Si Mo was puzzled. "What seems off?" He had carefully observed every place he and the little fox had passed, but he hadn't found any magic formations. Could there be something he had overlooked?
"The people strolling and playing here are acting strange!"
Si Mo: "..." He didn't like getting close to humans, so he never bothered to observe them. He really hadn't noticed anything wrong with the people passing by.
Rong Lan knew Si Mo's personality well. Without waiting for him to ask, she continued to explain. "We've been walking in the park for about half an hour since we came in. In this half - hour, the women, children, and the elderly we encountered seemed normal. But the men... all of them looked sallow - faced and listless!"
Si Mo raised his eyebrows. "Could that fox spirit be cultivating by sucking the essence of men?"
"It's possible. If that strange fox is indeed cultivating in such a way, it can't be the fox I know. In the world I came from, spirits and humans mostly coexisted peacefully. Qing Zhi might have some bad intentions, but she shouldn't dare to take such a devious path. If the elders of the clan found out that she was cultivating through such means, the least they'd do is expel her from the family, and at worst, they'd strip her of all her cultivation."
"Tsk—It's better to go and check for sure." Si Mo formed hand seals and cast an invisibility spell. "Moreover, if she's endangering ordinary humans, we have to deal with her."
This was an agreement he had reached with King Yama after opening the Ghost Gate and having a conversation with him.
He would help King Yama maintain the peace of this world and prevent outsiders from disrupting the balance. In return, King Yama would help him and the little fox return home when they wanted to.
Rong Lan nodded her little head in agreement. "Let's go and have a look."
The dragon and the fox, under the invisibility spell, walked towards the unopened area of the park again. As soon as they stepped over the warning line, Si Mo frowned tightly. "She's gone."
Rong Lan stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, she flapped her paws to steady herself.
"Gone??? Is she that vigilant?" "This is off! Something's definitely wrong! Isn't she curious if there are other spirits like her in this world? Did she do something wrong that made her run away as soon as we got close?"
Remember when Si Mo first met her, she greeted him actively.
If it had been her who met Si Mo first, she would have been unable to resist going up and chatting with him.
It was so rare to meet someone who could use magic in this world. How could she be so uncurious and avoid them instead?
"Moreover, she's very vigilant. She concealed her aura when she ran." Si Mo looked up towards the southeast. Golden light glinted in his eyes. It was a pity that concealing her aura was useless against him. He could sense the mark he had planted on that fox. If he wanted to chase, he could catch up, but he just didn't want to play this cat - and - mouse game with that fox.
"We've sort of revealed ourselves. If she wants to talk to us, she'll come to us on her own. Little fox, if you can wait, you can wait for three or four days for her to come. Of course, you can chase her now, but it'll be tiring." The spiritual energy in this world wasn't abundant, and he wanted to conserve it. He still had to go home.
Rong Lan could tell that Si Mo preferred to wait for the fox to come on her own. "Then let's wait for her. I actually have something else I need your help with."
So, Si Mo saved the spiritual energy he would have used to track the strange fox, but he couldn't save the energy for opening the Ghost Gate.
To conserve spiritual energy as much as possible, he waited until the sunlight had completely disappeared before he started.
The two closed the door of the fortune - telling shop and prepared to open the Ghost Gate.
Considering that complete darkness might scare the fox, Rong Lan turned on the lights in the fortune - telling shop.
King Yama, who was summoned again, had a gloomy face. "Even though you're the Dragon God, you can't open the Ghost Gate so frequently to look for me! Summoning me whenever you want and sending me away whenever you like. Do I have no dignity?"
"This time it's not me looking for you. The little fox has something she wants to ask you for help with." Si Mo stepped aside to let the little fox hiding behind him come forward.
Facing King Yama directly, Rong Lan forced a friendly smile and waved her little paw. "Hi~"
"Just say what you want. Get to the point." King Yama was unhappy, but he didn't dare to be rude to Rong Lan.
Who knew if this ordinary - looking fox spirit had a powerful backer?
"I'd like to ask King Yama to help me check on a ghost. Her name is Bai Rong Lan. I want to know if she's been reincarnated." Rong Lan said with a smile.
"Let me take a look." King Yama took out the Book of Life and Death.
After flipping through a few pages of the Book of Life and Death, King Yama stroked his beard and replied to Rong Lan. "She's a person with a fortuitous encounter, but she hasn't entered the underworld."
Rong Lan nodded in agreement when she heard the first half of the sentence, but when she heard the second half, her whole fox self was in a bad mood. She wiped the smile off her face. "She hasn't entered the underworld? Is she still wandering in the human world or has she...?" Has her soul dissipated?
"She's still wandering in the human world." King Yama was afraid that they would ask him to take care of the ghosts that hadn't entered the underworld. "Let me make it clear first. In principle, I don't take care of the ghosts wandering in the human world. If you want to find her, you have to do it on your own."
Rong Lan fell silent. Look for a ghost? How was she supposed to do that? She had no idea where Bai Rong Lan had gone.
She had thought that after the ghost Bai Rong Lan told her her wish, she would enter the underworld and be reincarnated.
"Do you have anything else? If not, I'll go back." King Yama was eager to return to the underworld.
Rong Lan slowly shook her head. "There's nothing else. Thank you for your trouble."
The Ghost Gate closed, taking away the lingering yin energy around the fortune - telling shop.
Si Mo stretched. "Do you need me to help you find Bai Rong Lan?"
"No." Rong Lan sighed. "After dealing with that scumbag Chu Chuan and finding out the details of that strange fox, I'll look for her on my own."
"Okay. Then let's go home." Saying that they were going home, after sending the little fox away, Si Mo, the dragon, was left alone in the fortune - telling shop.
He planned to practice in the fortune - telling shop for a while and then go for a walk alone, using himself as bait to see if he could lure out that strange fox.
Rong Lan, who had been happily skipping home, suddenly received a phone call. After answering it, her happiness vanished.
So, when Chu Hengyuan, who was waiting for Rong Lan at home, saw the little girl with droopy ears and a resentful look on her face.
"Brother!" As soon as she entered the door, without even taking off her coat, Rong Lan couldn't wait to share her unhappiness with Chu Hengyuan. "I just received a call from Mom and Dad. They've been taking turns trying to persuade me to go back and work at the Bai Group!"
Working at the Bai Group would surely lead to a bright future. The original Bai Rong Lan might have been happy about it, but she was a free - spirited fox. Her fortune - telling shop was on the right track, and she wanted to manage it well.
"What a coincidence?" Chu Hengyuan walked to the little girl's side, helped her take off her coat, and hung it on the hanger. "I also received a call from Dad this afternoon. He tried to persuade me to go and work at the Chu Group."