Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Cause

Upon hearing Shen Chang'an's words, everyone present was momentarily stunned. The couple, in particular, erupted in a furious tirade. "What do you mean by that? My daughter is already dead, and you want her to come out? What kind of beast are you?"

"Boss Chen, is this how you people handle things? Just you wait, I won't let this go!"

"You're so young and yet your words are so venomous. You'll die a miserable death!"

Shen Chang'an ignored their abuse, simply looking at them calmly. After a while, the couple noticed his complete indifference and, for reasons they couldn't explain, were unsettled by the look in his eyes. Fear crept into their hearts, and they fell silent.

But soon enough, indignation flared within them again. They were clearly in the right—why should they be afraid?

Just as they opened their mouths to continue cursing, Shen Chang'an spoke slowly, "What are you afraid of? Unless, perhaps, there's something on your conscience?"

The pair froze, and for some unfathomable reason, an inexplicable terror began to seep through them from the moment Shen Chang'an spoke.

At that moment, Shen Chang'an ceased wasting words. He drew a talisman from his robe and flicked it with a casual motion.

"By command!"

The talisman burst into flames.

In an instant, everyone saw a ghastly black shadow appear at the woman's feet.

"Aah!"

Chen Mengchen screamed, instinctively hiding behind Shen Chang'an. Chen Siyang's face shifted, but he managed to stand his ground, while his driver stepped in front of him protectively, pulling him back.

As for the old Daoist, Sun Yiyuan, at the sight of the ghost, he collapsed wordlessly to the floor. His young disciple, lost and frightened, could do nothing but keep pushing at his master, desperately trying to wake him so they could escape together.

The couple, seeing the ghostly figure at their feet, recoiled in terror. But when they realized it was their own daughter, they sneered in disgust, shaking their ankles in an attempt to kick the child away.

Shen Chang'an watched coldly and spoke, "You've already kicked her away once. Do you want to do it a second time?"

The woman was stunned by his words, but gritted her teeth and retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting? My girl fell on her own!"

"Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"Yes, I saw it myself. What about it?"

No sooner had she spoken than Chen Siyang frowned, pushed aside his driver, and said coldly, "With your own eyes? Earlier you said your daughter came here to play on her own!"

His words were edged with anger. The whole affair had plagued him for days, and he'd lost all patience. The shopping mall had yet to open because of this incident, and the money he'd invested was going down the drain.

"I—she—she came here to play by herself. I... I only saw her body..."

Shen Chang'an shook his head and sighed. "I truly can't understand how you could do such a thing. For the sake of money, you would abandon your own flesh and blood. Are you even human?"

"You're slandering us again? Huh? You think we're here to cheat you out of money? Let me tell you, we just can't swallow this injustice. My daughter—"

"Enough!"

Shen Chang'an roared, his eyes reddening with barely contained fury.

"You killed two people and still have the nerve to call them your daughters? What sins did they commit in their past lives to end up with beasts like you as parents? There's a footprint on that child's face—do you still dare claim you didn't kick her down?"

At these words, all eyes turned to the ghostly shadow, and sure enough, there was a footprint on her cheek. This was the face of death for the ghost, its final appearance preserved exactly as it was in life.

"This—this is your trick, isn't it? You can make that ghost look however you want!"

Shen Chang'an ignored the shrewish woman and turned to Chen Siyang. "Brother Chen, tell me—where did the child fall from?"

Chen Siyang thought for a moment before replying, "As I recall, it was from the fourth floor."

"The fourth floor..." Shen Chang'an calculated, then nodded. "No wonder the fall didn't kill her instantly."

***

"What did you say?" Chen Siyang was taken aback, while Chen Mengchen looked at Shen Chang'an in disbelief.

"If she'd died instantly, her face would show no pain, since death would have come in a flash. But her expression is twisted in agony, and she was gasping for breath—clearly, she suffered through a drawn-out, unbearable process before she finally passed."

Chen Mengchen immediately pointed at the woman and shouted, "You—you just watched your own daughter die and didn't save her! All for money?"

The woman looked away. The man quickly stepped in front of her, shouting, "You're slandering us! You have no evidence..."

"Let's go, let's leave, we'll deal with them later..."

Shen Chang'an shook his head and sighed. "Leave? Where to? You might be able to turn back, but your two daughters—where could they go now?"

As he spoke, the little girl clinging to the woman's leg suddenly let out a piercing shriek and bit into her thigh, tearing out a chunk of flesh. Blood gushed forth.

"Aaahhh!" The woman screamed, frantically kicking at the ghost, who let go, clutching the bloody morsel, greedily sucking every drop.

The onlookers shuddered in horror. Chen Mengchen cowered behind Shen Chang'an, peeking cautiously over his shoulder, watching the scene unfold.

"You ungrateful brat! I raised you for nothing! I should have strangled you at birth and been done with it..." The woman cursed in agony.

The man glared at Shen Chang'an, roaring, "If you dare lay a hand on my wife, I'll call the police! You'll go to jail for this!"

"The ones who should go to jail aren't me, but the two of you. You took two lives—did you really think you could get away with it?"

