Xiao Zhuo opened her eyes, looking at Xie Huaiye standing in front of her, her little face full of confusion:

"Brother, why are your clothes so torn? Did you get into a fight?"

Xie Huaiye was taken aback by his question, looked down at his torn clothes, and quickly waved his hand:

"No fight, no fight. It's just that some bad guy came and tried to bully us. It was this big sister."

He pointed to Yan Ning beside him, "She chased away the bad guys and woke you up."

Following the direction her brother pointed, Xiao Zhu saw Yan Ning.

He immediately grinned and said in a clear voice, "Thank you, big sister! Wow, you're so amazing!"

Yan Ning patted the dust off his clothes, and smiled a little embarrassedly when he heard Xiao Zhu thank him:

"Hey, it's no trouble at all, don't mention it."

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, indicating that there were quite a few people there.

Leading the way in was Xie Heng, Xiao Zhuo and Xie Huaiye's father.

He was sweating profusely with anxiety, with Pei Shengwu following closely behind him.

Next to Pei Shengwu was a man wearing a yellow robe and a Taoist hat.

As Xie Heng walked inside, he said to the man in the yellow robe:

"Master Huang, you've finally arrived! I was so worried! My son, Xiao Zhuo, is in terrible condition. You absolutely have to save him!"

"Money is no object, just ask!"

Master Huang stroked his sparse beard with a pretentious air and said slowly:

"Don't worry, Boss Xie, leave it to me! Exorcising evil spirits is my specialty!"

Xie Heng rushed to the door in a panic and found that the door was actually open.

He quickly glanced inside and found his son, Xie Huaiye, there, along with a little girl he didn't recognize.

Xiao Zhuo, who was originally listless due to illness, was standing perfectly fine in the middle of the room.

The floor was a mess, tables and chairs were overturned, and there was an indescribable strange smell.

"Huaiye, why is the door open?"

Xie Heng was both anxious and angry, and asked Xie Huaiye, "Didn't I say that no one is allowed to come in? Xiao Zhu can't see outsiders right now!"

He was so anxious that he didn't notice that Xiao Zhuo was quiet and didn't seem sick at all.

Xiao Zhuo was overjoyed to see her father come in, and called out in a clear and bright voice:

"Dad, my head doesn't hurt anymore, and I feel so much better!"

"alright?"

Xie Heng could hardly believe his ears. He quickly squatted down, cupped Xiao Zhuo's face, and looked at it carefully.

Xiao Zhuo's face was rosy and her eyes were bright; she looked nothing like her previous sickly and pitiful self.

"What happened? How did it suddenly get better?" He looked at Xie Huaiye with a blank expression.

Xie Huaiye breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at Yan Ning, saying, "Dad, it was this Miss Yan Ning who saved Xiao Zhuo, just a moment ago."

"Yan Ning?"

Xie Heng then turned his gaze entirely to Yan Ning, looking her up and down:

"Oh, you're that young lady from the Su family, the one who knows a bit about fortune telling and face reading?"

Yan Ning nodded generously: "Yes, Uncle Xie, it's me."

Before Xie Heng could ask any more questions, Pei Shengwu, who was standing next to him, became a little anxious.

He quickly gave that Master Huang a wink.

Master Huang immediately understood, coughed dramatically, stepped in front of Xiao Zhuo, and reached out to grab Xiao Zhuo's arm:

"Oh dear, Boss Xie, don't rush, don't rush. Let me take a look first. This evil thing isn't so easy to get rid of!"

He pried open Xiao Zhuo's eyelids and peeked inside, then touched and pressed all over Xiao Zhuo's body, before suddenly slapping his thigh and pointing at Xiao Zhuo, saying:

"Oh no, this is terrible! There's still some dark energy left in the young master's body!"

"This is a deep-seated evil spirit, very powerful. If we don't get rid of it quickly, it could be life-threatening!"

His shout made Xie Heng's heart, which had just settled down, jump again:

"There's still black energy? What should we do then?"

Master Huang cleared his throat, striking a pose as if he knew his stuff:

"I must set up an altar, perform a ritual, burn incense, and invite the gods. This must be done every day for a full forty-nine days to completely eradicate this evil root."

"During this period, we must offer the finest incense and candles every day, and the sacrificial offerings of chicken, duck, fish, and meat are indispensable, as well as..."

"puff--!"

Master Huang was counting on his fingers how much stuff he needed when a loud sneer suddenly interrupted him.

Everyone turned to look.

Yan Ning stood there with his arms crossed, looking at Master Huang with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm talking about this Master Huang."

Yan Ning spoke, her voice clear and bright, carrying an undisguised mockery:

"Are you putting on a grand opera here? Forty-nine days in a row, do you think you're Laozi from Journey to the West, refining elixirs of immortality?"

Master Huang blushed, speechless, and said stiffly:

"What do you know, you little brat! I've been in the martial world for so many years, how could I be wrong? There's still dark energy in the young master's body!"

"Are you sure you can tell?"

Yan Ning raised an eyebrow, took two steps forward, and stood directly opposite Master Huang.

Her eyes were as sharp as knives as she stared directly at Master Huang:

"Alright, then tell me, how many strands of black energy are left in Xiao Zhuo's body? Where are they hidden, and what color are they? Are they thick or thin?"

She rattled off a string of technical questions.

"Uh... this..."

Master Huang was taken aback by her question; his eyes began to dart around, and sweat started to bead on his forehead.

"This black aura is invisible and intangible, naturally it is what this humble Taoist sensed through years of cultivation!"

"induction?"

Yan Ning scoffed, showing no respect whatsoever, "I think you're just guessing. When I was dealing with that bastard, I casually absorbed eighty or ninety percent of the yin energy in Xiao Zhuo's body!"

“I drew him a proper amulet to wear, and if he eats and sleeps well, he will disappear on his own in a few days.”

"Is it really necessary for you to set up a table here and slaughter chickens and ducks, making such a fuss for over a month?"

"I think you're money-mad. Forty-nine days? You think you can just stay here and freeload off us?"

"You, at such a young age, are talking nonsense!"

Master Huang was so angry that his beard stood on end and his face turned as red as a pig's liver.

"I was just trying to help someone, and you dare to slander me! Mr. Xie, please look at her..."

"Kindness?"

Yan Ning's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he suddenly attacked with astonishing speed.

She pulled a yellow paper talisman that she hadn't had time to use from Master Huang's wide sleeve.

The talisman paper looked cheap, with crooked red lines drawn on it.

Yan Ning held the tattered talisman between two fingers and raised it in front of Xie Heng:

"Come, come, Uncle Xie, take a good look at the treasure of the master you invited!"

"These talismans can be bought for two yuan a stack at a street stall. They're drawn like scribbles, they have no real skill at all!"

"This thing won't even drive away bad things. If you stick it on the door of the chicken coop, the chickens will think it's ugly and stop laying eggs!"