Chapter 116 Xiaomin isn't dead, so who am I? ...

Grandma was completely unaware.

She huffed and puffed as she walked into the elevator, clutching the black bean in her arms.

While stroking the black bean kitten's head, she taught it:

"Black Bean, we can't be as rude as that kid in the future, okay?"

Black Bean, too sleepy to keep its eyes open, whimpered and its tail tip brushed against Grandma's hand.

Meow~

Grandma adored the little guy and used one hand to close the elevator door.

However, just as the elevator doors were about to close, a sudden gust of cold wind blew in.

Grandma couldn't open her eyes because of the cold wind, and inexplicably felt cold all over her body.

Even the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, my skin felt tight, and I got goosebumps on my back.

Why is the wind so strong?

She reached out to protect the black bean in her arms and wrapped her clothes tighter around herself.

The elevator doors closed right in front of me.

But to her surprise, as the elevator doors closed, the surrounding temperature dropped even lower.

Suddenly, the black bean in her arms let out a childish, threatening growl, which startled Grandma.

"You little black bean! You're being naughty again, aren't you?"

She grabbed the black bean as it tried to rush out and stuffed it into her pocket.

Hold it down with your hand as it tries to pounce out of your pocket, and use your thumb to hold its restless little head.

"We're almost home, we can't go out to play now."

Black Bean nudged Grandma's finger with its head and bared its teeth at the cold, eerie atmosphere in the elevator.

Grandma, completely unaware, pressed him back down.

Grandma wrapped herself up tightly, thinking that Black Bean was causing trouble again.

Partly to comfort it, partly to talk to myself.

"Alright, alright, we're almost home. You're free to do whatever you want once we get home."

However, the usually short journey home felt exceptionally long today.

Grandma stood in the elevator, watching the numbers change constantly, and soon exclaimed "Hey!"

She took a step forward and leaned closer to look at the red numbers at the top of the elevator doors.

9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16...

"Hey, where did our 15th floor go?!"

She stared at the changing numbers and noticed that after the numbers changed to "25" on the top floor, they quickly turned back into "1" representing the bottom floor.

But the truth is, she always had a feeling of weightlessness as she rapidly ascended, and did not experience the feeling of falling from the 25th floor to the 1st floor.

Faced with such high-tech equipment as an elevator, the usually composed old lady suddenly became a little flustered.

She instinctively wanted to get closer to the elevator.

But as soon as my body touched the elevator, I felt something bump into my calf.

It was so cold and damp that her legs shivered.

She looked down and met the head of a child.

The child's face was deathly pale, covered with black veins, especially around the eyes.

His lips were jet black, and his eyes were lychee white. When he saw her looking down at him, he smiled.

Her lips split all the way to the back of her ears.

"Grandma, where's my ball?"

It's that little boy who threw the ball earlier!

Grandma: "..."

She was so frightened that she froze, unable to recover for a long time.

Then comes the sudden surge of adrenaline, a rush of adrenaline to the brain.

Without thinking, Grandma screamed and kicked him, hitting him squarely on the head near his leg.

With a "thud," his head hit the metal elevator, and he immediately stopped laughing.

Grandma closed her eyes, screaming and stomping as she did so, using every ounce of strength she had.

"Dirty thing! Dirty thing! So filthy thing!"

She first kicked it, but when she realized the head was trying to run away, she switched to stomping it.

They stomped and stomped on his head repeatedly.

The head, stomped on the ground, was teary-eyed, and it turned to run away.

But the elevator space is so small that no matter where he goes, he will be chased and beaten by the grumpy old lady.

"Dirty thing, dirty thing!"

Grandma took off her shoes, squatted down, and used the shoes to slap the man's face hard.

Terrified, but strong.

"Seriously!"

She couldn't help but shout, "The Ghost Festival has been over for so long! Why haven't all the evil spirits left in the human world yet?!"

She slapped the head hard on the face with the sole of her shoe, making the head wail and cry.

The moment the head started crying, Grandma whipped it even harder.

"That's terrifying! You filthy thing, I'll kill you!"

