Chapter 7: My Child, Oh My Child~

The case had not yet concluded, so Yingying’s body had naturally not been brought back. For now, the coffin remained under the low wooden shed, covered by a cotton quilt. In front of it sat an altar, and behind the altar, three eight-immortal tables were stacked atop one another. The Taoist priest, clad in a yellow robe, clutched a handbell and vigorously gestured to his apprentice, who was beating the drums and cymbals.

Grandma sat to the side, clearly sensing that something was wrong. She looked at them with curiosity, but when her gaze fell upon the coffin, she froze, and her aged eyes immediately reddened.

"Yingying? Yingying, is that you?"

Su Chen also stared at the quilt atop the coffin. A thin layer of frost had faintly formed over it, and the icicles hanging from the edges of the quilt were quite conspicuous.

It was a pity his "Heavenly Eyes" were not yet opened; otherwise, he would have been able to see Yingying at a single glance.

Just then, the priest holding the bell stiffened suddenly. His eyes darted around as if he had realized something terrifying. He turned slowly, then leaped away with a shout: "A ghost! It’s a ghost!"

Amidst his shrieks, he threw the bell aside and sprinted off, his Taoist robes flapping in the wind.

The three apprentices, who had been beating the drums, gongs, and cymbals, exchanged glances. Unsure whether to chase after their master or stay behind, they all simultaneously ceased their playing.

Grandma stood up shakily, wiping the corners of her eyes.

"Yingying, my poor child, I’ve already chosen a burial plot for you; the feng shui is excellent. I know you were murdered while pregnant and that you are filled with resentment, but Yingying, A-Bao has been caught and will soon face the firing squad. He has received his retribution. You shouldn't cause any more trouble. Listen to your mother—let's be at peace, go and be reincarnated. If we are fated, come back and be my daughter again in the next life, okay?"

A gust of cold wind swirled around, then suddenly rushed straight toward Grandma.

Su Chen hurriedly stepped forward to block it. As the yin energy entered his body, it chilled him to the bone, and even he couldn't help but shiver.

Behind Su Chen, Grandma’s lips trembled. Her eyes were filled with a mix of terror and pity. "Yingying, it’s Mom. Are you... are you..."

Su Chen sighed helplessly. "Grandma, your daughter’s resentment has not yet dissipated; I fear she cannot recognize you."

Grandma clearly recognized Su Chen and grabbed his hand.

"Young man, can you help Yingying? Grandma has money, I’ll give it all to you. Please, help Yingying, help her."

Hearing the commotion, Lin Jingyu hurriedly draped a coat over his shoulders and came over, arriving just in time to hear the request. "Grandma, don’t make things difficult for this young man. He’s just a fortune teller; how would he know about these things? Different trades are like mountains between them."

In the eyes of the people of Cuicheng, whenever they encountered such supernatural matters, they would seek out local Taoist priests and masters. However, most of those who were active in the city were not truly skilled.

Just like the master who had been performing the rites—Lin Jingyu knew he didn't have much talent when he hired him, but thinking that A-Bao had already been caught, he figured the funeral would be straightforward enough. He had intended it as a mere formality and hadn't given it much thought.

He never expected that something would go wrong.

That shout of "a ghost" just now had likely been heard by many of the neighbors.

Lin Jingyu was now racking his brain, trying to figure out how to invite a real master. Although he was a local insider in Cuicheng and boasted about knowing half the city, he didn't actually know any true experts. For a moment, he was truly at a loss.

Should he ask those priests where to find someone with real ability? He could always offer a larger red envelope later.

As he pondered, Lin Jingyu heard Su Chen’s voice: "I do know a thing or two, but I don't have yellow paper or cinnabar on hand, so I can't draw any talismans."

Lin Jingyu: "???"

Grandma, who had been disappointed by Lin Jingyu’s words, suddenly saw her aged eyes light up. "Young man, is that true?"

Seeing Su Chen nod, Lin Jingyu was also overjoyed. "Is that all? Yellow paper and cinnabar? I know where to get them. Just wait a moment."

