Shan Shan gave the ghost a thorough beating. When she was done, she rolled and pressed the spirit into a small black ball no bigger than a table tennis ball. Once she had shaped it, she opened her mouth wide and was about to pop it right inside. Yin Kairui was so shocked he felt as though his soul had nearly left his body. He practically lunged forward and grabbed her wrist. “What on earth are you doing?!”
“Eating it,” Shan Shan replied, completely confused as to why he was reacting with such alarm.
In her true form, she naturally possessed the power to subdue and contain spirits like this one. But now that she was inhabiting a human body, the only way to hold and suppress such beings was to absorb them into herself.
But Yin Kairui could never accept such an explanation. He held her hand firmly, his face twisted with distress. “No! You absolutely cannot do that! You are not allowed to eat it!”
Shan Shan looked at him with a puzzled expression, and after a long moment she simply said, “Oh… fine then. I won’t eat it.”
If she wasn’t going to subdue it this way, then she would just have to keep holding onto it forever.
With that thought, she tightened her grip around the small black sphere in her hand.
Meanwhile, Yin Kairui kept a careful watch over her, terrified that she might sneak a bite when he wasn’t looking.
He had heard countless stories about the strange and reckless things small children were capable of, putting anything and everything into their mouths. And wasn’t Shan Shan proving exactly that right now?
While they were caught up in this tense moment, there was suddenly a knock at the door. Director Luo jumped in fright and immediately scrambled back under the covers, shaking all over as he whispered frantically, “You can’t see me… you can’t see me…”
Seeing him react this way, Yin Kairui also grew cautious. “Shan Shan, can you tell who is outside?”
“I don’t know,” Shan Shan shook her head innocently.
The corner of Yin Kairui’s eye twitched. Suddenly realizing something, he warned her, “Keep a close watch. If anything feels wrong, run outside as fast as you can.”
With that, he walked to the door, opened it quickly, and then stepped swiftly back again.
Standing in the doorway was a young man with a serious expression. He rushed inside immediately, holding a peach-wood sword pointed straight at Yin Kairui. “How did things get this bad?!”
Before Yin Kairui, who had been pointed at for no apparent reason, could even react, the young man struck him hard twice with the flat side of the sword.
The blows stung quite sharply, and Yin Kairui snapped angrily, “Have you lost your mind?!”
The person who had just entered was a young man who looked no older than twenty-five. With fair skin, delicate features, and bright eyes, he had the refined appearance of a young Taoist priest.
Hearing Yin Kairui’s outburst, he looked equally displeased. “You’re the one who asked me to come here, and on top of that, you’ve been deceiving me! This isn’t just some ordinary case of bad luck where you happened to run into a ghost by accident. It’s clear as day that someone has placed a curse on you that’s why you’ve been suffering so much misfortune!”
Yin Kairui couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. “Not only have you mistaken me for someone else, but you’re also spouting complete nonsense. What do you mean by a curse? I don’t believe in any of this stuff!”
Anyone would be furious at being told out of the blue that they had been cursed, and Yin Kairui had just been hit twice for no reason. His chest and back burned with pain where the sword had struck him.
Hearing the sound of their argument, Director Luo finally found the courage to peek out from under the covers.
Though it was really only his head that emerged, peering out cautiously like a wary little animal. “Are you Master Qin?”
“Yes, that’s me,” the young man replied. It was only when he heard the voice that he realized there was another person lying on the bed.
The reason he had assumed Yin Kairui was the one he needed to help was simply because the dark, ominous energy surrounding Yin Kairui was so thick and heavy that it dominated his attention. And since Yin Kairui had been the one to open the door, he had naturally assumed that he was the client in need of rescue.
But he recognized Director Luo’s voice immediately, and it dawned on him that he had made a mistake.
“You look… are you alright?” the young man asked uncertainly.
There were less than twenty minutes left until midnight, which was one of the times when yin energy was at its strongest and most potent. Although there was a faint trace of such energy clinging to Director Luo, he showed none of the signs of someone who was being haunted or attacked by an evil spirit.
How had the situation turned out so differently from what he had expected?
“I… I really don’t know,” Director Luo replied honestly. His mind was still completely muddled and confused, and he looked even more lost and helpless than the young master did.
The young man glanced once more at Yin Kairui, but decided that for now he should focus on dealing with the matter concerning his client first.
