Chapter 17: The Little Girl’s Identity

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Watching the two of them, Shang Wuwei and Shang Wuyong, behaving like shrews and hearing the insults that spilled out of their mouths, I was simply... Damn it, I don’t even know how to describe it. I only asked them to lure those two Soul-Stealing Ghosts out—I never told them to hurl abuse in the street like that! There’s definitely something wrong with their heads.

According to what they said, the two Soul-Stealing Ghosts consisted of a little girl and an old woman. Yet they started cursing, shouting things like, “May your son be born without an asshole.” Is that remotely appropriate? Besides, if nothing goes amiss, that old woman should be Gu Xiaogang’s mother. When Gu Xiaogang finds out that the person they’re cursing is his own mother, how awkward will that be?

“Come out, you bastards—” Shang Wuyong opened his mouth, about to launch into another tirade.
I hurriedly cut him off with a low shout, “Enough! Stop the cursing!”
Heaven knows what else he might have come up with; I had to stop him before he said something even more vile or grating.
“What’s wrong? You were the one who told us to lure them out!” Shang Wuyong looked at me, utterly bewildered.
“I…” I opened my mouth but was momentarily at a loss for words.

Yes, I did tell them to lure the ghosts out, but was this really the right way to do it?
At that moment, a cold wind swept through the yard, and two figures rapidly loomed large before our eyes. In the blink of an eye, they were standing right in front of us.

“Oh my god!” Gu Xiaogang cried out, collapsing to the ground and clutching his head, trembling uncontrollably.
There was no need to guess—the two figures lunging at us were the Soul-Stealing Ghosts.

Shang Wuyong and Shang Wuwei were right: one old and one young.
The old woman looked extremely aged, her face covered in wrinkles, her skin the color of wilted cabbage leaves, a dark green. Her hands were slightly raised before her chest, ten fingers curled like eagle talons.
The little girl looked about four or five, her little face the same eerie green. Two sharp fangs jutted out completely, while the rest of her teeth were serrated like a shark’s, gleaming coldly in the dim light.
The two Soul-Stealing Ghosts stopped at the main gate, their eyes flashing with malice as they glared at us.

Even I couldn’t help but shudder; my heart fluttered with fear and unease. I had to admit, I was scared too. The ghosts had appeared too suddenly!

“Hey!” Shang Wuwei bellowed, stepping sideways to shield me and Gu Xiaogang behind him.
“Come out if you dare!” Shang Wuyong shouted at the ghosts, but it was easy to tell that his bravado was only skin-deep.
“Get lost!” the old woman spat, her hand raised as she squeezed out the word with icy venom.
“If you’ve got the guts, come out!” Shang Wuyong took a step back, continuing to bluster.
The two ghosts let out an ear-piercing shriek, their intent to attack clear.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!” I urgently whispered to the two brothers.
We had come here for one reason: to have Gu Xiaogang identify the ghosts.
I glanced at Gu Xiaogang—he was already slumped on the ground. He had seen the two ghosts inside the house; in other words, our goal had been achieved.
The Shang brothers didn’t dare go in—they couldn’t beat the ghosts.
The two Soul-Stealing Ghosts, on the other hand, didn’t dare come out, as they would lose to the brothers outside.

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So I quickly urged the two to withdraw.
Once I’d questioned Gu Xiaogang, I’d decide what to do next.
With my leg still in a cast, I couldn’t help Gu Xiaogang up, so I had to retreat myself and call for Shang Wuyong and Shang Wuwei to help him down.
Seeing us retreat, the two Soul-Stealing Ghosts also turned and headed back into the Gu family home.

