The Lu family is in the real estate business. Even though Ruan Bei was ostracized, he still learned some relevant information from what he heard and saw. For example, this community in front of him, judging from its location, environment and buildings, the price per square meter would be no less than 30,000 to 50,000.

Grandma Sun's son, who is not yet forty years old, has managed to buy this house on his own, which shows that he is quite capable.

There was a gate control outside the community. Taking advantage of the information Ruan Bei had obtained from Grandma Sun last time, she gave the gatekeeper the surname of the new resident in the same building who was being renovated, and used the excuse of helping her relative check on the renovation.

The two young men, though not very old, were quite presentable in terms of appearance and demeanor; to put it simply, they didn't seem like bad people.

The gatekeeper didn't question them further and let them in.

Before they arrived, Ruan Bei and Qin Gu had already discussed how to proceed. After they went inside and took a short walk, they found the elderly women and men gathered together in the garden talking.

It's the weekend, and the weather is nice, so the elderly folks took advantage of their free time to bring their pets out for a walk and soak up the sun.

Qin Gu observed for a while, then tugged at Ruan Bei's arm and pointed to it for him: "That one."

Ruan Bei immediately recognized the woman in the crowd. The woman talking animatedly was the one Grandma Sun had mentioned to them. She was the neighborhood's famous gossip, always ready to share her thoughts on everyone's affairs.

Ruan Bei nodded to show he understood, put on an innocent smile, and followed Qin Gu over, saying politely, "Excuse me, may I ask you something?"

He was naturally easy to please elders; who wouldn't like a young man with a gentle smile, polite manners, and courteous demeanor?

The elderly folks, tired of seeing each other's familiar faces, were happy to have a new face to talk to, and they all warmly encouraged him to speak freely.

Ruan Bei said, "My uncle recently bought a house in the neighborhood and has it renovated so he can move in when the time is right. My brother and I are looking at the house today and also want to find out if there have been any funerals in the neighborhood recently. My uncle is particular about this and says it's bad luck to offend someone."

Grandma Sun said that the owner of the house that is being renovated is a young man who doesn't come often. He has only come twice in total, and she heard that he recently went on a business trip.

As soon as Ruan Bei finished speaking, Aunt Wang, the loudspeaker, opened her mouth and said, "I know, the apartment under renovation is 1402 in Unit 3, right? What a coincidence, it's good that you asked. There has been a funeral in our community recently. The old lady in your neighbor's apartment, 1401, has passed away."

Ruan Bei feigned surprise: "Gone? How could it be gone?"

Aunt Wang was very savvy; she poured out everything, whether it was something or not.

"How did she die? She fell and was washing clothes at home. She refused to use the washing machine because she was afraid of ruining her son's clothes. Her daughter-in-law had suggested sending them to the dry cleaners, but the old lady thought it was too expensive and insisted on hand washing them herself. She didn't notice that soapy water had dripped on the tiles, and she tripped and fell, hitting her head. She died right then and there."

Aunt Wang described it in great detail, as if she had witnessed it herself.

Before Ruan Bei could ask any more questions, Aunt Wang started talking non-stop, her face full of excitement and her voice tinged with sighs, and she went on to tell him all about Grandma Sun's family.

They say that Grandma Sun was a widow from the countryside, unlucky. She had worked so hard to raise her son, but she didn't know how to enjoy the fruits of her labor and even lost her life because of it. It's a pity.

Then they said that Grandma Sun's daughter-in-law was also sick, and her husband was busy with work, so they rarely saw her.

Remembering the lost child, Ruan Bei feigned curiosity and asked, "You only mentioned that there are adults in their family. Aren't there any children in this family?"

There was a moment of silence, then Aunt Wang sighed and said, "Of course there is. There used to be a girl who looked like her mother, with big, round eyes and dimples."

