Who Moved My Ashes Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Jiang Xichu’s cruel words were heard by the little brother and old man, however they behaved as if they didn’t hear it.
After death, there were billions of ghosts who wanted to climb back to the human world. If any one of them had actually succeeded, then they wouldn’t have to wait patiently outside for registration. It was better to find a job that could support themselves as soon as possible.
It was hard being alive, a ghost didn’t have it any easier.
When Jiang Xichu came out, the little girl was still waiting at the door. It was expected that she would have to wait for a long time.
Jiang Xichu squatted beside the little girl. “Do you know where the exit to this world is?”
The little girl blinked. “I do.”
As she spoke, she pointed to the light in the distance. Jiang Xichu always thought it was the sun because it looked like the sun. Now that she thought about it again, this was the underworld. Why would there be a sun?
Jiang Xichu stood up, suddenly enlightened. It didn’t take long before her face was full of anger, “I’ll go now!”
The little girl watched Jiang Xichu leave, catching the attention of an old grandfather who sat beside her. Voice full of doubt, he asked, “Where is she going?”
The little girl didn't know either and guessed: “Maybe she went to find the exit? Grandpa, didn’t you say that the exit was the same as the sun? Looking at it, how can you actually touch it?”
The underworld and human world were connected by a channel. Only the civil servants in the underworld could enter and exit the channel. Usually when people died, they would directly appear in the underworld and wouldn’t pass through the channel. This was Jiang Xichu’s first time in the underworld, she thought that anyone could enter this channel. Not long after, she really went in.
The moment she entered, the underworld was no longer quiet.
“Wee-woo, wee-woo, wee-woo, wee-woo —”
Little girl: “...”
It turned out that the alarm in the underworld sounded the same as the alarm in the human world.
Jiang Xichu didn’t walk for long before she returned to the human world. At this time, the world was dark. Jiang Xichu narrowed her eyes and recognized her surroundings. She found that this place was where she had the accident: it was the door of the company.
The victims were removed, and the blood was washed clean. However, within half a month, it became normal. It was impossible to tell that five fresh and lovely girls had lost their lives here.
Jiang Xichu’s spirit shook for a moment, but soon she moved and angrily headed to Chen Man’s house.
Chen Man lived near the company. Jiang Xichu had been to her house many times. This time would be no exception, Jiang Xichu came to the door with practiced ease and was about to press her fingerprint on the reader when she remembered that she was dead. There was no need to press the fingerprint pad, she could just phase right through.
Jiang Xichu tried and found that she really could.
‘Ah…’
‘How fun!’
Distracted by her new ability, she went through the wall several times before she remembered what the goal of this trip was. She quickly schooled her face- she would go into Chen Man’s room and frighten her to death like the horror movie she had seen as a child, and then Jiang Xichu would be able to settle her debt.
After entering, she saw Chen Man sitting at the head of the bed silently and then remembered something.
She wasn’t a fierce ghost, how could she scare people?
...It was truly hard for ghosts to live.
She circled around Chen Man’s bed twice, the latter ignorant to her presence. As she looked at the things in her hands, Jiang Xichu stood still and was silent.
‘Come on, forget it. Just scold her and let it go. Even if she can’t hear you, you can still make a bad atmosphere.’
After clearing her throat, Jiang Xichu wanted to first point at Chen Man’s nose and start scolding her. But when she pointed, she was stunned.
It didn’t seem right.
It had only been half a month, yet Chen Man had lost so much weight. Her eyebags were not only black, but her sockets were also sunken in. Her skin was a waxy yellow colour and she looked like a ghost.
Jiang Xichu frowned and walked closer. For Chen Man, all she felt was a faint breeze, so it didn’t attract her attention. Instead, she simply continued slowly flipping through what was in her hands.
Jiang Xichu finally looked at what she was holding but it only made her more dumbfounded.
They were all photos of her.
It was her selfies, company group photos, and snapshots from university - a scattered collection that managed to fill up an entire photo album.
With every page turned, Jiang Xichu could find herself in the photo. For a moment, she was deeply moved.
Jiang Xichu sighed and sat down beside Chen Man. “Seeing as you made an entire album for me, I’ll let you off the hook. Forget it, I’m dead now, the money is worthless to me. In the end, it’ll only benefit others. You keep it - spend it, donate it, whatever you want.”
A quiet sentiment washed over Jiang Xichu. The words she had just spoken probably amounted to the old saying, “a dying man speaks only kindness.” And indeed, she was already gone, what was there left to dwell on?
Ever since she passed, Jiang Xichu had felt very little. She had always been a person unburdened by attachments, even as a child. Even if something were to suddenly happen or if she left the world abruptly, thinking of all the people and things left behind, she could not list anyone that would weigh heavily on her mind.
