"Grandma, where are you going?"
"Don't you want Lingling anymore?"
When she heard that Old Lady Zhao was leaving, Tang Xiaoling's eyes filled with tears, and she spoke sorrowfully.
Old Lady Zhao had frightened her to tears earlier.
But after one ride on the Carousel, she had long since forgotten all about it.
Besides, she had truly felt Old Lady Zhao's heartfelt emotions just now.
Children were the purest when it came to feelings.
Seeing Tang Xiaoling crying so sadly, Old Lady Zhao was at a loss.
Finally, she produced a piece of candy from somewhere and said kindly:
"Don't cry, Lingling. Grandma has something very important to do."
"Once I'm done, I'll come back and play with you, all right?"
As she spoke, she waved the candy in front of Tang Xiaoling, then tucked it into her hand.
Looking at the candy in her hand, Tang Xiaoling did indeed stop crying.
But she still looked reluctant to let her go and asked through her sobs:
"How long will you be gone, Grandma? Lingling will wait here for you."
Those words nearly melted Old Lady Zhao's heart.
On top of that, she had just learned the truth about how she had misunderstood her grandson all these years.
Her emotions were a tangled mess, and her anguish was beyond words.
Maybe after I died, Xiao Hu kept hoping I would come back, too...
For a moment, all the emotions in Old Lady Zhao's heart burst forth.
She held Tang Xiaoling tightly in both arms, tears streaming uncontrollably as she said:
"Be good, Lingling. Grandma promises that whenever I have time, I'll come and see you!"
"Have fun here, and go home once you've had enough."
"It's all right even if Grandma doesn't come back before you leave. I'll find you."
Seeing Old Lady Zhao's tear-streaked face, Tang Xiaoling kept wiping away her tears with her little hands, all while comforting her:
"Don't cry, Grandma. Lingling understands. I'll keep waiting for you."
But despite her words, her little hands clung tightly around Old Lady Zhao's neck, refusing to let go.
It was as though she feared that once she let go, she would never see Old Lady Zhao again.
Feeling the strength in Tang Xiaoling's little hands, Old Lady Zhao's heart twisted in agony, making it even harder to leave.
For a moment, she even considered simply refusing the Netherworld and staying with Tang Xiaoling forever.
But that thought only flashed through her mind before she quickly cast it aside.
Because if she refused the Netherworld, her soul would likely be obliterated on the spot.
The Netherworld's authority could never be challenged. How could a mere vengeful ghost like her dare defy it?
Besides, even if she stayed, she could only keep Tang Xiaoling company for a little while.
Once the girl left the instance, she would never return.
Then, trapped inside the instance, Old Lady Zhao would have no way to see her even once.
To preserve the chance of seeing Tang Xiaoling again in the future, she ultimately decided to go to the Netherworld.
As long as she devoted herself to cultivation, she would become a Ghost Monarch someday.
Then she would no longer be bound by any restrictions and could go wherever she pleased.
Of course, most importantly, she had already confirmed that Tang Xiaoling's origins lay in the Netherworld.
Even if she never became a Ghost Monarch, perhaps she could still see the child again when she went there someday!
"Lingling, Grandma doesn't have much time left. Shall I ride the Carousel with you one more time?"
The journey to the Netherworld was long, and there was a time limit.
If she did not set off soon, she might not arrive within the allotted time.
"Okay, Grandma. Will you ride with Lingling?"
Tang Xiaoling's wide, expectant eyes also held a hint of pleading.
She seemed afraid that Old Lady Zhao would refuse to ride the wooden horses with her.
But Tang Xiaoling had no idea that Old Lady Zhao already cherished her more than anything.
Never mind one ride on the Carousel-she would gladly give her life again for her!
"All right. Grandma will ride with you!"
Old Lady Zhao settled her emotions and smiled again.
Holding Tang Xiaoling in her arms, she found a two-person horse on the Carousel and climbed on.
But that move left everyone utterly bewildered.
How had this turned into a heartbreaking farewell?
Could Tang Xiaoling's ancestral graves really be buried in the Evil Spirit Amusement Park?
And she had just happened to run into her grandmother, who had been dead for years?!
That was complete bullshit!!!
Never mind Tang Xiaoling's ancestors blessing her with good fortune-even if their graves exploded, they couldn't end up buried inside an instance!
And what exactly had that ghost and that human been doing just now?
Why were both of them covered in blood?
Old Lady Zhao had her back to everyone and happened to block Tang Xiaoling from view.
So no one could clearly see what had actually happened between them.
They could only vaguely make out the evil spirit stroking Tang Xiaoling's head one moment and picking her up the next.
Meanwhile, Tang Xiaoling's little hands kept reaching toward the evil spirit's face.
But every time she touched it, she ended up covered in blood!
It looked as though the evil spirit was devouring Tang Xiaoling while Tang Xiaoling struggled desperately!
And yet their conversation was so damn touching that it sounded nothing like a murder in progress!
The viewers' already malfunctioning brains had been pushed so hard that their CPUs were smoking!
Only now, as Old Lady Zhao held an unharmed Tang Xiaoling and rode the Carousel again with a kindly smile on her face, did the truth become clear.
The livestream viewers finally lost it completely!
"I'm fucking losing my mind! What the hell is going on? Don't fucking tell me it's a grandma taking her granddaughter on a carousel again. I swear I'll bite someone!"
"No! It's a blood-soaked grandma taking her blood-soaked granddaughter on a carousel..."
"Woof... woof... woof... woof..."
"Seriously, I've only ever seen evil spirits torment players. This is my first time seeing one torment the audience. I've already gone through eight bottles of heart pills!"
"This is seriously creepy! When I saw Tang Xiaoling covered in blood, I thought she was dead. I never expected her to be completely fine!"
"Are you all idiots? Didn't the eerie expert already tell you? The evil spirit is cultivating a victim like a venomous creature!"
"Holy shit! I was so absorbed that I completely forgot until you mentioned it! Where's the eerie expert? Please come out and explain it again!"
"Expert, stop lurking! We need you!"
"@Eerie Knowledge Explainer, please come out! We're going to lose our minds if you don't!"
For a while, the livestream was flooded with comments calling for "Eerie Knowledge Explainer."
Only when thousands of comments had filled the screen did a conspicuous red comment drift across it.
[Eerie Knowledge Explainer]: "You guessed right. This is how an evil spirit cultivates its victim."
"I can now confirm that this evil spirit is exploiting Tang Xiaoling's lack of familial affection to draw her in little by little."
"Once she fully accepts the evil spirit as family, it will bare its fangs and torture her to death!"
"As for the evil spirit saying it was leaving just now, that's the simplest form of pulling away to draw someone closer."
"A child deprived of her parents' love has only just found familial affection, only to suddenly lose it again. Of course she'll miss it even more."
"If I'm not mistaken, this evil spirit won't be gone long before it comes back."
"And when that happens, Tang Xiaoling's time will be up!"
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