Jiang Liu looked to be about the same age as Shen Mo, around thirty years old. No one would believe he had a daughter this big.
Xiao Tang, grateful beyond words, looked at him with tears in his eyes, repeatedly thanking him. Lin Qiang, on the other hand, eyed Jiang Liu with some caution. Having lived half a lifetime, he had never seen anyone with skills like this, except for Shen Mo. This wasn’t a martial arts movie; how could Jiang Liu solve a situation that even bullets couldn’t handle with just a copper coin?
Jiang Liu’s worry and anger melted away when he saw Jiang Xiaosi’s beaming smile. However, standing in front of the imposing and powerful Shen Mo, he remained on guard. His instincts told him that this person was extremely dangerous. Furthermore, watching Shen Mo protect Xiaosi during their escape gave him an unsettling premonition.
Jiang Xiaosi, forgetting that she had secretly run off without telling Jiang Liu, happily introduced them. “Dad, this is Xiao Tang from the police force, and this is Lin Qiang. And this is Professor Shen Mo.”
Jiang Liu put on a polite smile, nodding in acknowledgment. “Hello, I’m Jiang Liu. I’m sorry for any trouble Xiaosi may have caused.”
Xiao Tang waved his hand quickly. “No, no. Thanks to Xiaosi, we were able to solve the case. We’re sorry for getting her involved.”
Jiang Liu shook his head, then crouched down to look at Jiang Xiaosi seriously. “Even if you’re determined and there’s danger, I won’t stop you from going out with them. But you shouldn’t have kept this from me.”
Jiang Xiaosi scratched her head, then dove into his arms, acting spoiled. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
“You made me worry even more. When we get home, you’ll tell me everything that’s happened these past few days.”
“Yes, sir!” Jiang Xiaosi said guiltily, then sighed as she looked at the ruined house. “Now that Yang Yan is dead, how am I going to explain this to Ye Miao?”
Shen Mo’s expression remained cold. “You don’t need to explain. Just tell her the truth. If she dares to cause more trouble or harm others, I’ll make sure she never reincarnates.”
Jiang Xiaosi shivered. That was harsh. Although Ye Miao’s actions were wrong, her emotions were understandable.
She also couldn’t help but notice the subtle hostility between her father and Shen Mo. Was this some kind of instinctual tension between a zombie and a Daoist? Shen Mo used to dislike her too, though he had warmed up slightly now. In the tomb, she had been terrified. If it weren’t for his protection, she might have been bitten by the Devil Bell Flower. The memory of Shen Mo grabbing her hand and leading her to safety made her cheeks flush.
Meanwhile, Lin Qiang was barking orders. “Xiao Tang, search the area thoroughly. See if there’s any evidence or anything worth discovering.”
As they sifted through the ruins, Jiang Xiaosi called out, “I found a laptop!”
She opened it and saw that it was an IBM, likely belonging to Yang Yan, but it was damaged beyond recognition.
“I’ll remove the hard drive and see if I can recover the data.”
The five of them contacted the local police station and then made their way down the mountain, driving back to Taoyuan City. Xiao Tang’s leg had healed significantly thanks to Shen Mo’s medicine and Jiang Liu’s bandaging.
Jiang Xiaosi, exhausted and hungry, fell asleep in Jiang Liu’s arms as soon as they got into the car. None of them had ever seen a girl this old still being so affectionate with her father, especially when Jiang Liu didn’t even look like her biological dad.
Xiao Tang couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Jiang, is Xiaosi your biological daughter? What happened to her mother?”
Jiang Liu shook his head. “She’s the daughter of a close friend. Her parents passed away, and I’ve raised her on my own.”
“What do you do, Mr. Jiang? Your skills are impressive.”
“I’m a doctor.”
“No wonder you bandaged me up so well.” Xiao Tang said with a chuckle.
Jiang Liu nodded, holding the sleeping Xiaosi in his arms without saying more. Shen Mo glanced at him, frowning slightly. There was something off about Jiang Liu, something even stranger than Jiang Xiaosi. Perhaps it was the result of dealing with spirits for so long that some ghostly aura had clung to him.
