When Xiao Ciyou returned home, the woman had just finished changing Xiao Yanchun’s clothes.
“Yanchun, this is your older sister. Mom and Dad told you before that you’d have an older sister coming home who looks a lot like Mom. Do you remember what you promised Mom?”
Xiao Yanchun was already ten, yet she clung to the woman’s back like a three-year-old. Her big, dark eyes darted from side to side, but she wouldn’t look at Xiao Ciyou.
Xiao Ciyou crouched down. “Yanchun, I’ll show you a trick… a magic trick. How about it?”
She took out a protective talisman, pressed it between her palms, and said, “When Older Sister tells you to blow, you blow, okay?”
Xiao Yanchun nodded uncertainly, her little hands clutching her mother’s trousers.
Xiao Ciyou chanted, “The Great Lord of the Supreme Terrace, responding to change without cease, drives out evil and binds demons, protects life and secures the body—blow! Blow hard!”
Xiao Yanchun pursed her soft pink lips. “Whoo…”
Xiao Ciyou cried, “By the authority of the law, obey!”
But the talisman stayed in her palm, completely still.
Xiao Yanchun looked at Xiao Ciyou in confusion, then glanced up at her mother.
The woman looked just as bewildered. “Is… is the trick over?”
Xiao Ciyou opened her hand and took away the talisman. The wound, which had been burned a few days ago and had finally scabbed over after she applied medicine, had split open again. Blood slowly seeped out.
“Oh! Junior Sister, how did your hand get burned so badly? Come here, quick!”
The woman hurriedly pulled Xiao Ciyou over to the sofa. She rummaged through the drawer of the TV cabinet for the first-aid kit and began cleaning the wound.
“Bear with it. It’s blistered. I’ll have to prick the blisters…”
But Xiao Ciyou was staring blankly at Xiao Yanchun, who had gone off to play with her toys.
A protective talisman was one of the most basic kinds of talisman paper. The firmer the talisman-drawer’s foundation and the stronger their spiritual power, the more effective the talisman.
Four hundred years ago, a talisman drawn by her Master could make a red-clad vengeful ghost disintegrate the moment it came near. Her Master had once been revered as a Goddess.
Xiao Ciyou’s skill might not match her Master’s, but her talismans shouldn’t have failed.
That left only one possibility—
There was something seriously wrong with Xiao Yanchun. The talisman meant to protect her had backlashed against the person who drew it.
“Junior Sister, does it hurt?”
“No.”
Xiao Ciyou drew back her bandaged hand. “Can I go to my room?”
A trace of disappointment crossed the woman’s eyes. “All right. I’ll show you.”
She helped Xiao Ciyou up and explained the family’s situation as she led her along.
Her father was named Xiao Kai, and the woman was Jian Ningshuang.
Including Xiao Ciyou, there were six children in the family: three boys and three girls.
Big Brother Xiao Yanche worked out of town, while Fourth Sister, Xiao Yanxi, was studying out of town. Neither of them was living at home for now.
Xiao Ze, whom she had just seen, and Second Brother Xiao Lan, were twins. Xiao Ze’s legs had been disabled in a car accident, and he usually earned money by taking illustration commissions from home. Second Brother had just graduated from medical school and was still doing his internship at a hospital.
“And then there’s Yanchun. You’ve seen her. She can’t go to school in her condition, so I have to look after her around the clock. Your dad will be home after he finishes at the market tonight.”
Xiao Ciyou couldn’t help thinking that Song Yingshi, that jinx, had really done a number on the Xiao family.
There were eight people in the household, all crammed into this seventy-square-meter apartment. Now that the eldest brother and Fourth Sister weren’t living at home, the second bedroom had been awkwardly divided into two rooms, in addition to the master bedroom.
Xiao Lan and Xiao Ze shared one room; she and Xiao Yanchun would share the other.
“The place is a bit small, I know, but I’ve bought all your necessities. Let me know if there’s anything else you need. What would you like for dinner? I’ll ask your dad to bring home some groceries.”
“I’m not picky. I just eat a lot, so anything’s fine.”
“Good. Get some rest, then.”
Jian Ningshuang quietly closed the door and left the room.
Xiaomao sprang from Xiao Ciyou’s shoulder and crouched on the desk by the window, licking its paw.
“Your younger sister is strange.”
Xiao Ciyou nodded. “I know. Got any ideas?”
