Without noticing the odd looks on everyone's faces, Song Yongming and his wife's urgency was nearly written all over their faces.
"Mr. Jiang, we really want to come and apologize to Master Jiang in person. Could you—could you let us see Master Jiang?"
Jiang Yucheng opened his mouth and, after a long moment, seemed to come to his senses, his tone a bit choked, "Xuxu isn't here."
At this, Song Yongming and his wife appeared flustered, repeatedly asking, "Has Master Jiang not come back yet? When will she return? Perhaps we can wait here?"
Inside the living room, all the Jiang family members exchanged brief, awkward glances. What were they to say? Since Xuxu had moved out, at least for today, she certainly wouldn't be coming back.
Song Yongming and his wife grew more anxious. Seeing the Jiang family remain silent only heightened their panic.
"Mr. Jiang!" they cried out.
Just as Jiang Yucheng was about to speak, Jiang Huai stepped forward. "Xuxu probably won't return today. If Uncle Song and Aunt Song are in a hurry, I can contact Xuxu on your behalf. If she's available, I can take you straight to her."
"That would be wonderful," Song Yongming said without a trace of politeness. "We'd really appreciate that."
Jiang Huai smiled and nodded, then turned and made a phone call. He soon returned and announced, "Xuxu says she's aware of your visit. She's setting off for the Song family now—she'll meet you there to talk directly."
Upon hearing that Guan Xuxu was already on her way to the Song family, Song Yongming and his wife were overjoyed. They didn't even bother exchanging pleasantries with the Jiang family; they practically rushed off to leave.
Seeing this, Jiang Huai immediately followed, "I'll take you both back."
Song Yongming didn't question it at all—Jiang Huai was only worried that his sister might suffer at the hands of the Song family given Song Yuli's current critical condition. He paid little attention to that.
It wasn't until the car slipped into the night that the Jiang family finally reacted.
"Do you think the Song family is in such a hurry to see Xuxu because something's happened to Miss Song?" asked Third Branch's Third Aunt uncertainly, her tone laced with obvious concern.
Jiang Yucheng's brows furrowed and his face grew grave.
"It must be a problem."
And it was very likely the very incident Xuxu had mentioned.
Moreover, the Song family's villa community isn't exactly near Silver River No. 1—the car ride took over half an hour before they arrived at the Song family's villa.
When the three arrived, Guan Xuxu was just reaching the front door.
Seeing a young girl dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, even though Song Yongming had already been told by his wife that this was the recently recovered eldest granddaughter of the Jiang family, he still couldn't help but feel uncertain about her excessively youthful and obedient appearance.
On the other hand, Mrs. Song, shedding her earlier polite detachment, looked at Guan Xuxu with eyes full of eagerness.
"Master Jiang, I acted rashly today. Thank you for still agreeing to come," Mrs. Song said.
Since Guan Xuxu had come over, it was clear she was here to help resolve the problem, and she made no attempt to display any airs of superiority.
"Come on, let's go inside," Guan Xuxu replied.
The Song couple wasted no time, promptly leading Guan Xuxu inside while explaining the situation.
"Every afternoon after her nap, Little Lirui goes out to the children's play area in the neighborhood. This morning, Master Jiang clearly warned us—if only I had taken him seriously—but I let Little Lirui go out anyway. Then, somehow, she disappeared halfway. At first I thought she'd been kidnapped…
"But it was only for about ten minutes before security found her near the fountain. I figured it was a false alarm, but not long after she returned home, she suddenly collapsed and, no matter how much we called her, she wouldn't wake up. The family doctor found nothing wrong…"
Mrs. Song's voice broke with a mix of anxiety and sorrow as she continued, "Later, when the doctor had no choice but to prepare to take Little Lirui to the hospital for further tests, while holding her I noticed something falling from her."
It was that very item—the protective talisman that Guan Xuxu had left when she departed. Originally, Mrs. Song had instructed someone to dispose of it, but Little Lirui, thinking it was fun, had secretly picked it up and hidden it on her person.
The result was that the talisman fell off her. At first, neither Mrs. Song nor the servants knew what it was; it was already reduced to black ash. Strangely, even though it had burned to ash, it still retained its original shape.
Later, it was the housekeeper who recognized it and alerted them.
It appeared unmistakably to be the talisman Guan Xuxu had left before departing.
Because Guan Xuxu's talismans all had a unique folding style, it wasn't hard to tell.
Mrs. Song later had Little Lirui examined and found no signs of burns or scalds—only that the talisman, which should have been made of yellow paper, had turned to black ash.
Being an intellectual and a materialist who never believed in ghosts or deities, Mrs. Song had no understanding of such matters.
It was only recently that Old Mrs. Song, who had begun to follow Taoism and understood a bit about its lore, speculated that the talisman had burned to ash because it had blocked some evil spirit. But since Little Lirui remained unconscious, it meant the malevolent force was still present. Thus, Old Mrs. Song said they should call in a master.
It wasn't until now that Mrs. Song remembered Guan Xuxu, and, worried that Guan Xuxu might hold a grudge for being turned away earlier, she purposely came over to apologize.
For the sake of her daughter's safety, the Song couple no longer cared about saving face.
Guan Xuxu could see that the Song family's concern for Song Yuli came from genuine care, and she spoke reassuringly, "Rest assured, I promised that Miss Song has a fate of enduring blessings. Even if she has lost some fortune, she will remain safe."
While Guan Xuxu was speaking, the group had already ascended to a room on the second floor of the villa.
Upon opening the door, they were immediately met by a burst of flame rushing straight at them.
Startled, the Song couple instinctively pulled Mrs. Song back, while Jiang Huai, who was behind, also tried to pull Guan Xuxu back. However, before he could act, Guan Xuxu simply raised her hand in a sweeping gesture.
The flames that had surged forward instantly vanished.
Before the Song couple could even express their astonishment at Guan Xuxu's action, they began to take in the scene inside the room.
Inside, in Song Yuli's room, a makeshift altar had been set up at some point without anyone noticing. In front of the altar stood a middle-aged man clad in a yellow Taoist robe. He held a peach-wood sword in one hand and was chanting as he occasionally swung the sword in the air.
The flames they had seen when they entered were the result of his ritual.
Even though they had suspected that their daughter had encountered something unclean, witnessing this overtly mystical scene made Song Yongming's temples throb with tension.
He then turned his gaze to the elderly lady in the room and, with some resignation, asked, "Mother, what is going on?"
Inside was the Song family's matriarch, a somewhat plump and affluent old lady who, upon hearing her son's words, hurried forward to explain, "Isn't it that Little Lirui encountered something filthy? I had someone call in a familiar master. Don't worry, the master said it wasn't a big deal. Once the ritual is complete, she'll wake up—and maybe she'll even become a bit smarter."
Mrs. Song, looking embarrassed, interjected, "Mother, didn't I say that Yongming and I would call for a master?"
Not wanting to trouble the two principals any further, and aware that having two masters over at once wouldn't be a good idea, Old Mrs. Song replied nonchalantly, "So what if we get more than one? I'm not that worried about our precious girl."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Guan Xuxu and Jiang Huai beside Mrs. Song. With a look of suspicion, she remarked, "Is this the master you summoned? How come it's still a girl?"
Her tone dripped with disdain.
Jiang Huai recognized Guan Xuxu immediately. The eldest granddaughter of the Jiang family—so the so-called master must not be him, but this little girl next to Mrs. Song.
He frowned slightly.
"Is this the master you found? How can it still be a girl?"
His words were laden with clear bias.
Guan Xuxu raised an eyebrow slightly.
Has this field now also become biased in favor of males?