Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Liu Yulan: Three Days Remaining

The first time I saw her, the world outside was blanketed in white snow.

She was sitting alone in her courtyard, lost in thought.

I passed by the entrance to her home.

“Grandma, could I have a glass of water?”

Liu Yulan stood up. “Come in. It’s almost New Year’s-why are you all alone?”

Her movements were slow as she rose, one hand braced against the stool for support.

She suddenly smiled. “If my old man were here, he’d definitely be rushing to do it for me.”

The house was cold and desolate.

It was missing that “old man” she spoke of.

I sipped the hot water. “Grandma, are you the only one living here now?”

“Yes.” She looked at me and wiped her eyes. “I used to have a granddaughter, but she passed away last year.”

She glanced out the window again. “When the first snow fell this year, my old man left too.”

I blurted out, “Grandma, could you let me stay here for a couple of days? I came looking for work but couldn’t find any, and I don’t have any money on me.”

Perhaps it was my awkwardness that stirred her pity, for she didn’t even stop to consider if I might be a bad person.

“Stay, then. You can stay as long as you like.”

“Grandma, aren’t you afraid I’m a bad person?”

While I wasn’t exactly a “bad person,” I was the Ghost Agent who would soon be claiming her soul.

She pointed toward the interior of the house. “I have nothing left to lose.”

I took the initiative to help her fetch water.

She didn’t stand on ceremony with me, but as she watched my movements, she suddenly asked, “Am I about to die?”

A Ghost Agent is not permitted to speak of a mortal’s remaining lifespan.

I shook my head with a smile. “Grandma, what are you talking about? You’ll surely live to be a hundred.”

Though I was a new Ghost Agent, I had already seen the many faces of human life.

In moments like these, humans always loved to lie.

She shook her head. “I feel like I’ve lived long enough. If I don’t leave soon, I’m afraid I won’t be able to catch up to my old man and my granddaughter.”

I had checked the Book of Life and Death in the Netherworld.

Her granddaughter’s name was Jiang Chu.

She had lost her life on the spot in an accident last year.

The elderly couple hadn’t even been able to see her one last time.

Now, she was the only one left in the entire house.

Wanting to cheer her up, I could only say, “Grandma, how about I be your granddaughter for now?”

Grandma laughed.

“My old man used to say that too.” Her smile grew more radiant. “After my granddaughter passed away, I missed her so much that I’d cry all the time. My old man would tuck a flower behind his ear and call me ‘Grandma’ to make me laugh.”

But that grandfather who knew how to make her happy was gone too.

She actually let me stay.

Before dinner, she brought a stool out and stood under the plum blossom tree in the courtyard.

Startled, I hurried over to help her. “Grandma, what are you doing? Let me help you.”

She used a pair of shears to snip off a branch.

She handed the blossoms to me. “My granddaughter loved plum blossoms the most. I used to always cut a branch to put by her bedside.”

I helped her down from the low stool.

She put her hands on her hips and told me, “Every time the old man fought with me, he’d buy me flowers. Later, he started growing them himself. These plum blossoms are what’s left.”

The fragrance was sweet. I plucked a flower and tucked it behind Grandma’s ear.

“Grandpa loved Grandma most when she wore flowers.”

I seemed to have done something wrong.

Grandma started to cry.

That night, the branch of plum blossoms was placed by my bedside.