At first light, Hạnh Nhi left the Trần family home.
Mạnh Ái was still groggy with sleep when Hạnh Nhi dragged her out the door.
“Where are we going?”
“Bạch Vân Village.”
“Now?”
“Yeah.”
“No breakfast?”
“No.”
Mạnh Ái stopped immediately.
“I’m not going.”
Hạnh Nhi turned around.
“Why?”
“If we don’t eat breakfast, I’m not going.”
Hạnh Nhi stared at her for a few seconds.
Then she took two coins from her pocket.
“Enough for pastries.”
Mạnh Ái looked at the two coins.
Then she looked at Hạnh Nhi.
“You really are poor.”
“Yeah.”
“This poor?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened to the money people paid you?”
“I sent it back to the Daoist sect.”
“And your own money?”
Hạnh Nhi pointed at the two coins.
“This is it.”
Mạnh Ái fell silent.
Then she took out her money pouch, pulled out a handful of loose silver, and placed it in Hạnh Nhi’s hand.
“Take it.”
Hạnh Nhi looked at her.
“What for?”
“Food.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Take it.”
“I have money.”
“You have two coins.”
“That’s enough.”
“Enough, my ass.”
Mạnh Ái stuffed the money into Hạnh Nhi’s pocket.
“From now on, I’m in charge of the money.”
“No.”
“Then what are you planning to eat?”
“Pastries.”
“What kind?”
“The cheapest kind.”
Mạnh Ái sighed.
“Fine. I’ll pay.”
Hạnh Nhi said nothing more.
But the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
Just a little.
Mạnh Ái saw it.
She immediately grinned.
“You smiled, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“You did!”
“No.”
“You did!”
“Walk faster.”
Bạch Vân Village lay more than ten miles from Thanh Hà Town.
The mountain road wound through bamboo forests.
The deeper they went, the thicker the fog became.
By noon, Mạnh Ái had begun to feel that something was wrong.
“Are we on the right road?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Sure.”
“Then why have I seen this tree three times already?”
Hạnh Nhi stopped.
She looked at the old tree beside the road.
An X-shaped knife mark had been carved into its trunk.
Hạnh Nhi reached out and touched it.
“It isn’t the tree.”
“What is it?”
“A formation.”
Mạnh Ái immediately looked around.
“Someone wants us to go in circles?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what do we do?”
Hạnh Nhi took a handful of rice from her cloth pouch.
She scattered it over the ground.
The grains fell in a line.
A moment later, some of them began to move.
They rolled in the opposite direction.
Hạnh Nhi followed their path with her eyes.
“We go this way.”
The two of them turned onto a narrow path.
After a few steps, Mạnh Ái stopped.
“Hạnh Nhi.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s someone there.”
A figure stood in the middle of the bamboo forest.
An old woman.
She wore brown clothes and held a bamboo basket.
The moment she saw them, she turned away.
Hạnh Nhi called out:
“Ma’am.”
The old woman stopped.
“What is it?”
“We’re looking for the lantern seller.”
The old woman’s expression changed immediately.
“I don’t know anyone like that.”
“You do.”
“I don’t.”
“Three years ago, the lantern seller saw a little girl from the Trần family.”
The old woman fell silent.
Hạnh Nhi took out a coin.
“We only need to ask a few questions.”
The old woman looked at the coin.
Then she looked at Hạnh Nhi.
Finally, she sighed.
“You shouldn’t be looking for her.”
“Why not?”
“She isn’t human anymore.”
A chill ran down Mạnh Ái’s spine.
“You mean that little girl?”
The old woman nodded.
“Three years ago, that child ran here.”
“She was carrying a red lantern.”
“The lantern seller saw her standing in the rain.”
“He asked her whom she was looking for.”
“She said...”
The old woman stopped.
Hạnh Nhi asked:
“What did she say?”
The old woman looked straight at her.
“She said she was looking for her mother.”
“What happened next?”
“The lantern seller took her home.”
“And then?”
“He died.”
Mạnh Ái swallowed.
“How?”
“He died by hanging in his shop.”
Hạnh Nhi looked at the old woman.
“Was there black mud under his fingernails?”
The old woman froze.
“How do you know?”
Hạnh Nhi did not answer.
Everything had finally connected.
