26

“What?!” Yao Jiu was the first to exclaim in shock.

Lianhua Village has the most families with the surname Yao, making it the largest clan in the village. Xiao Shitou was even related to Yao Jiu. Even Lin You felt a bit anxious. There weren’t many children in the village, and Xiao Shitou’s full name was Yao Lei. When he smiled, his eyes curved, but his skin was dark, making him look like a little charcoal head.

Lin You looked at Bo Chuan. Without much hesitation, Bo Chuan stood up, nodded slightly, and said, “Take me to see.”

Aunt Wang didn’t delay and quickly walked ahead. Lin You locked the door and followed closely behind.

The village path twisted and turned. Yao Jiu anxiously asked Aunt Wang about the situation, while Lin You deliberately slowed her pace to walk alongside Bo Chuan.

She whispered, “Is this the same as what happened with Duoduo? Was it drawn in by those side paths?”

Although Bo Chuan didn’t go into details about what happened with Duoduo, he had revealed just enough for Lin You to have a rough idea.

Bo Chuan shook his head and didn’t speak. He felt that something wasn’t right. After the previous incident with the house spirit, he had specially gone to a few empty houses in the village. At each door, he had dipped water and drawn a house charm. Those house spirits were mischievous little creatures who feared force, so when they saw Bo Chuan take action, they behaved obediently.

Logically, it shouldn’t have started targeting children so quickly again.

“Let’s see first,” Bo Chuan said.

With the current weak spiritual energy, the decline of the Taoist sect, and the rarity of ghost encounters, combined with the fact that people were no longer obsessed with such things, spirits and ghosts relied on people. If people didn’t believe, it was hard for them to encounter anything.

However, for safety’s sake, Bo Chuan still formed a hand seal to check if something had entered the village.

After a round of searching, he found nothing.

By now, they had arrived at Xiao Shitou’s home. They pushed open the door and immediately heard the sound of an elderly woman sobbing.

“Mom, I’ve told you, there’s nothing wrong with him. Stop making up stories. Let’s just take the child to the hospital…”

“Look at how the child is now! What do you think this illness is? Get out! Who knows what happened to you two? You took the child out for the afternoon and now this! You’d be better off not coming back!”

“Mom, I really didn’t take him anywhere. This afternoon, we just went to the county to play. The amusement park was full of people. What could have happened? He’s just tired, don’t—”

“What do you mean don’t? You two have been working away for years, and when you come back, the child’s in trouble! How can you still say this?”

Xiao Shitou’s grandmother cried, not stopping the argument. Two people stood beside the bed—Xiao Shitou’s parents. They had been working away for years, and just recently managed to take some time off to come back, only to find their child sick. The years of hard work had worn them down, and the child’s condition, combined with the mother’s accusations, made them even more exhausted.

“Mom, this is a different matter…”

Aunt Wang’s loud voice interrupted, “They’re here!”

Xiao Shitou’s grandmother hurriedly picked up the child, and when Xiao Shitou’s parents saw Bo Chuan, who was so young, they instinctively didn’t believe him.

“Mom, kids often have these things. It’s just exhaustion. Don’t make a big fuss. We don’t need to send him to the hospital. We can just put a fever patch on him first… This is all superstition, can’t we stop torturing the child?”

Xiao Shitou’s parents were still trying to convince their mother.

But as soon as Bo Chuan entered, his face turned serious. He saw the mess in the room and didn’t pay attention to anything else. He quickly stepped forward and pulled away the small blanket that was wrapped around the child.

Lin You leaned in to take a look. Inside the blanket, Xiao Shitou’s previously dark skin had turned flushed, his eyes tightly shut, his teeth gritting and grinding, and his hands were still struggling inside the blanket, waving around…

Lin You felt a chill run up her spine. Although it looked like a fever, for some reason, she felt that Xiao Shitou’s reaction seemed strangely cold and eerie.

“Meow~”

Lin You felt something brush against her leg, and before she could react, a raccoon cat that had followed them meowed at the most inopportune moment.