Xiaomao said, “She’s young, and her defenses are weak. Find a ghost to enter her dreams and probe her subconscious for clues.”
Xiao Ciyou gave a dry laugh. “Easy for you to say. Ghosts that can enter dreams and investigate are all fourth-level or higher, and they’re exceptionally good at hiding. I don’t know this place at all. Where am I supposed to find one?”
Xiaomao flopped onto the desk, letting the sunlight warm its belly. In a lazy voice, it said:
“Ordinary people become little first-level ghosts when they die. The deeper their anger, obsession, and hatred, the higher their ghost power. To climb above the fourth level, they need not only deep resentment but also some outside help. Reaching the fifth level or higher is even harder.
“The spiritual energy in this world is thin. I haven’t sensed a single second-level ghost, let alone one above the fourth.”
…
As they were talking, a man’s voice called from outside.
“Are you home, Sister-in-law? I bought more vegetables than I needed. Let me give you some!”
Xiao Ciyou left the room just as Jian Ningshuang opened the door.
A tall man stood outside. He wore thin-framed glasses on his nose, and his refined-looking face was lit by a kind smile.
“This must be your daughter. You found her?”
“Yes. Junior Sister, this is Uncle Liang from next door. Say hello.”
Xiao Ciyou stared at the man for two seconds and activated her Heavenly Eye.
Sure enough, a woman in white with long hair was following behind him. Blood streamed from all seven orifices, making her look horrifying even in the sunlight.
Xiaomao cried out, “Fourth level! A fourth-level ghost!”
Xiao Ciyou thought, “Stay calm. Let’s find out what’s going on first.”
When Jian Ningshuang saw that Xiao Ciyou still hadn’t said anything, she assumed the girl was shy. “I’ll get my phone and transfer you the money.”
Liang Qingyuan waved her off. “No need! Come on, Sister-in-law, you don’t have to be so polite. It’s only a few stalks of greens!”
“I can’t let you keep giving us things. I can barely manage with the children. You’re always helping us out.”
As Jian Ningshuang went into the room to get her phone, Xiao Ciyou walked over and asked, “Uncle, are you married?”
Liang Qingyuan beamed. “I am! I have a daughter, too, about the same age as your younger sister. Let me show you a picture!”
He took out his phone. The wallpaper was a photo of a family of three.
The woman in the picture looked exactly like the long-haired woman in white behind him.
Xiao Ciyou smiled. “Your Aunt is beautiful. Are she and your daughter home?”
“No. Your Auntie’s on vacation and took your cousin on a trip. When they get back, come over and visit. Your Auntie’s a wonderful cook!”
Xiao Ciyou nodded. “I’d love to. Thank you, Uncle!”
Jian Ningshuang came out with her phone, transferred Liang Qingyuan the money for the vegetables, and then closed the door.
Xiao Ciyou had already turned and gone back to her room.
Jian Ningshuang sighed sadly.
Song Yingshi, whom she had raised from childhood, had left just like that, and now wouldn’t even answer her calls. What could she expect from Xiao Ciyou, whom she hadn’t seen in eighteen years? She probably resented them for being such unreliable parents.
As soon as Xiao Ciyou returned to her room and shut the door, a gust of cold wind blew toward her.
The sky abruptly darkened. A gale swept through the room, and the woman, blood tears leaking from her eyes, shrieked as she charged at Xiao Ciyou, her scarlet tongue lolling out.
Xiao Ciyou calmly pulled out a chair. “Please, sit.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “You can see me? You really can see me?!”
Xiao Ciyou smiled faintly. “I can do more than see you. I can help you. How about a deal?”
“What… what kind of deal?”
Xiao Ciyou braced both hands on the chair’s armrests and leaned toward the woman.
“I’ll help bring the murderer next door to justice. In return, you’ll enter a child’s dream for me.”
The woman looked doubtful. “You can help me? How old are you?”
Xiao Ciyou lit a talisman with one hand. Flames circled her wrist, forming a ring of fire. She grabbed the woman by the wrist, and the woman let out a piercing scream.
“Let go of me! Let go!”
Xiao Ciyou released her. The ring of fire vanished without a trace.
“How about now?”
The woman dropped to her knees with a thump. Blood tears slowly seeped from her eyes.
“Please, Master, help me! Otherwise, I’ll never rest in peace!”