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

Li Dou felt uncomfortable being praised and applauded by Xiao Jin. He turned his face away and snorted, "It's just basic skill, what's so great about it?"

Xiao Jin wasn't annoyed. She smiled and withdrew her hand, then turned to look at Liu's parents. The smile on her face faded a bit, and she said seriously, "Uncle and Aunt, we want to take him home."

Liu's mother was taken aback: "Go home?"

"Yes." Xiao Jin nodded and explained clearly, "Hospitals are crowded and chaotic, not a good place for summoning spirits."

"His soul was lost outside. To bring it back, the best place is in his most familiar place, his own room, his own bed."

"Only when the soul recognizes that place will it dare to return."

Li Dou frowned and couldn't help but interject, "Going home is fine, but summoning a soul is always done at night. It's morning now, and summoning a soul in broad daylight is too much yang energy; the path to the underworld won't open, and the soul won't dare to leave."

What he said wasn't without merit.

The ritual of summoning a soul is usually performed around midnight, when yin and yang meet, making it the easiest time for the soul to embark on its journey.

Xiao Jin tilted her head and looked at him, blinking: "You're right, it's definitely easier at night."

"but--"

She held up one finger and pointed at Liu Kaile on the bed: "He can't wait until tonight."

"The longer you lose your soul, the further it will wander."

"He has already lost his soul once, two of the yang flames on his shoulders have been extinguished, and only one flame remains in his body to keep him going."

"There are still more than ten hours until tonight, and too many things can happen in that time."

Li Dou was speechless when asked the question.

Xiao Jin continued, her voice still soft but her tone firm: "Summoning a soul during the day is not easy, but as long as you do it properly, seal the room, block out the light, and create a dark path for the soul to come out, you can still call the soul back."

"The Yin Road isn't only open at night."

She paused, then added, "Moreover, the yin energy is stronger at night, and his current physical condition may not be able to withstand another surge of yin energy."

"Doing it during the day, although the yang energy is strong, can protect his body from being taken advantage of. Bad things have their disadvantages, and good things have their advantages."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Liu immediately decided, "The young master is right, we can't wait any longer. Let's go home now and get it done right away."

Liu's mother nodded repeatedly, her eyes still wet with tears, but her tone had already become steady: "I'll go and handle the discharge procedures."

Li Dou opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately kept it closed.

He glanced at Xiao Jin, his expression complex.

The little girl's words made perfect sense; even he couldn't find fault with them.

Yun Zi'ang, arms crossed, raised an eyebrow at Li Dou: "So, Master Li, are you convinced?"

"Say less and no one will think you're mute." Li Dou glared at him irritably.

-

An hour later, everyone was in their seats in Liu Kaile's bedroom.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, not letting in a single ray of light.

Following Xiao Jin's instructions, Liu's mother found a piece of red cloth and covered the bedside lamp with it. When the lamp was turned on, the whole room was bathed in a dim red light, as if it were being soaked in a lantern that was about to go out.

The bed sheets were changed to Liu Kaile's own unwashed set. The same went for the quilt and pillows.

A bowl of raw rice was placed at the foot of the bed, the rice flattened, with a thin incense stick inserted in the middle, the tip of which glowed with a red light.

Beside the rice bowl sat the gleaming silver needle, its tip pointing upwards, hovering motionless above the rice.

A bowl of raw rice was placed in each of the four corners of the room, with three incense sticks stuck on top of each bowl.

The wisps of smoke rose up and gathered into a thin layer under the ceiling.

A small mirror hung from the crossbeam of the door frame, its surface facing outwards. A guiding lamp burned quietly by the doorway.

Li Dou moved a chair and sat by the door, facing outwards and with his back to the inside, holding his Bagua mirror in his arms.

Xiao Jin's task for him was to guard the door—to keep the lamp burning, to keep the incense burning continuously, and to prevent anything dirty from getting in.

He sat upright with a serious expression, like a door god. Even though he was unwilling to follow a child's orders, he knew that this was a time when mistakes could not be made.

