This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

Wang Xiaoer stood there dumbfounded, the faint "thank you" still echoing in his mind.

He stared at Zhang Chen's face, which was filled with surprise and doubt, and it took him a while to realize that Zhang Chen was asking him a question.

"What...what did I do?"

Wang Xiaoer scratched his head, looking completely bewildered.

"I don't know either. I just lunged forward, and it felt like I fell, but then again, it felt like I didn't."

He tried hard to recall the scene in that pitch-black space.

"Then I found myself in a pitch-black place..."

"She got the candy, and it was already dawn, and then I came back."

Wang Xiaoer's description was so simple, it was as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

After listening, Zhang Chen remained silent for a long time.

He looked at Wang Xiaoer's sincere yet slightly silly face and suddenly let out a long sigh.

He stepped forward and patted Wang Xiaoer heavily on the shoulder.

"It has to be you again."

Zhang Chen's voice carried a complex mix of emotions.

"I can always use my heart to find the root cause."

"That little girl is the 'leader' of all the children. She is the core of the obsession and the source of resentment."

Zhang Chen stared intently at the empty metal box on the floor.

"I used Taoist magic to set up the ritual, intending to use 'rules' to send them away. But they were trapped by the rules, so naturally they would resist."

"Only by gaining the little girl's approval and letting her let go of her fear and resentment will the other children leave with her."

Zhang Chen sincerely admired Wang Xiaoer.

If a person experiences too much misfortune from childhood, they may have become full of resentment.

But this kid was different. At first, he was indifferent to everything, but gradually, he became very easy to get along with.

Moreover, he seems to possess an innate affinity for communicating with spirits.

That's not Taoist magic, nor is it cultivation; it's something more fundamental.

A genuine, pure act of kindness.

However, this kid can be a bit boastful at times.

"Sigh! I still need to work on my mindset."

Thinking of Wang Xiaoer's cowardly behavior of calling him "Brother Chen" all the time, Zhang Chen finally felt a little better.

With the matter resolved, Zhang Chen closed the marble box, which had now become an ordinary toy box, and put it into his canvas bag.

He plans to find a scenic spot to properly dispose of the former "homes" of these children.

"Alright, that's a wrap."

Zhang Chen clapped his hands, looking to be in a good mood.

Wang Xiaoer also breathed a sigh of relief. Although he wasn't injured from the ordeal, he was under immense mental stress and now felt weak all over.

The two packed their things and prepared to leave the bedroom, which had been restored to its cozy state.

Wang Xiaoer walked to the door and reached out to pull it open, but he inadvertently looked up and his gaze swept over the top of the door frame.

There, there seemed to be a small, yellowed, curled piece of paper pasted on it.

The paper scraps blended almost seamlessly with the old door frame, and since they were stuck in a blind spot, no one had noticed them before.

"Brother Chen, there's something here."

Wang Xiaoer called out curiously.

He stretched out his arm and pinched the edge of the piece of paper with his fingertips.

The paper was already quite brittle; with a gentle flick of his wrist, it fell to the ground with a soft thud.

The moment the paper talisman left his hand, a strange change occurred.

A faint but incredibly pure warm current, following his fingertips, swiftly entered his body.

The warm current was like a spoonful of boiling chicken soup, instantly flowing through my limbs and bones.

Wang Xiaoer shuddered violently, feeling a strange sense of comfort rush from his tailbone to the top of his head.

The fatigue from chasing and playing, and the soreness from mental tension, were swept away in an instant.

He felt as if he had taken a hot bath and slept for ten hours, feeling refreshed and everything before his eyes became clear and bright.

"What are you holding?!"

Hearing the noise, Zhang Chen turned around and saw Wang Xiaoer peel off the paper talisman, along with the fleeting expression of satisfaction on his face.

Zhang Chen's expression changed instantly.

He rushed over in three strides and snatched the faded yellow talisman from Wang Xiao's hand.

He brought the talisman close to his eyes and examined it carefully. His expression changed from tension to shock, and finally to a strange look that was both funny and exasperating.

"Anzhai Talisman..."

"It's actually an ancient home-protecting talisman that's been lost for ages!"

Wang Xiaoer, still basking in the comfort of the warm current, asked, puzzled, "A house-protecting talisman? What's that for?"

"To soothe the home, to gather goodwill, and to nourish the spirit."

Zhang Chen held the talisman that had become a piece of waste paper, feeling as if his heart was bleeding.

"This should be the last resort left by that kindergarten teacher. She felt guilty for trapping those children, so she put up this talisman, intending to comfort them, nourish their spirits, and hope that they could rest in peace as soon as possible."

"Unexpectedly, the energy of this talisman reinforced the 'field' of this place, becoming part of what imprisoned them."

Zhang Chen looked up at the energetic Wang Xiaoer, and his lips twitched slightly.

"Over the years, this talisman has continuously absorbed the wandering good intentions and earth energy from the outside world, transforming them into the purest nourishing energy. Now that those young ghosts have been freed, the pure energy accumulated on the talisman over the years has nowhere to go..."

"You got all the benefits, you talisman-removing person!"

Zhang Chen looked at Wang Xiaoer with a pained and distressed expression in his eyes.

"You little rascal... really... sigh!"

He crumpled the piece of paper into a ball, threw it into the trash can, and sighed deeply.

Sometimes I really envy you!

Wang Xiaoer blinked, feeling the warm, comforting power within his body, and then belatedly laughed.

"Really? Then I've made a killing on this job!"

"It's more than just a huge profit!"

Zhang Chen rolled his eyes at him irritably, turned around and walked outside, still muttering to himself.

"What a waste! What a waste of resources!"

It was already late at night when the two returned to the office.

The office lights were still on, and Lin Qingya was pacing back and forth in the living room like a cat on a hot tin roof.

Seeing the door being pushed open, she immediately rushed over.

"Brother Zhang! Waiter! Are you...are you alright? What happened..."

When she saw that the two of them were safe and sound, with a hint of relief on their faces, her heart finally settled down.

Zhang Chen shook the canvas bag in his hand and smiled.

"Everything's taken care of. You can live here in peace now. Your place is cleaner than anywhere else."

Lin Qingya's eyes instantly reddened. She thanked him incoherently and insisted on paying the fee.

This time, Zhang Chen waved his hand and refused outright.

He pointed at Wang Xiaoer, then at himself.

"We've already had our fill of motivational speeches; discussing compensation further would be too formal."

Lin Qingya was stunned for a moment, then was so grateful that she didn't know what to say.

Just as the atmosphere was warm and harmonious, a sudden cell phone ring broke the silence.

It's Zhang Chen's phone.

He took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, frowned slightly, and walked aside to answer the call.

"Feed? Old Zhao."

"Yes, it's me."

After hearing what was said on the other end of the phone, Zhang Chen's relaxed expression quickly faded, and he gradually became serious.

Wang Xiaoer and Lin Qingya in the living room both sensed the change in atmosphere and fell silent simultaneously.

Zhang Chen held his phone, listening silently, his expression growing increasingly grim.

"What did you say?"

"In the abandoned cemetery in the west of the city... a living person who had been 'borrowed' was found?"