Elder Su coughed twice.
"Little Auntie, didn't you promise to help your two great-nephews catch the ghost?" he said while making meaningful eye contact with Old Lady Su and his sons.
The six brothers didn't know the details in the letter, but seeing Elder Su acting this way, they naturally echoed the sentiment.
"That's right, Grandma, those two rascals were so scared they bawled their eyes out, they didn't even come back for the banquet today."
"If you leave now, they'll be too scared to ever come home again."
Mianmian cocked her head, "Then I'll see where the ghost is now, catch it then go home."
As she spoke, she got up from the sofa and fished out a mini compass from her small bag. It was a tiny wooden disk, only as big as her own palm, and looked like a little toy with a needle on it.
Seeing this, the Su Family had no choice but to follow Mianmian.
Su Chenfei had just heard Mianmian and his eldest brother talking about something he didn't understand, and now, seizing the opportunity, he sidled up to Su Chenjin to ask.
There was nothing to conceal within the family, and Su Chenjin quietly shared what he knew.
First, he was dating Lin Rou, and Lin Rou had used some supernatural means on him. Second, behind Lin Rou, there was a Master who had sent Lin Rou a ghost; earlier, his proposal had been interrupted by ghostly possession. Third, perhaps due to being possessed, he had managed to see the appearance of the ghost. Fourth, Little Auntie had solved the method Lin Rou used on him and had sealed the ghost inside a pearl.
After Su Chenjin finished, Elder Su also shared the content of the letter.
Su Chenfei, who always believed in science, was dumbfounded.
If his brother wasn't crazy, did that mean that ghosts truly existed in this world? And that the Little Auntie in front, holding the small disk, with little arms and legs, was a highly-skilled Daoist capable of turning ghosts into balls and stuffing them into a Buddhist bracelet?
Su Chenfei then thought about those people in the Banquet Hall, with their teeth knocked out and speaking indecently.
Suddenly, the silhouette of Little Bun in front seemed mysteriously towering.
Unaware of being adored by her seventh grandchild, Mianmian used her small compass in several rooms, but there was no reaction from the compass, which made her yawn widely.
She was so sleepy.
The pace of Little Bun's short legs slowed, and her little head drooped bit by bit.
Old Lady Su was the first to realize that something was wrong, hurried forward two steps, squatted down, and hugged Mianmian into her arms.
Feeling supported from behind, Mianmian looked back and saw her newly met, gentle aunt-in-law, and her mouth curved, wanting to smile, but she couldn't resist the call of sleepiness and closed her eyes, falling into slumber.
Old Lady Su caught the small disk that Mianmian had failed to hold on to, put it in Mianmian's small bag, then turned around and shushed, signaling the family to be quiet.
The beds in the bedroom were all made of the softest infant fabric, and Mianmian, lying at the center, had her little cheeks turn rosy after a while, looking incredibly cute.
"Ah, hiding it is not the solution," Old Lady Su sighed.
The family fell silent.
Hiding it was not the solution, but telling the truth wasn't a solution either. The letter said that Little Auntie had come here alone. If she found out, who knew what Dark Sect methods she would use to return?
While the Su Family members were feeling a headache, they suddenly heard the bed-dweller's milky voice calling, "Daddy Mummy! Daddy Mummy, wake up!"
This startled everyone, and they quickly went to the bedside.
But they saw Little Bun frowning with her eyes tightly closed, clearly not yet awake. Was she dreaming? And dreaming of her sleeping parents? What were they to do?
Mianmian was indeed dreaming, dreaming she was back on the mountain.
Daddy Mummy and other relatives were all sleeping in their rooms, and no matter how she yelled, pushed, or naughtily covered their noses and mouths, none of them woke up.
"Daddy, Mummy?" Her call went unanswered, Mianmian's nose felt sour, and large tears started to stream, "Daddy, Mummy, don't sleep, Mianmian is back."
The more she cried, the more violently Little Bun's small body shook, and through her blurry tearful eyes, she suddenly remembered the family's treasure.
It was the Jiang Family's sacred stele, Mummy had told her that when the Jiang Family faced insurmountable troubles, they would seek help from the sacred stele.
With this in mind, Mianmian wiped her tears with her little hands and ran towards the location of the sacred stele. Because she ran too fast, she tripped over a stone on the roadside, falling over.