The three deaths in Thanh Hà.
The lantern seller.
Trần Ngọc Lan.
They all shared the same sign.
Black mud.
Hạnh Nhi asked:
“Where is the lantern shop?”
The old woman pointed toward the end of the forest.
“At the end of this road.”
“But don’t go inside.”
“Why not?”
The old woman looked at Mạnh Ái.
“Because if this girl goes in...”
“She might not come back out.”
Mạnh Ái pointed at herself.
“Me?”
The old woman nodded.
“You have yin energy on you.”
Hạnh Nhi looked at Mạnh Ái’s wrist.
The red string was still there.
But beneath it...
The yin mark had spread almost to her elbow.
Hạnh Nhi immediately stepped forward.
“She’s right.”
Mạnh Ái looked at her.
“So I stay outside?”
“No.”
“You just said she was right.”
“But you still have to go.”
“Because that thing has chosen you.”
Mạnh Ái fell silent.
After a moment, she asked:
“Is there any way around it?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t be afraid.”
Mạnh Ái gave a dry laugh.
“That’s easy for you to say.”
The lantern shop stood at the end of the road.
Its signboard had rotted away.
Inside hung rows of old lanterns.
Red.
White.
Yellow.
But not one of them was lit.
The moment Hạnh Nhi stepped inside, she felt the heavy yin energy.
Mạnh Ái stayed close behind her.
“Is anyone here?”
No one answered.
She looked around.
“Hạnh Nhi.”
“Yeah.”
“These lanterns...”
“Don’t touch them.”
“Yeah.”
Mạnh Ái pulled her hand back.
A moment later, she noticed a notebook on the table.
Hạnh Nhi picked it up.
The first page recorded a date.
Three years ago.
The second page.
Two years ago.
The third page.
One year ago.
Hạnh Nhi flipped to the last page.
One line had been written in blood.
SEVEN PEOPLE ARE ENOUGH.
Below it was a name.
Trần Ngọc Lan.
Mạnh Ái’s face went pale.
“Wasn’t she already dead?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is her name here?”
Hạnh Nhi looked at the writing.
“Because this isn’t a list of the dead.”
“Then what is it?”
“A list of those who were chosen.”
At that exact moment...
A red lantern lit up by itself.
Mạnh Ái jumped.
“Hạnh Nhi!”
The second one lit.
Then the third.
The fourth.
The fifth.
The sixth.
The seventh.
The entire shop was instantly drenched in red light.
Hạnh Nhi drew her sword.
“Stay behind me.”
A child’s voice came from the back of the room.
“Dad...”
Trần Minh was not here.
But that voice...
It was the voice of his daughter.
Mạnh Ái looked at Hạnh Nhi.
“Where is the girl?”
Hạnh Nhi closed her eyes.
She listened.
Not with her ears.
With her qi.
A sob.
Very far away.
From beneath the ground.
“She’s below us.”
Hạnh Nhi slammed her peachwood sword into the floor.
Boom!
The wooden floor shattered.
Beneath it was another room.
A small coffin lay in the middle of it.
The sight made Mạnh Ái go cold.
“Don’t tell me...”
Hạnh Nhi climbed down.
She stood before the coffin.
Seven child-sized handprints marked the lid.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Hạnh Nhi touched the last handprint.
A voice rang out in her mind.
“Save me.”
“Save me from him.”
Hạnh Nhi turned around immediately.
Behind her...
A man in black Daoist robes stood there.
His face was still hidden in shadow.
But this time, Hạnh Nhi saw the silver ring.
“You.”
The man smiled.
“We finally meet.”
Hạnh Nhi raised her sword.
“Who are you?”
“Someone you should never have looked for.”
“How many people have you killed?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“What do you want?”
“I want what lies beneath Âm Giang.”
Hạnh Nhi’s voice turned cold.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I know.”
“You’ll open the gate.”
“Yes.”
“And whatever is on the other side will kill you.”
The man laughed.
“Maybe.”
“But at least I’ll get to see it.”
He raised his hand.
A black talisman shot straight toward Hạnh Nhi.
She immediately cut it in half with her sword.
Boom!
A burst of yin energy exploded.
Mạnh Ái was thrown to the ground.
“Hạnh Nhi!”
“Back!”
