Chapter 19

The talisman water tasted strange. It was clearly only plain water mixed with paper ash, but as it slid down her throat, it brought with it a burning pain.

Shen Juan swallowed all the water. She felt the change in her body, as if some nameless force had drained all the strength from inside her. Her body became soft and powerless, like after a serious illness. She was sitting on the sofa, yet all she wanted was to lie down and sleep properly.

This should be the weakened vital energy described in the book.

But why had Xiao Ge still not come?

Shen Juan waited. The house was empty, with only her there. She waited for a very long time, until the effect of the talisman water was almost gone, yet Gu Shuge still had not possessed her.

Xiao Ge probably isn’t here, Shen Juan thought.

She had always been calm. After failing again, she immediately began thinking of another method.

At midnight, once she could sense Xiao Ge’s presence, she would arrange a time with her and try again tomorrow. After finally finding a method of communication, no matter what, she had to speak with Xiao Ge.

Just as Shen Juan thought this, she suddenly looked toward the door.

Gu Shuge had retreated all the way to the door before she felt a little better. Probably because this was the second cup, Shen Juan’s body had become even weaker. To Gu Shuge, it was like a person who had been hungry for three days and three nights seeing a table full of delicious food, wanting only to feast to her heart’s content.

She had to stand very far away before she could barely restrain herself. After that came deep worry. Shen [unauthorized copy]Juan looked to be in very bad condition. Even her lips had lost all color.

Gu Shuge felt very sorry toward Shen Juan, for making her drink two cups of talisman water in a row and making all her painstaking effort go to waste. She was feeling guilty when she sensed Shen Juan looking toward her.

Her gaze landed on Gu Shuge with perfect precision.

Gu Shuge froze for a moment before realizing that midnight had arrived. She immediately became flustered, like many years ago when she had skipped class and run into Shen Juan at the school gate. At that moment, all she had wanted was to find some random place and hide herself.

The effect of the talisman water passed. Gu Shuge did not dare run away and could only walk back to Shen Juan’s side. She thought Shen Juan must be angry. That talisman water harmed the body so badly, yet for her sake, Shen Juan had drunk two cups. Shen Juan had been so eager to speak with her because of her affairs. She had done everything she could, only for Gu Shuge herself to ruin it.

“Sister, I’m sorry.” Gu Shuge stood in front of Shen Juan and admitted her mistake. But she really could not bring herself to occupy Shen Juan’s body. She had thought about many things. What if the technique was performed poorly and injured Shen Juan’s soul? What if something went wrong midway and Gu Shuge could not come back out?

She did not dare take that risk.

“Was I too impatient?” Gu Shuge heard Shen Juan’s voice.

Her expression was very serious as she looked at the place where Gu Shuge was. Then she asked again, “Did I put too much pressure on you?”

Gu Shuge crouched in front of her, changing to a posture where she looked up at her. She could not say whether heartache or guilt was stronger. She only felt that what she owed Shen Juan, she would probably never be able to repay in this lifetime.

“You didn’t put pressure on me. It’s just that we haven’t reached that point yet. It’s only the eighth day. We can still look for other methods. Maybe in a few days, that eminent monk will appear. Or maybe we’ll find another way to communicate. I can’t hurt you for my own sake. Sister, you didn’t pressure me. Don’t take all the responsibility onto yourself. It really makes my heart ache.”

Shen Juan could not hear a single word Gu Shuge said. But she could feel that Gu Read on BaiLianTales Shuge had crouched in front of her. It was a comforting posture. Somehow, Shen Juan could not only sense her existence, but also faintly feel the emotions of the person before her.

Low, dim, and a little soft. Very obedient, very sensible.

Shen Juan involuntarily raised her hand, wanting to touch this person’s hair. But once her hand had already lifted, she realized that she could not touch her at all.

Gu Shuge saw her movement and understood what she wanted to do. She took the initiative to bring her head closer, controlling her strength, and rubbed against Shen Juan’s palm. It looked as if Shen Juan were stroking her.

