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He used to think that Chiang Xiao, the little girl, was indeed too spoiled.
If the Chiang Family were a Family of Scholars or a rich family, that would be understandable. But the family was clearly so poor that they could barely make ends meet, yet they raised this girl like a precious daughter. Wasn't that harming her?
However, after witnessing the artistry Chiang Xiao had just displayed, he immediately felt that she deserved to be pampered. No wonder she was pampered like that! After all, at such a young age, her artistry was so exceptional!
This might mean that in the future, she could become an art teacher at a school, or even more impressive, a Painter.
But Secretary Yao had scarcely time to be amazed by Chiang Xiao's artistic skills before he was startled by the swelling on her hand.
Chiang Xiao had initially thought of playing the pity card to win some sympathy.
Later, she decided that she would never take the path of looking pitiful. If anyone bullied her, she would surely fight back fiercely. So why put on an act in front of Secretary Uncle? It would only make it awkward if he remembered this night when he saw her ferocious side later on and thought her hypocritical.
So she did not conceal her hand any further and instead directly lifted it in front of Secretary Yao, looking at him with clear eyes, and asked, "Secretary Uncle, do you think I look like I've become a different person, as if possessed by a ghost?"
Chiang Songhai had certainly not anticipated that she would ask such a question from the get-go and was startled once again. He thought such matters were best avoided; why would Little bring it up herself?
The older generation feared ghosts and deities, but even though Chiang Xiao had been reborn and carried an Exotic Treasure, she still did not believe in supernatural beings or ghosts. Besides, she had conducted herself with integrity and sat upright; even in her past life, she was the one who was too kind and was harmed. At most, she was foolish; what was there to fear?
Possessed by a ghost?
Secretary Yao immediately scolded in a deep voice, "Nonsense! We now promote science, reason, and clarity; where's all this talk of ghosts and spirits coming from?"
Chiang Xiao nodded along with his words, "That's what I think too. However, after I fell into Nameless Creek, my aunt insisted I had caught something dirty. My grandma came straight into my room, dragged me up from the bed, took off her slipper, and hit the palm of my hand hard several times, saying that if I really was possessed by a ghost, the palm of my hand would turn black."
Pausing, Chiang Xiao extended her hand again towards Secretary Yao. Her originally delicate and fragile hand was red and swollen, but there was no sign of blackening.
She glanced at Secretary Yao and continued, "My grandma also said that tomorrow morning she would invite a Fairy to come to my room to perform rituals to exorcise the ghost. Secretary Uncle, I still have a fever now, my head is very dizzy, I felt a bit nauseous just now and also can't walk. I'm really afraid I'll be beaten to death by them tomorrow."
Chiang Songhai tried to interrupt her multiple times, but Chiang Xiao's words flowed smoothly and steadily, not giving him a chance to interject. Originally, he did not want to bring the Chiang family's affairs in front of Secretary Uncle, as it would surely end in embarrassment, but with Chiang Xiao's hand held up before his eyes, its red and blistering swell hurt his eyes to look at, and he sighed, no longer wanting to interrupt her.
After hearing Chiang Xiao's words and seeing her hand as well as her pale face, Secretary Yao felt a surge of anger.
Had it truly been only a domestic issue of the Chiang family and not made public, he could have completely ignored it. But when those women insisted on saying that falling into Nameless Creek meant being possessed by a Water Ghost, he could not tolerate it.
Furthermore, what if something were to truly happen to Chiang Xiao? Wouldn't the village lose a promising young talent in painting?
Before he could express his stance, he heard Chiang Xiao say another sentence, "Secretary Uncle, there's another thing. I want to accuse Ding Dani of murder!"
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