Chapter 117: Hidden Virtue

After my repeated requests, Zhang Bin finally led me into the construction site.He warned me not to say I was there for Feng Shui purposes—after all, a serious accident had just been narrowly avoided. If he, as a project leader, tried to push the blame onto Feng Shui, people would accuse him of shirking responsibility.

In truth, bridges hold immense importance in Feng Shui.If built correctly, they can invite wealth, noble benefactors, and serve both scholars and warriors well.If poorly placed, they become harbingers of disaster.Cars and pedestrians on bridges are seen as a form of "artificial water" in Feng Shui—capable of bringing fortune or calamity.Especially when a tomb lies beneath the bridge—the restless dead become a source of malevolence.That's why before major construction, locals are advised to relocate ancestral graves.

Also, not every ghost encountered is a vengeful spirit.Zhang Bin told me that thankfully, there'd been no casualties so far—just a few bumps and bruises.As for today's incident, I suspect the child ghost sensed danger from me, and lashed out instinctively.

"Kid, what do you see?" Zhang Bin whispered.

I pointed to a freshly dug pier foundation."Was there a grave unearthed here recently?"

He blinked. "Yes! How did you know? Last month, we dug it up around noon—had city sanitation haul it away immediately."

Behind him, I saw the ghost girl standing silently—expression cold and eerie, eyes locked on me.Zhang Bin's Yang energy was clearly low; he'd been plagued by bad luck lately.

I asked Zhang Bin to lead me to the exact spot where the grave had been disturbed.

Since it was lunchtime and work was on hold, the site was deserted. He pointed to a shallow pit.

"There. That's where we dug it up. You're not saying... this place is haunted?"

The ghost girl stared at me, visibly wary.I smiled gently at her.

"Don't worry. I'm just here to look. I won't hurt you."

"What? Kid, who are you talking to?" Zhang Bin looked around nervously.

Since a grave had been dug up, they had slightly shifted the bridge's position—but if a bridge sits directly over a grave, it becomes a symbol of eternal oppression.Lack of sunlight, excessive Yin energy—it's unbearable even for ghosts.They prefer balanced spaces where Yin and Yang coexist in harmony.

"Who were you talking to just now? Why does my back feel cold?" he asked, even more worried.

"Just stay close and follow my lead."

I crouched to inspect the disturbed burial mound, used a stick to poke around, and uncovered part of a femur.Zhang Bin's face went pale.His teeth chattered as he whispered, "Master, is this really a ghost encounter?"

I didn't touch the bone.Instead, I looked at the ghost girl behind him and said:

"Enough already. This land doesn't belong to you anymore. It's been taken by national destiny—they're building roads and bridges. Your grave has been claimed by Heaven's design."

(Note: "Guo Yun" or "national destiny" refers to a higher will—anything that obstructs development is considered a hindrance to this mandate.)

"No! This is my home. I won't leave! If I go, my mom won't find me!"She finally spoke—her voice was delicate, dressed in clothing from the 1960s or 70s.

She glared at Zhang Bin, her voice rising.

"And this uncle is so mean! He bullied me! I didn't kill him, and yet he brings someone to catch me? He's the one who deserves to die!"

So she was a Clinging Soul (痴魂).

This kind of spirit lingers due to unfulfilled wishes or regrets in life—such as a dying elder never told the truth about their illness, or a child promised something that never came to pass.

Clearly, her parents must've told her they'd return—and she'd waited here ever since.

Pitiful, really.

These spirits can't reincarnate until their wish is fulfilled.But it's been decades. Who knows if her parents are even still alive?

She also claimed Zhang Bin had bullied her. That seemed unlikely—he was just a regular guy.

I took a breath.

"Don't cause trouble. The project must go on. You haven't harmed anyone, so today I'll spare you."

She planted her hands on her hips, indignant."You're so unfair! They bullied me! Leave—I'm waiting for my mom!"

Zhang Bin trembled behind me."What's going on?"