He hurried away and soon returned, having knocked on the door of an incense shop in a small alley, clutching a bag.

Su Chen currently possessed no Taoist cultivation. To avoid failing the talisman-making process, he bit his fingertip and dripped three drops of blood into the cinnabar as he ground it.

This was a secret technique of the Heavenly Master’s Mansion; it could increase the success rate of drawing a talisman, and once completed, it would boost the talisman’s power by ten percent.

Lin Jingyu watched from the side, secretly observing. When he saw Su Chen bite his fingertip without changing his expression, his mouth twitched. He glanced at the young man holding the gong and whispered, "Do you know how to draw talismans?"

The latter shook his head repeatedly.

What a joke. He had only been apprenticed for two years; in those two years, he had only learned to beat a gong. He couldn't even play the drums properly or recite the scriptures, let alone draw talismans.

Fine. He had wanted to quietly ask Su Chen how the talisman looked—after all, being good at fortune-telling didn't necessarily mean one was skilled in this, right?

As Lin Jingyu muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly widened.

Just a moment ago, when Su Chen lifted his brush to complete the talisman, it seemed as though a faint light shimmered across it.

But when he looked closely, there was nothing there.

Did he see it wrong?

Lin Jingyu hurriedly rubbed his eyes. Still nothing.

He turned his head; the young man with the gong was doing the same thing.

If one person saw it wrong, it might be a mistake, but if two people saw it wrong...

Lin Jingyu’s eyes suddenly glowed with excitement as he stared at Su Chen.

A master! A true master!

The old saying was right: one should not judge a person by their appearance.

Once the talisman was finished, Su Chen examined it carefully and frowned slightly.

Low-grade. Inferior!

In his original world, where fierce ghosts were everywhere, this would be nothing more than scrap paper—not even enough to scratch a ghost’s itch.

Sigh, it was truly difficult to be in a new body. Everything had to start from scratch.

Fortunately, at the moment the talisman was completed, he had successfully communicated with the energy of this world, faintly sensing a connection forming between himself and the environment.

Su Chen set the talisman aside and began to draw again.

If one scrap of paper wasn't enough, he’d make a whole batch!

He used up all the cinnabar and drew nine talismans in total.

Su Chen took seven of the talismans and quickly plastered them around the hall.

He then stood in front of the coffin, his fingers moving with practiced, if slightly stiff, dexterity. Suddenly, he barked a cold command: "Command!"

As the word fell, the seven talismans burst into flames.

As Lin Jingyu’s eyes widened, he watched as the smoke produced by the burning talismans slowly gathered at the top of the coffin, faintly revealing a human figure.

This, this, this...

Before Lin Jingyu could make a sound, Grandma stumbled forward, reaching out with her hands. "Yingying, my Yingying!"

Lin Jingyu stepped forward and held her back.

"Grandma, the master is performing a rite. We can’t interfere."

The human figure struggled violently, its form flickering as it condensed and dissipated. After a long while, it finally stabilized, albeit with clear reluctance.

Su Chen quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, good. Although the resentment was heavy, it had not reached the level of a fierce ghost.

He cleared his throat. "Yingying, the person who killed you has been arrested. He has received the punishment he deserves. Besides this, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"

Grandma stopped her crying, her eyes fixed intently on the figure.

Turbid tears welled up.

It was Yingying. It was really Yingying.

The stabilized figure’s face had become clear, though as it was formed of smoke, the features were only a rough outline.

Yet, even so, Grandma could not help but be overwhelmed with emotion.

It was her daughter! The daughter she had carried for ten months and birthed through such hardship!

"Yingying, Yingying~"

Hearing that hoarse, aged voice, the figure stirred slightly, the smoke dissipating a little, but soon gathering again.

"Child, my child~"

The ghostly voice was icy and bone-chilling.

Upon hearing this, Su Chen immediately looked toward the figure’s midsection.

What he saw was shocking: hidden within her form was a round, bundled shape.