"It sure was oppressive. Every time it moved, I got more tense. My face went numb just now." Having left that environment, Chen Yinghe recovered quite quickly, after all there were more people around now. "Thanks Zhenzhen."

"Mm, no problem." Yu Zhenzhen said goodbye to her, growing even more curious. What Chen Yinghe encountered was more dramatic than her nightmare. Could there really be something in their studio?

......

"My mom will probably be back soon. How about I make you some wonton?" Tan Xiao looked in the fridge and poked his head out from behind the fridge door to ask Kong Xuan.

Who taught him to tilt his head like that when looking at someone!

Kong Xuan calmly said, "No need, I'm not very hungry."

Strange, how could Kong Xuan not want to eat. Tan Xiao looked at him in surprise, "Are you angry?" What was he angry about this time? Could he be angry that the class monitor deceived him?

Kong Xuan: "..."

Kong Xuan wasn't angry. Now that schoolwork was getting more intense by the day, if Tan Xiao had to cook something after coming back... Although this was his responsibility as a shaman...

And this reason felt like it would be mocked by Tan Xiao if said out loud, or be met with skepticism like just now, questioning if he was being sarcastic.

Tan Xiao was still asking, "Did my mom secretly eat something?"

Kong Xuan stood up, "You, teach me how to cook wonton!"

"...Oh, okay." Tan Xiao took the wonton out of the freezer, not knowing why Kong Xuan suddenly had the whim to cook. He counted the wontons, planning to make them according to Kong Xuan's usual appetite.

Kong Xuan suddenly said, "How many will you eat?"

It took Tan Xiao a couple seconds to react to what he meant. "You're cooking for me?"

Kong Xuan stared at the wontons without speaking. How could he admit this outright? It would seem like he was deliberately trying to please him.

Tan Xiao's mind turned and he understood. He separated them into two bowls. "The great god has gone to the trouble. Then you boil the water."

Kong Xuan noticed that Tan Xiao didn't question him and breathed a sigh of relief. He walked to the stove with his head held high, one hand holding up the sleeve of the other. He gently picked up the small pot and poured water into it.

After filling it, he pinched the lid with his fingers and placed it back, then single-handedly lifted the pot and placed it on the stove with ease and flair. He snapped his fingers and the stove fire ignited.

Tan Xiao glanced at Kong Xuan in surprise. Impressive, even boiling water could be so elegant?

Kong Xuan tried not to look to the side, but he had already noticed Tan Xiao looking at him. Hahaha!!

Kong Xuan folded his arms and stared at the fire, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

After all, he had seen Tan Xiao cook many times. When the water boiled, Kong Xuan very skillfully lifted the lid and guided the wonton into the pot, one, two, three... Tsk, the last one went in a little too fast!

But Tan Xiao probably didn't notice.

"Delicious, as expected of wonton personally boiled by the great god." Tan Xiao said with a smile, seeing that Kong Xuan's hand, which had been playing with the spoon, finally started scooping to eat.

"Sweetie Xiao--" Tan Chunying's voice came from outside.

Kong Xuan's face darkened a little, but he quickly thought of something. After all, she was Tan Xiao's mother. Alas, blood and kinship, even though she was usually so presumptuous...

Kong Xuan said, "Why don't we share some with Auntie?"

Tan Xiao: "Which Auntie?"

Kong Xuan: "..."

Tan Xiao almost spat out: "You mean my mom? Why would you want to give food to her?"

What kind of tone is this, Kong Xuan glared at him with phoenix eyes and slowly said, "I have always had great respect for Auntie."

Tan Xiao: "..."

Who are you trying to make laugh to death, Tan Xiao picked up the bowl: "Oh no, we still have class, eat it all ourselves."

Then don't blame me. Kong Xuan smugly picked up his bowl too, watching Tan Xiao finish a whole bowl.

......

On Friday, as soon as Tan Xiao went to school, Yu Zhenzhen pulled him aside to consult about some spirit issues, telling him about what happened to her friend.

After all, Tan Xiao was at least a little more professional than them, and he must have heard more ghost stories than her, with connections even in the funeral industry. And Tan Xiao often debunked rumors, so maybe he had another scientific perspective.

"Tan Xiao, this is how it is. The spell you told Lin Yang before, she said it really worked. Do you think there is really something unclean?"

Lin Yang, who was beside them, immediately said, "It must be unclean. Don't you know that there used to be a shooting range of Nanchu beside your friend's studio?"

"What?!" Yu Zhenzhen often stayed in another province when she was young, how could she know about this old news from before she was born.

"My mom said that it used to be a place for executing death row inmates. My mom and others even went to watch public trials. Later it was demolished and a mall was built. But the mall owners kept having accidents, running out of money, getting injured. Several owners were changed. A master suggested opening a police station or bank there, so after a bank opened, it was finally resolved. But, local people still look down on this place."

