The cabinet doors were shut tight. Covered in words of blessing, Gao Ming clutched his pen. He had stopped writing in his diary, his eyes fixed on the phone that kept vibrating.
Voice messages from Grandma appeared one after another, like notes tolling his death.
As long as Gao Ming refused to listen, the messages would not stop. They arrived faster and faster, as though trying to drive him mad.
A minute later, the voice messages suddenly stopped, and a video call invitation popped up on the phone. Grandma's black-and-white profile picture looked especially unsettling, as if she were about to crawl out of the constantly vibrating phone.
"A video call?"
His face, covered in writing, twisted slightly. After a moment's hesitation, Gao Ming accepted the call.
"Gao Ming, do you know how worried I am about you? Whatever you do, don't leave this room. If you go out, everything we've arranged will be for nothing! Do you remember your father and mother? They had that accident because they wouldn't listen to me!" The old woman on the screen bore a slight resemblance to Gao Ming. Her hair was silver, and she looked worn and exhausted. Her clothes were filthy, too.
The old woman fumbled with her phone and shouted at the screen. All sorts of ritual implements and "Divine Medicine" surrounded her. She had offered almost everything of value in the house to the Great Immortal.
"Listen to me! The master said the calamity hanging over you will be dispelled after seven days!"
Gao Ming silently watched the video, his gaze growing stranger.
The room in the video was very familiar to him, but what appeared on the screen did not quite match reality.
Grandma shouted in the video, tears in the corners of her eyes. She seemed genuinely