Ou Xiaoxue's nape revealed a small, irregular red mark, with a portion hidden beneath her collar, obscuring the full outline of the mark.
The little fox then asked for Ou Xiaoxue's opinion, "Ou Xiaoxue, could you pull down your collar a bit more so I can see the complete shape of that red mark on your back?"
Upon hearing the little fox's words, Ou Xiaoxue voluntarily reached back and tugged her collar down, "Is this clear enough?"
The little fox frowned, sensing something was amiss, "Please pull it down a little further... That's enough, perfect."
Ou Xiaoxue followed the little fox's instructions, moving bit by bit. However, before she could hear the little fox's conclusion, she heard her good friend Song Chuyue's exclamation, "Ah! Heavens! Xiaoxue, that's a handprint, it, it looks like..."
Since everything was being done under the camera, Song Chuyue, on the other end of the phone, could clearly see the situation. Therefore, after Ou Xiaoxue pulled down her collar, she also clearly saw the red mark on Ou Xiaoxue's nape.
"It looks like someone grabbed your nape and left that mark," the little fox calmly interjected.
Once the red mark was fully revealed, the little fox could see clearly that the red mark resembled the imprint left by a hand gripping Ou Xiaoxue's nape.
However, the color was so unusual, exceptionally bright red and glaring, and under these circumstances, it naturally couldn't be any normal mark.
"That explains it. This is a mark left by an evil spirit on you. With this mark, the evil spirit that left it will always be able to find you and attack you until you die."
"This mark isn't obvious. If it weren't for half of it showing, and you being a girl, it would have been difficult for my elder brother and me to inspect it, and we might not have discovered it easily. You've been targeted. The evil spirit that does this kind of thing is quite fierce, but generally, they don't do it without reason. You must have done something to provoke them."
The little fox propped his chin with one hand, analyzing, "Ou Xiaoxue, think carefully. Have you encountered anything strange recently? Or, have you done anything bad?"
Ou Xiaoxue was already trembling, tears welling up in her eyes. She spoke with a choked voice, "I don't know anything. I live my life day by day, and nothing seems unusual. Nothing strange has happened. Will I die? Can this mark be removed like the previous ones?"
The little fox and Ye Tiancheng exchanged a look, remaining noncommittal for the moment. They didn't know what kind of person Ou Xiaoxue was usually, whether she was good or evil. Their brief interaction wasn't enough for them to confirm this completely.
Moreover, even if this person wasn't a bad person, who knows if she liked to court death, or had done anything to court death? Some people not only don't believe in ghosts and spirits, which isn't a big deal, but they also have no reverence for them. If they court death too often and provoke something unclean, it's also very possible.
Song Chuyue, on the other end of the phone, after listening to the conversation between the little fox and Ou Xiaoxue, vouched for Ou Xiaoxue, "Xiaoxue would never do anything bad. She's always been a very good person, very popular at our school. She often helps others, excels academically, and is well-liked by classmates and teachers."
Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and decided to give them a hint, "It's like this, this 'bad thing' doesn't mean Ou Xiaoxue has done anything wicked or evil."
"What I mean is, have you done anything that shows disrespect to ghosts and spirits? For example, have you played any paranormal games... or something like that?"
Even if they couldn't bear to see such a young, blooming girl perish, they at least had to understand the true situation to solve Ou Xiaoxue's problem. They had to figure out whether the evil spirit haunting Ou Xiaoxue was something she provoked herself or if she encountered it for some other reason.
Ye Tiancheng added, "I'm not asking this to blame you. Although playing those kinds of terrible games is also a bad thing, to solve Ou Xiaoxue's possession, we brothers need to understand the situation clearly. Because the methods of exorcism vary depending on the circumstances, you must answer this question seriously."
"Don't hide anything, because it's fatal. Don't joke with your own life. You're on the brink of death, and being evasive or lying is the most dangerous thing," the little fox also said.
Ou Xiaoxue sniffled and sobbed, "That's impossible too. Although I didn't believe in these things before, precisely because I didn't believe in them, I would never play those games. Although I've heard that some girls at school, even in our class, play these kinds of games, I've never participated."
Song Chuyue also said, "That's indeed the case. Xiaoxue and I don't believe in this stuff and have never participated in any paranormal games. There are a few girls in our class who play them, like Ouija board or fox spirit games."
"Courting death..." Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but grumble. So many young people nowadays truly have no reverence. If they really provoke something unclean, it's simply harming themselves and others.
The little fox suddenly called out to Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng looked over curiously, and then the little fox whispered a few words into his ear. Ye Tiancheng paused for a moment and nodded slightly.
Song Chuyue and Ou Xiaoxue didn't know what they were talking about and dared not interrupt, so they remained quietly on the side without a sound.
