Chapter 188 Everyone calls her Achan
After leaving the Lin family, Achan returned to Changpingfang.
Just as Chen Hui was about to ask her how she was getting along with the Lin family, she saw A Chan head straight to the backyard, and as soon as she entered the house, she started rummaging through the box containing the silver coins.
Seeing Ah Chan come out with a silver note of about a thousand taels, Chen Hui asked suspiciously, "What are you doing with so much money? Is the Lin family in financial straits?"
Ah Chan put the silver notes into her money bag and said to Chen Hui, "The Lin family is living a good life. I'm going to the West Market later."
Chen Hui's expression hardened. Every time A Chan went to the West Market, it meant that something was about to happen.
"Is there something wrong with the Lin family?"
"It's not certain yet, but there are definitely unclean things there. I suspect it's a demon."
Ghosts and some demons can influence people's dreams or manipulate their bodies. Lin Wenjing's appearance at the time did not seem like he was possessed by a ghost. Moreover, ordinary ghosts do not have such great abilities during the day. Even if they do, they would leak out yin energy, but there was nothing unusual at the time.
Achan took off the white tortoise shell pendant from her waist and handed it to Chen Hui. Chen Hui took it and saw a crack on the originally intact white tortoise shell.
The crack is slowly healing; at this rate, it won't be fully restored until at least tonight.
"This is……"
"The thing I encountered was quite hostile towards me; it was probably coming for me." If it wasn't hostile towards her, the tortoise shell wouldn't have given any warning, since it didn't react at all when Hui Niang held it.
She first needs to figure out the whereabouts and purpose of that thing.
Chen Hui accompanied A Chan to the West Market. A Chan bought a pot of Migu tree sap, a piece of toad venom from the Toad-Swallowing Toad, and a small piece of black pine resin at the hunting shop.
She originally wanted to buy a live Qinggeng bird, but the hunting shop owner said that this kind of bird needs to be caught on the spot and it would take at least five days to be delivered. Achan could only leave a deposit before leaving.
After returning home, Achan got busy. She had to go to the Lin family tomorrow, so she needed to finish making the food tonight.
She first poured the sap of the mulberry tree into a small dish, then added the pine resin from the black needle pine. In less than half an hour, the pine resin had completely dissolved, carrying a very faint pine scent.
This smell is very peculiar; once it blends with demonic energy, the demons can no longer smell it.
This smell will linger on them for months. The Green-Ploughing Birds love to eat pine nuts from black needle pines and are very sensitive to this smell, especially the pine oil smell that has been tainted by demonic energy, which they find completely irresistible.
In the past, the Wu tribe used the resin of black needle pine to mark prey that could not be hunted immediately, and then used the blue-eyed plough bird to guide them to hunt it later.
Then, Achan crushed the toad venom and poured it into the pine oil. Soon, the pine oil dissolved into the toad venom, leaving only a layer of black mud in the small dish.
She kneaded the black mud into pea-sized pieces and placed them in a clean porcelain dish to air dry.
This thing is a bit crudely made, but it works well. If the Lin family really is hiding a demon, she will be able to catch it soon.
The next morning, Achan placed the fragrant pills she had made the day before into a specially prepared hollowed-out sachet, and hung it on her waist along with the intact white worm shell.
At roughly the same time as yesterday, Achan arrived at the Lin family's residence.
Knowing that Achan was coming today, a maid was waiting at the door early in the morning.
The maidservant, having likely received instructions from her master, greeted the person and took Achan directly to Old Master Lin's courtyard.
Upon entering the courtyard, Achan discovered that the Lin brothers, Chengli and Chengli, were standing guard at the door, their faces filled with worry.
Noticing Achan approaching, Lin Chenghe turned to her and gave her a slight smirk, his brows furrowed with anxiety, his voice a little hoarse: "Achan is here."
Achan glanced at the tightly closed door and asked, "Second Uncle, what's wrong? Did something happen to Grandpa?"
