It wasn’t possible to get any clues from Zhang Zi Xin. When Ruan Zhan released him from the tattered banner, he was extremely injured and his consciousness was faint. He wasn’t even able to coalesce, let alone converse.
“Uh, did you accidently injure him when you absorbed him?” Wan Li said sympathetically.
Ruan Zhan shook his head. “It wasn’t me. If the spirit power of the banner isn’t activated, it won’t harm spirits when used as a vessel. I’ve only used it in this way. The other method is too cruel.”
“Then he…”
“Let’s first preserve his consciousness!” Ruan Zhan sighed. He first sent out a formless talisman, fixing the slowly dissipating, almost transparent shade in place. Then, he took out a red wooden box from the depths of his closet. He took out strange bottles and jars, three pieces of special talisman paper, a stack of ordinary talisman paper, a black brush and a three-inch long little wooden sword, putting them all on the table.
“Hey, those are Bao Da Tong’s things. It’s not good to go through them, right?” Wan Li looked at Ruan Zhan. “Shouldn’t you at least put on a ‘circumstances have forced me to do so’ expression?”
Ruan Zhan didn’t even look up, acting as if everything as proper. “The box Master Long gave me was properly hidden in the bookshelf of Xiao Xia’s room, but he also went through it as he pleased. And not just once. I didn’t see any hint of embarrassment from him.” He picked out two bottles as he spoke, and after carefully scrutinizing them, he dipped the strange brush into a bottle before drawing on the talisman paper. “I’m being quite nice to him, using only the ordinary talisman paper and ordinary ink. Who would have thought he had quite a few good things?”
Wan Li snorted, marveling at Bao Da Tong’s charisma. He was able to get along easily with everyone. Even someone aloof like Ruan Zhan would interact so casually with him.
Ruan Zhan drew twelve talismans in one go, placing them onto the six sides of the wooden box, inside and out. Then, he drew glyphs in the air, chanting unintelligible spells as he pointed with his finger. The shade seemed to be pulled as it slowly drifted into the box. Ruan Zhan closed the lid afterwards.
“You’re even requisitioning his wooden box?”
“This is no ordinary wooden box. It contains spirit energy, which Zhang Zi Xin can use to reform himself.” Ruan Zhan placed the box under the bed. “His powers were far too lacking compared to the fiend girl. He was almost wiped out. It’s my fault for not noticing earlier. Otherwise, If I performed first aid earlier, it might have been easier.”
“What a debt.” Wan Li sighed lightly as understanding dawned. “He risked his soul to save Xiao Xia. How are you going to repay him?!”
“I know why he did it.” A trace of weariness flashed across Ruan Zhan’s face, but he swiftly recovered. “I will do as he wishes.”
Wan Li smiled bitterly. “See, that’s a man, willing to do anything to protect one’s wife and kids. However, that at least tells us something. Lu Yan might really be innocent, and there might be a real Lil’ Tong somewhere. Let’s assume that when Zhang Zi Xin provoked those fiends back then, he not only brought calamity upon himself, but also on his soon-to-be bride and unborn child. Since those fiend children died over three centuries ago, they were filled with curiosity about modern people. Therefore, they didn’t devour Zhang Zi Xin’s soul, and merely tormented him for fun, or used him to reach the city. They had never seen the things here before, and probably couldn’t even imagine it. Compared to the lonely darkness, they must like this place a lot, so they stayed. The city is a hub of secular activity. No matter how many filthy and dark places there are, it’s still a human settlement after all, brimming with Yang energy. Although the fiends are strong, they still needed to find some place to stay. Therefore, they chose Lu Yan. She even had a child inside her. One of the fiend children chose the unborn baby as his vessel, or perhaps his host. And this parasite later Lil’ Tong.”
Ruan Zhan listened to Wan Li’s words as he strolled over to the window and looked out. The streets were packed with people, and truly felt like the secular hub Wan Li described. But in such a large, bustling city, the things people wanted to have and protect probably weren’t that many! Zhang Zi Xin, for example, only wanted to protect his wife and child. As for himself, he only wanted the girl sleeping in the other room to be safe! At that moment he suddenly wanted to do his best to help Zhang Zi Xin. He would do so even if he didn’t owe him so much!
