"I haven't eaten either, but since you're taking me back, I'll treat you to this meal," Lin Yan pointed to a few restaurants nearby.
This area was bustling with activity, and there were plenty of eateries. Moreover, Lin Yan knew that some restaurants served food very quickly, so having a meal wouldn't delay her afternoon classes at all.
She had come to this area for lunch, so Lin Yan came straight over after school. She had initially planned to just grab a bread from a supermarket on her way back to tide her over.
Now that someone was joining her for a meal, she naturally wouldn't refuse.
"Alright, then let's go," he agreed without hesitation.
"By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Lin Yan, and I'm in my third year of high school."
"My name is Zeng Xuan Ming. I'm not attending school, but I will be taking the college entrance exams this year," he also introduced himself briefly.
Zeng, it was an uncommon surname, yet she had encountered two people with it in succession. It felt quite serendipitous.
While conversing with Zeng Xuan Ming, Lin Yan noticed that although he was somewhat taciturn, he was extremely knowledgeable.
She also observed the books he was holding, all of which covered rather profound subjects that ordinary people wouldn't typically read.
He seemed a bit like a bookworm, but perhaps not entirely.
After Lin Yan was sent back to school, she resumed her busy schedule. It was currently the review period, and her days were filled with exams, practice problems, and lectures.
These questions weren't difficult for Lin Yan, so she didn't find them challenging. Lin Yan took leave again during evening self-study. Her good academic performance made the teachers quite lenient with her.
After a simple dinner, Lin Yan began to wait for the night to arrive.
In her hand, she toyed with a ball of yin energy that Wei Wan Ru had captured from a ghost the previous night, sensing the location of the same-source yin energy.
As soon as it got dark, Wei Wan Ru floated out of the brocade pouch, "Yan Yan, I've sensed the ghost's location."
"Then let's head over there. If we're late, he'll probably run away again," Lin Yan sealed the ball of yin energy with a talisman, then went to the community gate to hail a taxi.
After giving the driver directions, Lin Yan looked out the window. Night had fallen, and the shop signs were illuminated, forming an ocean of lights across the city.
Along the way, Lin Yan saw many wandering souls. These souls lacked clear consciousness, drifting aimlessly on the streets as if they couldn't find their way home.
These were newly deceased spirits who had not yet awakened their memories of their past lives. They could only wander the mortal world aimlessly, waiting for the underworld officials to escort them to the afterlife.
Lin Yan had heard news a while ago that due to population growth, there weren't enough underworld officials, so some people from the mortal realm were being recruited as "walking impermanence" to assist them.
At first, she thought the news was unreliable, but seeing so many wandering spirits on the road now, it seemed to be true.
In the past, when people died, underworld officials would come to collect their souls. Now, with the overwhelming number of deaths each day, even the underworld officials were insufficient, leading to this proliferation of wandering spirits.
She hoped that the new recruitment drive for the underworld would be completed soon, allowing these wandering spirits to be guided back to the afterlife, preventing them from developing obsessions that would turn them into resentful or fierce ghosts.
Soon, the car reached the destination Lin Yan had indicated. It was an intersection without traffic lights. She got out of the car before they reached it. Then, she watched as a hazy human figure began to form in the middle of the intersection.
She felt that the yin energy there belonged to the same ghost as the yin energy contained in the talisman, confirming that the figure, or rather, the ghostly shadow, was the one who had harmed Zeng Jing Jing.
Lin Yan quietly waited for the ghostly shadow to solidify. When it fully revealed its true form, Lin Yan saw his appearance.
He was a very young man, likely in his early twenties. His looks were ordinary, the kind of person who would blend into any crowd and be unmemorable.
His clothing was also plain, not burial clothes, but a simple t-shirt and jeans. The clothes were stained with large patches of blood, likely what he was wearing when he died.
However, there were no visible wounds on his body from the time of his death, so Lin Yan couldn't determine how he had died. But given that he was at an intersection and covered in blood, it was likely a traffic accident. She wondered why he was haunting Zeng Jing Jing.
