Chapter 69: An Ning, you have to change your name and hide from him forever...
This is not the day when your period should come.
It was probably because of the Chinese medicine that my period came earlier.
Fortunately, Lin Zhuyue had always kept a sanitary napkin in the lining of her handbag. She used it, changed her clothes, and straightened herself.
Ten minutes later, they found the car that came to pick them up.
It is a medium to large SUV.
The car's owner was Deng Jiayu, 39 years old, without makeup, sporting a neat, short hairstyle. She was a fairly accomplished spiritualist who had just completed a mission independently the day before and had rushed to Linxi City immediately afterward.
The trainee spiritualists boarded the car. Shi Can, having the longest legs, sat in the passenger seat. Lin Zhuyue, Wen Miyan, and Ye Yangjia made do with the back seat. Since the car was spacious, the three of them didn't feel uncomfortable.
After Shi Can looked at Deng Jiayu's ID, he asked:
"You seem to be born in the same year as An Zhexin?"
"Yes, we were born in the same year and entered the Spiritual Master Academy's Introductory Department in the same year. We were assigned to the same class in the Advanced Department and became partners. We carried out many missions together."
Deng Jiayu held the steering wheel and said,
"Although we changed partners after graduation, we still keep in touch regularly. I even attended little An Ning's 100-day celebration."
Later... later An Zhexin's time stopped forever, while Deng Jiayu kept moving forward. As time went by, she was already fourteen years ahead.
"It's getting late. I'll take you to the hotel first."
Deng Jiayu tilted her head slightly, looked at the time of 1:40 on the car system, and said,
"An Ning and her mother should have rested, and you should rest too. Let's meet again tomorrow when we wake up. Coincidentally, tomorrow is Saturday, and An Ning should be at home."
The hotel that Deng Jiayu booked for them was not far from An Ning's home. It was an old five-star hotel. The bed in the standard room was one and a half meters wide and came with a bathtub. The bathroom also had a one-way floor-to-ceiling window, so one could see the night view of the entire city while taking a bath.
Wen Miyan decided to take a bath before going to bed.
Lin Zhuyue was lying on the bed playing with her phone. After a while, she put it aside and closed her eyes to get ready for sleep. But not long after she closed her eyes, her phone dinged. A friend with the note "electric mosquito swatter" sent a message:
[Are you asleep? If not, come over and open the door.]
Lin Zhuyue got out of bed and walked quickly towards the door.
She opened the door and Shican was standing outside. He was holding a plastic bag with four packs of liquid sanitary napkins in it. They were all extra-long and very considerately sized.
Shican actually doesn’t know much about sizes, he just buys the more expensive ones, and longer sizes are more expensive than shorter ones.
Shi Can stuffed the bag into Lin Zhuyue's hand and turned away.
After a while, Wen Miyan came out of the bath. She heard Lin Zhuyue open the door in the bathroom, and asked casually, and then she learned that Shican went to Watsons to buy sanitary napkins in the middle of the night.
"That's quite considerate."
Wen Miyan applied hair care oil to her hair,
"Compared to him, Ye Yangjia is just a pig. When I was in first grade, I had a stomachache during my period and my face turned pale with pain. He bought me a bottle of ice water and told me to drink more water. I told him that I couldn't drink ice water during my period, and he asked me why not."
“Boys sometimes lack knowledge in this area.”
Lin Zhuyue took out the facial cleanser, toothpaste and toothbrush and said,
"After all, they don't have their periods..."
Wen Miyan complained:
"I really want to put my womb on them."
Lin Zhuyue raised his hands and feet to express his agreement.
Lin Zhuyue simply tidied herself up and returned to bed.
The next morning, Lin Zhuyue was woken up by Wen Miyan.
They slept very late, but because they had to visit An Ning and Du Jicui later, they couldn't get up too late.
Lin Zhuyue brushed her teeth and washed her face in a daze. After tidying herself up, she felt much more energetic.
She went to the buffet restaurant with Wen Miyan.
Shi Can, Ye Yangjia and Deng Jiayu were already in the restaurant.
