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In the summer of 1997, Xihong City was indeed quite pleasant, after all, it was a beautiful seaside city.

Na Jie is at home working on a new song. There are speakers in the living room playing some demos. She is leaning back on the sofa, holding a pen, writing and drawing on the sheet music.

the phone is ringing.

She picked it up and discovered it was Sister Fei.

"Na Zi, are you free? Come with me to Thailand."

Na-jie was a little surprised and put down her pen. "Thailand? Where are you going? Didn't you just finish your work?"

"We're going to visit the White Dragon King." Sister Fei's voice came from the other end of the phone, tinged with excitement. "It's all over Hong Kong Island, people are saying the White Dragon King is incredibly efficacious, and lots of celebrities go to worship him. I tried to get an appointment several times before I finally got one, and this time it's finally my turn. You'll come with me, and I'll take a look at him for you too."

Na Jie laughed, "I'm from the mainland, and I don't believe in that stuff, why would I go? I'm still working on my new song."

"Oh! Just think of it as keeping me company and helping me relax! You've been working so hard lately, you deserve a rest. Besides, it's good for you to broaden your horizons. A lot of people in Hong Kong believe in this stuff, it'll be easier for you to get around there later. The White Dragon King isn't just anyone, he's seen way too many celebrities, Andy Lau and Tony Leung have both worshipped him."

After thinking about it, Sister Na figured she didn't have anything urgent to do recently, so she decided to go and have some fun. "Okay, when?"

"I'm flying the day after tomorrow. I've already booked the tickets. You don't need to worry about anything, just bring a few changes of clothes."

"to make."

……

Two days later, Sister Na and Sister Fei flew to Thailand together.

The weather in Bangkok was unbearably hot. As soon as you stepped out of the airport, a wave of heat hit you, a completely different world from the autumn in Xihong City.

Everywhere you look, you hear Thai and read scripts you can't understand. Motorcycles sputter along the streets, and the air is filled with the smells of spices and cooking oil.

Fei Jie, familiar with the area, led Na Jie into a taxi and headed towards the suburbs.

"Sister Fei, how come you know me so well?" Sister Na asked, wiping her sweat.

“I’ve been here a few times before,” Sister Fei said with a smile. “Many people here believe in the White Dragon King, and I’ve prayed with him a few times. It’s really effective. Last time, a friend of mine was going through a career slump, so he came to pray, and when he got back, he landed a big role in a movie and became a star.”

Sister Na was skeptical. "Is it really that amazing?"

You'll see when you get there.

After driving for more than two hours, the road became increasingly remote, with farmland and low-rise houses on both sides.

Finally, we stopped at a place that looked quite ordinary.

It wasn't as magnificent as I had imagined. There were no temples or incense offerings; just a few simple wooden houses surrounded by flowers and plants.

There was a long queue at the entrance, with people in suits and casual clothes, locals and foreigners, all waiting quietly.

"Wow! So many people?" Sister Na exclaimed in surprise.

"They're all here to worship the White Dragon King. Some fly in specifically from Hong Kong Island, others from Singapore and Malaysia. It's normal to queue for several days." Sister Fei pulled Sister Na inside. "We made an appointment, so we don't need to queue. I asked several people to help me get an appointment, and I've been waiting for months."

After passing through the crowd and entering, I finally met the White Dragon King.

An ordinary-looking old man, around sixty years old, dressed in white, sat in a simple chair.

The old man was thin, with gray hair and a gentle smile on his face.

But those eyes were so bright they were almost frightening. When they looked at people, it was as if they could see right through them, which made people feel uneasy.

Sister Fei put her hands together and bowed respectfully. "White Dragon King, this is my friend Na Zi. She's from the mainland. I brought her to meet you. She's also a singer and quite famous over there."

Sister Na followed suit, putting her hands together in a gesture of respect.

The White Dragon King nodded, his gaze falling on Sister Na.

At first, he just glanced at it casually, as if it were a routine matter.

But after that one glance, the White Dragon King's gaze froze, and the smile on his face slowly faded.

He stared at Sister Na for a long time.

Fei Jie sensed something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

The White Dragon King ignored Sister Fei and kept staring at Sister Na.

Na-jie felt a little uneasy under his gaze and couldn't help but ask, "Master, is there something on my face?"

The White Dragon King shook his head and finally spoke.

His voice sounded somewhat erratic and had a slight Thai accent, but his Mandarin was fairly fluent. "You are protected by golden light."

