Beichuan Si didn't continue wasting time at the Tsukishima family, and after a brief greeting, he quickly left.
Qian Xia Chiyuki watched the figure depart swiftly, and couldn't help but twitch her lips.
As misfortune would have it, in the midst of the storm, Tsukishima Reimi's teasing voice rang out behind her,
"Now, can Chiyuki tell me the relationship between that boy and you?"
"Uh..." Qian Xia Chiyuki turned her head in shock, not expecting that her fabricated story had been seen through by Tsukishima Reimi.
Tsukishima Reimi's gaze remained kind, not at all angry about Qian Xia Chiyuki deceiving her. She looked at her gently, "I know, Chiyuki must have brought that boy over because of Lisha, right? But now that he's gone, there are still some things I need to ask."
Having lived for so long, Tsukishima Reimi had a knack for reading people. Besides, the adult circle in Japan was much more complicated than that of high school students, and Qian Xia Chiyuki's poor acting skills couldn't fool her.
Under Tsukishima Reimi's calm gaze, Qian Xia Chiyuki knew she couldn't hide the truth and reluctantly cleared her throat, speaking somewhat without confidence,
"That was my classmate at Kyubei High... Likewise, he's also the blogger of a site called the 'Urban Mysterious Tales Office.'"
"Urban Mysterious Tales Office?" Tsukishima Reimi blinked in confusion.
She didn't typically have the interest in watching horror videos or urban legends like these young people did, so her knowledge in these areas was somewhat lacking.
"Um... To put it simply... Beichuan came by to help rid Lisha of... of resentment." Qian Xia Chiyuki straightforwardly explained everything.
In fact, Beichuan Si had also casually drawn out the resentment from her as well.
Feeling a rare lightness in her body, Qian Xia Chiyuki couldn't help but gain some confidence in her words.
"Drive away resentment?" Tsukishima Reimi's brows furrowed, and as she looked at Qian Xia Chiyuki, she wondered if the latter had been deceived.
Over the past month, she had also sought the help of exorcists, but most of them were just charlatans without any real skills.
However, Tsukishima Reimi knew Qian Xia Chiyuki's character well, who was far more astute than the average girl; there were few who could fool her.
But—thinking too much was useless, seeing is believing, after all.
With her mind made up, Tsukishima Reimi simply stood up and led Qian Xia Chiyuki upstairs again.
Standing once more in front of Tsukishima Risa's room, Tsukishima Reimi surprisingly hesitated.
Inside the room, there was no longer the usual abnormal chill, which made her heart flutter with a hint of warmth.
What if it really succeeded?
Immediately, she shook her head with self-mockery.
She had already experienced so much disappointment before, another disappointment wouldn't make much difference.
But as a mother, who could bear to see their child grow thinner and weaker day by day?
Tsukishima Reimi's hand trembled, yet the cold door was pushed open regardless.
The room behind the door had changed.
The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, bringing a hint of warmth to the cold, harsh room, with the sealed newspapers torn down rudely and piled in a heap.
A pale-faced Tsukishima Risa leaned against the bed, gazing outside in a daze.
She didn't understand what had happened to her room or why she was staying home instead of going to school in broad daylight.
She just felt as if she had woken up from a really long dream.
Perhaps it was because she had just woken up, Tsukishima Risa's consciousness was still a bit foggy. After sitting in a daze for a while, she turned her head as if aware and looked at Qian Xia Chiyuki and Tsukishima Reimi.
"Mom? Chiyuki?" Tsukishima Risa showed a hint of surprise, "Why are you in my room?"
Tsukishima Risa's voice suddenly halted.
Because, for no apparent reason, her mother had hugged her without saying a word.
"Mom?" Tsukishima Risa felt a bit strange but still gently patted her mother's back.
She clearly felt Tsukishima Reimi's body trembling slightly.
What on earth was going on?
Tsukishima Risa was quite puzzled, her mind vaguely recalling memories, but temporarily unable to fully recover them.
While she was confused, Qian Xia Chiyuki, watching this scene, also sniffled slightly, though in the end, she didn't shed a tear.
Only then did she barely understand what Beichuan Si meant when he said "too much trouble" before leaving.
He probably felt that having received his payment, there was no need to endure the thanks of the Tsukishima family.
The image of Beichuan Si's expressionless face surfaced in Qian Xia Chiyuki's mind, causing her heart to skip a beat.
Could it be what they call a poker-faced tsundere?
She mulled over the thought as Beichuan Si, having already walked a considerable distance, turned his head slightly to glance back at the Tsukishima family's direction.
"This time wasn't a bad haul," Beichuan Si said, turning back.
Not only did he receive a reward of 100,000 yen, but he also obtained another interesting little trinket.
Beichuan Si pulled a small, forest-white sphere from his pocket.
The sphere had a smooth surface with holes on either side. It appeared to be a joint sphere from a doll.
"I seem to have overestimated the vengeful spirit in the Sanmu Abandoned Doll Factory," Beichuan Si mused.
Although it could spread resentment using a medium, it was close to a middle-level spirit, yet still slightly lacking in its realm.
Beichuan Si felt more confident in dealing with it now.
As for the origin of this sphere,
He had discovered it under Tsukishima Risa's desk, the source of all the resentment, and the culprit behind the mental disarray of Tsukishima Risa and Qian Xia Chiyuki.
This also explained why, out of so many people, only Tsukishima Risa experienced mental issues.
"But why did Tsukishima Risa go to such a place and bring this sort of thing back?"
There might just be other hidden secrets within.
"But it's none of my concern," Beichuan Si said, frowning before shaking his head and placing the forest-white sphere back in his bag.
The sphere had been soaked in resentment for a long time, becoming the best container for wandering souls.
Having encountered so many vengeful spirits, Beichuan Si wanted to try capturing one and sealing it within the sphere.
Could vengeful spirits be tamed? Could he make use of them?
If possible, he even considered dissecting a vengeful spirit after acquiring Jian Ding.
After all, knowing one's adversary well ensures a hundred victories.
If he could understand the true structure and weaknesses of vengeful spirits, Beichuan Si believed he would have little trouble handling such entities or anomalies in the future.
And this forest-white sphere served as the perfect dissection stage.
All in all, having reaped various benefits, Beichuan Si was in quite a good mood.
Just as he was about to step back towards his home, he caught sight of a familiar back at the street corner.
Wasn't that Magong Tong?
Beichuan Si followed quietly.