I don't know what Evan Zhao is feeling at this moment. His face is somewhat dazed, showing no signs of sadness, anger, or any other emotion. He just sits quietly by the path down the mountain, and the woman beside him doesn't dare say much, simply waiting in silence.
Things turned out completely contrary to Evan Zhao's expectations. Perhaps he only wanted Old Man Rivers to see how capable he was, but things didn't go as he wished. Old Man Rivers loved his son dearly—even though he often beat and scolded Evan Zhao, sometimes saying sarcastic things. Yet, after Evan Zhao left for a month, Old Man Rivers was so anxious he was spinning in circles. If not for his old age, he would have gone looking for his son himself.
Repeatedly receiving no news drove Old Man Rivers into a frenzy, and he fell gravely ill before passing away. All this was probably hard for Evan Zhao to accept. Though he often complained about his father, deep down he loved him very much. Evan Zhao's mother died young from illness, and it was his father who raised him single-handedly. Evan Zhao remembers all of this.
So at this moment, Evan Zhao seems unable to cry. I know that when grief is at its deepest, one can't cry; instead, profound changes occur within. I have experienced something like this myself.
Evan Zhao didn't drink a drop of water or eat a bite all day, just sat silently on the mountain. Many passersby offered their condolences, but Evan Zhao remained motionless, as if his soul had left him. Just then, I stared in shock as a bright white mass slowly floated out of Evan Zhao's body—his soul, one of his three souls. I couldn't tell if it was the human, earth, or heaven soul, but I could see it flying toward the Rivers Family. At that moment, Evan Zhao rose expressionlessly and, with the woman beside him, descended the mountain at sunset.
I continued to follow Evan Zhao's movements. Despite losing a soul, he didn't seem to mind—in fact, he even started to smile.
The woman following Evan Zhao was also surprised, not knowing if he was too grief-stricken and already mentally unstable. She kept asking him questions.
But Evan Zhao showed no signs of mental disturbance; on the contrary, he seemed more spirited. I even wondered if he had truly gone mad. After all, such deep sorrow could cause severe psychological trauma.
What surprised me was that after returning to the city, Evan Zhao was as methodical as ever in his work, showing no signs of any problems. The woman was relieved. Her name was Helen Qin. Evan Zhao had rescued her when she was about to be sold, making her his woman on a whim. Helen Qin was dignified and beautiful, attentive, and not talkative. She was grateful to Evan Zhao and willing to follow him.
After their return, Evan Zhao married Helen Qin. They invited only a few business friends and held a simple wedding before settling into daily life. Evan Zhao bought a secluded residence, planning to do business in the city and not travel anymore.
With Evan Zhao and Helen Qin managing the business together, things flourished. Evan Zhao never spoke about his family and was always smiling. The following year, Helen Qin gave birth to a child. She had never seen Evan Zhao show any sadness, only happiness every day.
But I sensed something was off. Evan Zhao truly couldn't feel sadness anymore, which is abnormal for a person. Everyone feels sorrow at times, but Evan Zhao did not. He even avoided funerals, because once at a funeral, he smiled and was thrown out by the grieving family.
Evan Zhao could not be sad; it didn't seem to affect him at all. Helen Qin lived happily with him, their business prospered, and their child grew up healthy.
But gradually, Helen Qin began to worry. Evan Zhao aged rapidly, always smiling and joking, never showing sadness. Even when things clearly warranted sorrow, he would laugh heartily—not a bitter laugh, but genuine happiness.
When their child was only ten, Evan Zhao became bedridden. The doctors couldn't diagnose his strange illness, and I saw a layer of black mist around him—the aura of death. His time was running out.
Evan Zhao seemed to know his end was near and, fearing his wife and child would be left helpless, forced himself to escort them back to the Rivers Family. By then, the Rivers Family had declined greatly. After Old Man Rivers died, relatives divided up the estate and business.
Soon, the Rivers Family fell into ruin. When many saw Evan Zhao return, already close to death, they said nothing and gave him back the house. Evan Zhao sought out old friends, entrusting them to help take care of his wife and child.
But I was surprised, because in the Rivers Family I saw another Evan Zhao, looking utterly miserable, filled only with sorrow. Even Old Man Rivers's ghost was there. For some reason, they could not leave the Rivers Family courtyard. Ghosts living there long-term would affect the feng shui, so the family's decline accelerated.
As days passed, Evan Zhao grew weaker. I finally understood: when Evan Zhao left that day, what separated from his body was his 'po', not one of the three souls. Otherwise, he would have died long ago, for lacking any of the three souls means a short life or becoming an imbecile—like Zhang Qingyuan long ago.
But Evan Zhao's case was special. Missing his 'po', he soon died. Thanks to the wealth he'd earned over the years, Helen Qin and their son lived decently, but the whole town began to decline rapidly. Years of drought followed, and I saw a layer of gray mist above the town, looking mournful.
I often saw Old Man Rivers's ghost trying to persuade Evan Zhao's po. He cried every day, his face full of sorrow, and the whole town seemed to grow more desolate under the influence of Evan Zhao's sorrowful po.
Gradually, the land on the mountain dried up, the trees withered and died, and it stopped raining for years. When Evan Zhao's son turned twenty, the mountain behind collapsed, cutting off the road. The people became poorer, forced to take a long detour to the distant county, a journey of at least ten days.
With poor harvests and the main road blocked, the Rivers Family grew more destitute. The money Evan Zhao left dwindled, and eventually Helen Qin died, leaving only Evan Zhao's son, who had just started his own family. The other relatives left, and the son stayed, not knowing where else to go. Originally, Evan Zhao brought his wife and child back because there were many acquaintances who had benefited from the Rivers Family and might help them in hard times.
Yet things did not go as planned. Evan Zhao's son lacked education and, as an adult, could only work as a farmer. He was illiterate.
By then, Evan Zhao had become a wandering ghost, surviving near temples in the county and countryside. After his death, the ghost messengers took him to the underworld, but Evan Zhao could not step onto the Yellow Springs Road to hell.
The ghost messengers tried many methods but found this strange ghost could not walk the Yellow Springs Road. No matter how they tortured him, he kept smiling.
Eventually, the messengers reported to their superiors and casually threw Evan Zhao back into the living world. As a wandering ghost, Evan Zhao found ways to survive, trading goods between the living and the dead at nearby ghost markets. Life was bearable, but he often had to pay tribute to powerful ghosts and was bullied by jealous spirits.
At this point, Evan Zhao sighed that the world of ghosts was harsher than the world of the living. He was just an ordinary white-clad ghost, powerless to fight back. One day, after acquiring a lot of food, he was targeted by hungry ghosts who robbed and beat him, nearly scattering his soul.
Because of that smile, whether insulted or beaten, Evan Zhao kept smiling. The other ghosts found it strange and bullied him more, seeking amusement from his reactions.
One day, after Evan Zhao got some food, other ghosts dragged him over, beat him, and stole his food. Suddenly, a yellow-clad ghost appeared among them, swiftly killed the bullies, and returned some of the food to Evan Zhao.
"Why are you smiling?"
I stared in surprise at John Chou, dressed as a scholar, who smiled and sat beside Evan Zhao. Evan Zhao was covered in wounds and extremely weak, but still smiling.
"Because smiling feels good. If I'm happy, why shouldn't I smile?"
Evan Zhao looked at John Chou, who burst out laughing and patted Evan Zhao on the shoulder.
"We seem to really hit it off, friend."
Evan Zhao didn't mind; he stood up, completely carefree, and invited John Chou to his place for a drink.