“That makes sense.” He said quietly. “That boy fiend occupied the real Lil’ Tong’s body, but there is one question. Apart from being made up of their parents, people are born with souls. If the fiend is occupying Lil’ Tong’s body, where did the original soul go?”
“Wouldn’t have been…eaten, right?” Wan Li was a little worried.
Ruan Zhan considered it and felt it wasn’t very likely. Even after reincarnation, a newborn baby’s life and soul are blank slates. Although extremely weak, they are incomparably pure since they haven’t been tainted by the secular world. When purity and weakness reach an extreme, they become the most powerful things. That is an innate power that the fiend children cannot overcome, no matter how powerful they are. They can at most squeeze in with the new soul before finding ways to make it slowly wither.
This was verifiable since the fiend girl had told Xiao Xia: I really want my own body just like big bro, so I can slowly grow up!
“This means…Lu Yan and her son were both possessed!” Hearing Ruan Zhan’s explanation, Wan Li’s brows furrowed. He had a soft heart and hated to see women or children get bullied.
“Lil’ Tong is definitely possessed, but not Lu Yan.” Ruan Zhan shook his head. “There are only two fiends. One is the boy fiend who occupied Lil’ Tong from birth. The other is the girl fiend. When we saw her, she always had Zhang Jia Lin’s appearance. She even said she wanted to steal Xiao Xia’s body, and look for other bodies to use as clothing she can change in and out of. Did you notice? She told Xiao Xia: I’m already over three hundred years old. I can’t always look like a child. What does this mean? It means she’s always had a child’s appearance.”
“I’ve never really believed that something might be wrong with Lu Yan.” Wan Li once again recalled Lu Yan’s actions. “She was the one who came to us, and her expression at the time couldn’t be faked. However, there is something strange about her that I can’t figure out. Do you think the fiend girl occasionally possesses her? If so, then it would explain why Lu Yan is sometimes normal and sometimes strange.”
“Perhaps. However, I’m leaning towards the theory that both fiend children initially hid inside Lil’ Tong’s body. The boy fiend was in control while the girl fiend’s was a minor possession. Kind of like living at a friend’s place. The boy fiend clearly wants to experience the feeling of slowly growing up. They were injected with mercury around five years old and buried alive. They must be filled with regrets towards life. Due to both spirits parasitizing the body, it resulted in extreme weakness. I remember Lu Yan saying Lil’ Tong suffered a very serious illness and the doctor’s outlook was bleak. However, he made a miraculous recovery. Soon after, the children started going missing.”
“Ah, that makes sense.” Wan Li patted his forehead. “I was wondering why they only started messing around recently when they had already arrived five years ago! They must have stayed together over the years, getting used to the world or cultivating, or even wanting to live a proper life here. However, Lil’ Tong’s body became unable to contain them both. Therefore, the temporarily housed fiend girl started looking for a new body.”
Ruan Zhan looked at Wan Li without speaking for a while. Finally, he scolded lightly. “You are actually a supposedly famous psychiatrist? You’re clearly a quack! It’s damn lucky you didn’t cure your patients into depression. There’s actually people out there asking you to teach, and reading over your thesis?! Your daddy really can’t stand to look at this world anymore!” He couldn’t help but curse. “Perhaps your initially guesses were correct. But are the fiend girl’s motivations really so simple? Then why would she harm so many children? If she really wanted to experience life, can’t she just find another unborn baby to possess? They are so powerful. If they just wanted to live life, they could remain hidden for decades or even centuries without meeting us. Why make such a big ruckus? Did they already eat their fill? Should I call you naive or stupid? Considering what Xiao Xia just encountered, couldn’t you figure out some sort of psychological factors? Didn’t you say before that people, animals or spirits, all have their reasons no matter how random their actions may seem? There is no such thing as love without reason or hate without reason in this world. Weren’t you able to find any clues?!”
Ruan Zhan’s rare reprimand confused Wan Li for a moment. “I haven’t figured anything out yet. How about you tell me.”
“Go think about it on your own!”
