Chapter 29: Little Paper Man
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Chi Shuyan giggled and teased upon hearing this, “You’re pretty good to this little fox.”
She flipped her hand, brandished a Yin Ghost Gonfalon and collected the malevolent ghost that was half-way in and attempted to flee after sensing the danger in one fell swoop. Even the residual yin energy was collected cleanly, restoring tranquility and clarity.
Chi Shuyan grinned in satisfaction. “I just love this kind of special delivery. It saves me a lot of effort.”
Lin Haoxing was s.h.i.+vering in fear, but after waiting for a while, nothing happened inside the car. All thinking that it must have been finished, Lin Haoxing opened a crack and found that the car was quiet. The terrible evil ghost was gone.
His eyes lit up and carefully combed left and right. He cheered some and looked strangely at Chi Shuyan even more. “Sister, is that ghost gone?”
Chi Shuyan snorted and stuffed a large White Rabbit creamy candy into her mouth with her eyes closed. “It’s gone. Where do you live? I’ll send you back.”
Lin Haoxing looked at Chi Shuyan with amazement and doubt. Foxy seemed to have not made a move just now. Was it this sister in front of him? Moreover, Foxy generally would come right out whenever he ran into one of these filthy evil spirits. But this time, he sensed Foxy’s fear within him. Utterly panicked and anxious, even his most useful trick of 100 trials and tribulations was used to tempt it, but it hid tightly. Foxy was the most voracious eater, but he acted as if there were floods of dreadful monsters in front, when there was only this beautiful sister. It wasn’t even afraid of evil spirits, so was this sister it was afraid of? Lin Haoxing was somewhat puzzled.
“Can Sister drive?” Lin Haoxing inquired.
Chi Shunyan shook her head. “No.” Suddenly opening her eyes, she turned to Lin Haoxing and asked, “Do you have any paper on you?”
Lin Haoxing was dazed and tangled. Would he have to walk back since she couldn’t drive? But it seemed a bit far and he didn’t know the way. But he did as he was told and cleverly pulled out his backpack behind him, then took out a notebook.
“No, a cardboard cover, a bigger one. I think your English textbook cover is just about right.”
Lin Haoxing: “…But English textbook covers are hard to fold.” Though saying this, he immediately tore off the English textbook cover.
Lin Haoxing watched as Chi Shuyan’s fingers flew over and quickly folded the disobedient page into a lifelike little paper man. Then, Chi Shuyan blew a breath towards it, and the flat little man rapidly expanded to the size of an adult, turned over and sat nimbly in the driver’s seat.
Lin Haoxing’s eyes widened in awe. His tiny mouth opened a bit and he was momentarily dumbstruck before excitedly looking at the little paper man and shouting, “… Alive, Sister, alive!” Is the little paper man alive?
Chi Shuyan tapped him on the head. “I’m not dead. Who’s alive? Tell me your address.”
“Uh-oh.” Lin Haoxing hurriedly reported his home address.
Chi Shuyan found a cinnabar pen on her and wrote a line of s.h.i.+mmering silver characters in the air, then with a flick of her finger, these characters all fell on the paper man’s body. As soon as they fell on him, the paper man started driving the car just like a real live person would.
Lin Haoxing stared without blinking, raking the back of the front seat, his eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with novelty and excitement. This was the first time he’d ever seen a paper man drive, and he was now completely positive that this pretty sister had just put away that evil ghost.
“Sister, let’s go for a few more spins. It’s so fun.” Lin Haoxing happily hugged Chi Shuyan’s arm; long gone were the fearful pangs of panic just now.
Chi Shuyan glanced at the ghosts, who greedily looked at them from time to time from the car window, then at the few ghosts floating in the winds.h.i.+eld, and sighed. This child’s ability to attract ghosts was first-cla.s.s. He simply beckoned more ghosts than she did. Had it not been for the Fox Great Immortal belonging to one of the Five Great Immortals hiding in this child’s body, those evil spirits would have already s.n.a.t.c.hed him, torn him to shreds and eaten him! She had heard that some people in the past prayed for blessings and ward for calamities by wors.h.i.+pping the Five Great Immortals: the Fox, the Weasel, the Hedgehog, the Snake, and the Mouse.
Chi Shuyan frowned, feeling that there was something wrong with the way the child was making offerings, but for a moment, she couldn’t recall exactly where the problem was. Soon, she could no longer dwell on it. After collecting a batch of evil spirits, another batch came up.
