Lin Yan accompanied Zhang Mu to her niece's rented apartment.
The moment the door opened, Lin Yan saw a woman with a haggard face.
"Cousin-in-law, you're back! Come in quickly," she called out, ushering Lin Yan and Zhang Mu inside.
Lin Yan tried to take off her shoes, but was stopped.
"Just come in like this. I haven't been feeling well these past few days and haven't cleaned. The floor is probably not even as clean as the bottom of your shoes," she said with a forced smile, then let them in.
"Xiao Jie, don't bother," Zhang Mu quickly stopped her when she saw her about to pour water. Zhang Mu poured water for Lin Yan herself and then pulled her to sit on the sofa.
"This is Lily's classmate, Lin Yan. Lin Yan, this is Zheng Jie, my niece, the one I told you about." She introduced them briefly.
"So you're student Lin. I've heard about Lily's situation. Thank you so much," she said, actually knowing the purpose of Zhang Mu bringing Lin Yan today.
"It was nothing, just a small favor," Lin Yan replied. She had been observing the woman before her. Her gaze was clear and steady. Although a bit gaunt, she was neatly dressed. Looking around the room, it was also tidily kept.
This studio apartment was bright and clean. There were flowers on the coffee table, and several cute throw pillows on the sofa. This was someone who clearly loved life, and the room exuded a warm, cozy glow.
Lin Yan didn't sense anything amiss. It seemed the room wasn't the problem. The issue lay with the person in front of her.
In Lin Yan's eyes, there was no malevolent energy around the woman named Zheng Jie. However, her forehead was dark, and she was shrouded in a hazy mist.
"Student Lin, about Xiao Jie's condition?" Zhang Mu asked anxiously.
"Sister Zheng, would you mind giving me your hand?" Lin Yan extended her own.
Zheng Jie generously offered her hand, and Lin Yan placed her fingers on Zheng Jie's wrist.
"Student Lin, you can also take pulses?" Zheng Jie was surprised.
She had thought her cousin-in-law brought this young master to use talismans, as Lily had told her. She hadn't expected her to take her pulse.
"I've studied a bit," Lin Yan smiled. "Sister Zheng, there's no malevolent energy on you, and nothing seems wrong with your living space. However, you have some ill fortune about you, which is why you haven't been feeling well lately.
Auntie said you've been in pain all over, so I wanted to take your pulse to see what the cause might be."
Lin Yan's explanation was clear, which began to convince Zheng Jie of Lin Yan's mastery.
"Then, Xiao Jie, what's wrong?" Zhang Mu asked with concern. Seeing her niece suffering so much worried her greatly.
"It's nothing serious," Lin Yan smiled at them, then took out a miniature talisman brush, a rolled-up talisman paper, and a small, rouge-box-like object from a pouch attached to her backpack.
She opened the box, revealing cinnabar paste. Lin Yan flattened the talisman paper, dipped the brush in the cinnabar, and drew a talisman on it.
After drawing the talisman, Lin Yan picked it up, then took the cup in front of Zheng Jie and put the ashes into it.
As soon as the talisman ashes entered the cup, they dissolved into the water. Strangely, the water showed no change.
"Drink it," Lin Yan handed the cup to Zheng Jie.
Zheng Jie was taken aback. She had just thought this student Lin was quite scientific for taking her pulse, and now she was giving her talisman water to drink.
"Lin, student Lin, this..." Zheng Jie hesitated. Although the talisman was drawn in front of her, cinnabar was toxic. And the talisman was drawn on the un-wiped coffee table!
Her mind raced with unspoken thoughts, but she couldn't show them. After all, Lin Yan was there to help, and her cousin-in-law was watching. But she really didn't want to drink this.
"Sister Zheng, don't worry, it doesn't have any strange taste."
Was it a matter of strange taste? This was talisman water, and who knew if it was clean!
"Xiao Jie, drink it quickly!" Zhang Mu urged with a look.
With no other choice, Zheng Jie picked up the cup of talisman water with trepidation. Fine, she'd drink it. At most, she'd get diarrhea.
She drank the water in one gulp. Just as Lin Yan had said, it tasted like ordinary water, with no strange flavor, just like the water she usually drank.
"This is a 'Dispelling Miasma Talisman'. Sister Zheng seems to have been cursed. However, the person who did it is likely just a novice, not very skilled."
What Lin Yan didn't say was that Zheng Jie was rather unfortunate. The curse wasn't very potent, but Zheng Jie's constitution was sensitive. A curse that would go unnoticed by an ordinary person had a significant effect on her.
"However, this talisman water is only a temporary fix. We still need to find the person who cast the curse and the item used to cast it," Lin Yan said, and then began asking Zheng Jie if she had any enemies.
Zhang Mu also chimed in, "Xiao Jie, do you have any idea who would hate you so much?"
Zheng Jie thought for a long time but couldn't recall anyone she had offended. She could only shake her head.
She had always been kind to others and truly didn't know when she had wronged someone.
"Then Sister Zheng, please think carefully. Keep this talisman with you. Once its color fades, it means you've been harmed again. At that time, please contact me." Lin Yan handed her a protective talisman and wrote down her phone number for her.
"Thank you, student Lin!" Zheng Jie felt much better now. At least the needle-like pain had disappeared, and she felt more energetic.
She had to admit that the talisman Lin Yan gave her and the earlier treatment proved that her cousin-in-law's master was truly capable.
"It's nothing. I'm glad I could help. However, Sister Zheng, you should really think hard about who you might have offended. Otherwise, this could happen again."
"I will think about it carefully," Zheng Jie said, then stood up and took out a red envelope from under the coffee table. "Thank you for making this trip, student Lin. Regardless, you've already cured my pain.
I'll contact you again once I find the person who cast the curse."
Zhang Mu also noticed the change in Zheng Jie. She was clearly more energetic than when they first arrived. Initially, she had been hunched over, as if in great pain.
Now, her back was straighter, and even her brow was relaxed.
"Xiao Jie, it's good that you're better. Come, come, I'll treat you to a meal!" Zhang Mu said happily.
"Hasn't student Lin eaten yet? This meal should be on me," Zheng Jie quickly added.
"You've lost your job. Let's talk about it after you find another one," Zhang Mu quickly stopped her. "Student Lin, what would you like to eat? We'll go now, and we can also pack some supper for Lily."
Seeing Zhang Mu's eagerness, Lin Yan couldn't refuse and ended up going to have a meal with them.