"Your grandfather suddenly fainted just now, and Master Lü is inside administering acupuncture."
Achan's eyes flickered slightly: "Master Lü also knows medicine?"
"Yes, thankfully Master Lü was there."
The three waited outside for about half an hour before the door finally opened and Master Lü came out.
Upon seeing Ah Chan, he nodded slightly to her, then said to the Lin brothers, "The old man has woken up, but he's not quite conscious and needs some time to recover."
"Thank you very much, Daoist Lü." Lin Chengli bowed to him with a grateful expression.
Before he could even bow, Master Lü raised his hand to stop him: "It's nothing, no need to be so polite. I'll go and brew some medicine for Old Master Lin first, you can go in first."
"Thank you for your trouble." Lin Chengli and Lin Chenghe, worried about Old Master Lin's health, hurriedly went into the room, and Achan followed behind them.
Master Lü stared at Achan's retreating figure for a while before turning and leaving.
Because Mr. Lin suddenly fell ill, all the windows in the room were closed, making the room stuffy and dimly lit.
Achan walked to the bedside and saw that Old Master Lin's eyes were slightly closed.
When he heard Lin Chengli calling him, his eyes twitched and his eyelids lifted.
He looked at his two sons by the bedside, his eyes somewhat unfocused, as if he hadn't yet recognized them. He just looked at them and uttered two "ahs" as if in response.
Because of Master Lü's instructions, the Lin brothers were not particularly nervous and stayed with him, talking to him.
Lin Chenghe turned to the side, making way for Achan who was standing to the side, and said to him, "Father, look, Achan came to see you today."
Grandpa Lin raised his head and looked at Achan.
"Grandpa," Achan called out to him.
After seeing Achan, Lin Hongxin stared at her for a long time, and then he tremblingly reached out his hand to her.
Seeing this, Lin Chenghe stepped aside, and Achan could only step forward and grasp the other's withered and rough hand.
"Yuenniang..." His voice was muffled, but Achan recognized that he was calling Lin's name.
"I'm here."
"You've come to see your father again. I'm so sorry." Old Master Lin held Achan's hand tightly and said, sobbing.
“You haven’t wronged me, I don’t blame you,” Achan continued, following his words.
But Old Master Lin didn't listen to Achan's words. He seemed to be immersed in his own thoughts, saying to himself, "It was all that beast Ji Heng who killed you. He also killed Achan. Father will definitely avenge you and Achan."
Upon hearing these words, the Lin brothers exchanged a glance and then looked at Achan.
"Grandfather?" Achan looked puzzled and confused. She lowered her eyes and looked at the tortoise shell hanging at her waist, where a mark had silently appeared.
After saying a few words, Old Master Lin seemed to have run out of strength and closed his eyes again.
The faint scent of pine emanating from the openwork sachet on Ah Chan's body wafted toward him, gradually calming the previously confused and agitated Old Master Lin.
No one in the room mentioned what Old Master Lin had said earlier. After a while, Master Lü came in carrying the prepared herbal medicine.
Lin Chengli helped the old man up and leaned him against him, while Lin Chenghe took the medicine bowl, scooped up a spoonful of medicine, blew on it, and fed it to the old man.
Seeing Ah Chan standing there, Master Lü said to her in a low voice, "Miss Ji, please sit down and rest."
Achan shook her head, her face full of worry: "Master Lü, what's wrong with my maternal grandfather? He just mistook me for my mother and said that I was murdered."
Master Lü looked at Achan and saw that her eyes were clear, but only filled with doubt and confusion. He looked away and said, "It's nothing serious, she'll recover soon, Miss Ji, there's no need to worry."
He told Ah Chan not to worry, but didn't say what illness Old Master Lin had.
Achan is now almost certain that the two incidents she encountered at the Lin family are inextricably linked to this Taoist Master Lü.
