Danger Arrives, Ghosts Have Loyalty

The woman glanced at me, seeming a little less cold. "Ignore all illusions."

Ignore all illusions? I was a little confused and didn't quite understand what she meant.

She frowned, seeming a little impatient with my intelligence. "With him following you, even if you're trapped in an illusion, there's nothing to fear. Illusions and illusionary realms are completely useless against him."

I finally understood. In other words, the reason I could never get out of that little bamboo grove was because of the Island Nation Onmyoji. He had merely used an illusionary technique, something similar to a Ghost Wall. If Yin Wuyu had been with me then, he could have led me out.

This was pretty damn impressive.

I looked at Yin Wuyu. He grinned at me. "Boss!"

I patted his head. "Mute, as long as your boss is here, no one will ever hurt you again."

Then I gently wiped away the long string of snot hanging from his nose with a piece of tissue.

Because his name was Wuyu, I had given him the nickname Mute when we were children. He never minded it. Whenever I called him that, he answered, as though simply being able to follow me around was enough to satisfy him.

"Sister Hong, how can the Forbidden Technique on him be removed?"

Although Sister Hong said she could not remove it, that did not mean she did not know how.

She had also said that the Forbidden Technique would not cause him any other side effects, but I still hoped he could be like a normal person and live a normal life.

Sister Hong looked at me strangely. "If the Forbidden Technique is removed, he'll lose his ability to ignore illusions. Are you sure?"

I nodded. "I can't make him endure this pain just because he can ignore illusions. I'd rather he live like a normal person, fall in love, and live according to his own wishes instead of being like this."

Xu Qiuyan's gaze held a little more approval, and Sister Hong nodded slightly as well, as though she agreed with what I had said.

But she said, "I don't know. I truly don't know. This method is extremely powerful. The person who placed the Forbidden Technique on him was an expert, and that person probably did not actually want to hurt him. On the contrary, aside from placing the Forbidden Technique on him, that person also protected his soul very well."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Have you heard of Body Snatching?"

Duan Hongbin whispered beside me, "It's when a powerful soul takes over someone else's body. The person whose body is taken will have both soul and spirit completely erased."

I was startled. Something like that actually existed?

Sister Hong shot Duan Hongbin a dissatisfied look. He seemed a little afraid of her, shrugged, and shut his mouth.

"At least in my opinion, almost no one would be able to take over his body. On the contrary, anyone who tried would likely end up with their soul and spirit destroyed instead. The person who placed this Forbidden Technique should be from the Daoist Sect, and their Dao cultivation is very high."

After hearing Sister Hong say that, a thought suddenly came to me. Could the person who placed the Forbidden Technique on him have intended to give him this special ability? Or, taking it a step further, maybe that person had long known about his relationship with me and understood my current situation, so they wanted this kid to help me in this way.

If that were true, wouldn't it mean that person had calculated everything down to the last detail? That was far too deep a scheme, wasn't it?

How was that possible? I wasn't some important figure worth all that calculation. Maybe I was just overthinking it.

I laughed at myself.

"When are we leaving for the Northeast?" Xu Qiuyan asked.

I thought for a moment. "The sooner, the better. I'm afraid something might happen to Zhuanghe if we wait too long."

Xu Qiuyan nodded. "All right. I'll book tickets for tomorrow."

I waved my hand. "I'll call Old Du."

Old Du was the man who had brought us to this residence. Xie Yi had said he could help us handle miscellaneous matters, so this was something we could leave to him.

When Old Du heard that we were making a trip to the Northeast, he did not ask any questions. He simply agreed and hung up.

Originally, I wanted Mute to stay behind. After all, it was Xu Qiuyan's and my first time going to the Northeast. We were unfamiliar with the place, and who knew what dangers might await us there? If my earlier guess was correct, Xie Xiaotang's death was likely connected to their trip to Lop Nur. Zhuanghe's situation was indeed very precarious.

