My Family Is Very Odd

Lin Zhi blinked after a long time. Her eyes hadn't reacted yet, still wide open as she stared at the Young Ghost.

A small figure brushed past her, rubbing against the Young Ghost's leg like a puppy. "Dad, you were amazing!"

Like a seal being broken, Lin Zhi finally lowered her lashes, gasping for breath. Her hand trembled, the feeling of the doll's hand on her eyelid replaying in her mind. She realized, belatedly, that her hands and feet had turned ice-cold.

The Young Ghost looked at Li Xiao Gui, his face completely different from before. His raised, impatient eyebrows were smoothed out, and his fake smile was replaced with a genuine one. "Hmm."

There was an empty space around them. Everyone else, exorcists and dolls alike, unconsciously stepped back at the sight of the Young Ghost.

"Have you eaten?" the Young Ghost asked casually, as if they were having a normal conversation, despite all the eyes on them.

"Yes, I have," Li Xiao Gui replied.

Some exorcists, who had only heard rumors about the Young Ghost, whispered amongst themselves, covering their mouths with their hands.

"That's..."

"Yes, that must be him."

"They said his power was restricted. Is this really restricted?"

"Is that bracelet real? Does it really work?"

"That's terrifying."

"That power..."

"It just disappeared."

"There were no chains either."

"That girl..."

"Why would any human willingly be kept by an evil spirit..."

"She must have an ulterior motive..."

"How frightening..."

They whispered behind their hands. Li Xiao Gui couldn't hear them, but the Young Ghost could hear every word. He raised an eyebrow in amusement but didn't take it to heart.

Wen Yuanrui caught up to them, riding his bicycle. His clothes were messy, and he was breathing heavily. He caught up to the Young Ghost, passing by the whispering exorcists. His glasses were askew, and sweat dripped from his forehead. He glared at them, frowning.

"Are you done? What are you all mumbling about?"

They immediately shut up, but their gazes were wary and distant. They couldn't understand why he would speak up for a ghost, as if he were from another world.

The dolls cautiously surrounded them, unwilling to retreat but not daring to advance either, as if waiting and testing the waters.

One doll moved its joint slightly, and the entire circle of dolls suddenly froze, collapsing to the ground. The things hidden inside them disappeared with a writhing motion.

The observing exorcists gasped, holding their breaths. Their faces were frozen in shock, and they didn't dare to make any more movements.

Wen Yuanrui, who had long seen through the Young Ghost's act, muttered, "Showing off in front of the kid again."

The Young Ghost glanced at him.

The Young Ghost could scare others, but not Wen Yuanrui. He had seen the Young Ghost struggle with Li Xiao Gui's middle school homework, pretending to be knowledgeable when the little ghost asked him for help, only to secretly seek his help later. It had caused Wen Yuanrui several sleepless nights.

He knew all of the Young Ghost's embarrassing stories.

And wasn't this showing off? He never acted like this usually. Wen Yuanrui grumbled inwardly.

Lin Zhi touched her eyes and looked at the Young Ghost. "Thank you."

Li Xiao Gui looked at Lin Zhi curiously.

The Young Ghost didn't pay attention to her thanks. He wasn't trying to save her; he was just doing his job, cleaning up the mess.

He looked at Li Xiao Gui and said, "Okay. Wait here for me, five minutes, and I'll take you home. Your brother is making pudding for you."

He knew the moment he saw Four Eyes that his 'work' was about to begin.

Li Xiao Gui's eyes lit up at the mention of dessert. She nodded. "Okay!"

She looked at the dolls scattered on the ground, then at Teacher Wen and the Young Ghost, seemingly understanding something. She said obediently, "I can help! I just sealed a lot of those!"

Li Xiao Gui puffed out her chest proudly.

The Young Ghost smiled. "That's great. Let's do it together and go home quickly."

Li Xiao Gui nodded. "Okay!"

The Young Ghost's figure flickered and disappeared, like a phantom. He vanished from one spot and reappeared in another, the black mist dissipating wherever he went. Li Xiao Gui and Shen Chen also raised their hands, quickly drawing seals.

However, she could only seal the dolls within a twenty-meter radius. It wasn't because she was scared; it was because the dolls simply couldn't get close to her.

Within twenty meters of Li Xiao Gui, the dolls fell one by one as if bowing to their princess. In this darkness, Li Xiao Gui was the only royalty.

As the dolls fell, the people they were possessing regained consciousness almost simultaneously.

Later on, the dolls would instinctively run away at the sight of Li Xiao Gui. Some even bumped into the Young Ghost in their panic.

The Young Ghost smiled maliciously and took the opportunity to extinguish them.

Some exorcists followed behind, cleaning up the mess. Others helped restrain the people who were being dragged away by chains, while others provided support, comforting those who had regained consciousness and leading them away.

For a moment, they worked together smoothly.

The Young Ghost cleared most of the black mist in the area, thoughtfully leaving a few small dolls for Li Xiao Gui to play with. Then, he vanished and reappeared in another area thick with black mist. He moved swiftly, almost ten times faster than the exorcists. In just two minutes, more than half of the amusement park was clean.

Soon, Li Xiao Gui also finished dealing with the dolls in her vicinity and headed towards another cluster of black mist with Shen Chen.

The thought that she was helping her dad filled Li Xiao Gui with a sense of purpose and pride.

Everything was going smoothly until another commotion erupted somewhere in the amusement park.

"What... is that?"

Just as the amusement park was calming down, a strange black shadow appeared, devouring the things that had possessed the dolls. It had a body and limbs, and its face had distinct features: long eyelashes, a small nose, and a mouth.

But its eyes remained tightly shut, the curled lashes resting gently against its delicate skin.

"Isn't that the human the ghost is keeping?"

Li Xiao Gui and Shen Chen looked up abruptly.

The human kept by the ghost?

Being kept by a ghost... Li Xiao Gui pointed at herself and blinked at Shen Chen.

Shen Chen frowned.

They followed the sound of the commotion.

Wen Qing had wanted to leave with her brother, but the amusement park was in chaos. She and her brother were quickly surrounded. Just as Wen Qing could no longer protect her brother, a black hand shot out, grabbed the doll that was lunging towards them, and shoved the entire thing into its mouth, swallowing it whole.

The ticket vendor stared at the black-haired girl who had suddenly appeared. "Aren't you..." But it didn't feel quite right.

Ptooey. The girl spat the doll back out. The doll, which had been radiating black mist, was now just an ordinary toy, lying quietly on the ground.

Just as they thought they were safe, the strange creature turned to Wen Qing, who was standing next to the ticket vendor, and slowly reached out its hand.

It felt as if a dark cloud had descended upon her. A sudden wave of fear and danger washed over Wen Qing.

The ticket vendor felt the bone-chilling cold before Wen Qing did. Panic surged through him, and he reached out to grab her, but his hand passed right through her.

"That's... defilement, right?" someone shouted.

"Can defilement take on a human form? And look so much like a real person!"

"Impossible! Human-like defilement... that's unheard of!"

"Hey! You there! Run! Get away from it!"

They shouted, and some even rushed towards them. The ticket vendor heard their warnings but didn't move. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly stepped in front of Wen Qing, shielding her with his body.

At that moment, Li Xiao Gui and Shen Chen arrived.

Li Xiao Gui's light brown eyes fell on the ticket vendor. "That's... Ticket Vendor Brother!"

Shen Chen frowned as he looked at the black shadow that looked exactly like Li Xiao Gui.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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