The warm, furry body of the cat pressed against her leg, and only then did Lin You feel the cold sensation from earlier dissipate a lot. She bent down, picked up the furball, and quietly stood behind the crowd.

Bo Chuan’s eyebrows furrowed when he saw Xiao Shitou’s condition, a look of disgust in his eyes.

Xiao Shitou’s grandmother, Aunt Yin Hua, was still wiping her tears. “Young man, please take a look. Did he encounter something? Please have a look. I heard from Chunling that her grandson was treated by you and got better… As long as you cure him, I’ll donate a plaque to the temple.”

Bo Chuan didn’t respond to the elderly woman’s words but turned his head and, with a hint of coldness in his voice, asked, “What did you take the child to do this afternoon?”

Xiao Shitou’s parents were suddenly caught off guard. The young man who had been calm earlier now appeared stern and angry, making them instinctively answer truthfully.

“Well… we just took him to the amusement park in the county, had something to eat, and bought some toys…”

Bo Chuan: “Did you meet anyone?”

Xiao Shitou’s mother, Wang Xianghua: “We met someone…”

Xiao Shitou’s father, Yao Xiangjun, suddenly tugged at his wife’s sleeve and took over, “An old acquaintance from the factory. We just ran into him and chatted for a bit.”

Bo Chuan sneered, “Is that all? Did you give out your child’s birth details?”

Upon hearing this, Yao Xiangjun’s face immediately turned unnatural. “Birth details… no, we didn’t.”

Wang Xianghua glanced at her husband, then at the mysterious young man, suddenly realizing something. Her face changed drastically.

Bo Chuan: “If you keep lying, your child will have no chance. I advise you to tell the truth about what happened this afternoon. It’s still possible to fix it.”

Yao Xiangjun was about to try and defend himself, but his mother, Aunt Yin Hua, couldn’t take it anymore. She handed the child to Aunt Wang and slapped him across the face.

“I told you, why did you have to take the child to the county? And to that expensive amusement park? So you sold your son? What kind of sin did I commit to have raised such a bastard who would be so heartless to his own child? You saw Xiao Shitou so happily going with you to the county, how could you be so cruel? Are you going to tell the truth, or not? If not, get out! Never come back!”

Wang Xianghua grabbed her husband’s arm, helpless, “Xiangjun, what’s going on? Didn’t you say we were just acknowledging an honorary relationship? What’s all this about?”

Acknowledging an honorary relationship!

Once Wang Xianghua said this, Bo Chuan already figured out most of the story, but he still stared at Yao Xiangjun, waiting for him to explain everything.

Yao Xiangjun, cornered by his wife and mother, his face already bruised by the slap, could no longer deny the truth. Although he felt this had nothing to do with the child, he had no choice but to speak up.

It turned out that the couple hadn’t come back from their vacation. They had met an old acquaintance at work. This old acquaintance used to work in the same factory, but last year, he won the lottery and made a fortune.

After resigning from the factory, he stayed in touch with Yao Xiangjun and his wife.

It is said that when people rise or fall in life, that’s when true feelings are revealed. This old acquaintance, having made a fortune, continued to maintain a friendship with Yao Xiangjun, which made him value the relationship even more.

After the new year, the old acquaintance learned that Yao Xiangjun had a five-year-old child back in their hometown.

The old acquaintance patted his chest and suggested, since their relationship was so good, why not acknowledge an honorary godson?

Anyway, the man didn’t have any children yet, so he could recognize a godson, and they could maintain close ties. Even if he had children later, the next generation could also stay connected.

Furthermore, the old acquaintance mentioned that he planned to return to his hometown and open a restaurant. Yao Xiangjun and his wife had previously operated a small stall, so it would be convenient for them to help out at the restaurant, and they could stay close to the child.

This suggestion hit Yao Xiangjun’s weak spot. The couple had been away for years, and the thing they missed most was their child.

Now, with this opportunity to earn money without leaving home and spend more time with their child, how could they refuse?