After being slapped countless times, the bruised and swollen ghost head finally remembered that it was the one controlling the elevator's maze-like illusion.

Just as Grandma raised the sole of her shoe high, the elevator made a "ding" sound.

The elevator doors opened and stopped at an unknown floor.

Gui Tou desperately rolled out of the elevator, with the cautious Grandma following closely behind.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, the ghost head disappeared into the darkness.

Grandma patted the little black bean in her pocket, her voice trembling, whether from exhaustion or fright, it was hard to tell.

"Black Bean, Grandma will take you home."

I looked at the floor indicator on the elevator; this is the 11th floor.

Walking up the fire escape wasn't too difficult.

She led Hei Dou into the fire escape, and swallowed hard as she looked at the dark, unlit fire escape.

The hand that was in the pocket was gently licked by Hei Dou.

The barbs on the tongue scraped against my fingertips, causing a stinging pain.

Grandma stroked the kitten's head, took a deep breath, and rushed inside.

Unseen by her, the bruised and battered ghost head followed her into the fire escape.

Ghost Head's cheeks were swollen high, and he had several bumps on his head. His eyes were flashing with resentment and malice.

Just now in the elevator, he was caught off guard and got chased and beaten.

This fire escape is so spacious, it can't be like it was just now...

He grinned, revealing his sinister white teeth and grayish-white gums.

He stared menacingly at his grandmother as she climbed the stairs, then suddenly rushed over.

This time, he successfully bumped into Grandma's back, startling her into letting out a terrified scream.

Upon hearing the scream, the ghost head burst into laughter, floating and sinking in the air.

"Grandma, where's my ball?"

He grinned at his grandmother, his mouth still twitching all the way to the back of his ears.

But this time, the pale white teeth had turned into sharp, gleaming fangs.

He chuckled, his mouth opening and closing, his two rows of sharp teeth clicking together.

Grandma was so frightened by those two rows of teeth that her legs went weak.

Moreover, when she was hit, she lay down on the stairs, and her foot hurt a little.

I tried to get up, but my legs just wouldn't give way.

Looking at the old woman, who resembled a lamb to the slaughter, the devil laughed even louder.

Recalling the humiliation of being cornered in the elevator and brutally beaten with the sole of a shoe, he licked his lips with his black tongue.

He opened his mouth wide at his grandmother's face and suddenly rushed over.

However, the imagined sensation of tearing into raw meat did not come; it was as if he was being held down by something again.

The wide-open mouth slowly closed.

With the enormous mouth no longer obstructing his view, he saw a cat smaller than himself.

The cat was entirely black, blending perfectly into the surrounding darkness.

If it weren't for the sky-blue scarf floating in mid-air, he wouldn't have even noticed that there was a cat in front of him.

The cat wasn't even as big as his head, and its eyes were a deep, eerie green.

Ghost Head: "..."

He felt a chill for no reason as the little black cat stared at him.

When I turned to run away, I suddenly felt a heaviness on my head.

A small, dark, furry paw slapped it on the forehead.

Grandma looked terrified as she watched Black Bean rush over and reached out to grab it back.

"Black Bean! Stay away from him!"

But the answer to Grandma and Ghost Head came from Black Bean's mouth, which was growing bigger and bigger.

Its head, twice the size of its body, is as thin as a piece of paper.

Amidst the terrified screams of the ghost head, it was instantly torn in two by the black bean.

Roll up half of the spirit into a ball, making it just the right size to eat.

Black Bean's eyes lit up, and it swallowed the whole thing in one gulp, making a satisfied gurgling sound in its throat.

Looking at the remaining half, it licked its lips but couldn't bear to eat it.

He pushed it in front of his grandmother, head held high, chest puffed out, eager to claim credit.

"Meow~"

Grandma, here you go!

However, instead of receiving praise from her grandmother, it only received a terrified, sharp scream.

"Black beans! You can't eat them!"

She pried open the black bean's mouth, trying to scoop out what it had eaten.

"Meow!"

Black Bean grunted twice in dissatisfaction, dodged Grandma's hand, and swallowed the remaining half of the soul fragment on the ground.

