Shen Siyuan caught hold of Dou Dou, who was circling around him.
Dou Dou was lifted into the air, her little legs flailing about, amusing Xiao Yue and Duoduo into giggles.
"With me here, what are you afraid of?" Shen Siyuan said.
Xiao Yue was the first to respond, quickly saying, "Right, we can return to the Banner, and then we won’t have to be afraid of anything."
The Ten Thousand Soul Banner was a very wonderful space, which to them was a vast new world, albeit a bit lonely, lacking the liveliness and fun of reality.
"I don’t need it, I have Mommy’s umbrella."
Duoduo held the oil paper umbrella high, with the immortal cranes on it spiraling and soaring as if they were about to ascend into the sky from the surface of the umbrella.
Shen Siyuan was quite curious about the origin of Duoduo’s umbrella.
"Is this umbrella really powerful?" Dou Dou struggled in Shen Siyuan’s hand while curiously asking.
Xiao Yue was also curiously looking at Duoduo.
Upon hearing this, Duoduo replied with a bit of pride, "Of course, this umbrella will shield me from the wind and the rain, and even thunder. Underneath it, there’s nothing to be afraid of."
"Let me see... let me see..."
As if a fish pulled onto the shore, Dou Dou kept bouncing in Shen Siyuan’s hand.
Shen Siyuan was somewhat torn between laughter and tears and stretched out his hand to put her down.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she dashed under Duoduo’s umbrella.
"Ah, don’t squeeze..."
"I’m not, it’s so spacious underneath here..."
"Hehe~, this was given to me by my mommy..."
In Duoduo’s words, there was an immeasurable pride.
"Your mommy is really nice, I have a little umbrella too, with a pink bunny on it and two pointy ears..."
Shen Siyuan called out to Xiao Yue, picked up his shoes, and walked towards the shore.
Xiao Yue hurriedly followed, and the two little ones under the umbrella quickly chased after them.
At this moment, a thunderclap resounded in the sky, and lightning streaked across the clouds.
"It looks like it’s really going to rain." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝘯𝘦𝘵
Shen Siyuan reached the shore, found a foot-washing pool, quickly rinsed his feet, and then put on his shoes.
From this beach to where Shen Siyuan lived was about seven kilometers away. He hadn’t cycled over, but had chosen to walk instead.
So he still had to walk back, but his speed was extremely fast. It looked like he was just casually taking a step forward, but his speed was akin to a galloping horse, and in a blink of an eye, he had moved a great distance and vanished from sight.
As a result, the three little ones had to ride the Yin Wind to keep up with his pace.
"Potato, are you a little snail? Walk a little faster."
"Potato, I’m faster than you, you can’t catch me."
"Brother, keep it up."
"Brother, even the wind can’t catch you, you’re so fast..."
"Brother, we’re almost home, the rain can’t catch up with you..."
Dou Dou and Duoduo, their little legs flapping, were now merrily flying ahead, chirping away as if they were two little magpies.
Only Xiao Yue remained calm, always following by Shen Siyuan’s side.
At this time, it was already deep into the night. Fortunately, there were no more people on the road, and since they were ghosts and invisible to ordinary people, otherwise, they would have scared someone to death.
However, probably because a big wind and rainstorm were approaching, the ghosts that usually wandered around on the streets had suddenly vanished, giving Shen Siyuan a clear view.
But soon, a frail figure appeared in Shen Siyuan’s line of sight.
"Eh?" Shen Siyuan was surprised to see the person.
With extraordinary eyesight, coupled with the streets being as bright as daylight, Shen Siyuan could clearly see the person ahead.
It was an old man, skinny and hunchbacked, bare-chested with a towel tied around his neck, head bowed, struggling to pedal a tricycle up the slope.
He was rhythmically gasping for breath, as if he were chanting cadence, seemingly using every bit of strength in his body.
Shen Siyuan watched from a distance, then lightly touched the ground with his toes, and like a graceful swan, landed behind the tricycle, pushing against the rear with the palm of his hand.
The heavy tricycle, as if fitted with a turbo engine, effortlessly surged up the slope.
The old man seemed to understand in an instant that someone was pushing from behind, and without turning to look, he hurriedly concentrated on steering the front of the tricycle.
In just a few breaths, the tricycle had climbed to the top of the high slope.
The old man wiped the sweat from his face with the towel around his neck, then turned his head.
"Young man, you’re very strong, thank you for the help."
The old man, with white hair and a shriveled face, smiled at Shen Siyuan.
"No trouble at all, sir. Why haven’t you gone home so late at night?" Shen Siyuan asked, noticing the recyclables in his tricycle basket.
"It’s cooler at night, not as hot as during the day," the old man explained with a smile.
In fact, there was another reason: Bin Hai was bustling during the night, with seafood stalls everywhere, open all night. Tourists who had played all day would choose to go out for food and drinks in the evening, which meant more beverage bottles and beer bottles to be found.
"Where do you live? Do you need help getting there?" Shen Siyuan asked.
"No need, I live just a short distance ahead, I’ll be there soon," the old man pointed forward.
Hearing this, Shen Siyuan didn’t insist and said, "In that case, I’ll be on my way. Take it slow with the tricycle."
"Got it, thank you, young man."
The old man chuckled his thanks again, then continued to pedal the tricycle, still hunchbacked and panting.
He was very thin, skin and bones, and his protruding spine made him look even more emaciated when he bent over.
"Poor Grandpa, working so hard, so pitiful..."
Even the simple-minded Dou Dou couldn’t help but feel a wave of sympathy.
"Yes, it is very hard," Shen Siyuan said emotionally.
Continuing on without stopping and seeing the old man working so hard, he couldn’t help but wonder, what is the meaning of life after all?
Soon, he passed by an overpass. He needed to cross under the overpass to get to the other side of the road.
Just then, Duoduo, who was fluttering and circling in front of them, suddenly said, "There’s an old Grandma."
Upon hearing this, Dou Dou stirred up gusts of Yin Wind, full of curiosity.
"Over there..." Duoduo pointed towards the shadows under the bridge pier ahead.
Following the direction of her finger, Shen Siyuan indeed saw an old woman standing in the dark, looking at them with fear.
To be precise, looking at Dou Dou with fear.
Her flaming appearance was too conspicuous and too much of a nuisance for ghosts.
When she noticed Shen Siyuan’s gaze, she seemed slightly stunned, then realized and glanced over the three youngsters, then back at Shen Siyuan, hesitating to come forward, seemingly with something to say yet holding back.
Shen Siyuan, seeing the pile of cardboard boxes and empty bottles behind the old woman, suddenly realized and looked back, only then understanding that this place was what the old man had referred to as home.