On the road, Qi Quan noticed someone was following her—more than one party, it seemed. The three individuals angered by the "male-male romance" scandal were likely impatient to vent their fury.
The fish had taken the bait.
The car drove smoothly into the Su residence.
Su Linhai struggled to suppress his eagerness and instructed the servants to serve tea, but Qi Quan stopped him. "Let’s proceed directly with summoning the spirit."
This was why she disliked dealing with people—everything was filled with unnecessary formalities. She preferred to get things done quickly.
Su Linhai didn’t understand her thoughts, but he was deeply moved.
In the past, he had hired many masters at great expense, most of whom were unbearably arrogant. A master like Qi Quan, with such grace and magnanimity, was truly rare.
Su Rong’s remains were carefully preserved in a small crystal coffin. According to the forensic report, the child had been strangled to death, tied to a stone, and sunk into the river.
Later, his flesh decomposed, the ropes loosened, and his bones were buried in the riverbed.
He had died unjustly, and his lingering resentment kept his spirit trapped in the mortal world. Driven by his unresolved grievances and longing for his family, he had found his way to Su Linhai.
But Longjiang City was far from his burial site, so he couldn’t stay by his father’s side all the time.
Now, he was back with his parents. Though this grand house wasn’t the home he had once lived in, as long as his parents were here, nothing else mattered.
Others couldn’t see him, but Qi Quan could.
A small spirit danced excitedly around the crystal coffin, spinning in circles.
Suddenly, Su Rong’s gaze met Qi Quan’s.
He froze, then warily hid behind the other side of the coffin, trying to conceal himself while peeking at her with just his little head.
Qi Quan raised her right hand and drew a talisman in the air. Pale golden spiritual energy condensed into an invisible charm in the void. Before the little ghost could react, the intangible talisman imprinted onto his spirit. Flecks of golden light spread like fireflies, and his form gradually solidified.
He looked down in surprise at his chubby little hands.
The three members of the Su family were equally stunned, their worldviews completely overturned.
Mrs. Su was the first to recover. She rushed forward to embrace the bewildered Su Rong, but he instinctively dodged, avoiding her arms.
Her embrace empty, Mrs. Su’s heart ached violently. Choking back sobs, she asked, "Rongrong, do you blame Mommy? It’s my fault… I didn’t take good care of you. It’s all my fault…"
"Mommy," Su Rong suddenly called out, his round eyes lighting up with joy. "Mommy! You can see me?!"
Su Linhai also trembled as he spoke. "Rongrong, I’m Daddy."
"Daddy!" Su Rong leaped forward excitedly, pressing his small body against Su Linhai’s leg. Tilting his head up, he smiled radiantly.
Mrs. Su: "…"
She burst into louder sobs.
Su Linhai crouched down, arms outstretched, wanting to hold him but afraid he might shatter this beautiful dream.
"Rongrong, why don’t you hug Mommy?" he coaxed gently.
Su Rong blinked and turned to look at Mrs. Su. His voice was childish, but his expression was solemn. "But Mommy’s health is weak. If I get too close, I’ll hurt her."
That was why he always sought out his father whenever he could.
The Su family: "…"
Mrs. Su paused for a moment before abruptly pulling Su Rong’s tiny form into her arms, weeping uncontrollably.
After seventeen years, Su Rong was back in his mother’s warm embrace. Tears welled in his eyes—he didn’t want to harm her, but he couldn’t bear to let go.
Su Nuanuan stood to the side, quietly wiping her tears.
As the Su family teetered on the brink of a tearful reunion drama, Qi Quan had to intervene. "Time is limited. Say whatever you need to say quickly."
Su Linhai panicked. "Master Qi, what do you mean?"
"He’s lingered in the mortal world for too long. It’s time for him to reincarnate," Qi Quan replied calmly, accustomed to partings of life and death.
Mrs. Su tightened her embrace.
She knew reincarnation was the best outcome for Su Rong, but she couldn’t bear to let him go.
Suddenly, she remembered something. "Rongrong, go meet your little sister. Her name is Nuanuan."
Su Rong obediently turned to Su Nuanuan and spoke with childlike innocence. "Little Sister grew up so fast! When I left, she was still in Mommy’s tummy."
Back then, Mrs. Su had been pregnant with Su Nuanuan when she received the devastating news of Su Rong’s disappearance. The shock triggered premature labor, and she barely managed to deliver Su Nuanuan, leaving her health permanently weakened.
