Disrespect

After Ru had warned Xiaoling about Weisheng's misfortune, the future worried Xiaoling. If she couldn't find a cure for the Cursed Eye, Weisheng's life would become a living hell. She had joked about it earlier because no one had possessed the Cursed Eye. Had she known it was this serious, she wouldn't even dare joke about it. 

Hai took Ru away from Weisheng's house. Xiaoling kept her eyes stuck on Weisheng. There was more to him than what met the eye. 

"Weisheng," Xiaoling called him from the other side of the room. 

He was seated on the couch, going through reports. Upon being called, he looked up. 

"I take my words back," Xiaoling murmured, "I want to help you with this case, but suppressing the Cursed Eye comes first." 

Weisheng frowned in confusion, "Why all of a sudden? I don't even see any ghosts." 

"I suppressed the Cursed Eye with my Internal Energy. It's not enough to keep you away from unfortunate events." Xiaoling stood up and walked closer to him. There was seriousness in her voice. 

Weisheng gulped, standing up to face her. Although he was much taller than her, her aura made her taller than him. He gulped again. 

"We can think about that," Weisheng wanted to shove the matter under the carpet, "Let's just solve the case first." 

"What's there to solve?" Xiaoling narrowed her eyes, "When you've witnessed the murder firsthand, what's there to solve?" 

Weisheng's eyes widened. 

"Yuan Weisheng," Xiaoling traced her hand in the air, and a bamboo fan emerged in her hand. She held his chin up with the bamboo fan. "You can't lie to me." 

Weisheng slightly frowned, "So what?" He asked, "You can't order me around like this. I might've accepted you, but that doesn't mean I trust you. I'm not obliged to stay truthful either." 

Xiaoling smirked and scoffed. This man was getting on her nerves earlier than she had thought. So much attitude, and for what? Xiaoling snapped her fingers, and a Monk Staff emerged in her hand. It was taller than her and had three rings with text. 

Xiaoling turned the staff around and hit the back of Weisheng's knees, causing him to kneel. He looked up at her with a constant frown. 

"What do you take me as?" Xiaoling asked, pointing the sharp end of the staff toward Weisheng's neck. 

"Someone who can't mind her own business," Weisheng truthfully replied. 

"You seem to misunderstand my authority," Xiaoling smiled. She turned her staff away before striking the ground with it.

Weisheng's shoulders jolted at the sudden sound. Xiaoling smirked and struck the ground two more times. 

"Are you trying to wake my neighbors?!" Weisheng stood up and asked sternly. 

"Your neighbor went for a hike," Xiaoling replied, "Don't worry." 

Suddenly, fog started to appear in the room. Weisheng's breaths wavered as Xiaoling disappeared from his sight. 

"S-Shifu…" Weisheng stepped back. He felt an eerie presence around him. He looked here and there, but the fog in the room turned him blind to everything. 

Suddenly, a series of laughter emerged from behind him. It wasn't Xiaoling's voice. He gulped. 

"Shifu! Stop this!" Weisheng clenched his fists. His forehead started sweating profusely. He knew he shouldn't have disrespected Xiaoling. The laughter got stronger, creepily hovering around Weisheng. 

Weisheng squatted down and closed his eyes, covering his face with his hands. If his eyes were cursed, then he was better off blind. 

He felt a hand touching his hand, to which he quickly opened his eyes, "Shifu?" 

But the face in front of him was nothing like Xiaoling. It was a pale man with chapped lips and a blindfold. He glowed slightly. Weisheng's eyes widened, and he shouted. 

Weisheng stood up and stepped away from the man. The man slowly stood up, raising his hands behind his head, untying the knot of the blindfold. Weisheng wanted to look away, but his curiosity was killing him. 

The man took the blindfold off and threw it away. Weisheng narrowed his eyes to see the man's eyelids sewn to his under-eye skin. 

"Shifu!" Weisheng shouted while turning away in fear, "I'm sorry! Please stop this! Do something! I'll die!" He shouted while running behind. His toe stubbed on the corner of the couch and he fell. 

Suddenly, he heard Xiaoling laughing above him. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Xiaoling casually sitting on the couch. 

"Why aren't you playing a song?" Weisheng asked frantically. He quickly knelt in front of her and grabbed her leg. "Please, make it stop." 

Xiaoling sighed, "We will do as I say." 

"Yes, Shifu," Weisheng nodded sheepishly. 

"Every time you disobey me, I'll throw you into the Underworld!" Xiaoling sternly said. 

"Yes, Shifu!" Weisheng clenched his eyes shut. 

Xiaoling grabbed her staff which was resting on the couch. She stood up slowly while Weisheng clung to her leg. She struck the staff three times and the fog disappeared. 

"Lao Xing," Xiaoling called the man, "You can wear your blindfold again. Weisheng is faint of heart." 

Xing nodded and bent down to grab his blindfold. He wrapped it back around his eyes. Weisheng stared at the two with confusion. 

"What you just saw wasn't because of the Cursed Eye," Xiaoling explained, "You saw this Monk Staff in its mortal form. Meet Xing, a spirit who refused to reincarnate." 

Weisheng's eyes widened, "So, this is a punishment?" 

Xing shook his head softly, then turned his head to Xiaoling. 

"He asked for this," Xiaoling said, "For very pious spirits, the Heavens take such requests. Lao Xing was very pious in his life." 

"I don't understand any of this… The Heavens? Pious spirits?" Weisheng frowned in confusion. 

"That's because someone was running away from his responsibilities and feeding himself fake validation that everything will be fine," Xiaoling sarcastically replied, "Weisheng, only I can save you from your misery. You can't go around lying to me." 

Weisheng looked down in defeat. Xiaoling was right. 

"Gao Bojing and Cang Tao were my high school best friends," Weisheng admitted, "Along with Yun Shui." 

Xiaoling's eyes widened, "Shui?!"