Evening, Li family village.
Night had descended, and it was dark all around.
The two cars were parked outside the village. Chen Hao, carrying an annoyed-looking black cat, Zhou Gang, as well as Wei Xiuhong and her two companions got out of their cars, sizing up their surroundings with curious looks.
With a police officer accompanying them, Wei Xiuhong and her company no longer felt worried. Now, they felt more of anticipation, curiosity, and also… fear.
After all, they were about to see a ghost. Even if it was Sister Hong's son, that was still a ghost.
With Chen Hao leading the way, the five of them arrived beside the Willow River, the place where Li Meng drowned.
Under the river, three clusters of dark energy were awakened. Without wasting a moment, Chen Hao called out for Li Meng.
They then saw two clusters of dark energy fly out from under the water and land in front of Chen Hao. They transformed into their yin bodies—it was Zhao Yuan and Li Meng.
Seeing Chen Hao come with a group of people, the two ghosts stared at Chen Hao in anticipation.
Chen Hao said apologetically, "Zhao Yuan, sorry. Your matter happened too long ago, I haven't found any news of it yet. I only managed to find Li Meng's mother."
Although disappointed, Zhao Yuan still smiled. After all, since Chen Hao was able to help Li Meng find his family, he would be able to help him. It was just a matter of time.
Li Meng, on the other hand, looked giddy with delight, his scorching gaze fixed upon Wei Xiuhong.
The oldest one in the group was her. And carefully looking, one would discover Li Meng and Wei Xiuhong had rather similar features. Clearly, Li Meng took after his mother in terms of appearance.
"Mom! Mom!" Tears slipped down Li Meng's face. But as those tears were in the form of dark energy, they instantly disappeared.
When he agitatedly pounced over, he slipped right through Wei Xiuhong, catching him by surprise.
Chen Hao quickly explained, "Li Meng, you have a yin body now, and your cultivation isn't sufficient. You won't be able to interact with humans. And don't easily pass through people's bodies—it's not going to do your mother's health any good."
Li Meng didn't dare move recklessly now. He stared eagerly at Chen Hao. Because his mother wasn't able to see him, his eyes were reddened and his expression was anxious.
Chen Hao said with a smile, "Don't worry, I've prepared some things to help your mother see you."
Chen Hao then took out a willow branch, spring water, and cow's tears.
Upon seeing the willow branch, Chen Hao sighed.
Indeed, he was right to have backup plans. The willow branch had withered, the spiritual aura on the willow leaf had dissipated, and even the spring water had lost its spiritual aura, which meant it was useless now.
Thankfully, the cow's tears were alright—he hadn't spent his money in vain.
Chen Hao took out the cow's tears and said to Wei Xiuhong, "Sister, please close your eyes. I will help you smear cow's tears on them. This way, you'll get to see your son."
Wei Xiuhong, who had long been impatient, hurriedly stuck out her head and closed her eyes.
Chen Hao tapped a little of the cow's tears and smeared it upon Wei Xiuhong's eyelids, then asked her to open her eyes.
After blinking her eyes, Wei Xiuhong instantly discovered two more people with them.
One big and one small, both drenched and dripping with water, and with ghastly pale complexions.
She was initially startled, but after she saw Li Meng, she couldn't shift her eyes away from him.
Mother and son were connected by blood relations. Wei Xiuhong felt a sense of closeness the instant she saw him.
This is my child!
"Xiao Meng, you are Xiao Meng!" Wei Xiuhong said in a quivering voice.
Li Meng's tears slipped more urgently now as he mumbled in between sobs, "Mom, I finally got to see you. Mom."
Xiao Meng!
Wei Xiuhong couldn't hold herself back from sobbing and going over to hug him. Of course, she ended up hugging air.
Chen Hao explained with a bitter smile, "Sister, you two are separated by life and death. You can see him, but you can't touch him."
"How can it be? My child, my ill-fated child. Mom has let you down!" Wei Xiuhong said in a grievous voice.
Li Meng merely sobbed and looked at his mother, unable to say a single word.
After more than ten years of anticipation, he finally got to see her. This moment, although he could see her, he couldn't touch her. They were so near, yet so far. There was nothing sadder than this on earth.
What was going on here looked a little bizarre. After all, the interaction between a human and a ghost appeared like a lunatic talking to air. The young siblings were speechless by what they saw.
"Master, can you do some spells and let us see Li Meng too?" the young girl asked.
Since he had plenty of cow's tears and it'd be a waste not to use them, Chen Hao wasn't petty and nodded. "Sure. Close your eyes."
Chen Hao then smeared cow's tears on the young siblings and Zhou Gang. Suddenly, everyone could see the two ghosts.
Zhou Gang was alright. After all, he had seen Zhao Yuan before, so he had a certain understanding of ghosts and the like.
However, it was the young siblings' first time seeing a ghost. The pale faces and wet appearances of the two ghosts really gave the two of them a good scare. They were no longer doubtful about the existence of ghosts.
"Is this Li Meng? So pitiful. He's only thirteen." The young guy slowly lost his fear, and a look of pity clouded his gaze. Sister Hong was like kin to them. Over this more than a decade, she had spent more time with them than even their family. The two of them were as good as Sister Hong's children.
And it was really a pity that Sister Hong's own child turned out this way.
But within 15 minutes, Wei Xiuhong suddenly realized to her horror that she was no longer able to see Li Meng. She anxiously asked, "Master, where's my child? Why can't I see him? Master, what happened to Xiao Meng?"
Shortly after, Zhou Gang and the siblings realized that they could no longer see the ghosts too.
Chen Hao glanced at Zhao Yuan and Li Meng who were still standing there, and realization dawned on him.
Even if it was cow's tears, its effect was weak and had a time limit, unlike his Yin Yang Eyes which worked 24/7 and had no restrictions or delays. This was the difference between divine and ordinary methods.
Chen Hao explained, "Sister, the spell I cast has restrictions. Mm, I still have some cow's tears left. The two of you should take the chance and talk. After this, it's time for Li Meng to go. After all, humans and ghosts live in different worlds and can't interact for long. I hope you can understand, Sister."
Wei Xiuhong nodded sadly. "Thanks, Master. I understand."
Chen Hao then smeared more cow's tears on Wei Xiuhong's eyelids again, then said to Zhou Gang and the siblings, "Let's give them some private time to talk."
After walking away for some distance, looking at the human and ghost quietly interacting with each other, the humans over here had heavy hearts.
For a mother to be sending away her son, after more than ten years of longing, she only managed to see her son's spirit. Even people who had lived in ease and never experienced the pains of parting with a loved one could feel her sadness and pain.
After a long while, Wei Xiuhong came to them with Li Meng.
Wei Xiuhong introduced Li Meng to the young siblings. Li Meng said agitatedly, "Thanks for taking care of my mother when she was feeling helpless. Thank you."
The young girl said with a smile, "Xiao Meng, very sorry for not knowing about your news all these years. Now that we learned of it, it's too late. But you can be rest assured, Sister Hong has taken care of me and my younger brother for more than ten years, so she's like a mother to us. In the future, we will help you take care of Sister Hong and make sure she doesn't suffer any grievance."
Li Meng said happily, "Thank you. With the two of you taking care of my mother, my heart is put to ease."
[Ding-Dong! Dying Wish Fulfilled. Rewarded with Dipper Steps.]
Then, following the sound, a load of information suddenly surfaced in Chen Hao's mind.
Having been through it once, this time Chen Hao very calmly accepted it.