But leaving him home alone was not an option either. His intelligence was that of a child, a child who would never grow up, so we had no choice but to take him with us.

His efficiency was impressive. Less than an hour after I called him, he delivered three plane tickets. Along with the tickets, he also brought an ID card for Yin Wuyu, who had never had one before.

The name on the ID card was Yin Jiu.

"Thanks, Old Du."

Old Du remained as serious as ever. "It's my job. Call me anytime if you need anything. I can't help you with other matters, but you can come to me for small things like this anytime."

With that, he turned to leave.

"I haven't paid you yet!"

"No need. It goes on the company account."

This treatment was genuinely good. In other words, Xu Qiuyan and I only had to focus on the work, while Old Du could handle all the logistical matters for us.

My phone rang. It was Gu Song.

"Mr. Jiang, could you come to my house?" Gu Song's voice trembled.

"What happened?"

"It's Xiao Tian. Xiao Tian, he..." He paused, then said, "I can't explain it clearly over the phone. Can you come over?"

"All right. I'll be there in half an hour."

After I hung up, Xu Qiuyan asked, "What happened with Gu Song?"

"He's fine. It should be the little ghost he keeps—his son."

Xu Qiuyan said, "Then let's go take a look. His wife is dead. If anything happens to his son too, the blow will be far too much for him."

I nodded. Although his son was a little ghost, he had become Gu Song's only emotional support.

Xu Qiuyan drove, and we quickly arrived at Gu Song's home.

It felt different from when we came during the day. At night, his home seemed even more sinister.

"What happened to Xiao Tian?" I had originally wanted to say "that little ghost," but remembering that he was still the son of Gu Song and Xie Xiaotang, I changed my wording.

I looked around the house for a long while but saw no sign of the little ghost.

Gu Song was nervous, rubbing his hands together. "About ten minutes before I called you, Xiao Tian suddenly appeared after being gone for so long. He was like before, standing by that window."

Gu Song pointed at the window.

"He looked very agitated, baring his teeth and waving his arms as he screamed. I had no idea what he was saying. I couldn't understand a single word. He seemed to grow angrier and angrier. His eyes turned bright red. It was terrifying!"

Xu Qiuyan asked softly, "What happened afterward?"

"No matter how I called him, he didn't react. That scared me. I remembered that he was like this the day before Xiao Tang died, and I started feeling uneasy. I felt that something might happen to him."

"Where is he now?" Xu Qiuyan asked anxiously. Only then did Gu Song answer, "Just as he was going mad at the window, it suddenly opened. He flew out just like that. As he flew out, I heard him call me Father once more. I rushed to the window to call him back, but I couldn't see him anymore."

Gu Song's eyes reddened with tears. He grabbed me. "Mr. Jiang, you have to save Xiao Tian! Xiao Tang is gone. If anything happens to him too, how could I ever face Xiao Tang? I... I..."

Gu Song began to cry.

I said to Xu Qiuyan, "Stay here with him. I'll go take a look."

But Xu Qiuyan said, "You stay. I'll go."

I wanted to say something else, but she smiled at me. "Don't worry. With Sister Hong with me, I'll be fine."

Since she put it that way, I could not say anything more. Sister Hong was indeed very capable.

As Xu Qiuyan was leaving, she said to me, "Be careful too. I'm afraid they're after him." The person she meant was naturally Gu Song. I nodded.

She was right. The other side really might be targeting Gu Song, because he had gone to Lop Nur with Xie Xiaotang. If Xie Xiaotang's death was connected to that trip, then Gu Song could not possibly stay uninvolved.

The little ghost had likely rushed out the moment he sensed danger in order to protect Gu Song.

But I remembered that both Sister Hong and Duan Hongbin had said the little ghost had no Dao cultivation at all, and could even be said to have no fighting ability whatsoever. What use would there be in charging ahead if there really was danger? He might even end up with his soul scattered.

This little ghost truly had loyalty and devotion.