Looking at Li Xiaochen's suddenly stiff face, Yu Nian squinted her eyes.
The technique of using chopsticks to exorcise evil spirits is not actually an orthodox magical art. It's just a folk custom, also known as "trapping ghosts".
Chopsticks are long and straight. The tips are round while the ends are square, corresponding to the concepts of the round sky and the square earth respectively.
A pair of chopsticks represents a small world that bears the yin and yang. Evil spirits and ghosts are also within this world and naturally cannot fight against the power of the world.
When using chopsticks, one is the main one while the other is the auxiliary one during the clamping and releasing process. Following the principle of the dominant yang and the subordinate yin, the upper yang and the lower yin, it forms an image of the two polarities.
The interaction between yin and yang makes it effective.
"Get out now!"
Li Xiaochen's eyes suddenly widened as he roared sharply. His other hand, carrying a biting cold wind, suddenly swiped towards Yu Nian.
Everyone was startled, but Yu Nian just glanced at the boy indifferently and easily dodged. Then she slightly exerted force on her wrist, and there was a soft "crack" sound from the finger of Li Xiaochen that was clamped by the chopsticks.
A black mist that could not be seen with the naked eye emerged from Li Xiaochen's body and disappeared without a trace after passing through the window of the ward.
The Taoist priest beside them was gaping in astonishment. He never expected that the ghost that he was helpless against would be scared away by such a pair of chopsticks!
He had naturally heard of the method of using chopsticks to exorcise evil, but it was usually used to make evil spirits show themselves and was of little significance for getting rid of ghosts. However, Yu Nian's series of operations just now were fast, fierce, and accurate. That evil spirit seemed extremely afraid of her and didn't even fight but just fled... Thinking of this, the Taoist priest's gaze towards Yu Nian became even more complicated. Why did this little - known girl have such abilities?
Li Gui finally came to her senses. Seeing Li Xiaochen's complexion return to normal, she quickly ran to the hospital bed. "My son!"
But all that responded to her was silence. Li Xiaochen, as if completely drained of strength, collapsed on the bed and fell into a coma again.
"What's going on? Why isn't my son awake yet?"
Yu Nian looked at the disappearing figure outside the window and replied, "I just helped him drive away the ghost attached to his body, but his own soul has not returned to his body. It was left at the place where he was scared, which is Yingde High School."
"Can the soul come back on its own? What will happen if it doesn't?"
The shaman beside them shook his head. "When a living soul leaves the body, it loses its consciousness. The longer it is delayed, the more dangerous it is. Maybe this child will become a vegetable and lie in bed for the rest of his life."
Yu Nian turned to look at Wu Kaixuan, who was full of doubts. "Principal Wu, this matter concerns a life. Could you allow me to enter your school to exorcise the ghost and save the person?"
Wu Kaixuan looked extremely uncomfortable and stammered, "There was indeed a murder case in Yingde High School many years ago. It was a girl who committed suicide by jumping off a building. Her name was Song Zhixiu. Her death was completely unexpected. So when her family came to make trouble later, the former principal spent a large amount of money to suppress this matter... But all this happened before I took over the school. It has nothing to do with me! It's not that I don't want to help, but there are a large number of students waiting to take exams in the school now. Moreover, the school just applied for the model high - school title not long ago, and the inspection period has not passed yet. If you group of people in the metaphysical world go to the school in a grand manner to exorcise ghosts, wouldn't it... disrupt people's minds and ruin the school's reputation?"
Feng Chengyuan's gaze landed on him faintly, and his tone was neither too light nor too heavy. "The fact that someone died in the school many years ago is a fact. If you try to cover it up now, when something big happens in the future, I don't need to say who will be responsible, right?" He paused for a moment and casually fiddled with his phone. "As for the evaluation of the model high - school, I have an uncle who happens to work in the Education Bureau. If he knows about this incident in your school, not to mention the rating, I'm afraid you won't even be able to keep the title of the provincial key high - school."
"This..." Wu Kaixuan was a bit anxious. Li Gui sized up his expression, rolled her eyes, and ran out of the ward shouting loudly like a mourner. "My son! Why are you so unlucky..."
Under the double pressure, Wu Kaixuan felt dizzy. After a long while, he gritted his teeth. "Master Yu, I can agree to your going to the school to catch the ghost, but I have one condition."
Yu Nian said, "Just say it."
"You must keep this operation absolutely confidential and cautious. I must not delay the futures of other students because of this matter."
After he finished speaking, he stared at Yu Nian with a complicated look. "So, Master Yu, how about giving me half a day? I'll apply for a teacher's work permit for you so that you can enter and exit the school freely."
He originally thought that people like Yu Nian, who had real skills, would have rather strange personalities and be difficult to talk to.
Unexpectedly, after Yu Nian stared at him for a while, she gave a hearty laugh. "It's a deal."
Seeing Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan about to walk out of the room, the Taoist priest who had been silent for a long time finally couldn't hold back. "Wait."
Yu Nian stopped and looked back. "Does the Taoist friend have something to say?"
The Taoist priest's tone carried a bit of piety. "May I ask who your master is?"
Yu Nian was stunned for a moment. It seemed that no one had mentioned her master in front of her for a long time. The familiar yet strange name lingered on her lips for a long time, but in the end, she just said a few words. "I have no master."
Watching the backs of Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan walking away, a glint of light flashed in Wu Kaixuan's eyes.
After they turned the corner, Feng Chengyuan said in a soft voice, "Do you think Wu Kaixuan is trustworthy?"
Yu Nian smiled. "Naturally not. Eight out of ten of his words are false. I just want to see what tricks he is playing. To beat a snake, we first startle the grass. What we need to do is to sneak into the school one step ahead before his plan is fully prepared."
...
In the Qingxin Temple, Yu Nian looked at herself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.
The woman in the mirror had taken off her usual casual white shirt and was wearing a blue - and - white high - school uniform. Her hair was pulled up high into a ponytail, and the youthful aura came over her like a wave.
The moment she walked out of the room, she clearly heard the gasps of the people around her.
He Zhiping walked up to Yu Nian blankly, looking at her from all sides. Finally, he clapped his hands and said, "Yu Nian, why didn't I find out before that you are suitable for this kind of youthful style? If I had known earlier, I should have found you a campus idol drama. It would definitely be a big hit!"
Beside Yu Nian, Ming Mingzhong was also wearing a high - school uniform. He scratched his head shyly and said, "We really look like seventeen - or eighteen - year - old high - school students now."
Listening to the lively discussions of the people around her, Yu Nian's mood was actually quite complicated. If it weren't for the special nature of this resentful spirit, she wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to design such a scheme within a scheme.
If the fellow practitioners from her previous life knew that she, the Ancestor Xuande, was pretending to be a young child just to catch a ghost, they would surely laugh their teeth off.
Just then, Feng Chengyuan walked in from outside. The moment he saw Yu Nian, his dark eyes lit up. He stared at Yu Nian for a while, with a smile on his lips. "Let's go, classmate Yu Xiaonian. I'll take you to school."
Ming Mingzhong walked behind them. Looking at Feng Chengyuan still in his casual clothes, he was a bit puzzled. "Why can Mr. Feng enter the campus without disguising himself?"
He Zhiping handed his phone to Ming Mingzhong and whispered, "Yingde is Mr. Feng's high - school alma mater before he went abroad to study. He once donated a building and can enter and exit the school at will in the name of investigation and research."
Ming Mingzhong was silent for a moment and silently gave a thumbs - up to Feng Chengyuan's back. Maybe this was the disparity in the world.