Liu's mother sat on the edge of the bed, with Liu Kaile's close-fitting T-shirt from the previous night on her lap. She folded it every now and then, then unfolded it again, her fingers trembling slightly, but her movements were steady.

Liu's father stood by the window, his back to the curtains, guarding the fabric to prevent it from being blown open by the wind.

Yun Ziang stood in the living room, a thin red thread tied around his left wrist.

The red thread extends along the floor and door frame into the bedroom, with the other end tied to Liu Kaile's right wrist.

He held a soul-guiding lamp in his hands, with a small light bulb inside the red lantern shell, emitting a faint glow.

Xiao Jin sat cross-legged in the center of the living room.

She had already sealed the main gate in advance, and drew a talisman on the door frame with cinnabar. After finishing, she instructed everyone: "From now on, if anyone knocks on the door, no one can open it. If the door is opened, the path to the soul will be severed."

Mr. Liu locked the door from the inside and put the key on the shoe cabinet.

Before Xiao Jin closed her eyes, she repeated the rules: "After the lights flash, no one is allowed to speak loudly, call my name, or touch my body."

"Auntie, keep calling, don't stop. Uncle Li, stay at the door, don't leave no matter what noise you hear. Uncle Liu, watch the curtains, don't let the wind blow them open. Grand-nephew—"

She glanced at Yun Ziang.

Yun Ziang squatted down to be at eye level with her: "I'm listening."

"If the light goes out, you know what to do, right?"

Yun Ziang nodded without saying anything.

Xiao Jin had told him before that the blood on the tip of the tongue has the strongest yang energy, and if you spit a mouthful of blood onto the lamp the moment it goes out, you can forcibly stabilize the lamp.

But that's only a last resort; it's best to avoid using it if possible.

After Xiao Jin finished explaining, she closed her eyes, placed her two small hands on her knees, and her breathing gradually became very light and shallow.

-

The living room fell silent.

Liu's mother started shouting.

She followed Xiao Jin's instructions: her voice didn't need to be too loud, but it had to be steady and powerful.

"Lele—come back—Mom's here—"

As she called out, she folded the clothes on her lap, then unfolded them, then folded them again, over and over.

"Don't be afraid, Lele—I've lit the light for you—I've folded your clothes—I'm just waiting for you to come home—"

"Lele, come back—"

When the call was made for the third time, the soul-guiding lamp in the living room suddenly flickered.

It wasn't the kind of flickering caused by unstable voltage, but rather like an invisible gust of wind poking at a flame, almost extinguishing it, and then stabilizing it.

Then it stabilized and stopped flashing.

Yun Ziang looked down at the lamp, his Adam's apple bobbing, knowing that Xiao Jin had already "left".

He looked at Xiao Jin, who was sitting in the center of the living room.

She sat there cross-legged, her head slightly lowered, her eyelashes quietly covering her eyelids, her breathing so shallow that the rise and fall of her chest was almost invisible.

Her face was a few shades paler than usual, making her look like a little porcelain doll.

---

When Xiao Jin opened her eyes, there was a road in front of her.

The sky was gray, the ground was gray, and everything was shrouded in a thin mist.

The road beneath my feet was a dirt road, making no sound when I stepped on it. There were a few people walking on it here and there... I couldn't call them people, they were just shadowy figures, some walking fast and some slow, all walking in the same direction.

This is the road to the underworld.

Xiao Jin took short strides and walked forward with the flow of people.

She took small steps, but walked quickly, looking around as she went, searching for Liu Kaile among the blurry shadows.

The ghosts on the road were silent, their faces expressionless, their feet making no sound, like a group of puppets on strings, quietly drifting in the same direction.

After searching for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xiao Jin finally saw a familiar figure in front of her.

He was tall and thin, slightly hunched over, wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt, and his left foot dragged slightly on the ground when he walked.

Liu Kaile has an old injury on his left ankle, which he twisted while playing basketball in high school, and he has always had this habit when walking.