"There's a child spirit haunting you," I said. "She says you bullied her, and refuses to leave her home."

"There's… really a ghost?"

I spread my hands. What do you think?

He squatted down like a sifter, shaking.

"Master, I swear—I did nothing! Please help me!"

I turned to the girl. "What will it take for you to move on?"

She sniffled."My remains were dumped at the incineration plant. It smells horrible—I hate it.Help me find my mom. Retrieve my bones. And make this uncle apologize.He peed on my home, you know! I've been pestering him lightly for days!"

This was a tall order.

She wasn't an evil ghost—just a Clinging Soul.Helping her reincarnate would be an act of virtue.

But how to find someone after decades?

I told Zhang Bin everything.To my surprise, he said, "If we really find her parents, that's all it'll take?"

That I could promise.A Clinging Soul only needs closure.

He offered to help search—his wife worked at the local household registry office.Nowadays, with digitized records, as long as she hadn't left Feng Tian, it'd be doable.Especially with public housing relocations, the search area was manageable.

The girl remembered her parents' names and ages clearly.I relayed them to Zhang Bin.

Ordinary people can't speak to spirits unless they're dreaming or severely weakened.That's why I acted as the medium.

Zhang Bin respectfully kowtowed three times to her.It's a Chinese tradition: the dead are sacred.I noticed his Yang energy slowly brightening.

That's how you know an unsettled spirit is haunting you:You suffer constant bad luck, bleed for no reason, children cry around you, animals flee.

He got moving right away—calls flew fast.Two hours later, he found the address.

He rushed to the incinerator and retrieved the bones before they were burned.

When he returned, he said he nearly fell into the furnace himself out of desperation.

That afternoon, we visited the address.

A young man in his 30s answered. "Yes?"

I asked for the names of his parents.He frowned. "How do you know them?"

Before I could explain, Zhang Bin got emotional and told the full story.

The man led us inside.

An elderly blind woman sat within, asking, "Who's here?"

As soon as we mentioned the little girl, she burst into tears.

She grabbed my hand, sobbing, "Is my baby alright? What happened? I failed her…"

The man rushed to hold his mother and shouted at us:

"Get out! Both of you! My mother's heart is weak—if something happens, I'll sue!"

I hurriedly said:

"Auntie—your daughter can't reincarnate. She's waiting to see you one last time. Just one meeting, and she'll be free."

"Didn't you hear me? Get lost!" the man shouted.

But the old woman hugged her son and pleaded,"Let me go. It's been so many years. I owe her this."She cried again.

Zhang Bin and I exchanged glances—thankfully, she agreed.Otherwise, we'd be stuck.

I also hoped this act of merit (阴德) might balance my karmic scale—If I fail to find the Nine Dragon Gate within two years and my life runs out… I'm done for.

We helped the old lady downstairs.Her husband had died last year, and her blindness was due to grief-induced complications.

She wept softly the whole way in the car.

I sighed.Who wouldn't cry knowing their child was trapped in limbo?

When we reached the bridge site, it was past 7 PM.The girl's remains had already been placed back in the pit.

I heard her giggling like silver bells.

I shouted toward the sky:"Li Lihong! Your mother is here. Come out and see her!"

"My child, my child… I'm so sorry," the old woman sobbed and sank to her knees.

And so we learned the truth.

The girl was adopted.

Her adoptive parents had come here as migrant workers decades ago.Childless for years, they finally adopted a girl—Li Lihong.

They loved her dearly.Life wasn't luxurious, but it was happy.

Back then, this area was farmland and old wells—not high-rises.

But when the girl turned ten, her adoptive mother got pregnant.

That era enforced strict one-child policies.Since Li Lihong wasn't registered, having a second child could lead to job loss, canceled benefits, or forced retirement penalties.

In a moment of madness, the couple took the girl to the barley field, fed her sleeping pills, and buried her.

Before she fell asleep, the mother said:"Close your eyes. Mommy's just going to pick some corn."

And the girl… waited.

For decades.