Naturally, she was glad to see these bunch of ghosts coming up, for it was an easy ride harvesting ghosts. The Yin Ghost Gonfalon she had refined had grown significantly larger, just like a ‘Ghost Eater’ who had eaten its fill. Chi Shuyan pursed her lips and smiled faintly. If she continued at this pace, restoring her strength was just around the corner. Since taking this child with her had been a rewarding journey, she naturally agreed to take him for a few more spins.
The two went for a leisurely car ride, completely unaware that the Lin family had already overturned the sky because of Lin Haoxing’s disappearance. It was a noisy night with the lights ablaze and the people utterly routed.
The Lin Residence
A roomful of people were anxiously guarding the s.p.a.cious, empty living room.
“What the h.e.l.l is going on? Say something!” Seeing that Fan Ming couldn’t get through for a long time, Lin Chongchang couldn’t help urging him anxiously.
Fan Ming hummed respectfully and dialed a few more times, but failed to connect. Now Master Lin Chongchang couldn’t wait any longer, so he s.n.a.t.c.hed the phone directly from Fan Ming’s hand and personally made the call. After several attempts, there was still no answer from anyone. His frown furrowed deeper and the pit of his stomach undulated ceaselessly in anger. “What the h.e.l.l do these kidnappers mean? How are we to know the address for the ransom with no phone calls!”
“Dad, take it easy. Anger won’t do your body any good,” Fan Ming consoled.
Lin Chongchang turned sharply and gave a cold, angry snort. “Take it easy? How can I not be anxious? What kind of parents are the both of you? You can’t even look after a child at home.”
Lin Jings.h.i.+, who was sitting on the sofa, couldn’t help but whimper and cry out, “They aren’t going to kill him, are they? I won’t live if anything happens to Xingxing.”
“Pooh, Xingxing is blessed with great fortune. There’s definitely nothing serious, so don’t curse Xingxing.” Lin Chongchang knocked his cane, with flashes of worry and reproach in his eyes. “Had I known that today would turn out like this, I’d have paid a little more attention.” In the end, Lin Chongchang loved his daughter dearly, so he didn’t rebuke harshly.
Lin Chongchang’s ringtone rang and after a look at the screen, he hurriedly picked it up seeing that it was Feng Yuanlin’s call.
“Elder Lin, there’s news about Haoxing. Two male adults have surrendered themselves at the police station. Come to identify them first, then there is… Their confessions seem related to your son-in-law, Fan Ming. It’s a bit complicated and not merely a kidnapping. You’d better come here and I’ll explain to you personally in detail.”
When Lin Chongchang heard that he had news about his grandson, his spirits were lifted. However, upon hearing that his grandson’s disappearance and kidnapping had something to do with Fan Ming, his eyes instantly sharpened strangely.
He was aware that his grandson was different from other kids, often saying that he could see ghosts. This time, his fondness for raw chicken and ducks was even more bizarre, making many people mistakenly believe that he was mentall ill. Although he didn’t believe in such ghosts and the supernatural, when his grandson’s life was at stake, he’d rather believe in them, or go around hiring Masters at high prices to treat him and buy talismans.
He also knew that because of Xingxing’s illness, his daughter and son-in-law often quarreled in private. His son-in-law even wanted to have another healthy child. Unfortunately, his daughter got hurt and after beating some words into him, he gave up on the idea. But it never occurred to him that his grandson’s disappearance would have anything to do with the gentle, good-tempered son-in-law before him. He just hoped it was a misunderstanding.
Lin Chongchang took a deep breath, kept all his emotions off his face, and instructed the butler, “Ready the car and go to the police station.”
“Dad, is there any news from the police station? You’re not well, so let me go in your stead.” Fan Ming was full of concern.
“Yes, Dad, let him go. It’s all because he lectured Xingxing and fought with me that we lost him.” Lin Jings.h.i.+ complained, “I don’t know what keeps him busy all day long outside, then scold Xingxing as soon as he gets home.”
Fan Ming didn’t refute Lin Jings.h.i.+’s accusations. Instead, he hung his head in great remorse. “Jings.h.i.+ is right. I also love him and I’m greatly at fault. When Xingxing comes home, I won’t be so strict with him anymore.” Seeing that the old man didn’t react, Fan Ming took note of Lin Chongchang’s expression out of the corner of his eye and froze slightly at his indifference.
Lin Chongchang studied Fan Ming differently. If Feng Yuanlin hadn’t told him just now that this matter was related to Fan Ming, he probably would have been relieved to see his sincerity and self-reproach. Yet his heart was cold inside, even chilled to the bone. Even a rational and calm father, if confronted with the possibility that his child might have been abducted and met an untimely end, would he still have the mind to weigh his words up and closely watch his expressions? He didn’t dare think deeply, just hoping that it was all suspicions.