Li Mingyue rolled her eyes back and stood stiffly in front of me, her mouth uttering an old man's voice.
"My name is Li Jiuming. I'm the owner of the Li Silk and Satin Shop."
As soon as she said this, the guests of the Si family who were watching around couldn't help but let out a low exclamation.
"Isn't Boss Li at the silk factory in Zhejiang Province?"
"That was last year... I heard he's back in Nanjing."
"Yes. I heard he's been sick. We haven't seen him for months..."
"Being sick doesn't mean being dead. How could he possess his daughter?"
"..."
I looked around. Si Jiangchen was leaning against the wall with a cut cigar between his lips, not lit. There was a look of amusement on his face as he watched me. His father, Si Cheng, had turned livid, and his hand hanging by his side was clenched into a fist.
"Boss Li, may I ask why you're here?"
Granny Bai once told me that if you want a person who died unexpectedly to speak, you must be sincere and respectful so as to appease their resentment. So I put on a serious expression and asked in a gentle tone as much as possible, "Are you still alive or have you passed away?"
"I... I've been dead for a long time!"
Li Mingyue, possessed by Li Jiuming, suddenly turned her head. Her blood - shot eyes stared straight at Qiu Zhuqing lying against the wall and said, "That venomous woman has made me suffer so much!"
"So that's why you've been following her?"
I continued to ask, "What do you want to do by following her?"
"Of course, I'm here to claim her life!" Li Mingyue staggered over to Qiu Zhuqing's side. "I came back from Zhejiang Province and fell seriously ill. I tossed and turned in bed every day... I knew this venomous woman always resented our marriage, as I'm much older than her. She was never content."
Saying this, he looked back at Si Cheng and showed a sad smile on his face. "She always said her elder sister was lucky to marry the man she loved most in the world."
Li Jiuming sighed. "I'm just a merchant, and she's my second wife. I couldn't give her a proper name, so I could only satisfy her with money..."
"Wait a minute!"
Si Cheng suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Xinghe..."
This was the first time he addressed me like a relative and elder. "Your little tricks are just child's play. I don't know where you summoned this wandering soul to impersonate my old friend Jiuming. Forget it. Just exorcise him!"
Saying this, Si Cheng actually took out a talisman with silver paper and purple characters from his coat pocket and reached out to press it on Li Mingyue's forehead.
"Hey! You can't do this!"
As soon as the talisman was taken out, I felt a powerful thunderous force. He wasn't trying to exorcise Li Jiuming at all; he was trying to make his soul disappear forever!!
I reached out to grab the silver paper that was already emanating the aura of thunder.
Li Jiuming died so miserably. I thought it would be easy for me to help him clear his grievances. Who would have thought that Si Cheng would suddenly make a move, and such a ruthless one at that, completely lacking the demeanor of a master!!
"Xiao He, what are you doing!"
My hand was almost touching the talisman when Si Jiangchen suddenly reached out from the side and pinched the silver talisman between his two fingers. With a gentle flick, the talisman immediately burst into a small flame and turned into a pile of ashes.
Then, his hand naturally grasped my fingers and pulled me into his arms, hugging me. "My father's talisman is extremely powerful. It might hurt you."
He lowered his head and whispered in my ear, "I thought you were someone who didn't like to meddle in other people's business!"
My clothes had been cut by Qiu Zhuqing's knife before, and I had been covering it with my hand. Si Jiangchen took off his coat and wanted to put it on my shoulders, but I put it on backwards. I stuffed my hands into his long sleeves, tilted my neck and showed my back to him. "Button it up for me."
Si Jiangchen had never seen such an unconventional person like me. Other women, when being cared for by a man, would put on the man's clothes and act like a weak willow swaying in the wind. But I wore his clothes backwards in a bold manner and even asked him to button it up!!
Si Jiangchen let me be naughty. He really buttoned up the dark - blue small - collared suit from the back. Then I rolled up the half - length sleeves on my forearms, which made it convenient for me to move without always covering that unsightly wound.
"Ah! Was it the head of the Si family who made a move just now?"
"He's so powerful. I saw that talisman. It was shining silver!"
"I heard that silver talismans are one of the most powerful talismans. Only those with great magical power can draw them!"
...
Si Cheng's silver talisman caused another stir among the onlookers. Everyone knew that talismans were divided into gold, silver, purple, green, and yellow. It was a great fortune to see a silver talisman once. Some people had already carefully approached Si Cheng and started to flatter him.
I was a bit surprised. I could only feel the thunderous power of the talisman paper itself, but I couldn't feel the magical power Si Cheng used to activate it. In other words, Si Cheng had only relied on this talisman to defeat Li Jiuming's soul!
Could it be... I looked up at Si Cheng. Was this guy just a showy but useless person?!!
Li Jiuming on one side was first startled by the sudden appearance of the talisman, and then let out a shrill scream. "Si Cheng, are you going to frame me too?!"
Si Cheng also flew into a rage. He pointed at the guards around and said, "You good - for - nothing guys! Are you just eating for free? Get everyone out of here!"
Saying this, he ignored Li Jiuming and took two steps back, hiding behind the guards.
The guards were Si Jiangchen's subordinates. They all looked up waiting for his order. Si Jiangchen waved his hand, and those guards immediately pushed the people who had crowded in to watch the show out of the already small private room like wolves and tigers.
Li Mingyue, possessed by Li Jiuming, was going crazy. She stretched out her claw - like hands and wanted to pounce on Si Cheng, but I grabbed her by the neck and pressed her onto the sofa. I made a ghost - suppressing hand seal with my left hand and hovered it above her forehead.
That was the location of the Shangxing acupoint among the thirteen ghost acupoints. Granny Bai had taught me that whenever a soul entered or left a physical body, it liked to go through this place. It was like a gateway of the human body. If you controlled this place, the ghost couldn't escape.
"Let's talk it out calmly!"
I looked into Li Mingyue's eyes. Those old and resentful eyes set in a young and beautiful face were extremely terrifying. "I can summon you out, and I can also send you back!"
"I... I don't want to die yet!"
Li Jiuming's lips trembled. The venom in his eyes finally faded away, and he turned back into that pitiful and frail old man.
At this time, the private room had been cleared. Except for Qiu Zhuqing's corpse, Li Mingyue who was possessed, there were only Si Cheng, Si Jiangchen, and Lu Tianchang and me left.
"Don't you leave either!"
Si Jiangchen suddenly pointed at a corner. I looked up and saw that Qiu Zhuqing's soul was being led by a thick black mist and trying to leave.