Chapter 40: Wang Li's Visit

  "What's going on!" Su Tong stared at the hung-up phone, somewhat dazed. She was at Tang Ao's place, and her home had a terrifying ghost of a baby causing trouble. If Wang Li came over and saw it, she would definitely misunderstand, and who knows what kind of absurd story she would come up with. But that was still a small matter. Thinking about the current mess in front of her, if Wang Li and her boyfriend came over now, and that female ghost caused more trouble...

  "What's wrong?" Tang Ao looked at her distracted expression after she finished the phone call, thinking that something was wrong and became tense as well. He put down the book he had just picked up and asked hastily.

  "Wang Li, it's the person who was questioning you for half a day at the newspaper office this morning. She doesn't trust me and wants to come over and take a look," Su Tong said with a worried expression. "But my family wouldn't dare let anyone go there. You also know that she has a boyfriend, if that ghost were to notice her, it would only be more dangerous and troublesome. But if we let her come here, she'll definitely start thinking wildly and guessing, and who knows, maybe she'll even interrogate you again, asking this and that. And to make matters worse, there's also someone in the living room outside... what if that female ghost sees an outsider and takes advantage of opening or closing doors to cause more trouble? That would be terrible! I originally wanted to refuse her, but she said she was already on her way and hung up before I could finish speaking..."

  "It's not that anything else is unimportant, but the one in the living room really should be taken care of before your friend arrives. I'm not afraid of anything else, just that if something unexpected happens, it would be a pointless shock. Tang Ao thought for a moment and got up to go to the living room. At the door, he signaled to Su Tong to stay in the study and not come out. After all, she was timid and scared, and following him around at this time wouldn't serve any purpose."

  Su Tong stayed in the study as she had said, but she was also a bit curious about how Tang Ao would handle it. So she stood at the door of the study, opened the door a small gap, and secretly looked out.

  Tang Ao walked to the middle of the living room, slightly raising his head, apparently he could see the female ghost trapped in the living room, but he didn't rush to speak, instead standing silently there. After a while, he waved his hand and asked: "How is it? Let you consider quietly for so long, have you figured it out?"

  Su Tong perked up her ears, wanting to hear what the female ghost had to say, but she listened for half a day and couldn't hear any sound. It wasn't until later that she remembered Tang Ao's explanation: people and ghosts are on different paths, like they're on different frequencies. Only when the frequencies match can people without heavenly eyes or yin-yang eyes see and hear those ghosts. And to match frequencies, at least one of two necessary conditions must be met: either the ghost intentionally wants to be seen or felt by that person, or that person's yang energy is weak, their eight characters are not strong, in other words, they're having a bad time.

  "This is something I really can't help you with, the evil energy on your body I have a way to help you resolve, but first, it's relatively slow, and secondly, keeping you here is not allowed, it's not good for you or us. So I can only help you one thing, send you to a place where you can resolve the evil energy and enter the cycle of reincarnation."

  Tang Ao was silent for a moment, seemingly listening to what the female ghost was saying to him, then spoke up to her, "Currently, the best choice for you might be to go to the temple. The atmosphere in the temple is peaceful, the people who go there generally have kind intentions and carry good wishes, which can help you eliminate the evil energy... You said I understand, I know you're actually afraid of approaching that kind of place, so I'm willing to help you with this one thing, are you willing?"

  Although Su Tong couldn't hear the female ghost's response, it seemed that she had agreed readily, as Tang Ao nodded towards the empty living room and turned back to his study to start making preparations.

  Su Tong was like a curious baby, following Tang Ao's side, not daring to disturb him, but couldn't help stretching his neck to take a look. He saw Tang Ao take out a yellow paper from the drawer of his desk, cut it into the shape of a small person with scissors, then held his breath and concentrated, muttering something in his mouth, using his fingers to quickly draw a symbol on the small paper man's body. After finishing all this, he turned his head to look at Su Tong, seeing her curious face, and smiled to ask: "Su Tong, have you ever folded paper cranes?"