The man in black had vanished.
Only his echoing laughter remained.
Hạnh Nhi turned toward the coffin.
“There’s no time.”
She took out a yellow talisman.
She pressed it onto the lid.
“Heaven clear, earth bright.”
“By the command of the Nine Heavens.”
“Lost soul, return to your place.”
“Rise!”
Boom!
The coffin lid flew open.
There was no corpse inside.
Only a little girl.
About nine years old.
Her entire body was icy cold.
Her eyes were tightly shut.
She was still clutching a small red lantern.
Mạnh Ái ran over.
“Is she still alive?”
Hạnh Nhi placed two fingers against the girl’s neck.
A moment later...
She nodded.
“She is.”
Mạnh Ái let out a breath of relief.
“Thank goodness.”
But Hạnh Nhi did not smile.
“She doesn’t have much time.”
“Why?”
“Three years of being eroded by yin energy.”
“If we don’t get her back before sunset...”
“Then what?”
Hạnh Nhi looked at the girl.
“She’ll become something we have to exorcise.”
Mạnh Ái bit her lip.
“Then let’s take her back now.”
The two of them carried the girl out of the shop.
But the moment they stepped outside...
The entire bamboo forest began to shake at once.
The wind rose violently.
The bright sky suddenly darkened.
Thunder boomed.
Hạnh Nhi looked up.
A black vortex appeared in the clouds.
In the middle of it...
A red line of light slowly opened.
Mạnh Ái asked:
“What is that?”
Hạnh Nhi stared at it.
“The Gate of Âm Giang.”
“But you said it hadn’t opened yet.”
“I said it hadn’t opened in Thanh Hà.”
“What about here?”
Hạnh Nhi fell silent.
A drop of black liquid fell onto her hand.
Her skin immediately burned.
She looked up.
Inside the vortex, countless figures were staring down at them.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
All of them were the faces of the dead.
Hạnh Nhi immediately drew a red talisman.
“Run!”
Mạnh Ái ran with the girl in her arms.
Hạnh Nhi ran behind her.
Ghosts plunged down from the sky.
One.
Two.
Ten.
Hạnh Nhi hurled talismans nonstop.
“Wind!”
“Thunder!”
“Fire!”
Three spells in succession blasted the black figures apart.
But the more she struck them down...
The more of them appeared.
Mạnh Ái looked back.
“Hạnh Nhi!”
“Keep running!”
“I can’t run anymore!”
Hạnh Nhi looked at her.
Then at the girl in Mạnh Ái’s arms.
Finally, she looked at the vortex in the sky.
She understood.
This was not the real gate.
It was only a rift.
Someone was testing its power.
If the rift widened...
Both Thanh Hà and Bạch Vân would become dead land.
Hạnh Nhi stopped.
“You take the girl back.”
Mạnh Ái stared at her.
“What about you?”
“I’ll close the gate.”
“Are you crazy?”
“No.”
“You are!”
Mạnh Ái turned around.
“You really think you can close that thing by yourself?”
Hạnh Nhi looked at her.
“You don’t know magic.”
“But I have money.”
Mạnh Ái pulled a small signal flare from her pocket.
Hạnh Nhi stared at it.
“What is that?”
“A flare.”
“Why are you carrying that?”
“For hunting.”
“This is ghost hunting.”
“Then I’m learning.”
Mạnh Ái lit it.
An explosion shook the sky.
Red light shot straight into the air.
Hạnh Nhi looked at her.
Mạnh Ái grinned.
“You do your thing.”
“I’ll draw those things away.”
“No.”
“Trust me.”
Hạnh Nhi fell silent.
One second.
Two seconds.
Finally, she nodded.
“Fine.”
Mạnh Ái turned and ran.
As she ran, she shouted:
“Hey!”
“You ghosts!”
“Come over here!”
“I’m not scared of you!”
Hạnh Nhi watched the girl charge into the forest.
The corner of her mouth lifted.
“What a firecracker.”
Then Hạnh Nhi turned toward the sky.
She took out all the talismans she had left.
There weren’t many.
Only thirteen.
But she arranged them into a formation.
“Mao Mountain Daoist sect.”
“Disciple Hạnh Nhi.”
“Today, I borrow the qi of heaven and earth.”
