Rebirth: Ghost Exorciser

When Lin Jingshi heard Lin Haoxing, she instantly remembered the Master who had saved Lin Haoxing and gifted him the jade pendant last time. She was so astonished that an egg could have fit in her open mouth. Crouching in disbelief, she hugged Lin Haoxing’s small body and repeatedly asked anxiously, “Xingxing, are you sure you’ve got the right person? Look carefully, is it really this Sister who saved you?”

She couldn’t be blamed for thinking too much. Even though she knew that the Master was a woman, she thought that she would’ve been much older.

Lin Haoxing blinked his big, sparkling eyes, turned his head, and considered Chi Shuyan seriously while firmly nodding his little head. “I’m not mistaken. It’s Sister who drove those bad guys away.”

Lin Jingshi immediately felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She stiffened and couldn’t speak for a long time. Recalling her impatience just now, she just wanted to slap herself in the face. She never would have thought that the Talisman Master she and her father had been searching for all this time would be this young, unknown girl in front of her.

“Mom, didn’t you and Grandpa always want to see Sister? Why don’t you look happy now that you’ve met her?” Lin Haoxing scratched the back of his head in confusion.

Hearing this, Lin Jingshi was instantly struck with a jolt. She looked apprehensively at Chi Shuyan, whom she couldn’t tell was happy or angry, and waved her hands, stammering in denial. “H-How could that be?”

Qi Zhenbai and Zhu Bocheng on the side were also nonplussed. Hearing Lin Haoxing’s words, they were instantly reminded of the Talisman Master who Perfected Zhang had praised repeatedly. Perfected Zhang originally planned on staying for just a short three days, but because of this Talisman Master, whose whereabouts were elusive, he stayed in Fuzhou for a few more days. Unfortunately, their search was fruitless and he had to leave.

Qi Zhenbai’s cold, slender eyes beneath those thick brows moved erratically with fleeting traces of surprise on his face. But in the blink of an eye, he returned to his usual serious and cold demeanor.

However, the jumpy Zhu Bocheng was another story. He didn’t even try to hide his shock. He repeatedly circled around Chi Shuyan in wonder, as if looking at an alien, both surprised and delighted. “Sister Shuyan, y-you’re too capable! So that was you before! I really didn’t expect it to be you!”

Chi Shuyan faintly swept over Lin Jingshi, who was apprehensive and then at Zhu Bocheng who was jumping up and down happily, and instantly realized that the two should have known that she was Lin Haoxing’s savior.

But weren’t their expressions switched? This child’s mother looked overly terrified, but Zhu Bocheng, an outsider, was beaming with delight and surprise.

Chi Shuyan really didn’t know what Zhu Bocheng was so excited and happy about, and wordlessly reminded, “This old man will wake up soon.”

“Aye, Sister Shuyan, is he going to be alright?” Zhu Bocheng quickly asked.

Chi Shuyan looked at Zhu Bocheng like a fool. “How is that possible? He’s been poisoned for so long. Only a fraction of the toxins can be extracted. He should wake up today, but by the looks of it, he won’t live much longer, two or three years at most.” After speaking, she walked out. She was one step out of the doorway of the ward when someone shouted at her from behind.

“Master, please stay!” Lin Jingshi just heard Chi Shuyan’s last few words, and was instantly flabbergasted. Seeing that she was about to leave, she turned pale with fright. She couldn’t care less about her predicament and hurriedly ran forward to stop her.

Chi Shuyan raised her eyebrows, looking cold. She didn’t speak and just looked fixedly at her.

“Master, Master, I-I just spoke out of turn. I really didn’t mean to say those words. Please don’t take it to heart.” Lin Jingshi apologized remorsefully.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not the first time I’ve been taken for a swindler anyway.”

Lin Jingshi was flustered by Chi Shuyan’s scrutiny and mumbled in a flurry, “No, no, I was blind. Master, how could you be a swindler? You’re right to blame me, but my father is now at death’s door. There’s really nothing else I can do but… shamelessly beg you. Please save Father.”

Lin Haoxing blinked, looking at his mother like this. He ran over and hugged Chi Shuyan’s waist, and said in a milky voice: “Sister, don’t go. Save Grandpa, please? I don’t want anything to happen to Grandpa.”

“Kid, it’s very expensive for me to save people. I lost a lot when I saved you last time.” Chi Shuyan squatted down and squeezed Lin Haoxing’s soft, white cheeks. Seeing the dull jade pendant around his neck, she gave him a new one from her school bag.

“Sister, I have money.” Lin Haoxing patted his chest and assured, “I have plenty of money for you. Please save Grandpa.”

Chi Shuyan looked at Lin Haoxing’s white, cute, little face and almost agreed, but noticed traces of sarcasm in Lin Jingshi’s expectant eyes. To be honest, she didn’t care much about being treated as a swindler, but it was really rare to see a snob, self-righteous, and muddle-headed person like Lin Jingshi.

“What if I said it would take 40 million to cure him once and for all?” Chi Shuyan seemed to be smiling, but her eyes slipped around Lin Jingshi as if nothing had happened.

Lin Jingshi snapped back to her senses and smiled dryly. Although her family was rich, she couldn’t take out so much working capital at the moment. She appealed for Zhu Bocheng’s help with a wink, signaling him to help her say a few words.

“It’s only 40 million, I’ll pay it!” An old voice rang out in the ward. Lin Jingshi and the others turned around in surprise, only to find that Lin Chongchang, who had been lying unconscious in the hospital bed, had woken up, his closed eyes glinting sharply.

“Dad, you’re finally awake!” Lin Jingshi wept with joy.

“Grandpa, Grandpa, you’ve woken up! That’s great!” Lin Haoxing was also excited and ran over like a cannonball, but Lin Jingshi warned, “Grandpa is still weak. Don’t run amuck!”

“It’s fine. My good grandson, Xingxing, come here.” Lin Chongchang waved towards Lin Haoxing and touched his little face, before looking at Chi Shuyan.

“Little girl, may I know what kind of illness I have? Can it be totally cured?” Although Lin Chongchang was unconscious just now, his mind was sober enough to hear sounds of the outside world. He naturally heard a lot of things, and even if he was surprised, he didn’t doubt Chi Shuyan’s ability.

“You aren’t sick with anything. You’ve been poisoned by a kind of purple moss, which is uncommon. The source is usually a toxin attached to antiques excavated from tombs. It’s a chronic poison and a small dose is nothing. You won’t have any reactions in a short period of time. But if you’re fond of appreciating and playing with antique jade artifacts frequently, these little doses of poison can easily accumulate in the long term,” Chi Shuyan explained patiently. “It’s not difficult to permanently cure it, but it’s also tricky. Many medicinal herbs are hard to find.”

Lin Chongchang frowned and suddenly returned to his normal self, smiling. “I see, thank you for clearing up the confusion, young friend. I wonder what herbs are needed. Feel free to make a list for us to find them. But I’ll have to trouble you to prepare the antidote.”