  "Suto nodded and said: 'I used to fold paper cranes in high school.'"

  "Here, this is for you, take this paper crane." Tang Ao handed another yellow paper to Su Tong.

  Su Tong took the paper and still had some doubts in his heart: "I'm not as capable as you, I won't be able to handle it, and instead of helping you, I'll probably make things worse?"

  "Don't worry about it."

  With Tang Ao's confirmation, Su Tong finally put his mind at ease and folded a paper crane to hand over to Tang Ao. Tang Ao took the paper crane, pulled out a brush, dipped it in cinnabar ink, and drew some patterns on the paper crane that Su Tong couldn't understand. After finishing, he put down the brush, examined it from left to right, seemingly very satisfied, then picked up the paper figure, holding the paper crane as he exited the study. Su Tong hastily followed him to the door, watching from a distance.

  Tang Ao brought the paper crane and paper man to the middle of the living room, gently placing the paper man on the ground. He then said: "Alright, from now on, this is your vessel, you can attach yourself to it. However, I must remind you that I have cast a spell on this paper man. You can use it as a medium without worrying about water or fire, and when you go to the temple to dissipate the evil energy, I guarantee that you won't be mistaken for an evil spirit and eliminated. But if you harbor any other thoughts along the way, the evil energy will only increase instead of decreasing, and this paper man will self-ignite. If you attach yourself to it, there's no way to escape. You should know what the outcome would be. So now I'll give you one last chance to consider."

  He finished speaking, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly nodded, and immediately, Su Tong saw that the paper man who was originally lying flat on the ground actually stood up with a twist and turn. It saluted Tang Ao in a lifelike manner, then climbed onto the back of the paper crane beside it. When the paper man stopped moving, Tang Ao raised his right hand, with his middle finger and index finger together, pointing at the paper crane, and suddenly shouted loudly: "Rise!"

  The paper crane flapped its wings and actually took off from the ground, just like a real bird. It circled happily above Tang Ao's head, then flew out through the window that Tang Ao had helped open.

  "It's okay, that female ghost has left. You don't have to be afraid now, you can come out." Tang Ao watched as the paper crane flew further and further away, finally disappearing from view, before closing the window and calling out to Su Tong.

  Su Tong felt that what had just happened was like a magic trick, and she was still a bit stunned. However, about this matter, she also had another question.

  "I just heard you say that the paper man was cast a spell, so he's not afraid of water and fire. But what about that paper crane, carrying a paper man flying all the way out, won't it be seen by others?" she asked Tang Hao.

  Tang Ao shook his head: "It won't, I've thought about this problem, so the symbols I drew on the paper crane, in addition to guiding the direction, can also make it invisible to outsiders. You can see it because you folded it with your own hands, others, even if the paper crane flies over their heads, they will only feel a gentle breeze."

  Su Tong thought this was simply too magical, she didn't believe in these things before, but after experiencing the recent events, although her thoughts had changed somewhat from what they were originally, they still revolved around exorcisms and demon-slaying. The previous incident where the female ghost possessed a paper doll, and the paper crane she personally folded flying about due to Tang Xiao's talismans, all broke through her understanding, making her feel both curious and refreshed.

  However, she doesn't have much time to pay attention to these things now, because Wang Li is about to arrive. For Wang Li, her own home is simply a minefield that she absolutely cannot set foot in. Now that the female ghost has been sent away, what's left to deal with is an extremely gossipy woman.

  Because Su Tong's physical strength was still poor, Tang Ao left her in the living room and went downstairs himself, so that when Wang Li and others came, they wouldn't rush to Su Tong's side. Although on such an afternoon, the evil spirit in Su Tong's house shouldn't dare to come out and cause trouble, it's always better to be safe than sorry. A baby spirit born from a side door is more terrifying and dangerous than an evil ghost that roams the world. An evil ghost can be captured, and if not, the worst result is just being scattered and never reincarnated. However, the baby spirit is different. If it succeeds, it will become a demon fetus, and when born, it will be filled with evil energy and killing intent. Once it really becomes human, capturing and eliminating it would be unrealistic, and one can only watch as it does evil deeds.

