As Chen Xiao gave the order, the security guards began to dig with grunts.
Concentrating their efforts on the task, they unearthed the entire jujube tree, roots and all, after more than ten minutes.
At this point, everyone discovered something else peculiar.
This time, what they dug up was not bone, but a tattered, old cloth doll.
The doll was dirty and worn, freshly dug from the ground, and covered in soil.
But beyond that, there was nothing particularly special about it.
"This is it!"
Chen Xiao pointed at the cloth doll.
The others were confused. "Master Chen, this is what you were looking for? It's just a cloth doll. It doesn't seem very special, does it?"
Lin Jie, though she didn't understand either, asked nothing. She knew that if Chen Xiao wanted something found, there had to be a reason.
Moreover, the doll looked incredibly sinister, emanating a chilling aura.
Its eyes and mouth, in particular, seemed to be smirking maliciously.
Chen Xiao looked at the security guards and said, "Thank you all for your hard work. You are not needed for what comes next. Please go back."
Hearing that they could leave, most of the security guards patted themselves off and departed.
Only a few remained, asking, "Master Chen, what exactly is going on here? Is there really a ghost?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Jie immediately objected. "What nonsense are you talking? Don't you want your job anymore? If you don't, just say so, and I'll have the finance department settle your pay immediately!"
As bizarre and strange as everything was, the matter of the haunting at Tianhai Yipin could absolutely not be spoken of openly!
Lin Jie, being the boss, her stern reprimand silenced the security guards, who, intimidated, sheepishly retreated.
Chen Xiao also realized at this moment that it would be best if no one else witnessed what was about to happen.
So, after the security guards left, he moved the skeletal remains and the cloth doll into the villa.
The villa lacked any human presence, and its vast emptiness added to the eerie atmosphere.
Lin Jie instantly regretted letting the security guards go.
Regardless of whether they could help, at least there would be more people and a stronger presence!
She nervously asked, "Chen Xiao, what exactly is going on here?"
Chen Xiao shrugged and said casually, "It's quite obvious. Your place is indeed haunted!"
"Ah?"
Lin Jie felt a chill run down her spine.
"Chen Xiao, I'm a scaredy-cat, don't frighten me."
Chen Xiao said seriously, "Do I look like I'm trying to scare you?"
He then pointed at the ground and said, "Sister Lin, do you know what these are?"
Lin Jie replied tremblingly, "Aren't they just a cloth doll and human bones?"
Chen Xiao shook his head and slowly said, "No, they are actually a mother and child!"
"Ah?"
Lin Jie and Li Ziqing were both startled.
Li Ziqing urged, "Chen Xiao, stop trying to scare me and Sister Lin. What exactly is going on?"
Chen Xiao sighed and said, "Alright, I'll be direct. Sister Lin, someone has set up an extremely malevolent 'Mother-Child Flying Fiend Array' at Tianhai Yipin!"
As he spoke, Chen Xiao pointed at the cloth doll and asked, "You only see a cloth doll, but what do you think is inside?"
Li Ziqing and Lin Jie both shook their heads.
Chen Xiao stepped forward, picked up the cloth doll, and tore it open.
Upon seeing what was inside, Li Ziqing and Lin Jie were so terrified that their souls seemed to leave their bodies, and they screamed, their hair standing on end.
The torn cloth doll contained blackened cotton batting, and within the batting was a small, dark object.
The object was no larger than a palm, but it was a complete human form, with slender arms and legs, and a disproportionately large head.
It looked like a shriveled infant.
Chen Xiao said, "This is the malevolent entity within Tianhai Yipin, called an 'Infant Fiend,' also known as a 'Ghost Child.'"
"The process of creating an Infant Fiend is extremely vicious. First, a pregnant woman in her full term is burned alive, causing the infant in her womb to become a vengeful spirit."
"Then, the mother's seven orifices are sealed, preventing the infant's vengeful spirit from escaping. After forty-nine days, the dead infant's body remains incorruptible, but its spirit transforms into a fiend, thus becoming an Infant Fiend!"
"Since this Infant Fiend is formed from extreme malevolent energy, it is difficult for it to transcend on its own. As time passes, its resentment grows, and its power increases."
Li Ziqing and Lin Jie listened, their teeth chattering, a mixture of anger and fear.
"Who could be so cruel to use such a wicked method to harm people!"
Chen Xiao sneered, "You think this is wicked? There's something even more wicked!"
"The so-called Mother-Child Flying Fiend Array involves burying the Infant Fiend's body in the center, and then burying its mother's skeletal remains in the four cardinal directions."
"Due to its attachment to its mother, the Infant Fiend seeks her out at night. However, its limited intelligence causes it to sense its mother's presence in all directions, leading it to become disoriented and unsure where to go!"
"This pain of being so close yet unable to reach her greatly intensifies its resentment, until finally, the Infant Fiend will ascend, at which point it transforms into its complete form, the Flying Fiend!"
"According to ancient records, once a Flying Fiend appears, it will bring disaster to all directions, and great calamity will befall the land!"
Li Ziqing and Lin Jie were dumbfounded. What Chen Xiao was saying sounded like a fairy tale to them.
Amidst their fear, they also found it incredible.
Li Ziqing asked blankly, "Chen Xiao, how do you know so much?"
Chen Xiao said earnestly, "If I told you I dreamed it, would you believe me?"
Li Ziqing pouted, "I'll believe you when pigs fly!"
Chen Xiao smiled slightly, not refuting.
Indeed, when he told the truth, no one believed him.
Lin Jie's question was more practical: "Chen Xiao, what should we do now?"
Chen Xiao said with relief, "Sister Lin, it's fortunate you found me in time. If I'm not mistaken, the Infant Fiend would have transformed into a Flying Fiend within half a month!"
"But since it encountered me, its cursed life is about to end!"
Lin Jie felt reassured after hearing this. It was good that Chen Xiao had a solution!
Chen Xiao arranged the mother's skeletal remains and then bit his finger, drawing a circle beside the bones before placing the Infant Fiend inside.
Thus, mother and child were finally reunited.
Chen Xiao looked at the small Infant Fiend and whispered, "To be transcended by my blood, this is your fortune. I hope you don't take it for granted and obediently pass on to the Pure Land. It would be a waste of my good intentions!"
Chen Xiao sat outside the circle, his eyes slightly closed, chanting scriptures to transcend the Infant Fiend.
However, after a moment, Chen Xiao's eyes snapped open.
"Something's wrong! A piece of this mother's skeletal remains is missing!"