Abnormal, Car Crash

"Mr. Gu, if I may ask—you said that before your wife's accident, she would often stare into space and talk to herself. Could she have been speaking to that little ghost?"

Since a little ghost was living in the house, I figured Xie Xiaotang's behavior might have been normal.

Gu Song shook his head like a rattle-drum: "Definitely not. I could see the child. Those days, she wouldn't even bother with him. She was like she was possessed. This made the child upset too—he'd constantly hover in front of her, but she acted like she couldn't see him."

Xu Qiuyan was thinking about something else: "Does the child still need to drink blood often?"

"No, just that one time. After that, he never drank blood again. But he wouldn't eat anything either. At first I was worried something was wrong, but later I realized it didn't seem to stop him from growing little by little. Then I thought about it—he's not human anyway. A ghost, of course, doesn't need to eat."

After Gu Song finished, the aloof woman beside Xu Qiuyan spoke: "When he sucked the essence blood from his mother's body, he was actually confirming their blood relation. This little ghost has a decent nature aside from being a Ghost Body. That Chacha is quite a master. But keeping a ghost long-term will still affect their fortune to some extent—makes them prone to yin evil intrusion. The reason the little ghost reacted so abnormally is probably because he sensed danger but was powerless to stop it."

Gu Song's next words confirmed the aloof woman's guess.

"On the afternoon of Xiaotang's accident, she was about to leave the house when Xiao Tian suddenly appeared. It was the first time he'd shown up during the day. He tugged at Xiaotang like he didn't want her to go, mumbling something nonstop. But with that child, the only words we could understand clearly were 'Father' and 'Mother.' Everything else was gibberish. Later, though, I figured it out—he didn't want Xiaotang to leave. Maybe he already sensed something would happen to her."

Gu Song let out a long breath, as if unburdening himself by finally speaking about keeping the little ghost.

I asked: "How did the child react after your wife's accident?"

Gu Song shook his head: "He hasn't come out since Xiaotang's accident. Sometimes I want to talk to him, but no matter how I call him, there's no response."

"It's probably related to him appearing during the day. He's still a little ghost—can't stand the light. That time he came out to stop Xie Xiaotang from leaving likely hurt his vitality. He'll need a long rest to recover."

It was the aloof woman speaking again, but Gu Song didn't know she existed, just like he didn't know Duan Hongbin was there either.

Duan Hongbin nodded: "In short, this little ghost is just an ordinary one. No Dao cultivation to speak of. All he does is let the couple feel their child is still with them—unlike those Fierce Ghosts. And this little ghost truly values blood ties, otherwise he wouldn't have risked so much to warn them. He's got some loyalty and heart."

At that moment, a crucial question suddenly struck me. I'd felt all along like I was overlooking something in this case, and now I finally remembered: "Right, we still don't know how your wife died."

Gu Song was taken aback: "No way? Didn't I tell you?"

I answered seriously: "No, you really didn't."

Gu Song frowned: "Is that so? Did I really not say?" He seemed doubtful. I nodded.

"She died in a car accident. That afternoon, she left home and drove to work. I'd already asked for leave for her those few days, but her office called saying there was an urgent matter she needed to handle. Who would have thought she'd get into an accident on the way? She was gone just like that."

"What did she do for work?"

Gu Song replied: "She worked at the Municipal Cultural Relics Administration Bureau as an appraiser. Level 1 Appraiser."

I hadn't expected Xie Xiaotang to be a cultural relic appraiser.

Xu Qiuyan's focus was different: "With her mental state, you still let her drive alone?"

Gu Song sighed: "I didn't want to, but she insisted. By the time I chased downstairs, she'd already started the car. Couldn't stop her even by shouting. I immediately hailed a taxi to follow, but..."

Xu Qiuyan asked: "So you saw the accident happen with your own eyes?"

Gu Song thought for a moment: "You could say I saw it, but there were two cars in between, so it wasn't that clear. I was completely stunned at the time. I... I really regret it. Why couldn't I have stopped her?"

I pressed on: "You said she sent you a message after she died, telling you it wasn't an accident. Are you sure she sent it?"

"Positive. It definitely came from her phone. When I got the message, I felt a bit scared. I immediately went to find her phone and saw the send record. After the accident investigation was over, I got back her belongings, including the phone."

Xu Qiuyan asked: "Could the little ghost have done it?"

"No. If it were the little ghost, he wouldn't use this method," the aloof woman said flatly.

Gu Song said he'd had that suspicion too, but the wording of the message felt like Xie Xiaotang's voice, so he believed it was from her.

"If someone had told me before that ghosts existed, I'd have sneered. But now I believe they do. Since our child can be a ghost, Xiaotang should be able to too, right? Then why won't she come out to see me? I miss her so much. I wish she could stay by my side."

Gu Song's voice choked up.

My heart felt heavy too. I looked at Xu Qiuyan, and she was looking back at me. She gave me a faint smile, as if she'd read my thoughts.

I wondered if we would ever share such deep feelings. If one day I were gone, would she miss me and long for me like this?

Only after leaving Gu Song's house did I feel truly relieved.

His home was suffocating. I couldn't tell if that oppression came from the grief he showed or something else.

"What are you planning to do?" Xu Qiuyan asked me.

"First, go to the Cultural Relics Administration Bureau this afternoon to confirm whether there really was an urgent matter that needed Xie Xiaotang's attention on the day of the accident. Also, I think we'll have to make a trip to the Northeast. I feel like that Zhuanghe knows something."

Xu Qiuyan pursed her lips: "You think her accident might be related to their trip to Lop Nur?"

I nodded. If there was a root cause for the string of strange events surrounding Xie Xiaotang, it had to be Lop Nur.

I even suspected Gu Song had held back something about what happened there.

"Alright. But I won't go to the Administration Bureau with you this afternoon. I have some things to take care of."

I didn't ask what. Even though we were close now, she deserved her own private space—and so did I.

"Then I'll just take a cab there this afternoon."

"I'm leaving now. Grab lunch on your own. I'll cook dinner at home and wait for you." With that, she got into the car alone.

Watching the car drive off, Eccentric Song appeared beside me: "Can you guess where she's going?"

I shook my head. I wasn't a tapeworm in her stomach—how would I know?

Eccentric Song slung an arm around my shoulder: "She's probably going to pick up that kid whose IQ is still stuck at eight years old."

"Oh? How do you know?"

I was a bit puzzled, but thinking about it, it was indeed possible.

Still, if she was really going to do that, she should have given me a heads-up first.

"You think she's being a bit disrespectful, don't you? If she was going to bring that kid back, she should have at least told you, right?" Eccentric Song had read my mind perfectly.

I gave an awkward smile. "You know, people like you aren't very likable. No one wants to have no secrets in front of someone else."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Likable or not, it's the same. Besides you, who even knows someone like me exists? But then again, she's not doing this to disrespect you. She wants to give you a surprise. After all, that kid used to be your little sidekick. He recognized you when he saw you. Think about it—how many people are left at the Little Ancestral Hall Entrance? Can you really bear to leave him in that godforsaken place?"

His words made me feel a twinge of guilt. I had the ability to take care of him now, but when I saw him, it never occurred to me to bring him out. Xu Qiuyan beat me to it.

Maybe, like Eccentric Song said, she really did want to give me a surprise.

But when I saw how well Xu Qiuyan treated that kid, something in my heart felt off. Perhaps it was that very feeling at work, subconsciously keeping me from ever thinking about bringing him out to live with us.