"Liu Kaile!" Xiao Jin called out.

The figure paused for a moment, but did not stop, and continued walking forward.

Xiao Jin frowned, quickened her pace to catch up, and grabbed the hem of his hoodie: "Liu Kaile! Stop right there!"

This time he finally stopped.

Liu Kaile turned his head, his face ashen, his eyes vacant, as if veiled by a layer of fog, his pupils unreadable.

He looked down at Xiao Jin, stunned for a long while, before finally speaking hesitantly, "Who... are you?"

"I'm Xiao Jin!" Xiao Jin grabbed his clothes and wouldn't let go. "You can't go any further. This isn't a place you can go."

Liu Kaile blinked blankly, as if he didn't understand, or as if he didn't care at all.

He turned his head blankly and glanced ahead.

The fog lifted a bit, revealing a river with a dusty stone bridge spanning it. At the bridgehead, a hunched figure was handing a bowl to someone crossing the bridge.

Each shadow took the bowl, tilted its head back and drank, then crossed the bridge and disappeared into the mist.

The River of Oblivion, the Bridge of Helplessness, and Meng Po's Soup.

Liu Kaile was in the line to cross the bridge; there were only two or three people ahead of him.

Without saying a word, Xiao Jin grabbed his clothes and dragged him backward.

She was short, barely reaching Liu Kaile's waist, but surprisingly strong. She managed to pull the 1.8-meter-tall Liu Kaile out of the line and run back.

"What are you doing—" Liu Kaile staggered as she was pulled, his voice still wooden and devoid of emotion.

"Save your life!" Xiao Jin shouted without turning her head.

Just then, a cold wind suddenly surged up behind them.

The fog suddenly surged up, as if stirred up by something.

The quiet, drifting spirits suddenly scattered, like a school of fish that had been frightened away.

From the depths of the gray fog, a slender black shadow darted out at incredible speed, carrying with it a damp, decaying aura.

A blurry face faintly appeared in the center of the fog.

The facial features were indistinct, like a painting that had been soaked in water and ruined; all that could be seen were a pair of empty eye sockets and a mouth stretched to the ears.

It's a spirit.

It has the same aura as Liu Kaile's.

It let out a sharp laugh, a sound like fingernails scraping glass, thin and piercing, and pounced straight at Xiao Jin and Liu Kaile through the gray fog.

"He can't escape! Stay here with me!"

Xiao Jin pulled Liu Kaile behind her.

She turned around to face the approaching black shadow, her short legs slightly apart, and assumed a steady horse stance.

Then take a deep breath, puff out your cheeks, like a kitten ready to unleash its fury.

The withered claws of the evil spirit suddenly reached out.

Xiao Jin stretched out her little hand and grabbed the black mist.

The four-year-old's palm, small and pink, was like an iron clamp, pinching the black mist until it let out a shrill scream.

The mist struggled desperately in her palm, frantically thrashing about, but it couldn't break free no matter what.

"You bullied my great-nephew's best friend." Xiao Jin said angrily with a stern face, "You even scared his soul away and almost made him drink that old lady's soup."

After she finished speaking, she reached out with her other hand, grabbed the black mist with both of her small hands, and squeezed it hard.

The black mist let out a terrible wail. The mist rapidly contracted, burst, and dissipated in her palm. The blurry face twisted into a ball, struggling desperately, but like a snake being pinched at its vital point, it could not break free no matter what it did.

Xiao Jin crumpled it into a ball, like crumpling a piece of paper, and then slammed it hard onto the ground.

With a muffled boom, gray mist scattered, and yin energy exploded, sending the surrounding vengeful spirits staggering about.

A shallow crater was smashed into the dirt road.

The black mist dissipated, leaving only a few wisps of smoke that struggled for a moment on the ground before going completely still.

Xiao Jin clapped her hands, sighed, and said, "I'm so tired!"

She turned around, grabbed Liu Kaile who was still in a daze, and continued running back.