ning. After a long time, he asked a question: “Brother Hao Ning, do you understand? If you understand, please teach me.”