Hearing the words "Fox Clan Charm Pearl," Zhou Tong was at a loss. "Fox Clan? You mean fox yao... I mean, fox fairy? Like the fox fairy's inner elixir from novels?"
Gu Wang explained, "The charm bead is different from the inner elixir. The inner elixir is formed by the fox clan's cultivation and can be obtained as long as they practice. The charm bead is innate. Only a very small number of foxes are born with the charm bead."
He also gave an example, "Have you heard of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'? Jia Baoyu was born with a magical jade in his mouth. A fox with a charm pearl is almost the Jia Baoyu of the fox clan."
Zhou Tong and Chang Xu: "..."
Gu Wang continued, "Everyone loves the Charming Pearl when they see it. The Fox Clan uses it to cultivate their own Charming Arts, and it is their most precious treasure. However, if it falls into the hands of someone who doesn't know how to cultivate, it will only attract those who are powerless against lust."
Zhou Tong felt the same way and thought to herself, that's right, look at the people she attracted: the second generation of rich people who only knew how to fight and go to bars, the arrogant straight men with cancer, the men with kidney deficiency who asked people to go to hotels all day long... Not to mention that she was scared to have a relationship, even if she wanted to, she would not look down on these people!
But the guy next to him, Zhou Tong glanced at Chang Xu, wondering what was wrong with him.
Zhou Tong: "Why is such a precious treasure in my possession? I really don't know anything!"
Gu Wang didn't know the whole story, and he didn't dare to help her take it out, so he asked, "Before you became so popular, did you have any interactions with strange people or animals?"
Zhou Tong: "Before that, I was still a senior in high school. I only went between home and school every day, so I definitely didn't see any strange people. As for animals..." She thought to herself, it had been so long that she couldn't remember.
Chang Xu was anxious beside him and couldn't help but say, "Didn't you rescue a stray cat last May, before the college entrance examination? It was a white, very beautiful cat. You fished it out of the lake in the rain."
Zhou Tong clapped her hands, "Ah! Right!" Then she asked in confusion, "How did you know?"
Chang Xu stammered, "I went to the same high school as you."
"Is that so?" Zhou Tong didn't ask any more questions and explained to Gu Wang, "There's a small park next to our high school with a small artificial lake. During lunch break, I go to the lake to memorize my lessons."
"It was drizzling that day. When I got to the lake, I saw a tiny kitten floating on the water, struggling and crying miserably. I could swim, so I jumped in and fished it out."
"Later, I used my coat to build a nest for it and left some food there, then I left it alone. But when I went back the next day, it was gone. I thought its mother had taken it away."
At this point, she wrinkled her nose, "Could this charm be something it left for me? How could this little guy repay kindness with hatred?"
Gu Wang felt that this was not impossible. If the little white cat was a newborn fox and was born with a charm bead, it would not be difficult to understand why the little guy wanted to repay his benefactor after being rescued and gave the charm bead to his benefactor.
But this matter still needed to be verified. He asked, "Where is your high school? We need to go to the artificial lake to check it out."
Zhou Tong immediately said, "I'm a local, and our high school is just east of Yaoguang City!"
What else was there to say? They immediately took a taxi and headed straight to the small park next to the Third Middle School.
It was already seven o'clock in the evening when we arrived, but there were not many people in the small park.
Zhou Tong brought the two of them to the artificial lake with familiarity. Gu Wang could feel the waves of yin energy coming out of the lake without even opening his Yin Eyes.
He was puzzled. Aren't they talking about the fox tribe? Why is there a yin creature here?
He had opened his Yin Eye for too long today, and the Yin Qi in his body became a little agitated. He didn't dare to open it again, so he could only find a way to force the other party out.
Thinking of this, Gu Wang pinched his fingers and chanted a spell: "Water demons will not be born, Yin benefits all things, rise!"
However, there was no movement around.
Gu Wang raised his eyebrows. This was a spell specifically used to drive away water ghosts. It was impossible for it to have no effect at all. Could there be something else in it?
He asked the two people beside him who were confused and felt the horror, "There are always some horror stories circulating among students, right? Are there any about this small park?"
Zhou Tong: "Ah, I don't know..." She was busy studying in high school.
Chang Xu scratched his head and asked, "What do you want to hear?"
Gu Wang: "About this artificial lake, or someone's death?"
Chang Xu thought for a moment, "This small park wasn't built long ago, so there aren't many legends about it. Regarding the dead... ah, I remember now!"
He said, "I heard from students two years ahead of us that when the small park was first built, a girl came in the middle of the night and hanged herself. After that, the park was closed for several months."
"It's said the girl was forced to death. Her family didn't come to collect her body, so her friends took care of the funeral. Later, the park paid her family tens of thousands of yuan in compensation."
Zhou Tong looked reluctant at first, but then became confused. "You mean, the girl's family didn't come to collect the body, but came to ask for money?"
Chang Xu nodded affirmatively. "The people at the park probably thought it was weird too, so they kept the news secret. I heard many people saw it. When they were collecting the bodies, several young girls were crying by the lake. And when they were asking for money, the old family showed up."
Zhou Tong said angrily: "How can there be such a family!"
There were slight ripples on the surface of the lake, and Gu Wang glanced at it calmly.
Chang Xu continued, "Later, that family was severely criticized. It was said that they wanted to buy a house for their son and accepted over 100,000 yuan in betrothal gifts from others, hoping to marry their daughter off. The daughter disagreed, and after being pressured for several months, she finally couldn't bear it anymore and hanged herself."
