Wu Yinyu covered her eyes. When she lowered her hand, the world appeared only in black and white.
No ghostly evil was visible in the shrine hall. Yet the incense in the burner could only have been consumed by one, otherwise such a stench couldn’t have been left behind. There were some drifting wisps of blue-green smoke around—that was just the life energy she herself brought with her as a living person.
The shrine hall was always locked. Only a ventilation opening, two palms wide, remained uncovered. Thus, the room perpetually smelled of incense smoke.
Although the space was spacious, it contained very few objects. Just a spirit table stood there. A ghostly evil coming here would have nowhere to hide.
As Wu Yinyu pondered this, her peripheral vision suddenly caught a smudge of filth on a round pillar. She leaned closer to sniff it and, unexpectedly, it was the fragrance of ink.
Most likely, the ‘Yin Energy’ she had encountered here last time was exactly that ink-qi.
She hastily drew back, her gaze moving slowly up the pillar. On a crossbeam above, she saw something: a hemp rope about two fingers thick.
The Wu family’s old residence was two hundred years old. The main house had been demolished and rebuilt, but the side shrine hall had only undergone minor repairs.
Wu Yinyu had never noticed it before—there was such an object on the crossbeam. She had no idea when it had been left there, or by whom.
A crossbeam and a hemp rope… combining those two terms conjured some very uncomfortable images. Like hanging oneself from the rafters.
Surely it wasn’t that the ghost of someone who’d hung themselves here was eating the incense? And what of the ink-qi? Had it transformed from that as well?
There was no ladder in the shrine hall, so she couldn’t retrieve the hemp rope from the beam. Seeing the hour was getting late, she had no choice but to turn and leave.
On her way out, she slapped a talisman onto the door to prevent whatever was inside from getting out.
Leaving the house, Wu Yinyu encountered Wu Wanying again. He was dressed in an indigo suit, his tie beautifully knotted, looking like he’d just returned from work.
“Headed out?” Wu Wanying asked. “Any news on the Lu family matter?”
Not intending to share anything, Wu Yinyu asked instead, “Do you know about the hemp rope on the crossbeam in the shrine hall?”
Wu Wanying frowned. “What hemp rope?”
“There’s a hemp rope draped over a crossbeam in the shrine hall ceiling,” Wu Yinyu rephrased her question. “Do you know if anything happened in the shrine hall?”
“Like what?” Wu Wanying was completely clueless.
“Seems you don’t know either.” Wu Yinyu waved a hand dismissively. “I’m going out for a bit.”
Ever since Wu Qiyu passed, nearly all the ghost-banishing tasks for the Wu family had fallen to Wu Yinyu. Ghost driving was typically done at night—after all, you had to wait for the ghosts to come out before you got a chance to catch them.
Over these years, Wu Yinyu had never messed up such a task. So Wu Wanying didn’t question her further, only offering a perfunctory reminder to be careful.
Just before leaving, Wu Yinyu looked back. “Don’t go into the shrine hall yet. Also, don’t take off that Five Emperor Coin bracelet Dad gave you. I’ll handle the matter of the hemp rope myself. Call me if anything happens.”
Wu Wanying was slightly taken aback; Wu Yinyu rarely gave such instructions. He loosened his tie. “Fine. Go early, come back early.”
Wu Yinyu drove herself. As her car pulled up to the entrance of City First Hospital, she spotted a familiar figure already standing by the gate.
Yu Zezhi stood exactly in front of the hospital’s name plaque, posture perfectly correct, upright and silent. She resembled a lost, wandering ghost. Not to mention she was draped in that long robe, with only the colors red and white on her person. At a glance, she was quite eerie.
Parking the car, Wu Yinyu carried her items to the gate and called out to that silhouette, “Boss Yu.”
Yu Zezhi turned her head. Her gaze dropped, landing on the items in Wu Yinyu’s hands. Flatly, she said, “You seem well-prepared. It really is to summon a soul?”
“Otherwise, why would I bother running around late at night?” Wu Yinyu extended the heavy bag in her hand forward. Pointing toward the inpatient building, she said, “I’m going to get a piece of clothing from Lu Sansheng. Could I trouble Boss Yu to hold this for me?”
“Lu Sansheng hasn’t woken up,” Yu Zezhi said.
“I know.” Wu Yinyu smiled. “If he were awake, would we need to summon his soul? I just need an article of his clothing. No need to let him know.”
Yu Zezhi took the items. Out of politeness, she didn’t peek inside, merely watching steadily as Wu Yinyu walked into the distance.
Wu Yinyu entered the inpatient building and met eyes with the nurse at the inquiry desk. The one on duty tonight happened to be the same nurse who had seen her before.
She was very good-looking, and her qipao was especially eye-catching, so the nurse recognized her instantly.