Later, she got lost, around this time last year, when Grandma Sun took her out to play. Everyone guessed she was abducted by child traffickers. When the child first went missing, Niu Niu's mother had a huge fight with her mother-in-law and searched frantically everywhere. She even quit her job and searched for several months without any success. She fell ill and then gradually calmed down.

Ruan Bei felt saddened at the thought that the child might already be gone, and didn't want to speak for a moment. Qin Gu then asked on her behalf, "What about the child's father? Isn't he looking for him?"

"Hey, why didn't he look for a job? But he went to work after only a few days. Grandma Sun's son is very busy with work. Although he earns a lot, he's never free all year round. Even when we go for a walk after dinner late at night, we still see him driving off in a hurry. I don't know what kind of job he does that keeps him up all night."

A person next to him chimed in, "That's right. Grandma Sun even said her son is the boss of a big company. I think he's more like a gofer for the boss."

Qin Gu asked, "Didn't they think about having another child?"

"Why wouldn't you want one?" Aunt Wang chuckled, grinning as she said, "Grandma Sun is really hoping for a grandson. I've heard her say it several times, that the Tong family has only had one son for generations, and it can't end with her, otherwise she won't have the face to face her husband when she dies. She even argued with her daughter-in-law many times before because of this."

The others nodded in agreement, confirming that this was indeed the case.

Aunt Wang scoffed, "Several generations of only sons? What era are we living in? Do you have an imperial throne waiting to be inherited?"

The others laughed immediately, and some of them were quite blunt, making a few sarcastic remarks such as "country bumpkin" and "preferring sons to daughters."

This got a bit off-topic. Ruan Bei and his companion listened to them talk for a while longer, but there was nothing new to say. So much time had passed, and they had discussed the matter countless times. As they talked, they lost interest and the conversation drifted to other topics.

Ruan Bei thanked him and quietly left with Qin Gu.

"Should we continue the investigation?" Qin Gu asked Ruan Bei, who was in low spirits.

"Investigate!" Ruan Bei said firmly, determined to find out the child's life or death.

"Let's go then," Qin Gu said.

The two went straight to Grandma Sun's house. The apartment next door, 1402, was indeed under renovation. People were coming and going, all busy, and no one would notice the two of them.

Ruan Bei rang the Tong family's doorbell. After a while, they wondered why no one was home, but the door suddenly opened.

A woman in home clothes was standing at the door. She had delicate and pretty features and was indeed a beauty. She must be Grandma Sun's daughter-in-law, Zhou Linlin.

Her face was pale and dull, and she exuded a listless air, which diminished her beauty by a third.

"Who are you looking for?" Zhou Linlin asked weakly.

It is said that one cannot hit a smiling face, so Ruan Bei immediately put on a smile and said gently, "Hello, my uncle lives next door."

He pointed, indicating that it was the house that was under renovation.

“My uncle said that the house is being renovated and may have disturbed the neighbors. He was busy and couldn’t get away, so he asked my brother to come and apologize to you for the disturbance.”

Zhou Linlin twitched the corners of her mouth, as if she wanted to laugh, but in the end she didn't. She just nodded slightly: "You're very thoughtful. The property management came to discuss it before, and everyone can understand."

Ruan Beida breathed a sigh of relief, his smile widening, and said repeatedly, "That's good, that's good. It's rare for my uncle to ask me to do something; I was afraid I wouldn't know how to ask."

Ruan Beiping's bright smile added a touch of childishness to his appearance, and Zhou Linlin's heart softened. She opened the door and said, "Come in and have some water."

Ruan Bei touched his nose sheepishly: "I'm so sorry to bother you."

He licked his dry lips as he spoke.

Zhou Linlin's expression softened further as she bent down to get them slippers: "It's alright, it's just a glass of water."

Ruan Bei and Qin Gu, unwilling to refuse, secretly exchanged a glance and successfully sneaked into Granny Sun's house.

