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墨書 Inktalez
Ding Li had been completely oblivious to the cold war between her parents for years. It wasn't until later events unfolded that she realized her parents' marriage was nearing its end.
Ding Li believed her mother was morally compromised. Almost on the verge of a breakdown, she fled the house, only to collide with someone as she burst through the door. It was her father, Ding Guoxin.
“Lily, why are you running away?”
Her father hadn’t been home for several months. Ding Li looked at him as if he were a stranger, taking a step back before retreating into her bedroom and shutting the door behind her.
“Lily, open the door.” Her father placed her favorite duck neck on the dining table, its aroma wafting through the air. Although she longed to eat it, she refused to face him.
A commotion soon erupted in the living room.
Her father was demanding that her mother sign the divorce agreement, with the condition that he would take Ding Li with him.
Ding Li's mother had once been stunningly beautiful and worked in real estate sales. Her father, a salesman himself, had been captivated by her, and their flirtation had led to marriage.
After Ding Li was born, her mother became a full-time housewife. She devoted herself to raising her daughter and caring for her husband, believing that this was happiness. Over the years, Ding Li's mother had hardly gone out with her husband, spending most of her time shuttling between kindergarten and elementary school for their daughter.
Unbeknownst to her, her husband had been seeing someone else.
Even when she did find out—just a month before their arguments escalated into discussions of divorce—she learned from others that Ding Guoxin had been seen watching movies and singing karaoke with another woman. It was then that she sensed the danger of their crumbling marriage.
She tried to talk to her husband.
Ding Guoxin was dismissive, always making excuses about being busy, often disappearing for ten days or more at a time.
Now he had returned home, ready to lay everything bare and demand that she sign the divorce agreement.
Ding Li's mother naturally did not agree.
The two engaged in a fierce verbal battle, hurting each other with their words, which frightened Ding Li into hiding in the house, crying silently. Hearing their escalating argument, Ding Li burst out of the door and pointed at her mother, shouting, "You're not a good person either, chatting with men without clothes on!"
Upon hearing his daughter's words, Ding Guoxin smirked coldly and grabbed Ding Li, saying, "You will sign this divorce agreement whether you like it or not. If you refuse, we'll see each other in court."
Ding Li didn't want to go with her father; she disliked all women except her mother.
As Ding Guoxin tried to take her away, she bit down hard on his hand and broke free, running away.
Ding Guoxin hurried after her, but children are quick, and soon she was out of sight. In desperation, he returned to call Ding Li's mother to help find their daughter, only to discover she was not in the living room.
Ding Li's mother was in the washroom.
A very thin blade rested against her pulse point, ready to cut at any moment.
Seeing this, Ding Guoxin was taken aback. He spoke soothingly until he managed to calm her down and dissuade her from the suicidal thought.
Together, they found Ding Li.
Initially, the situation could have been salvaged if both sides had taken a step back and considered Ding Li's feelings. Unfortunately, Ding Guoxin's mistress was relentless, bombarding him with calls and threatening messages.
After spending one night at home, Ding Guoxin left again.
This time he never showed up again; not even when their daughter fell ill did he make an appearance.
Ding Li was in tears, unable to speak.
Shen Binghan and Ye Chenfeng, still unsure how to comfort a girl, could only watch her cry helplessly.
"Did your mom get back together with that online friend?"
Ding Li shook her head, her eyes red. "No, Mom cut off all contact with that uncle. She promised not to do anything foolish again and won't chat with him anymore."
"Then how did she meet the man who fell?" Ye Chenfeng asked anxiously, watching the time tick away. They had planned to return to Men'er Gou today, but if they didn't resolve Ding Li's family issue, their trip to Grandma's House to retrieve her ID would be delayed.
"Ye Chenfeng, don't rush her. Let Lily think it through," Shen Binghan said, seemingly more considerate. As they rushed to the street police station, he made sure to save a seat for Ding Li.
Once seated, Ding Li felt a bit more at ease. Ye Chenfeng squeezed past Shen Binghan to sit next to her, thoughtfully pulling out a tissue and handing it to her.
The bus was crowded, and Ding Li didn't continue her story about her mother.
They were traveling during peak hours, filled with students heading to school, workers going to their jobs, and others transferring into the city. The bus was packed tightly; people were stepping on each other's feet, some were asking for seats, while others were grumbling complaints amidst the noise.
Finally getting off the bus, it was still Ding Li who paid for the fare.
Shen Binghan knew how to charm girls; during their ride, he had acquired a piece of talisman paper folded into a triangle and insisted that Ding Li wear it around her neck.
Ding Li had a heart-shaped pendant around her neck that she said was a gift from her father. It was clear she cherished it deeply.
"Do you love your dad?" Ye Chenfeng asked, trying to make conversation.
Shen Binghan remained silent, providing attentive care to Ding Li like a devoted guardian, leaving Ye Chenfeng with no opportunity to intervene.
"Do you love her or not?" Ding Li replied, suddenly stopping to glance at the two boys who were about her age, her suspicious gaze drifting toward the direction of the police station. "What can I say?"
"Just say you miss your mom and take me inside with you," Shen Binghan suggested.
Ye Chenfeng, hearing that Shen Binghan wanted to go with Ding Li to see her mother, quickly interjected, "What about me?"
