Spectral Doctor of the Metropolis

Little Ghost

"I told you on the overpass, I charge a lot." Yindang glanced at Xiao, then spoke to the old man.

The old man laughed and said, "No problem. I haven't paid you for the palm reading yet. I'll give it to you later."

"Okay, you said you'd pay me fifty for the palm reading, but don't try to cheat," Yindang said seriously.

The old man said, "No problem. I won't do that to you."

"Okay, okay. And your illness is a bit troublesome. So, I'll give you three hundred." Yindang gritted his teeth and held up three fingers.

"Three hundred?" Xiao exclaimed in surprise at Yindang's price.

"That's too cheap. Grandpa has had this illness for a year or two," Xiao muttered softly.

Hearing Xiao's surprise, Yindang panicked. In the village, exorcisms cost a maximum of eighty yuan. For more serious cases, they'd charge a maximum of twenty-one. Had he overcharged? "Too expensive? Then I'll give you a discount. Two hundred, the lowest price," Yin Dang said immediately.

The price had dropped from three hundred to two, leaving the old man and the child stunned. Fearing the other party would go back on their word, Yin Dang added, "This is my family's craft. If you go find someone else and pay five hundred, they definitely won't help you. Grandpa, back at the overpass, I told you that you weren't just ill, you were also haunted."

"You said I was haunted?" the old man frowned. He had thought Yin Dang had some skills in treating illnesses and exorcising evil spirits, having shared some of his problems on the overpass. But when he got home, it seemed like he was just another charlatan's story.

The child also stood up and said, "You said Grandpa was haunted? What's your evidence?"

"Uh, the fee?" Yin Dang pointed.

"As long as you can cure my grandfather, isn't it two hundred and fifty? No problem," the child said.

Yindang looked at the old man again, who nodded and said, "Come on."

Only after receiving the old man's consent did Yindang place the canvas bag he had been carrying on the ground. Then, with a solemn air, he said, "Grandpa, the little ghost you encountered has no intention of harming anyone. It must be a kind spirit, so I plan to exorcise it first. Forcibly exorcising a ghost's spirit will destroy them, their body and soul, forever condemned to eternal damnation."

Yindang's words were convincing and mysterious, but they only made the old man more suspicious. Could he really have encountered a scammer?

But the old man was old, a man who had seen the world, after all. He immediately said, "Come on, little one."

Yin Dang gathered his strength, concentrated his mind, and formed various Taoist hand seals with his hands, beginning to perform a Taoist spell: "One Qi becomes the Three Pure Ones. The Dao Ancestor uses the power of the law to open the gates of heaven, and the third eye opens!"

The hand seals shifted continuously. Yin Dang finished the incantation, then joined his index and middle fingers in a seal, tapping his brow. To the old man and the little ones, Yin Dang was just a tiny figure. A red dot appeared between his brows, and his eyes were brighter and more spirited than before.

"I didn't expect this country boy to have some skills," the little one said, somewhat surprised.

Once the third eye is open, it can see all evil spirits. Yin Dang looked around, and at the foot of the sofa, the ghost of a young boy, about eleven or twelve, looked at Yin Dang with a smile, devoid of any malice. The ghost's resentment was not strong, minimal.

Those who harbored resentment were merely ordinary little ghosts, who generally had no intention of harming anyone. When resentment reaches a certain level, it can manifest as a terrifying ghostly aura, known as a fierce ghost. When dealing with ghosts above the level of a fierce ghost, any that harbor harmful intentions are generally eliminated immediately to prevent them from harming humans.

Seeing the little boy's ghost, Yin Dang pointed to its location and said, "I've found the little ghost haunting the old man. Now I'm going to exorcise it."

"Is there really a ghost?" Xiao asked with suspicion, glancing at the spot Yin Dang pointed to, seeing nothing.

"You mortals, of course, can't see ghosts. And if you could, it would only be when they were about to harm someone, when they would truly reveal themselves," Yin Dang explained.

"But how can we know if you're lying, just by your words?" Xiao said sharply.

"Every country has its laws, every family has its rules. It's not that I won't help you open your third eye, but except under special circumstances, it's best if you don't see ghosts," Yin Dang continued. The ghost's aura is so strong that if an ordinary person were to be contaminated by it, they would become ill. The old man's ailments were mostly due to this aura.

After speaking, Yindang walked up to the little boy, gently stroked his head, and said warmly, "Little guy, why are you clinging to this old man?"

"The old man said he'd always play with me," the little boy said.

"Oh, do you like this old man?" Yindang pressed on.

"Of course I do. He was so kind to me when we were in the hospital. He bought me delicious food and fun things, and he talked to me. No one had ever been so kind to me before," the little boy continued.

Hearing the little boy's words, Yindang could probably guess why he was so reluctant to leave. Yin Dang pondered for a moment and said, "Do you want Grandpa to be healthy and live a long life?"

"Yes, but I don't want him to die of liver cancer like I did." The little boy lowered his head and said, "But I also want Grandpa to be with me, because there's no one else to be with me besides him."

"But you said you wanted Grandpa to be healthy."

After hearing Yin Dang's words, the little boy fell silent for a moment.

Xiao He and Xiao Shiyun, standing nearby, looked at Yin Dang in confusion. They couldn't see ghosts clearly, so they only saw Yin Dang hiding at the foot of the sofa, mumbling something incomprehensible.

"Do you want Grandpa to eventually get sick and die like you did?" Yin Dang asked again, his voice warm.

The little ghost shook his head and said, "I don't hope so."

"You know, if you keep pestering the old man like this, sooner or later he'll get sick and die like you. Your liver is already starting to damage you. I don't think this is what you want to see. If you've made up your mind, I can help you transcend and be reborn as a human. If you persist in this obsession, you won't even have a chance at reincarnation," Yin Dang said, his voice feigning ferocity as he spoke the rest of the sentence.

However, the little ghost wasn't afraid of Yin Dang's pretentious ferocity. He didn't see any sign of a deity intent on destroying him. He fell into deep thought again. He was just an ordinary little ghost. Even if Yin Dang didn't deal with him now, the next time he met someone else, they might kill him. If he encountered a ghost messenger and they sent him to the eighteen levels of hell, he would suffer endless torment.

"Would you let me have a word with the old man now?"