I yelled and hurriedly reached out to block Hu Ergou's seal, saying urgently, "Uncle Hu, he is also very pitiful. Please let him go and send him away so that he can be reincarnated as soon as possible."

Hu Ergou frowned and looked at me, saying, "Changming, this infant spirit is no benevolent being. Have you considered the consequences if it returns to this child's body?"

“Uncle Hu, I know all this, but why can’t we give him a chance? He didn’t mean to hurt Xiaohui.” I held Hu Ergou’s hand tightly and pleaded with him earnestly.

Hu Ergou glanced at me, then looked at Zhong Lingui and slowly asked, "You make the decision?"

"I..." Zhong Lingui's eyes darted around uncertainly, unsure of what to do.

"Master Hu, please send him away."

Just then, Lin Xiaoxue's voice rang out from outside the door. The door opened, and Lin Xiaoxue walked in, her face streaked with tears. Looking at the infant spirit with the talisman attached, she said, "Child, may you be reincarnated soon. I hope you find a good family in your next life. I wasn't a good mother..."

As Lin Xiaoxue was speaking, she couldn't continue. She covered her mouth with her hand, burst into tears, and ran out.

Zhong Lingui had clenched his fist at some point, then slowly relaxed it, sighed, and said, "Master Hu, send him away."

"Are you sure?" Hu Ergou frowned and asked Zhong Lingui seriously.

“Yes, Changming is right. He didn’t mean to hurt Xiaohui.” Zhong Lingui nodded gently, then slumped down on the edge of the bed as if all her strength had been drained.

"good."

Hu Ergou agreed, grabbed the infant spirit, and walked towards the door.

I patted Zhong Lingui on the shoulder and followed Hu Ergou.

I followed Hu Ergou to a crossroads outside Zhong Lingui's house and saw Hu Ergou place the infant spirit on a banana tree by the roadside.

“Little ghost, this family wants me to send you away. If you truly love your brother, then don’t linger in this world any longer. We are now separated by life and death. Take care.” After Hu Ergou finished speaking, he chanted incomprehensible incantations to the infant spirit and then tore off the talisman from its body.

After the infant spirit broke free from its restraints, it first glanced at Hu Ergou, then at me, and finally at the direction of Zhong Lingui's house. Then, its body slowly dissipated and disappeared into the air in an instant, leaving not a speck of dust, as if it had never existed.

“His obsession has vanished; he has left.” Hu Ergou glanced at the spot where the infant spirit had disappeared and said slowly.

"Let's go," Tong Liu said softly, patting my shoulder as he walked up.

"Um."

I nodded, turned around and followed Hu Ergou and the others toward Zhong Lingui's house, hoping that the infant spirit could cross the bridge smoothly and live a happy life in the next life.

When we returned to Zhong Lingui's house, Hu Ergou told Zhong Lingui that the infant spirit had left and would not return. He asked him to buy some things for Xiaohui to nourish his body, and that he would be fine in a few days.

Zhong Lingui nodded, placed the prepared red envelope in Hu Ergou's hand, and then took a look at it.

Judging from the thickness of the red envelope, it must be at least a thousand yuan, but I won't ask for the exact amount, nor do I want to.

At that moment, what I was thinking was whether Zhong Lingui and Lin Xiaoxue's relationship would break down, and whether I should try to persuade them.

Hu Ergou packed his things, said goodbye to Zhong Lingui, and then walked out with Tong Liu and Hu Tudao.

I sighed and decided to go back to the courier station. As an outsider, I really couldn't say anything about other people's family matters, and I didn't know what to say. But as a colleague and friend, I just hoped they were doing well.

"Changming, wait a moment."

I had only taken two steps when Zhong Lingui called out to me.

I stopped, turned around and looked at Zhong Lingui, saying nothing, my expression full of questions.

"Have a drink with me tonight," Zhong Lingui said softly.

"Okay." I nodded in agreement, sat down on the sofa opposite Zhong Lingui, and handed him a cigarette.

Zhong Lingui took the cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and then slowly exhaled. Looking at me, she asked softly, "Changming, what should I do?"

"I..." I hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer. Should I tell him to pretend it never happened?

But what if it were you in that situation?

Would I accept it?

I imagined myself as Zhong Lingui and asked myself what to do, but suddenly I felt so confused that I didn't even know what to do.

We all fell silent, and no one spoke.

After a long while, I seemed to have figured something out, and looked at Zhong Lingui and said, "Brother Zhong, if you don't know, let your wife explain it to you. Before you got married, your wife was free, and maybe she had some difficulties."

This is the only answer I can give Zhong Lingui. I hope they can continue to live well, for their own sake and for their son's sake, and not make any foolish decisions.

Zhong Lingui suddenly looked up at Xiang, as if she had made up her mind, nodded heavily, and said, "Changming, thank you, I know what to do."

"Well, it's good that you've come to your senses. There's no need to drink anymore, you know I can't hold my liquor. I should go back now. I hope we can still be colleagues." I stood up, nodded to Zhong Lingui, and headed back to the courier station.

“Okay, I’ll see you off.” Zhong Lingui also stood up and followed behind me.

With Zhong Lingui watching me go, I rode my electric bike toward the courier station.

As for what will happen to Zhong Lingui and Lin Xiaoxue in the end, that depends entirely on them.

As an outsider, there's nothing I can do to help or help.

I just hope they can be alright.

On the way back, something occurred to me, so I parked the car on the side of the road, took out my phone, and sent a WeChat message to Tong Liu and Hu Tudao respectively.

The message was simple: they were told not to spread the word about what happened today. After all, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast, especially gossip that village women love to discuss.

After sending the message, I was about to put my phone in my pocket when it rang.

I picked it up and saw that it was An Lili calling.

"Hello, Lili," I answered the phone and whispered into my ear.

"Changming, where are you?" An Lili's voice came from the phone.

"I just went out for a late-night snack and I'm going back now. Is there anything I can do for you?" I didn't tell An Lili about what happened tonight, so she wouldn't ask me any more questions and I wouldn't know how to answer.

"What, can't I call you if there's nothing wrong?"

"Um...no, I just asked out of habit." I was a little embarrassed. To be honest, I really wanted to keep some distance from An Lili, but lately I felt like I was getting closer and closer to her.

"Okay, it's nothing. You go back and rest first. Good night, bye." After An Lili finished speaking, she hung up the phone without giving me a chance to say good night.

I touched my nose, put away my phone, and continued on my way back.