Chapter 478: Chapter 442: Gifts
New Year’s Day.
"Sang Sang!"
Jiang Zao saw Sang Que at the entrance of the coffee shop on the first floor of the mall, ran over excitedly, and jumped onto Sang Que’s back, just like they used to do in school.
No matter how long they haven’t seen or contacted each other, the friendship between Sang Que and Jiang Zao remains unchanged.
"Where have you been all this time? I missed you so much!"
Sang Que pulled Jiang Zao down from her back, "Went off to do big things."
Jiang Zao rolled her eyes, "You’re fooling me again."
Sang Que smiled helplessly, "Where’s Xu Yichao? What movie do you want to watch later, or what do you want to eat? Pick anything, it’s on me."
"Then you’ll be bleeding money today!" Jiang Zao said fiercely.
The two sat in the coffee shop and chatted for a while, mostly Jiang Zao talking about the hardships of senior year and the bittersweet moments at school.
When Sang Que was still in school, she always felt restricted and that studying was tiring. Later, after the trial of the Deceit Dynasty and now being expected by everyone, she realized that schooling was the easiest.
This ease was mental; not having to worry about livelihood or be responsible for anyone.
After chatting for twenty minutes, Xu Yichao arrived late. From afar, Sang Que glanced behind him; the little paperman girl was still there, and her body seemed more real than before. Previously, she often appeared only from the waist up, but now even had a lower body.
As Xu Yichao approached, the skin on the back of Sang Que’s hand quietly cracked and lifted, with the edges showing a paper-like texture.
Sang Que discreetly rubbed down her hand. This was her Paper Macher’s desire to devour Xu Yichao’s little paperman girl.
"Sang Que, long time no see."
Xu Yichao walked over and sat down. The hardships of senior year made him look tired, with dark circles under his eyes, and overall, he didn’t look as healthy as before.
Being bound to a ghost inevitably brought physical issues, and this was Xu Yichao’s own choice.
Sang Que handed Xu Yichao the coffee she had bought in advance, "What have you been busy with lately? Haven’t been listening to Zheng Xuan’s advice, have you?"
Xu Yichao was surprised, "You could tell?"
Zheng Xuan had once advised Xu Yichao not to actively intervene in any supernatural incidents so that he could live longer, but Sang Que could see that his little paperman girl had grown stronger, which meant Xu Yichao had taken Zheng Xuan’s words lightly, not only involving himself with supernatural events but also letting his little paperman girl devour other ghosts.
Xu Yichao awkwardly scratched his face, "Didn’t do much, just helped others a bit."
Jiang Zao suddenly remembered something and shouted, "I know! No wonder there have been people in suits looking for you outside the school lately, calling you Master Xu; you’re being a charlatan!"
"Shh, shh, shh! Don’t shout, don’t shout!" Xu Yichao stood up, trying to cover Jiang Zao’s mouth.
"Tell us, what’s going on?"
Sang Que leaned back in her chair, exuding a strong presence, and Jiang Zao pulled her chair closer to Sang Que with a look that said, ’Let’s see what you’ve got.’
Xu Yichao sat down to face their interrogation and could only confess, "I started by helping out Grandma Xu. When people looked for her, she couldn’t just ignore them. In the past, Grandma Xu would ask Zheng Xuan, Mr. Zheng, or that Zheng Wujun for help, but lately, Grandma Xu said she couldn’t reach either, so she thought of me and took me to help people a few times."
Xu Yichao scratched his head, "I don’t know how, but word got out, and then people started coming to me, and then..."
Sang Que understood that she also had a role in this. After reporting the Deceit Dynasty incident, the research institute shifted its focus, and understaffed emergency teams had all been transferred to Lishi Mountain. Naturally, there was no manpower to handle these ’small matters’ occurring domestically.
Xu Yichao continued, "Actually, Grandma Xu also found it strange, saying that since the beginning of the year, strange incidents had been increasing—not big ones, but their numbers far exceeded before."
Jiang Zao casually said, "Is it possible that spiritual energy is recovering?"
Xu Yichao replied, "I don’t think it’s spiritual recovery; it’s a supernatural recovery! We’ve all experienced it; there really are... wandering souls in this world!"
Sang Que asked tentatively, "If there really was supernatural recovery, and wandering souls were everywhere, what would you do?"
Jiang Zao immediately said, "Level up, fight monsters, be the protagonist, defend the country and protect the realm."
Sang Que was amused, "I didn’t know you had such ambition."
"You underestimate me; Xu Yichao, what about you?"
Xu Yichao thought for a moment and said, "If it were over a year ago, I might have thought like you, thinking I was the protagonist of the world, but recently I’ve seen a lot of things; I suddenly feel that it’s better for people to know nothing and live simply."
Saying this, Xu Yichao subconsciously glanced towards the bathroom in the distance, his whole body tense.
Sang Que subtly looked over and noticed the bathroom light was flickering, and there was an old woman there, who was a ghost.
People passed through the old woman and felt inexplicably cold but didn’t know why.
Sang Que could roughly imagine what Xu Yichao had been through, similar to when she first learned there were ghosts in the world. She could see them but had to pretend she couldn’t, or it would bring her danger, keeping her mind constantly tense.
After thinking for a moment, Sang Que pulled out a paper and pen from Jiang Zao’s bag, wrote down a name and phone number, and placed it in front of them.
"If you want to explore the dark side of the world, think it through and then call this number, but remember, once you do, there’s no turning back. If you encounter problems that are hard to understand or solve, you can also call this number for help. That’s all I can tell you."
Jiang Zao and Xu Yichao had experienced many things with Sang Que. In fact, with just one word from Sang Que, she could have pulled them into the team, and even if they couldn’t follow her to the Deceit Dynasty, they could stay in the research institute.
But Sang Que couldn’t selfishly make decisions for them; matters in the supernatural field were always accompanied by danger. As with Xu Yichao now, he began to retreat after gaining some understanding.
This decision must be made by themselves.
Jiang Zao wanted to ask more, but Sang Que interrupted her, pulling Jiang Zao to buy tickets at the cinema.
Xu Yichao wanted to go to the bathroom but didn’t dare go to the one on the first floor, holding it in until he got to the cinema.
Playing in the mall followed the same old routines: buy milk tea, watch a movie, then go to the arcade, and finally stroll around various small merchandise shops.
Sang Que even took time to handle the ghost in the first-floor bathroom.
Jiang Zao made revenge-driven purchases, making Sang Que buy her many things to console her hurt feelings.
The three of them played together until nightfall. The next day, the second day of the new year, Jiang Zao’s parents would come back with her sister to reunite as a family in the big city, and Xu Yichao would go with his parents to his grandmother’s house, making it hard to gather again soon.
Sang Que had prepared gifts for both of them when she came, for Xu Yichao, she had the Paper Macher make two soldier papermen, three-dimensional and palm-sized. All Xu Yichao needed to do was apply blood on them to activate the papermen soldiers at night to protect him.
For Jiang Zao, she had the Puppet Master Chu Mo Wei create a puppet show doll, the size of a small baby, with a ghost face, dressed in a red official robe, somewhat resembling Zhong Kui. Placing the puppet at home or carrying it could deter wandering souls and wild ghosts.
When Sang Que arrived back at her community, she didn’t rush home; she first knocked on the door next to hers.
The one who opened the door was a man with decent looks. After seeing Sang Que clearly, he was momentarily nervous. Sang Que smiled and said, "We’re moving tomorrow; I’m going to trouble you again for some help, and thank you for taking care of my mom during this time, thank you."
Sang Que bowed, and the man knew he couldn’t keep up the act, so he awkwardly smiled, "Of course, of course."