“Sister, hurry and go sleep. Rest properly tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll keep thinking of a way.” She lifted her head and even adjusted her height so that Shen Juan’s gaze would land right on her face.

This way, it looked as though they were gazing at each other.

But Shen Juan did not go to sleep right away. Instead, she began putting away the used ritual items. As she tidied them, Gu Shuge followed behind her. Shen Juan took down the used incense bundle and candles and threw them into the trash bag, brought the cup to the kitchen to wash it, wiped the incense ash that had fallen on the coffee table, put the book back into the drawer, and finally went to wash her hands clean.

While Shen Juan did all this, Gu Shuge followed her closely, never leaving her side. Wherever Shen Juan went, Gu Shuge followed.

Shen Juan finally could not help smiling. “I can feel that you’ve been following me the whole time.”

Seeing that she had made Shen Juan smile, Gu Shuge’s eyes curved too, and she smiled.

“Be careful. Don’t let me bump into you,” Shen Juan reminded her. She was very worried that Xiao Ge would keep following beside her, and if Shen Juan turned around and Xiao Ge could not move away in time, what would happen if she bumped into her and broke her?

Gu Shuge said, “I’m very amazing now. It doesn’t matter even if you bump into me.” She paused and [Read on BaiLianTales]imagined what Shen Juan’s reaction would be if she actually heard this sentence, then quickly added, “I’ll be careful. I won’t let you bump into me.”

After tidying the ritual items, Shen Juan still did not go to sleep. She sat on the sofa, took out her phone, and browsed through a few pieces of news. Only after she could no longer sense Gu Shuge’s presence and recorded tonight’s duration did she go rest.

When she recorded it, Gu Shuge was right beside her and saw it. Tonight had lasted two hours. Aside from last night, which had been an accident, on the other nights, the time she could be sensed had increased every night. It was just that the amount of increase each time was different, and they did not know whether there was any pattern to it.

Gu Shuge thought that if this increasing trend continued, then after some time, Shen Juan would be able to sense her presence twenty-four hours a day.

The next day, Shen Juan came downstairs very late. She only appeared after nine.

Her complexion looked a little better, but she was still somewhat pale. When the servants saw that she was still at home, they hurriedly prepared breakfast for her. Shen Juan casually ate a little before leaving the house.

Today, she was still driving herself. Gu Shuge noticed that after Shen Juan got into the car, when she put down her handbag, she deliberately placed it in the back seat, clearing the passenger seat. This was definitely left for her. Gu Shuge happily sat down beside Shen Juan.

After starting the car, Shen Juan turned toward the passenger seat and said, “Today, we’ll go to the company first. In the afternoon, we’ll go see how their investigation is going.”

Gu Shuge said, “Okay.” Shen Juan had not gone to the company for many days. She had newly inherited so many shares, so she really had to go to the company and take a look.

Shen Juan drove the car out of the garage, then looked ahead and said, “From now on, I’ll try to drive myself.”

Gu Shuge still answered, “Okay.” This was so Shen Juan could speak with her in the car. If a third person was there, Shen Juan could not talk to her whenever she wanted.

Gu Group’s headquarters were not far away. Driving there took about fifteen minutes.

When they walked into the lobby, they saw many Gu Group employees head-on. Gu Shuge had come here many times two years ago. She had some impression of a few of these employees, while most of them were people she had never seen before.

Shen Juan took the elevator to the top floor.

Lin Mo had already received the news that she had arrived at the company and brought several board secretaries with him, delivering all the documents requiring her immediate approval to her office.

As soon as Shen Juan arrived, he began reporting the situation over the past few days.

Gu Shuge found it somewhat boring, so she went off to one side by herself. She made a round through Shen Juan’s office, looking at all the furnishings inside, finding every corner very interesting.

“Some shareholders believe that our group should be renamed. The Gu family is no longer the group’s largest shareholder, nor is it the group’s decision-maker. Continuing to call it Gu Group is no longer appropriate.”

