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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Zhihui visibly trembled and spoke with a hint of crying, "What should we do... What is it?"
Perhaps because of her younger brother's strange illness, or perhaps because of An Xiaoshan's calm demeanor, Xu Zhihui had completely regarded An Xiaoshan as the current savior. She looked at him eagerly, hoping to find a reassuring answer from his expression.
An Xiaoshan handed the phone back to her: "Yang houses favor sunlight, while yin houses favor shade. Pinglin River is yin as it belongs to water, which has the function of moistening, but Cuiping Mountain has a low and drooping terrain, making it difficult to gather sunlight, so yin energy is strong. Your house is located right in the center of the imbalance between yin and yang, making it susceptible to the invasion of yin energy and attracting unclean things - commonly known as 'ghosts'."
Xu Zhihui was really scared.
She couldn't help but wonder, on many previous nights when she stayed up late playing on her phone or peacefully sleeping, whether there was something unknown in the room, perhaps staring at her from a corner, lurking by her bed, or even breathing near her phone—
"Why blow into the microphone?"
Yu Tiantian spoke up and looked nervously at An Xiaoshan, with countless questions in her mind wanting to pour out, but in the end, she asked just one.
An Xiaoshan met her gaze, then looked at Xu Zhihui. Both girls were holding their breath, tense as if caught in a silent storm. He hesitated for a moment, as if considering whether to continue speaking.
"There is a kind of ghost, commonly known as a life-taking ghost. Generally, it is a ghost that is under the control of a person, being restrained and refined to become an evil spirit that takes lives." An Xiaoshan looked at Xu Zhihui, "Some life-taking ghosts are good at banging gongs - the victims often hear the sound of gongs at night but do not see the person banging the gong. Over time, symptoms such as mental fatigue, irritability, and even life-threatening conditions may develop."
"And some life-taking ghosts, especially those who are young or whose souls are damaged, have difficulty learning the 'work method' of banging gongs, so they blow air on people. Although the effect is slow, the paths of humans and ghosts are different. Every contact will damage a person's vitality and luck. Over the years, they can still harm a person's life."
Xu Zhihui listened and couldn't sit still. She collapsed to the ground, her eyes staring blankly at the sky as she murmured, "Who would want to harm us..."
"It's not difficult to handle," An Xiaoshan comforted her, "but if you want to find the real culprit, you need to tell me everything that happened in your home after moving into Cuiping Elegant Garden."
Xu Zhihui turned to him with a puzzled expression.
"The Yin energy of Cuiping Elegant Garden is just a catalyst. If the evil spirits have a chance to take advantage, the problem will only occur within the family."
Xu Zhihui It seemed like she understood, she opened her mouth, but quickly closed it again, obviously caught in hesitation and inner struggle.
"When I was in junior high, my parents had a divorce."
After a long silence, Xu Zhihui spoke her opening remarks.
Yu Tiantian looked at her in surprise—when she was young, Xu Zhihui's parents were the kind of parents she envied the most. They never quarreled, always spoke in a gentle manner, and almost always fulfilled all of Xu Zhihui's requests—such a harmonious couple, could they really be getting a divorce?
Xu Zhihui noticed Yu Tiantian's surprise, and found it even more difficult to speak, "Because my dad had an affair with a woman he met in the business world."
After the first sentence was spoken, the storytelling became much simpler.
Five years ago, Xu Zhihui's father made his first fortune in business. At that time, mother Xu had just given birth to her younger brother. Although the family was relatively well-off, it was not enough for them to live a life of ease. father Xu urgently needed to accumulate wealth, while mother Xu still had to take care of all the household chores, including a crying baby and a daughter about to enter adolescence.
In this situation, mother Xu developed postpartum depression. She would often unconsciously shed tears and suffer from insomnia night after night. father Xu, in the midst of his career advancement, naturally used socializing to escape his family responsibilities. He started coming home later and later, communicating less and less with his wife, and eventually developed an extramarital relationship with a woman he met at a dinner party.
Mother Xu was still immersed in her own emotions at that time, until signs of father Xu having an affair emerged, she suddenly realized that the family was on the verge of collapse, unable to withstand a blow.
They had a very serious quarrel, using all kinds of hurtful words to attack each other's vulnerabilities. The once loving partners turned into repulsive figures in the blink of an eye. Divorce was proposed no less than a hundred times, but for the sake of the children, and for many unaccounted debts, Mother Xu ultimately chose to compromise and forgive.
The couple thought that this unbearable episode was well hidden, but they overestimated their acting skills and underestimated their daughter's insight. Xu Zhihui even noticed mother father Xu's abnormal behavior before her.
Once, she secretly followed father Xu and saw him intimately holding hands with that woman while strolling. She remembered that the sun was very hot that day, and she was sweating profusely. When the mall's air conditioning hit her, the sweat turned ice-cold and piercing.
She felt weak and was afraid to tell her mother, fearing that her parents would divorce and that she would become an unwanted child - her fear was exacerbated by the birth of her younger brother. "That woman never appeared again," Xu Zhihui said calmly.
Yu Tiantian felt genuinely saddened for Xu Zhihui. She had no idea that Xu Zhihui's seemingly perfect family was actually riddled with problems, nor did she know that the carefree Xu Zhihui was secretly enduring unknown pain. The "enviable Xu Zhihui" suddenly revealed a crack, beneath which lay the same mix of joy and helplessness as any ordinary person.
"Lately, it seems like they are heading for divorce again," Xu Zhihui wore a self-deprecating expression that didn't match her age. "Two years ago, we moved to Cuiping Elegant Garden. My mom's health wasn't good, so she ran an online store from home and also made some handmade cakes on the side. Most of her customers were nearby housewives. The cake business didn't make much money; it was mainly a way for her to pass the time and maintain social connections, a kind of emotional outlet for her."