As she watched it finish eating the rest, Grandma felt a wave of dizziness.

She finally realized that Black Bean was different from ordinary kittens.

Without even thinking about going home, she grabbed the black beans and rushed back into the elevator.

After exiting the elevator, I headed straight for the incense shop.

"Aci!!!"

Chu Ci was just about to go and complete his nightly soul-catching mission when his grandmother suddenly returned to the shop.

Seeing the black aura around Grandma, she was slightly taken aback and quickly went over.

"Grandma, have you seen a ghost?"

Grandma nodded and quickly took out the black beans from her bosom to show them to her.

"Aci, Black Bean doesn't seem to be an ordinary kitten!"

Grandma held the black bean up, making its little belly look even rounder.

It licked its lips, its bright green eyes looking innocent, and meowed.

Not content with acting cute in a high-pitched voice, it even opened its arms, wanting Chu Ci to hug it.

Chu Ci took the black bean from her and, seeing that Grandma wasn't wearing a shoe on one foot, quickly helped her sit down.

"How did you get into such a mess?"

Grandma still feels lingering fear when she talks about it.

She recounted everything that had just happened, and her heart pounded when she got to the part about the child's head in the elevator.

"Really! How could I possibly encounter something supernatural so late at night!"

She gripped Chu Ci's hand, her face contorted in a grimace.

"Ah Ci, please take a look at Grandma. Did I bump into something while running around like this these past two days?"

Chu Ci knew, however, that this was not Grandma's problem.

Instead, it turned out that those people the fat monk mentioned had already attacked her.

But she didn't expect that those people wouldn't target her, but instead would first reach out to her elderly and frail grandmother.

A hint of coldness lingered in her eyes, though it wasn't apparent on her face.

He rubbed his grandmother's cold hands. "Don't worry, I'll get you a talisman to protect you from ghosts and spirits!"

Grandma gripped her hand tightly, "Get me something that works well!"

Chu Ci then smiled and said, "You're my grandma, of course I have to get you a good one!"

She originally wanted to take her grandmother to buy some liniment to rub her injured leg, but her grandmother waved her hand.

"It's alright, it doesn't hurt anymore!"

Chu Ci felt relieved and made an excuse to go out to buy materials for amulets. She went to the elevator first.

But the ghost had been eaten by the black bean until there was nothing left, so naturally there was no way to find the mastermind behind it.

After returning home, she quickly left her body to complete her nightly soul-summoning mission.

After completing her task, she took the materials from her bedroom back to the shop.

When she arrived at the store, Grandma had already become familiar with Li Lecan's family.

She is helping Li Lecan's mother cook.

When she saw Chu Ci return, Grandma looked up with a smile, but gave her a disdainful look.

Chu Ci: "..."

She touched her nose and quickly went to another room to make amulets.

The amulet was only half-finished when the food outside was ready.

Li Lecan's mother wanted her grandmother and Chu Ci to sit down and eat together, but her grandmother refused.

"Your family has been looking forward to a reunion dinner for ten years, why should we join in?"

She made sure to give the family plenty of space and took Chu Ci to her office to eat.

As soon as she entered the office and saw her eldest granddaughter's appearance, she became angry.

"Do you think I'm that kind of petty person? People come all this way, and you still dare to lie to me!"

She angrily slapped Chu Ci on the back.

It didn't hurt, but it made Chu Ci a little uncomfortable.

After all, she had no elders around her since she was a child, and it had been a long time since anyone had spoken to her in this tone.

Chu Ci gave an awkward smile.

"Isn't it because you're worried that you'll be unhappy if your family comes since you're about to open?"

There are just too many feng shui and taboos among Hong Kong people, and she was worried that her grandmother would be unhappy.

Grandma rolled her eyes at her, annoyed:

"Ahua and I share the same gate with you. What do you do? We don't know."

"If you're coming, just say so, right?"

“You’re doing business normally. Ahua and I agreed long ago that we wouldn’t interfere with your business.”

"What's there to be unhappy about?"

As she spoke, her eye roll became even colder.

"Is that the kind of person you see your grandmother as?"