“Close the yin gate.”
She bit her fingertip.
Using her blood, she drew across the peachwood sword.
Golden light erupted.
The vortex in the sky began to tremble.
A roar echoed down from within.
It was not a human voice.
Not a ghost’s voice.
It was the voice of something unimaginably ancient.
Hạnh Nhi raised her sword.
“Go back.”
“This is not a place you should come.”
She slashed downward.
A beam of sword light tore straight across the sky.
Boom!
The black vortex shattered.
One ghost after another was dragged back inside.
Crying.
Screaming.
Laughter.
They all merged into one horrible sound.
Then...
Silence.
The sky returned to normal.
Hạnh Nhi dropped to her knees.
A crack ran through the peachwood sword in her hand.
She panted.
“It’s closed.”
A voice sounded behind her.
“Impressive.”
Hạnh Nhi spun around immediately.
The man in black stood not far away.
The silver ring was still on his finger.
“But you only closed one rift.”
Hạnh Nhi rose to her feet.
“Next time, I’ll catch you.”
He smiled.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Black smoke enveloped his body.
Before disappearing, he left them with one sentence:
“We’ll meet again at the Tô family home.”
Hạnh Nhi froze.
“The Tô family?”
But he had already vanished.
By afternoon, Hạnh Nhi and Mạnh Ái had brought the girl back to Thanh Hà.
The moment Trần Minh saw his daughter, he burst into tears.
He hugged the girl tightly.
“Tiểu Vũ!”
The girl opened her eyes.
“Dad...”
Just two words.
Trần Minh wept silently.
Hạnh Nhi stood in the distance.
Mạnh Ái walked over.
“Will she survive?”
“Yes.”
“What about the female ghost?”
Hạnh Nhi looked at the antique mirror.
“Ngọc Lan can leave too.”
She took out a white talisman.
She pressed it onto the mirror.
The figure of a woman appeared.
Trần Ngọc Lan.
This time, her face was no longer ferocious.
She looked at her husband.
Then at her daughter.
Tears streamed down her face.
“Thank you.”
Hạnh Nhi gave a slight nod.
“Go.”
The figure slowly faded.
The antique mirror shattered into pieces.
The yin energy in the house vanished as well.
The final case had ended.
But before leaving, Hạnh Nhi noticed something beneath the table.
A small scrap of paper.
There were only four words on it.
TÔ FAMILY – KINH THÀNH.
Hạnh Nhi stared at it for a long time.
Mạnh Ái approached curiously.
“What is it?”
Hạnh Nhi handed it to her.
Mạnh Ái finished reading.
“The Tô family?”
“Yeah.”
“Another ghost?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Are we going?”
Hạnh Nhi looked at the two coins remaining in her pocket.
Then she looked at Mạnh Ái.
“You’re paying for the journey?”
Mạnh Ái laughed.
“Of course.”
Hạnh Nhi nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
Mạnh Ái linked her arm with Hạnh Nhi’s.
“Come on!”
Hạnh Nhi looked at the arm pulling her along.
“Let go.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Starting today, I’m officially following you.”
“I haven’t agreed.”
“I’ve already decided.”
Hạnh Nhi said nothing more.
The two of them walked out of Thanh Hà.
No one knew that hundreds of miles away...
In an elegant room in the Tô family home, a young man in a suit stood before the window.
On the table sat a wooden box.
Inside the box...
There was a black talisman.
A silver ring.
And a family photograph with half the faces burned away.
The young man stared at the talisman for a long time.
Then he said:
“Father.”
“I think we should invite a Daoist.”
From outside the door, his mother’s trembling voice answered:
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because...”
“He said so.”
“Mao Mountain must not find out.”
The young man fell silent.
At that exact moment...
The black talisman on the table caught fire by itself.
A line of red writing appeared.
HẠNH NHI HAS ARRIVED.
The young man stared at the words.
For the first time in many years...
Tô Tuấn felt a chill run down his spine.
And somewhere far away, Hạnh Nhi suddenly stopped walking.
She looked north.
For some reason...
She had a feeling her next journey would not be as simple as the case in Thanh Hà.
Because this time...
The enemy knew her name.
End of Volume I – The Thanh Hà Case.
Volume II: The Tô Family’s Cursed Talisman – begins.