Chapter 2: The Ancestor is Questioned

As Jiangli walked in, he saw someone bent over, crouching in one spot, fiddling with something.

"Xiaoxin, someone is looking for you!" The boss called out as he brought Jiangli over.

Xia Xin turned his head upon hearing this, revealing a dust-covered face as he looked toward the boss. He was about to speak when his gaze fell upon Jiangli standing beside the boss.

Seeing Jiangli, his expression changed.

This person...

Could it be the Ancestor?

Xia Xin was an orphan adopted by the Abbot of Jiaoyang Temple, who was also his master. A few days before his death, the Abbot had shown him a portrait, saying the person in it was his ancient master and told him to wait obediently for his return.

And the person in the portrait looked exactly the same as this man in front of him...

"You are Xia Xin?" As Xia Xin stared at Jiangli, Jiangli was also examining him, frowning as he said, "Poor foundational attributes, low aptitude, slow-witted—what was that old Taoist thinking?"

Xia Xin: "..."

He suddenly snapped back to reality, looking at the person in front of him with a sense of unease in his heart.

Although his master had told him that the ancient master would return, he had also heard from his master that the ancient master had been in seclusion for eight hundred years. If he had been a living person, he would have died eight hundred times over, turning to dust by now.

Yet, here was a young girl standing right in front of him—it was preposterous...

Thinking of this, Xia Xin grew increasingly restless, "Well, Uncle Zhang, I'm afraid we can't open for business today; I can't fix it..."

Hearing that they couldn't open for business, the boss was anxious: "Can't really fix it?" He couldn't help but complain, "What's going on here? The electrical wiring was just inspected the other day, and the computer checked—what could have happened?"

Jiangli, upon hearing this, glanced at a spot not far from the boss's feet.

There was a metal box with a child squatting in front of it, about four or five years old, with a pair of transparent, pale hands stirring inside, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Jiangli suddenly asked, "Don't you feel hot?"

The boss replied irritably to Jiangli's question, "What time is it to be worrying about whether it's hot or not?"

Xia Xin, who was standing nearby, was taken aback at this remark and looked suspiciously at his long sleeves.

That's not right.

It was July, there was no electricity in the shop, so naturally the air conditioning was off, and with the scorching heat where temperatures were nearly forty degrees, how could he not feel hot—yet he felt a cool chill?

"There's a child who has been right beside you all this time—you wouldn't feel hot, of course."

As Xia Xin stared at her with a puzzled face, Jiangli spoke. The boss, completely befuddled, looked around, "What child?" What did a child have to do with him not feeling hot?

He turned to Xia Xin, asking with suspicion, "Xiaoxin, do you really know this person? Why do I feel there's something off about her?" Hearing Jiangli's words, a jolt went through Xia Xin's heart. Having spent time with his master, Xia Xin had seen his fair share of unsavory entities. Could Jiangli's words mean what he thought they meant?

"You can't see it?" Jiangli looked at Xia Xin, and just after the words left her mouth, she added, "Oh right, with your talents, you indeed wouldn't be able to see it."

Xia Xin: "..."

Her words cut right to the heart.

Jiangli gave the two a glance, realizing neither could actually see that 'thing', and felt somewhat speechless.

The boss was an ordinary person, so his inability to see was one thing, but for Xia Xin to also be unable to see...

With such poor attributes, such lackluster talent...

What was that old man thinking, taking him on as a disciple?

"To put it simply, there's a little ghost causing trouble in your shop, and that's why you can't open for business," Jiangli explained kindly after a moment of silence.

"A ghost?" The boss paused upon hearing this, then laughed out loud, "You must be watching too much TV, young lady. Where would there be ghosts these days? What a joke."