Jiang Xiaosi sat innocently by the door, wearing pajamas and clutching her tomato juice. Pudding, the little dog, lay inside the box of tomato juice, its head poking out.
No surprise—both of them had been unceremoniously kicked out of the house by Shen Mo.
But Jiang Xiaosi wasn’t one to give up so easily. Huffing with determination, she said, “Pudding, listen up. You’re going to stay by the door, and when ‘Cold Mo’ opens it, don’t rush inside. Just look at him with those sad puppy eyes and whimper. Got it? The sadder you sound, the better—weak and pitiful. Understand? Let me hear a whimper.”
“Woof woof!”
Jiang Xiaosi tapped the dog’s head. “Not barking! Whimper!”
“Ooo~ ooo~” Pudding looked up at her with big, watery eyes, full of innocence.
“Perfect! Keep that look. I guarantee he’ll let you back in tonight. I’ll come visit you tomorrow. Don’t wander off. Endure a little hardship now, and you’ll never have to worry about bones again. Got it?”
“Ooo ooo ooo!”
“Good. I’m heading back now. I’ll bring you some treats tomorrow!”
Jiang Xiaosi, holding her tomato juice, made her way down the mountain while Pudding obediently stayed by the door, wagging its tail as it watched her leave.
When she arrived at Tuo Gu Xiang, she was surprised to see that the sign on the door read “Open for Business.”
Huh, didn’t Dad go to work today?
Jiang Xiaosi pushed open the door, and the familiar sound of the wind chime greeted her. Sitting behind the counter was a stunningly beautiful woman with narrow eyes, dressed in a luxurious red cheongsam. She wore long leather gloves, had a snow-white fox fur draped over her shoulders, and a cigar between her fingers. The slit in her cheongsam was cut provocatively high, revealing long, pale legs.
Jiang Xiaosi blinked in surprise. “Miao Yan? What are you doing here?”
Miao Yan elegantly blew out a puff of smoke while casually flipping through the shop’s ledger. “I missed you, of course. What’s with your outfit? Why are you out in pajamas in broad daylight?”
Jiang Xiaosi laughed, putting down her box of tomato juice. “It’s the latest trend. Did you miss me, or did you miss my dad?”
Miao Yan scoffed disdainfully. “Do you think I’m as infatuated as that zombie Yuchen? I’m only interested in cold-hearted bad boys. Your dad is nowhere near my type.”
Miao Yan was a ghost who had attained a golden body but had no desire to become a Buddha. They had met five hundred years ago and were old friends. Miao Yan was proud, cunning, lazy, and sharp-tongued—a bundle of bad habits—but she had a good heart and was loyal. No one knew the extent of her powers or how long she had been around. She drifted through the world, indulging in luxury, and changed men more often than she changed clothes.
“Where’s Yuchen? I haven’t seen her for months.”
“Her? She’s gone to nursing school.”
“What?”
“She wants to become a nurse at your dad’s hospital.”
Jiang Xiaosi was speechless.
“We haven’t received any special items lately, just a Zitan wood inlaid jade paperweight and a celadon inkstone that are decent. I’ll have someone bring them over another day.”
“I wish I’d kept more of those old bottles and jars now that I know they’re worth so much,” Miao Yan teased, blowing a playful puff of smoke at Jiang Xiaosi.
Jiang Xiaosi coughed violently, waving away the smoke. “You couldn’t hold onto anything if you tried. Even if you had the entire tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, it wouldn’t last you long. Besides, it’s not the bottles and jars that are valuable—it’s time. You’re quite valuable yourself. What man wouldn’t willingly spend his money on you?”
“You’ve got it wrong. Women become less valuable the older they get! If I were your age, now that would be something.” Miao Yan pinched Jiang Xiaosi’s cheek and then pinched her own, thinking to herself that if she hadn’t been afraid of being unrecognizable to that person, she would have transformed into a seventeen or eighteen-year-old beauty.
“Still no news?” Jiang Xiaosi saw the fleeting sadness in Miao Yan’s eyes and couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
For five hundred years, ever since Jiang Xiaosi had met Miao Yan, she had been searching for that person, unwilling to reincarnate or attain Buddhahood. Jiang Xiaosi couldn’t understand the kind of stubbornness that could make someone wait in loneliness for a thousand years, just as she didn’t fully understand her dad.
Miao Yan shook her head, the sadness lingering in her heart. “Now that you’re back, you can watch the shop. I’ve got a date with a handsome guy this afternoon!”
Jiang Xiaosi pulled out a bottle of tomato juice and offered it to her. “Want some?”
Without a word, Miao Yan opened the bottle and chugged it down in one go. “Oh, right, your dad said to call him before he left. Your phone’s been off.”
“Oh, got it.”
Jiang Xiaosi watched as Miao Yan sashayed out the door, got into a brand-new Lamborghini, and sped off.
She plugged in her phone to charge it, then called Jiang Liu.
“Dad?”
But as soon as the call connected, a loud buzzing noise filled her ear, and then—*boom*! The phone exploded in her hand.
Jiang Xiaosi jumped in shock, unable to dodge in time. Fortunately, the jade pendant she wore emitted a protective green glow that deflected the shrapnel.
Heart pounding, she nervously touched her ears and face. Thank goodness, she hadn’t been disfigured. Her ears were still ringing, and she couldn’t hear anything for a while.
“Oh no, what happened to Dad?”
Without even changing out of her pajamas, she threw on a coat and rushed outside. She hopped on her electric bike, put on her helmet, and zipped out of Bar Street. The jade pendant in her pocket warmed up, resonating with Jiang Liu’s jade, guiding her direction.
Before long, she spotted a massive Ferris wheel in the distance—it was the amusement park. Jiang Xiaosi felt her pocket and realized with a start that she hadn’t brought any money. She wouldn’t be able to buy a ticket, so she circled around to the side and climbed over the fence.
A little boy holding a cotton candy in one hand and a balloon in the other looked up just in time to see Jiang Xiaosi drop ungracefully to the ground, landing on all fours. He burst into laughter, clutching his belly.
Jiang Xiaosi, feeling frustrated, got up, snatched the boy’s cotton candy, and took off running while munching on it.
The boy, still in shock, didn’t even notice his balloon slipping from his hand. He turned to see Jiang Xiaosi gleefully sticking out her tongue at him, and with a loud wail, he began to cry.
Panting heavily, Jiang Xiaosi finally made it to the haunted house at the corner of the amusement park. Cold air seeped from inside, and the colorful lights flickered ominously, giving the place an eerie atmosphere. People instinctively kept their distance.
“Why would he be in there?”
As soon as she stepped inside, the temperature plummeted. The surroundings were pitch black, with artificial howling winds and ghostly wails swirling around her.
“Dad!” she called out loudly, but there was no response. She quickly headed up to the next level.
Suddenly, a blinding white light appeared, making it impossible for her to keep her eyes open.
“Xiaosi! Watch out!”
Jiang Xiaosi felt a cold wind rush toward her. On instinct, she raised her hands to block, but whatever was coming at her suddenly stopped. She looked around, only to hear the sound of a silver-bell-like laugh.
Looking up, she saw a baby’s spirit floating in mid-air, happily licking the cotton candy she had been eating.
“Xiaosi, are you okay?”
Jiang Liu’s worried voice cut through the tension. He saw the ghost baby charge at Jiang Xiaosi again, and his expression instantly turned cold. His normally gentle eyes froze over like ancient ice as he flipped his palm, casting a Rebirth Talisman.
“I tried to spare you, but you leave me no choice!”
The ghost baby quickly turned and fled, letting out a blood-curdling scream as the talisman’s edge clipped it.
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