Chapter 18

A knock sounded at the door.

Gu Shuge angrily closed her mouth. Shen Juan said, “Come in.”

The study door was pushed open. It was a servant. She came in and said, “Miss Shen, dinner is ready. If you have no other instructions, we’ll be getting off work.”

Shen Juan answered, “All right.”

The servant left. Only after she closed the door did she suddenly realize that the scene inside the study had felt a little strange. There had clearly only been Miss Shen inside, yet behind the desk were two chairs. And the one she had been sitting in was the one to the side, leaving the main seat empty, as if something were sitting there and the two of them had been talking.

The servant scared herself so badly with this thought that her hair nearly stood on end. She quickly drove it from her mind.

This servant had worked in their home for more than ten years. Gu Shuge had an impression of her, but they were not very familiar. Their family’s servants came at seven and left at five, returning to the residence the Gu family had arranged for them. They did not live in the house, so the relationship between the masters and servants was not especially close.

As soon as the door closed, Gu Shuge looked back at Shen Juan and solemnly repeated once more, “The possession method cannot be tried.”

But Shen Juan had already started working.

After Gu Shuge finished speaking, Shen Juan did not react at all for a long time, so Gu Shuge could only lower her flag and cease fire. Secretly, however, she decided that if Shen Juan really tried it, she absolutely would not cooperate.

Shen Juan typed a few lines on the keyboard, then paused. She took a tablet from the drawer, selected an audiobook, set it to play automatically, then placed the tablet neatly on the desk in front of Gu Shuge.

A male voice rang out in the study, reading a novel with rises and falls in his tone. Gu Shuge closed her eyes and listened. Shen Juan, meanwhile, was not affected in the slightest and continued the work in her hands.

Only after three hours passed did Shen Juan stop.

She said, “I’m going to eat. Keep listening for a while. When I’m done, I’ll come call you.”

After saying that, she did not leave immediately, as if waiting for Gu Shuge’s answer. So Gu Shuge nodded. After a while, Shen Juan smiled and reminded her again, “Be good.”

Perhaps it was because of those words, “be good.” Human nature always carried a little rebelliousness. The more one was told not to do something, the more one wanted to do it.

As soon as Shen Juan left, Gu Shuge grew unable to sit still. Even the audiobook she had been listening to just fine could no longer attract her. So she stood up and walked to the window, wanting to press herself against the glass and see whether the snow outside had stopped. In the end, she pressed too far, and her head passed straight through the window into the night.

The snow had stopped, but the wind was strong. She could hear it howling as it passed through the courtyard. Yet no matter how strong the wind was, it could not blow against Gu Shuge. She watched the unauthorized copy winter night courtyard for a while, then pulled her head back in. After wandering around the room in boredom for a while, she finally did not obey Shen Juan and wait for her to come call her. Instead, she went out on her own.

Shen Juan was eating dinner in the dining room. The dishes had been made three hours ago and had long since gone cold. Shen Juan had reheated all of them, so the food on the plates was steaming.

She had just sat down. The rice in her bowl was still full. She had only taken a few bites.

Gu Shuge sat across from her, propping her cheeks in both hands and quietly watching her.

The way Shen Juan ate was very beautiful. Not slow exactly, but not wolfing the food down either. It was a very natural speed. No matter what she did, she always gave people a sense of being very orderly. Even the small details of daily life could not escape that sense of order.

Gu Shuge watched her eat methodically for a while, and unexpectedly, she made herself hungry.

Her stomach cooperated very well and let out a “grr—”

Gu Shuge’s small face filled with embarrassment. She covered her stomach, looked pitifully at Shen Juan, who was eating with lowered eyes, and said, “I’m so hungry.”

Shen Juan had no reaction at all.

That made sense. She had told Gu Shuge to stay in the study, so she definitely did not know Gu Shuge was right across from her. Otherwise, she would probably say a bailiantales.com few things to keep Gu Shuge from getting bored.

Gu Shuge could not eat, so she could only silently recite “you’re already a ghost” to relieve this hunger.

This spell-like self-healing method probably only failed when facing Shen Juan. It still worked for easing hunger. But just after she eased it, she saw those beautifully presented dishes, and the hunger surged back. So she could only ease it again, then let it surge back again, then ease it again, falling into an endless loop.

Only now did she understand why Shen Juan had told her to wait in the study. She was probably worried Gu Shuge would get hungry from seeing food but being unable to eat it.

Gu Shuge was dejected. Silently, she stood up and returned to the study, thinking that she really should have listened to Sister.

Not long after, Shen Juan came back. First, she turned off the audiobook, then gave an order. “Come.”

Gu Shuge followed.

When Shen Juan reached the doorway, she suddenly smiled, turned back, and asked, “Did you secretly come looking for me?”

Gu Shuge cared about saving face and stubbornly said, “No.”

After asking that question, Shen Juan turned back around and headed to the living room. Gu Shuge slowly shuffled after her. As she bailiantales.com walked, her face belatedly began burning, and she thought, Sister looks so beautiful when she smiles.

With a tomato-red face, she no longer quite dared to look at Shen Juan, until Shen Juan took out the book brought back from Guangping Temple.

The blush on Gu Shuge’s face vanished in an instant. She immediately grew vigilant, filled with hostility toward that book.

Shen Juan could probably guess her resistance, so she first explained her reasoning to her, lest Gu Shuge develop a rebellious attitude.

“We have tried every method in this book. Only this one remains. I believe this book because it belonged to an eminent monk. The amulet pouch was given by that same eminent monk. He left to wander, and I’ve already sent people to find him.”

