Generally speaking, parents understand their children best, so Sister Sun’s worry wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
Xi Mufu thought for a moment and asked Sister Sun’s son, Xiao Sheng: “Did something inspire you to start studying seriously?”
Xiao Sheng: “Yeah.”
Sister Sun silently pinched his head. “Oh, come on! A hopeless student can’t suddenly become a top scholar. You don’t just fall in love with studying overnight! Get off my son!”
Xiao Sheng didn’t resist at all, letting her do as she pleased. He showed no signs of abnormality.
Xi Mufu: “…Sister Sun, aren’t you mistaken? If he were really possessed, the spirit wouldn’t let you pinch him like that.”
Sister Sun paused.
That made sense. If he were possessed, the spirit would have been enraged by her hitting his head.
She also remembered that when someone is possessed, the yin energy invades the body, causing deterioration in health—but these past few days, her son had been eating enthusiastically, had gained a few pounds, and seemed perfectly healthy.
She was momentarily confused. “Could… could I really be wrong?”
Xi Mufu was about to reassure her to trust the child—maybe he had simply resolved to work hard—when she suddenly noticed Xiao Sheng’s eyes flicker nervously, and a dark energy appeared on his forehead.
She froze. Normally she didn’t need her Yin-Yang Vision, and since Xiao Sheng had seemed normal before, she hadn’t used physiognomy to examine him.
Looking more carefully now, she saw that he did indeed have yin energy in his body. His life palace was covered with black energy, so dense that it obscured the potential path of his future.
It seemed he really could be possessed!
Xi Mufu immediately activated her Yin-Yang Vision skill, and saw that another young boy was inhabiting Xiao Sheng’s body.
“No… Sister Sun, it seems I was wrong,” she squinted and turned to Xiao Sheng. “Did you two agree to share one body?”
Xiao Sheng didn’t look controlled, nor did it appear that a spirit was forcibly occupying him.
Xi Mufu recalled what Elder Zhang San had said: this must be with the original host’s permission—the spirit is coexisting in the body.
Hearing this, Xiao Sheng’s guilty expression appeared. “N-no…”
After all, he was just ten years old. The other boy inside his body also looked young. Xi Mufu’s questioning had immediately exposed the flaw.
Sister Sun stared at her son, confused. “…What do you mean, share a body?”
Xi Mufu explained: “It means there are two souls in Xiao Sheng’s body: one is Xiao Sheng himself, and the other is a spirit.”
Sister Sun froze. “Isn’t that just possession?”
Xi Mufu shook her head. “If it were simple possession, the spirit would immediately expel your son’s soul and occupy his body. But here, your son is coexisting peacefully with the other. He allowed the spirit into his body, and the spirit hasn’t harmed him.”
Sister Sun understood: one is passive, the other active.
“That damn kid… why would he agree to this?” As a mother, she couldn’t comprehend her son’s decision. Worried, she asked Xi Mufu, “If he agreed voluntarily, does that mean he won’t be harmed?”
Xi Mufu sighed softly. “No. Once a person allows yin energy to invade, trouble is inevitable.”
Hearing this, not only Sister Sun but also Xiao Sheng and the young boy inside him were shocked.
Especially the young boy, who hadn’t anticipated he could harm Xiao Sheng—his expression became clearly panicked.
Xi Mufu continued: “In fact, Xiao Sheng is already infiltrated by yin energy. Though he looks healthy on the surface, it won’t be long before misfortune strikes, he’ll fall ill, and he could even die.”
Sister Sun’s face turned pale. She grabbed Xiao Sheng’s hand tightly. “No! My son can’t be harmed!”
The young boy also apologized to Xiao Sheng, eyes filled with guilt: “I’m sorry, Xiao Sheng. I didn’t know it would be like this.”
“It’s not your fault. I was the one who suggested it first.” Xiao Sheng was also scared but responsible; he immediately took the blame.
Sister Sun couldn’t see or hear the young boy, but she could hear Xiao Sheng speaking. Her eyes widened. “Son, are you… talking to the spirit? How… how dare you?”
She couldn’t help herself and slapped him hard on the back.
This kid had a huge heart—daring to let a spirit enter his body and even treating it so politely! She was furious.
“Mom, don’t hit me so hard,” Xiao Sheng shrugged indifferently.
Sister Sun: “…”
The young boy glanced apologetically at her, then said to Xiao Sheng: “I’ll leave your body now.”
Unfortunately, no matter how he tried, he couldn’t separate from him.
His entire soul panicked. “Why can’t I leave?”
Xiao Sheng also felt uneasy. “…I can’t let you out?”
He had assumed the spirit could freely move in and out of his body.
Sister Sun understood and became both angry and anxious, trembling as she pleaded with Xi Mufu: “Little Fu, you have to do something…”
Xi Mufu looked at Xiao Sheng and the young boy and spoke softly: “I have a type of talisman, called an exorcism talisman. It can separate the other soul from Xiao Sheng’s body. But once separated, that soul will be destroyed, unable to reincarnate in the afterlife—it will completely disappear from this world.”
She knew Sister Sun wouldn’t care whether the other soul disappeared; her words were meant for the two children.
Sure enough, Xiao Sheng panicked immediately. “No! Sister Mufu, I don’t want Xiao Ran to disappear!”
The young boy kept his head down, silent, but his expression showed he feared being annihilated.
Sister Sun frowned. “Xiao Ran? You mean Hong Jie’s Xiao Ran?”
Xiao Sheng didn’t reply, but his wandering eyes gave it away.
Sister Sun murmured: “…No wonder you agreed to share your body with him.”
Hong Jie was the owner of the Front Street handicraft shop, a close acquaintance. Her son, Jiang Ran, was about the same age as Xiao Sheng. They had played together since diapers, attended the same kindergarten and elementary school, and were very close.
Jiang Ran was excellent academically, a top student. Sister Sun had always encouraged Xiao Sheng to learn from him.
Unfortunately, Jiang Ran had an unlucky fate. Last summer, he accidentally fell into a river and passed away. Hong Jie and her husband were devastated. They closed their shop and stayed at home for six months, refusing to see anyone.
Sister Sun had tried several times to visit, but was turned away. Perhaps because Xiao Sheng and Jiang Ran had been close friends, the couple feared being reminded of their loss.
In short, whether Jiang Ran or his parents, they were all tragic figures.
“So it was Xiao Ran…” Sister Sun said. “No wonder you’ve been so diligent lately. I assume Xiao Ran has been helping you with your homework?”
Xiao Sheng lowered his head guiltily.
Sister Sun poked his forehead. “Are you out of your mind? Letting Xiao Ran help you just to avoid your winter homework?”
Xiao Sheng exclaimed excitedly: “Mom, Xiao Ran was the top scorer in the city exams! I used to copy his homework. Now I can’t, and seeing him again, of course I want him to help me! Don’t you understand a failing student’s pain?”
Sister Sun squinted. “So you’ve been copying homework all this time?”
Xiao Sheng: “…”
Xiao Ran… I think I’m doomed.