At noon, the sun blazed outside, but inside, the room was filled with an eerie chill.
The shadowless vengeful spirit tilted her head, gazing at Wen Qingchen with hollow eyes. The innocence in them was long gone, replaced by an icy coldness.
“Sister, do you like Lanlan?”
Lanlan tilted her head, as if insisting on a definite answer.
Wen Qingchen wasn’t afraid of the now-vengeful ghost Lanlan; she just felt a bit of pity.
If this child hadn’t become a vengeful spirit, perhaps she could have been laid to rest.
Wen Qingchen felt guilty about the child. As a shaman-healer, she believed in healing, and though she preferred not to meddle too much, it was sad to see such a young life lost.
Wen Qingchen sat down calmly, poured herself a cup of tea, and asked Lanlan, “Do you want to eat me too?”
Lanlan tilted her head, not answering, her hollow eyes pitch black, radiating a chilling eeriness.
Wen Qingchen took a sip of tea to soothe her throat, then chuckled softly, “But you can feel it, can’t you? You don’t dare to come near me, do you?”
Lanlan pouted, looking down as if feeling wronged. “Sister, you don’t like me either?”
“I don’t like ghosts that are too fierce,” Wen Qingchen replied.
Lanlan raised her hollow gaze.
Wen Qingchen stepped forward, stopping about three feet away, and said, “If you’re not too fierce, I might try to like you.”
“Really? Will you come stay with me?” Lanlan asked.
“No,” Wen Qingchen replied.
In an instant, a sinister deathly aura filled Lanlan’s eyes. “Sister, are you lying to me too? You’re all liars. Mother also said… said she would love me more next time… but she lied. The next day, she kept beating me…”
Enduring the purifying force emanating from Wen Qingchen, Lanlan floated closer, her feet leaving the ground.
“Lanlan hates liars the most… Hates them the most…”
With that, she lunged toward Wen Qingchen, knocking her down.
In an instant, the power emanating from Wen Qingchen caused Lanlan to feel as though she were being burned. She let out a painful scream, black smoke billowing from her body.
But even then, Lanlan refused to let go, clinging tightly to Wen Qingchen.
Wen Qingchen sighed. A newly formed vengeful ghost, no matter how fierce, wouldn’t be particularly strong. Only ghosts that had existed for hundreds or even thousands of years would give her pause.
She pulled Lanlan off her and said calmly, “I didn’t lie to you. You want me to stay with you, but why should I?”
Her voice was calm, yet carried an air of authority. “If you want me by your side, then stay with me yourself. I won’t drive you away, and I won’t purify you.”
“Is that really true? Will you take care of me?” Lanlan asked, black smoke continuing to pour from her, clearly severely injured by the purifying power. But Wen Qingchen’s words sparked a glimmer of hope in her.
“Raise a ghost?” Wen Qingchen frowned, thinking about it. “I’ve never tried, but… maybe I could give it a shot?”
Lanlan floated in mid-air, suddenly beginning to cry. Ghosts couldn’t shed tears, but the small girl looked pitiful.
“Sister is a good person. She gave me medicine and can see Lanlan as she is now. Lanlan likes having sister with her…”
Wen Qingchen raised her eyebrows as she watched the young girl cry. Because she liked her, she wanted to pull her into becoming a ghost to keep her company?
She really couldn’t understand a child’s, or rather, a ghost’s, mind.
But… was she really going to raise a ghost?
Well, hopefully, it wouldn’t scare her brother too much.
Once she had decided to keep Lanlan by her side, Wen Qingchen began making preparations.
She had dealt with all sorts of demons and ghosts, and had always purified any ghost she encountered. She’d never kept one before and wasn’t sure how to go about it.
Thinking for a moment, Wen Qingchen pulled out her communication stone.
“Brother Yin, are you there?”
