Yin Kairui already knew about Shan Shan’s background.
He was also aware that she had suffered abuse and carried injuries all over her body; Wen Yiting had even reminded him just the previous day not to forget to apply medicine to her wounds every morning and evening.
But hearing about what she had endured was entirely different from seeing the marks of that suffering with his own eyes.
Moreover, his feelings toward Shan Shan had changed significantly. Perhaps he himself had not yet realized it, but his whole attitude when it came to matters concerning her had shifted completely.
For instance, the moment he saw the injuries covering her body, the first thing he felt was a sharp ache in his heart.
He carefully took hold of her wrist, the only part of her skin that was free of wounds, and spoke in a voice that felt tight and strained, “Does it hurt very much?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Shan Shan shook her head.
Although she bore the scars, and though she did not possess the ability to heal them herself, she felt no pain from them. The vague sense of suffering that lingered in her mind, inherited from the body’s original spirit, was faint and distant, and had never truly settled deep within her.
“…I’ll put the medicine on for you,” Yin Kairui said, pressing his lips together as he began to tend to her injuries with the utmost care and gentleness.
Shan Shan could sense that Yin Kairui was feeling sad and upset. Watching as he carefully dabbed medicine onto each wound one by one with a cotton swab, she tried to comfort him, “I really don’t feel any pain at all, Brother. Please don’t be angry, okay?”
“I’m not angry,” Yin Kairui replied. As he said the words, his expression did soften and look less stern.
But Shan Shan could still tell that deep down, he was still upset.
It was so strange why did grown-ups always tell lies?
She glanced at him with a look of confusion and doubt, and then heard him ask, “By the way… I remember you mentioned you had an uncle and aunt?”
“Yes!” Shan Shan’s attention was instantly diverted. She clenched her small fists, her face filling with indignation. “They’re nothing but bad people!”
It reminded her of what she had seen in the past among spirit clans and cultivators they all cherished and protected their children deeply, holding them as their most precious treasures.
“You’re right… they really are bad people,” Yin Kairui agreed. Once he had finished applying the medicine, he helped her put on her soft pajamas and patted her gently on the head. “Go to sleep now.”
“Okay!” Shan Shan crawled under the covers by herself, then patted the empty space beside her. “Is Brother going to come sleep here too?”
“You go to sleep first,” Yin Kairui said. “I still have things to take care of.”
“Alright then,” Shan Shan accepted easily. She had already come to realize that grown-ups always had so many important things to keep themselves busy with.
So if her brother had work to do, she would not disturb him.
She waved her hand obediently. “But Brother, please come and sleep with me soon, okay?”
“Just go to sleep and stop worrying about me,” Yin Kairui said.
Shan Shan looked at him with an expression of pure innocence and spoke in her soft, childlike voice, “If you don’t sleep well, you’ll get dark circles under your eyes!”
To be honest, she didn’t really know exactly what dark circles were. She had simply heard two young women working on set complaining quietly earlier that day, saying they hadn’t slept well and now they had dark circles.
But if they spoke of it in such a complaining tone, it must mean that dark circles were something unpleasant and bad, right?
Yin Kairui, who felt as though he had just been scolded by a tiny child, fell silent for a moment.
He reached out and flipped off the light switch with a sharp click. “Go to sleep right now!”
His tone was gruff and stern.
Sigh… Shan Shan thought to herself. Her brother, who had always been so gentle and kind before, had suddenly become all fierce and grumpy.
It was true what they said going out into the world and gaining experience really could change a person completely.
With these thoughts floating through her mind, Shan Shan gradually drifted off into a deep sleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night, she sensed a familiar, comforting presence drawing close. Instinctively, she wriggled her body and moved closer to it, and only when she felt safe and secure did she settle back into a peaceful sleep.
While life remained quiet and peaceful for Yin Kairui and Shan Shan, things were far from calm and quiet over at Director Luo’s room.
In truth, he had already prepared himself mentally for this situation. According to what the spiritual master had told him, these supernatural beings could not keep attacking him endlessly. If they had possessed that kind of overwhelming power, he would never have had the time or chance to seek help from a master in the first place.
But even knowing this logically could not soothe the deep sense of unease in his heart. He was not so carefree or reckless that he could fall asleep easily under such circumstances. Instead, he turned on every light in the room, then sat propped up against the headboard of his bed, wrapped himself tightly in his quilt, and kept a sharp watch over every corner of the room.
Three whole hours passed, from eight o’clock until eleven, and nothing unusual happened at all.
