Chapter 14

Kang Yanming escorted Chu Ning all the way to the newly purchased school district apartment.

The new community had been open for less than a year, but due to its comprehensive educational and medical resources, housing prices had remained sky-high.

Almost all the buyers here were parents with children. Upon entering the community, one could see many young couples strolling their kids near the specially built children’s playground after dinner.

After getting out of the car, Chu Ning sat back in his wheelchair and first observed the surrounding scenery, greenery, and feng shui of the neighborhood, finding nothing amiss.

Then, his gaze shifted slightly and he noticed two small figures playing on a blue penguin slide nearby, climbing up and down without any parental supervision, utterly engrossed in their fun.

One child was wildly shouting and laughing on the slide, while the other seemed odd—wearing only thin pajamas, standing quietly on the slide.

Chu Ning’s brow furrowed involuntarily. Upon closer inspection, the round little face of the pajama-clad child was scrunched up in distress, showing no joy as they slid down the penguin. Tears welled up in their eyes, as if holding back sobs.

…It turned out to be a lost little wandering soul.

Director Kang had gone to the garage to park the car. Out of a genuine concern for human children, Chu Ning wheeled himself to the penguin slide and gently asked, “Little one, where are your parents?”

He spoke without his eyes ever leaving the crying child, ignoring the other who was still laughing boisterously.

The pitiful human child looked surprised that someone could see him. Glancing secretly at his playmate still absorbed in the slide, he whispered in a choked, plaintive voice, “Daddy’s at work, Mommy’s at home. Big brother, I want to go home.”

Chuckling softly, Chu Ning said, “So you snuck out to play behind your parents’ backs.”

The child looked guilty, nodding and then shaking his head, pointing at his friend with a wronged expression: “I didn’t want to come out either; it was Little Liu who insisted I come along.”

At that moment, the friend called Little Liu suddenly stopped sliding and sat at the top of the penguin slide, tilting his head slightly, his jet-black eyes fixed intently on Chu Ning.

Sensing the gaze, Chu Ning naturally met it with a glance, only to see the child on the slide suddenly grin, revealing a mouthful of sharp, pointed teeth.

Chu Ning’s frown deepened. “…”

How long has it been since this kid filed his teeth? Showing off those sharp fangs with such pride?

His mouth twitched slightly as he turned to look at the cute, well-behaved child again, whose eyes seemed much more at ease.

But the black-eyed child on the slide became outrageously angry upon seeing this! What did this human mean? Why wasn’t his terrifying ghostly face scaring the human into a mess?

This was illogical!

The black-eyed child stood up menacingly on the slide, ready to show the human a lesson. Yet before he could make a move, the young man in the wheelchair lightly said, “It’s getting dark; children should watch their step.”

As soon as he spoke, the black-eyed child felt a sudden heat beneath his feet. Before he could scream, his body was lifted into the air and then dropped squarely into the sand beside the penguin slide, creating a shallow pit.

The whole process was silent. The pitiful human child was unaware of what had happened, but when he looked back, his friend was gone.

“Little Liu? Little Liu? Are you gone?” The child called out cautiously, hearing no reply, his small body instantly relaxing. Then, hesitating, he spoke to the empty air, “If you’re gone, then I’ll go home too.”

He stood still, waited for half a minute, and seeing Little Liu truly did not return, he ran out of the slide area, rubbing his eyes as he sought help from Chu Ning. “Big brother, do you know how to get to Building A, 13th floor?”

Building A, 13th floor—that was Director Kang’s home.

Looking carefully at the child’s features, he indeed bore some resemblance to Kang.

Could it be such a coincidence? Chu Ning was quite surprised.

He rubbed his fingers and silently crushed the talisman he had just used into powder, scattering it to the wind, then softly asked, “Little one, is your surname Kang?”

……

“…Chu, who are you talking to?”

Kang Yanming returned with the car keys and, across the penguin slide, saw Chu Ning seemingly conversing with someone.

But there was no one around the slide at all. Kang glanced left and right, feeling uneasy about the strange scene, and hesitantly asked.

He was passing by Chu Ning and, to avoid detours, walked through the sand beside the slide.

Unexpectedly, as soon as his foot stepped in, the streetlamp flickered twice.

One more step, and it flickered twice again.

Kang’s scalp tingled from the flickering lights; unable to see clearly, he stepped heavily into a sandpit about calf-deep.

“Hey, who dug such a big hole here for no reason?”

He almost fell, pulling his foot out while frowning, then quickly filled the pit with surrounding sand.

Chu Ning’s gaze rested on the pit in front of him, where a dark shadow struggled to crawl forward, uttering in a thin, sorrowful voice, “Humans! Don’t be so cruel, wuwu!”

Unfortunately, as it struggled to speak, Kang filled the pit again with one more kick of sand.

Chu Ning: “…”

Fate turns in cycles—now that you’re playing with someone else’s son, your karma has arrived.

After Kang filled the pit, worried about his son, he stopped paying attention to Chu Ning’s mumbling and hurried everyone home.