Zhou Linlin led them into the living room and asked them to sit down. Seeing that they were both young, she said there was freshly squeezed orange juice and asked them if they wanted some.

Qin Gu thanked her politely and then sent Zhou Linlin away.

Their plan was to find an excuse to chat with Zhou Linlin for a bit, and if they couldn't find a breakthrough, they would try to trick her and see how she would react to Grandma Sun's death.

However, as soon as Zhou Linlin left, clearing Ruan Bei's view, he immediately saw the photo on the TV cabinet.

That was a family photo.

The grandmother, who was sitting, was holding her granddaughter, while her son and daughter-in-law stood behind her.

Ruan Bei's mind went blank for a moment. He had actually seen all of those people before.

Grandma Sun, Niu Niu, Zhou Linlin, Tong Hanming.

Grandma Sun and Zhou Linlin need no introduction, but Niu Niu was actually the little ghost he met in the park!

Zhou Linlin's husband, Tong Hanming, is clearly Lu Minghai's special assistant!

"What's wrong?" Qin Gu asked worriedly.

Before Ruan Bei could speak, Zhou Linlin came out with a bowl of orange juice: "Please sit down, why aren't you sitting down?"

Ruan Bei, his face pale, said awkwardly, "I won't sit down. I suddenly remembered something I need to do. I won't bother you any longer."

After saying that, without having time to explain, he grabbed Qin Gu and quickly left.

"Why the rush? Is there something wrong with that photo?" Qin Gu asked.

Ruan Bei felt distressed and regretful: "I've seen the child in the photo before."

Seeing his expression, Qin Gu asked prudently, "Is the child...?"

Ruan Bei nodded slowly. He had told Qin Gu about the ghosts he had encountered before, but only talked in detail about Ran Yusheng and Ma Chunhua, whom he had more contact with.

"In the park where we were kids..."

He recounted his experience that day to Qin Gu, saying sadly, "I shouldn't have run away. I should have asked one more question..."

Qin Gu put his arm around his shoulder and patted him, comforting him, "The child was already gone by then."

Ruan Bei was still reeling. He thought of the little girl's bright smile in the photo and her messy braids in the park, and his heart clenched.

Such a young child...

As soon as they left the residential area, Grandma Sun saw them from afar and immediately called out to Ruan Bei, but Ruan Bei ignored her and continued on his own.

They walked in silence until they reached the small park. Qin Gu activated an eye-opening talisman on himself and headed straight for the woods where he had first met the little girl with Ruan Bei. He called out to her, "Niu Niu, where is Niu Niu?"

After calling for a long time, no ghost came out. Ruan Bei was extremely anxious. Aunt Wang said that Niu Niu had gone missing a year ago. If something had happened to her back then, the seven-day mourning period should have passed long ago. How could she have disappeared so suddenly?

Fortunately, the grove was small, and after searching around, they found the little girl hiding behind a tree, shivering.

Niu Niu was still the same as the day Ruan Bei first met her. Before he could even say a word, the little girl saw Qin Gu and burst into tears.

Ruan Bei felt a little better, and she was both amused and exasperated. She told Qin Gu to stay where he was and went over to comfort her, "Niu Niu, don't be afraid. That brother won't hurt you. Do you remember me?"

Seeing that the scary person hadn't come over, Niu Niu felt a little less afraid and nodded silently.

She rarely saw other people. This brother was the most handsome one, and only he could see her and talk to her.

Ruan Bei felt a pang of pain in his heart. He reached out to touch her head, but missed, and felt even more distressed: "Niu Niu, let me ask you, do you know what your mom and dad's names are?"

"I know," the little girl said earnestly. "My dad's name is Tong Hanming, my mom's name is Zhou Linlin, and I live in apartment 1402, building C of Jinxiu Huating. My dad's phone number is..."

Niu Niu recited all of her parents' phone numbers, clearly someone had specifically taught her that.

Ruan Bei tried his best to keep a smile on his face: "Niu Niu is great."

