One Life, One Incarnation, Beautiful Bones

38

Shi Yi smiled, "He just said that you guys should be arriving and then you really did show up."

"My big brother is very strict when it comes to time." Wenxing pretended to heave a sigh. "Made the chauffeur all stressed out, too, so that he didn't dare be late."

Was this an accusation? Or pouting?

She felt, every time she saw Zhou Wenxing, she treated Shi Yi as if they were very familiar with one another. She was one of the few people in this family who was warm and kind to her. Shi Yi gave a brief nod in greeting to Mei Xing and then began laughingly chiming in with Zhou Wenxing to accuse Zhousheng Chen of having harsh, rigid views on time.

The accused, however, did not seem to mind in the least.

"The dragonflies, fireflies, and bugs are especially numerous here." Seeing that Shi Yi was looking at some dragonflies, Wenxing bent her knees into a half-squat and reached out to try to pinch a dragonfly's wings. "I used to come here a lot when I was young. I'd often catch these for fun."

Her hands were very thin, which should be a result of having a congential heart disease, and this caused her whole being to appear somewhat gaunt and fatigued.

Shi Yi had not noticed this the last time she had seen her. This time, her physical state and energy level were noticeably much worse.

"Hey, my little beauty, during Ghost Month, you can't catch dragonflies," Mei Xing warned her with a grin.

"Why?" Zhou Wenxing was perplexed.

Mei Xing chuckled quietly but did not continue to explain.

Zhou Wenxing bit down on her lip, and in an irate voice, she muttered, "You're just picking on me for growing up outside the country and not knowing all your heretical beliefs."

Hearing their banter, Shi Yi broke out in laughter. "It's just a taboo thing among the common people. Commonly, it's believed the dragonfly and katydid are actually the ghosts and spirits of the deceased. That's why, during Ghost Month, it's... best not to catch them and bring them home to avoid having some 'good friends' pay you a visit."

One day, when she was still a child, she had been sweeping ancestral tombs and had been educated by a few aunties about this. Hence, she clearly remembered her lesson.

"Ah?" Zhou Wenxing immediately retracted her hand. "I normally come back here either during Qingming Festival to sweep tombs or during Ghost Month... And I usually catch a bunch and bring them back with me for fun..." With a trace of dread, she could not help pressing, "What's a katydid?"

Before Shi Yi had a chance to answer, Mei Xing was already telling her, "It's a bush-cricket. I remember when you were a kid, you would always play around with them."

Zhou Wenxing's face became even paler.

Shi Yi was worried that they had truly frightened her so she assured her with a smile, "Don't be scared. We're just saying this for fun."

Actually, she, too, was frightened of these sorts of folk legends, so she certainly could understand what the girl was feeling at this moment.

She was about to carry on consoling her, but Zhousheng Chen was already shaking his head as he gave a long sigh. "The katydid, also colloquially known as "deng ting" ["lamp fuel"] and "fu lao" ["to bear and toil"], is an insect belonging to the order Odonata and suborder Anisoptera. They are often found flying near water. After mating, the female will lay her eggs in habitats of vegetation near a source of water. They have no connection whatsoever to souls and spirits."

This was the explanation of an atheist.

Purely scientific.

Mei Xing could not resist bantering with him. "Hey, great scientist, 'that which is real is reasonable.'[3] For me, I believe in Buddhism and reincarnation."