My companion Mo Ting and I quickly went downstairs. The outside was deserted, not a soul in sight.
However, Mo Ting and I believed that Dandan's lost soul should be nearby.
According to Dandan's father, Dandan was fine when he got out of the car.
It was only when he was halfway back that he carried Dandan.
Dandan's soul must have been pulled out by something impure after he was picked up.
This search area should be around here.
We first searched around the old building, and at the same time called out:
"Dandan, Dandan..."
But there was no response.
We could only leave the old community and head towards where Lu Yong and the others had parked their car.
But it was pitch black all around, and there wasn't a single person.
Even the impure things that had been driven away earlier, we didn't know where they had gone by now.
"Brother Qin, where do you think this child ran off to?
This place is so small, and we still can't find him."
"Let's look around more!
There are many alleys over there, and it seems there's a group of little ghosts too."
After all, the last time I went with my master to exorcise ghosts from a haunted building, I encountered a group of little ghosts, and their playfulness blinded me.
Mo Ting nodded, but also complained:
"If our cultivation were higher, and if we knew soul-summoning, we wouldn't be in such a mess.
Last time I saw my master summon a soul.
A bell rings, a talisman is cast.
The person's lost soul just returns on its own, much more convenient."
I smiled and didn't reply.
I had heard of soul-summoning techniques, but my master hadn't taught me.
He said that taking too big a step doesn't necessarily mean walking faster; it also makes you prone to falling.
Therefore, for many talismans and techniques now, my master only gave me a rough overview first.
He said that once my cultivation improves further, he would teach me gradually.
Mo Ting and I chatted intermittently.
Soon, we arrived near the mother-and-child haunted building.
The haunted building was still enclosed by a blue tin fence, but the mother and child spirits were no longer inside.
We walked through alley after alley, along the old streets.
Around us, there were only dim streetlights, and occasionally one or two hurried passersby heading home.
We searched three alleys in a row without any luck.
As we searched the fourth alley, we spotted a woman standing under a streetlight not far away, wearing a white dress and holding a paper umbrella.
The woman was holding a paper umbrella and standing at the edge of the alley, looking up at a window in the alley.
Because she was wearing a white dress, she looked somewhat conspicuous.
But after Mo Ting and I saw her, we narrowed our eyes slightly.
We noticed that the woman in white was on her tiptoes.
Her heels were slightly off the ground, with her toes just touching the ground.
Although she was holding an umbrella and standing under the streetlight,
the light cast by the streetlight completely penetrated her body, leaving no shadow around her.
"Brother Qin, that woman seems to be a ghost."
Mo Ting whispered next to me.
A slight smile curved my lips:
"Not like, she is.
It's a good opportunity to ask her if she's seen anything."
Saying that, I walked forward.
Humans are divided into good and bad, and ghosts are naturally divided into good and bad ghosts.
She wasn't emitting any black mist, nor did she have that chilling aura of malevolence.
She should be an ordinary ghost.
Mo Ting and I quickly approached, but the female ghost didn't look at us.
It wasn't until I got close to her that she glanced at Mo Ting and me.
She was quite beautiful, with gray eyes that held a hint of melancholy.
I steadied myself and then spoke:
"Excuse me, miss, have you seen a child around here?"
The female ghost suddenly saw me looking at her and speaking, appearing somewhat surprised:
"You can see me?"
"Yes, I can see you!"
I replied calmly.
But the female ghost looked very astonished.
"You, you're not afraid of me?"
I smiled and shook my head.
Mo Ting also spoke up:
"Beautiful lady, we are Daoist priests. It's not strange that we can see you, and we naturally aren't afraid of you."
Hearing this, the female ghost looked at us with some suspicion.
But she then asked:
"I just, I just saw a few children.
But like me, none of them are alive."
"We are looking for a child's soul."
I said earnestly.
Upon hearing this, the female ghost raised her hand and pointed forward:
"They seemed to be playing a game and ran into the alley to the front left."
Receiving this information, Mo Ting and I immediately thanked her and were about to leave.
However, before we could take a step, the female ghost suddenly grabbed my arm.
Her hand was very cold, and being pulled by her, I froze for a moment.
The female ghost hastily said:
"Two Daoist priests, can, can you do me a small favor?"
"A favor?"
Mo Ting and I exchanged a glance. We didn't have time to help her right now.
However, since she had pointed us in the right direction, we decided to hear her out.
So I replied:
"Tell me. If we can help, we will."
Hearing this, a smile instantly appeared on the female ghost's melancholic face.
At the same time, she looked up at a window in the alley:
"My death was very sudden.
I would like to ask you two Daoist priests to deliver a message to my boyfriend.
Tell him that I have forgiven him and that he shouldn't blame himself.
In two days, I will be descending,
so he must live his life well and start anew..."