Young Master Shi was fiddling with the crystal shrimp dumplings on the plate that he had taken a bite of. The shrimp dumpling skin was too thick and had a very astringent taste when chewed, making Shi Can feel very uncomfortable while eating.
However, Lin Zhuyue did not find the food too astringent. She thought the fillings were fresh and delicious. She ate five or six of them before moving on to the tripe and spareribs with fermented black beans.
After breakfast, Deng Jiayu drove with four trainee spiritualists to the residence of An Ning and Du Jicui. For ease of travel, Deng Jiayu booked a hotel close to An Ning's home, so it only took a short drive to get there.
The community where An Ning and Du Jicui live has a very good environment, with complete facilities and responsible property management. It is considered a mid- to high-end community in the local area.
Shi Can asked, "What does Du Jicui do for a living?"
Deng Jiayu knew quite a bit about this family's affairs and replied:
"I wasn't able to work a few years ago because I was taking care of An Ning. After An Ning started junior high school, she was tricked by her boyfriend into using money to open a small supermarket in a nearby old residential area. The income was average, but recently, business seems to be booming."
Lin Zhuyue asked doubtfully: "Boyfriend?"
Deng Jiayu nodded: "We've been dating for about five or six years."
Lin Zhuyue asked: "Not getting married?"
"Can't tie the knot."
Deng Jiayu described the situation of Du Jicui and An Ning.
"The Spiritual Master's Mansion said that An Ning will enjoy preferential treatment throughout her life, but if Du Jicui remarries, the Spiritual Master's Mansion will no longer give her preferential treatment after An Ning turns eighteen."
Lin Zhuyue was a little confused.
"Du Jicui's preferential treatment is based on her marriage to An Zhexin. Once she remarries, this marriage will no longer exist."
Wen Miyan explained to Lin Zhuyue,
"Also, if Du Jicui remarries, An Ning's life may be greatly affected. Between a widow and her children, the Spiritual Master's House always prioritizes protecting the children."
Lin Zhuyue nodded to show that he understood.
After parking the car in the residential complex, Deng Jiayu led the trainee spiritualists into the corridor and took the elevator to the 19th floor. After getting out of the elevator, Deng Jiayu rang the doorbell of Room 1901.
A woman's voice came from the door: "Who is it?"
"Deng Jiayu."
Footsteps came from inside the door, getting closer and closer. When the sound got close to the door, a "click" sound was heard and the door was opened.
Inside the door was a woman wearing an apron, her hands covered in flour.
Du Jicui's life is not going well. She and Deng Jiayu are about the same age, but Du Jicui looks tired from overwork and has none of the latter's spirit.
Deng Jiayu was stunned for a moment and asked, "Is An Ning not here?"
Deng Jiayu visited Linxi three or four times a year. Sometimes Du Jicui invited her in, but other times she was turned away. She could discern a pattern—Du Jicui didn't want a spiritualist like her to enter An Ning's life, so her access depended on whether An Ning was home.
"The school had several days off for the college entrance exam and the high school entrance exam a while ago, so we have to make up for it this weekend."
Du Jicui's face looked unhappy and she said,
"Come in, there are shoes in the closet, help yourself."
Lin Zhuyue frowned and tugged at Shi Can's sleeve.
Shi Can held Lin Zhuyue's hand: "I feel it."
From the moment the elevator reached this floor, Lin Zhuyue felt a foggy, chilly feeling in her surroundings, making her feel uncomfortable. When the door to Room 1901 opened, the chilliness intensified several times over, and she could see a dark cloud of air pouring out.
The spiritual masters came in one after another, changed into slippers at the door, and then went to sit in the living room.
Lin Zhuyue looked around, trying to determine the source of the black air.
Du Jicui washed her hands, poured hot water into the teapot, and asked:
"What are you looking at?"
"Ah, nothing."
Lin Zhuyue turned around and greeted Du Jicui.
"Hello, Auntie. My name is Lin Zhuyue... I think the people at the Spiritual Master's Mansion have told you about me."