The little girl immediately smiled and said, "My mom taught me that if I accidentally get separated from an adult, I should find a policeman and tell him, and then my mom and dad will come to pick me up and take me home."

Ruan Bei's eyes welled up with tears, and he turned his head away so that Niu Niu wouldn't see the sad expression on his face.

"Brother, I want to go home. I miss my mom and dad. Can you call them for me and ask them to come pick me up?"

Ruan Beiping calmed himself down before gently saying, "Okay, but can you answer one question for your brother first?"

Niu Niu nodded obediently: "Okay."

"How did you get here?" Ruan Bei asked.

Niu Niu lowered her head, picked at her fingers, and after a while, pouted and said, "Grandma brought me here. She said she would buy me ice cream. Then there was a little brother in the ice cream shop. Grandma said the little brother was cute and told me to go home and tell my mom that I wanted a little brother too."

“I don’t want a younger brother. My mom said she only wants one baby, Niu Niu. I told my grandma this, and she got really angry and scolded me. So I cried.”

As Niu Niu spoke, her voice trembled with tears: "Grandma brought me here and told me to wait for her while she went to buy me ice cream. I was scared because I was all alone here. I secretly followed her, but Grandma found out and scolded me and hit me. I said I would tell Mom, and Grandma covered my mouth very hard..."

She held up her little hands and gestured to Ruan Bei how her grandmother had covered her hands.

As Niu Niu demonstrated, several large, bluish-purple finger marks suddenly appeared on her skin. Ruan Bei immediately understood that this was how she looked when she died.

"Then I felt so bad, so very bad, so I fell asleep and didn't know anything. When I woke up, my grandma was gone. I couldn't find her or find my way home."

"I went outside to find a policeman, but the sun was too strong and it hurt me a lot. I finally found a policeman and wanted him to call my mom, but I couldn't get close to him."

“I have nowhere to go, so I’ll wait here for my mother, and I’ll keep waiting for her.”

“But Mom didn’t come…” Niu Niu choked up, “Brother, Niu Niu wants a little brother. Niu Niu won’t tell Mom anymore. Can you ask Mom to come and take me home?”

Ruan Bei raised her hand to cover her red eyes: "Okay, let Mom come pick you up. Wait a moment, I'll go borrow a phone from that guy. Don't be afraid, just wait here for me."

“Okay…” Niu Niu squatted down, cupped her face in her hands and looked at him.

Ruan Bei walked to Qin Gu's side, and Qin Gu patted him on the back. He had heard what was said earlier, and it was inappropriate to say anything comforting now, since the real victim was squatting over there.

"Kunkun, what should we do now? Even if I call Niu Niu's mother, she won't be able to see her."

Qin Gu said, "I can give her a talisman to open her eyes."

Ruan Bei asked in surprise, "Can ordinary people use the Eye-Opening Talisman?"

Qin Gu nodded: "Some talismans can be used by ordinary people, but the effect is weaker." For example, with the Eye-Opening Talisman, he can use his own spiritual energy to activate the talisman on the user, but the eye-opening time is shorter.

Of course, ordinary people definitely can't use something like the Five Thunder Talisman.

“Then… I’ll call Niu Niu’s mom.” Ruan Bei made up his mind. He really couldn’t bear to see Niu Niu just sitting in the deserted, abandoned park day after day, waiting for her mom to come and pick her up.

Kunkun had told him that ghosts who missed the seventh day after death, unless they encountered a ghost messenger nearby who was collecting souls, and he could persuade the ghost messenger, would be taken to the underworld to wait for reincarnation.

As for Grandma Sun's death, we'll find out when Niu Niu's mother arrives.

"I'll do it." Qin Gu took out his phone and called Zhou Linlin using the number Niu Niu had given him.

The call connected, and it was indeed Zhou Linlin's voice. Qin Gu got straight to the point: "Hello, I met a little girl named Niu Niu at Biyue Park in the old town. She said she was lost and asked me to call her mother. Could you please come over?"

