Chapter Sixty-Four: The Old Grandfather Hanging on the Wall

The little girl looked at me with a clueless and innocent expression, speaking in a cute, babyish voice.

Generally speaking, only people with a pure and kind heart can see ghosts. Therefore, if one day you see a ghost while others cannot, then congratulations, you are a person with a pure and kind heart. However, if one day you see a ghost and many other people can see it too, then congratulations as well—you have encountered a very powerful ghost, which is a rare occurrence indeed.

Upon hearing the little girl's words, her parents' faces were filled with utter terror, because everything they had just experienced, combined with what the little girl had just said, indicated that there was a " Grandpa" residing in this house.

"Where is that Grandpa?" I asked with a smile.

The little girl looked at me and said, "Grandpa took me out to buy things just now, and he hasn't come back yet!"

After hearing this, I turned to Zhu Xiaochen's parents and said, "Why don't I stay here tonight? He should be coming back."

Ghosts are deeply attached to the past; otherwise, they wouldn't keep clinging to the matters of their mortal lives. Therefore, I concluded that even knowing there was danger here, the so-called Grandpa would likely return, though I had no way of knowing when.

Of course, the two of them were more than willing, expressing their gratitude profusely.

Later, Zhu Xiaochen fell asleep resting in her mother's lap, while I chatted with the couple. I learned that both of them worked in education—one was a kindergarten teacher, and the other taught elementary school mathematics.

This house was a second-hand property they had purchased. The previous owner claimed they were moving to the main city and hadn't lived in the apartment for very long. The couple thought the apartment was nice and cheaper than others on the market, so they gritted their teeth and bought it.

Now, however, with things having come to this, they must surely regret having been tempted by the cheap price.

After making casual small talk with them and asking a few questions, they also learned a bit about my background, such as my family and how I came to practice soul-calling, and so on.

After getting acquainted, I glanced at my watch; it was nearly midnight. At this hour, it was best not to sit around waiting aimlessly, because this was the time when Yin energy was at its peak. Even if one didn't encounter a fierce ghost, staying up late was ultimately bad for the health—not only harming the body but also exhausting the spirit.

They had three bedrooms in total: one for the little girl, one for the couple, and one for me.

I had been rather exhausted the past few days, so as soon as I lay down on the bed, I fell into a deep sleep. Once upon a time, I too had fantasized about building such a small family with Huang Ying. But Li Yun's words had extinguished that dream. Indeed, could I shoulder the responsibilities that came with starting a family?

Although I lacked that capability in reality, in my dreams I could still manage this little family quite well. Yet, for some reason, even though the dreamscape was already perfect, I always felt there were some flaws—flaws I longed to fix, yet found myself utterly powerless to do so.

I do not know how much time had passed when I was awakened by a loud crash of thunder.

I narrowed my eyes, rolled over, and continued my deep slumber.

It wasn't until the next morning that I was woken up by the little girl.

"Big Brother, time to get up!" The little girl shook my arm, her face full of innocent bewilderment.

I got up, walked over to the window, and looked outside. The rain had been quite heavy last night, and it was still drizzling now.

Afterward, I patted the little girl's head and asked, "Did you see anything last night?"

The little girl shook her head and then looked at me as if sizing up a strange new creature.

"Then did that Grandpa you mentioned come to see you?"

The little girl shook her head again. In this habit, she was very much like Huang Ying, who also loved to shake or nod her head and then stare at me with wide eyes.

"Let's go, let's head out!"

I simply couldn't understand how such an innocent and cute little girl had managed to attract that old ghost. If I caught him, I would definitely make him vanish from the path of ghosts entirely.

I took the little girl by the hand and walked out of the bedroom. The couple were already up; both worked in education, so waking up early had long become a habit for them. As for me, even after more than ten years, I still hadn't cultivated the habit of going to bed early and rising early.

"Morning!" I grinned and greeted them.

Then came the routine daily rituals, concluding with breakfast. After finishing all that, I told them, "That old man didn't show up last night, but he might appear in the future. If anything feels unusual, just call my phone!"

