Chapter 143: Chapter 141: Is Chaochao Still Chaochao?

Half an hour later, Qin Hanyun hung up the phone, his expression grim.

Sister Miao had said the exact same things Wen Ying predicted. Whenever the topic of his sister came up, she would claim it was her fault, saying she was atoning for her past mistakes every single day.

If you didn’t know what she had done, you’d be moved by her words and think that Sister Miao truly saw them as family.

But if Sister Miao really was involved, then her words took on a completely different meaning.

She was indeed atoning, because she was indeed guilty.

’But were the true culprits behind my sister’s disappearance really my second uncle’s family?’

"Doctor Wen, I believe you." Qin Hanyun looked at Wen Ying with a complicated expression. Strange thoughts were swirling in his mind, and he was about to ask another question when Chaochao’s mother walked in carrying a red bag.

"But how did you know I would come here?" Qin Hanyun had never met Wen Ying, nor had he even heard her name before.

He figured Wen Ying didn’t know him either, which made the whole situation—her insisting he had to help Chaochao’s mother—feel rather strange.

"I didn’t," Wen Ying answered frankly.

"You didn’t know?" Now it was Qin Hanyun’s turn to be stunned.

’If Doctor Wen didn’t know, then why did she insist I had to help Chaochao’s mother?’

Qin Hanyun was completely baffled.

"You’re wondering why I roped you into helping Chaochao’s mother. To me, you’re a stranger, and so is she. But I’m fond of Chaochao, and her dying wish was for her mother to live a happy life. You’ve seen the state her mother is in. If she has nothing to tie her to this world, something could happen to her at any moment.

I’m a stranger, after all. I have my own life and can’t watch over her forever. The only way I could help was to find something to give her a reason to keep living. Your appearance just happened to fill that void."

Qin Hanyun finally understood. It didn’t matter whether he was present or not for Chaochao’s mother to see Chaochao.

Doctor Wen had said all that to ensure Chaochao’s mother would agree to his request for a DNA test. If she owed him a favor, she couldn’t refuse. Once the results came back, even if she couldn’t accept them right away, she would gradually come to understand that she still had family in this world.

And the way the Qin Family’s parents treated her and everything they did for her might move her, change her mind, and give her the will to live on—happily.

Eventually, she would have to move on from Chaochao’s death.

As he thought about this, Qin Hanyun couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt for his prejudice against Doctor Wen, for thinking she was a fraud.

’But can people really see... those things?’

It wasn’t unheard of for people in his social circle to seek out so-called "masters" for feng shui readings or other superstitious practices.

But Qin Hanyun had never believed in any of it. He felt that everything could be explained by science.

He had always disdained such unorthodox and dubious practices.

But now, the scales in his mind were beginning to tip.

’If Doctor Wen is really this capable, then it means things that science can’t explain—things that might even be called superstition—truly exist in this world.’

Sister Miao had never been to Xiangcheng, so there was no way she could know Wen Ying.

Besides, judging by her age, Wen Ying looked to be in her early twenties at most.

When his sister disappeared, Wen Ying must have just been born. How could she possibly have been involved?

’The only conclusion is that Doctor Wen is a true master with real abilities.’

"Doctor Wen, I bought the things you asked for!" Chaochao’s mother’s voice came from outside the clinic, and a moment later she ran inside.

She must have been rushing, as there were beads of sweat on her forehead.

Wen Ying looked over the items Chaochao’s mother had bought and told her to put them away safely. They would be needed on the day of the Ghost Festival.

The mere thought of seeing Chaochao again filled her with boundless energy.

"Mr. Qin, I need to stay here for a few more days. Will you be waiting here for me, or...?"

"Have you forgotten? I’m going to see Chaochao with you." A hint of affection flashed in Qin Hanyun’s eyes. It seemed he already had the answer he was looking for.

"Well, thank you then, Mr. Qin. If you want to see her too, you’ll probably need to buy some ’medicine.’"

"Doctor Wen, do you have the ’medicine’ I’ll need?" Qin Hanyun asked, playing along.

Wen Ying considered it. "You really want to see her?"

Qin Hanyun nodded. His original plan hadn’t included seeing the ghost, but when he thought about how this child was the most precious person in his sister’s life, he knew he had to. Even if what he saw wasn’t really Chaochao anymore.

That was why he’d deliberately told his sister he wanted to see Chaochao too. Chaochao’s mother hadn’t thought about that possibility.

She just figured that since he was helping, it was only natural for him to see the ghost as well.

Qin Hanyun watched as Wen Ying took a sheet of Yellow Paper from a drawer, pulled a ballpoint pen from her hair bun, and started scribbling on it.

When Qin Hanyun received the talisman paper, he saw that Wen Ying had drawn an eye on it...

Not some kind of glamorous, made-up eye, just a single, ordinary-looking large eye.

"This ’dose’ is effective for three hours. You’ll need to stick it between your eyebrows before Chaochao’s mother starts burning paper offerings for Chaochao."

Although he found it a bit strange for Doctor Wen to call the talisman paper "medicine," Qin Hanyun accepted her terminology.

’Masters are bound to have their little quirks, after all.’

As long as he understood what she meant, it was fine. He’d just stick the talisman paper between his eyebrows when the time came.

"Pay up."

Qin Hanyun scanned the QR code again and transferred a thousand yuan to Wen Ying.

But a few seconds later, a thought occurred to Qin Hanyun. ’If the world doesn’t work the way I always thought it did, if those things really exist... will my sister and I be safe?’

’If we can see them, they can probably see us too, right?’

’Does that mean we need more ’medicine’?’

"Doctor Wen, I’d like to buy two doses of protective ’medicine,’" Qin Hanyun said, doing his best to adopt her lingo.

"Sure. Pick something from the wooden shelf yourselves. Those three little wooden figures are something I carved for fun recently. They’re only three thousand yuan each—a bargain—but they’ll be enough to protect you on the day of the Ghost Festival."

Qin Hanyun walked over to the wooden shelf. Looking at the items on it, he easily found the little wooden figures Doctor Wen had mentioned...

’This little figure is certainly... minimalist. You couldn’t even call it a low-poly model, could you?’

The head was just a roughly head-shaped piece of wood, the body was a straight stick, and it had no arms or legs.

No nose, no mouth, no eyes, nothing.

’Doctor Wen’s carving skills are truly something else.’

Qin Hanyun took two of them, scanned the code to pay six thousand yuan, and handed one of the wooden figures to Chaochao’s mother.

Chaochao’s mother was about to refuse, but when she thought about being able to spend more time with Chaochao, she accepted it.

"There’s a convenience store across the street to the south. Go buy two red strings. I’ll string them for you for free, and you can wear them around your necks."

This time, Qin Hanyun went out to buy them.

Chaochao’s mother looked at Doctor Wen, her eyes shimmering with tears. "Doctor Wen, I have to ask... Is Chaochao still... Chaochao?"