Du Jicui's expression eased a little, and she replied:
“…I did.”
Du Jicui's technique in making tea was very crude and she had no skills. She placed the first cup of tea in front of Lin Zhuyue and then poured tea for others.
Lin Zhuyue picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Although the skills are not good, the tea is good and the brewed tea is still very fragrant.
After pouring the tea, Du Jicui asked:
"Does your mother agree with you becoming a spiritualist?"
"She disagreed at first because she felt it was dangerous."
Lin Zhuyue put down the cup and answered seriously,
"But later she compromised. Maybe she understood me, or maybe she was just trying to appease me."
Du Jicui asked, "Are you a willful child? You seem very well behaved."
Lin Zhuyue shook his head and said:
"I have a difficult situation."
Du Jicui asked again: "Is life difficult at home?"
"no."
Lin Zhuyue waved his hand and said,
“…My family is actually quite wealthy.”
Du Jicui felt very puzzled:
“I really can’t understand kids these days.”
After she finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the kitchen and said:
"You guys sit down for a while, have some tea, and eat something. I'll go make the dough rise first, otherwise the buns might not be ready when you come back at noon."
Du Jicui's words and actions all reveal that she is a very hard-working mother.
Lin Zhuyue asked, "Can we take a look inside the house?"
Du Jicui responded:
"Look, the house is a little messy, as long as you don't mind."
After obtaining consent, Lin Zhuyue took the compass and went straight to the room in the southeast corner.
The room was not very big, with a single bed inside, and a desk and chair next to the bed. There were many sticky notes on the wall in front of the desk, with words of encouragement written on them.
"Target Linxi No. 1 Middle School! Come on!"
"Memorize ten more words, the last ten. An Ning, you can do it!"
"I'm in the top ten in the class on the final exam, so I'm rewarding myself with a meal at Pizza Hut, hehe~"
…
The sticky notes all reveal the girl's hard work and vitality.
The sheets and quilts are pink, there is a stuffed doll on the bed, many beautiful hairbands on the bedside table, and a soft and furry pink carpet on the floor. The whole room is very warm.
However, the room was very cold.
The southeast-facing room is clearly facing the sun, but the sunlight seems to be blocked by something and cannot penetrate through the window.
Lin Zhuyue held the compass and walked a few steps in the room. The red agate needle in the center of the compass began to rotate at a very fast speed.
Lin Zhuyue went to another room.
Her companions were also checking out the house.
Shi Chan said, "There were obvious supernatural reactions, with the strongest reaction in the little girl's room, but no ghosts were seen."
Lin Zhuyue asked: "Do you want to deal with it?"
Deng Jiayu shook his head and said:
"We must first seek Du Jicui's consent."
Deng Jiayu and Du Jicui were the most familiar with each other and she was the only official spiritual master present, so this matter naturally fell on her shoulders.
Deng Jiayu walked into the kitchen and said to Du Jicui, who had just let the dough rise:
"Sister Du, something unclean has entered An Ning's room. The kids and I want to do something about it."
"That child hasn't been in a good mood recently..."
Du Jicui sighed and said,
"Okay, you guys handle it. Sorry to bother you."
After all, Du Jicui is the widow of a deceased spiritual master. Apart from the issue of whether or not to allow An Ning to become a spiritual master, everything else is quite easy to discuss and does not require excessive explanation or evidence.
After getting permission, Lin Zhuyue and the others carried out a series of treatments in the room. They put talismans on the bedside, sprinkled incense ash mixed with rootless water on the windowsill, and placed yang stones in the four corners of the room...
After cleaning up, the room seemed to become warmer.
Du Jicui has also started steaming the buns.
Du Jicui asked:
"What does the thing in the house have to do with?"
"I don't know. It might be attracted by An Ning's spiritual power, or it might be that you provoked it into the house. Didn't you find a master to seal An Ning's spiritual power?"
Deng Jiayu sighed and said,
"Those folk masters always have some bad things in them. Asking them to handle An Ning's affairs is like sending a sheep into a tiger's mouth."
"Stop looking for these people to help you. This is no different from harming her."
