3356 Died of Fright
"It is lunchtime. If you decided to work without eating, then you will be hungry even after lunchtime. Do you want to starve while working?"
Without listening to Xie Jiling's explanation, Xia Qingwei dragged Xia Qingwei back and said, "Listen to me. If it is not absolutely urgent, you should eat first."
Xie Jiling stared at Lu Man.
She thought about it. Since the beaded bracelet was still there, Lu Man should be fine for now.
And so, she finally sat down.
However, Xie Jiling was still thinking about it.
So, she quickly ate lunch and left.
Before she left, she said to Lu Man, "Elder Sister, I will tell you when the issue is resolved."
"Alright. You be careful out there." Lu Man nodded.
Xie Jiling left Lu Man's house. She didn't leave right away.
She stopped in front of Lu Man's door and retrieved a compass from her bag that was twice as big as her palm.
She placed the beaded bracelet on the compass.
The beaded bracelet and compass showed a faint white glow.
The light would turn brighter and darker in a rhythmic manner.
And then, the beaded bracelet stopped glowing.
Xie Jiling then put the beaded bracelet away, leaving the compass out.
The needle in the center of the compass shook for a few seconds before it started spinning very quickly.
The needle spun for over a dozen seconds before it gradually stopped and pointed in the northwest direction of the courtyard.
Xie Jiling lifted the compass and started searching in that direction. She noticed that the grass in the corner of this courtyard was withering.
Grass would truly appear withered during winter.
However, the patch of grass in this area was clearly different.
Xie Jiling took out a small bottle and sprinkled some rice-colored dust on the grass on the ground.
She then took out four taoist papers and buried each of them in the corners in the north, south, east, and west directions.
She closed her eyes and felt her surroundings.
The bad energy had already been eaten up by the power coming from the taoist papers.
At the same time, the taoist papers in the four corners started spreading gentle waves of energy.
Starting from the four corners, an invisible protective layer started forming in the sky.
The layers gathered and met in the center, forming this transparent sphere shape that enveloped the entirety of Lu Man's house.
Only Xie Jiling could sense this protective layer.
No one else could sense it. Even those bad things could not sense it.
If that thing came here again, it would not be able to force its way into Lu Man's house.
Xie Jiling then left and started following the compass to search for the source of this wave of negative energy that she had picked up on the beaded bracelet.
She continued walking. Soon, she walked through half of the city.
Eventually, she arrived at a neighborhood of villas.
This neighborhood of villas obviously had wealthy people residing in it.
The security here was very strict.
When the security saw Xie Jiling, they immediately stopped her.
"Little girl, are you here to see someone?" When the security officer saw that Xie Jiling looked small, fair, and pretty, his attitude became much nicer.
Xie Jiling lowered his head and glanced at the compass, pointing into the neighborhood.
She then asked the security officer, "Uncle, do you know all the residents in this neighborhood?"
"Yes. We do," the security officer said, "There aren't many residents in this neighborhood. We are required to recognize each resident. Before nonresidents of this neighborhood are allowed to step into this neighborhood, they must register and state the house they are visiting, and the resident of that house must verify the information."
Xie Jiling nodded and asked. "Have you recently sensed anything wrong with the residents? For example, they might look really lethargic or very exhausted, or they might be very easily scared or paranoid?"
When the security officer heard this, he thought about it and realized that there were such instances.
But the security officer did not tell Xie Jiling right away.
Instead, he asked, "Why are you asking these things? Why are you here?"
Xie Jiling said seriously, "I am here to resolve it. Uncle, if you know, tell me honestly."
"Little girl, you are here to cause trouble, aren't you? Leave!" However, the security officer was unconvinced.
The security officer didn't dare to reveal the residents' information.
But when the security officer pushed Xie Jiling, she didn't budge even an inch, despite her petite figure.
Xie Jiling then said, "Uncle, based on your expression, something bad must have happened to a resident here, right?"
"If you know, you have to tell me. If not, the issue will exacerbate and might even threaten that resident's life. In fact, it wouldn't just be that resident. It will implicate the other residents as well."
Xie Jiling still didn't know why that grudging spirit would bother the resident here.
Indeed. The thing that was trying to harm Lu Man was a grudging ghost.
However, a grudging ghost was only made from people who died with a grudge toward someone.
Some died while feeling like someone had wronged them. Some were ruthlessly killed.
Anyway, none of them died because of their own doings.
Their resentment would grow after they die,d and they would eventually become a grudging spirit.
A grudging spirit would first seek its murderer.
However, the resentment would grow whenever it successfully took someone's life.
If it weren't saved and converted, its resentment would urge it to harm more people.
It would search for the murderer's family and anyone similar to its murderer.
It would even target innocent strangers because those strangers appeared at the location where it had been murdered, or those strangers were wearing similar clothing as its murderer or had similar characteristics with its murderer.
As the grudging spirit killed more people, the resentment would only become greater. When the resentment grew to a certain level, the grudging spirit would be unsavable, and it had to be destroyed.
And Xie Jiling just didn't understand how Lu Man was related to the residents here.
"You are so young, yet you are talking about these supernatural things. I am telling you. The government is trying to eradicate pornography and illegal publications, crack down on illegal activities, and break away from superstition. Stop talking nonsense." The security officer warned.
Xie Jiling was just about to say that she wasn't being superstitious when a voice rang.
"Little girl, how did you know there was something wrong with the residents here?" someone asked.
"I might look young, but I am very experienced." Xie Jiling immediately straightened her back.
That person still didn't look assured. "You have a teacher, don't you? Can you ask your teacher to talk to us?"
Of course, Xie Jiling couldn't ask her teacher to come here.
She then answered, "You can tell me first, and I will ask my teacher how this should be resolved."
That person then dubiously said, "I am a helper for a resident here. The things you mentioned did happen to our neighbor.
The helper had been secretly listening to the conversation between Xie Jiling and the security officer.
This little girl looked really young and unreliable…
But everything she said was right.
"Our neighbor's son and daughter-in-law just died. The daughter-in-law died in the fire, while the son was severely injured. They managed to save his life and stabilize his condition, but he suddenly died. And I heard he died of fright," the helper said.