“Renaming the group involves many things. We won’t consider it for now,” Shen Juan answered.

Lin Mo nodded and wrote a few strokes in his notebook. Rather than saying the shareholders wanted to rename the group, it was more accurate to say they were probing the chairman’s next plans, trying to see whether she intended to make major adjustments within the group. After all, she now truly possessed this enterprise in name and reality, unlike before, when she had merely relied on Miss Gu’s support to occupy the position of chairman while, in truth, only working for the Gu family.

Gu Shuge heard all of this, but did not take any of it to heart at all. The trust between her and Shen Juan was not something that could be shaken by a few words, or by something like the distribution of interests.

Someone brought in coffee. Shen Juan drank half a cup, then continued listening to Lin Mo’s report.

Gu Shuge stood by the window and leaned her head outside. While alive, she had been afraid of heights. She had not expected that even after becoming a ghost, her fear of heights still [unauthorized copy]had not disappeared. Gradually, more and more people came and went through the office. Gu Shuge recognized that they were all senior executives inside the group, as well as several heads of subsidiaries.

They each came in and out with their own matters.

“Chairman, this is our subsidiary’s most important proposal for next year. Headquarters has never approved it, but we…”

Gu Shuge found it somewhat noisy. Earlier at the police station, there had also been many people, but she had not felt this way. Not only was it noisy, it also made her irritated, like the restless agitation that came just before the evil thoughts emerged.

Gu Shuge could distinguish that this irritability was not caused by her own emotions, but by some force tugging at her soul. She looked toward the person speaking.

It was a middle-aged man dressed like most senior executives: suit jacket, suit trousers, leather shoes, and a necktie. His hair was styled, and his whole person looked refined without losing the dignity of someone in a high position.

Gu Shuge searched her memory for traces of this person, but found nothing. Still, she felt that he looked very familiar.

Just as she was deep in thought, there came a crisp “crack—” the sound of a cup falling to the floor and shattering.

Gu Shuge was startled awake. She looked toward the source of the sound. Shen Juan was standing beside the pile of broken pieces, while a young woman apologized repeatedly. She had accidentally broken it.

Shen Juan waved her hand, indicating that it was all right. The young woman then left as though a heavy burden had been lifted.

The middle-aged man finished his report, left behind a thick folder, and also went out.

That flustered, irritable feeling vanished in an instant. Gu Shuge walked to bailiantales.comShen Juan’s side, and the gloomy agitation in her heart disappeared cleanly. She checked the time. It was almost twelve.

It was lunchtime. But it seemed Shen Juan’s morning matters were not yet finished. Gu Shuge wondered whether they would still have to stay here in the afternoon.

Then Shen Juan spoke.

“Xiao Ge, we’ll be leaving a little later. Lin Mo found that classmate of yours, Muzi. She’ll be here this afternoon. I plan to meet her at a nearby hotel.”

That fast? Gu Shuge was somewhat surprised, but she quickly remembered that it was currently the Christmas holiday. Muzi had probably returned to the country.

“Okay,” she answered.

Shen Juan lowered her head and saw the shards on the floor. She did not call anyone in. Instead, she bent down and picked them up herself. It had been a white porcelain coffee cup, and there was also a puddle of coffee stain on the floor. Cleaning it up looked dirty and messy. Shen Juan did not show any disgust. She picked up the larger shards and placed them on a few discarded printed sheets, preparing to wrap them up after collecting everything, then throw them into the trash.

When she picked up a small shard, Shen Juan drew back her hand. Her fingertip had been cut, and blood flowed out.

“It broke the skin. Stop the bleeding quickly,” Gu Shuge said in panic.

There were no hemostatic medicines in the office. Shen Juan stood up and pressed the bell to call someone in. Gu Shuge circled anxiously around her. The wound was somewhat large, and more and more blood flowed out, dripping onto the floor. She was so anxious that for a moment, she forgot she was a ghost and actually reached out to touch the wound.

Then Gu Shuge froze.

Shen Juan froze too.

She had touched Shen Juan’s finger.