What if I don't want to ascend to immortality?

Chapter 20 The Web Weaver

The bedroom bed was a very pink, children's style. Normally, it would seem out of place for Meng Qingtong, a girl dressed as a student, to sit there holding Yaya, but no matter how Han Jie looked at it, the scene was extremely harmonious.

I don't know if it was because her movements were too practiced, or because her expression was too warm.

Noticing that he was staring at her thoughtfully, Meng Qingtong gave a self-deprecating laugh and said softly, "What's so strange about that? I learned how to take care of children when I was five. Before I was even ten, I was already the eldest sister to a whole bunch of kids. Those who were two years older than me were all scolded by me and hid under the bed."

Ya Ya had fallen asleep in Meng Qingtong's soft embrace, but she was probably having a nightmare, as she would tremble from time to time, causing her dangling legs to sway.

Han Jie picked up the cushion, tossed it into a corner, and whispered, "The aura on it disappeared after the child left. I've never seen this demon before. What's your assessment?"

"It's probably a magic carpet." Meng Qingtong said thoughtfully while gently patting Ya Ya's back. "The new notes from the academy all point to this kind of evil spirit. I've never even seen this thing before, so I really don't know where to start. If all else fails... I'll just have to use myself as bait again."

"Uncertain about the specifics of the potential harm, I don't recommend you use the power of the Myriad Demon Summoning Technique casually." Han Jie stepped closer and whispered, "After all, it's the Demon Emperor's natal magic weapon. If you use it too much, it might cause some unpredictable consequences."

“I understand. Looking at it this way, it’s really fortunate that I met you. Otherwise, I would definitely have just used whatever was convenient.” She looked down at Ya Ya’s pale and haggard sleeping face and said softly, “So what I’m saying is, if all else fails, people still need to be saved. Otherwise, what am I doing here?”

Just then, Liu Song ran up with the printed authorization form, "All done! Master Meng, come here..."

After being glared at by Meng Qingtong, he quickly lowered his voice again, "Come and sign the papers. As long as the child gets better, I don't care how much money it costs. I'm counting on you, Master."

"You need to pay more attention to how you interact with your family in the future," Meng Qingtong advised him as she signed the papers. "This time it was an evil spirit, and we spiritual healers can help resolve it. But what if next time it's a psychological problem? What if it leaves a lifelong psychological scar on the child? We're all family, so we should communicate more. Also, drink less alcohol. If you two fight like this at home, what will the child think?"

"Yes, yes, Master is right. I will definitely drink less in the future, less." Liu Song took the letter of authorization, looked at his sleeping daughter, and asked cautiously, "Then, Master, is there anything else I need to cooperate with?"

Meng Qingtong and Han Jie exchanged a glance and quickly reached an agreement through tacit understanding. She stood up, holding the child, and said, "I've already reported this to the Ling'an System, and now I just need your consent. I want to take Yaya to my place, and I'll send her back to you after this matter is resolved. Don't worry, you don't need to pay for her living expenses during this time; consider it a special offer for you. So, what's your opinion?"

"take away?"

"Take him away." Her tone was very firm. "Demons are stronger and harder to deal with in certain environments, and I now suspect that your home is such a special place. I've already shown you the relevant qualifications. Whether you choose to believe me or not is up to you."

"Can't we just treat it at home?" Liu Song looked troubled and reluctant.

"Fine, but you'll be responsible for the consequences." Meng Qingtong said sternly. "Exorcising demons isn't like playing an RPG where you can switch to a battle scene and unleash your ultimate attack without harming innocent bystanders. You should know the regulations for safe evacuation of residents, right? If I were to fight a demon in Yaya's room, do you think you'd have time to escape? Would your wife have time to escape? You two adults are tough and it might not matter, but what about the little boy who's not even a year old yet?"

The last sentence really startled Liu Song. He shuddered and immediately picked up his phone. "Okay, okay, I agree. I'll have the driver come and take you. He can wait outside and do whatever you need."

“Okay, then, according to procedure, I’ll film a video while you verbally agree. Then you film a video, and I’ll keep a record to prove that I took the child away.” Meng Qingtong was already confident and quickly arranged, “Get some spare clothes for the child right away. This matter may not be resolved today, so be prepared for a long battle. Also… you’d better talk to her mother.”

Liu Song snorted in annoyance, "Why bother talking to her? She neglects the older one now that she has a second child. No stepmother with a conscience would act like that."

"You think it's all her fault?" Meng Qingtong stared at him, a slight sneer on her lips. "If you two continue like this, even after dealing with the demon, the child will still have other problems. You're both adults, and your wife and child are in terrible mental health. Can't you look for the reasons within yourselves?"

Liu Song didn't know if he listened or not, but he turned around and went to tell Song Huiping.