“Xiaowei, are you alright?!” Uncle Wang hurried over to support me and asked.
“I’m fine. Bring me a Calming Talisman!” I said to him.
At my words, Uncle Wang rushed to fetch the jade box and took out a talisman from within.
Taking the talisman, I silently recited an incantation, and the paper turned into a gentle breeze, flowing straight to the center of Gu Xiaogang’s brow.
“Mmm!” Gu Xiaogang groaned softly, then quickly regained his senses.
“Mom, don’t scare me!” Gu Xiaogang, coming to, immediately burst into tears.
“It’s alright, it’s alright,” I quickly soothed him.
With the talisman’s effect, he wouldn’t be in any real danger. Of course, it was normal for him to be emotionally shaken.
“Alright, stop crying. Tell me, do you recognize them?” I asked him.
“That… that’s my mom! She… she…” Gu Xiaogang sobbed, barely able to get the words out.
Just as I suspected—the old woman was indeed his mother.
“And the other one? Who is she?” I pressed.
“The other… the little one? I… I… I don’t know her!” Gu Xiaogang stammered, unable to speak clearly through his grief.
“You don’t know?” I frowned.
That didn’t make sense. How could he not know?
His mother had become a Soul-Stealing Ghost here because this was her home; her spirit held sway here.
By my reckoning, the little girl should also be a family member.
“Really, I don’t know her!” Gu Xiaogang shook his head, tears streaming down his face.
Things were getting complicated. If both ghosts were from the Gu family, it would be much easier to resolve.
If neither were, it would also be manageable.
But with one being a family member and one not, it became troublesome.

“Is there a problem?” Shang Wuyong came over and asked.
“Yes. Of the two Soul-Stealing Ghosts inside, one is a member of the household, the other is not,” I replied.
“How is that a problem? As long as you deal with the Yin Grave’s malevolent aura, you can leave the rest to us!” Shang Wuwei chimed in.
“No, if they’re family, we have to send them on their way,” I said.
“Send them? Why not just destroy them all and be done with it!” Shang Wuyong waved his hand dismissively.
“No! Absolutely not!” I raised my voice.
My master had always taught me: if a spirit can be sent away peacefully, I must find a way to do so. I must not recklessly destroy or scatter them.

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“And why not? Kid, your skills may be lacking, but your temper’s plenty big!” Shang Wuyong yelled at me.
“Exactly. If you were so capable, you wouldn’t have called us! Since you called us, you ought to listen to us! Hurry up and resolve the Yin Grave’s curse—I still have a score to settle. I’ve never suffered such a loss…” Shang Wuwei tore off his already shredded Daoist robe, his face full of indignation.
Watching their antics, I felt a mounting irritation.
Their abilities were formidable, but their methods were completely unreliable. As members of the Daoist order, how could they act so recklessly, following only their whims?

“Thank you, both of you. I won’t trouble you any further—I’ll handle the rest myself,” I said, my face darkening.
“What? Did you just say you want us to leave? Do you really think you can handle those two Soul-Stealing Ghosts on your own?” Shang Wuwei stared at me in disbelief.
They clearly hadn’t expected me to send them away outright.
“Even if I can’t defeat them, I can’t act rashly. If there’s a chance to send them on, I must take it!” I replied.
“Tch! Such a bleeding heart!” Shang Wuwei dismissed me with a wave.
I fumed at his words.
What kind of disciples had Master Miao taken on? How could they be so bizarre?

Just then, Gu Xiaogang stood up and called to me. “Mr. Yu… um…”
“What is it?” I asked quickly.
“There’s something I don’t know if it’s connected…” Gu Xiaogang said timidly.
“Go ahead, just tell me. Once you say it, I’ll know if it’s relevant,” I encouraged him.
“The thing is, my wife once gave birth to a daughter. But… after she was born… we didn’t take care of her properly, and… she died! In the last couple of years, I’ve often dreamed of a little girl calling me Daddy.”
“Oh, and… my wife has had the same dreams—a little girl calling her Mommy.”
Gu Xiaogang’s face was clouded with remorse.
Hearing this, I immediately frowned and fell silent in thought. After a while, I asked, “When did the child die?”
“She… she died before her first month was up,” Gu Xiaogang’s guilt deepened.
“Tell me… the child didn’t die of illness, did she?” I asked carefully.
“No. It was all my fault!” Gu Xiaogang bowed his head, shame washing over him.
So the baby girl hadn’t died a natural death.

But something still didn’t add up. The little Soul-Stealing Ghost inside looked about four or five.
Ghosts always appear as they did at the moment of death. If the child was indeed his daughter, she should have manifested as an infant ghost.
Unless…

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind—one almost too improbable to consider, one that could nearly be dismissed outright.
But if that was truly the case, then…
I couldn’t help but shiver involuntarily!