"After the incident was exposed, the family was considered dead in this city and moved away quickly not long after."
Zhou Tong was genuinely angry, "I don't want a family like this!"
The waves on the lake were getting bigger and bigger. Gu Wang saw the right moment and made a gesture, "The net of heaven will not leak, the net of earth will not be loose, collect!"
With a scream, a female ghost wrapped in a golden silk net was thrown out.
Chang Xu was so scared that he took a few steps back. He immediately reacted and blocked Zhou Tong behind him. "Oh my god, there really is a ghost! Ahhh——"
Gu Wang was helpless, "Keep your voice down!" He turned to look at the female ghost, "Don't be afraid, we are not here to cause trouble, we just want to ask you a question."
Unexpectedly, the female ghost was very calm, even a little surprised. She couldn't wait to take a few deep breaths and said, "What do you want to ask? Tell me."
Gu Wang: "Are you the hanged ghost you were talking about? Why are you in the lake?"
The female ghost slapped her thigh and said, "You still ask me! I was hanging on the tree and it was fine, but those people cut down the forest and turned it into an artificial lake. Now I, a hanged ghost, have no choice but to become a water ghost!"
"I can't walk, and I can't swim, so I'm drowning and bubbling in the lake every day!"
Gu Wang: “…” That sounds so miserable.
Zhou Tong exclaimed, "The day I rescued the kitten, I saw bubbles coming out of the center of the lake. Could it be you?"
The ghost girl was intoxicated by the fresh air. Upon hearing this, she slapped her thigh again. "That's right! I'm drowned every day and it's unbearable, so I thought of finding a replacement. This little girl," she pointed at Zhou Tong, "comes here every day, so I thought she'd be the one."
"I gathered my magic power for a few days and created the illusion of a kitten falling into the water, luring her into the lake. But..." She smacked her lips, "This little girl was too desperate. I pulled the kitten into the lake, and she swam in without hesitation."
"I also had a cat before I died, and I don't know what happened to it now. I thought that if there was one more person in the world who loved cats, my stupid cat might live a better life. So I softened my heart and let her go."
Gu Wang: "Fortunately you stopped. The Hades have changed their order now. Even if you are looking for a substitute, you will be punished if you harm others."
The female ghost breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could laugh, she heard Zhou Tong say, "Well, I'm the swimming champion of the children's group in Yaoguang City. I can swim three laps in this small lake..." She wasn't so reckless.
Female ghost: "..." She said expressionlessly: "I'm sorry, we landlubbers don't understand these things."
Zhou Tong: "No, it's okay."
The female ghost glanced at Chang Xu again and said, "This silly boy always comes here to wait for that girl, so I thought I could find him. So I gathered my ghost power for a few days and created the illusion of this little girl walking into the lake."
"Who knew this guy would be even more desperate, swimming all the way to the center of the lake. All of a sudden I remembered all those couples I loved back then, and I softened my heart and let him go." The female ghost slapped her thigh again, "No one has come here since then! I regret it!"
Chang Xu opened his mouth and said weakly, "Well, I'm the runner-up in the Yaoguang City Children's Swimming Group..."
Female ghost: "..." Shit! Are these young lovers here to bring bad luck to her?
Zhou Tong was stunned. "In the same class as me? I remember the runner-up was called Jiuyang or something..."
Chang Xu: "That's me. I changed my name after entering high school under threat of death."
Zhou Tong couldn't help but laugh, thinking that this boy was quite interesting and a nice person. But when she thought that he liked her because of Meizhu, she sighed.
Gu Wang coughed lightly and asked the ghost girl, "Do you know anything about the charm beads on her body?"
The ghost girl said, "I only know that one day she suddenly had a charm bead on her body, but I didn't pay much attention to it. She was just an ordinary person anyway. She couldn't see me anyway."
Gu Wang asked, "Which specific day?"
Female ghost: "It was last spring, the peach blossoms had just finished blooming, I don't know the date. Oh, right, the kids from the school next door were really loud that day, playing music and stuff, I could hear it all."
Zhou Tong and Chang Xu looked at each other and said, "Sports meeting!"
Zhou Tong quickly said, "Every year on April 16th, our school holds a sports meet. We all remember it!"
Gu Wang asked, "Where were you during those days? Did you encounter anything strange?"
Zhou Tong: "I was running back and forth between school and home... No, now I remember, I was staying at my great aunt's house during those days."
She explained: "My great aunt loved me very much. During that period, she called me every day and asked me to come over, saying that she missed me. So I took advantage of the sports meeting to stay with her for a few days."
Gu Wang said decisively, "Lead the way." He took out a requiem bottle and said to the ghost, "Your obsession has not yet dissipated and you cannot reincarnate. Do you want to come with me?"
The female ghost said: "As long as I don't stay at the bottom of this broken lake, I can go anywhere." Then she turned into green smoke and entered the bottle.
She couldn't walk by herself and had to wait for someone to take her out.
Zhou Tong brought the two of them to an old residential complex. "My great aunt is not related to us by blood. She has never been married and has no children. She has always lived here. But she is very popular and people often come to see her."
"She loved me and my mother very much. She treated my mother as her own daughter and me like her own granddaughter. But she passed away not long after I finished the college entrance examination. The key to the house is with me, but I was afraid of being sad, so I never came to see her." As she spoke, a hint of sadness appeared on her face.
When he opened the door, the room was tidy, but Gu Wang smelled a faint evil aura that was about to dissipate.
The author has something to say:
Chang Xu, also known by his courtesy name Jiuyang and pseudonym Bushi, is a Buddhist monk.
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