Du Jicui also felt tired and asked:
"Wouldn't it be harming her to watch her become a spiritualist and do those dangerous jobs?"
"Sister Du, An Ning's spiritual power has awakened."
Deng Jiayu persuaded earnestly,
"Once your spiritual power is awakened, many things become beyond your control. Many things will be attracted by your spiritual power. An Ning has never learned the relevant knowledge and doesn't know how to protect herself when encountering bad things. You also don't have the ability to protect her. If you leave her outside of Tiancheng, she will be in great danger."
Du Jicui stood silently watching over the steaming pot.
At this time, Deng Jiayu saw through the window a shadow wandering by the flower bed downstairs.
Deng Jiayu asked: "Isn't that An Ning?"
"It's her."
Du Jicui recognized it at the first sight and said,
"Why doesn't this kid go home? Watch the pot for me, I'll go downstairs to find her."
Soon, Du Jicui brought An Ning back.
This was also the first time that Lin Zhuyue met this girl who was in a similar situation to himself.
An Ning was very thin, with heavy dark circles under her glasses. Even though it was midsummer, she was still wearing a long-sleeved school uniform. Her slender white fingers were pinching the sleeves, and she lowered her head, looking very uneasy.
When she saw the four apprentice spiritualists who were only a few years older than her, her face turned terrified. It was not until she saw Deng Jiayu that the fear on her face gradually disappeared.
Lin Zhuyue turned around and asked Shi Can:
"Am I some kind of monster?"
Shi Can lowered his voice and whispered:
"That's what I wanted to ask. She looked at me like I was going to eat people."
The buns were steamed quickly. Du Jicui found chairs from various places in the house and finally gathered seven chairs. She arranged for everyone to sit down at the dining table to have lunch.
Deng Jiayu introduced Lin Zhuyue and others to An Ning.
“We’re a bit alike.”
After Deng Jiayu introduced her, Lin Zhuyue took the initiative to talk about her own affairs with An Ning.
"My father passed away before I was born. It was not until I was eighteen years old, my spiritual power awakened and I entered the Spiritual Master's Mansion that I learned that my father was a Spiritual Master."
An Ning moved her lips, wanting to say something.
"Is class starting at 1:30 this afternoon?"
Du Jicui urged,
"Eat quickly, you still have time for a nap after you finish eating."
An Ning could only lower her head and eat the buns obediently.
Lin Zhuyue wanted to continue communicating, but Deng Jiayu gave her a look to stop her.
After lunch, Deng Jiayu took four apprentice spiritual masters downstairs. After they got into the car, they began to talk about An Ning's situation.
Lin Zhuyue sighed while holding the mission file and said:
"Auntie Du doesn't seem to want her to talk to us."
"She's like that. Every time I come to see An Ning, she rarely gives me the chance to mention the Spiritual Master and the Spiritual Master Mansion."
Deng Jiayu adjusted the rearview mirror and said,
"Don't force it. Wait for An Ning to go to school this afternoon, and then we'll go find her there. I don't think it's my illusion. An Ning seems to be facing some difficulties right now."
Deng Jiayu took the trainee spiritual masters to the supermarket to buy things, and then at two o'clock in the afternoon, they went to the junior high school where An Ning was studying.
The class was having a math class. An Ning was lying behind a thick book with a dazed look in her eyes, as if she was about to fall asleep.
The head teacher, who had already communicated with Deng Jiayu, called An Ning out of the classroom and sent An Ning to the small lounge at the end of the corridor.
An Ning's school layout has a drawback. Some faculty and staff offices are very far from the classrooms, and they cannot go back and forth to rest during the short breaks. Therefore, rest rooms are arranged on both sides of each floor to meet the rest needs of faculty and staff.
There happened to be no teacher using the small lounge today.
Lin Zhuyue handed a large bag of snacks to An Ning and asked:
"You look very sleepy. Didn't you take a nap at noon?"
An Ning shook her head.
Deng Jiayu asked with concern: "What happened?"