After the little fox and Ye Tiancheng finished their whispered conversation, the little fox spoke again, "How about this, tomorrow my elder brother and I will accompany Ou Xiaoxue back to her villa to take a look."
"Because of Ou Xiaoxue's condition, this mark on her now, it's not that I'm unwilling to help her remove it, but this is a tracking mark left by an evil spirit. It must be removed by dealing with that evil spirit. Otherwise, it's useless."
Ou Xiaoxue, a high school girl who didn't understand much, and after the little fox and Ye Tiancheng had each shown their skills, in this regard, she basically believed whatever the little fox and Ye Tiancheng said.
So Ou Xiaoxue quickly nodded and agreed, "Okay, okay, thank you. I really haven't played those games, nor have I done anything bad."
The little fox said nothing more. He had actually been telling a white lie. To erase the mark used by the evil spirit for tracking was incredibly easy, even simpler than removing the bruises caused by yin energy erosion that he had done for Ou Xiaoxue earlier.
The reason the little fox chose to deceive Ou Xiaoxue was due to a selfish motive: to use the mark left by the evil spirit on Ou Xiaoxue to lure it. Even in the worst-case scenario, if they encountered the evil spirit and he directly annihilated it, that would also be considered solving the problem.
In any case, as long as he and Ye Tiancheng protected Ou Xiaoxue and prevented her from being harmed by the evil spirit, it would be enough.
Moreover, the reason the little fox chose to do this was not solely for this purpose. If it were just for this, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have agreed with his actions.
Because if it wasn't necessary and there was no other way, doing such a thing would be like putting Ou Xiaoxue on the spot. Ye Tiancheng wouldn't be able to do such a thing, so he naturally wouldn't let the little fox do it either. What made Ye Tiancheng agree with the little fox's opinion was naturally for other reasons.
Another reason the little fox made this choice was his concern that the root of the problem might not lie here. Even if he removed the mark left by the evil spirit on Ou Xiaoxue, it didn't mean that the evil spirit couldn't leave another mark on Ou Xiaoxue.
The evil spirit left a mark because it had targeted Ou Xiaoxue, not because it had a mark that made it target Ou Xiaoxue. If this cause-and-effect relationship were reversed, it would mean something entirely different.
To deal with the evil spirit that had targeted Ou Xiaoxue, the most important thing was to find the real reason why it had targeted Ou Xiaoxue. Otherwise, it would only be treating the symptoms, not the root cause. What if the evil spirit targeted Ou Xiaoxue again, or if a new evil spirit appeared... that wasn't impossible.
If the evil spirit's mark on Ou Xiaoxue were directly erased, it would also cause some trouble for the investigation by the little fox and Ye Tiancheng, which was that the evil spirit might not be able to find Ou Xiaoxue immediately.
Ou Xiaoxue's life might be temporarily secured because of this, but for this reason, the little fox and Ye Tiancheng would also be unable to find that evil spirit.
The little fox rummaged through his large stack of talismans, found a few, folded them into triangular shapes, and handed them to Ou Xiaoxue, "These are for your self-defense. Keep them on your person and don't lose them. This way, you'll be much safer when we go to your villa tomorrow, at least you won't die."
Ou Xiaoxue eagerly took the triangular blocks and fumbled for a suitable container on herself. Finding none, she could only stuff them into her pocket.
Seeing her like this, Ye Tiancheng felt that putting them in her pocket was not very secure. He then suggested, "How about this, Xiaoxue, wait a moment. I'll get an anti-mosquito sachet I have to put these things in for you. Don't mind if it's ugly. Hang it around your neck and hide it inside your clothes. If you put it in your pocket, it's very likely to fall out."
"Moreover, if the evil spirit discovers that you have these things on you, it will definitely try to make you lose them first, or simply destroy them, and then attack you. Putting them in your pocket is very insecure, and it's completely defenseless against them."
Ou Xiaoxue naturally didn't mind at all. What could be more important than her own life right now? "I don't mind, thank you, Brother Ye!"
The little fox lowered his head, silently counting the talismans in his hand, taking stock. He didn't know what would happen tomorrow, so he had to be fully prepared and see what he was lacking. When they returned, he would have to draw more talismans to replenish his stock, just in case.
He was currently limited in his strength and not very powerful, so he was naturally extremely cautious. Drowning often happened to those who could swim. Only by remaining humble and maintaining a good mindset, not becoming arrogant, could one survive more easily.
If he carried more talismans, and if something happened, he could just throw a whole stack of talismans at them. No matter how powerful the evil spirit was, it would be beaten to death by them.
Ye Tiancheng returned not long after leaving the tent, bringing Ou Xiaoxue a brown, empty anti-mosquito sachet. The sachet was incredibly ugly, just a rough cloth bag with no patterns. Ou Xiaoxue then stuffed the triangular blocks the little fox had given her into it and tied the sachet around her neck, showing no hesitation at all.