Shen Mo also felt a tinge of anger toward Jiang Liu. As Xiaosi’s guardian, he hadn’t taken proper care of her. Such a young girl, pregnant—Shen Mo suspected Jiang Liu didn’t even know. He wanted to ask Jiang Liu what he planned to do. Bringing the child into the world would be a mistake, but so would aborting it. They couldn’t make a hasty decision. But with Lin Qiang and Xiao Tang present, it wasn’t the right time to bring it up.
Xiao Tang drove them all the way to the entrance of Tuoguxiang. Jiang Liu invited them inside for a visit, but Xiao Tang, upon seeing the display of lingerie and adult products in the window, quickly waved his hands and declined, promising to visit another time.
Jiang Liu carried Xiaosi upstairs, tucking her into bed before heading down to prepare food. Xiaosi woke to the smell of cooking, ate heartily, and then began working on recovering the data from the hard drive.
“From now on, don’t get too involved with Shen Mo.” Jiang Liu warned her.
“Dad, I know you’re worried about me, but Shen Mo isn’t as bad as people say. He’s actually quite nice.”
“He may be nice to humans, but he’s not the same with non-humans. He doesn’t know your true identity yet, but he’ll find out eventually. When that happens, and he tries to hurt you, do you think you’ll be able to handle it? Do you think you’ll be able to escape?”
Jiang Xiaosi froze, feeling a wave of discomfort. She thought of Shen Mo’s undisguised disdain for non-humans and felt a pang in her heart. But she reassured herself that Shen Mo wouldn’t treat her that way. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Historically, only good and evil were at odds, right?
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be careful. Let me settle the Ye Miao situation first.”
When Shen Mo returned home, Pudding greeted him with a wagging tail but didn’t dare get too close. Shen Mo hadn’t expected the case to wrap up so quickly. Jiang Xiaosi had left enough dog food to last three days. When Shen Mo went into the kitchen, he saw that Pudding had eaten it all. He shook his head. This dog was just like Jiang Xiaosi—same temperament, same eyes, even the same appetite.
The next morning, Jiang Xiaosi was at his door again. Shen Mo had gotten used to her frequent disturbances. This time, her eyes were red, and she was holding the hard drive. “I’ve restored the data!”
“Stayed up all night?” That’s not good for a child. Shen Mo frowned and went to the kitchen to make her a cup of milk.
“No, not really. I found some stuff Yang Yan wrote. I need to use your internet to chat with Ye Miao. I’ll show her the evidence. If she gets mad and tries to hurt me, you’ll back me up, right?”
Shen Mo nodded. Now that Shen Koudan had retrieved the Purple Seal Insignia, dealing with Ye Miao would be easy.
Jiang Xiaosi logged into QQ for the first time in days, feeling a strange sense of security with Shen Mo standing beside her. She couldn’t help but recall how he had held her hand in the tomb, his warm, strong grip making her feel safe. He was the second man in her life who had made her feel protected.
Shen Mo noticed the way she was looking at him and frowned.
The QQ notifications started chiming rapidly. Since Jiang Xiaosi hadn’t logged in for several days, there were a lot of messages. She glanced through them but didn’t feel like replying. Instead, she messaged Ye Miao directly.
——I’m here.
Ye Miao was still online. Her username and status hadn’t changed, but the once blood-red avatar had turned completely white, blending into the background as if it didn’t exist.
There was no response for a long time. Jiang Xiaosi messaged her again.
——Are you there?
——I’m here.
Finally, a reply came.
——I found Yang Yan.
——You’re fast. There are still four days left until our agreed deadline.
——I found him, but I couldn’t bring him to you. He died yesterday. You probably already knew that, right?
Another long silence followed.
——He should have died by my hand. Who killed him?
——Strictly speaking, he committed suicide.
——Suicide out of guilt? Haha.
——Ye Miao, he didn’t kill you. The person who killed you wasn’t him. It was his wife.
——What did you say?
The screen flickered, becoming brighter. Jiang Xiaosi then explained everything she had witnessed during the trip, detailing how Yang Yan had been forced to live like a plant, unable to live or die, and how he had eventually broken free and withered away.
Suddenly, the speakers emitted a sharp, piercing laugh that echoed throughout the room. Jiang Xiaosi couldn’t tell if Ye Miao was laughing or crying.
“That woman… She’s truly something.
Be my Patron~
✨Be a part of the story – support my translations✨
✨✨Advance chapter at Patreon✨✨