  Su Tong and others in the living room, don't know what kind of excuse Tang Ao will use to explain this matter to Wang Li, still a little nervous in her heart. It's not that she doesn't have a good impression of Tang Ao, but rather because she has a better impression of him than other acquaintances of the opposite sex, so she doesn't want it to be like this, being misunderstood by others and having an invisible lock put on their relationship. She can feel that Tang Ao's concern for her is not just ordinary neighborly behavior, which makes Su Tong feel a warmth in her heart, making her even more hope that after solving the current thorny issues, they can have a normal opportunity to interact with each other, and move forward naturally with a normal mindset and state.

  After a while, the sound of the elevator opening and faint voices came from the corridor. Then, Tang Ao opened the door and walked in first, followed by Wang Li, and Lao Lv still trailed behind Wang Li as usual. As soon as Wang Li saw Su Tong sitting safely on the sofa without anything missing or out of place, she let out a sigh of relief and said: "I've heard from Tang Ao that you're quite lucky to have gone home when the water pipe burst at the hospital! You should consider getting some pomelo leaves to wash away the bad luck in the next two days. How did you manage to get into all these troubles - spraining your ankle, getting robbed, and now bursting pipes? Luckily you can still come over here to stay; otherwise, your home would be all wet and messy, with no water available until it's fixed. How miserable!"

  Su Tong nodded hastily, and since Tang Ao used this reason to explain, she went along with it.

  Tang Ao was quite enthusiastic, inviting Wang Li and Lao Liu to sit down in the living room. He quickly brewed a pot of tea and brought it out. Wang Li's boyfriend, Lao Liu, was an honest man with a gentle temper, somewhat bookish, and not very talkative. Now that he had come to Tang Ao's house for the first time, he couldn't find anything to say, so he just sat quietly on the side, drinking tea and listening to Wang Li chat with Su Tong. After confirming that Su Tong was indeed all right and that going to the hospital was just a routine health check, Wang Li finally felt at ease. She chatted with Tang Ao for a few sentences before suddenly saying: "Ah, by the way, Tang Ao, do you have any photo albums or anything? Would it be convenient for us to take a look? I don't have any other hobbies, but when I visit others' homes, I like to flip through their photo albums. I find it really interesting."

  "Photo album, I actually have one, but it's not very interesting. You can flip through it if you want." Tang Ao didn't know what to chat with Wang Li and the others about, so when Wang Li made this request, it was just right for passing the time and not having to worry about finding a topic of conversation. So he got up and went to the study to find the photo album.

  "What are you doing? You're flipping through the photo album for the first time in someone else's home, isn't that not quite right?" Su Tong lowered his voice to its lowest level and leaned close to Wang Li's ear, asking softly. In his opinion, although Wang Li was quick-witted and had a very outgoing personality, she wasn't someone who lacked tact or didn't know what was proper.

  Wang Li gave her a sly glance: "I think this kid has taken a liking to you, and you're probably feeling pretty good about it too, since he's been helping you out time and again. As your sister, I've got to keep an eye on things for you! Looking at his photo album is the most straightforward way to get a sense of his family background, relationships with classmates, social activities, and all that."

  "Tang Ao is an orphan... he doesn't have any family." Su Tong sighed, although she didn't want to say this to Wang Li, but was afraid that later on Wang Li would unknowingly see the photo album and ask questions, in case she mentioned something that might easily touch on Tang Ao's painful past, so she decided to give her a heads up first.

  Wang Li was taken aback, seemingly not expecting the situation to be like this, and also felt a little regretful. However, Tang Ao had already taken out the photo album, so they could only pretend as if nothing had happened and enthusiastically flipped through Tang Ao's album.

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