"Dr. Wen, my sister—what's going on with her? Is it something to do with the hotel?"
"Don't worry, Chaochao's mom will wake up soon."
And less than a minute after Wen Ying finished speaking, Chaochao's mother slowly opened her eyes.
"Dr. Wen, why am I here?"
Qin Hanyun looked at his sister, "Chaomao's mom, do you remember what happened?"
"Did he leave?" Mom Chaochao suddenly thought, feeling a bit excited
"Don't worry, he's gone. I won't let him bother you again."
It seems like I remember her coming to find me, and then, big brother, you hit her?
Qin Hanyun looked somewhat awkwardly at Chaochao's mom, hoping that his appearance hadn't frightened her.
"And then?"
Morning's mom shook her head, "I don't seem to remember what happened afterward, but I had a strange dream. In the dream, I beat up that scumbag! It felt so good! But..."
Morning's mom hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak up, "I think I dreamed of Dr. Wen. Dr. Wen was questioning him, couldn't believe he actually teamed up with his parents to deceive me, to sell off Morning. He's a scumbag."
Qin Hanyun looked at all this with suspicion. What was going on with his sister's dream?
It's really a bit strange.
"If this is true, would you go and risk your life to confront him?"
Mama Chaochao remained silent and did not answer.
"Dr. Wen, what's wrong with me?"
Both Mama Chaochao and Qin Hanyun needed Dr. Wen to give them an answer; this matter was somewhat strange and a bit absurd.
"The innkeeper's wife came from the north, where it was customary for many wealthy families to have certain offerings in their homes."
"Doctor Wen, is it a deity? I think I've heard this legend before, it's all just stories, right?" Qin Hanyun had heard of these things and had read many similar stories.
"You could say that. After the landlady got married and came here, she also worshipped the deity in the inn, but it was in a separate room where no one could see it. People wouldn't believe it anyway; they just thought she had some peculiar hobbies, like keeping a little fox at home. Since the fox rarely appeared in sight, everyone gradually forgot about it."
"Dr. Wen, does this guardian deity really exist???" Qin Hanyun's worldview was once again overturned.
Wen Ying smiled and shook her head, "I can't say for sure either. By common logic, this thing shouldn't exist, but there are too many unknowns in this world, no absolute answers."
"So the innkeeper worshipped the fox spirit, and when the fox spirit saw the scumbag, it couldn't help but possess someone to deal with him?"
While everyone was talking, the innkeeper's wife slowly walked in.
"Xiao Ying, all my guests are here."
The innkeeper's wife was over forty years old. Her parents-in-law had passed away, and her husband had also died in an accident. After her son went to college, he never returned.
So she lived alone, guarding the inn in solitude.
At this moment, seeing Chaochao's mother sitting on the clinic bed, she seemed somewhat apologetic.
"I am here to apologize."
"Big sister, do you mean that your household guardian spirit truly exists?" Qin Hanyun just wanted to know the truth.
"That was passed down from my ancestors. Whether it's real or not, I actually don't know myself, but when I got married and came here, I brought it with me. I was worried that everyone would be superstitious about these things, so I never mentioned it. I just enshrined it in a room where no one would go."
But I know that Xiaoying is not an ordinary person. She knows things that others don't. This time, it seems that the trouble was caused by my guardian spirit. Whatever compensation you want, I can give it.
"Big sister, aren't you excited?"
Everyone was curious about the innkeeper's thoughts.
"Excited? Of course, I was excited. After all, the legends I've heard since childhood suddenly turned out to be real. How could I not be excited? But at my age, with no attachments, what good is excitement? It's better to focus on the present. Do you think the guardian spirit can make me immortal?"
The innkeeper's wife said with a smile.
"Let's not talk about irrelevant things. I'm very sorry about what happened to Chaochao's mother. Is there any way I can make it up to you?" the proprietress asked again.
Qin Hanyun did not speak; he couldn't make the decision on this matter.
Wen Ying also did not speak.
After learning about what had happened, Mama Zhaozhao didn't seem very angry or upset. "Sis, there's no need for compensation. After all, the great immortal did something I've always wanted to do and dealt with that scumbag. I'm very grateful to her, so let's call it even. Just, please, next time, don't do it without saying a word... We're just ordinary people, and to be honest, it's a bit frightening."
The landlady ultimately waived their room charges.
After the landlady left, Chaochao's mother and Qin Hanyun truly had mixed emotions.
Everything that happened today truly overturned their worldview.
The Great Immortal actually exists?
Does it really exist?
Can it really possess a human?
This matter is somewhat exciting but also a bit frightening and terrifying. If this deity is a good one, naturally there will be no problem. But what if it's a bad one?
"Dr. Wen, is what the landlady said true? I'm still a bit worried. What if... that person causes trouble?"
Wen Ying knew what they were afraid of.
"You guys stay at the clinic for a while, I'll go check on the landlady."
Wen Ying left the clinic and went to the inn. The innkeeper's wife was not particularly surprised to see her.
It seemed as if they had long known Wen Ying would come.
"Shall I take you up to have a look?"
Wen Ying nodded and followed the landlady up to the third floor.
The second floor contains the guest rooms, while the third floor, which isn't quite a full floor but more like an attic, is where the household deity is enshrined, making it generally inaccessible to most people.
"Dr. Wen, actually, I don't know if the great immortal truly exists," the landlady's attitude became serious as she directly addressed Wen Ying as Dr. Wen.
"When Chaochao's mom went out just now, I felt something was off about her, but I didn't realize it was... my fault. Later, I heard noises from the third floor, so I ran up and figured it out."
"Did she come back?"
The landlady shook her head, her smile tinged with bitterness, "I don't know."
From childhood to adulthood, over forty years, this was the first time she realized that guardian spirits truly existed. Her worldview was actually shattered.
It turns out that when Grandpa gave it to her back then, his words were not just to placate her.
But after so many years, why has the guardian spirit only appeared now?
She prayed and made offerings every day, but still, so many things went wrong at home, and even her son stopped coming back after going to college.
What exactly is the reason?
Shouldn't the household deity be protecting her family's well-being?
The landlady's emotions were somewhat complex, hard to tell if she was happy or disappointed, or perhaps something else.
Wen Ying heard the landlady's words and understood that she was telling the truth; the landlady herself was powerless.
"Is there any way to detect it?"