Director Luo, who had been keeping his nerves stretched tight this entire time, began to wonder if perhaps he had simply been worrying too much. The constant state of high alert was also incredibly draining; he could feel his mind growing heavy and exhausted, and little by little, a wave of drowsiness began to wash over him.
As sleepiness took hold, his head slowly drooped forward, his eyes closed, and his breathing became slow and steady.
He did not notice the dark shadow that suddenly materialized right behind him, nor did he see the strange, twisted smile that spread across the shadow’s face.
Outside, the sky had turned dark and heavy, looking as though it would pour with rain at any moment.
A cold gust of wind swept through the air, and Director Luo suddenly jolted awake. He looked around him quickly and realized, to his shock, that he was now standing in the middle of a road crossing.
Wasn’t he supposed to be in his hotel room…?
Oh, that wasn’t right today he had come here to pick someone up.
Who was he supposed to meet again…?
Oh right, it was his younger sister.
Director Luo looked up at the sky, and a voice deep inside his mind urged him to hurry and cross the road quickly. It was going to rain soon, and if he didn’t go now, he would miss her. Not only would both he and his sister get soaked, but if he was delayed for too long, his boss would be very angry with him.
How could he let that happen?
He glanced left and right. Even though the traffic light was showing red, there were hardly ever any cars passing through this area anyway. He lifted his foot and took one step forward onto the zebra crossing.
Then he lifted his foot to take a second step.
All he had to do was put his foot down, and he would be standing safely on the other side.
The shadow that clung closely to Director Luo’s back twisted and writhed with excitement. A wild, greedy grin appeared on its face. It was hoping with all its being that Director Luo would take that final step because the moment he did, he would take the spirit’s place and pay the price of its life.
And then, at last, the spirit would be free to be reborn.
It had once been forced to give its life in place of someone else, and now it was only right and fair that someone else should take its place.
Just thinking about it filled the spirit with overwhelming joy and anticipation.
But right at that very moment, a sudden burning heat spread across Director Luo’s palm, and he snapped back to his senses instantly.
He clutched his hand and gasped in pain. The fog that had clouded his mind cleared completely, and his thoughts became sharp and clear once more.
Right in front of him was the same familiar traffic light crossing the very same one where he had almost lost his life earlier that day. Yet the surroundings now felt eerie and cold, clearly not part of the normal waking world.
And he could hear a voice whispering constantly right beside his ear, “Go quickly… if you don’t go now, it will be too late… hurry up and go…”
A chilling coldness seeped from behind him, and Director Luo’s legs nearly gave way from sheer terror.
Instead of moving forward, he stumbled backward several steps, then collapsed onto the ground, his whole body shaking too violently to move an inch.
“Why aren’t you going? Why won’t you just walk across?!” The voice, which had sounded only eerie and soft moments ago, rose into a furious, angry snarl, and Director Luo began trembling even harder.
Even though he was a grown man, he was still terrified of things like this, wasn’t he?
He pressed his hands together in a prayer gesture and began chanting over and over, “Amitabha Buddha, Jade Emperor, Supreme Lord Laozi, God above… please protect me, please keep me safe!!!”
As he continued to recite these prayers, he did not notice that the ghost had silently moved back a short distance away from him, and was now simply whispering ceaselessly in his ear, trying to trick and coax him into crossing the road against the red light.
In the room directly opposite and one door down from where Director Luo was, Shan Shan, who was fast asleep, suddenly let out a small sneeze.
Unconsciously, she moved closer to Yin Kairui, wriggling until she had snuggled right into the same quilt as him. Even so, she still felt as though something was wrong. Struggling against her heavy sleepiness, the little girl forced her eyes open and looked around in confusion. In the next instant, she was fully awake. She immediately reached out and began pushing at Yin Kairui’s shoulder, calling out urgently, “Brother! Brother! That ghost uncle has gone to find Uncle Luo!”
The words ghost uncle and Uncle Luo instantly cleared all traces of sleep from Yin Kairui’s mind.
He felt a flicker of irritation at being woken up, but quickly suppressed it. Processing what Shan Shan had just said, he frowned and said, “We already agreed we wouldn’t get involved in this right now.”
“But it feels like Uncle Luo is in real danger!” Shan Shan said, her small brows furrowing with worry. “Something feels really strange… the air is so thick with dark and heavy energy tonight.”
Yin Kairui pressed his lips together and glanced at the time on the clock. “Wait for ten minutes first. If you still feel that something is wrong after that, we’ll go and check on him together.”