Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

She frowned slightly, already having formed a preliminary judgment in her mind. This was definitely not an ordinary illness; it was indeed the work of evil spirits, trapping Gu Ming's soul and causing him to remain in a deep sleep.

After taking his pulse, Shen Jingshu looked up at Gu Yunzhou and asked him to give her Gu Ming's birth date and time.

Gu Yunzhou didn't dare delay and immediately recited his younger brother's birth date in detail. Shen Jingshu sat on the edge of the bed, her fingertips lightly pinching, quickly deducing the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of the horoscope. Just now, based solely on his appearance and the cold atmosphere in the room, she had roughly figured out the clues. After a series of calculations, the whole ins and outs of the matter became completely clear.

She sighed softly, her expression helpless: "Brother Gu, in the end, this is the karma your brother brought upon himself."

Gu Yunzhou's heart sank, and he quickly asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'll wake him up first, and let him tell me the rest of the story himself," Shen Jingshu said.

"Then I'll have to trouble you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Jingshu focused her mind and gathered her energy, slowly channeling a wisp of pure spiritual power into Gu Ming's body. The spiritual power circulated throughout his body, gradually dispelling the cold and evil energy clinging to his soul.

A moment later, the young man on the bed stirred. His brows furrowed tightly, his long eyelashes trembled, and after a moment, he laboriously opened his eyelids.

Gu Minggang had just regained consciousness, and his vision was still a little blurry. He first saw Shen Jingshu beside him.

He was slightly taken aback, recognizing her as the rising star of the Shen family's stepdaughter. He was filled with surprise, wondering why she was in his room. Then he turned to Gu Yunzhou, his voice hoarse and tinged with grievance: "Brother."

Seeing his younger brother finally wake up, Gu Yunzhou's heart, which had been hanging in suspense for days, finally settled down. He was both angry and anxious: "You're finally awake! Do you know how long you've been unconscious?"

Gu Ming moved his body, feeling empty in his stomach and weak in his limbs. He shook his head blankly: "I don't know, I just feel extremely hungry and have no energy at all."

"Three whole days! We called and called for three days and three nights and couldn't wake you up. We were almost going crazy with worry." Gu Yunzhou's face darkened. "Tell me honestly, what exactly did you do three days ago?"

"I didn't do anything outrageous." Gu Ming rubbed his throbbing head, trying hard to recall, but for a moment he had no clue.

"Think carefully, did anything strange or unusual happen that day?"

With his brother's repeated reminders, Gu Ming's fragmented memories slowly began to piece together. He suddenly slapped his forehead: "I remember now! Three days ago, the Liu family's son returned from abroad, and a group of us friends had a drinking party. We drank quite a bit that night. After the party, everyone was still in high spirits and insisted on going to the mountains on the outskirts of the city to watch the sunrise."

"Our group drove to the mountainside, and it was still pitch black with a thick fog. When we reached an abandoned old pavilion, someone suggested we stop and rest. I was a bit tipsy and bored, so I wandered into the woods behind the pavilion by myself..."

At this point, Gu Ming paused, and an uneasy look gradually appeared on his face.

"The woods were gloomy and the wind was biting cold. As I walked, I saw a lot of incense, candles, and offerings in the grass, as well as a simple memorial tablet. It looked like someone was worshipping there. I was drunk and confused at the time. Not only did I not move aside, but I also made a few disrespectful jokes and even kicked the paper money next to me..."

"Not long after that, I started to feel dizzy and lightheaded, and my whole body felt cold. My friends who were with me noticed that I wasn't doing well, so they quickly helped me down the mountain. I only remember going home and falling asleep as soon as I got there, and I don't know anything about what happened after that."

After hearing this account, Gu Yunzhou's face instantly turned ashen.

By this point, he understood perfectly well that his younger brother had offended a wandering spirit in the mountains while drunk, which was why he was haunted and had fallen into a long coma.

Shen Jingshu listened quietly from the side and slowly said, "That abandoned pavilion was originally an old local cemetery, where the memorial tablets were for wandering, unclaimed souls. You were disrespectful after drinking and damaged the offerings and paper money, offending them. Their resentment lingered, so they entangled your soul and trapped your spirit inside your body, which is why you fell into a deep coma. Ordinary instruments naturally cannot detect any illness."

After hearing the whole story, Gu Ming's face turned pale instantly, and his eyes were filled with panic.

He looked up at Gu Yunzhou beside him in a panic, his voice filled with lingering fear and helplessness: "Ah? How could this happen? What... what should I do now? I never want to be unconscious for three days and three nights again, it was too terrifying!"

He was filled with fear and confusion, and subconsciously wanted his older brother to make the decision.

Gu Yunzhou was at a loss and could only turn to Shen Jingshu, who stood quietly to the side, for help.

Gu Ming followed his brother's gaze, his brows furrowing instantly, his face filled with disbelief.

He looked at the young, delicate-looking Shen Jingshu with surprise, his tone full of doubt and disdain: "Brother, why are you looking at her? Isn't she Shen's stepdaughter? She's just a little girl, how could she understand these ghost and spirit matters?"

In his eyes, all the masters of the Xuanmen were white-haired old Taoists, highly respected elders, how could they be a young girl who was not yet twenty years old and still immature?

Gu Ming grew increasingly uneasy and hurriedly advised, "Brother, don't be fooled! She's so young, her cultivation is definitely too shallow; she can't possibly suppress such evil spirits! We should hurry and find a truly powerful metaphysical master to take a look, lest we delay our important business!"

Shen Jingshu took in the disdain and suspicion in his eyes, but didn't care at all.

People judge a person's character by their age, so it's only natural to have doubts upon first meeting them; she's used to it.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Gu Yunzhou immediately glared at his younger brother and scolded him sharply, afraid that he would offend a master. "Jing Shu is a mystical arts master I specially invited. Her skills are extremely high, far superior to those charlatans! Don't be rude!"

After scolding his impetuous younger brother, Gu Yunzhou turned to Shen Jingshu and apologized sincerely, "Jingshu, don't take this brat to heart. Is there any way to resolve this situation?"

Shen Jingshu smiled faintly, her tone calm and confident: "Yes, the method is very simple."

"This matter was originally a small karmic consequence caused by your brother's drunken misbehavior and offense to a wandering spirit. I will summon that spirit directly so that you two can confront each other, sit down and negotiate a proper reconciliation, resolve the grievances completely, and you will naturally be completely healed."

Upon hearing this, Gu Ming's pupils shrank sharply, and he froze in shock, his voice trembling:

"What?! Summon...summon ghosts?! They're all ghosts! You want me to negotiate with ghosts face to face?! This...this isn't a joke!"

The living talk about human grievances, the dead talk about karmic debts, but who has ever heard of an ordinary person negotiating directly with a ghost? Just thinking about it makes his scalp tingle and his whole body go cold.

Seeing his panicked appearance, a faint wicked smile flashed across Shen Jingshu's eyes. She calmly raised her hand and took out a yellow cinnabar-colored talisman from her small bag.

She held the talisman between her fingertips, silently reciting the soul-summoning incantation corresponding to the lonely soul in the desolate pavilion, her lips moving slightly as her hand gestures flowed.

The next instant, a bizarre scene suddenly unfolded—

The talisman that floated smoothly on her fingertips spontaneously combusted without fire!

Crimson flames suddenly shot up, silently burning the talisman, while wisps of blue smoke swirled and spread through the room, carrying a faint trace of chilly air.

There was no fire source or wind throughout the entire process, which completely defies common sense!

"This, this..."