Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 324: Chapter 224 Heavenly Master 31

This time, Situ Shuangshuang chose not to use the Thousand Miles Talisman for her journey because she wanted to treat this outing as a training exercise, observing and learning as she went along.

A backpack on her back, containing a change of clothes, food, water, a tent, a pot, and a bowl; this was all of Situ Shuangshuang’s gear.

Besides Bai Mengling, Little Shun also joined the trip; during the day, Little Shun and Bai Mengling would sleep in the small coffin on Situ Shuangshuang’s wrist, and come nightfall, they would come out for a round of play.

Though Situ Shuangshuang had over two hundred thousand in hand, she was accustomed to being thrifty, cooking her own food to save money, and relying on her skills, she pitched her tent wherever she went. As for the few shortsighted thugs who tried to take advantage of her, their outcome was rather tragic!

On this day, Situ Shuangshuang arrived in an ancient town filled with age-old charm, a place with a rich historical appeal that had caught the government’s eye and been developed into a tourist spot. Indeed, after its opening, tourists poured in incessantly.

Some stayed in hotels, and there were those like Situ Shuangshuang who camped in tents. However, for most, camping was for fun, while Situ Shuangshuang camped solely out of frugality, unwilling to spend money on hotels.

The entrance ticket to the ancient town was not cheap, but because of the town’s reputation for supernatural occurrences, Situ Shuangshuang uncharacteristically spent the money and entered directly. Of course, this wasn’t due to generosity, but because she had a year-long travel pass! The pass was cheap, costing only two or three hundred, and allowed entry to any site within the area!

Situ Shuangshuang’s purpose for entering wasn’t leisure; she had previously sensed a peculiar aura in the ancient town. It was strong, but not caused by Yin Qi or resentful energy, which intrigued her and led her to spend time investigating the town.

Now within the ancient town, Situ Shuangshuang felt the mysterious aura even more intensely!

The first thought that came to Situ Shuangshuang was demons! But after careful observation, she realized the aura wasn’t emitted by a demon. Although demons have auras, they usually suppress them, as emitting one’s aura is an act of provocation to both the Heavenly Masters and passing demons!

Moreover, since demons are living beings, their auras are filled with vitality, whereas the unknown aura radiating here lacked any life force, only exuding a dense, chilling energy.

Unable to locate it through perception alone, Situ Shuangshuang wandered back and forth through every street and alley of the ancient town but couldn’t pinpoint the source of the aura. It surprised her a bit, indicating that while the entity seemed flamboyant, it was actually well-hidden!

The town was not small, and even with a Godspeed Talisman, it took Situ Shuangshuang several hours to circle around. As night fell, her stomach grumbled with hunger, and since she couldn’t start a campfire in the ancient town, she reluctantly searched for a place to eat.

Naturally, Situ Shuangshuang wouldn’t eat at a restaurant—too expensive! Instead, she opted for a homestay run by local residents, where she could sleep and eat, though the rooms were small and shared with others. Meals were large pots shared by all, not necessarily tasty, but they were cheap.

During the meal, the homestay owner was visibly troubled, frequently glancing inside the room, and when giving change to Situ Shuangshuang, he mistakenly handed her a hundred instead of one yuan, indicating his severe distraction.

Situ Shuangshuang returned the money, and the owner, assuming she was settling her bill again, completely forgot he’d already given her change, and began making change once more, leaving Situ Shuangshuang exasperated!

”Boss, this is the extra you gave me, not the bill payment; you’ve already given me change! Is something wrong at home? You’re too preoccupied to run a business like this!” Situ Shuangshuang reminded the owner helplessly.

Only then did the owner come to his senses, accepting the money Situ Shuangshuang returned, and with a sigh, unable to hold back any longer, started to confide in her, ”Ah, I’m sorry, my family indeed has troubles. My son went out to play two days ago, got startled, and lost his soul. We’ve sought help from several people but haven’t been able to retrieve it, and he’s been lying in bed ever since. How can I focus on business with such worries, but without it, how will we live? Ah!” The owner sighed heavily.

Situ Shuangshuang heard this and looked closely at the owner’s face. Though she wasn’t trained in physiognomy, fortune-telling, or feng shui, she’d studied a bit and could see the rough outlines. From his face, it appeared that he indeed had a sick family member leading to financial strain, indicating he was not lying.

Seeing the owner’s worried expression, Situ Shuangshuang advised, ”Instead of seeking spiritual help, perhaps you should take your child to the hospital for a proper check-up!”

Situ Shuangshuang said this with reason; the connection between soul and body is strong, and it’s rare for the soul to separate from the body unless there’s an intense obsession, like Jiajia’s obsession to follow her mother, leading her soul away from her body.

But this has a premise; it’s applicable to children under ten, whose soul and body connection is unstable, and it requires a strong obsession, which is the hardest part, as children have simple, forgetful minds, making such obsession unbelievable! Like Jiajia’s rare obsession, to separate from the body, it’s not representative of common cases.

For those over ten, the bond with the body is entirely secure. Unless possessed by a fierce ghost or harmed by practitioners of the Evil Path or demons, it’s impossible, barring death, for a soul to leave the body, no matter how frightened.

What people commonly refer to as loss of soul due to fright is more about the instability of the soul from being startled, and calling back the soul steadies it, serving more as psychological comfort rather than an actual retrieval of a wandered soul.

Since calling back the soul was ineffective for the owner’s child, sending him to a doctor was indeed the better option. However, the owner sighed, ”I’ve been to several major hospitals and many specialists; they all say the child is fine, merely shocked, and should recover at home.”

Situ Shuangshuang frowned; this was abnormal. Could it indeed be some special circumstance causing the soul to leave the body?

After pondering, Situ Shuangshuang spoke to the distressed owner, ”I have elders in my family skilled in these matters, and having observed them since childhood, I have some knowledge as well. If you don’t mind, may I take a look at what might be happening to your child?”

The owner, desperate, didn’t care about Situ Shuangshuang’s young age or reliability and immediately agreed, leading her into the house, turning into the largest room inside.

Inside, a boy of about twelve or thirteen lay in bed, his eyes half-open, staring at the ceiling, unresponsive to those entering the room. The owner, seeing his son this way, felt a pang, nearly shedding tears.

Situ Shuangshuang stepped to the bedside, closely examining the boy’s condition—pale face, normal breathing. She gently lifted his eyelid, finding his pupils void of spirit; though his eyes appeared to look at her, she found no reflection of herself in them!

Situ Shuangshuang couldn’t help but frown; the boy’s soul was indeed absent from his body! Irritated, her mind raced; the boy was clearly over ten, his soul shouldn’t have left on its own. Something or someone practicing the Evil Path must have taken his soul!

Situ Shuangshuang glanced outside; though nightfall had just begun, investigating where the soul had gone required waiting until the moon reached its zenith to proceed with the inquiry!