Chapter 9 Car Accident 09

  The warm sunlight of late autumn slanted into the small incense shop through the wooden door frame, which emitted a musty smell. The old man, whom Zhang Zhixin called Qi San Ye, stood at the boundary between light and shadow. His hunched figure basked in the sunlight, but his face was hidden in the shadows. When he heard Zhang Zhixin's voice, he slightly raised his head, and his face, which had been unclear in the shadows, became a bit clearer.

  That was an extremely thin face, with high cheekbones and skin that seemed to be stretched tight, with not many wrinkles. One of the eyes was blind, with a scarred eyelid stuck together. The other eye was dull and lifeless, with a hint of gloominess. He looked at Zhang Zhixin, who was approaching the counter, with that cold expression, without saying a word, then lowered his head to continue arranging the white candles in his hand.

  "Qī Sān Yé, that soul-locking charm..." Zhang Zhixin leaned in close to Qī Sān Yé, his goat-like whiskers twitching as he revealed a flattering smile.

  However, the smile on Zhang Zhixin's old face was met with a singular lack of appreciation from his sole audience. Qi San Ye seemed not to have heard Zhang Zhixin's words at all, and without even raising an eyebrow, he placed the last white candle in a small paper box, then stacked several boxes full of white candles on top of each other, before turning around to arrange them on the old wooden cabinet behind him.

  Zhang Zhixin didn't urge him either and patiently waited until Qi Sanye had finished putting away the small paper box filled with white candles before speaking again: "Qi Sanye..."

  "No." This time Qi San Ye didn't wait for Zhang Zhi Xin to finish speaking before interrupting him.

  Zhang Zhixin's eyes twitched slightly, "Qi San Ye, don't joke with me. No stock, can't you draw two new ones in a minute?"

  Qī Sān Yé used his one good eye to give a cold, sidelong glance at Zhāng Zhī Xīn, "The Soul-Calming Charm does exist, it's just not for you."

  Zhang Zhixin's eyes widened in shock, the goatee on his chin trembled, and he said with a pained expression: "Qi Laosan, we've been old friends for so many years, how could you do this to me?"

  As for Zhang Zhixin's change in self-address, Qi San Ye didn't even raise an eyebrow. Whenever this old man was being unreasonable, his self-appellation would change with the wind. Having known him for so many years, he had gotten used to it. He slowly pulled out his pipe from the drawer, lit it up at a leisurely pace, took a puff, and then slowly exhaled the smoke.

  "It's precisely when you're a friend that I can't give it to you," said Qi San Ye.

  "Qī Sān, I'm telling you..."

  "I told you that last time I gave you those two Soul-Calming Charms, didn't I? If those two charms are used up, then you don't need to come ask me for more." Qi San Ye paused, turning his head to stare at Zhang Zhi Xin with the one eye that wasn't blind, "That Qin Fei...the problem on his body is no longer something your abilities can solve."

  Zhang Zhi Xin's mouth twitched, but he couldn't say anything in rebuttal. Qi San Ye said was the truth, with his ability, at most he could only help Qin Fei avoid evil spirits and drive away ghosts, but that was just treating the symptoms not the root cause, fundamentally unable to solve the problem from its source. It's just that he wasn't willing to give up, unwilling to abandon the clue of his only grandson who died miserably in a foreign land 14 years ago.

  Gu Wenqing could see that Qin Fei was not an ordinary unstable soul. Zhang Zhixin may not be as talented as those from large family bloodlines with innate abilities, but he had walked this path for almost a lifetime and had the precedent of his grandson's case before him. Naturally, he had long since noticed that Qin Fei's unstable soul was not an ordinary situation. The reason for Qin Fei's unstable soul was due to being affected by a curse, which was very similar to the one that led to his grandson's tragic death fourteen years ago. For someone like Zhang Zhixin who walks on the line between yin and yang, it is most taboo to get entangled with others in unclear causal relationships. However, in order to investigate the true culprit behind his grandson's tragic death, Zhang Zhixin still chose to stay by Qin Fei's side.

  Qishan Ye was well aware that Zhang Zhixin couldn't let go of his grandson's miserable death. He used to return home every year, but since his grandson died, he hadn't gone back for 14 years. Qishan Ye looked at the pedestrians passing by outside the shop door, took two puffs of smoke, and then glanced at Zhang Zhixin with a gloomy gaze. He pulled out a paper bag from the drawer and threw it in front of Zhang Zhixin: "Take it."

  Zhang Zhixin opened the paper bag, pulled out a stack of talismans from inside, and apart from the soul-calming talisman he wanted, there were also some attack-oriented talismans. He immediately beamed with joy, put the talismans back in the paper bag, stuffed them into his own pocket, and said to Qi San Ye, who had a gloomy face: "Old buddy, thanks! Qin Fei that kid, although I told him before I left that if there's danger he should call me, but I reckon with his personality, even if he really encounters danger, he won't call me. I have to go back and keep an eye on him. Next time we're free, let's chat again."

  Watching Zhang Zhixin disappear from view outside the door, Qi San Ye let out a cold snort and shifted his gaze away from the doorway.

  ……

  It was just past 11 o'clock at night, in a certain building of the inpatient department of the Third Hospital of S City. On the quiet corridor, the dim light cast the shadows of two people. The two men walking on the deserted corridor were none other than Gu Yin and Gu Wenkai.

  Gu Yin walked ahead with his hands in his pockets, adopting a leisurely posture. Gu Wenkai trailed behind him by half a step, his face twisted in a scowl. It was already late at night and he had just lain down in bed when he received a call from Gu Yin, saying that he now had time to go take a look at the little devil in the hospital. Gu Wenkai could only crawl out of bed and rush to the hospital to act as a guide for his older brother. The visiting hours were already over in the hospital's ward, but after guaranteeing the nurse at the front desk that he wouldn't disturb the patients' rest and showing her his ID to explain that it was necessary for an investigation, he still managed to enter the ward under the nurse's suspicious gaze.

  "Is this room 415?" Gu Yin stopped in front of a hospital room and turned to confirm with Gu Wenkai behind him.

  "Ah, this is it." Gu Wenkai composed himself and looked at the door of room 415, his expression turning serious.

  The hospital was a place where people often died, and it was a place with a heavy yin energy. At night, the yin energy became even more intense. The warm air from the air conditioner seemed to have lost its effect, and standing in the corridor, Gu Wenkai only felt wave after wave of coldness. However, the chill brought by the yin energy was not an unusual thing, but what was unusual was the presence of a malevolent spirit's aura inside room 415, which Gu Wenkai could sense even through the door.

  "Big brother......" Gu Wenkai turned his head to look at Gu Yin on one side.

  Gu Yin ignored Gu Wenkai and went forward to turn the door handle of room 415, then pushed open the door.