"You just stay here," Shen Binghan said sternly, reaching out to pull Ding Li along. However, Ding Li skillfully dodged her grasp, leaving Little Monk feeling a bit embarrassed as he touched his bald head.
Ye Chenfeng smirked and quietly reached out to tug on the small braid at the back of Shen Binghan's head. "A monk must cultivate compassion and avoid female distractions to walk the righteous path."
"Go away," Shen Binghan whispered to Ding Li. "Continue with the story you were telling."
"Okay," Ding Li replied softly, her eyes glazing over as she looked into the distance. A child on a tricycle was playing in Central Park under the watchful eye of his mother.
Ye Chenfeng was also watching; the child was quite amusing, sporting a little braid at the back of his head just like Shen Binghan's.
"Silly girl, he looks like your brother," he remarked.
Ding Li pursed her lips in a smile, though it was silent; the sadness on her face had lessened considerably.
She seemed afraid to go to the police station, watching from afar before finally choosing a bench in Central Park to sit down and continue the story she hadn't finished telling earlier.
Ye Chenfeng wasn't interested in Ding Li's story; what intrigued him most was the ugly gourd hanging from Shen Binghan's waist.
In the movie "Crossing the Sea of Eight Immortals," there seems to be a gourd that belongs to Tie Guai Li. That guy has a gourd that spits fire and can even transform into a boat. In "Crossing the Sea of Eight Immortals," each character showcases their abilities, and the gourd carries them across the sea.
Could this gourd, Shen Binghan's, possibly belong to Tie Guai Li?
Ye Chenfeng didn't catch the story Ding Li was telling; his mind was filled with images of gourds.
Ding Li explained that after that incident, her mother tried to stay as far away from the internet as possible, focusing all her energy on taking care of her.
However, the good times didn’t last long. When she returned home from school, she saw her mother chatting again. Although it wasn't as excessive as before, it still made her unhappy.
Finally, one day, after dropping her off at school, her mother didn’t go home but headed straight to a private inn on the outskirts of the county.
Ding Li received a call at school.
It was her father calling, asking whether she wanted to live with him or her mother.
Ding Li had no idea what had happened between her parents and couldn't explain it over the phone.
When both her parents appeared before her, her mother stated that she was willing to divorce unconditionally, meaning she wouldn’t receive any of her father's assets because she was deemed at fault.
Ding Li didn’t understand why it was her mother who was considered at fault when it was her father who had changed his heart.
She later learned from her grandmother that her father had colluded with another man, one of his male friends, to seduce her mother.
Lonely and cold, Mother repeatedly refused, but this person persisted, showering her with attention and occasionally uttering words that made her blush.
Ding Guoxin knew there was someone outside. Otherwise, she wouldn't have steeled herself to meet someone at a private inn.
Little did she know, this was a trap set by her cunning husband.
As soon as she entered the room, the man couldn't wait and pulled her onto the bed. The door was kicked open from the outside, and Ding Guoxin rushed in with someone, catching them in the act.
Mother was filled with shame and immediately agreed to an unconditional divorce, leaving everything behind. But she insisted on keeping Ding Li; otherwise, her life would lose all meaning, and she would rather die.
Ding Guoxin didn't insist on keeping Ding Li and drove the two women out.
"Whose house are you living in now?"
"Uncle's house."
"What is your father's current situation?"
"He died in a car accident."
"When did that happen?"
"Six months after Mother divorced."
Ye Chenfeng and Shen Binghan were both surprised. The latter looked at Ding Li's face; she didn't seem like someone who would have such a tragic fate. It appeared that things were not as simple as they seemed.
Indeed, Ding Li's next words left Shen Binghan in shock.
"After Mom divorced Dad, she was acting all mysterious. It seems like she went somewhere, and then Dad had an accident."
"What kind of people does your mom know? Who are these folks in her circle?"
Ye Chenfeng thought Shen Binghan was being a bit too sensitive. If he was hunting ghosts, then just focus on that; why bring up his mom's social circle?
"I don’t know. When Mom goes out, I’m not in the mood to ask or check. She works at a massage parlor anyway."
"No wonder Ma Yan knows about Ding Li's mother. They must be colleagues," Ye Chenfeng thought Shen Binghan was being foolish. He already knew that Ma Yan and Ding Li's mother were acquainted; it was just that Ma Yan hadn’t admitted it openly.
The issue seemed to circle back to the relationship between Ma Yan and Ding Li's mother.
Ye Chenfeng felt that Shen Binghan was being unnecessarily persistent, as if he wanted to stay close to Ding Li for some ulterior motive, perhaps to flirt.
However, Shen Binghan insisted it wasn't like that. He explained that the female ghost he saw wasn’t just any ghost; she was the Soul Snatcher Princess.
Ye Chenfeng didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits, influenced by his father's skepticism. On one hand, his grandmother believed in the supernatural and was a legendary Medium. Hearing Shen Binghan mention the Soul Snatcher Princess made him chuckle, yet it also struck him as absurd.
What puzzled him further was that throughout history, there had been tales of Black and White Impermanence claiming souls, but this was the first time he had heard of a Soul Snatcher Princess.
But if that wasn’t the case, then what could explain everything that had happened? Ye Chenfeng silently followed behind them, pondering over his acquaintance with Shen Binghan and the experiences he had witnessed.
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