“Fine, fine, I’ll go think about it.” Seeing Ruan Zhan on edge, Wan Li knew he must have remembered the boy fiend’s plans for Xiao Xia again, thus losing control of his emotions. “But you should at least tell me why Zhang Zi Xin would appear at this moment?”
“It’s very simple.” Ruan Zhan calmed himself and spread his arms. “The fiends used him to come to the city and then lost interest in him. They didn’t even want to eat his soul. Zhang Zi Xin could have moved on, but he couldn’t leave Lu Yan behind. Therefore, he hid by her side for five years without leaving. This was why Lu Yan felt her husband hadn’t died, and that he was always with her. Although the fiends are powerful, there are still many ways for a soul to hide from them.”
“Why didn’t Zhang Zi Xin tell Lu Yan the truth in her dreams?”
“Those fiends want to use Lu Yan to blend into society, and even get some maternal love. Therefore, they normally wouldn’t do anything to her. But if Lu Yan found out the truth, and Zhang Zi Xin couldn’t protect her, do you think she could stay alive? If Lu Yan died, what would happen to Lil’ Tong? What would you do if you were Zhang Zi Xin?”
“Now I understand. I was just stuck on a minor issue, not seeing the forest for the trees.” Wan Li said. “There was a delicate balance between them that was thrown into crisis when the fiend girl started harming people. It also threatened Lu Yan and the real Lil’ Tong. At that time, the mighty Master Bao appeared, so Zhang Zi Xin started appearing frequently to Lu Yan. He knew she missed him, so she would go find Master Bao in order to see him again. That was how he got us involved. He didn’t have to worry about her telling the fiends. Why would a mother speak about her thoughts to such a young child?”
“But the moment we appeared at Lu Yan’s house, the fiends realized what had happened. That was why Xiao Xia repeatedly encountered strange events. Zhang Zi Xin remained hidden, seeing whether or not he could help. When Xiao Xia was in danger last night, he risked his soul to save her so we would help Lu Yan and Lil’ Tong in exchange. He isn’t able to help them by himself.”
The two of them felt they were getting closer to the truth, feeling everything was becoming clear.
“Don’t forget about Bao Da Tong.” Wan Li reminded. “Those fiends seem to have a grudge against him. But since he isn’t a descendant of that old Daoist, there has to be some other reason. Also, as a single mother raising a sickly son, Lu Yan must have noticed something was off. Why was she never suspicious?”
“That’s not hard to understand.” Ruan Zhan smiled, but Wan Li sensed a trace of bitterness and sorrow within. “She couldn’t have been oblivious. But as you said, she’s his mother. Even if she knew something was wrong with her child, she would choose to hide it. It’s like Duan Jin. A real mother would never abandon her son, even if he was a demon.”
Why? Why didn’t he have such a mother? Was he especially unlucky, or was he especially horrifying? He remembered when he was around four or five, his parents didn’t like him. They only liked his younger brother and older sister. Therefore, he could only play by himself, and ended up stumbling across the town’s cemetery, where he saw many strange people. He wasn’t scared of them, and played with them happily. One summer night, an auntie with a hanging tongue that he often saw was standing outside his house. She told him: The residences of the human world are off limits to us. Invite me inside, let me smell the fragrance of food. He did as she asked, and ended up scaring his mother into fainting! He felt very guilty and told his parents he was the one responsible. Therefore, he was thrown out like a stray dog.
Yet like a stray dog, he somehow managed to find his way home every time. A five year old child, repeatedly abandoned yet repeatedly finding his way back. Hungry, feet covered in blisters, yet not a single adult on the way checked up on him. But not long after getting home, he would get thrown out even further! He thought his parents were angry at him for doing something wrong. He just needed to be obedient and they would forgive him. He even lost his temper at that auntie, shooting out flames from his hand in front of his parents. Yet he still saw fear and disgust in his parents’ eyes. Finally, his dad said he would take him on a trip. They were on the train for a long, long time, and he bought him many delicious things to eat. He had been so happy. But when he was thrown into a coal-carrying truck in the middle of the night, he finally understood. His parents didn’t want him. In this world, no one wanted him!
