Sixteen years had passed in a blink of an eye. Granny Yin still made a living by "consulting the spirits" for the neighbors, but her health had deteriorated significantly.
Since the baby girl was born, the saying "gossips can kill" had been fully manifested. Granny Yin's son and his pregnant wife, Zhang, couldn't bear the gossips and drove the two of them to a more remote place to live.
From then on, the two of them depended on each other. Granny Yin had raised the baby girl single - handedly.
"Wen Ruo! Hurry up and pack your things. We have to go!" Granny Yin whispered and urged.
The girl in coarse cloth clothes with a beaming smile beside her was her granddaughter Wen Ruo. Although she was a girl, she had been raised like a boy since childhood. Granny said it was easier to raise a child that way.
Her black hair was neatly tied in a bun on top of her head, with a long, rough brown cloth strip tied on it. She looked like a sunny and clean young lad, and her personality was very likable.
All the neighbors would praise Granny Yin for having such a filial grandson whenever they saw Wen Ruo.
Granny Yin just let things be and didn't bother to explain. She just took Wen Ruo with her and taught her some skills of consulting the spirits.
This child had a special constitution and high talent. At a young age, she had learned quite well. What shocked Granny Yin the most was that Wen Ruo was not afraid or timid of strange things like evil spirits or souls as ordinary children were. Instead, she was very calm.
Moreover, she had a high talent for talismans. She could make a common exorcism talisman on the first try. There seemed to be some kind of huge energy in her body. Therefore, Wen Ruo had become Granny Yin's capable assistant.
One day, just like usual, Granny Yin was going to take Wen Ruo to a pre - arranged family to consult the spirits.
But before they could leave home, an unexpected guest suddenly came.
"Granny Yin, is Granny Yin at home?" A middle - aged woman supported a sickly man and shouted towards the house.
Wen Ruo went out to greet them and helped support the man. "Aunt Yu, what's wrong with Uncle? Come on, follow me!"
As soon as they entered the house, the middle - aged woman helped the man sit down and said worriedly, "Oh, we don't know what's going on. He said his heart hurts, but we've seen a doctor and taken medicine, but it just won't get better... Granny Yin, please take a look. It can't go on like this!"
Granny Yin carefully examined the man's face. He was pale, his lips were dry, and he had heart pain. She squinted her eyes, as if she had seen something fishy.
At this time, everyone was quietly waiting for Granny Yin's conclusion, staring at her intently, watching her facial expressions, swallowing nervously and not daring to breathe loudly.
The air was terrifyingly quiet, as if one could hear the sound of breathing. Suddenly, Wen Ruo said, "Aunt Yu, can you smell it? Why is there a stinky smell?"
Wen Ruo sniffed with her nose, didn't think much, and just blurted it out.
Aunt Yu, who was already extremely nervous, was startled by the sudden question. "Ah? What stink? There isn't any!"
The couple were both confused. They sniffed their own bodies and around them, but smelled nothing.
Wen Ruo stepped forward and sniffed carefully. Finally, she said for sure, "Really, it seems to be coming from Uncle!" She said in disbelief.
Aunt Yu pointed at the man awkwardly and said, "It must be the sour smell on you because you haven't taken a bath for several days!"
"It's not the smell of sweat. It's a kind of putrid smell! It's really strange..." Wen Ruo explained with a confused look on her face.
At this time, Granny Yin took out a copper mirror and a fresh egg from somewhere and walked over slowly. "Alright, stop talking for now."
Hearing what Granny Yin said, several people quickly shut their mouths, and their expressions became tense.
They saw Granny Yin walk to the table, place the mirror flat on it, hold the egg with both hands, and gently try to stand the egg on the mirror surface.
She also mumbled something, "Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, may no demons and ghosts run amok! Which little ghost is haunting this person? Stop right now..."
Granny Yin fiddled with the egg on the mirror. The egg was like a tumbler, wobbling but unable to stand still.
"Lao Chai? Is it you? If it is you, stop! I'll make some arrangements for you!" Granny Yin blurted out tentatively.
Hearing the name "Lao Chai", the couple hadn't reacted yet.
They saw that the egg on the mirror, which had been wobbling unsteadily, surprisingly stood still on the mirror as Granny Yin let go of her hands.
"This..." The couple were shocked by the egg in front of them. "This is impossible. The bottom of the egg is round. How can it stand?"
Then Granny Yin put the egg down and said as expected, "Well, you've been haunted by Lao Chai, an old neighbor of yours."
"Brother Chai? Is it the one who died of heart disease two or three years ago?" the middle - aged man asked in disbelief.
Aunt Yu suddenly realized and said, "Oh! I just said that the way he always covered his chest looked so familiar! He used to come to visit us, and he always covered his chest. It's so similar! What should we do now?"
"Fortunately, he doesn't have any grudges. As long as we make some arrangements for him, there should be no problem." Granny Yin said.
Hearing that it wasn't serious, Aunt Yu finally relaxed. "You said this man has been dead for two or three years. Why did he haunt my husband?... Thank you, Granny Yin. This is just a little token of our appreciation. Please help make the arrangements. You've worked hard! ... Then we'll go back first! Thank you for your hard work!"
Aunt Yu stuffed the silver pieces in her hand into Granny Yin's hand while supporting the old man out. She also mumbled, "I told you to come and have a look earlier, but you just didn't believe me. Look how accurate it is! It should be okay this time!"
Watching the old couple leave, Granny Yin slowly walked to the bedside, took out an old wooden box from under the pillow, and put the silver pieces in it. Suddenly, she thought of Wen Ruo's strange behavior just now. Could she sense something? So she asked curiously.
"Did you really smell a special odor today? When did it start?"
"Yes, Granny. I did smell a putrid odor, but you all didn't smell it. Maybe it was just my illusion..."
Wen Ruo thought that the smell was so real at that time. It was really strange. Could there be something wrong with her nose?
Granny Yin didn't show it on the surface, but in her heart, she was almost certain. Her granddaughter was extremely sensitive to supernatural things because of her special constitution. There might be some evil spirits nearby! Granny Yin urged, "Hurry up. Don't keep the Li couple waiting too long!"