Jiang Xiaosi pouted and furrowed her brows. So, it was revenge after all. That man was really cruel, no wonder Ye Miao was lingering in the network, filled with resentment and unable to pass on.
“Why did you promise her to find Yang Yan? Do you think you can find him when so many others have failed?” Shen Mo asked, his tone stern.
Kids these days—no sense of self-respect or restraint, and now, they’re biting off more than they can chew! He only asked her for a little help, but she ended up putting her life in danger.
Jiang Xiaosi rolled her eyes. “I only promised to find Yang Yan, not to bring him to her. As long as I know where he is, that’s good enough. And even though I know I can’t find him, isn’t that why I have you? You’ll definitely be able to track him down! Besides, he killed Ye Miao, which is a murder case. Don’t you want to bring him to justice?”
Shen Mo’s expression remained serious as he tossed his phone to her.
“Call back the number from earlier.”
Jiang Xiaosi quickly redialed Xiao Tang’s number, and as soon as the phone rang, it was picked up immediately.
“Professor Shen, how did it go? Is it handled?”
Jiang Xiaosi handed the phone to Shen Mo, but he frowned at it.
“You relay it for me.” he said.
With no other choice, Jiang Xiaosi summarized the conversation with Ye Miao to Xiao Tang. When Xiao Tang heard a young girl’s voice, he was utterly confused. Wasn’t Professor Shen teaching at a university? He expected Shen Mo to ask Shen Koudan or maybe one of his assistants or graduate students for help, but instead, he got a kid?
Hesitantly, he asked over the phone, “May I ask who you are?”
“I’m Jiang Xiaosi.” she replied loudly, making sure Shen Mo heard it too. But Shen Mo didn’t even glance at her, which irritated her even more.
“Thank you, Xiaosi. Sorry to have dragged you into this.”
“No worries, I’m not scared of ghosts. Chatting with her was actually kind of fun.”
Xiao Tang…
“Are you sure that person who might jump tonight will be okay?”
“Relax, Ye Miao’s main goal is to find Yang Yan. Since she was killed by her lover, she believes all men are unfaithful and vented her anger on others. Now that we’ve made an official agreement with her, she’ll hold back for the next two weeks to ensure someone finds Yang Yan for her.”
Shen Mo remained deep in thought, his pale, slender fingers, as smooth as jade, lightly tapping the table.
“Tell Xiao Tang to inform Captain Lin that the man who killed Ye Miao isn’t among the suicide victims. Ye Miao is trying everything to get her revenge, but since she’s only asking for help on QQ, it suggests she isn’t hiding in the network willingly—she’s trapped there. This could be related to her cause of death and the environment where she died. I need to visit the scene of her death to confirm. Have Xiao Tang come pick me up tomorrow.”
“Also, Yang Yan is the key to this case. Ye Miao said he killed her and their child. Immediately check the records at all the city’s hospitals for recent miscarriages. There should be some clues.”
“Investigate that magazine, Taoyuan Oddities, and its contributor ‘Pink Flutter.’ If Ye Miao didn’t leak information online herself, then that person might know something. Have Xiao Tang look into it.”
“The most important task is to find Yang Yan before next Wednesday. Since Ye Miao knows his home address, has sent people to find him, and can possess the network, Yang Yan must be hiding somewhere beyond her reach. We can relax our search in the city and focus on more remote areas where the network doesn’t reach.”
“When you get Yang Yan’s detailed information and records, send me a copy. Also, look into where Yang Yan’s hometown is and whether he has any distant relatives.”
Jiang Xiaosi echoed Shen Mo’s instructions to Xiao Tang and then hung up. Seeing that Shen Mo was still lost in thought, she rubbed her nearly empty stomach and pitifully said, “Since I helped you with that little task, can you let me stay over for the night and have dinner?”
“Staying overnight at a strange man’s house—aren’t you worried about your family? Or are they already used to it?” Shen Mo’s tone was sharp.
