Step by step, a gentle breeze leads to a smooth path

Chapter 397 Ghostly Encounter

Song Wanli jumped up and retorted. That wandering monk was his benefactor, and he couldn't believe it. "Impossible, right? That master is highly respected and shouldn't do such a bad thing. It was only after listening to his guidance that I began to cultivate my mind and character, and gradually changed. Only then did my family become harmonious and happy."

"Then think about it again. What did he say to you? You can know a person's face but not their heart. What if he reminded you of everything out of guilt?" Gao Haoran didn't believe it.

"Okay, let me think, let me think some more..." Song Wanli glanced at Ting Nan. Since it concerned his daughter, even important people had to be put aside. He walked to the side and tried hard to recall, hoping to come up with some clues.

Zheng Ruidong said from the side, "Master, do you think that little sister's invisible bead might be an energy bead? Otherwise, why can't I ever beat her?"

Yali listened, stunned. "Does such a mysterious thing really exist in this world? Does that mean that when your destined lover appears, you'll see this red bead and then you'll be happily together?"

"What kind of mess is this?" Song Tingnan sighed, "You two should read less martial arts and romance novels in the future. I'm neither a martial arts master nor Cinderella."

Undeterred, Song Yali asked, "Then what will you do, sister? Grow old alone?"

"It's like I'm making cold scrambled eggs. I don't necessarily want to get married. I don't understand this, so I'll just let it be." Song Tingnan said calmly.

Song Wanli became anxious, "How can that be? I remember now, I remember now, the master met Tingnan that time and he said 'two negatives make a positive'."

"'Two negatives make a positive'?" Gao Haoran asked, "How old was Tingnan when this happened?"

"Seven years old, I think? My family was a complete mess back then. We had the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled in our family. I had no choice but to let Tingnan start running errands." Song Wanli felt extremely guilty when he talked about how Tingnan was so young and had to run errands everywhere.

Jiang Qianqian looked worried. When they met Tingnan, he already possessed martial arts skills, and he hadn't talked about his past, so she was too embarrassed to ask. "Tingnan, did you encounter anything unusual while you were running your goods?"

"Yeah, I've been chased and bitten by dogs before, so I'm pretty afraid of them now."

"what about others?"

“The others…” Ting Nan thought about it seriously, “There really is a mysterious thing. I remember one day I had a few arguments with my dad, and I didn’t eat breakfast. We set off a bit early and arrived at Bajiao Village very quickly.”

There was a grove of trees there, not many people walked there, and if you went straight through it, you would get to the county town very quickly. Although I was a little scared, I thought it would save a lot of time, and I had walked that road before, so I took it anyway.

That time, however, there was a thick fog in the forest, and I couldn't find my way out. What should have been a ten-minute walk took me almost an hour; the path seemed to be going in circles. I was terrified. Remembering what my grandmother had said—to walk in one direction—I headed east, singing as I went.

After walking for another half hour, I was exhausted, hungry, and dizzy, but I didn't dare stop. Finally, I met an old man herding cattle. The cows mooed, and the fog lifted. The old man asked me whose child I was and where I was going. He gave me directions, and I quickly made my way out.

Everyone listened quietly. Song Xiuying was already sobbing uncontrollably. "Tingnan, my child, you must have been terrified at the time, right? It's all my fault. Why didn't you mention any of this before? You must have encountered a ghost."

Her daughter suffered terribly as a child; there were countless similar incidents, so Tingnan didn't take them seriously and never complained to her.

“Tingnan…” Song Wanli’s voice choked with emotion, “I’m sorry, Tingnan, you came back so early that time, and I scolded you for being lazy, for not selling a single item. Who knew you’d develop a high fever that night, and that’s when I…”