"Of course not!"

Chu Ci quickly sat down to greet the old lady, then sat down beside her with a smile.

Grandma isn't usually like this; she must have just seen a ghost tonight and is in a bad mood.

In addition, she disliked that her only relative, her eldest granddaughter, was keeping things from her, which is why she lost her temper.

But even if you say he lost his temper, it was just that his tone was a bit harsh; he didn't say anything too hurtful.

"Everyone knows who my grandmother is, don't I know too well!"

She quickly put a piece of food on her grandmother's plate.

"Grandma, eat your vegetables!"

Seeing her attentive manner and the rare display of liveliness she showed, Grandma lost her temper.

He laughed and scolded, "These are dishes that your Aunt Li and I made. You're making it sound like you cooked them."

But even as she said that, she still ate the food that Chu Ci had put on her plate.

As soon as the food entered her mouth, her face turned red.

"My God, how can it be so spicy!"

Chu Ci took a bite, and it was indeed spicy.

But it goes exceptionally well with rice.

Just as Chu Ci was about to respond to his grandmother, someone suddenly answered:

"My ancestors were not native to Hong Kong; they fled here decades ago."

"People here prefer milder flavors, but my family loves spicy food!"

Chu Ci: "..."

She looked up and saw that the office door was closed, with Li Lecan and Xiao Min, the two ghosts, peeking in from the doorway.

Chu Ci frowned at Li Lecan: "Aren't you going to have dinner with your parents?"

Grandma exclaimed "Ah!" and following her gaze, all she saw was the closed door to the office.

She paused for a moment, then a look of understanding flashed across her eyes.

Li Lecan glanced at Grandma's reaction, breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Chu Ci with downcast eyes.

"Master, how do I use that spirit-connecting incense?"

Chu Ci slapped his forehead, "I forgot to tell you guys."

"Grandma, you eat first, I'll be right back."

She moved a large mirror to the dining table of Li Lecan's family and placed many candles on the table.

"Come, sit down here."

Chu Ci arranged for Li Lecan to sit in front of the mirror, and then turned off the lights.

The whole room fell silent, with only the lights from the billboards outside reflected in the mirror, becoming the sole source of light in the room.

With a "click," a flame appeared from the lighter in Chu Ci's hand.

The flame was brought close to the mirror, igniting the incense for spiritual communication.

As a plume of white smoke rose, the temperature inside the room dropped.

As the white smoke rose higher and higher, the figures of two young girls gradually appeared in the mirror.

Upon seeing her daughter's familiar face, Li's mother couldn't help but stand up, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Chan Chan!"

Her daughter still looks like a teenager, exactly the same as when she left.

She was wearing the school uniform she had worn when she left, and even her hairstyle was the same.

Looking at her daughter's youthful face in the mirror, Li's mother reached out and touched her.

But I didn't touch anything.

Mr. Li couldn't help but turn away and wipe his tears, but he quickly composed himself.

He looked at the young girl next to his daughter.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like he'd seen this girl somewhere before.

But after thinking about it carefully, I couldn't remember.

"Can Can, who's that behind you?"

“Dad, this is my ghost sister, her name is Xiaomin!” Li Lecan introduced.

Xiaomin smiled shyly at Li's father and followed Chu Ci to leave.

"Sister Can, your uncle, aunt, and younger brother, please continue eating. I won't disturb you any longer!"

As she spoke, she took Chu Ci's hand and returned to the office.

Watching her leave, Mr. Li thought for a moment and realized that he didn't know anyone named "Min".

Most importantly, he cherishes the limited time he has with his daughter and doesn't want to think about anything else.

Li's mother wiped away her tears and smiled as she placed a piece of food into the bowl in front of Li Lecan.

“Come here, Can Can. Mom made all the dishes you loved when you were little. Try them and see if Mom’s cooking has changed.”

A bamboo incense stick was stuck in the bowl in front of Li Lecan, and wisps of smoke curled upwards.

With this cigarette, she can still eat the rice in her bowl.

After taking a bite of the meat slice covered in chili peppers, Li Lecan gasped for breath while nodding in satisfaction.