Jiang Xiaosi didn’t immediately catch his meaning, but then she remembered that her dad had said he’d try to finish work early today and make pizza for her. He hadn’t called in a while, so she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. It was dead.
“Can I borrow your phone?”
She took Shen Mo’s phone and went down to the courtyard to call Jiang Liu.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Dad, it’s me, Xiaosi. I’m out and might not come home tonight.”
Jiang Liu, with a lollipop in his mouth, was busy in the kitchen making a bright red pizza. Holding the phone between his shoulder and ear, he asked, “Out with friends at KTV for an all-nighter?”
Jiang Xiaosi hesitated. Would her dad freak out if he knew she was hanging out with someone from the Shen family? He had only just reminded her last time to stay away from them. Better not to tell him for now—otherwise, he’d definitely rush over and drag her home.
“I’m at a friend’s place. I’ll be back tomorrow. Save me a slice of pizza, and don’t eat it all yourself.”
“Alright, just don’t get too wild and try to sleep early.”
“Got it. Goodnight.”
After hanging up, Jiang Xiaosi hopped back inside, only to find a few dishes already set on the table, along with two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks.
Great! At least he knows what “repaying a favor” means and agreed to let her stay for dinner!
She happily sat down at the table, waiting for the meal to start. Before long, Shen Mo emerged from the kitchen with two more dishes—scrambled eggs with shrimp and pine nut corn.
“The food got cold, so I reheated it. Eat.”
Jiang Xiaosi wasted no time, grabbing her chopsticks and digging in. She shoveled food into her mouth, realizing for the first time that a meal without blood as seasoning could still be so delicious.
“Were you expecting company?” she asked between bites.
Shen Mo shook his head.
“Then why did you cook so many dishes for one person?”
Though there were several dishes, each portion was small, and they were all light and delicate. Like her dad, this guy was quite the cook, able to elevate simple dishes to perfection.
“Don’t talk while eating or sleeping,” Shen Mo muttered, annoyed as he watched her wolf down the food in front of him. If she hadn’t helped him out a bit earlier and then gotten herself into big trouble, he would have thrown her out without a second thought.
“What’s your name?” Jiang Xiaosi asked curiously. After all this time, he still hadn’t told her.
Shen Mo remained silent.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll guess! Shen Biao? Shen Lang? Shen Shi? Shen Zhengfu…”
“Shen Mo,” he finally said, his lips twitching slightly.
Satisfied, Jiang Xiaosi nodded. “It seems like you prefer teaching and solving cases over catching ghosts. Professor Shen… Yeah, that sounds better than Taoist Shen!”
Shen Mo put down his chopsticks and looked at her. “Who exactly are you?”
“I’m Jiang Xiaosi, and my family runs a…um, an adult shop.”
Shen Mo narrowed his eyes and smirked with a hint of disdain. “So you’re from Tuo Gu Xiang.”
No ordinary person would be as fearless as her. He had suspected her identity was unusual, but he hadn’t expected her to be connected to Tuo Gu Xiang.
From ancient times to the present, those who did business with the dead—whether running coffin shops, wreath shops, crematoriums, or funeral homes—were always looked down upon. Some Taoists, struggling to make ends meet, also used ghosts and spirits to earn money. Tuo Gu Xiang dealt with both the living and the dead, directly selling blood plasma to the various ghosts and non-humans Shen Mo despised. Naturally, he found her distasteful.
This little girl, although she gave off an odd feeling, was indeed human—an ordinary person with no spiritual power. Shen Mo didn’t say anything more and stood up.
“Dinner’s not free. Wash the dishes afterward. And since you type so fast, there’s a stack of manuscripts and letters over there that need to be typed up. If they’re emails, send them directly—the addresses are written on them.”
“Using your email?”
“I don’t know mine. Only my assistant does. You can use yours if you want. If it’s too late and you don’t want to go home, sleep in the room my niece stayed in earlier. Don’t go into any other rooms.”
