Chapter 79: Fragments of Memory (1) |
As the supreme magic treasure of the Demonic Path, the 【Ten Thousand Souls Banner】 was naturally incomparably tyrannical.
Even Immortals and Gods, once drawn into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, would lose all control of themselves.
From the inside out, they would be eternally enslaved by the Banner Master, never to be free for all eternity.
Although this little Ghost, Lin Yunduo, had some peculiarities, upon entering the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, everything about her was likewise under Shen Siyuan's control, and her memories were naturally no exception.
During their conversation in the car earlier, the Little One was too young and couldn't explain many things clearly, so it was much more direct to just view her memories.
Duoduo stood under the eaves, watching the heavy rain outside.
Dad and Mom had both gone to work, and her brother had gone to School too. Duoduo was all alone at home.
Before leaving, Mom had told her not to go outside while she was home alone, and that she would get off work and come home soon.
Duoduo was very obedient.
She played with her doll for a bit, but likewise, she quickly lost interest…
Looking at the empty house, she missed her Mom and Dad a little, and she wanted her brother to play with her.
Just then, the once-clear sky suddenly began to pour.
Duoduo stood under the eaves, watching the rain flatten all the flowers Mom had planted in the courtyard. Duoduo let out a long, regretful sigh.
She remembered her brother;it seemed he hadn't taken an umbrella when he left for school at noon.
So she quickly ran back inside the house and looked at an umbrella in a red plastic bucket in the corner.
Duoduo hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should take the umbrella to her brother.
Brother would get soaked, and if he gets soaked by the rain, he'll get sick, and if he gets sick, he'll have to take bitter medicine…
Brother doesn't like bitter medicine, and Duoduo doesn't like it either…
So Duoduo decided to take the umbrella to her brother.
She was a smart girl, she knew the way. Mom had taken her to her brother's School, and her brother had also told her how to get there.
"Take the Route 6 Bus, and after it stops 6 times, you'll be at brother's school…"
At this thought, Duoduo eagerly took the umbrella out of the red plastic bucket.
It was an Oil-paper Umbrella of an extremely exquisite design, with a Pine and Crane Pattern on its surface.
This was Duoduo's favorite umbrella. Once when it was raining, Dad had taken it, and Duoduo got so angry she ran out into the rain, saying she wanted the raindrops to smash her to death so Dad would never have a Duoduo again…
Later, her brother had even laughed at her for being silly, asking how raindrops could ever smash a person to death.
As Shen Siyuan continued to view Duoduo's memories, he noticed that the style of her home's interior did not look like it was from the twenty-first century at all.
Whether it was the television, the refrigerator, or the wooden sofa… it was all in the style of the 1980s.
However, from these appliances in the home, he could tell that Duoduo's family's living conditions were quite good;her parents were likely both well-employed.
And by this time, Duoduo had already put on her Yellow Rain Boots, grabbed a Kaleidoscope, and walked out of the house holding her umbrella.
The little thing was very smart;before leaving, she even took out a few cents from her red piggy bank.
As for why she also brought a Kaleidoscope, she thought of it as her telescope, which she could use to see her brother inside the School once she reached the school gate.
Shen Siyuan followed Duoduo's memory onward.
The rain was falling heavily, and the world was a misty haze.
For a five-year-old child to go out at a time like this was extremely dangerous.
But Duoduo was completely unaware, and even seemed a little joyous and excited.
Raindrops fell on the umbrella surface, making a pitter-patter sound. Duoduo happily spun the umbrella handle, sending rainwater splashing in all directions…
Whenever she saw a puddle on the road, she would go out of her way to stomp in it, the splashing water accompanied by her gleeful laughter…
…
"Three, eight, one, and six—I can read, you know.
I'm really smart…"
Standing under the bus stop shelter, Duoduo proudly spun her umbrella handle, splashing water everywhere, completely failing to notice a man not far away staring intently at her.
"Haitang Station is here. Those getting off, hurry up."
A public bus slowly pulled up to the stop.
The one calling out wasn't an electronic announcement, but a young woman.
She was the ticket conductor for this bus.
It was still the early 1980s;there was no such thing as self-service ticketing yet, everything was done manually.
Duoduo's eyes widened, and seeing the bus come to a complete stop, she hurriedly ran towards it on her short little legs.
But she forgot to close her umbrella and got stuck while boarding, nearly pulling herself over.
"Slow down, little one.
Are you all by yourself? Where are your parents?"
The ticket conductor asked, somewhat amused by the sight.
"Mom and Dad are at work. I'm going to the School to find my brother."
Duoduo struggled to close the umbrella.
The Oil-paper Umbrella was a bit too big for her;it was easy to open but difficult to close. Seeing this, the ticket conductor got up from her seat, walked over to help her carry it onto the bus, and then helped her close it.
"You're going to West City Elementary School to find your brother, right?"
There was only one elementary school on this bus route, West City Elementary School.
Duoduo nodded.
In truth, she didn't know if her brother's school was called West City Elementary School, but as long as it was a school, it had to be the right one.
"When we get to the stop, I'll call you," the ticket conductor said with a smile.
The ticket conductor didn't choose to call the police or notify her parents. In this era, it was just too common for children to be running around everywhere.
Hardly anyone paid it any mind, as if it were perfectly normal.
Just then, another young man holding a black umbrella got on.
The young man wasn't tall but was extremely stocky. He had quite a few pimples on his cheeks and a knife scar on his right eyebrow.
He didn't have a kind face and didn't give off the impression of being a good person.
Seeing him, the ticket conductor's voice instinctively lowered a notch.
She asked softly, "Which stop are you getting off at?"
"The Train Station."
"Five cents."
The young man paid for a ticket and then walked to the very back row of the bus.
After the young man walked away, Duoduo, who had been standing to the side, held out the few cents she had been clutching tightly in her palm.
She was wearing a dress that had no pockets, so she had been holding the coins in her hand the whole time.
Seeing this, the ticket conductor said with a laugh, "You don't need a ticket, you little bean."
Hearing this, Duoduo said, a little unhappily, "I'm a big kid now."
"You're not even 1.
2 meters tall yet, and you can't even close your own umbrella. What big kid?" the ticket conductor teased.
Then, without waiting for Duoduo to reply, she added, "Hurry up and find a seat, be careful you don't fall."
Hearing that, Duoduo quickly sat down in a nearby seat, placing her umbrella beside her.
The rain outside the window was still falling…
"One stop… two stops… three stops…"
Watching the curtain of rain outside the window, Duoduo didn't dare to get distracted for a second, continuously counting the bus stops.
During this process, passengers came and went, getting on and off.
The number of people didn't decrease because of the heavy rain.
In this era, aside from bicycles, public buses were the main mode of transportation.
So, because of the rain, the number of people taking the bus had actually increased.
However, after seeing Duoduo, they all just glanced at her and didn't pay her much mind.
"West City Elementary School is here! Anyone getting off? Oh right, that little kid, this is your stop…"
The ticket conductor's sharp voice rang through the bus. Duoduo snapped back to reality and hurriedly dragged her umbrella off the bus.
Only after getting off the bus did she realize she hadn't opened her umbrella, and the rain began to pour down all over her.
But just then, she suddenly felt something block the space above her head.
Duoduo looked up to see a black umbrella shielding her from the sky.
A sudden peal of thunder echoed across the sky.
The thunder rumbled, and the rain began to fall even harder…