Chapter 26 I'm Just a Kid

The little boy struggled, looking at Jiang Lu with terror in his eyes.

He was shocked that a mere human would dare to treat him in such a way.

But that was all it was.

Though shocked, he was not afraid, for he held an unbeatable trump card.

All he did was open his mouth and say in a weird tone:

"Kekeke... I'm just a child..."

This was his psychic attack, capable of enchanting anyone who suffered it. Even if he did something outrageous or showed his evil side, they would not resist.

And all because he was just a child.

But he clearly miscalculated!

"What the fuck does that have to do with me?" Jiang Lu remained impassive.

What?!

The little boy's expression stiffened.

He wasn't affected?!

Even Jiang Lu had not expected that the "Arrogance and Prejudice" achievement he had just gained would come into play now.

He was not bound by moralistic psychic attacks!

The little boy suddenly got flustered.

Seeing his reaction, Jiang Lu finally realized, belatedly, that his previous statement had been an attack.

"Ambushing me, huh? Now it's my turn!"

Though he was not at a disadvantage, Jiang Lu was still angry about the underhanded tactic, so after discerning the grudge spirit's identity, he donned the Overseer's Necklace and attempted to command:

"Come clean with me, why are you here? What are you trying to do?"

The little boy's heart shook, and a sense of suppression stemming from his bloodline surged within him, leaving his mind as blank as a mouse that had seen a cat.

"I sneaked in by hiding in the body of a passerby outside the town. I'm here to curse all the adults, so I can turn this place into my playground. I've already cursed the man I possessed and the woman just now. You were next."

Seeing the little boy so readily obedient to his command, Jiang Lu realized that the gap between their levels must not be big, within the range of the Overseer's Necklace's effect, and he relaxed, branding the boy with the mark of the weaker:

"I knew it was you, kid! I'm asking you, can the curse be lifted?"

"It can."

"Then go lift it right now, and afterwards, find a nice spot with good feng shui and drop dead."

"..." The little boy's expression showed some struggle, as if he were somewhat resistant.

Seeing this, Jiang Lu realized that this order, touching upon the boy's core interests, might be a bit too much, so he amended his command: "Forget it, just lift the curse and then go back where you came from."

"Okay."

"Hold on a second." Jiang Lu thought about it and stopped the little boy: "First go and lift the curse on that woman you mentioned."

"Okay."

...

"Old Qu, this is tough."

In the room, an elderly man with white speckled hair and a cane shook his head at the director.

The director's face changed: "You can't discern the source of the curse either?"

Before them on the bed, a young man's body was covered in red, half in a daze, his chest heaving violently.

That was the cursed caretaker, Xiao Li.

Looking at Xiao Li's pained expression, the elder sighed: "It should be a vengeful spirit, and one with extreme resentment at that."

"How could this be?" said the director, his expression severe: "If it's a vengeful spirit, I should have noticed."

The elder gave a wry smile: "When was the last time you entered the Spirit Realm? Don't you know it's not like a decade ago? We're making progress, and so are those ghastly creatures. Some Spirit Realms have been around for so many years, they have already bred some horrifying entities.

These things might not be powerful in and of themselves, but some of their special abilities are very difficult to deal with. Even we experienced exorcists might be caught off guard."

Seeing how the director's mood seemed to drop at his words, the elder consoled: "Don't be too pessimistic. When I say it's tough, it's because it's quite hard to root out this vengeful spirit.

As for the curse, although I can't solve it, there's not no solution.

Anyway, I'll first try to find this vengeful spirit. If I can't, I'll have to look for an exorcist skilled in witchcraft from the guild."

The director let out a slight sigh of relief and said with some embarrassment, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"What are you saying?" The old man thumped the director's shoulder and pretended to be angry, "Talking to me like that, you're not treating me as a brother anymore?"

The director was taken aback and moved, and then he said with a relieved smile, "Haha, I didn't mean that."

"However..." The old man suddenly leaned in close to the director and whispered, "The appearance of a wraith in the safe zone is no small matter. Before the guild comes up with a solution, you must not spread the word, be careful not to cause panic."

The director, seeing how familiar the old man was with the situation, always felt something was off and asked with curiosity, "Looking at you... this isn't the first time you've encountered such a thing?"

The old man gave a meaningful wink, and the director instantly understood.

"I should try to see if I can trace the wraith's trail first, I suspect it's still hiding in the orphanage."

The old man called up his panel and took out some items targeting wraiths from his inventory, placing each in front of him.

Standing aside, the director immediately recognized the compass as a fine-quality item and said with envy, "You've really made a fortune over the years, your assets are quite substantial."

"Hehe." The old man laughed lightly with a hint of pity, "If you hadn't retired, who knows, you might be even more successful than me now."

At that comment, the director's feelings became complicated, "I was thinking... that having gained the ability to protect these kids, I could come back to being a director in peace, but I didn't expect that when something actually happened, I'd still have to rely on you old fellows."

On hearing this, the old man wanted to say something but stopped, ultimately sighing.

"Let's focus on the task at hand," the director urged, unwilling to dwell on the subject.

Thereupon, the old man began to concentrate on using Xiao Li as a medium to track the wraith's trail.

But gradually, his expression shifted from serious to surprised, then from surprised to puzzled, until finally, he ended the tracking with an ugly look on his face.

A bad feeling suddenly surged in the director's heart, "What's wrong?"

"I can't find it," the old man furrowed his brows, "The presence feels everywhere... I suspect it could possess human bodies, and if that's the case, it's bad news. Unless it reveals itself voluntarily, we might not be able to find its exact whereabouts."

"What if we gather everyone and check each one by one?" the director asked.

"No use," the old man shook his head, "By the time the curse erupts in the possessed person, it might have moved to someone else. If that's the case, just solving one person's curse is useless, more and more will be cursed."

"Then what do we do?" the director grew anxious.

"Tch... don't rush me, let me think," the old man was also quite troubled.

Right at that moment, someone knocked on the locked door.

Thud, thud, thud.

Feeling anxious, the director asked through the door, "Who's there?"

No one outside responded, but the knocking continued.

"Jiang Lu?"

The knocking persisted.

"Who is it, really?" The director, getting impatient, opened the door.

Subsequently, both the old man and the director were shocked.

"A wraith?!"

The old man immediately braced for battle—not that he couldn't handle the wraith before him. Though he couldn't ascertain the opponent's full strength and was unsure, he was still confident in giving it a try.

Yet he was unsure why the wraith had suddenly appeared, even suspecting that perhaps a more powerful wraith was behind it.

For a moment, he hesitated to act recklessly.

But what happened next left him somewhat flabbergasted.

The wraith, taking the form of a little boy, walked to Xiao Li's bedside and whispered something into his ear. Then Xiao Li's breathing gradually became steady, the agony on his face slowly faded, and the intense redness of his condition began to retreat.

"The curse is lifted?" the director exclaimed in shock.

Having broken the curse, the little boy turned to leave.

The old man quickly grabbed him and shouted, "Where do you think you're going?"

Knowing full well he couldn't beat the old man, the little boy remained completely unfazed.

Turning his head, the little boy narrowed his eyes, "I'm just a child."

Taken aback, the old man subconsciously loosened his grip, "Ah... you're just a child, so go play then."

Disbelievingly watching the old man suddenly act as if bewitched, the director, in a moment of urgency, stood in the way of the leaving boy, "You can't leave!"

"I'm just a child."

"Then there's no helping it, be careful on your way."