Na-jie was stunned. "What golden light?"

The White Dragon King didn't explain, he just stared at Sister Na, his gaze growing increasingly complicated.

There was surprise, confusion, and a hint of... awe in his eyes?
"This golden light is very strong; it's no ordinary amulet," the White Dragon King said slowly again. "A master has placed a restriction on you to protect you from evil spirits. This golden light is the strongest I've ever seen in my decades of cultivation."

Sister Na was completely confused. "Master, I don't understand what you're saying. What golden light? What restriction? We don't really talk about these things in mainland China."

The White Dragon King was silent for a moment, then asked, "Have you encountered anything unusual lately?"

Sister Na thought about it.

Something special?
I've been incredibly busy with my new album lately, recording songs, running around to different venues, and doing commercial performances. There's nothing special going on.

"Nothing special..." Sister Na said, then suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! By the way, I was under a lot of pressure preparing for my new album a while ago, and I couldn't sleep well every day. I would toss and turn in bed, and my mind just wouldn't calm down. Then a friend gave me a sachet, saying it would help me sleep. I put it by my pillow, and since then I've been sleeping really well."

The White Dragon King's eyes lit up. "The sachet? Is it still there?"

"Here it is!" Sister Na rummaged through her bag and pulled out the sachet, handing it over. "This is it. I always carry it with me; it's a habit. I take it everywhere I go."

It was a small sachet, about the size of a palm, made of light blue cotton cloth, embroidered with a few small flowers, and looked quite delicate.

The stitches are fine, and the embroidery is exquisite.

The White Dragon King took the sachet, held it in his hands, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed its fragrance.

Sister Na and Sister Fei exchanged a glance, neither daring to utter a sound.

After a long while, the White Dragon King opened his eyes, a look of shock on his face.

That shock wasn't feigned; it was genuine astonishment. "This is no ordinary sachet."

Then he pointed to the contents of the sachet, his hand trembling slightly, "Inside here is a talisman. Talismans are very profound; they are used to exorcise ghosts. I have only seen this kind of talisman in ancient books; I have never seen anyone draw it."

Sister Na was stunned.

Exorcism?

"Master, please don't scare me..."

The White Dragon King shook his head. "I'm not trying to scare you. Your insomnia recently wasn't due to stress, but because something was bothering you."

Na's face turned pale. "There...there's something?"

“A ghost,” the White Dragon King said directly, his voice calm, but the content of his words sent a chill down Na Jie’s spine. “You’re haunted by a ghost. If it weren’t for this talisman, you might be dead by now.”

Na-jie's legs went weak, and she quickly grabbed the table next to her for support.

Sister Fei was also shocked, staring wide-eyed at the sachet. "Master, are you telling the truth?"

The White Dragon King nodded. "This talisman is very powerful; it destroyed that thing directly. That's why you were able to sleep well afterward, and your health improved. That thing had been bothering you for more than just a day or two, constantly draining your vital energy. If it had dragged on for a few more months, your body would have collapsed."

He looked at Sister Na with a hint of respect in his eyes, "The person who gave you this talisman is the real master. My little skill is nothing compared to this master."

Na opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

A master?

Who?
A face suddenly flashed through her mind.

That high school student.

Suning.

That evening at dinner, Su Ning gave me this sachet. Su Ning said he made it himself; it was calming and would help me sleep.

Na-jie didn't think much of it at the time and just casually accepted it.

But the White Dragon King said that it was a talisman to ward off evil spirits.

Could that high school student also draw exorcism talismans?

"This...this can't be right?" Sister Na's voice trembled slightly. "He's just an ordinary high school student who just took the college entrance exam this year."

The White Dragon King looked at Sister Na, "The college entrance exam? How did he do?"

"She got a perfect score and became the top scorer in the national college entrance examination." Sister Na blurted out, and then she was stunned.

The White Dragon King was silent for a moment. "The top scholar? To get a perfect score, he is certainly not an ordinary person. But the fact that he can draw this talisman means he has another identity. This kind of talisman cannot be learned by simply reading books. He must have a master and a background."

He paused, then said, "Think carefully, is there anything special about him?"

Sister Na tried hard to recall the details of that night.

Suning sat opposite him, quiet and not saying much.

However, when Su Ning looked at him, his gaze seemed to linger on his face several times.

At the time, I thought it was just nervousness seeing a big star, but now that I think about it...

"He looked at me several times that day. Later he asked me if I hadn't been resting well, saying that I looked a little pale."