An Ning was silent for a moment, then rolled up his sleeves. Purple bruises covered his arms, some of them obvious finger marks and scratches. An Ning squatted down again and rolled up his pants to his knees. There were many similar marks on his calves.
An Ning explained the origin of the traces:
"Every time I fall asleep, I feel like someone is pinching me, twisting me, and constantly pulling me under the bed. I dare not sleep..."
She didn't dare take a nap at noon, and she had to sleep with the lights on at night. But even sleeping with the lights on didn't help; she would still be dragged into terrifying dreams. In her dreams, someone would strangle her, choking her. Others would drag her under the bed with great force, and when she woke, her lower body would often be off the bed.
Deng Jiayu frowned and asked:
"Didn't you tell your mother?"
"They threatened me, saying if I told my mother, they would make her jump off the building."
An Ning grabbed Deng Jiayu's hand and said,
"Aunt Deng, please save me, please save me. I'm really in so much pain..."
Deng Jiayu hugged An Ning and patted her back gently:
"Don't be afraid, Auntie will save you. Auntie will save you."
After An Ning calmed down, Shi Can took out a piece of paper and borrowed a black pen that some teacher had left on the table and said:
"Can you recall what you and your mother did during this period? Tell me everything you know. I want to confirm whether this happened by chance or for some other reason."
An Ning sat down and told Du Jicui everything she and Du Jicui had experienced and done during this period.
An Ning is a student who is about to enter the third year of junior high school. She spends most of her time on studying. Her weekend plans are just to go out with classmates to play badminton and visit bookstores.
Du Jicui's experience is relatively "richer".
Go to the temple to worship the God of Wealth, find a master to seal An Ning's spiritual power, arrange the purchase of goods for the supermarket at home, discuss business with the small restaurant, and go on a date with my boyfriend...
As Lin Zhuyue was listening, she suddenly remembered that Deng Jiayu said that Du Jicui's supermarket business had suddenly improved recently.
"When did we worship the God of Wealth?"
Lin Zhuyue asked,
"Which temple? And when did your supermarket's business start to pick up?"
"May 23rd of this year..."
An Ning tried hard to recall the specific time and place.
"It should be Zhao'an Temple in the south of the city. My family's business... My mother said on May 25th that she had negotiated a big deal. I was very happy for her. That night, a person whose face I couldn't clearly see appeared in my dream..."
"He tried to grab my wrist, but was deflected by a golden light. It seems that from that day on, I could see the souls of the dead. I told my mother what happened. I thought she would contact the Spirit Master's House, but she found a master to seal my spiritual power. Then, more and more 'people' appeared in my dreams. They grabbed me, dragged me, and threatened me. The golden light that protected me never appeared again."
Shi Chan circled “Pray to the God of Wealth”.
An Ning added:
"You look a lot like that master, and so does Aunt Deng..."
Lin Zhuyue remembered Fu Xingwei saying that the master was the real deal. An Ning must have seen something like "strong spiritual power within him."
"Spiritual awakening usually occurs in times of distress."
Shi Can put down his pen and said to An Ning,
"You fit this description, but since I met you, your spiritual power has always been very weak. Compared to a spiritual master, you are more like an ordinary person."
"But now there is an explanation. Your spiritual power may have been taken away by something. It could be this 'God of Wealth'. There are precedents of converting spiritual power into wealth in the old cases of the Spiritual Master Mansion."
An Ning asked, "Can I get it back?"
"Find a safe place to rest for a while and then you'll recover."
Shi Can clasped his hands together and said with a headache,
"I'm not sure if the Spiritual Master House can deal with this God of Wealth. If they can, that's fine. If not, you'll have to change your name and hide from him for the rest of your life. He can steal spiritual power from you, and with this kind of relationship, you'll be controlled by him your entire life."
"Also, when you start avoiding him, your mother will suffer the backlash of her 'wish' and will most likely go bankrupt."
Wen Miyan added:
"The best place to hide is Tiancheng."
An Ning lowered her head.
"Have a good talk with your mother."
Lin Zhuyue grabbed her hand and said,
"If you explain it clearly, she'll understand."
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