The gluttonous little boy is four and a half years old, and even the wealthy family kneels down and

"You're saying this came from a cemetery?" Gu Ling's voice trembled, panicked.

"Mmm," Xiao Jin nodded, then held up the makeup box and showed Gu Ling the runes hidden inside.

"Then, what do we do now?" Gu Ling looked at Xiao Jin for help. "Little Master, can we throw this away? Or do we have to burn it?"

"Should I donate it to a temple?"

"No need to donate to the temple." Xiao Jin shook her head, holding the copper box, her little brows furrowed, as if she was pondering something important.

She turned to look at Yun Ziang, shook the box in her hand, and asked softly, "Grand-nephew, shall we buy this? We can take it back and have Xiao Jin wipe off the bad talisman so it won't harm anyone."

"What kind of talk is that!" Yun Zi'ang waved his hand generously, "Buy! Don't just say one small box, I'll buy ten. Miss Gu, you name the price, I'll transfer it to you."

"No, no!" Gu Ling hurriedly waved her hands, shaking her head like a rattle-drum. "No need for the money, just take it! I'm almost scared to death by this thing, even giving it away for free is bad luck!"

The sight of the copper box on the table sent chills down her spine; she wanted nothing more than to throw it away immediately, and dared not ask for money. Then, she cautiously asked:

"Young man, if you take this box away, will everything be alright at home? I can finally sleep peacefully tonight, right?"

Xiao Jin held the box and pondered for a moment, then shook her head slightly, her expression very serious: "No, that won't do. If we only take the box, other bad things will come and cause trouble at my sister's house."

"This Yin-gathering talisman has been here for too long, attracting all the wandering ghosts and spirits from the surrounding area. They come here drawn by the scent of Yin energy, and even if the box is taken away, they will still linger here."

Upon hearing this, Yun Zi'ang felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively moved closer to Xiao Jin: "There are...there are still wandering ghosts? Where are they?"

Gu Ling's face turned pale, and she had to hold onto the edge of the table to steady herself, her voice trembling, "Do...do you have any at home right now?"

"Yes, they are!" Xiao Jin grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "They're hiding, playing hide-and-seek with us!"

Her tone was extremely relaxed, but to Yun Ziang and Gu Ling, it was like a thunderclap.

Yun Ziang let out a loud "Aww!" and darted behind Xiao Jin, half-squatting down and grabbing her small shoulders, his voice cracking:

"Little miss! Stop laughing! Your laughter is giving me the creeps!"

Gu Ling almost collapsed to the ground, her face contorted with tears welling up in her eyes. "Little Master... you must be joking."

"Don't be afraid, it's very timid." Xiao Jin patted Yun Ziang's hand to comfort him, then placed the copper box on the table and reached into the small cloth bag.

First, he took out three shiny copper coins, then a pale yellow talisman, and finally a small white porcelain bottle with a red string tied to the stopper.

She tiptoed and arranged the copper coins into a triangle on the ground, muttering incomprehensible incantations in a soft, sweet tone with a strange rhythm.

"Come out, stop hiding!" she said, then waved her little hand towards the wardrobe. "If you keep hiding, Xiao Jin will have to use a talisman!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the air next to the wardrobe suddenly distorted slightly, and a faint shadow of a little girl slowly emerged. She looked to be about seven or eight years old, wearing an old dress, timidly shrinking into the corner, not daring to approach.

Yun Ziang watched Xiao Jin's actions, and the hairs on his body stood on end. He couldn't see ghosts, but he could clearly feel the surroundings getting colder.

He gritted his teeth, curled up, hid behind Xiao Jin, and closed his eyes tightly, not daring to look at her.

Gu Ling, who had been plagued by yin energy for many days, was not so lucky.

Gu Ling looked in the direction Xiao Jin was waving, her pupils suddenly contracted, and her blood seemed to freeze.

In the shadows of the wardrobe and the corner of the wall, there really was a faint little figure, about seven or eight years old, wearing a faded old cloth dress, semi-transparent, timidly pressed against the wall, with a pair of dark eyes looking this way.

"Ah—" she gasped sharply, covering her mouth tightly to stop herself from crying out. Her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground, her hands and feet icy cold, and even her teeth chattering.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Xiao Jin is here." Xiao Jin turned around and waved her little hand at Okiya Rin, then turned to the ghostly figure and asked softly, "You were attracted here by the yin energy of this box, weren't you?"

The little girl's shadow nodded slightly, looking very aggrieved.

"This is not a place for you. You'll make a mistake if you absorb too much yang energy."

"How about Xiao Jin takes you away?" Xiao Jin picked up the white porcelain bottle, uncorked it, and said, "I'll give you some incense to eat when we get back, and then send you to be reincarnated. It's much better than hiding here."

The shadow hesitated for a moment, then slowly drifted over, turning into a wisp of green smoke, and "whoosh" disappeared into the porcelain bottle.

Xiao Jin deftly plugged the bottle, tied the red string, put it back in her cloth bag, clapped her hands, and exclaimed, "Alright! Got it!"

She patted the cloth bag: "Be a good girl and stay put."

Then Xiao Jin turned to look at the room and took a deep breath.

All that could be seen was the invisible, intangible, cold, black mist in the room, which seemed to be sucked in by something, trickling into Xiao Jin's mouth in wisps.

The bedroom, which was originally as cold as an icebox, saw its temperature rise at a visible speed, the damp and musty chill dissipated completely, and even the air felt fresh.

