The clutter room indeed held something unusual.
The moment I kicked the door open, a middle-aged female ghost darted out, and was now making a dash for the garage exit.
But how could I let her escape?
I flicked a talisman, sending it flying.
With a "smack," it landed squarely on the female ghost's back.
"Ah!"
The female ghost shrieked, collapsing onto the ground.
Pinned to the floor by my talisman, she trembled all over.
Seeing this, the butler, Li, who had retreated to the side, turned ashen-faced with shock.
He lunged forward, directly in front of the female ghost.
He yanked the talisman off her back and positioned himself between me and her.
Shielding the female ghost with one arm, he pleaded with me,
"Mr. Qin, please have mercy, have mercy…"
His voice was loud, bordering on hoarse.
Meanwhile, Zhang Youguo and the black-clothed bodyguard standing to the side looked utterly bewildered.
Apart from a visible cloud of black mist, they saw nothing else.
But witnessing the scene between the butler and me, they felt an intense strangeness.
Their eyes widened, a wave of inexplicable dread washing over them.
At this point, I had already drawn my peach wood sword.
Gazing at Butler Li, who was guarding the female ghost, I asked,
"Butler Li, what is this?"
"Mr. Qin, Mr. Qin, please show mercy, please don't harm her!"
Butler Li's tone was pleading.
Just then, I noticed another ghostly presence emerging from the clutter room.
This one was a small ghost, about six or seven years old.
"Daddy, Mommy…"
He called out and ran towards Butler Li and the middle-aged female ghost.
Upon seeing him, Butler Li reached out and embraced the little ghost.
He held both ghosts protectively in front of him.
I blinked in surprise.
What was going on? Daddy and Mommy?
Could this female ghost and the little ghost be Butler Li's wife and child?
Zhang Youguo stared at me and Butler Li, his mind momentarily short-circuiting.
"Little Qin, w-what's happening?
Old Li, are you out of your mind?"
Butler Li, his eyes red, held the two ghosts.
"Chairman, I… I was wrong…"
He finished, holding the two spirits, unsure of where to even begin.
Although I didn't understand the situation, I could tell at this moment that
although these two ghosts had a strong connection to Butler Li,
judging by the state of their eyes and the faint Yin energy emanating from them, I didn't sense any malevolence.
The eyes of both ghosts were also grey.
This meant they were likely just ordinary spirits, not particularly vicious entities.
Seeing that the threat from the two ghosts was minimal, I turned to Zhang Youguo and said,
"Uncle Zhang, there are two ghosts here.
They might be Butler Li's wife and son."
I spoke, but my guard remained up.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Youguo's heart jolted.
He asked in surprise,
"Old Li, weren't your wife and son killed in a car accident ten years ago?"
"Chairman, yes, yes, I'm sorry. It was me… I took it upon myself
to keep them here at your house…"
With that, Butler Li finally broke down.
Holding the mother and son ghosts, he started sobbing uncontrollably.
Zhang Youguo's worldview likely crumbled at that moment.
As a staunch atheist, he felt his blood surge, and for a moment, he was speechless.
The black-clothed bodyguard's expression was also stiff.
He watched Butler Li squat on the ground, cradling the ghosts.
After several seconds, Zhang Youguo finally came back to his senses.
It wasn't a question of whether he believed anymore, but rather a thought:
Was his daughter, Zhang Chuyue, suffering from a serious illness because of them, unable to sleep and left gaunt and haggard?
"Old Li, did you cause my daughter Yueyue's illness?"
Zhang Youguo became incredibly angry, his eyes blazing.
But Butler Li began to shake his head repeatedly.
"N-no!
Chairman has shown me, shown me great kindness.
Even if I had ten more lives, I would never harm the young lady!
The young lady's illness is truly, truly not related to my family.
I, I just kept my wife and child here.
Absorbing, absorbing some of your family's fortune.
I, I just, just wanted them to suffer less after they passed.
And to be able to stay with me a little longer.
Quickly apologize to the Chairman, he will, will forgive you…"
Butler Li trembled, his explanation punctuated by sobs and stutters.
The amount of information was overwhelming, and Zhang Youguo couldn't digest it all at once.
Simultaneously, Butler Li's wife and son knelt on the ground, apologizing to Zhang Youguo.
They uttered words of apology, of regret…
But Zhang Youguo and the bodyguard lacked the "heavenly eye" and could neither hear nor see them.
Even if the two ghosts wanted to reveal themselves, they couldn't perceive them.
Based on my master's analysis this morning,
these two ghosts were not the cause of Chuyue's seemingly phantom illness.
So, I turned to Zhang Youguo and said,
"Uncle Zhang, these two ghosts are not malicious.
It's likely as Butler Li said.
The cause of Chuyue's phantom illness might be due to other reasons."
"Other reasons?"
Zhang Youguo furrowed his brow, looking at the empty space around Butler Li, then at me with confusion.
I nodded, continuing to analyze and deduce based on my master's instructions.
"Uncle Zhang, Butler Li's wife and son are not malevolent spirits, so we can temporarily rule them out as the cause of trouble.
If it's not a supernatural entity,
then Chuyue's condition is very likely the result of a curse placed by someone who knows what they're doing."
"A curse?"
Zhang Youguo, being a businessman, was unfamiliar with such technical terms.
I didn't have time to explain in detail.
I simply continued,
"Simply put, there is something in your house that is negatively affecting Chuyue.
It's impacting Chuyue's vital energy and spirit.
Now that we've ruled out supernatural entities, the problem becomes much simpler.
As long as we find what is affecting Chuyue's vital energy and spirit, her condition will improve."