What Kang didn’t realize was that shortly after approaching Chu Ning, a leg accessory appeared on his thigh—

A wandering spirit of a human child, invisible to normal eyes, clinging excitedly to him, calling out “Daddy.”

Chu Ning sighed. Indeed, this little one was Kang Wenhui.

He followed Director Kang into the elevator, where they met a neighbor from downstairs—a middle-aged woman with curly hair, wearing a maroon cheongsam and a fur shawl.

She was a relocated resident of the building, surnamed Cai, living downstairs from Kang with her husband in three apartments on the 12th floor.

She often went grocery shopping with Kang’s mother, and the two families had a fairly good relationship.

When Kang’s son had trouble, it was through Aunt Cai that they sought the help of the Immortal Lady for exorcism.

Aunt Cai was surprised to see Kang in the elevator. “Director Kang, you just got back?”

She slapped her thigh impatiently and pressed the elevator button urgently, scolding, “Oh, I’m not saying this to criticize, but look at you as a father! If you’re any later, you might miss the exorcism ritual the Immortal Lady arranged for Wenhui!”

Kang looked embarrassed and quietly asked, “Aunt Cai, where did you hear about this Immortal Lady? Is she reliable?”

“How could she not be!” Aunt Cai’s eyes widened, immediately replying, “If you don’t trust others, would you not trust me? We’re neighbors—I wouldn’t harm Wenhui on purpose!”

Kang quickly waved his hand, “...Of course not.”

Satisfied, Aunt Cai lowered her voice and whispered mysteriously, “I’m not boasting, but that Immortal Lady is truly amazing!”

“How so?” Kang pressed.

Aunt Cai smiled, speaking as if sharing a secret, “You probably don’t know—our Immortal Lady has a pair of clairvoyant eyes that see yin and yang. No demon or ghost can hide from her!

And from what I know, she can even deal with the Lord of the Underworld. Last year, a patient diagnosed with a terminal illness that doctors said wouldn’t survive three months came to her. The Immortal Lady said his fate wasn’t sealed and performed a ritual to borrow three more years of life from the Underworld Lord!”

She gestured excitedly, “Sure enough, after three months, that patient was perfectly fine! Isn’t that miraculous?”

Kang’s brow furrowed deeper. “What kind of terminal illness was it?”

Aunt Cai shrugged. “I didn’t inquire closely.”

Kang was speechless but thought for a moment and asked, “What kind of Taoist practice does this Immortal Lady study?”

“I don’t know about Taoist arts,” Aunt Cai waved her hand, “But I heard she used to be just an ordinary shoemaker. She became powerful because once she fell off a mountain, hit her head, and was unconscious for 81 days—barely surviving, she awakened her immortal spirit!”

Kang: “...” What a tall tale!

He was utterly speechless; listening to Aunt Cai was like reading a ten-yuan roadside tabloid—pure fabrication with no shred of truth.

Seeing Kang’s disbelief, Aunt Cai turned to the third person in the elevator and asked, “Hey, young man, do you believe what I’m saying?”

Chu Ning chuckled softly. “I believe you.”

Pleased to find someone who trusted her, Aunt Cai looked at Chu Ning’s fair and handsome face, though a bit unfamiliar, and curiously asked, “Young man, are you here looking for someone or a new resident?”

Then she glanced regretfully at his legs.

“Neither,” Chu Ning smiled gently, seemingly unaware of her gaze, and said naturally, “I’m here with Director Kang.”

Aunt Cai was surprised. “Director Kang, is this your relative? So handsome!”

“No, no,” Kang hurriedly pushed Chu Ning out of the elevator, speaking vaguely amid Aunt Cai’s puzzled look, “Little Chu is the ghost exorcist I hired.”

“What? The young man can exorcise ghosts?” Aunt Cai stared at Chu Ning, then suddenly burst out laughing. “No way! What rituals could such a young fellow know? Director Kang, don’t be fooled and cause trouble for the Immortal Lady! It wouldn’t be good if you upset her!”

Kang: “Aunt Cai, that’s not fair.”

Chu Ning replied calmly, “I have studied orthodox Taoist arts under my master since childhood. I was initiated at fifteen, skilled in rites and talismans, capable of resolving life and death matters and controlling spirits.”

Aunt Cai was stunned, then laughed again, clearly skeptical.

Chu Ning fixed her with a serious look and said, “Aunt Cai, have you ever heard of the Barber Ghost?”

Aunt Cai was puzzled: “...Barber Ghost?”

Chu Ning pointed to her hair, lowering his voice, “Have you been having restless, dream-filled nights lately? Waking up to find clumps of hair on your pillow?”

Aunt Cai was startled, covering her hair with her hands. “How do you know?”

“Because I see it,” Chu Ning sighed, pointing behind her with a faint tone, “Aunt Cai, there’s a Barber Ghost right behind you, always chasing you to cut your hair…”

Aunt Cai: “!!!”