Song Huiping neither helped Ya Ya pack her clothes nor came to see her.

But when Meng Qingtong carried the girl to the outside of the villa, she turned around and saw a haggard face with complicated emotions inside the second-floor window.

She watched silently as her daughter was taken away by two complete strangers, a spirit sorcerer, without uttering a word, but her full lower lip was bitten so hard that it bled…

Han Jie remained silent the entire way. At one point, he tried to help Meng Qingtong hold the baby for a while, but when he stretched out his hand to gesture, he felt awkward and stiffly withdrew it.

He was somewhat annoyed to discover that knowing many things only in his mind did not mean he could do them, and that he was not as talented as Ling Shu in these matters.

Back at the guesthouse, Meng Qingtong went to prepare some food, saying that Ya Ya hadn't eaten anything for at least a day and would definitely be hungry when she woke up.

Thus, Han Jie got the opportunity to put his knowledge into practice.

The little girl, who was seven or eight years old, hadn't grown tall yet and was small in stature with thin arms and legs. To him, she really didn't weigh much.

But the thought that holding her in the wrong way might wake the little girl who had finally managed to fall asleep made him so nervous that his whole body stiffened.

Seeing his embarrassment, Meng Qingtong suppressed a laugh and came over to help Ya Ya into a comfortable position, whispering, "Relax, let her lean against you like this. It's hard to wake a child when she's sleeping soundly, so don't be so tense."

Han Jie kept a straight face, clearly not believing it was as easy as she made it sound. He carefully fumbled for his phone and skillfully dialed her telepathic frequency without looking. "If I say it this way, I won't be afraid of waking her up."

"Okay, if you don't mind the trouble, then do as you please." She strolled to the kitchen, found some leftover ingredients from the morning, and took two eggs to make another steamed egg custard.

Why did you bring Ya Ya back?

“Those two aren’t quite right in the head. I find it too much trouble to deal with them there. Besides, we have absolutely no clue how to catch this evil spirit. If we don’t bring the child back, are we just going to go there every day and face her mother’s sour face?”

Han Jie looked down at the little girl's soft and delicate face. Her childlike features still showed traces of her parents' genes, making him clearly and intuitively feel what the continuation of bloodline meant.

Why would the biological mother treat such a lovely daughter that way?
Just by sensing the fluctuations in his divine sense, Meng Qingtong could guess what he was lamenting. While stirring the egg mixture, she explained to him, "Being a parent is the easiest thing in the world. Anyone can be one, but there are definitely those who can't be good at it or don't want to be good at it. So sometimes I comfort myself by thinking, 'Look, it's better to be an orphan and be free and unattended than to have messy parents.'"

"Are you going to sleep with her tonight?"

"Otherwise, with you?" She chuckled. "Keep an eye on her while she exercises, and I'll take her home after she's done."

“The magic carpet is very likely on her. You just had your soul awakened today, so resting next to her would be dangerous.” “Knowing the magic carpet is on her, I can’t possibly leave her sleeping alone in the next room. Don’t worry, I won’t take off my clothes tonight. If anything happens, I guarantee I can hold out until you come and be the hero.”

Meng Qingtong brought out steamed egg custard and stir-fried side dishes. Seeing him holding the child in the same manner as before, she smiled and admired him for a while before taking over. "Another purpose of bringing her back is to make it easier for us to use our last resort. If we really can't get rid of it by ordinary means, we'll find a place, set up an array and place talismans, and lure it out by fishing right up to its face. Let's see if we can take care of it then."

"No need to find a place." Han Jie said cautiously before she severed the connection of their spiritual senses. "I have two Heart Swords, Dead Water and Desolation. When they are used together, they can temporarily create a small, isolated world. When we really have to activate the Ten Thousand Demon Summoning, we will take this child there."

Meng Qingtong paused her actions of waking Ya Ya and asked, "What's the price for using that?"

"Dead Water is an ordinary Heart Sword, requiring only spiritual energy. Desolation is of a slightly higher grade, requiring some Heart Essence Blood. So when that time comes, you'll have to be quick."

"You shouldn't need to lift a finger." She started shaking Ya Ya's little hand, and her divine sense sent a final message: "If you can't even handle the small one, what will you do when you encounter a bigger one?"

After waking up, Ya Ya still refused to communicate with anyone, but with Meng Qingtong's patient and gentle persuasion, she finally ate the bowl of steamed egg custard and drank a small half bowl of soup.

She naturally handed the remaining food over to Han Jie to handle. After all, a spiritualist as powerful as him couldn't possibly gain weight no matter how much he ate.

After eating and drinking, Ya Ya's mental state improved significantly. Although she was still curled up in a ball by the sofa armrest with her knees drawn up, she dared to lift her face, revealing her bright black eyes, and secretly sized up Meng Qingtong in front of her.