The nurse asked, “A friend of Lu Sansheng’s? What brings you here so late?”
“Came to see if there’s any change of clothes that needs taking away for laundry,” Wu Yinyu curved her eyes. When those willow-leaf eyes smiled, they seemed to brim with unspoken affection.
The nurse felt her own heartbeat quicken. After a few seconds, she uttered, “Ah,” and said, “You’re so kind to him. Are you his… girlfriend?”
“No.” Wu Yinyu laughed aloud. “He’s a younger brother from a family friend. I have no interest in men.”
The statement was neither too blunt nor particularly subtle.
The nurse paused, leaning sideways to see the elevator doors open, before hastily saying, “I’ll unlock the ward door for you. You won’t need to ring the bell when you go up.”
Wu Yinyu nodded in thanks and walked unhurriedly into the elevator.
Hospitals were full of ghosts. When the elevator doors opened, it was packed inside, but most were bewildered, lost new ghosts, carrying only lingering attachments to the living world, devoid of any malice.
Upon reaching the floor, the ward door opened with a pull, just as expected, no bell needed.
Wu Yinyu found Lu Sansheng’s hospital room. A caretaker was also lying inside. She pushed the door open and entered. The caretaker jolted, nearly scared out of his wits.
Apparently, this was the same caretaker who’d been looking after Lu Sansheng even when his soul was previously refusing to return. Employed by the Lu family for years, he was somewhat privy to the Five Gates’ affairs and knew the reason for Lu Sansheng’s coma.
The caretaker recognized Wu Yinyu. He stood and bowed, not daring to show the slightest disrespect. After all, when his own time came, it might well be her who accompanied him on his final journey.
Wu Yinyu got straight to the point, “Get me an outfit of Lu Sansheng’s. And a pair of his shoes.”
Lu Sansheng only had one pair of shoes at the hospital, the ones he’d been wearing when admitted.
The caretaker stammered, “Th-then, shall I pack them up for you? Can this be reported to Elder Lu?”
Wu Yinyu answered with a beaming smile: “No.”
The caretaker froze. He dared not offend either side. Helpless, he scrambled to pack Lu Sansheng’s clothes and shoes. His heart trembling with fear, he pleaded, “Then you must bring these clothes and shoes back quickly, or else I-I…”
“I won’t make things difficult for you,” Wu Yinyu took the items. As she turned, the orchid pendant on her hairpin swayed gently.
Having gotten what she needed, Wu Yinyu went downstairs. From afar, she saw Yu Zezhi still standing in the exact same spot, as if she hadn’t moved a muscle.
From that distance, Yu Zezhi shouldn’t have been able to hear her footsteps. Yet, as if on cue, she turned her head and met Wu Yinyu’s gaze.
Wu Yinyu slowed her pace, her mind racing, trying to recall what exactly the Yu family specialized in.
The Yu family… ah, naturally, they were skilled in controlling puppets. Molding clay figurines, cutting paper effigies to create puppets, even controlling corpses. Their path was rather unorthodox. Though Yu Zezhi seemed cold and detached, she might have secretly dispatched a paper puppet to monitor the surroundings.
She had initially assumed this new Yu family head, who had been away for years, was only half-competent. Now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“You got it,” Yu Zezhi stated with certainty.
Wu Yinyu set Lu Sansheng’s clothes on the ground. Taking the paper bag from Yu Zezhi’s hands, she retrieved the weighing beam from within.
In the past, when banishing inauspiciousness, someone was always chattering beside her with questions. Later, whether anyone asked or not, she would habitually explain things beforehand. That old habit had resurfaced.
“This soul summoning method is simple yet effective. In ancient times, when a child was frightened and fell ill, they often used this method to call the soul back. I’ve prepared everything needed. In a moment, you’ll hold the weighing beam for me. I’ll carry the lantern and walk ahead, calling out Lu Sansheng’s name. Each time I call, you respond once. Of course, not meaning you are Lu Sansheng.” She spoke in a slow, measured tone.
Yu Zezhi didn’t respond. Her slightly cool hand brushed past Wu Yinyu’s arm.
Reaching casually into the bag, she found the gold ingot spirit money Wu Yinyu had folded earlier and placed it onto the scale pan Wu Yinyu was holding.
The moment the gold ingot was placed, it covered the talisman drawn in chicken blood on the pan’s surface.
“You knew I’d folded spirit ingots, and even knew to put them there.” Wu Yinyu was a bit surprised. She promptly handed the weighing beam over.
Yu Zezhi said flatly, “Without the gold ingot money, this matter cannot proceed.”
Wu Yinyu bent to pick up Lu Sansheng’s clothes and shoes, hanging them on the weighing beam. She asked with a smile, “Tell me, what else can you do?”