Lin Yang thought for a moment, "You said your friend is from the studio, and studios have a lot of plaster statues. Could it be that a wandering spirit has possessed them? Isn't it said that objects like dolls are easily possessed?"

Yu Zhenzhen directly hugged herself and chanted a spell: "Peacock arrives, peacock arrives..."

"It's arrived, arrived." Tan Xiao thought for a moment and said, "There are more snakes and insects around the Dragon Boat Festival. Didn't she suspect it was a mouse at first? Why not suspect other animals then. And since your friend said chanting the spell worked, then there's no need to worry, right? Sometimes belief is more important."

He glanced at Kong Xuan.

Kong Xuan's voice reciting the text became even louder.

God, my ears hurt. Yu Zhenzhen didn't dare cover her ears. "...That's true, I'll tell her to chant the spell more often."

It seemed that what Tan Xiao said still made some sense. If there really were spirits, then the spell would work. If not, it would still have a psychological effect. Anyway, it wouldn't hurt.

Yu Zhenzhen was always dragged to do work and had no time all day. She only told Chen Yinghe to chant the spell often. When the afternoon class was over, they needed to attend evening self-study, but Chen Yinghe didn't need to. The evening was their painting time.

Chen Yinghe didn't go to the studio right away, but snuck into No. 1 Middle School.

Today, when the studio assistant went, she found that all the still life fruits had been eaten, and the easels had been moved. And as long as it was tidied up, as long as she left for a while, it would become messy again.

The assistant thought someone was playing a prank when he wasn't there, and even posted it in the WeChat group to condemn it.

When Chen Yinghe saw it, she was sweating again. After thinking about it, she ran to No. 1 Middle School to ask for advice in person.

Yu Zhenzhen called Tan Xiao out and introduced him to her girlfriend she had mentioned. "That thing in their studio seems very strange today too. She's still very scared. Can you tell her face to face?"

"Master!" Because chanting the spell worked, Chen Yinghe felt that Tan Xiao was somewhat reliable. Anyway, he knew more than her. Seeing that he also had talismans on his body, he was even more trustworthy.

"Would you be willing to sell me a talisman... Ah, it would be best if you could perform a ritual to purify it. Zhenzhen's divination said it was a male ghost!"

Tan Xiao: "..."

In fact, Tan Xiao had already casually reported this matter to the Bureau 404, and they said they would send a grid member to check if there was a problem.

Moreover, classmates usually treated Tan Xiao as a shaman, so he would joke about performing rituals without hesitation, and could even teach Teacher Zhu's family to call back souls.

But when Chen Yinghe really ran to the school to ask like this, how could he grandly acknowledge it? He would be called in by the teacher later. Just like when Lin Yang saw a ghost at school before, he didn't dare to say it directly.

"I can give you talismans, but I don't guarantee the effect. These are all from around our family." Tan Xiao thought, let's just muddle through for now. There was only a fine line between inheriting folk customs and spreading superstition on campus.

"Don't be anxious. Maybe it's just an accident and will be resolved soon?" As far as he knew, the Bureau 404 placed great emphasis on investigating and handling matters involving minors.

Chen Yinghe didn't know about Tan Xiao's little struggle. She only knew that the spells Tan Xiao passed on were effective. How could he be so modest: "I heard from Zhenzhen that there used to be an execution ground next to our studio!" How could there not be wandering spirits with this?

"Our school's back hill used to be a cemetery. Your studio has been built for so long, if something was going to happen, it would have happened long ago." Tan Xiao pointed to the back. This was also old news that he didn't like to talk about usually when nothing happened.

For a moment, the expressions of Chen Yinghe and Yu Zhenzhen both cracked. Chen Yinghe even looked at Yu Zhenzhen: "Then yours is even more powerful."

"..." Yu Zhenzhen said, "No, explain the cemetery in detail??"

"Cemetery land is cheap, what's the big deal?" Tan Xiao took a talisman from his string and handed it to Chen Yinghe, "Here, if you're scared, just recite it a few more times."

"Thank you, but now our studio also has a problem. I mean, can we directly perform an exorcism or purification ritual? I can pay you." Chen Yinghe thought about the other students and teachers in the studio. She could go elsewhere to paint, but what about the studio?

Tan Xiao glanced at the students and teachers passing by nearby, "...I don't know the rituals, and it's not good to take private orders."

Chen Yinghe said softly, "Didn't Zhenzhen say you learned it before? So can you take the order or not?" Or did she have to ask his family elders?

Tan Xiao solemnly corrected her, "I did learn, but what I learned is not called a ritual, it's called a program, the kind that has participated in cultural performances inside and outside the province many times."

Chen Yinghe: "..."