"Mr. Shen, I'm so sorry to disturb you this late."
The first thing Jiang Wenxin did upon arriving was to apologize to Shen Siyuan again.
"I told you it's fine."
As Shen Siyuan spoke, he reached out and patted Doudou's little head beside him, and a faint, ethereal blue light immediately bloomed from her body.
Tao Guangxia, who had been standing to the side without a word, silently observing Shen Siyuan, instantly widened his eyes.
He then cried out "Doudou" and bent down to hug her, but his arms closed on empty air, as if what he had just seen was a mere illusion.
Tao Guangxia reacted extremely quickly, immediately looking up at Shen Siyuan.
With a look of disbelief on his face, he asked, "Is… is my daughter's ghost really here?"
It was obvious he hadn't actually believed his wife, Jiang Wenxin's, words.
He had only agreed to come along because he loved her and, of course, was afraid she was being scammed.
He hadn't even stopped his wife from taking some "compensation" from home.
In fact, he was secretly pleased. As long as the other party dared to accept it, he would immediately call the police.
The amount was huge, enough to guarantee the man would rot in jail.
That was why he hadn't said a word until now.
He never expected that he would actually see his daughter.
He hoped it was just an illusion, and yet he hoped it wasn't.
"This is Doudou's dad…"
Jiang Wenxin was very tactical with her words. She didn't introduce him as her husband, but as Doudou's dad.
She said it this way to win Shen Siyuan's favor from the start, since he had mentioned that he was fond of Doudou.
"Hello, Mr. Shen. My name is Tao Guangxia."
Tao Guangxia stood up and introduced himself.
He seemed slightly agitated, and even as he spoke, his eyes kept darting to the spot by Shen Siyuan's right leg—the very spot where Doudou was standing.
Doudou thought her dad could see her and excitedly waved her little hands.
"Mr. Shen, we came in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare anything. Please take this as our thank-you gift."
As Jiang Wenxin spoke, she hurriedly pulled a square, red brocade box from her bag and pushed it into Shen Siyuan's hands.
"What's this?" Shen Siyuan was a bit surprised.
He didn't think much of it and took it.
"It's something I bought a while ago. A bit tacky, I know, but it's the only presentable thing we have at home," Tao Guangxia explained from the side.
Hearing this, Shen Siyuan casually opened the brocade box and froze.
Inside the box were four gold bars, the kind used for investment.
The weight was marked on them—one hundred grams each. At five hundred yuan per gram, these four bars were worth two hundred thousand yuan.
"This is too valuable. I can't accept this."
Shen Siyuan was tempted, but after a moment's thought, he handed it back.
He was helping Doudou out of pity, not for Compensation.
"Mr.
Shen, we'll need to trouble you to look after Doudou in the future. If you don't accept this, our minds won't be at ease."
Tao Guangxia knew how to be persuasive.
Jiang Wenxin nodded repeatedly beside him.
Shen Siyuan hesitated for a moment, then took out one bar and handed the remaining three back.
"This one is enough," Shen Siyuan said.
Everyone has Desires, especially for money, which Shen Siyuan lacked most. But a gentleman acquires wealth through proper means.
One gold bar was enough; taking all of them would be greed.
Hearing this, the couple wanted to refuse, but Shen Siyuan said firmly, "Take them back."
It was just a simple sentence, but a shiver ran through the couple.
The hairs on their arms stood on end, and they found themselves unable to say a word, only numbly taking the brocade box from him.
In truth, he knew this couple wasn't short on money.
The watch on Tao Guangxia's wrist was probably worth several times more than these four gold bars.
But he simply wanted to help Doudou, and if that was the case, he would keep it simple from beginning to end.
If he really wanted money, he had plenty of ways to get it now.
"Then tomorrow, we'd like to treat you to a meal," Jiang Wenxin said.
"You should spend more time with Doudou."
With a thought from Shen Siyuan, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner appeared in his palm.
He formed a Hand Seal, and a wisp of ethereal blue light shot into the center of Tao Guangxia's brow.
Tao Guangxia only felt a slight coolness at the center of his brow.
He subconsciously raised his hand to touch it, but before he could, he noticed Doudou beside him, waving her little hands.
"Doudou…"
Overjoyed, Tao Guangxia didn't care about anything else.
He squatted down again and pulled Doudou into his arms.
"Dad, you can see me now?"
Held in her father's embrace, Doudou pouted, feeling both happy and wronged.
"Baobei… Daddy… Daddy…"
Seeing his daughter again, Tao Guangxia choked up, unable to speak.
"Go home and talk. You have about a day."
Shen Siyuan felt he couldn't quite bear to watch scenes like this.
"Mr. Shen, are… are you saying Doudou only has one day left?" Jiang Wenxin asked in a panic upon hearing this.
Tao Guangxia had no time for sorrow either. He quickly picked up Doudou and looked at Shen Siyuan nervously.
"It's not that Doudou has one day left, but that you only have one day to see her."
The reason they could see Doudou was because of a wisp of Netherworld Qi from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner that Shen Siyuan had sent into them.
But this wisp of Netherworld Qi, once separated from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, was like Rootless Duckweed. It would completely dissipate in a day at most, and then they naturally wouldn't be able to see Doudou again.
"Then is it possible to…"
Tao Guangxia had just opened his mouth to speak when Shen Siyuan cut him off.
"No.
Humans and Ghosts Follow Different Paths. Letting you meet Doudou and have a brief reunion is the most I can do.
If this were to continue long-term, it would be no good for either of you…"
Shen Siyuan had enabled them to see and communicate with Doudou using a wisp of Netherworld Qi from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. This was not a good thing; it held no benefits for ordinary people.
Seeing Shen Siyuan's serious expression, the couple didn't dare say more.
"Take Doudou home," Shen Siyuan said again.
The couple exchanged a look upon hearing this, and with no other choice, they held Doudou and reluctantly took their leave.
And in the instant Tao Guangxia turned around while holding Doudou, he also noticed Old Man Lu standing not far away.
He was startled, and only then did he remember what his wife had said on the way over—that wasn't false either.
So there really was a ghost following them the whole time.
But the thought of Shen Siyuan being there calmed him down. He just gave the other a deep look before continuing to walk out of the residential complex with Doudou in his arms.
"Goodbye, Big Bwother."
Held in her dad's arms, Doudou happily waved her little hands at Shen Siyuan.
Shen Siyuan smiled and waved back at her.
Once they were completely out of sight, his smile vanished.
He turned to look at Old Man Lu, who was cautiously approaching.
Looking at the thumb-sized Fleshy Tumors covering his face, Shen Siyuan suppressed his discomfort and asked in a low voice, "Aren't you afraid I'll deal with you?"