She abruptly bared her fangs and snarled fiercely at the little ghost, growling with a "huluhuluhu" sound from her throat.
Yet the ghost merely glanced at Zhi Yao lightly before looking away.
Zhi Yao: "???"
Was she being provoked?!
Just as the little girl's hand was about to touch Zhi Yao, Pei Chiyao swiftly dodged, avoiding her outstretched hand.
He snapped his fingers, and an attendant immediately came forward. "Young Master Pei, how may I serve you?"
"Why is there a child here?"
He frowned slightly, already visibly displeased.
He disliked children to begin with, but what made him even more perplexed was that at such an occasion, someone had actually brought a child of only a few years old.
The attendant apologized, then explained to Pei Chiyao, "This is a child from the Gu Family."
The Gu Family.
Upon hearing those two words, Pei Chiyao instantly understood. "Take her away."
"Yes."
The attendant bent down, trying to coax the girl to leave, but her empty eyes remained fixed on Zhi Yao, murmuring repeatedly, "Fox... I want the fox... fox..."
Zhi Yao watched this scene, truly feeling some sympathy.
She could see that this girl herself had no problems, her catatonic state merely caused by a malicious spirit possessing her.
But Zhi Yao's power was too weak, and she had no way to help.
As the little fox watched the girl being carried away by the attendant, she didn't cry or make a fuss at first, but after a moment, as if realizing what was happening, she burst into wailing sobs.
Instantly drawing the attention of many people.
Taking advantage of the commotion, Zhi Yao leaned close to Pei Chiyao's ear and said, "Pei Chiyao, I saw it - there's a ghost possessing her!"
Pei Chiyao rapped Zhi Yao's head lightly. "Don't meddle in other's affairs."
He didn't seem surprised at all, which in turn surprised Zhi Yao.
"You knew?"
Pei Chiyao nodded.
The Gu Family's troubles had caused a storm across the entire city - who didn't know about it?
Rumors were rife that the Gu Family had committed too many sins, so this retribution had fallen upon their young granddaughter.
Pei Chiyao merely scoffed at such claims.
The sins he had committed were no less than the Gu Family's, yet he hadn't suffered any retribution, had he?
He gazed absentmindedly at the fox in his embrace, gently stroking her fur.
After a moment, a member of the Gu Family apologetically approached Pei Chiyao and said, "Young Master Pei, please forgive the disturbance, but my family's child became entranced upon seeing the fox in your arms and started crying and fussing - she has never acted this way before. She must really like it. Could you please allow her to get a bit closer to this fox?"
"No."
Pei Chiyao was renowned for his cold indifference. He raised his eyes coldly at the speaker. "My fox has a fierce temper and won't even listen to me when she gets stubborn. I'm afraid she might harm someone."
Upon hearing this, Zhi Yao couldn't help but feel indignant - she wasn't like that at all!
Angrily, she butted her head against Pei Chiyao's chin to signal him to be quiet.
Seeing this, Pei Chiyao chuckled silently. "You see, just by mentioning her, she gets riled up."
He tilted his chin, avoiding Zhi Yao's attack.
The Gu Family member could only leave disappointedly upon seeing this.
Among those present, everyone was either wealthy or of noble status - it wouldn't do to offend any of them carelessly.
But suddenly, the little girl's cries grew fainter. Unable to resist, Zhi Yao looked over and saw that the malicious spirit was now forcefully covering the girl's mouth and nose!
The girl's face instantly turned a sickly purple hue!
Unable to restrain herself any longer, Zhi Yao charged forward heedless of Pei Chiyao's attempts to stop her.
The Gu Family members called out the girl's name frantically, but no matter what they did, the girl showed no signs of improvement.
The Gu Old Lady was so anxious that tears streamed down her face. "Is there a doctor here?!"
Just as the words left her mouth, a white blur flashed across, and Zhi Yao swiped her paw, leaving a bloody gash across the girl's face.
The Gu Family members were aghast. "Where did this wild fox come from? Get rid of it!"
Several people moved clumsily to try and grab Zhi Yao, who was desperately dodging, when a familiar voice rang out, "I'd like to see someone try!"
Immediately after, she felt herself being lifted up again, gathered into Pei Chiyao's embrace.
Pei Chiyao's face had darkened considerably. He rapped Zhi Yao's head again. "I really don't know when you started meddling in other people's affairs like this."
Zhi Yao let out a muffled "Wuu" sound and didn't dare say anything more.
"Young Master Pei, you would actually allow this wild fox to harm others like this?"
The Gu Old Lady immediately took offense. Her grandchild was already ill, and now this wild fox had clawed her face. What if the fox carried some disease? What would they do then?
Pei Chiyao let out a cold laugh. "Harm others? If it weren't for my fox just now, your grandchild would already be dead."
Upon hearing this, everyone finally noticed that the child, who had earlier been purple-faced, wailing and struggling, now seemed to have regained her breath.
Pei Chiyao curved his lips in a mocking smile. "You know full well why your grandchild is like this. Even if you brought ten doctors here, none of them could save her."
These words left the Gu Family members with unsightly expressions, yet they could not refute him.
Over the years, they had already taken the young girl to seek treatment from countless doctors, but the only answer they received was that her body was completely normal.
Perhaps it was a psychological issue.
But even psychologists had been of no help after seeing so many.
It wasn't until a few years ago, when they took the girl to Jiuhua Mountain and met a Taoist priest who took one look and realized the girl's condition wasn't physical, but rather caused by certain unspeakable things.
However, the malicious spirit's resentment was too strong for ordinary people to deal with. That Taoist priest showed them a way forward: find an object of utmost purity, which could suppress the malicious spirit's resentment and prevent it from continuing to harm the girl.
As for how to banish the spirit entirely, they would need to wait for a highly powerful monk to perform an exorcism ritual.
The girl's previously purple face gradually regained its rosy complexion as she gulped down deep breaths, her hazy eyes fixed on the white figure before her. "Fox... fox..."
The malicious spirit, with a fresh claw mark on its arm from Zhi Yao's attack, glared at her with a tormented look.
But Zhi Yao wasn't the least bit afraid.
The little fox rested in Pei Chiyao's embrace, baring her fangs at the spirit, looking as if she was about to lash out again.
Upon seeing this, Gu Changlin glanced at the Gu Old Lady and said, "Mother, I've heard that some animals have a spiritual connection and can see foul things that ordinary people cannot perceive. Could it be that..."
Everyone turned to look at the snow-white fox cradled in Pei Chiyao's arms in shock.
The fox's fur was plush and pristine white, with a pair of brilliant golden eyes that shone with an extraordinary light - clearly no ordinary fox.
