Lin Yan returned to the house next to the school. After eating, she organized the information about Zhang Lili, preparing to report it to the bureau tomorrow.
Because Lin Yan had already registered years ago, she held a position in the Special Events Handling Bureau. Although she was considered an auxiliary staff member due to her young age, only receiving a monthly subsidy of 500 yuan, her pay was based on tasks. Thus, she had accumulated some assets.
"What are these children thinking these days? Confucius himself said, 'Revere spirits and gods and keep them at a distance.' Why are they actively seeking them out!"
Wei Wanru found it hard to comprehend. In her era, women were not allowed to go out freely; even if they did, they had to be accompanied by their elders. She had longed to study in a school like her brother and see the outside world. With such excellent conditions available to children now, why couldn't they cherish them and learn more?
"Perhaps they are too idle," or maybe life feels too dull, and they are seeking excitement. More likely, it's pure curiosity. Many people are curious about the unknown, but when they truly get close, they find they cannot bear the consequences.
"Indeed." Wei Wanru felt that Lin Yan was sensible, at least not exhibiting any adolescent or rebellious phases that she was aware of.
The next morning, Lin Yan arrived at the Special Events Handling Bureau. The department was located upstairs in a department store. With many people coming and going downstairs, Lin Yan's arrival went unnoticed.
After Lin Yan reported the incident, she waited for the task to be entered into the system, and then she would accept it.
"Little Celestial Master Lin truly supports our work." Most people would resolve such matters directly instead of reporting them to the bureau.
Lin Yan merely pursed her lips and smiled, not responding. She couldn't engage with that statement, as many people didn't report to the bureau, and some even defied its authority. Saying anything would offend many people!
"Oh, right, Little Celestial Master Lin, there's a task nearby that's quite close to you. Would you like to accept it too?"
"What task?" Lin Yan became interested.
"It's a resident in Jinxiu Residential Area. They claim there's some disturbance in their home, possibly something unclean." She flipped through the files. "This residential area is quite close to where you live, and it seems relatively simple."
"Forget it. At my age, people won't trust me. Since it's a simple task, let the regular personnel from the bureau handle it with talismans." Lin Yan understood that her appearance was still unconvincing. Even if the task was simple, her age would complicate it.
After the staff member finished registering, she left. On her way down, she bought some snacks and daily necessities, carrying them back.
In the afternoon, Lin Yan carried a bag of fruit and snacks to the hospital.
"Classmate Lin Yan, you're here!" Zhang Lili had been looking at the hospital room door all afternoon. Seeing Lin Yan actually arrive, she was very excited.
"Lie down quickly, you child. How can you be so careless when you're so badly injured?" Zhang Lili's mother quickly stopped her daughter's movement.
Lin Yan observed that besides the woman who appeared to be Zhang Lili's mother, there were two other girls of similar age to Zhang Lili in the room. Their complexions were not good, indicating they hadn't had a pleasant few days either.
"And who is this?" Zhang Lili's mother asked her daughter.
"This is my junior schoolmate, she..." Zhang Lili excitedly began to explain Lin Yan's identity to her mother.
"Hello, Auntie. I am a friend of senior schoolmate Lili. I heard she was injured and came to see her." Lin Yan placed the snacks and fruit she brought onto the bedside cabinet.
"Thank you, please sit. I'll go wash some fruit for you." She gestured for Lin Yan to sit and then picked up a bag of fruit, intending to wash it at the sink.
"Junior schoolmate Lin, I've already told my mom about this. You can directly tell her your identity." Zhang Lili explained to Lin Yan, "These two are the friends I was with that day. Some things have happened to them in the past few days as well."
Lin Yan looked at the other two by the bedside. Zhang Lili introduced them: her friend Jia Yi and Wen Ya. In their accounts, they had been having nightmares for days, feeling like someone was standing by their beds. However, they hadn't encountered anything like Zhang Lili's experience. They attended different schools. Upon returning home on Friday and learning about Zhang Lili's incident, they thought of themselves and immediately came to see her.
Lin Yan knew they likely weren't in serious trouble. The Yin energy on them was faint; they were merely startled. She took out two protective talismans from her bag and handed them to the two girls.
"You have been affected. Keep these talismans with you at all times, except when bathing. Sunbathe more these next few days to replenish your Yang energy."
The two girls had already learned about Lin Yan's abilities from Zhang Lili and gratefully accepted the talismans.
"Thank you, junior schoolmate Lin. Is this expensive? How much do I need to pay?" they asked somewhat sheepishly.
"There's no need to pay. Senior schoolmate Lili and I are classmates, so just take them." Lin Yan waved her hand.
"That won't do. We can't accept your things for free." The girl named Wen Ya took out money from her pocket. "It's not much, but it's all the money I have."
"Really, you don't have to," but Lin Yan saw her determination and took a 20-yuan bill from her hand. The other girl, Jia Yi, looked displeased at her action, but seeing Lin Yan only take twenty yuan, she quickly took out two 10-yuan bills from her pocket and handed them to Lin Yan.
"You must take it, you must take it!" Jia Yi pressed the two ten-yuan notes into Lin Yan's hand. Lin Yan didn't fuss and simply put the forty yuan into her pocket.
"It might be dangerous here at night. Why don't you leave now?" Lin Yan glanced at the sky.
"Yes, yes. Your home isn't close to this hospital, so it's best you go back first." Zhang Lili felt she had already burdened her friends. Now that the ghost wasn't focusing its attention on them, she was already relieved. Knowing her friends were only startled and otherwise fine, she didn't want to implicate them further.
"Then we'll be going now." Jia Yi and Wen Ya understood they couldn't help much by staying. After securing their talismans, they left the hospital room. At the door of the room, they bid farewell to Zhang's mother and left together.