"Delicious! It tastes just like before!"

"Mom, I haven't had such a delicious meal in years!"

Li's mother was also happy, "Eat more if you like it!"

As she spoke, she also placed a piece of food on her son's plate.

"Xiao An, try Mom's cooking!"

Ang Lee was eating the food in his bowl when he was sweating profusely from the spiciness.

But she still nodded and said, "It's delicious! You can't get such delicious food anywhere else!"

Seeing that her younger brother didn't seem to have eaten much spicy food, Li Lecan offered him some milder options.

"This isn't spicy."

Ang Lee raised his eyes, his eyebrows curving into crescent moons.

"Okay, thank you, sister!"

The family was having a happy time together, and Chu Ci and Grandma were also having dinner with Xiao Min.

Since Grandma already knew, Chu Ci openly served food to Xiao Min.

Grandma was initially uncomfortable eating with a stick of incense in front of her, but she quickly got used to it.

Halfway through the meal, there was a sudden knock on the office door.

Chu Ci stood up. "Please come in."

Li Lecan's mother stood at the door and smiled shyly at the people inside.

He tentatively asked, "Um... Master Chu, could you take a picture of our family?"

Although she was smiling, there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

"The incense is almost burned out, and we want to take a picture together."

"Of course, no problem," Chu Ci readily agreed.

In order to capture Lee Le-chan in person, she had to stand behind Lee Le-chan and take the picture in front of a mirror.

When she stood in the spot designated by Li Lecan's mother, she discovered that there was a video camera that was not too small.

Mr. Li explained, "We borrowed this from a video recorder store when we moved our things over."

"After all, this is the only time we've had a family reunion dinner, and Can Can's mom and I wanted to take a picture of it."

Chu Ci nodded knowingly and quickly got to taking photos of the family.

Li Lecan and Li An sat in the middle, with their parents sitting on either side of them. Inevitably, Chu Ci's image appeared in the mirror.

"321... Eggplant!"

Chu Ci pressed the camera button, capturing the image of the family of four forever.

The remaining time is still reserved for the family of four.

Chu Ci returned to his office and finished his meal, coughing incessantly towards the end.

Grandma quickly offered her water, saying, "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

She smiled at her granddaughter, "You like spicy food, I know there are two restaurants in Kowloon that specialize in Sichuan cuisine."

"Let the family of four get to know each other better tomorrow, and I'll take you out to eat!"

Chu Ci's eyes lit up. "There are restaurants that specialize in Sichuan cuisine?"

Grandma: "Of course. In the past, when things were so chaotic, how many people were native Hong Kongers?"

"Most of them are refugees who came here and gradually settled down."

"Not only Sichuan cuisine, but also Shandong, Hunan, and Henan cuisine restaurants are open!"

Seeing that Chu Ci had finished her meal, Grandma handed her a tissue to wipe her mouth.

She scolded playfully, "If you liked spicy food, you should have said so earlier. Grandma would have taken you there already."

"It's alright," Chu Ci smiled. "I'm not picky about food."

Grandma said, "When it comes to food, you should always eat what you like!"

After finishing their meal, Chu Ci handed the keys to Li Lecan's mother.

"You can rest here tonight."

Li Lecan's mother took the keys and looked at Chu Ci with gratitude in her eyes.

"Master, don't worry, we won't mess things up."

"I believe in you."

Chu Ci smiled and pointed to Li Lecan behind her.

"You have hostages in my hands!"

Li Lecan grinned, revealing a set of small white teeth.

The family of four chatted at the psychic table that night and didn't sleep a wink.

The next morning, Mr. Li went to the morning market early to buy ingredients and cooked porridge for his daughter when he got back.

After making the porridge, I planned to deliver a portion to Chu Ci and her grandson, when I happened to run into Grandma who was going downstairs to buy breakfast.

Grandma carried the bowl upstairs, beaming with joy as soon as she entered.

"Look, Can Can's parents cooked porridge for us."

She smiled and placed the things on the table, then briskly went to the kitchen to get a spoon.

