Chapter 41 – Guiding the Living, Guiding the Dead

This restaurant was located on the top floor of a landmark building in the southern part of the city.

Reservations here were already booked out until the second half of the year.

But restaurants with a reservation-only policy like this would always leave a few of the best seats available for members, just in case they decided to drop by at the last minute.

As a model of modern male virtue, Xie Shiyu naturally wasn’t a member of this kind of couple’s restaurant.

After Lu Zeyuan recommended it to him, he immediately asked Secretary Li to top up one million yuan and become a VVVVIP of the restaurant.

After all, that friend of his was notoriously picky—if he recommended it, it must be good.

Xie Shiyu figured that if Tu Shanju liked the ambiance and the food, they could come here more often in the future.

The waiter led them to a table that had been prepared in advance.

As soon as Tu Shanju sat down, she eagerly turned her head toward the window.

The table was right next to the floor-to-ceiling glass—360-degree panoramic windows overlooking most of the southern city.

At this hour, all the city’s landmark lights were lit. The various lights and shapes resembled a dazzling light show.

The restaurant itself had a starry ceiling and ambient lighting, and with live violin music playing, the romantic atmosphere was pushed to its peak.

Seeing that she seemed to like it a lot, Xie Shiyu smiled slightly. Looks like asking that guy Lu Zeyuan had been the right call.

Xie Shiyu said gently, “If you like it, we can come here whenever we have time.”

Tu Shanju was too busy leaning against the window, taking in the view, and absentmindedly responded, “Mm-hmm, got it.”

Xie Shiyu could only shake his head helplessly.

After this meal, Tu Shanju wasn’t just full—her eyes and mood were fully satisfied too.

On the way back home, just as they were about to reach the Xie family’s old estate, Tu Shanju suddenly told Xie Shiyu to stop the car.

She unfastened her seatbelt. “Wait for me a moment. I need to make a deal with that little girl.”

Xie Shiyu was startled at first, but then he suddenly remembered that cup of milk tea from the arcade and nodded calmly.

However, he still got out of the car with her and stood by the side, keeping his eyes on her as she walked off, ready to wait.

Tu Shanju walked about two meters past the back of the car and stopped, looking directly at the girl and asking bluntly, “We’re almost home now, little sister. How long are you planning to keep following me?”

Shang Yu instantly broke down and burst into sobs.

But ghosts don’t have tears, so she could only pretend to wipe away the ones that weren’t really there.

She cried hard, sobbing again and again. “Sis… big sister… can you, can you please help me? They can’t hear me talk. I… I don’t want my sister to be sad. I don’t want Mom and Dad to live with guilt. I don’t want home to stop being home. I don’t want my loved ones to become enemies!”

Tu Shanju was silent for two seconds, then sighed and took a nail clipper from her pocket, handing it to her. “Take this. With it, I can help you.”

She didn’t mention she was a credit-knife person (赊刀人).

A child who died at twelve wouldn’t understand all that, so there was no need to explain too much.

Even though the Shang family’s misfortune was just one of millions of sad stories in the world, if a single message could help those three people find peace for the rest of their lives, Tu Shanju saw it as an opportunity to accumulate merit.

She remembered when she was young, before her parents passed away, the three of them would sit together under the moon in the hills behind their home. Her mother had once said:

“Xiao Jiu, you must remember, the suffering in this world is like the stars in the night sky—endless. People like us are destined to witness the darkest parts of the world. Over time, we’ll become numb. But even so, we must always have a sense of responsibility. You were born into the world of metaphysics. Your duty is to guide both the living and the dead.”

When she was a child, she didn’t understand what her mother meant. She thought “guiding the living and the dead” just meant maintaining the balance of yin and yang, catching ghosts and saving people.

It wasn’t until later that she realized her mother meant something else—to guide those who could be guided, whether human or ghost.

Not every ghost needed to be caught, because there were good ghosts and evil ones.

Not every person deserved saving either, because people could be good or bad too.

She understood now—and she’d lived by that principle for years.

And today, when she encountered the Shang sisters, now separated by life and death, she knew it was her fate to help the Shang family of three.

Shang Yu looked at the small nail clipper in Tu Shanju’s palm and shook her head. “Sister… I can’t touch it…”

But then her words stopped, because she remembered the sweet, fragrant mango pomelo sago from earlier.

Tu Shanju raised her hand a little higher. “Take it. I’ll go to your house tomorrow. Stop following me. Go spend more time with your parents. Or go see your sister. You don’t have much time left.”

Shang Yu didn’t hesitate at all. As if afraid Tu Shanju would change her mind, she quickly grabbed the nail clipper from her hand.

The speed with which she did it was like someone clinging to their last and only hope.

Tu Shanju quietly said to herself, “Transaction initially complete,” then turned and walked away.

When they returned to the Xie household, both of them assumed everyone would be asleep.

But unexpectedly, in the living room—

Old Master Xie was watching a dating show: “Aiyo, this drama is so good!”

Xie Jingzhou and Xie Jingting were playing video games:
“There’s someone in the bushes—huh? When did I die?”
“Oh… I think I just died too.”

Meanwhile, Xu Airu and Xie Wenmo were raising their teacups and going: “Cheers!”

Tu Shanju and Xie Shiyu looked at each other, both wearing identical confused expressions for once.

What… on earth were they all doing?