Xiao Jin inhaled the last wisp of black energy, her cheeks puffing up like balloons.

It took her a while to swallow all the black energy.

Yun Zi'ang kept his eyes closed and huddled up for a while, then suddenly felt no longer cold and secretly opened his eyes a crack: "Is it... over?"

"Not yet!" Xiao Jin said, taking out another neatly folded yellow talisman paper, pinching it between two fingers and shaking it gently.

With a "whoosh," the talisman burst into flames, the pale golden flames licking at it before quickly burning it to a small pile of ashes, even the rising smoke carrying a faint warmth.

Gu Ling stared in disbelief, unable to recover for a long time, her mouth agape, forgetting even the fear she had just felt.

She had lived for over twenty years and had never seen anything like it.

How could a piece of paper burn without ever touching an open flame?

Xiao Jin gently sprinkled the talisman ash on the windowsill and clapped her hands: "Alright! The yin energy has dissipated, there won't be any more shadows."

As she spoke, she took out a folded triangle amulet from her cloth bag and handed it to Gu Ling, holding her chubby little hand high: "Here, put this under your pillow, and dirty things won't dare come near you."

Gu Ling quickly accepted it with both hands, her fingertips trembling, her heart filled with gratitude:

"Thank you so much, young man! How much was it? I'll transfer the money to you!"

She had assumed that exorcising evil spirits would cost at least several thousand yuan, and was about to take out her phone to transfer the money when she saw Xiao Jin stretch out her little hand, count on her fingers, and say earnestly...

"My master said that once the money is exchanged, I can't ask for more. This amulet will cost eighty-eight dollars!"

Gu Ling was stunned for a moment, thinking she had misheard: "Eighty-eight?"

"Yes!" Xiao Jin nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Master set the price; even the peace talisman we just burned cost eighty-eight."

"That adds up to..." Xiao Jin held out both hands, calculated for a moment, "One hundred and seventy-six yuan!"

Yun Ziang, who was standing next to him, laughed and ruffled Xiao Jin's hair: "So your master does have a price tag after all."

"Of course!" Xiao Jin looked up proudly. "Master said we can't accept money arbitrarily, it will diminish our merits!"

Gu Ling found it both funny and touching, and quickly transferred the money, thanking him repeatedly.

As she was leaving, Xiao Jin waved her little hand, her eyes crinkling with laughter, "Sister, don't buy old things so easily in the future, especially things dug out of the ground, they're easy to get damaged."

Gu Ling didn't know what to say, but exclaimed, "Definitely, definitely!"

-

On the other side, Yun Mingyue stood in front of the security door of Lijing Apartment.

This house was purchased when she and Lu Peng got married, and they lived there for five whole years.

I used to think of it as a home full of warmth and shelter from the wind and rain, but now, standing outside the door, I only feel a chilling irony.

The man behind the door had deceived her for five years, switched her child, emptied her family's coffers, and even colluded with outsiders to drive the Yun family to ruin.

She took a deep breath, suppressed the hatred surging in her eyes, turned the key, and pushed open the door.

The living room was lit by a warm yellow light. Lu Peng was sitting on the sofa with his laptop in front of him and a half-packed suitcase at his feet.

Hearing the noise, he looked up abruptly and saw Yun Mingyue. A flash of panic crossed his face, but he quickly composed himself with concern and hurried to meet her.

"Mingyue? Why are you back? How is Dad? I was saying I'd go to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning to keep watch over you."

As he spoke, he reached out to put his arm around her shoulder, his voice filled with genuine concern. If it had been two weeks ago, Yun Mingyue would have softened and snuggled up to him.

But now, she only felt a tightness in her stomach and subconsciously turned away.

"Dad's still asleep. My older brother's keeping an eye on things at the hospital. I came back to get a few changes of clothes." Yun Mingyue changed her shoes and walked in, her face showing just the right amount of fatigue. She asked in a hoarse voice, "The company's in such a mess, why didn't you go over? I thought you were helping my older brother oversee the project."

Her gaze swept casually across the coffee table. Her laptop wasn't fully closed, and the interface for cross-border money transfers was visible through the gap in the screen.

Yun Mingyue sneered inwardly, but showed no sign of it on her face.

Lu Peng's heart skipped a beat. He quickly slammed his laptop shut and gave a forced laugh to brush it off.

"I'm currently sorting out project contracts. You know, everyone in the company is in a state of panic right now. I need to get the building materials projects under my belt sorted out so I can help my brother out."

He turned around, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to him, seemingly as a casual, tentative gesture.

"By the way, with Dad sick, who has the company's financial seal and USB key? I have a few project payments that I urgently need to make, and if it's delayed any longer, I'll have to pay penalties for breach of contract."

He's a shrewd strategist.

Taking advantage of the Yun family's leaderlessness, they embezzled all the advance payments for the three Yun family's projects under construction. Combined with the money saved in Pengsheng's account, they raised 200 million yuan and then ran away to Canada with Chen Manman and Lu Zixuan.

Yun Mingyue, that soft-hearted and foolish woman, is perfect as a pretext to help him buy time.

Yun Mingyue took the water glass, her fingertips touching the cool glass, and suddenly smiled softly.

"Construction payment?" Her tone was calm, but it made Lu Peng's heart skip a beat. "Lu Peng, are you referring to the construction payment that was transferred to an offshore account in Canada through those three shell companies? Or is it the 80 million yuan project advance payment that was just embezzled from Pengsheng Building Materials' account last month?"