"Don't cry." Jiangli clicked his tongue in annoyance, a slap landing in front of the child, "Keep crying, and I'll eat you."
Xia Xin: "..."
The boss: "..."
"..."
The little child's sobbing abruptly stopped, his eyes teary and hazy as he looked at Jiangli. He didn't seem to doubt that Jiangli would eat him, shrinking back in fear as if he'd seen a monster.
Securing the child, Jiangli asked him, "What's your name, where's your home, why are you here?"
"Don't know…" the child pouted, on the verge of crying again, "Here, familiar."
Jiangli paused for a moment before he understood what the child meant; he might have forgotten his own name, but thought the place looked familiar, so he came over.
Jiangli looked at the boss speculatively, "Maybe he thinks this place is fun? Or perhaps, his home is nearby, and that's why he came?"
"It's possible…" Xia Xin had calmed down as well and quickly turned to the boss, asking, "Boss, look, do you recognize him?"
The boss had been too scared earlier to take a close look at the child.
Upon hearing this, he forced himself to tilt his head back and took a look at the child. In a few seconds, he exclaimed, "Well, he does look somewhat familiar..."
"Then it's very likely he is from around here." Jiangli asked, "Has there been a family nearby who's lost a child recently?"
The boss stared blankly for a moment, "Well, I don't think so… I haven't heard anything…" He hastened to add, "Master, I'm begging you, I was blind to Mount Tai earlier, please take him away. I'll pay any amount, just take him away! If he stays here any longer, forget about opening the shop, I might lose my life!"
Seeing how frightened he was, Jiangli said, "I'll take him away, but normally, people go to the place they should after dying. They don't usually linger in the world of the living. If he's staying here, there must be a reason. Could you help inquire around the neighborhood and see if you can find his family?"
As a person of the Xuanmen, it was their duty to step in where there was injustice. Faced with such a situation, Jiangli couldn't help but get involved.
Hearing this, the boss was eager to have Jiangli take the 'ghost' away and immediately agreed, "Yes, yes, Master, rest assured, I will definitely ask around for you very clearly! Please, take him away quickly, I beg you!"
Jiangli: "..."
Was he really that scared?
Jiangli scooped up the child in his arms.
The child immediately started to struggle, "Don't, don't, you meanie..."
Jiangli's face twitched, and he tossed the child into Xia Xin's arms.
Xia Xin was startled, nearly dropping the child.
Jiangli: "Hold on to him, if you let him run away, I'll kick you out of the Xuanmen on behalf of the old man."
Xia Xin: "..."
Frozen in place with the throwing motion.
He wanted to cry but had no tears.
Now he was certain that this little girl was indeed the ancestral master, though he had no idea why the ancestral master would be like this...
After hurling the child at Xia Xin, Jiangli headed outside.
Xia Xin looked down at the child in his arms.
Perhaps frightened by Jiangli, he seemed to take quite a liking to Xia Xin and clung to him.
Xia Xin, struggling to hold back his shuddering heartbeats, managed a pained expression, turned around with the child, and said to the boss, "Boss, I... I might not be able to come to work today..."
"Xiaoxin, just take him back quickly. I'll still give you your salary for today!" the boss said hastily.
Xia Xin hadn't even had the chance to thank him when he heard Jiangli ask, "How do you open this door?"
Xia Xin: "..."
He had forgotten; the ancestral master probably had never seen a glass door before.