During these past few days of patrolling,
besides apprehending some minor ghosts and resolving a few small incidents,
Jiang Lin, based on the information provided by Qiao Linglong, had indeed discovered several peculiar 'people'.
Ever since acquiring the 'Number One' perspective,
though Jiang Lin could see the normal appearance of people,
the hundreds of acupoints and numerous meridians within their bodies were all laid bare before his eyes.
And the few 'people' he had noticed, just as Qiao Linglong had said,
possessed human auras but gave off a strange feeling.
Most importantly, when Jiang Lin's gaze swept over them, he could clearly discern
that their internal meridians and acupoints were in disarray.
Furthermore, only a few were still functioning.
Were these... still human?
Jiang Lin frowned, his expression growing serious.
If not for this perspective, he might not have been able to discover the problem so quickly.
He would have, like other ghost envoys, felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint it.
"If no ghost envoys had ever discovered them, wouldn't these 'people' be able to blend into the human world indefinitely?"
"What is their purpose? How did they achieve this?"
Jiang Lin had many questions; this peculiar situation was a first for him.
After a moment of thought, he decided not to act rashly.
Instead, he first released several paper effigies to follow these 'people' from a distance.
One, to observe what these 'people' were doing.
Two, to see if he could uncover any other clues.
For instance, how they became like this.
Were the ones who attacked ghost envoys in league with them?
...
...
The human world, seven in the morning.
"Guoguo, wake up, it's time to eat."
Li Aiguo, as always, prepared breakfast early and then went to knock on his daughter's bedroom door.
The place they lived in was a two-bedroom apartment.
It wasn't large, but it was enough for the two of them.
A long time ago, Li Aiguo disliked doing housework.
But after his wife died in childbirth, he took over these chores.
Taking care of the child, tidying the house, working to earn money.
Though he hadn't done it perfectly, he had managed to raise his child.
"I'm up."
From the bedroom, Li Guoguo responded, then quickly put on her shoes.
She went to the washbasin and briefly washed her face.
Then she sat down at the table and began eating breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of an egg, a bowl of congee, a small plate of pickles, and two steamed buns.
She took a sip of the congee and then looked at Li Aiguo, who was sitting opposite her at the table.
"Dad, have you eaten?"
"I have," Li Aiguo said, picking up the egg from the table.
He lowered his head to peel it and then placed it in his daughter's bowl.
"I finished eating while you were still sleeping in."
"Eat quickly, and I'll take you to school after."
"Okay..."
Li Guoguo slurped her congee and took a bite of the egg.
For some reason, Li Guoguo felt her father had been a bit strange lately.
Before, after making meals, her father would always eat with her.
Sometimes, when time was tight, he would urge her on.
He would even eat the egg while walking on the way.
But recently,
her father always said he had eaten earlier and never ate with her.
Not only that, she hadn't even seen her father drink water.
Even when they were almost late for school, her father would just say:
'Take your time, no rush. I'll help you explain to the teacher when we get to school.'
And the night before last, when she got up to go to the toilet,
she saw a figure sitting in the living room, which almost scared her to death.
Only when the light was turned on did she realize it was her father.
When she asked why he wasn't sleeping, he only said he had slept too much during the day and couldn't sleep.
Besides these...
The most, most important thing!
Yesterday at breakfast, as usual, she complained to her father about classmates always taking her things.
The classmate behind her would always poke her with a pen during class.
In the past, when her father heard this, he would only say that they should prioritize harmony among classmates and that everyone was friends.
He would also say, if it was really unbearable, to tell the teacher.
But yesterday,
after hearing her, her father directly escorted her to the classroom.
And in front of all the classmates, he asked the teacher about the situation.
The teacher was also startled at that moment but remained relatively calm.
"Guoguo's father, actually there's nothing much to it. Children, squabbling is very normal."
"How is that normal?!"
Her father, who was usually easygoing, yelled at the teacher for the first time, "My daughter is being bullied, how is that normal?!"
"She's here to learn, not to be bullied by you!"
Her father looked at the students in the classroom.
He slammed his fist on the lectern, making a loud 'thump'.
He menacingly declared, "If anyone bullies my daughter again, I'll go to your parents with a knife and ask them how they raised their children!"
"Did you hear me!"
In the past, he always thought it was better to endure and prioritize harmony, prioritize harmony...
But that day, if he hadn't been saved and left this world a month later... how much would his daughter have been bullied?
...
That was the first time Li Guoguo saw her father get so angry.
At that moment, the teacher and classmates were stunned.
Li Guoguo was also stunned.
Suddenly, she felt very wronged, and tears streamed down her face.
"Guoguo, why are you crying? Did Dad scare you? Don't cry, don't cry..."
"It's Dad's fault."
Listening to her father's somewhat stiff words of comfort, Li Guoguo hugged him.
She shook her head, her tears falling even harder.
No.
Dad is not wrong.
Dad is very good.
...
...
"Guoguo, are you finished eating?"
In the living room, Li Aiguo saw that his daughter had almost finished eating and got up early.
He put the schoolbag on his daughter's back, changed his shoes, and waited by the door.
"I'm done!"
Li Guoguo quickly slurped the last mouthful of congee,
tidied her bowl, and placed it in the kitchen to soak.
Then she quickly changed her shoes and went out with her father.
Walking on the way to school, Li Guoguo thought about her father's strange behavior these past few days.
She couldn't help but look up and ask:
"Dad, has something happened at home recently?"
Li Aiguo's hand holding his daughter's froze, and he forced a smile.
"What could have happened? Did someone say something to you?"
Before his daughter could answer, he quickly changed the subject: "By the way, are any of your classmates still bullying you?"
Li Guoguo shook her head, "No, they were all scared by Dad."
"The teacher also changed the seating of the student behind me."
Li Aiguo: "That's good."
Before long, they arrived at the school entrance.
Li Aiguo let go of his daughter's hand, "Hurry in, listen carefully in class."
"Okay! Goodbye, Dad~"
"..."
After watching his daughter run into the school, Li Aiguo turned and left.
He first went to the construction site where he used to work, changing his leave of absence to resignation.
Upon hearing Li Aiguo's words, the foreman was a bit surprised.
"If you have family matters, you can come back after some time."
Li Aiguo shook his head, "No need, I'm busy lately."
"Don't you need to support your daughter? Will you drink the northwest wind if you don't work?"
The foreman intended to keep him.
After all, this person was diligent at work and did a good job.
It was hard to find such an honest person nowadays.
"No."
No matter what the foreman said, Li Aiguo remained firm in his decision.
The day before yesterday, his foot was pierced by rebar, and he didn't even realize it; it was a fellow worker who found out.
If he were to get injured somewhere else next time without noticing,
his fellow workers would probably be scared enough to call the police.
The foreman tried to persuade him for a while without success and could only say helplessly:
"Alright. But the wages can only be settled at the end of the month. I'll transfer it to your account then."
"Okay. Thank you, Brother Zhou," Li Aiguo said.
After leaving the construction site, Li Aiguo did not go home.
Instead, he took a taxi towards the university town.
There, lay his 'work'.
...