”"Can you still tell the difference" I stared wide-eyed."This pond lacks the surge of resentful energy. It's only tinged with hidden, veiled feelings," Jie Du said, a smugness in his tone. "It suggest...Jiang Qiyun wouldn't appear this early. He usually appears before the 子時 (midnight), sometimes when I'm outside, he shows up while I'm asleep in the car and I don't even feel his presence.

The Emperor, reporting on time every day like this, truly amazes me.

Thinking that tonight I'm probably going to be home late again — after all, I'm practically never home these days. With my feet barely touching the ground as I run around constantly, I really should give a heads-up.

"Walking" Song Wei didn't understand: "I haven't asked you to walk. I drove us here, right"

"...Taoism refers to going down the mountain, leaving the mountain, and traveling outside the mountains as "walking." It means traveling widely. How could it be literally walking" I explained with a chuckle.

"Oh well, you're getting busier and busier these days, Qiao. I feel like you've changed—you're starting to have that air of a master!"

I quickly waved my hand and said, "Don't talk nonsense! At most, I'm just a beginner. I wouldn't dare call myself a master."

"You can't just say anything like that Is flattery and bootlicking all you have" Song Wei scoffed.

She seemed to remember something and whispered, “Oh, that great monk from Puji Temple… wasn’t it called Puji Temple I can’t quite remember. Wasn’t his name Huqing”

I nodded and asked, "What about Hu Qing I don't usually cross paths with him since we have different duties. However, I heard that he manages Putuo Temple very well. The incense is strong, and there are many devotees."

"I think he's changed a lot. He used to be such a fake monk, but these past two years, I actually feel like he has the aura of a true high priest." Song Wei sighed, "It seems that people with faith truly have a different air about them."

I inquired curiously, “You, a woman who has nothing to do with temples or Taoist monasteries, how could you have seen Huaisqing He is now virtually impossible to find. He’s both the abbot and the rotating president of the Tongxuan Society.”

"Huh" Song Wei shivered her legs and said, "Then I met him too easily~~~ This fellow was out with his apprentice to order robes, but they got stuck in traffic and couldn't get through. When he was waiting for a car by the roadside, I met him and even sent him all the way back to the temple."

...Sweat.... This ride is so far.

"I said to him, 'Your life is good now, you're even running out to buy clothes!' He told me that he'd found a tailor who had been working for the temple for many years. The old man was getting on in years and couldn't get around easily. He'd made clothes for his master for so long, so he came personally to deliver the order... I felt like he'd become much more reliable."

"So he didn't give you any pointers" I teased.

He said: “From what I see, crossbow strings always break first, and steel blades are easily damaged. Lady benefactor, you should consider changing your profession... Isn't this a bit out there” Song Wei asked with a smile.

I didn't dare to laugh, Hu Qing wouldn't say these things for no reason. If he had nothing to say, he would chat with you idly, and he wouldn't speak so seriously.

Could it be that he thinks there's something wrong with Song Wei

》》》

For dinner, only Song Wei and I ate. Lao Shi's aunt had to take care of the two elderly people, so she picked out some of each dish and steamed them until they were soft in a steamer, then brought them in for the two elderly people to eat.

I observed her words and actions. Although she was outspoken and a bit selfish, prioritizing family matters above all else without considering others' feelings, she showed genuine care for the two elderly people.

She didn't eat with us either. She made a few bowls of home-style dishes and put them in the living room for us to eat ourselves. She held a bowl filled with food and went inside to look after the elderly person.

"Let's eat slowly, for one or two hours." Song Wei whispered, "Do you want some wine If there's wine, we can eat until midnight."

"I'm dumbfounded! "I wouldn't drink, would I You sort it out yourself!"

As for the beer, it's as light as water... I'll have that myself. You eat slowly," Song Wei opened a bottle of beer.

It's a bit different having some wine with your meal. It transforms it from just filling up to a more enjoyable experience of sipping and savoring.