Su Nuanuan was a premature baby. If not for the Su family’s wealth and the meticulous care they provided, she wouldn’t have grown up so healthy.
"Little Sister," Su Rong said, adopting a grown-up tone, "from now on, it’s your job to take care of Mom and Dad, okay?"
Su Nuanuan laughed through her tears, her eyes red. "I will, Big Brother."
Calling a six-year-old child "Big Brother" felt strange, but the bond of blood was inexplicable. Even though they had never met before, she felt an instant connection to him.
"Su Rong, it’s time to go," Qi Quan said, like an emotionless executioner severing the Su family’s hard-won reunion.
Mrs. Su immediately broke down in tears. Su Linhai turned away to wipe his eyes, and Su Rong hung his head in silence.
Su Nuanuan suddenly had an idea. "But the murderer who killed Big Brother hasn’t been caught yet! He can’t leave just like that. Maybe… maybe after the culprit is brought to justice, then he can reincarnate?"
"Yes, yes!" Su Linhai quickly agreed. "Master Qi, can we wait until the killer is found before… before…"
He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
Qi Quan glanced at Su Rong. "Do you remember the people who harmed you? If you do, describe them, and we can have the police create a composite sketch."
Seventeen years ago, surveillance was scarce. But now, in the age of big data, as long as a suspect’s likeness could be drawn and they were still alive, finding them was only a matter of time.
Su Rong lifted his head, his expression no longer childlike—his eyes were deep and solemn. "They wore masks. I only remember their eyes and eyebrows. But if I saw them again, I’d recognize them."
A composite sketch wouldn’t be possible.
"They?" Su Linhai caught the word. "More than one? A group?"
Su Rong nodded. "The children they kidnapped… there were others besides me."
He had resisted fiercely, and in the struggle, the traffickers accidentally strangled him before dumping his body in a remote river.
The area was dense with graves, and the banyan trees there gathered yin energy. By coincidence, he became a conscious ghost.
Over the years, he had learned much about the modern world. His mind wasn’t that of a six-year-old—only his spirit’s appearance remained frozen at the moment of his death.
"Damn those traffickers!" Su Linhai cursed furiously.
Su Rong met Qi Quan’s gaze and asked earnestly, "I don’t want to reincarnate. I want to stay with Mom, Dad, and Little Sister. I want to find the killers myself. Can I?"
Qi Quan was silent for a moment. "Even if it comes at a cost?"
"I know that if I choose not to reincarnate now, I’ll never get another chance," Su Rong said firmly, having already thought it through. "I want to stay."
"No!" Mrs. Su immediately protested, her face filled with worry. "Rongrong, you must reincarnate!"
What’s so great about being a ghost?
Rongrong still had her next life and the life after that. No matter how much she couldn’t bear to part, she didn’t want her son to remain a ghost for eternity.
Su Linhai also urged, "Rongrong, you should move on to reincarnation."
"Mom, Dad, I’m not a child anymore. I know what I’m doing." Su Rong turned and knelt before them, kowtowing several times. "If I don’t see the murderer brought to justice with my own eyes, I won’t rest in peace. Besides, I haven’t had enough of being your son."
The couple burst into tears.
Su Nuanuan sniffled, her nose stuffy, and asked in a muffled voice, "Qi Quan, can you give my brother some more time? Let him stay until the killer is caught before he moves on?"
"If he doesn’t reincarnate soon, he’ll disappear entirely," Qi Quan explained. "There are limits to how long a spirit can linger in the mortal world. If not for the unique nature of his burial site, he would have vanished long ago."
"Then let’s rebury his bones—" Su Nuanuan blurted out but abruptly stopped herself.
That was the place where her brother had been murdered. How could she even think of letting him remain buried in such a grim and horrifying spot?
What was she saying?
Qi Quan shook her head. Now that the bones had been retrieved, returning them would be pointless.
"Master, please let me stay. I’m willing to bear the cost of forfeiting reincarnation," Su Rong said as he stood.
Qi Quan sighed inwardly. "But that’s only one of the consequences."
"Master, what other consequences are there?!" Su Linhai exclaimed in alarm.
Qi Quan didn’t answer him. Instead, she asked Su Rong, "Do you still wish to remain?"
"I do."