"Over time, with more people coming in and out of the house, my dad started to suspect my mom of having an affair. One time, he came back late at night and claimed to have heard my mom talking to another man inside the house. He caused a huge scene, turned the house upside down, but couldn't find the man he mentioned. The next day, he installed a lot of cameras in the house, saying he wanted to get evidence."
Yu Tiantian cautiously asked her, "Did the surveillance capture anything?"
"No," Xu Zhihui shook her head, suddenly took a deep breath, realizing something. "I didn't capture anything, but, the same situation as the recording occurred!"
She opened her phone to check the surveillance records. "This surveillance automatically records any abnormal movement of objects. For example, if someone walks by, it will record the image and store it in the cloud... I don't remember how many times it has been recorded, but you can see—"
Xu Zhihui found a recent video clip and pointed to a corner of the screen, saying to them, "This small part of the screen is unstable, like it's lagging or experiencing network issues, but the rest of the screen is fine."
An Xiaoshan took just a glance and said, "I probably understand." After thinking for a moment, he said to Xu Zhihui, "To cure your brother, we need to solve the problems in the house. There's no time to lose. If possible, tonight is the best time to take action."
Xu Zhihui dared not ask any more questions, nodded repeatedly, and immediately called her father. Two or three minutes later, she hung up the phone and asked An Xiaoshan somewhat embarrassedly, "My dad wants me to ask if you have a master? He hopes to invite your master to come and take a look."
"I can go myself." An Xiaoshan took out a piece of talisman paper and instructed, "Burn it to ashes, dissolve in water, and have your brother drink it. It can temporarily alleviate his high fever."
Xu Zhihui thanked him and immediately took a taxi to the hospital.
At seven o'clock that evening, Yu Tiantian set off with An Xiaoshan.
In the afternoon, Yu Tiantian actively asked An Xiaoshan what they needed to buy this time. An Xiaoshan looked at her for a long time, sighed, and finally asked her to bring Cinnabar, a bronze mirror, and willow branches, in addition to preparing an extra compass.
Yu Tiantian pretended not to understand An Xiaoshan's helplessness. She knew that An Xiaoshan did not want to involve unrelated people, but she was also involved as a party yesterday, so she should also have a role to play, right?
However, Yu Tiantian didn't know where to find a compass, so she ended up going back to the school's back door to the incense and paper shop to try her luck. In the end, she bought a somewhat new but not entirely old compass from the shop owner's long-overdue inventory—she didn't know if it would work.
"Fake," An Xiaoshan glanced at the compass in the red plastic bag.
"What should we do? I'll go buy another one now..." Yu Tiantian was anxious, afraid of something going wrong, and was about to turn back.
"It's okay, it's still usable," An Xiaoshan stopped her, "Let's go."
Like this, Yu Tiantian walked nervously through the Xu Family's gate.
father Xu was already waiting in the hall. His forehead was weakly drooping, and he was still wearing last night's clothes. His suit was all wrinkled, making him look particularly disheveled.
He listened to Xu Zhihui's statement about An Xiaoshan's inference, but didn't fully believe it. It was only because his son's condition was critical that, under his wife's strong insistence, he had to try every possible means—even though he didn't expect that the bowl of talisman water would actually work.
However, this did not dispel his concerns. He scrutinized the young man at the door, his gaze sharp, but An Xiaoshan showed no fear at all, appearing calm and composed. Such demeanor was definitely not something an ordinary student would have.
The gorgeous chandelier hangs from the high ceiling, reflecting countless spots of light that sprinkle on the ground like a scattering of stars.
Yu Tiantian finds it hard to control her imagination of father Xu having an affair when she sees him. She can't help but feel resentful, and even greeting him feels half-hearted.
An Xiaoshan held the compass bought by Yu Tiantian at the entrance for a few minutes, then lowered his head as if calculating for a while, and then turned and walked straight to the kitchen area's island counter.
"The main door faces southeast, and the Five Ghosts are in the east." An Xiaoshan calmly stood on one side of the island counter: "The position of the Five Ghosts is inauspicious. If the kitchen is located here, it is very ominous. Mr. Xu, have you seen any strange phenomena or heard any unusual sounds here?"
father Xu's face immediately changed, he had suspected his wife of having an affair because he had heard footsteps here!
"It did happen." father Xu hesitated, but An Xiaoshan did not stop. He continued walking with the compass, all the way to the master bedroom on the second floor, and said, "This location is in the 'Six Sha', which is an ominous position. The homeowner is prone to many troubles and disputes, often suffers from insomnia, and may be involved in affairs of love, alcohol, and sensuality, leading to instability in marriage."
Family secrets were exposed by the daughter's classmate, and father Xu felt a bit embarrassed, unsure whether to agree or refute.
An Xiaoshan's intentions were clear, as he finished inspecting the master bedroom and continued to move upward. Yu Tiantian approached him and asked quietly, "The compass is fake, how did you figure it out?"
"No need for a compass," An Xiaoshan said in a low voice. "I'm not really skilled in feng shui. Those were just little tricks to gain people's trust."
Yu Tiantian's eyes widened. "So you were lying just now?"
"There isn't either."
"Ah?"
"I can see the traces of those things moving." An Xiaoshan helplessly said, "walk watch your step."
"Oh."
Finally, they arrived at the room of Xu Zhihui on the third floor.
An Xiaoshan stood at the door for a while, then turned around and told father Xu, "The crux of the matter lies here."
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