The White Dragon King nodded. "He saw it back then. The ghostly aura on you is invisible to ordinary people, but it can't be hidden from a master like him."

Na felt a chill run down her spine.

Something has been bothering me all along?

Is it because of this that I suffer from insomnia and nightmares every night?

Na recalled those terrifying dreams, those shadowy figures chasing her in her dreams, and those screams that woke her up.

It wasn't a dream after all.

The White Dragon King returned the sachet to Sister Na again, saying, "You must keep this safe. The person who gave you this talisman is no ordinary person. If you have the chance in the future, please thank him for me. If I could become his disciple, I would be willing to give up everything here."

Sister Na took the sachet, her hands trembling. "Master, could you please explain in more detail? Who exactly is my friend?"

The White Dragon King shook his head. "I can't see through him. He was able to leave such a strong golden light on you, so his cultivation is far above mine. This kind of person is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps he is the successor of some hidden sect, or perhaps he has an even greater background."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Since you have such a skilled person by your side, you don't need to come to me anymore. If you need anything, it's more useful to talk to him than to me."

Sister Na and Sister Fei exchanged a glance, neither knowing what to say.

"Thank you for your guidance, White Dragon King."

……

After leaving the White Dragon King's place, Sister Na was in a daze the whole way.

Fei was driving, glancing at Na every now and then.

The car drove through the streets of Bangkok, the scenery flashing by on both sides, but Sister Na saw nothing.

"Na Zi, who exactly is your friend?"

Sister Na shook her head. "I don't know either. It was Charlotte's classmate, a high school student. We had dinner together that night, and he gave me this sachet. I thought it was just an ordinary gift, so I just accepted it."

"A high school student?" Sister Fei was also stunned. "A top scorer in the college entrance examination who can also draw talismans?"

"Yes. I just finished the college entrance exam this year and got a perfect score. I'm the top scorer in the country."

Sister Fei fell silent.

A top scorer in the college entrance exam, can draw exorcising talismans?
Who would believe that if I told them?

“Na Zi,” Sister Fei suddenly spoke up, “You should be more polite to your friend in the future. You can’t afford to offend someone like that.”

Sister Na nodded.

She knew without Fei Jie saying it.

That seemingly ordinary high school student is no ordinary person.

……

Back at the hotel, Sister Na lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Bangkok's nightlife is vibrant, and the faint sounds of music and motorcycles can be heard outside the window, but she can't hear anything.

He took out the sachet again, held it in his hands, and examined it over and over.

It's just an ordinary sachet, made of ordinary fabric, with ordinary embroidery, and it has a faint fragrance.

But the White Dragon King said there were Taoist talismans inside.

Sister Na brought the sachet close to her eyes and looked at it carefully, but she still couldn't see anything.

The talisman was hidden inside, and ordinary people couldn't see it at all.

I recalled the scene of dinner that night.

Suning sat opposite him, quiet and not saying much.

Later, when I gave them the sachets, there was nothing special about it; it was just like giving an ordinary gift.

At the time, Sister Na didn't pay any attention, just said thank you and accepted it.

Looking back now, Suning must have realized something back then.

That's why I gave this sachet as a gift.

Why doesn't Suning just say it directly?

Perhaps it was because she didn't want to scare herself.

Perhaps they felt it was pointless to say anything, and that they themselves might not believe it.

Perhaps... Suning is just that kind of person, doing good deeds without making a fuss.

Sister Na placed the sachet beside her pillow and closed her eyes.

This time, she slept very soundly again.

In her dream, she seemed to see a young man in a Taoist robe who smiled at her and then disappeared.

The young man looked very handsome, yet he possessed an indescribable air of authority.

……

The next day, Sister Na and Sister Fei flew back to China.

On the plane, Sister Na didn't say a word, just stared blankly at the clouds outside the window.

Fei was flipping through a magazine beside her, occasionally glancing at Na, "Na, what are you thinking about?"

Na-jie snapped out of her reverie. "It's nothing. It's just... something I can't quite figure out."

"If you can't figure it out, don't think about it anymore," Sister Fei said. "Anyway, they helped you, so just remember their kindness. When you have the chance, thank them properly."

Sister Na nodded.

But in my heart, I kept thinking about it.

Who exactly is that high school student?

Why would he draw a talisman to ward off evil spirits?

Why should he help himself?
These questions can perhaps only be answered by meeting him in person.

...(End of this chapter)