"You...you're telling the truth?" Zhou Linlin asked excitedly, "Is she really my Niu Niu?"

Qin Gu glanced at the little girl squatting there and described her appearance and clothes to Zhou Linlin. Zhou Linlin screamed and shouted, "Let Niu Niu answer the phone and let her say something to me."

Qin Gu: "..." This is troublesome. He can't just send talismans to people from a distance.

"I have other things to do. You can come or not, I'll have the child wait for you here." After saying that, he hung up the phone. If he couldn't do it, he wouldn't. As long as Zhou Linlin cared about the child, she would definitely come to see him.

Zhou Linlin called again, but Qin Gu hung up immediately. After several calls, she stopped calling and sent a text message, begging him to wait a while and watch the child so she wouldn't get lost again.

Ruan Bei was a little worried: "Won't she bring the police with her?"

Qin Gu said nonchalantly, "It's fine. If you bring the police, we can just give them an eye-opening talisman too."

Ruan Bei was speechless. Wouldn't he be arrested for feudal superstition?

"I have a certificate." Qin Gu took out a small booklet to show him. It was a rather exquisite little booklet with a black soft leather cover that read "Special Affairs Bureau." Inside were Qin Gu's ID photo and personal information, his affiliated unit "Special Affairs Bureau," and his dispatching unit "Xuanqing Temple."

Ruan Bei: "...Do you even qualify as a civil servant?"

His parents had initially wanted his older sister to take the civil service exam, but they gave up when they saw that she had no interest in it.

Qin Gu stroked his chin: "I guess so. Anyway, there's a basic salary every month, paid by the government. It's not much, only three or four thousand yuan. If I take on a task, there are bonuses depending on how well I complete it."

Ruan Bei stroked the little notebook, feeling envious; it looked kind of cool.

"You can play with it for now. You'll get more after I take you on as an apprentice."

"I have one too?"

"Of course, our Xuanqing Temple is a reliable major sect, and they would be eager to cooperate with us."

I never expected such a good thing to happen, but we can't rush things now, we need to deal with Niu Niu's matter first.

"By the way, Niu Niu said earlier that she couldn't get close to the police, what's wrong with that?"

Qin Gu explained, "Police officers, who are public servants who uphold the law and order in the human world, are naturally protected by righteousness. Niu Niu is a ghost, so naturally she can't get close to them."

"However, there are exceptions. If a ghost cultivates to a certain level or commits too many evil deeds, its evil aura will be overwhelming, and ordinary police officers will not be able to control it."

Ruan Bei understood. He turned his head, and Niu Niu was still obediently squatting in the same spot waiting for him. When she saw him looking over, she immediately looked up at him with her little face and smiled, revealing her deep dimples.

Sighing, Ruan Bei was at a loss for what to do.

Even if Niu Niu sees her mother, what will happen after that? The eye-opening talisman only has a temporary effect, and Kun Kun can't just do nothing but draw talismans for them.

I told her she had nowhere to go.

After waiting for a while, the faint sound of Zhou Linlin calling Niu Niu's name could be heard outside.

"Mommy!" Niu Niu's eyes lit up and she jumped up: "Mommy's here to pick me up!"

She cheered and ran towards the source of the sound, and Ruan Bei and Qin Gu immediately followed.

Outside the grove, only Zhou Linlin was there. She looked around and called out Niu Niu's name loudly.

Niu Niu almost rushed out of the grove, but was forced back by the scorching sun. She stood under the shade of a tree, anxiously calling for her mother, but her mother, who was clearly looking in her direction, turned away and called for her elsewhere, as if she couldn't see her.

Niu Niu burst into tears, shouting at Ruan Bei, "Brother, Mommy can't see me either! Waaah, Mommy can't see me either! Grandma made Niu Niu disappear..."