"Two lives?" Chen Siyang looked at Shen Chang'an in confusion. "Only the little girl died at our mall... there was no one else..."

Shen Chang'an nodded. "I know that. Because your other daughter died yesterday, over there."

He pointed calmly to another office building outside.

A chill ran through everyone present.

The girl who died yesterday—was that their other daughter?

"What’s going on?" Chen Siyang frowned. He was beginning to realize things were not as he thought.

Shen Chang'an snorted. "It started with that little girl following her mother into the construction area. For reasons unknown, her mother kicked her off the building."

"She was nearly dead, but not quite—she looked up at her mother, hoping for help. But her mother turned and left, abandoning her. That resentment transformed her into a ghost."

"But it didn't end there. Because a certain young master played some tricks, this woman felt her compensation was insufficient and kept stirring up trouble, delaying the mall's opening."

Chen Siyang's mouth twitched, but he said nothing, waiting for Shen Chang'an to continue.

"Then comes the part I can't comprehend." Shen Chang'an turned a chilling gaze on the couple. "How did you convince your younger daughter to come here to jump?"

"What?!" Chen Mengchen cried out in shock. Chen Siyang's face changed as well.

"You—you’re making things up again! I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Really? Didn't you urge your daughter to come here and jump yesterday? But I imagine, thanks to both of you, Young Master Chen had sealed off the area recently, right?" Shen Chang'an looked at Chen Siyang.

Chen Siyang nodded. "I was worried about more accidents, so I had this place locked down and hired guards at night."

"So, the girl who couldn't jump here, crossed to the neighboring office building and leapt from there."

Chen Siyang frowned deeply. "Are you telling the truth?"

"The truth can be easily found. The office building's security should be investigating. With all the surveillance cameras these days, it won't take long to clarify what happened. Your cameras should show if the girl came here."

Chen Siyang nodded. In today's world, such things were easily checked.

"We're done talking to you... We're calling the police! Just wait, you'll all end up at the station!"

***

Finally realizing something was wrong, the couple tried to run.

But the ghost girl, having feasted on blood, sprang at them, her bloody mouth gnawing at their flesh.

She had drunk her enemies' blood—now she would take their lives!

"Aaahhh—!"

The two screamed, flailing wildly at the ghost. But a ghost's body is intangible; no matter how they tried, they couldn't touch her.

But her bites were real enough, fueled by resentment, tearing strips of flesh from their bodies.

Chen Mengchen, terrified, hid behind Shen Chang'an and whispered, "They can't die here. Please, help that little girl move on."

Shen Chang'an let out a long, weary breath. "This is what I meant... I can't even save the soul of a child..."

He reached out to the young Daoist. "Give me the peachwood sword."

The boy, bewildered, gripped his master's sword. "This is Master's treasure, I—I can't..."

Before he finished, the fake Daoist rolled over, snatched the sword, and handed it to Shen Chang'an.

"Quite the act," Shen Chang'an said.

"Heh heh, it's how I make a living..."

Others thought Shen Chang'an meant Sun Yiyuan was pretending to be a Daoist, but in truth, he was complimenting his talent for playing dead. Earlier, when Sun Yiyuan fainted, he was utterly lifeless—if not for Shen Chang'an hearing his heartbeat, he would have seemed truly dead.

That skill was remarkable—like something from a martial arts novel.

Taking the sword, Shen Chang'an drew a ghost-slaying talisman from his robe and pressed it to the blade. The talisman ignited, and a faint golden light appeared along the sword's edge.

He began chanting softly, "All heavens and ten thousand realms, as numerous as dust, take form in all directions, deliver all beings from suffering..."

Reciting as he moved swiftly closer, Shen Chang'an waited until he was near the ghost. Then he brought the sword down in a single decisive stroke.

The ghost, intent on tearing at her parents, didn't notice him approaching. Unlike the vengeful spirits in Shen Chang'an's house, she was but a newly-formed wraith, driven by obsession, without years to accumulate yin energy or develop consciousness. She acted purely on instinct.

The sword sliced through her spectral body, and the soul, so recently formed, was no match for the talisman's power. With a single blow, she dissolved into a scattering of light.

Freed from the ghost's attack, the couple fainted from the surge of yin energy that had invaded their bodies.

This, of course, was intentional on Shen Chang'an's part. If he truly wished, he could have fetched the sword himself, or used a talisman to immobilize the ghost. He simply couldn't bear to watch, and so allowed the ghost her brief revenge. He knew, with that stroke, her soul would never appear in this world again.

"The six paths of reincarnation..." Shen Chang'an murmured, his face full of helplessness.

Even the saintly Empress of Earth had to transform herself into the six realms to build the wheel of reincarnation for humankind. Shen Chang'an, a mere mortal, had no such power.

"What should we do now?" Chen Siyang asked, looking to Shen Chang'an for guidance. After all that had happened, he recognized Shen Chang'an's abilities.

Shen Chang'an gave a bitter laugh. "How should I know? Cover it up—no one would believe the truth anyway. Just make up something plausible. You should be good at that, right?"

Just then, the old Daoist Sun Yiyuan sprang to his feet and patted his chest. "Leave it to me. No problem at all!"