The Magic Seal formed from the ashes slowly dissipated, and you furrowed your eyebrows slightly, turning to Liu Chao beside you and saying, "This Magic Seal signifies that the Ghost Man Tong has been summoned elsewhere."
"Summoned elsewhere?"
"Yes, it means that it’s currently in another place, and there, an Altar has also been set up to worship the Ghost Man Tong. The Ghost Man Tong in front of you now is merely a shell and is of no further use, however..."
Seeing your change in tone, Liu Chao hurriedly asked, "However, what?"
"Since the shell of the Ghost Man Tong is still here, this place is equivalent to its home. Once it fulfills the wisher’s desire, it will return. However," you paused before continuing, "once the departed Ghost Man Tong returns, more complications could arise. We don’t know what the wisher outside is offering. If it’s fresh blood, then we’re in big trouble."
You turned your head toward Liu Chao’s wife and pointing to the wound on her finger, said, "Sister-in-law, you must be especially careful at home from now on. Ghost Man Tong and such entities are particularly averse to blood. After all, they are a kind of Ghost Infant. Although they’ve been enlightened by Buddhist Law, their true nature remains. This on your shoulder—"
Liu Chao’s wife suddenly let out a shrill scream, then immediately threw herself into Liu Chao’s arms.
"I, I, I have something on my shoulder, what is it on my shoulder!?"
Seeing Liu Chao’s wife’s intense reaction, you then realized that they couldn’t see the Ghost Man Tong.
"Let’s do this, I’ll Open the Heavenly Eyes for you first, so that you can have a true, honest encounter. Once a Ghost Man Tong is summoned, you can’t abandon it for the rest of your life. In some sense, it has become your child, a member of your family. Just imagine, what kind of retribution would you face if you abandoned your own child?"
Liu Chao and his wife exchanged glances, both their faces looking somewhat distressed.
Taking into account their tense state, you explained with a smile, "It’s alright, the little thing on sister-in-law’s shoulder is actually quite cute; it’s a little infant less than ten months old."
Women are inherently maternal, and upon hearing your words, Liu Chao’s wife eventually calmed down.
To Open the Heavenly Eyes for someone, Cow’s Tears and Willow Branches are the simplest and most convenient methods. However, these things were not found nearby, and since night had already fallen, it was not a good time to look for them.
Left with no choice, you had to use your own blood again.
Biting your finger, you drew a talisman on a piece of Talisman Paper, then placed the Talisman into a glass cup handed to you by Liu Chao’s wife.
The Talisman Paper ignited on its own within the cup, and once it had burned to ashes, you added some clean water to the cup.
Afterward, you agitated the water in the cup with your index and middle finger; like performing a magic trick, the water you stirred gradually became clear and reduced from half a cup to a quarter. When not a single impurity remained in the cup, you had Liu Chao’s wife pass you a prepared empty potion bottle.
You poured the water from the cup into the potion bottle, then dropped two drops into the eyes of Liu Chao and his wife in turn.
Liu Chao was the first to open his eyes, and he jumped when he saw the Ghost Infant on his wife’s shoulder for the first time.
Liu Chao’s wife’s reaction was different from his. When she turned her head to look at the Ghost Infant, the Ghost Infant also turned to look at her, babbling a few times and reaching out with its plump little hands, wanting to touch Liu Chao’s wife.
Liu Chao’s wife smiled tenderly, her face immediately radiating the unique maternal smile of a woman, and she extended her hand towards the Ghost Infant.
The large hand and small hand overlapped, and the Ghost Infant made joyful noises.
"This... Master, what do we do now?"
Seeing such a scene, the Stone in your heart has also been put down by half, which means that the Ghost Infant is still capable of feeling emotions. The years of coexistence had made the Ghost Infant recognize the presence of Liu Chao and his wife, and it had also integrated itself into the family.
"It looks like there’s no problem. The Ghost Infant is mischievous at times simply because it wants your attention. It’s still a child, immature, only capable of drawing your attention through some pranks."
You paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, the other ghost infant probably also took part, and I think it’s responsible for the more serious pranks. What we need to do now is to quickly find the person who invited the Ghost Man Tong out, hoping he didn’t worship it with fresh blood. Otherwise, we’ve got a real problem."
"But we can’t find someone like that so easily, we don’t usually have visitors at our house."
As Liu Chao was fretting, his wife suddenly said, "I know who it is."
"Who?" Liu Chao asked eagerly.
"Mother Wang!" Liu Chao’s wife said with certainty.
Liu Chao was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Mother Wang, how could it be her? It’s been a while since she left our house."
You looked at Liu Chao and said, "Tell me more about this Mother Wang first."
"Mother Wang was our housekeeper, she worked for our family for over three years."
After pondering for a while, Liu Chao asked his wife, "Do you know where Mother Wang lives?"
"The housekeeping agency should have her exact address."
With that, Liu Chao’s wife quickly stood up and dialed the agency’s number using the landline.
Soon, Liu Chao’s wife jotted down Mother Wang’s address and passed it to Liu Chao.
Liu Chao looked at you and said, "Master, do you mind taking a trip now to Mother Wang’s place?"
You nodded your head; you also knew that there was no time to waste on this matter.
Mother Wang lived in the suburbs of Yuhang, and by the time you got to the vicinity of her home, it had already turned completely dark.
It was difficult to find the house number in the countryside, but once you found the village where Mother Wang lived, Liu Chao immediately got out of the car and asked an old man playing with his grandson in front of a door, "Uncle, where does Wang Huilan live?"
The elderly man pointed the way, and after taking two turns under the dim streetlights, you arrived in front of a small courtyard.
At that moment, a middle-aged woman was just bringing out some leftovers to feed the dogs. Upon seeing her, Liu Chao called out at once, "Mother Wang!"
The middle-aged woman looked at Liu Chao, first a little astonished, then she gave a simple smile, "Chairman Liu, what brings you here? Come in and sit for a while."
Mother Wang’s reaction was very natural and also very enthusiastic, much like most rural women—simple and capable.
You and Liu Chao followed Mother Wang into the house, where Mother Wang’s husband, son, and daughter-in-law were all at home. On hearing that the visitor was Liu Chao, they all seemed very enthusiastic. From Mother Wang’s words, you learned that Liu Chao and his wife had previously treated Mother Wang well, and when she left, they even paid her an extra two months’ salary, a gesture Mother Wang still remembered gratefully.
Once everyone had taken a seat, Liu Chao cleared his throat and addressed Mother Wang, "There’s something I want to ask you."
"Chairman Liu, just speak your mind; you wouldn’t be here so late without good reason." Mother Wang was also very straightforward, and her family seemed to be doing quite well, leading a contented life.
"Mother Wang, I want to know if you have ever gone into the cellar and taken something from there?"
Upon hearing this, Mother Wang immediately said earnestly, "Chairman Liu, I worked in your house for three years—you and your wife should know my character well. Our family isn’t rich, but we don’t lack things. I would never take anything from your place, no matter what!"
"I know, don’t get worked up just yet." Liu Chao was about to explain when the electronic watch on your left wrist suddenly emitted a "beep beep" sound.
"I’ll step out for a moment."