Lin Yan affixed a breath-concealing talisman to herself and began to approach the ghost. When she reached his side, she immediately pulled out several talismans to block his escape routes. Then, Lin Yan revealed herself in front of the ghost.
"Celestial Master? What do you want!" the ghost shouted angrily.
"Nothing much, just that you've actively harmed a living person, and I have to intervene," Lin Yan looked at the ghost. Besides the bloodstains, he had no malevolence about him, let alone any bloody aura. She truly couldn't understand why he wanted to kill Zeng Jing Jing.
Once he had taken action, there was no turning back for him. However, his resentment was quite strong, suggesting he had died unwillingly. It was understandable, dying in a car accident at such a young age would displease anyone.
But personal unhappiness and imbalance were not justifications for harming others.
"Little girl, you're not old, but you have a big mouth. How old are you? Are you still in high school? A child shouldn't be dabbling in ghost-catching when they should be studying," the young ghost shook his head, looking genuinely concerned for Lin Yan, showing no signs of wanting to kill.
"Age is not the sole criterion for judging ability. While you don't possess a bloody aura, I personally witnessed you harming someone. If you surrender peacefully, I can present a petition on your behalf. If you resist, then don't blame me for being impolite."
"Little girl, what can you do if you're impolite?" He was dismissive. He had encountered some so-called practitioners of the Xuanmen arts before, but they were all elderly.
The Xuanmen arts also depended on seniority. The older the person, the stronger their seniority. Given Lin Yan's age, she was likely a novice and not a threat.
"You can try. But why did you enter Zeng Jing Jing's ability and chase her? She should have no past grievances or recent enmities with you, right?"
"How is there no enmity! If it weren't for her, how would I have died!" His voice grew angrier. His messy hair began to grow rapidly, then clawed wildly at the back of his head.
"I've examined the connection between you two and found no karmic ties. Therefore, any perceived enmity is your subjective assumption!" Lin Yan drew out her talismans and faced the ghost directly.
"Impossible, it was her, it was her. I saw her that day, it was her. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have died!" His emotions intensified, appearing as if he would pounce on Lin Yan at any moment to resolve the situation.
Lin Yan didn't want to waste any more time arguing. After all, he was a ghost, completely consumed by his own thoughts and unwilling to listen to explanations. He would only cling to his own beliefs.
Lin Yan produced her talismans and arranged them in a formation, launching them at the ghost. She didn't call for Wei Wan Ru; this ghost wasn't particularly dangerous, so she decided to handle him herself.
However, although this ghost wasn't strong, his ability to escape was extraordinary. Even though Lin Yan had sealed his escape routes with talismans beforehand, he almost got away.
After Lin Yan captured the ghost, she ignored his pleas and simply bundled him up and threw him into a soul-capturing talisman. She remained unmoved by his internal reflections and pleas for mercy.
"Why do you believe Zeng Jing Jing harmed you?" Lin Yan asked again. Although she didn't expect him to answer, she was surprised when he did.
In truth, this ghost was simply too unlucky. He was a student from the nearby university town. Because his family was poor, he wanted to work part-time to supplement his expenses.
Although the part-time earnings weren't much, they were enough for his living expenses. However, he didn't expect that on his way home from work, due to extreme fatigue and seeing a place that was usually sparsely populated now teeming with people, he felt a sense of longing.
But he didn't anticipate that an out-of-control car would hurtle towards him. He wanted to dodge, but it was impossible. In such a critical situation, he couldn't react and was hit by the car.
His body was flung a great distance, and blood pooled on the ground. Although someone took him to the hospital, his injuries were too severe to survive.
Thus, he died, in his second year of university, before his bright and promising future could unfold.
As for why he harbored such hatred for Zeng Jing Jing, it was simply because Zeng Jing Jing had driven past the intersection in a car of the same model. He mistook Zeng Jing Jing for the person who had hit and killed him.
He chased Zeng Jing Jing relentlessly in his dreams, wanting her to experience the feeling of near-death, to torment her bit by bit, and then kill her to avenge himself.