Master Lü didn't say anything, and Achan didn't press for details. She stared at Old Master Lin for a long while before looking away.
After feeding the old man a bowl of medicine, both Lin Chengli and his brother had sweat on their foreheads. They put the old man back on the bed and saw that he was breathing evenly and seemed to have fallen asleep again, so they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Once Old Master Lin wakes up, he should be fine. I won't disturb him any longer," Master Lü said to Lin Chengli.
Lin Chengli stood up again to express his gratitude, then looked at Achan with a hint of apology on his face: "I didn't expect such an accident to happen today. Your grandfather can't be left alone now, and your second uncle and I have to take care of him. Why don't you go home first, Achan? You can come and visit him another day when he has recovered, okay?"
Achan didn't agree immediately, but looked at Lin Hongxin, her tone hesitant: "But Grandpa..."
"Don't worry, your grandfather will be fine. Go back now."
Since the other party had already said so, Achan stopped refusing and nodded in agreement.
After seeing Achan off, Lin Cheng returned to find his elder brother sitting on a chair by the bed with a somber expression. He walked over, gently patted his brother's shoulder, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Chengli, seeing that it was his younger brother, invited him to sit down, then sighed, "Did you hear what Father just said?"
Lin Chenghe nodded: "Father is just talking nonsense."
Lin Chengli disagreed: "If he was just talking nonsense, how could he so clearly say that his younger sister was killed by Ji Heng?"
"Perhaps Father is still worried about his little sister?" Lin Chenghe still felt that this reason was a bit far-fetched.
“We didn’t tell Father about what happened yesterday. Even if we were worried about our little sister, we shouldn’t have thought about Achan.” Lin Chengli paused, then added, “I asked someone to inquire about the news yesterday, and we got a reply today.”
"How is it?" Lin Chenghe sat up straight.
After listening to Master Lü's words yesterday, his elder brother actually sent someone to inquire about the changes in Achan over the past year.
The results of the investigation shocked them; the current Achan and the niece they remembered were almost two completely different people.
In terms of both personality and interpersonal skills, Achan is now completely unlike a woman who grew up pampered in a boudoir. Even if she suffered a blow and matured overnight, she shouldn't have changed so drastically.
Because of Master Lü's reminder, his elder brother even asked someone to inquire whether Achan had experienced any accidents.
Seeing his younger brother's anxious expression, Lin Chengli said in a deep voice, "The letter says that Achan encountered a demonic calamity last year, but the case was suppressed by the Mingjing Division. Do you think it's possible..."
Lin Chengli couldn't continue speaking halfway through his sentence.
After all, Achan was the only child his sister had left in the world, and these were just guesses; he really didn't want to believe them.
Lin Chenghe remained silent.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Hongxin slowly woke up from his deep sleep.
He opened his eyes and saw his two sons sitting by the bedside. He spoke softly, "What's wrong with me?"
"You suddenly fainted this morning," Lin Chengli quickly replied, then asked, "Dad, how are you feeling now?"
"It's alright now." Old Master Lin frowned slightly, as if recalling what happened before he fainted. After a while, he said to his two sons, "I remember now, your sister appeared to me in a dream last night."
"What?" Both of them were startled.
"Yueniang told me that she was killed by Ji Heng and his mistress, and that... Achan was also killed by them and had her identity stolen." It was because he suddenly remembered this dream when he woke up that morning that he couldn't bear the shock and fainted.
"Perhaps this is just a coincidence?" Lin Chenghe's tone was becoming uncertain.
Is there really such a coincidence?
Could it be that the younger sister was worried that the family would be deceived by the current Achan, so she specially appeared in her father's dream?
Seeing that his two sons remained silent, Lin Hongxin said, "Why do you both look like that? Are you hiding something from me?"
Lin Chengli hesitated for a moment before telling him about Lin Wenjing's matter yesterday, and then recounted all the things he had investigated.