Ignoring the painful knees, she extended her little hands and hugged the stele in front of her, and as her Mummy had taught her, she silently wished for what she sought.
The sacred stele suddenly shone brightly, and the silhouettes of a young couple appeared beside the stele, their eyes filled with heartache for Mianmian.
"Good baby, don't cry."
"Dad's little Mian Bao, please don't cry."
With tears blurring her vision, Mianmian couldn't see the faces of her parents clearly; all she wanted was to throw herself into their arms. "Daddy, mom, why have you turned into spirits?"
She clung to her dad and then reached out to embrace her mom, her dark eyes filled with panic and confusion because she couldn't wake her loved ones.
The couple exchanged a glance, each seeing the worry reflected in the other's eyes.
This was a trial given by Heavenly Dao.
For many years, the land of Dragon Country had been in its last dharma age, with gods and buddhas answering to calamities either by slumbering or by reincarnating and descending to Earth. The Jiang Family's sacred stele had revealed a prophecy a month ago that Dragon Country would face a great disaster, and the only breakthrough was their daughter, Mianmian.
"Mianmian, it's just that mom and dad are facing a trial," Mianmian's mom said gently. "Here is a small bottle. As long as you use the skills you've learned to be liked by many people and do good deeds to fill this bottle, mommy and daddy can come back."
Mianmian's dad nodded. "That's right, Mianmian, our good baby, mom and dad are waiting for you to wake us up inside the monument," he said.
In reality, the Space inside the Purification Vase was boundless, and Mianmian didn't know how long it would take to complete the task. The child they had prayed for over fifty years to have was only a little more than three years old, and yet her burden was so heavy.
Tears continuously fell from the corners of the couple's eyes, but the tears of adults were silent.
The trial would descend whether they wanted it or not. They had protected their daughter until the last day, succumbing to the trial in their slumber—this was the limit of what they could do.
Just as now, using their souls to meet their daughter's, telling her about the ordeal, was also a time-limited opportunity granted by the prayer to the sacred monument.
And now, their time was almost up.
The couple continued in a murmuring voice, "Mianmian, you must be well-behaved at your older cousin's home, don't be too willful. The mountain will be temporarily sealed off, so you don't need to return home to see mom and dad, understand?"
"It's okay if mom and dad are asleep. Mian Bao, don't focus on this too much; you must be happy yourself."
The gentle exhortation lingered in her ear as Mianmian shook her head, crying out loud, "No, no happiness, I want mom and dad to wake up."
"I don't want to be obedient, only to listen to mom and dad's words..."
But her cries couldn't keep her parents from leaving. She was left with only the icy cold Purification Vase in her little hands.
Mianmian screamed and cried, waking up from her sleep, startled. She lay there dazed for a while, the corners of her eyes still red from crying for so long.
That was a dream, right? She had nightmares before, and her parents told her not to believe things in dreams. As long as she went back home, she could certainly still see daddy and mommy!
Mianmian clenched her little fists, carefully turning her little body to the edge of the bed.
A White Porcelain Vase squeezed out from under the little blanket, just like the one in her dream.
Just after comforting herself that she could see her mom once she returned home, the little bun sat on the bed, staring blankly at the porcelain vase.
Her tears began to fall again as soon as she came back to her senses.
However, Old Lady Su slept very soundly.
After wearing the pearl bracelet for several days, she had a series of nightmares, which had already taken a toll on her well-being. Now, with the added effect of the jade bracelet Mianmian gifted her, she intended to take care of the little girl but had unknowingly fallen asleep herself.
Yet, in her subconscious, Old Lady Su remembered that the bed held a little bun that needed caring for. As she reached out and felt emptiness, she suddenly woke up.
The room was already faintly lit, with a small figure in pajamas sitting motionless on the edge of the bed.
Old Lady Su chastised herself for having overslept and cautiously approached Mianmian.
Looking, she saw that the little bun had big red eyes, like a little rabbit's.
Old Lady Su's heartache grew. "Little Auntie Mianmian, don't cry, don't cry."
Still, Mianmian kept silently shedding tears.
Old Lady Su didn't dare to broach the subject of Mianmian's parents directly, so she silently placed herself in Mianmian's shoes.
If she were Little Auntie, she truly would feel like the most pitiful child in the world.
And so, Old Lady Su held the Little Bun in her arms, and she too began to cry.