With that, he headed back into his study.
Jiang Xiaosi sighed, continuing to shovel food into her mouth. So she was just free labor, huh? Washing dishes was one thing, but now she had to type up all his stuff too!
Still, she happily finished every last bite of the food, humming as she washed the dishes. Shen Mo’s kitchen was large and spotless, mostly filled with traditional Chinese utensils, unlike her own home, which had all kinds of cooking tools. Jiang Liu didn’t need to eat anymore—he could survive on blood alone—but Jiang Xiaosi still needed food, although she could go longer without it than most people. Blood wasn’t a necessity for her, but it sure made things taste better.
After cleaning the dishes, she even mopped the floor. She rarely did chores at home since Jiang Liu usually took care of everything. Her dad really was one of a kind—a great man who had cooked for her for a thousand years without a single complaint.
Once she finished tidying up, she considered watering the Qianye Linglan, but Shen Mo had already set up an irrigation system that automatically drew water from the pond at regular intervals. So, instead, she sat down at the computer and began typing up his manuscripts.
His handwriting was beautiful, elegant, and flowing, with each stroke deliberate yet free. There wasn’t a single smudge or sign of carelessness. Most of the documents were lecture notes and manuscripts for books, along with letters to students doing archaeological internships in other regions, filled with guidance and corrections on their assignments. Since he disliked using computers so much, he probably handed everything to his assistants to type up at the office.
After inputting the entire thick stack of papers, Jiang Xiaosi was surprised to find there wasn’t a single typo, not even a misplaced punctuation mark. The content flowed seamlessly, with very few edits or corrections. This man was not only incredibly meticulous but also extraordinarily calm and thoughtful—he never acted without considering everything first.
However, she couldn’t help but make a few corrections to the historical references in one of his articles for a professional journal and adjusted the excavation dates of a few artifacts.
One of the letters to a student piqued her interest. The student had been doing archaeological work near the Yunnan border and had discovered an ancient tomb. However, the people who entered the tomb seemed to have been cursed, unable to leave the surrounding five-mile radius without experiencing excruciating abdominal pain and developing snake-like patterns on their skin. Yet within that range, they were perfectly fine. As a result, they had been unable to return and had to stay on-site to investigate further.
Shen Mo took this matter seriously, writing a three-page response, analyzing the tomb’s age and the identity of its owner, as well as the possible curses involved. He gave detailed instructions on safety precautions for the ongoing archaeological work and informed them that he would head there as soon as this case was wrapped up.
Jiang Xiaosi tilted her head in thought. Shen Mo’s analysis was probably spot-on, but if it really was the **Heixu Gu** (Black Mamba Curse), then things could get a bit tricky. She went ahead and added several more safety tips, reminding them not to put any salt in their food for the time being.
After finishing everything, she checked the time—it was only midnight. This was usually when she was most energetic, so of course, she wasn’t ready to sleep yet. Shen Mo was still in his study, with light shining through the gap under the door. So, Jiang Xiaosi decided to explore the house a bit more.
The place had so many rooms, she lost count. Some were filled with artifacts, others with books and research materials. There were studios, restoration rooms, and offices.
Rows upon rows of wooden shelves were crammed with things, making Jiang Xiaosi’s eyes spin.
It was like a museum. She found herself growing more and more impressed with Shen Mo. She casually pulled a book off a shelf and sat down by the floor-to-ceiling window to read. The crescent moonlight reflected off the pond, creating a peaceful and beautiful scene. Without realizing it, she dozed off.
Shen Mo finally emerged from his study at 2 a.m. Seeing the lights still on, he walked in and found Jiang Xiaosi fast asleep at the desk.
He grimaced, carefully removing his book from under her cheek. It was damp with drool. His heart ached—this was a precious ancient text, even if it wasn’t an original!
When he opened it, he saw it was written in Oracle Bone Script, and he sighed even more. He threw a blanket over her and then went off to bed himself.
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