With that, I went out, hurried back to my rented room to grab my schoolbag, and rushed toward the school. I had been late yesterday; I couldn't make the same mistake today.

During class, I tried my best not to let my mind wander, because no matter how much I sat at my desk and overthought things, it wouldn't help the situation outside at all. It was far better to earnestly finish one task before moving on to the next.

I tried my absolute best to understand everything I possibly could. As for the things I didn't understand~~~

"Chen Xiaolong, I am not ashamed to ask and would like to ask you a question!" I slammed my textbook directly onto the notebook he was writing in, covering his work.

"Speak!" This kid was still like a robot. Sometimes I really wanted to tell him that smiling wouldn't kill him.

Afterward, we started discussing our studies. For some reason, discussing studies with him always felt a bit awkward, because we could have easily discussed Daoist arts instead.

At school, this was one of the few meaningful days I experienced.

As long as you concentrate on doing one thing, time never feels long. Just like being with the person you love—even if you are just sitting there doing nothing, you feel time passing by in a flash. If one day you are with her and feel that time is crawling, then cracks have already appeared in your relationship.

As soon as school let out in the afternoon, I ran straight to Zhu Xiaochen's front door and knocked. No one opened; they probably hadn't returned yet.

I peeked inside through the window for a bit, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary. If only Shitou were here; he would probably be able to see what was truly hidden inside.

I didn't cook noodles for dinner tonight. To become an exemplary man, cooking was a mandatory course.

I had watched Huang Ying cook in the past, so I tried to follow her example and made a meal. The color looked alright, but as for the taste... it probably wasn't poisonous.

With no other choice, I poured the food down the drain and boiled a pot of noodles instead.

Then, leaning over the desk, I read a book. At around nine o'clock, taking my phone and some of my gear, I headed downstairs because I simply couldn't set my mind at ease regarding the little girl. Looking at her, I seemed to catch a glimpse of Huang Ying's childhood shadow.

The family had already returned, and they were all gathered together watching cartoons. The atmosphere was warm and filled with rich affection.

I stood outside the window, watching the scene quietly, unable to bear breaking such a beautiful picture.

The little girl was jumping around on the sofa, sitting down to watch TV quietly for a while after jumping, and then jumping right back up again.

After I had stood there for about ten minutes, Zhu Xiaochen's father spotted me, quickly got up to open the door, and asked why I hadn't knocked.

I smiled without offering an explanation. Once I stepped inside, the little girl immediately grew much quieter.

"Did anything strange happen tonight?" I asked the moment I entered.

Zhu Xiaochen's mother shook her head to indicate nothing had happened, then gestured for me to sit down and talk.

However, Zhu Xiaochen glanced at me and then said to her mother, "Mommy, Mommy, I just saw that Grandpa hanging in your room!"

As soon as Zhu Xiaochen finished speaking, her parents were completely dumbfounded. The warm scene from a moment ago vanished entirely, replaced by an atmosphere steeped in sheer terror.

"Take me to see!" I quickly said to the little girl.

Zhu Xiaochen nodded, climbed down from the sofa, put on her shoes, and led me into her parents' bedroom, with her parents following closely behind.

"Grandpa was right there just now!" The little girl pointed at a nail on the wall, about a dozen centimeters long and as thick as a pinky finger. This nail should have been used for hanging something. In a rural house, such a nail wouldn't look conspicuous at all, but in a city apartment, it looked rather out of place.

"Is he still here now?" I asked. The little girl had a pure heart and could see things we could not.

Zhu Xiaochen shook her head!

I swept my gaze around the room, but didn't sense any heavy concentration of Yin energy. If that was the case, there was only one explanation: the room's Yin energy wasn't particularly heavy, which meant the "Grandpa" Zhu Xiaochen spoke of hadn't been attracted here by Yin energy, but had simply remained in this house all along. To put it another way, the so-called Grandpa had died inside this very house.

"Let's go outside!"

Once we were out, Zhu Xiaochen's mother pulled the little girl into her arms, overflowing with protective affection.

"Sir, you must help us!" Zhu Xiaochen's father pleaded.