"Inferiority complex?"

"Yeah, inferiority complex."

"Why would she feel inferior?"

Ding Kan looked at me as if I were an idiot and said, "What do you think? Because of her past! After all, you brought her out of that place. She had to beg you to let her stay. There are still things in the shop she can't touch. Don't you think she'd feel inferior?"

I nodded. "I understand what you're saying. I know there are paper offerings in the shop she can't touch, and it hurts her. But some things are beyond my control, beyond my ability to change.

I've thought about finding an opportunity to explain things to her, but I figured that would only hurt her more, so I never said anything."

"You're doing the right thing. If I were you, I wouldn't explain anything either. Sometimes, comfort only makes people break down faster."

"Then what did I do wrong?" I looked at Ding Kan, confused.

Ding Kan laughed. "Actually, it's not that you did anything wrong. It's just that your story amplified her inferiority complex."

"Did it?"

"Of course. She's always felt unworthy of you, felt like you don't like her because of her past. She thinks you'll marry a lady from a good family, or at least a decent woman. That way, she can feel a little better.

She can explain it to herself. You don't love her, not because she's worse than anyone else, but simply because everyone has a different fate. Heaven made her fall into prostitution, so she's destined to be with you.

But now, the person who has you head over heels isn't some noble lady, but a woman who exposed her entire body the first time she met you, a woman who's not only unreserved but doesn't even have a sense of shame.

That's how that woman was the first time she met you. She probably wasn't much different in front of other men, so you can imagine how chaotic her life was before.

You didn't choose Moli Hua (Jasmine), but you're infatuated with a woman who has a more complicated past, a woman who's even more fallen than she is. Don't you think Moli Hua would be sad?

Before, she was only ashamed of her past. Now, she's even ashamed of her looks and skills. She hasn't been able to seduce you for so long, but a woman you only met once has you head over heels. Don't you think she'd be sad?"

"That's not a very nice way to talk. I've calculated it many times. Yan Ji really didn't have anything going on with those men, at least, not any real relationship.

She did spend a lot of time with those men, but she's not as depraved as you make her out to be.

Of course, Moli Hua is also a good woman. She didn't want to go through what she did." I explained incoherently, not knowing what to say.

"Want my advice?" Ding Kan looked at me seriously.

"Tell me what you think." Anyway, there's no one more reliable to give me advice right now.

"Since you're moved, be brave and do what you want to do. Don't worry so much."

"Do you think I really like Yan Ji? Are my feelings for her really what people call love?" I was still confused and uncertain.

"What else could it be? If you didn't like her, what would you be doing, sitting in this room calculating trigrams all day? Just practicing your skills?" Ding Kan retorted.

"Do you think it's possible that I'm under her spell, that I'm just infatuated with her beauty?"

"It's possible, but whether you're really in love or just infatuated, you have to be bold and move forward. You have to find out for yourself. You can't figure it out by thinking about it alone.

Sometimes, impulse isn't necessarily a demon. People don't have to live so rationally. People are people, they're emotional animals, not machines with programmed settings."

Is that really true? I walked to the window alone, watching the moon slowly rise. But the moon quickly turned into Yan Ji's face again.

Are my feelings for Yan Ji love? Why does it always feel so strange?

Am I too stubborn and cowardly? Am I afraid to pursue love even when it's right in front of me?

Am I too reliant on my abacus? Do I have to calculate whether everything is auspicious beforehand?

That night, I thought about it for a long time, but I still didn't leave the shop or contact Ling Dang.

I don't know if I'm being cowardly or rational. I calculated countless trigrams for Yan Ji, but I didn't dare to ask about her at all.

The night deepened quickly, and Ding Kan had already gone back to his room to sleep. He took good care of his body and didn't plan to stay up all night for my sake.

Later, I yawned and decided to go to sleep too. My mind wasn't clear right now, so it wasn't a good time to think about things.

This rarely happens to me. Maybe Yan Ji's enchantment is really powerful. It's been almost two days, and I still can't shake her image.

Just as I was about to get into bed, my phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

I answered it casually, and it was Shi Tu's voice.

"Did you give Yan Ji to Ling Dang?"

"I gave her to her. I gave her to her two days ago." I answered mechanically, without even bothering to ask Shi Tu how he was doing.

"Which Ling Dang did you give her to?" Shi Tu suddenly asked a strange question.

However, I could understand what he meant by this strange question, because the person in the wheelchair wasn't Shi Wanling at all. It was the caregiver behind her.

She told me to meet Shi Tu alone because she was afraid of being recognized by the Corpse Control Sect. A young lady with so much ambition wouldn't just casually break her leg.

The Ling Dang in the wheelchair was just a puppet. Everything was being controlled by the caregiver behind her.

To avoid attracting attention, the caregiver deliberately painted a large birthmark on her face. With a face that had such obvious flaws, she could cover it up openly. Out of politeness, people wouldn't stare at her face, which was a very good idea.

"I gave her to the Ling Dang who commissioned me. They were the same when they commissioned me as when I gave Yan Ji to them. They came to commission me with a certain number of people, and I gave Yan Ji to them with the same number of people.

I checked, and even the wheelchair was the same one. Nothing had been changed."

I suddenly realized that as soon as a case was mentioned, my mind became clear again, and my logic was very clear.

Shi Tu sighed heavily. "Then why hasn't she brought Yan Ji to save me yet? I don't have much time left.

Master Wan, is Ling Dang having some kind of trouble? Can you help me take a look and see what's going on with her? Yan Ji is very cunning. I'm afraid Ling Dang won't be able to control her."