To Raise a Soul 34.1

“It’s a vengeful spirit. It has no malice toward others so there’s no need to mind it,” Yin Yan whispered in Yu Zhen’s ear. He ignored the man on the stairs, treating him like air.

The person Yin Le liked the least was that older cousin of his, Qiu Junwen. Hearing the man’s words, Yin Le rolled his eyes and deliberately raised his voice, “Aiyo, Cousin Junwen is finally awake. Look at your dark circles. You must have done a lot of shameful deeds, making you have nightmares and sleep badly.”

It was a common way of expressing their mutual hate for each other, but Junwen looked as if he had been jabbed in his weakest spot. He immediately became mad and rushed down the stairs. He grabbed Yin Le’s shirt collar and spat out, “You stinky boy! What are you saying?! You’re so disrespectful – watch me educate you today.” Having spoken, he raised his fist.

After a moment of shock, Yin Le’s face turned an angry red as he pulled at Junwen’s hand and shouted, “What did I say wrong?! Why don’t you listen to yourself?! Did my brother offend you? You’re the one who’s useless. You’re just jealous that he’s doing better than you! I’m telling you, my brother and Yu Ge are getting along very well! There’s no need for you to spread shit over here!”

“You! Spread shit? Very good! I’ll teach you the proper way to speak today!”

Qiu Junwen’s anger increased with each of Yin Le’s hate-filled words. He forcefully held Yin Le down, restrained his flailing legs, and swung back his arm to punch him.

BAM!

Before he could throw the punch, Qiu Junwen suddenly fell over. 

Yin Yan withdrew his leg with a frosty expression on his face. He stepped forward and, while towering over Qiu Junwen, said, “Bullying a younger brother is not the action of a man.”

Yu Zhen hurriedly helped Yin Le up. After looking over Yin Le and confirming that he was unhurt, Yu Zhen looked in Qiu Junwen’s direction and at the female ghost on his back.

He had clearly seen it. After Yin Le’s first remark, the female ghost had suddenly blown a breath of air by Qiu Junwen’s ear. After that, Qiu Junwen had become enraged and rushed over for a fight. 

When Yin Yan made his move, he didn’t use his fists and avoided direct skin contact. Yet despite this, the powerful energy emitted from his body had still affected the female ghost when he kicked the man away.

The kick separated the ghost from Qiu Junwen, causing her to tremble timidly and shrink to the side. She looked at Yin Yan with fear and paced back and forth, not daring to approach.

She only had enough courage to blow an ill wind and cause Qiu Junwen’s mood to grow out of control. Once there was some intimidation involved, she could only be frightened. The female ghost didn’t appear too evil and was even a little cowardly. But what’s with the hostile energy?

“Wu-Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah…”

A child’s cry suddenly came from upstairs. The female ghost’s pacing paused and then she floated away. 

Yu Zhen was stunned yet again.

As soon as the baby started crying, the hostile energy from the female ghost faded, exposing her original appearance. Unexpectedly, she was a beautiful young woman with a fresh and pure appearance.   

Without the female ghost’s ‘assistance’, Qiu Junwen seemed to finally calm down. Or he might have been scared by Yin Yan looking down at him as if he were trash. No longer acting like a madman, he got up from the ground and glared at Yin Yan. “You sure know how to act meek and civil in public, but like a tyrant at home… What rotten luck! Scram after you finish paying your respects. Seriously, whenever I see you, there’s nothing but trouble.”

Finished with his foul words, he left with a grumpy and sleepy appearance.

“As if we wanted to be here?” Yin Le frowned and grumbled. Then he looked to Yin Yan with starry eyes and exclaimed, “Da Ge! You’re so cool! With one flawless kick¹, pa, the bad guy is defeated!”

Yin Yan turned and looked at him, unaffected, “In the future, you should exercise properly. Don’t just play on your phone.”

“I know, I know. I promise I’ll properly work out. I won’t be weak in future fights,” Yin Le replied. He quickly tossed the unpleasantness from a moment ago to the back of his mind, showing his zenness.

Not long after Qiu Junwen left, a nanny walked down the stairs with a wailing child that was about four or five years old. She moved with quick steps towards the kitchen, bringing the child along for its breakfast.

The female ghost followed a few meters behind the nanny, anxiously watching the child. Afraid that her negative energy would affect the child, the ghost didn’t dare to get closer to the child. 

Based on his observations, the last of Yu Zhen’s fear and defensiveness toward the ghost disappeared. His gaze landed on the child and he asked Yin Le, “That child is…”

“You mean Ruijie? He’s my first cousin², once removed. It’s a pity – he lost his mom when he was only two years old. He only has this kind of a dad, and has to bear the label of being an illegitimate child… Ai.” Yin Le let out an adult-like sigh and spoke in a wistful manner.  

Momless at the age of two?

Yu Zhen’s heart was hurt. He looked again at the ghost. Then he pulled out his phone and began searching for something.