Old Shi's aunt saw Song Wei had opened a bottle of wine and even went to fry us a bowl of peanuts.

"...His family is actually not bad, it's just that their selfish mentality sometimes drives me crazy." Song Wei whispered to me.

"Every family has its own difficulties. When you're considering marriage, you need to think carefully from all angles and not rush into a decision just because they are urging you to." I said in a low voice.

"Anyway, I'm not getting married yet. My parents haven't agreed...I'm a little worried about what you said about that jade bracelet..." Song Wei pointed behind me with her chin.

Only then did I notice that on the small cabinet beside the TV stand, there was a tiny black-and-white photograph.

Relics

I looked at Song Wei with my eyes, and she nodded.

That photo shows a very innocent girl smiling, perhaps the little girl who drowned.

I took out a red incense stick from my bag. This kind of incense, specially made by the Mu family, is usually sold only within the family. Conveniently, I had a rice bowl handy. I filled it halfway with rice and inserted the red incense stick. Then, I quietly placed it by my feet.

The scent reminded me of incense, with wisps of faint blue smoke rising delicately. Everything felt normal.

We continued eating and chatting. Lao Shi's aunt, after serving the elderly, told us to go out for a bit so we wouldn't have to clean up when we were finished.

I guess she probably went to ask Zhang's grandmother about Song Wei's birth chart.

As soon as she closed the gate to the courtyard, the atmosphere around us changed. Song Wei and I looked at each other, then at the half-cold dishes on the table before us. In the house, two elderly people sat in silence...

"Ouch…" Song Wei suddenly rubbed her arms, which startled me.

She muttered, "How did the atmosphere suddenly turn so cold, it feels like there's a ghost even without one!"

"Don't be alarmed, shush..." I motioned for her to stay quiet.

Inside the house, the old woman seemed to be muttering in her sleep, saying: "Poor thing... Poor thing... Short-lived girl... Woooo..."

I could even see the goosebumps on Song Wei's wrist. She mouthed nervously, "Are there... ghosts... coming in I'm scared to death..."

I looked back into the bowl. The three incense sticks were swaying gently, their smoke wispy and thin, but for the most part they remained upright.

"Click." A sound of something falling echoed through the room.

Almost in that instant, I felt goosebumps rise on my skin. The incense smoke from the three incense sticks suddenly flickered and drifted out towards the door as if blown by a wind.

Outside the gate

"Song Wei, you go and check on the elderly. I'll go after them."

"Huh!" Song Wei was startled.

I don't have time to explain, but Mu's incense definitely follows the Yin energy. The house probably couldn't let the Yin energy in easily, so it slipped out through the main door.

Song Wei shouted from behind, "Hey, it's the old woman's cane that fell! Hey! Qiao, don't run too far!!"

As night fell, the old women who had set up a dragon gate formation outside the main gate had long since returned home.

All the houses nearby had already turned off their lights and gone to sleep, but I could clearly feel something was around. So I followed it down the road.

Behind the vegetable patch, a gust of cold wind swept by, and a strange black figure was desperately trying to hide in the woods.

Interlace the second and third fingers, fourth and fifth fingers. Pinch the first finger on the Yin Wen acupoint, open an acupoint in the middle... Shackle the ghost!

My shoulder was injured, so my movements were awkward. I couldn't get a good grip on his neck, but the shadow lunged forward suddenly and fell to the ground.

I hurried up, step by step, roll… what rolled down

Something round rolled under my feet.

I didn't have time to look closely, and I heard Song Wei, who was chasing after me, anxiously yelling: "Xiao Qiao, don't run around in the dark! If something happens to you, how can I explain it to your husband, oh no—"

>s fur was stained with large patches of dried blood, hardened and stiff. It stood on its hind legs, swaying precariously, and moved by hopping on its back paws.The entire movement was stiff and unnatu...