After listening, Lin Hongxin remained silent for a long time before saying, "I knew it. It's only been two years since I last saw her, why has that girl suddenly become so cold and polite?"
"Father, what should we do now?" Lin Chengli was also unsure.
Lin Chenghe suddenly said, "I don't think she seems to have any ill intentions towards us."
"How do you know what's hidden beneath Xiao Chan's skin? She may not mean us any harm; perhaps she's just trying to conceal her true identity."
Listening to his two sons arguing, Lin Hongxin said, "Please invite Master Lü over."
After his father gave the order, Lin Chenghe went to invite the person himself, and soon Master Lü arrived with him.
Upon seeing the awakened Old Master Lin, Master Lü nodded slightly to him.
Lin Hongxin didn't waste any time with pleasantries and asked directly, "Master Lü, is the matter of my granddaughter true?"
Master Lü said, "I dare not hide it. This Miss Ji does indeed have a problem, but I do not know exactly what it is. If we want to find out, it will surely alarm the other party, and then it will be difficult to handle."
"Does Master Lü have any suggestions?" Lin Hongxin asked again.
Master Lü pondered for a moment and said, "This matter is of great importance, and it is really not appropriate for me to interfere."
Seeing the disappointment on the faces of the Lin family father and sons, he continued, "I have heard that the Mingjing Bureau is strict in its laws and regulations, and that Lord Bai is even more righteous and hates evil, showing no mercy to demons and monsters. Why don't we report this matter to the Mingjing Bureau and let the officials there investigate? No matter what the investigation results are, they will be reliable."
Master Lü's suggestion was indeed reliable. The three of them discussed it for a long time, and finally Lin Chengli went to the Mingjing Division to report the case.
The Mingjing Division receives similar reports every day, which is not unusual. Usually, the subordinates will either ignore them or send someone to investigate.
However, the family member who was suspected of being possessed, as mentioned by the person who reported the case, was named Ji Chan, which made things very complicated.
The matter was quickly reported to Feng Yang, who was on duty that day. After looking at the report, Feng Yang finally took it to Bai Xiuming.
At this moment, Bai Xiuming was reading a secret letter sent from the Northern Wilderness.
He had just unfolded the letter when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
After Feng Yang entered, he first bowed to Bai Xiuming and then said, "Sir, today the yamen received a report from Lin Chengli, who said that his niece may have been possessed."
"Lin Chengli?" The name sounded familiar. Bai Xiuming suddenly frowned. "The Lin family who were exiled?"
"Yes." Feng Yang swallowed hard and answered truthfully, "Lin Chengli is Miss Ji's maternal uncle."
Therefore, the niece who was possessed by the other party must undoubtedly be Miss Ji.
The police report in his hand detailed Lin Chengli's various suspicions. To be honest, even he felt after reading it that the Ji Chan that Lin Chengli mentioned could not possibly be the same person as the Miss Ji he knew.
Seeing that his master had not responded for a long time, Feng Yang braced himself and stepped forward to hand over the police report.
"You can go out now."
"yes."
After Feng Yang left, Bai Xiuming picked up the police report. Lin Chengli didn't say anything extra, only that after returning to Beijing, he found that his niece seemed like a different person.
Below, she listed many of her changes and concluded by hoping that Mingjingsi could investigate and uncover the truth.
Bai Xiuming had known about these changes Lin Chengli mentioned for a long time, and he had once wanted to prove his suspicions. However, he later gave up on investigating further.
Bai Xiuming put the paper with the record aside and looked down at the letter on the table.
The letter said that four years ago, an extremely beautiful woman moved into the Northern Wilderness King's mansion. The Northern Wilderness King doted on her. A year ago, the woman disappeared, and the relationship between the Northern Wilderness King and his mother suddenly deteriorated.
The woman's identity was unknown, and she had no surname. All that was known was that everyone called her Achan, the "chan" in "chanm".
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