The mother of Qiu Junwen’s illegitimate son was a young model. And the Qiu family is a well-known rich family in B City. I should be able to find gossip about this type of big shot family. 

Yu Zhen looked up information on Qiu Junwen and a mistress and, in a short while, a large amount of information surfaced. Among the sea of unremarkable information was an article about the ‘death of a young model’.

Xin Xiaoxiao, a model for print media, was the mistress of a rich businessman. She had passed away and left behind a child. 

The information was very vague, summing up a person’s life in a simple manner.

“Can you see that young woman?”

Yu Zhen jumped from the sharp voice of a child behind him. He had almost dropped his phone, but Yin Yan grabbed hold of his hand in time.

“Xiao Le, the tea is cold. Go change it for a pot of hot tea,” Yin Yan said to Yin Le. At the same time, he took hold of the opportunity which presented itself and put an arm around Yu Zhen’s shoulder.

Yin Le leaned forward to touch the teapot and noted that it was indeed cold. He obediently stood up and walked away to exchange it.

After he had left, Yin Yan gently flicked the sofa at a spot right behind Yu Zhen. “I saw that you had reason to be here, so I didn’t make a move against you. But what’s the reason for your provoking actions?”

A tiny, sharp cry of distress was heard and a semi-transparent baby, which appeared to only be about a year old, rolled out from the sofa. When it raised its head, its strange, elderly face could be seen. It spoke with deference to Yin Yan, “So there’s an immortal here. Don’t be alarmed. It’s just that I’ve been trapped in this residence for too long and I wanted to talk to someone.” 

Yin Yan didn’t accept its nonsense. He gently raised a finger and the baby spirit’s expression changed abruptly. Its semi-transparent body flashed as if it were under an attack. Its arm mysteriously disappeared, then grew back quickly while its body became even more transparent. 

“Be merciful, great immortal! Have mercy!” The baby spirit no longer dared to spout lies. It curled up and rolled away. With panic in its eyes, it explained, “I saw that this child’s body had a lot of merits, so I wanted to cheat some from him. Immortal, please spare my life! I won’t dare to try it again!”

It had a child’s body, but it had an adult’s face and it also acted with the cunning of an adult. Yu Zhen felt uneasy at the sight of it and subconsciously leaned towards Yin Yan. 

Yin Yan held his hand and rubbed it placatingly. Retracting his power, he asked, “Whose child are you?”

Hearing the question, the baby spirit knew it was safe for the time being. It also knew it had provoked someone that shouldn’t have provoked, so it honestly stated, “Qiu Xiehua.”

Qiu Xiehua. The Old Master Qiu.

Yu Zhen was surprised. If this baby spirit is Old Master Qiu’s child, it must have existed for a long time. Probably for half a century.

“How many souls have you absorbed?” Yin Yan continued.

The baby spirit froze, not expecting Yin Yan to also know about this point. As it opened its mouth, it thought about lying. However, recalling the serious damage it had just suffered, it decided to be truthful. “Three. One of Qiu Feixiong’s, one of Qiu Feijun’s, and one of Qiu Junhao’s.”

Qiu Junhao, the son of Qiu Feijun, was only 20 years old this year.

Yu Zhen was shocked. Three. No wonder this baby spirit was so strong. It was strong enough to think and speak like an adult.

Yin Yan gently tapped on the couch’s armrest and said, “You should know, those who absorb the souls of others without reason are considered evil spirits and can’t reincarnate. In fact, they need to…”

“Please, immortal, don’t kill me. I’ve never harmed a living person. The souls that were absorbed by me were all half-formed souls that came from the bad actions of the Qiu family. If I don’t absorb souls, my own soul would fly away and scatter. I beg you immortal, spare me.”

The baby spirit started wailing and begging for mercy before Yin Yan had finished speaking. It made a scene and rolled around, showing the behavior that a child should have. 

Yin Yan waved a hand, stopping the baby spirit’s cries and trapping it in an invisible barrier. He looked at Yu Zhen and said, “Even though the baby spirit didn’t hurt anyone on purpose, its very existence will negatively affect the people around it. Whether or not it’s sent away is up to you.”

Yu Zhen frowned slightly. He hesitated and asked, “Does it still have the chance to reincarnate?”

“No. Once it’s purified, its soul will be scattered in the wind.”

Yu Zhen thought of the story that his grandfather had once told him and became even more hesitant. Although the baby spirit in front of him was both bad and scary, and it had wanted to trick some merits from him, Grandpa Yu had said that baby spirits were born ignorant. If they hadn’t been let down or hurt by people, they wouldn’t become evil spirits or resentful spirits.

But Yu Zhen also cared about the half spirits which had been absorbed.

Turning to Yin Yan, he asked, “Can I speak to it?”

Yin Yan quietly watched him for a few seconds and then let go of Yu Zhen’s hand. With a move of his hand, the baby spirit floated closer.