When Chu Ci came out after washing up, a fragrance wafted in the air.

"Wow, it smells so good!"

Hearing her grandmother humming a little tune, she smiled and asked, "Grandma, are you in a good mood?"

"Yes, receiving a gift first thing in the morning makes me happy all day!"

She pointed to the two bowls of porridge on the table, laden with ingredients, her eyes and brows full of smiles.

Yesterday, I saw my granddaughter hand the shop keys to a stranger, which she disagreed with.

After all, there are limits to helping others! Although her parents wouldn't do anything because of Li Lecan's presence.

But where can you just hand over the shop keys to someone?

But after receiving this "thank you gift," she felt that Li Lecan's parents were very kind.

She was quite happy to be able to help this middle-aged couple who had lost their daughter.

Chu Ci smiled and sat down, taking a sip of porridge.

I couldn't help but sigh, "This porridge is delicious!"

Grandma took a bite and kept nodding in approval.

"Yes, Can Can's mom's cooking is really good!"

They can even open shops now!

Xiaomin didn't want to disturb Li Lecan's family, so she went upstairs to sleep with Chu Ci.

Seeing Chu Ci and Grandma drinking so happily, she looked on longingly:

"Master, may I try some?"

Chu Ci handed her a small bowl, and the three of them drank it with relish.

Black beans also joined in the fun.

Meow~

I want to try it too!

Seeing the black bean come closer, Grandma scooped it up.

She touched his soft belly and, after confirming that the stretched belly had shrunk, breathed a sigh of relief.

Poke its little nose, "Why are you so greedy!"

Meow~

Black Bean rubbed against her hand, then turned and stuck its head into the bowl.

"Hey! Black Bean! Grandma's getting you a spoon, don't dart into the bowl!"

After all that fuss with the black beans, breakfast suddenly became a bit chaotic.

After finally finishing breakfast, Chu Ci saw Xiao Min leaning against the windowsill, lost in thought, so he went over and patted her on the shoulder.

What are you thinking about?

Xiaomin was startled, and upon hearing her question, she managed a weak smile.

She lowered her head and sighed almost imperceptibly.

"I've been a ghost with Sister Can for so many years, and she's about to leave. I'm a little reluctant to see her go..."

But actually, besides feeling reluctant to part with it, she was also a little envious.

Sister Can is already saying goodbye to her parents and is about to be reincarnated; she doesn't even know her own surname.

He was fiddling with the hem of his clothes when he suddenly heard Chu Ci say:

"I gave your school uniform to the police before, but there's still no result in the last two days."

"I'll call and urge them!"

Xiaomin: "!! Thank you, Master!"

Her eyes lit up, and she followed Chu Ci to the phone.

As Chu Ci opened the phone book and started making a call, she lay to the side, looking on with anticipation.

The call was answered immediately by Ji Jingtong.

When Chu Ci mentioned school uniforms, Ji Jingtong paused for a moment.

“Master Chu, yesterday there was a case from ten years ago that caused quite a stir within our police station involving Inspector Wu.”

"The victim's name is Li Lecan. He was a student at Mingguang School ten years ago. Are you aware of this?"

Chu Ci glanced at Xiao Min, who also looked puzzled.

Weren't we talking about her school uniform? How did we get involved with Sister Chan's stuff?

Chu Ci: "I know. But what does this have to do with school uniforms?"

There was a moment of silence on Ji Jingtong's end.

"Master, after our investigation, the school uniform you asked me to look into belongs to one of the students in Mingguang School."

"Due to quality issues, that style of school uniform was only changed for one class, making it easy to identify students."

Xiaomin's eyes lit up immediately, and she excitedly grabbed Chuci's hand.

"Master, have you also found my parents?!"

“But…” Ji Jingtong’s tone changed abruptly on the phone.

"There was indeed a student named 'Min' in that year's class, but she did not pass away."

Chu Ci: "..."

She glanced at Xiaomin, whose eyes were full of doubt and disbelief.

She looked up at Chu Ci, her pupils trembling, her eyes filled with panic and fear.

His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

If that student named "Min" didn't die, then... who is she?