No wonder Shen Juan believed this book so much. Gu Shuge knew how powerful the amulet pouch was. Since they had belonged to the same owner, this book should not be completely useless.

Gu Shuge’s tone also softened. She said, “Then wait until he comes back. In any case, I won’t possess you.”

This book had also described the harms of possession. A single body could only contain one person’s soul. After being possessed, the body would inevitably suffer harm. At best, it would be weak for several days. At worst, the original soul inside the body would be injured.

No matter which it was, Gu Shuge did not want to try. She did not want to hurt Shen Juan for her own sake.

“But after eight days of searching, the people bailiantales.com I sent out haven’t found any trace of him. You surely know what that means in modern society. So we will keep looking, but we cannot place all our hopes on him.”

Finding someone in modern society was, of course, not like in ancient times, taking a portrait and posting it everywhere, relying on the naked eye to search. With Gu Group’s influence, finding a person might not be instant, but at the very least, after eight days, there absolutely should not be no trace at all.

Gu Shuge still refused to give in. “Since he’s an expert, he definitely won’t be that easy to find.”

Shen Juan looked through the procedure again and began preparing the necessary items. Gu Shuge said “no” many times, but it was no use. Shen Juan could not hear her. So she could only watch her busy herself.

Shen Juan quickly prepared everything required. She steadied herself slightly, then said, “We’re starting.”

Gu Shuge retreated seven or eight steps, running far away in case this ritual was compulsory. If she stood too close, her soul-body might be controlled.

But once she stood far away, it was like becoming an outsider. The angle from which she watched Shen Juan was also different from the usual feeling of staying close by her side.

She saw Shen Juan alone, meticulously cleansing her hands, devoutly burning incense, and silently reciting scripture. The first time she recited the Original Vows Sutra, she had read from the scripture. Later, she wondered whether reading from the scripture was not sincere enough, so she had memorized the passages.

This sort of Buddhist scripture was obscure and difficult to understand. Even reading it smoothly was difficult, let alone memorizing it. There were several thick books, and Shen Juan had gone two whole nights without closing her eyes.

In truth, from the perspective of a modern person, this kind of Buddhist ritual that seemed like feudal superstition was somewhat laughable. But Shen Juan performed it very seriously. [Read on BaiLianTales]Step by step, she followed the book’s description completely, not daring to make the slightest mistake.

Gu Shuge saw her light the talisman paper and silently recite a spell. Once the talisman paper finished burning, the ashes fell into a cup of water. Gu Shuge’s eyes suddenly widened as she watched Shen Juan drink that cup of water.

According to the book’s explanation, this cup of talisman water could weaken a person’s vital energy, allowing the yin ghost waiting nearby to take advantage of the weakness and enter.

Gu Shuge immediately felt as if she were a clawing, fang-baring evil ghost waiting to invade Sister’s body. She hurriedly retreated another step, and then she saw that Shen Juan’s body had truly changed. In her eyes, Shen Juan’s body seemed to have become hollowed and faint, and it emitted a kind of attraction.

In the eyes of Gu Shuge the yin ghost, this weakened body looked incomparably delicious.

This method was actually effective!

Gu Shuge suppressed the urge to pounce toward the body, even retreating several steps in succession.

After who knew how long, Shen Juan’s body returned to normal.

But her face was very pale, like someone whose foundation had been damaged by a serious illness, making her look haggard.

She had not possessed her, and Shen Juan was already this weak. If she had, even if she operated carefully enough, it would still make Shen Juan seriously ill, wouldn’t it? Gu Shuge thought silently.

“Xiao Ge?” Shen Juan searched for her nearby. She did not know that Gu Shuge had already hidden far away.

Hearing her call, Gu Shuge slowly walked closer until she was in front of her.

Shen Juan felt her body weaken in an instant, but Gu Shuge did not possess her. After a moment of silence, she asked gently, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Shuge lowered her head apologetically. “Let’s not use this method.”

“The culprit is very cunning. You need to tell me everything you know as soon as possible. Possessing me is the only method we’ve found so far that works.”

Shen Juan’s complexion was very poor. She had already not rested well these past few days, and because of that cup of talisman water, her face looked even more haggard. In Gu Shuge’s memory, Shen Juan had always been very powerful. No matter what danger there was, she could stand firmly in front of Gu Shuge, as if nothing could defeat her.

Although she still had clear thoughts, and her voice was still gentle without losing its calm.

For some reason, she no longer looked so invincible.

Gu Shuge was at a loss, but even more than that, her heart ached.

Some bottom lines could not be crossed. She wanted to know the truth of her death and wanted to stay by Sister’s side forever. But if the price she had to pay was hurting Shen Juan, then she wanted none of it.

“We haven’t reached that point yet.” Gu Shuge felt that she had failed Shen Juan’s good intentions, but she could not convince herself to possess Shen Juan without any burden.

The smell of burned talisman paper still lingered in the air, and the incense and candles continued burning.

According to the usual pattern from the previous attempts, this should be the time when Shen Juan put these items away, then comforted her not to feel discouraged and not to give up.

But after finally finding a method that could allow them to communicate, how could Shen Juan give up so easily?

She took out a new incense bundle, candles, and talisman paper, and changed to a fresh cup of water.

Gu Shuge stared at her nervously.

“If you’re here, come to Sister’s side,” Shen Juan said to the air.

After saying that, she began the ritual from the start. Step by step, she performed it methodically. After finishing the bailiantales.com earlier steps, she lit the talisman paper, collected the ashes into the cup of water, then picked up the cup and drank the talisman water inside.

This time, she drank with great difficulty. Gu Shuge saw her brows knit tightly together, her swallowing difficult, but she still forced herself to swallow it all down.