"Why do you believe Zeng Jing Jing hit you? Were there no surveillance cameras or eyewitnesses? If you were sent to the hospital so quickly, someone must have seen you being hit, right? Even if you didn't see clearly, others should have.
I will investigate your case as quickly as possible, and then you'll know who exactly hit you. Don't make the wrong accusation even in the underworld." Lin Yan felt somewhat exasperated with this ghost. Simply because the offending vehicle was the same model, he became fixated on Zeng Jing Jing and almost killed her. Zeng Jing Jing truly had bad luck.
"Impossible, how could I be mistaken? It was her, it was definitely her." He couldn't accept this fact, unable to believe that he had mistakenly targeted his revenge.
"Please, what's your eyesight prescription? Do you wear glasses? Are you aware you're nearsighted?" Lin Yan's barrage of questions left him bewildered.
"I... I'm nearsighted?" He unconsciously squinted. He didn't understand why Lin Yan would suddenly bring up his nearsightedness.
"Are you nearsighted? Don't you know yourself? Were you wearing glasses when you were hit? Did you truly see who hit you clearly?
I haven't seen any karmic threads connecting you and Zeng Jing Jing on her. Therefore, she absolutely couldn't have been the one who hit you.
Otherwise, I'll call her over tomorrow, and you can confront each other directly."
Lin Yan's words were very certain, which forced him to consider the possibility that he had misidentified her.
Thinking that if he had indeed mistaken her, then everything he had done to Zeng Jing Jing...
No, he was being led astray by this girl. He definitely hadn't made a mistake. It must have been Zeng Jing Jing who hit him, it definitely was.
With this thought, resentment surged within the soul-capturing talisman that confined him, and he seemed to want to break free from its restraints.
Lin Yan used her own spiritual power to reinforce the talisman, then affixed a silencing charm to it.
She needed to go back to sleep. Although staying up occasionally was fine for her body at this age, her soul was quite old, and she should return to rest sooner rather than later. After all, she had a full day of classes tomorrow, and she couldn't afford to take leave again.
If she asked for another leave, even if the teachers liked her, they would have to call her parents in for a discussion. Thinking of this, Lin Yan felt it was best to get back and sleep.
"I want to go to school," Zeng Xuan Ming suddenly said to his parents over breakfast.
As soon as he spoke, everyone at the table stopped eating.
"Xuan Ming, what are you saying?" Zeng's mother was a very young woman, making it hard to believe she was the mother of two grown children.
At this moment, she was extremely shocked by her son's statement, forgetting all composure.
"I said I want to go to school." Was that so difficult to understand? He looked at his mother curiously, not understanding why she wanted him to repeat himself.
"Why do you want to go to school? Didn't you say you'd take the college entrance exams this year and then go directly to university?" Zeng Jing Jing was also very surprised by her brother's sudden declaration.
Her brother had always planned his affairs meticulously, with detailed schedules for every stage.
She, on the other hand, was not a planner; even if she made plans, they were meant to be broken. But her brother was different. Every plan he made was completed on time and to the letter.
Many times, she had suspected that her brother wasn't a real person, but something like an intelligent robot.
"I need to collect more types of questions, and I've never taken a formal exam before, so I want to experience school," Yes, that was the reason.
Studying in isolation at home wouldn't fully prepare him for the college entrance exams, so it would be better to spend some time at school.
"Is this your genuine intention?" Zeng's father also spoke, looking at his son. He felt his son must be hiding something, but since he didn't want to say, he wouldn't force him.
It was good that he wanted to go to school; interacting with more people would be beneficial for him. His daily life was too solitary. Apart from his curiosity about knowledge he didn't understand, he showed little interest in other matters.
He had even taken him to see a psychologist, and the diagnosis was that Xuan Ming had emotional detachment disorder. However, he still needed to confirm that Xuan Ming's sudden desire to attend school was his own volition.
"Yes. I want to go to school and experience the atmosphere of a school." He then told his parents the name of the school he wished to attend.