"Where is Jiaojiao now?" Liu Ruyan suddenly stepped forward and asked impatiently.
Shanshan had been scared off by Liu Ruyan's talismans in the illusion just now, so she was a bit afraid of her. It took her a while to understand what Liu Ruyan meant. She stretched out her small, tender hand and gently pointed at herself.
Everyone was stunned at this sight.
Dongfang Xiao scratched his head in confusion, his tone slightly horrified. "What does this mean? Did Shanshan eat Jiaojiao?!"
Zhong Shengwan couldn't bear it any longer and stepped forward to pat Dongfang Xiao on the back of his head.
At this moment, Shen Cuiyu had a sudden flash of inspiration in her mind, and all the past clues were instantly connected into a line. There were too many coincidences and similarities between Shanshan and Jiaojiao.
For example, on the day Jiaojiao was born, Shanshan happened to pass away. Also, Shanshan was six years old when she died, and Jiaojiao was also exactly six years old now...
Perhaps Shanshan and Jiaojiao were originally souls of the same origin.
The evil spirit attached to the clay doll didn't have the ability to create a soul. After it lured Shanshan into self - sacrifice, it used evil magic to forcibly split and give birth to a part of Shanshan's soul, reshaping a seemingly healthy "Jiaojiao".
The bigger Xu's pregnancy got, the more listless Shanshan became. This was because a part of Shanshan's soul was slowly being pulled out of her body.
This method defied the heavens, so Jiaojiao's soul was always unstable, like a tree without roots. After Xu gave birth to Jiaojiao, she sent the clay doll away out of fear, cutting off the evil spirit's incense and offerings, which further shook the foundation of this evil magic.
Shanshan wasn't supposed to die, but this evil magic messed up the yin and yang. Her soul had nowhere to rely on and could only wander in the world.
Until this year, as the effect of the evil magic was almost over, Jiaojiao's soul became even more unstable, attracting the covetous eyes of all kinds of spirits. Shanshan sensed that her younger sister, who was also a part of herself, was in danger. In a hurry, she could only "hide" the two souls of heaven and earth that were about to disperse beside herself and protect them with her remaining soul power.
But Shanshan didn't expect that the moment Jiaojiao's two souls touched her soul body, they actually merged together!
However, it would probably be very difficult to call back the intelligent Jiaojiao. What would the Cui couple do if they found out about this?
Looking at Shanshan whose soul body was fluctuating, Shen Cuiyu decided to put her into the sachet first and figure out a long - term plan later, so as to prevent her from being eaten by other big ghosts.
However, just as the spiritual light of the talisman in Shen Cuiyu's hand was gathering and the coercion was getting stronger, a shout suddenly came from not far away!
"Stop!"
Xu, who had been spying on the ritual in the house, suddenly ran out of the house. Her voice was shrill, but there wasn't much pity for Shanshan. Instead, there was more fear and anxiety.
Shen Cuiyu noticed that the moment Xu arrived, Shanshan's eyes lit up. Her eyes were glued to Xu, full of greed and reluctance.
Xu took a few steps forward, but not to stand in front of Shanshan. Instead, she faced Shen Cuiyu and said in a hurry with a pale face:
"Master Shen! You... you can't just disperse her! What if... what if her soul is completely scattered and Jiaojiao's soul can't be retrieved? Then my Jiaojiao will..." Her words suddenly stopped, but the meaning was obvious. She was still worried about Jiaojiao, not whether Shanshan would suffer and be annihilated.
Only then did Shen Cuiyu realize that Xu must have misunderstood and thought that they were going to subdue Shanshan.
She didn't plan to explain but rather play along with the misunderstanding, trying to find out what was on Xu's mind.
So Shen Cuiyu looked at her coldly with a clear look in her eyes. The spiritual light of the talisman in her hand didn't diminish but increased instead. Her tone carried a deliberate sense of oppression.
"Mrs. Cui, actually, you've only had one child from beginning to end. Jiaojiao and Shanshan are originally one soul. Now that the soul has returned and is hard to separate. If Jiaojiao wakes up and becomes stupid again, will you still be good to her?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Shanshan also subconsciously looked at Xu.
These words were like a sharp knife, stabbing deeply into the deepest fear in Xu's heart. She seemed to see the stupid Shanshan from that year again. The image of her daughter who had made her suffer in disappointment and shame overlapped with Jiaojiao's future in front of her!
"No! No way! My Jiaojiao can't become like that!" She almost screamed, and her emotions were completely out of control. She suddenly turned her head and looked at Cui Weiqi, who had been silent all the time. As if grasping at a straw, and also as if venting her fear, she cried out: "It's all your fault! If you hadn't always said you wanted a smart child back then, I wouldn't have... wouldn't have..."
Cui Weiqi's face looked ugly. His lips moved, but he couldn't say a word in the end.
Just then, Shen Cuiyu pretended to throw out the talisman!
At this very moment, Xu's eyes accidentally swept over Shanshan, who was shivering and curled up in a ball, scared by the spiritual light and coercion.
On that pale little face, there was still that innocent, panicked expression, but also a trace of instinctive dependence on her as a mother. It was so similar to the look in the eyes of the daughter she had deliberately forgotten in the last moment of her life!
A huge confusion mixed with extreme fear, long - suppressed guilt, and the fear of losing her current happiness made Xu do a surprising thing!
She suddenly rushed over, but not to hug. Instead, she forcefully pushed Shanshan's soul body away and used her back to block the direction of Shen Cuiyu's talisman. At the same time, she cried out hysterically:
"Go away! Get away from us! Leave Jiaojiao alone! I beg you, Shanshan... It's mother's fault... You go... Go to where you should go..."
Her words were contradictory and chaotic. There was both a sense of driving away and a trace of distorted pleading that even she herself might not have noticed.
She pushed Shanshan away but still stood in front.
Shanshan, who had been pushed away, stared blankly at her mother's crazy - looking back and her body trembling with extreme fear. A trace of emotion flashed in her pure eyes.
The feeling of being protected... was very good. She hadn't felt the taste of maternal love for a long time. Now, this bit was already enough.
The moment Xu rushed over, Shen Cuiyu moved her fingertips slightly and dimmed most of the spiritual light on the talisman. She watched Xu's contradictory, selfish but also somewhat humanly complex actions and understood everything in her heart.
"If you don't want a stupid child, you may end up losing all of them in the end, Mrs. Cui. You'd better think it over clearly."
Shen Cuiyu didn't say any more. She carefully put Shanshan's soul into the sachet and turned around to walk towards the Temple of the Goddess of Children.
The Goddess of Children was originally a god who protected children. Now, there was nothing else to do but try to nourish Shanshan's soul again and see if there was a chance for her to be reborn.
The temple was silent under the moonlight. Shen Cuiyu offered the sachet in front of the statue and whispered, "Goddess, be merciful. This child has been pure and kind all her life. I hope you will take pity on her and give her a chance to start over."
The statue's kind eyebrows drooped, as if quietly listening to this story of sacrifice and redemption. In the curling incense, Shanshan's soul trembled slightly, as if having a very long dream.