So, this time when they returned, Yao Xiangjun first took the child to meet his “brother” to see if they got along. They planned to choose a good day to have both families meet for a meal and officially establish the godparent relationship.

Everything had been fine that afternoon. Xiao Shitou was happily running around the amusement park, and the “brother” bought him food and drinks, even gifting him two sets of clothes. Both sides were happy, but just before leaving, the old acquaintance had asked about Xiao Shitou’s birth details, saying he’d take them to match a good date for the godparent ceremony.

Yao Xiangjun now spoke as if defending his friend: “He had good intentions, the things he gave were really great, those clothes are branded. With you guys doing this, how can we continue our friendship in the future…”

As he spoke, he glanced resentfully at Bo Chuan.

He didn’t understand how this young man knew he had given away his son’s birth details—it was just blind guessing, nothing more. It was truly frustrating, a young man, in his prime, resorting to such deceptive tricks.

Even his mother was paranoid, creating such a mess. If his friend found out, his reputation would be completely ruined.

Aunt Yin Hua looked at her son with disappointment, wishing she could pry open his skull to see if his brain had been flushed down the toilet.

“What kind of relationship do you have with this person? He gave you work and recognized a godson? And after winning the lottery, he stayed in the south for such a long time. Does that make sense? Even if we entertain the idea, why didn’t he come directly to the door? Why did he make you take the child out to give the birth details?”

Seeing her foolish son still trying to excuse himself, Aunt Yin Hua decided not to speak to him anymore. She turned and grabbed Bo Chuan’s sleeve, her eyes full of hope. “Master, can you fix this?”

Everyone could immediately tell it was an issue with the birth details, and Chunling’s words had proven to be true—this young man truly had some skill. Aunt Yin Hua now placed all her hope on Bo Chuan.

Bo Chuan interrupted Yao Xiangjun’s incessant complaints and calmly said words that would shake people’s worldview: “Why don’t you take out all the things he gave?”

Ignoring Yao Xiangjun, he turned to Wang Xianghua. “Did this person give your son anything else? A figurine? A toy? A notebook?”

Wang Xianghua, unsure whom to believe, could only answer blankly, “He gave a small toy.”

She then rummaged through Xiao Shitou’s backpack and pulled out a small, lifelike ceramic dog.

“He said Xiao Shitou was born in the Year of the Dog, so he gave this.”

Bo Chuan took the toy, and without saying a word, smashed the ceramic dog.

Yao Xiangjun panicked. “Hey, what are you doing? He gave it with good intentions…”

His words got stuck in his throat when he noticed something inside the ceramic dog—a small, folded, yellowish talisman.

Bo Chuan picked up the talisman and gave a sarcastic smile after a quick glance.

Even in matters like this, when people try to borrow life force to damage others’ karma, those with shallow practices only end up creating slightly flawed items like this one.

But it was fortunate that it was slightly flawed, otherwise, the child might not have survived this long.

“Go and take out everything this person gave.”

The sight of the talisman had already scared Wang Xianghua greatly. At this moment, not even Yao Xiangjun, nor even the King of Heaven, would have more influence over her than Bo Chuan’s words.

She hurriedly went to gather the clothes from the old acquaintance, along with the half-eaten lollipop and kite the child had, everything that had been bought.

Bo Chuan, noticing that Yao Xiangjun had grown quiet, decided it was best to let him see the truth before destroying these items.

He spread out the two sets of clothes, neatly packaged, and laid them flat on the ground.

“Come and take a look at these clothes. Can you see what’s wrong with them?”

Lin You, curious but frightened, used the little paws of the raccoon to shield her eyes, glancing at the clothes before quickly pulling her hands back.

The furball: …

The group grew increasingly uneasy as they looked, until Wang Xianghua, her teeth chattering, finally spoke up.

“M-Master, are these clothes… old? They look like they’ve been worn before.”

Bo Chuan nodded. “Not just old—they were dug out from a grave.”