After carefully examining Director Luo, he found that there wasn’t even a mark or trace left by the spirit on his body. There was only the lingering aura of yin energy, which confirmed that he had indeed encountered something supernatural recently. He handed Director Luo a protective charm. “Keep this on your person for seven days. During this time, spend as much time in the sunlight as you can, and do not go out wandering around after midnight. After seven days, burn the charm and bury the ashes, and you’ll be fine.”
Director Luo stared at him blankly. “Is… is that really all I need to do?”
“The spirit that was haunting you… for some reason, it seems to have already been captured and dealt with by someone else,” the young man explained. “All traces of its influence are gone. Even if it managed to escape somehow, it will never be able to find you again.”
Only then did Director Luo finally let out a long sigh of relief.
He carefully tucked the charm into his pocket, muttering to himself, “Seven days… seven days… so do I burn it at this exact time seven days from now?”
“You can also burn it during the daytime on the eighth day if that’s more convenient,” the young man said.
With that settled, Director Luo had no further questions.
The young master still felt that something was not quite right, and he frowned slightly. “Since everything is resolved here, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Master, wait! This is the payment I prepared for you,” Director Luo said quickly, holding out a bank card. “It’s not a huge amount, just two hundred thousand yuan.”
“I haven’t done anything that deserves this much. A charm like this only costs two thousand yuan,” the young man said with a serious expression. “We have strict rules about accepting payment, and we cannot take money that we haven’t properly earned.”
Director Luo paused. He was roughly familiar with the codes of conduct that governed people in this line of work. After thinking for a moment, he took the card back. “Then would you prefer I withdraw the cash and bring it to you tomorrow?”
“You can also just scan the QR code and transfer the payment directly,” the young man said, pulling out his phone and holding it out to show his payment code.
Director Luo stared at him for a moment.
Ah, right… even the spiritual world had moved with the times and adopted modern technology.
With their transaction of two thousand yuan completed, the young man was preparing to leave when he heard a soft, childish voice speak up. “Big Brother… do you know what that dark, black energy is all over my brother’s body?”
It was only at this moment that Qin Hangxuan realized there was a little girl in the room.
He was taken aback, and instinctively turned his gaze toward Shan Shan. The moment he looked at her, he felt a jolt of surprise her face showed the signs of someone who was meant to have died young, yet somehow she had managed to extend her life and continue living.
“And your brother is…?”
“Him right there!” Shan Shan pointed straight at Yin Kairui, her face filled with worry. “My brother is all covered in this black stuff. Every time it seems to fade away, it just grows back even stronger all by itself. What did you mean earlier when you talked about curses?”
Was it possible that this child, at such a young age, had already opened her spiritual eyes and could see things ordinary people could not?
Yin Kairui quickly stepped forward, lifted her up into his arms, and covered her mouth with his hand. Then he turned to Qin Hangxuan with a polite smile. “Master Qin, I’ve always been quite interested in matters of metaphysics and the spiritual world. Would you mind staying a little longer so we can talk about this?”
Although Qin Hangxuan could clearly see that the situation surrounding Yin Kairui and his young sister was far from ordinary, he was not the type to get involved in other people’s affairs without good reason. He was about to refuse politely when he heard Shan Shan speak again, her voice muffled slightly but still clear.
“Big Brother… my brother won’t let me eat this thing. Do you know what I’m supposed to do with it instead?”
As she spoke, she lifted her hand and held up the small black ball for him to see.
“…Forget what I said. I’ll go book a room right now. Why don’t you two come over to my room in a few minutes?” Qin Hangxuan said immediately, his eyes fixed intently on the object in Shan Shan’s hand. “And… bring that thing along with you when you come.”
This was far from being just a little bit unusual. The truth was, until Shan Shan had opened her hand and shown him the ball, he hadn’t sensed the presence of that spirit at all.
“Alright, we’ll be there,” Yin Kairui agreed without hesitation.
As Qin Hangxuan left to arrange a room, Yin Kairui turned to Director Luo. “Director Luo, where exactly did you find this master?”
“You’re worried about whether he’s trustworthy, aren’t you?” Director Luo said, understanding his concern perfectly. “But you don’t need to worry too much. He’s officially registered and recognized as a spiritual consultant. He works within the system and always acts according to strict professional standards and ethics.”
Hearing this, Yin Kairui felt much more reassured.
Director Luo hesitated for a moment, then looked toward Shan Shan and said, “Shan Shan’s situation is clearly very special, and none of us really understand what’s going on. But from what I’ve seen, Master Qin seems to be a good and honest person. Perhaps we should ask him as many questions as we can and see if he can help us figure things out.”
This was exactly what Yin Kairui had been thinking himself.