After briefly explaining the situation to Ya Ya, Meng Qingtong put her arm around her slender shoulder and said softly, "Don't worry, I won't rush you. You can stay with me for the next few days. Whenever you want to talk, I promise I'll listen carefully. Okay?"

Ya Ya remained silent for a while before nodding slightly.

"Then, if all you need to do is nod or shake your head, can Ya Ya answer some of your questions first? If we can find the answers sooner, Ya Ya can recover sooner."

Ya Ya nodded, her nod slightly more than before.

"By the way, if you don't want to answer, just squeeze your sister's finger, okay?"

Seeing her nod again, Meng Qingtong gave Han Jie a wink and asked softly, "Did Ya Ya like her mother before?"

Upon hearing the word "before" emphasized, Ya Ya hesitated for a few seconds before nodding slightly.

"Mom must have liked Yaya a lot before, right?"

Ya Ya hesitated for a moment, then groped for Meng Qingtong's finger that was outstretched beside her leg and squeezed it hard.

Don't you want to answer this question either?

Meng Qingtong frowned almost imperceptibly, then took the little girl's hand and gently shook it. After a moment's consideration, she asked, "Yaya, do you like your little brother? Putting aside your parents' attitudes, and only considering your little brother himself, do you like him even a little bit?"

Ya Ya's head remained still for a long while, as if she had been petrified. Several minutes passed before she finally nodded slightly, her expression as if she was about to cry.

Meng Qingtong let out a breath, patted Ya Ya's head, hugged her, kissed her forehead, and murmured, "Ya Ya, you're a good girl, but good girls often... have it much harder than bad kids. Mom and Dad are too busy and may not have noticed these things, which is why Ya Ya has become like this, isn't it?"

Ya Ya sniffled, buried her little face in Meng Qingtong's arms, and started to cry softly, like a wounded kitten.

"Yaya, get a good night's sleep tonight, and I'll take you out to play tomorrow. Okay? Forget all the annoying, troubling, and messy things. You elementary schools have summer vacation, right? Wouldn't it be a waste not to have some fun? Would you like to play with me? If you do, shake my hand."

Sobbing, Ya Ya reached out her hand, took it, and whispered her first words since they met: "Sister, Mom... does Mom not want me anymore?"

Meng Qingtong cupped her face, wiped away the tears that welled up with her thumb, and said with a smile, "How could that be? Mom has been working very hard lately too. When people are too tired, they are different from usual. That's not what Mom really thinks. Just like Ya Ya doesn't talk to Mom and Dad or eat. It's not because she doesn't like them anymore, but because she's sad and angry, right?"

"Hmm. But...but I've tried so hard to like my little brother. I thought...I thought if I liked him, Mom would...would still like me. But...Mom, it seems like Mom doesn't like anyone anymore...I...I'm so scared of Mom. When Dad's not around, I...I don't dare to come out..."

Meng Qingtong sensed something was amiss and asked softly, "But you wouldn't open the door for Dad when he got home. What happened?"

Ya Ya thought hard for a while and said, "Dad was linked to Mom, they were both linked. I... I'm afraid of being linked again, just like in my dream, I'm really scared."

"Stay for a while?"

"Yeah, lately, I've been having nightmares a lot. In my dreams, there are lots of threads wrapped around me. Those threads are scary and frightening. The threads keep telling me not to get connected, or something really, really scary will happen. The threads also let me see my mom in my dreams. But my mom in my dreams is different from usual. She only has... only half a body. And below... below there are lots of legs, and strange things... coming out from behind her, lots of them, flying around, flying to and fro. Connected to all sorts of things."

"thing?"

"Hmm." Ya Ya's gaze was vacant, as if some inner force was forcing her to recall that terrifying dream. "There were knives, forks, ropes, white clothes, a big coffin... My mother in the dream looked really scary. Not long after that, I... I saw other people connected to my mother in my dream, an aunt, a father, a driver. Yesterday I dreamed that my father also had something connecting him to things behind him, and I... I was too scared to come out. I wanted those threads to wrap around me, wrap around me... so I wouldn't be connected anymore."

"Yaya, don't be afraid. Follow your sister, and nothing strange can reach you. Be good, don't be afraid, your sister is here." Meng Qingtong coaxed the child while turning to look at Han Jie, clearly intending to use the readily available human search engine.

Based on Ya Ya's description, this doesn't seem like something a magic carpet could do.

Those lines do match some of the characteristics of the magic carpet, but judging from Ya Ya's words, the magic carpet is clearly hiding from something.

Han Jie leaned against the wall with his elbows crossed and easily found the closest answer.

"They are the net weavers."

(End of this chapter)