Her family wasn’t in touch with her and her friends would only be sad for a while. Afterwards, everyone would continue to live a happy life. No one was truly indispensable in this world, and no one was truly unforgettable when faced with time.
Jiang Xichu always thought like that , but when she saw Chen Man like this, she felt a pain in her heart. Watching her look at her photos and pausing occasionally, Jiang Xichu wiped away a handful of crystal tears, moved: “Wuu~…Man Man…papa raised you well…”
Jiang Xichu sat down next to Chen Man as she said that. Although Jiang Xichu was intangible, if something passed through her, she would feel it.
Becoming aware that she was sitting on something, Jiang Xichu carefully scooted over and found that it was a vintage bottle. It wasn’t quite the size or style of a vase, and it carried a heavy weight of solemness.
Jiang Xichu quietly assessed it. It looked quite weathered, so perhaps it was some sort of antique. However, something about it felt oddly familiar, like she’d seen it often on TV.
As Jiang Xichu was trying to remember where she had seen this bottle, Chen Man picked it up and held it in her arms. She whispered: “There are 472 photos total, but only three photos are with me. Jiang Xichu, you really hate me.”
Jiang Xichu: "..............."
‘Holy shit!’
Jiang Xichu jumped three feet in the air for the first time in her life. She looked at Chen Man in horror. What the fuck is happening?!?!
This was her urn?! Shouldn’t she have been buried? How could this be on Chen Man’s bed?!?!
Fuck, this was too much. Jiang Xichu didn’t know where to start. Moreover, even if those ashes were hers…
It was just as scary, aaaahhhhh!
Jiang Xichu looked at Chen Man in disbelief. After her whisper, she was silent again, biting her lips. After some time, the corner of her mouth lifted into a heart-wrenching smile.
It felt like someone was twisting Jiang Xichu’s heart, wringing it until she felt a sharp pang in her chest. She frowned, sensing in that sad, strained expression the hollow stillness of a heart beyond grieving.
“It’s useless to hate me. You can’t say it anymore. I won’t be able to hear you say that you hate me ever again.”
Plop. Two drops of tears fell onto the urn. After pausing for two seconds, Chen Man stretched out her hand and carefully wiped away the tears.
Chen Man reflected on Jiang Xichu's love of cleanliness. She changed her clothes every day and carried two pocket tissues with her because she didn’t know when she might need them. When they went on business trips together, Chan Man was constantly getting told off for not being clean enough.
Truth was, Chen Man was already a clean and tidy person. Jiang Xichu was just determined to find faults in her.
“I'm sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...” Chen Man’s eyes were red as she repeatedly apologised, then she paused.
Who was she even apologizing to?
Who would even hear her apologies?
The hot tears fell one after the other. This time, Chen Man didn’t bother wiping them away. She held the urn tightly in her arms. She cried silently, then quietly, then loudly.
Her fingers were clasped onto the urn of ashes, and the tendons on her knuckles almost burst. Jiang Xichu started dazedly at the scene. Suddenly, she noticed that blood was slowly seeping from Chen Man’s fingers.
She had used too much strength, and her nails were torn by the lines on the urn.
Jiang Xichu cried out, "Chen Man, let go!"
Naturally, Chen Man couldn't hear her voice, but she also felt that she couldn’t feel pain. After crying for a while, she finally eased her strength and sniffled, raising her hand and looking at the blood coming from her nails.
Jiang Xichu from next to her hurriedly said: “Look at this nonsense! Clean up the wound and use a band aid to stop the bleeding! No, you have to go to the hospital. My goodness, I hope the nail bed didn’t get injured. Are you stupid? You hurt yourself, you—”
As per her old habit, Jiang Xichu wanted to point at Chen Man’s nose and scold her. However, when she turned to look, Jiang Xichu stopped abruptly.
She could only watch helplessly as Chen Man raised her hand to her chest and wrenched out the torn piece of her fingernail in one violent motion. Her expression was ice cold - the moment she tore it off, her face turned pale as paper. It’s said that the fingertips are closely linked to one’s heart*, but she didn’t even let out a single cry. She merely gasped, caught her breath, and once the searing agony from the nerves had numbed, she set her focus on the next finger.
(TN: 十指连心 “ten fingers are connected to the heart” is an idiom for the close, deep emotional bond between family members or loved ones. It’s very similar to the latin term vena amoris)
She had torn three nails, and she pulled out all three of them. The urn was placed on the other side of her body to ensure that it wouldn’t be stained with blood. Looking at her bloody fingers, Chen Man felt a little better.
Once the body has felt pain, the ache in the heart seems to lessen somewhat.