C16 Mr Chen Save Me!!

"Hmm? What's going on?" Chen Ping frowned.

By all accounts, Lin Hu's condition should have been completely cured, so it was strange for him to relapse.

On the phone, Lin Hu said, "I don't know what's happening. I've been a bit tired these past couple of days. I just took a nap, and suddenly, I felt intense pain in my body, and when I woke up, I realized I was sick again! It's not as bad as before, but I also have this feeling that someone was watching me tonight, but I couldn't find anyone!"

Chen Ping thought for a moment and replied, "Be careful. I'll come over. Arrange for someone to pick me up, and I'll take a look at your place."

"It's late, Mr. Chen. I don't want to trouble you. How about I come to you instead?" Lin Hu suggested.

"No need. If you come here, how will I find the root of the problem?"

Chen Ping hung up the phone and headed out. After about ten minutes, Xu Tianshou arrived to pick him up.

About thirty minutes later, Xu drove into an upscale neighborhood, and soon Chen Ping met Lin Hu.

With just one look, Chen Ping could tell that Lin Hu was indeed sick again, even though he had been completely treated by 7 PM.

Seeing Chen Ping, Lin Hu asked nervously, "Do we need to use lightning again this time?"

Chen Ping chuckled and shook his head. "No need for that right now. Let me take a look around your place first."

With that, Chen Ping clasped his hands behind his back and began inspecting the area. This was where Lin Hu rested at night. It was about 2,000 square feet—not too big, but not small either.

After a while, Chen Ping frowned slightly, finding nothing unusual. He pondered for a moment and said, "Where were you sleeping just now? Take me there."

Soon, they reached the master bedroom. Lin Hu spoke up, "I was feeling a bit tired and thought I'd take a nap on the bed, but then..."

Chen Ping remained silent, hands still behind his back, as his gaze swept across the bedroom, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

Suddenly, Chen Ping felt a strange sensation, as if someone was watching him. Following his intuition, he looked up and saw a painting.

"Who painted this?" Chen Ping asked, approaching the artwork depicting a family of three, with a little girl holding her parents' hands.

"My daughter painted it!" Lin Hu replied with a proud smile. "I thought it was pretty good, so I had it framed and hung it here."

"And where are they now?"

"They left three years ago. My daughter lives with her mom, not in this city," Lin Hu said, his expression darkening slightly.

"You've been dealing with this issue for at least three years, haven't you?" Chen Ping mused aloud.

"How do you know?" Lin Hu was stunned.

"Sigh..." Chen Ping sighed, "There's something wrong with this painting!"

He added, "The reason you've been feeling off is because of this painting!"

"Impossible!" Lin Hu declared firmly. How could that be? This was the only painting his beloved daughter had made!

"I'm not saying your daughter meant to harm you, but someone has tampered with this painting!"

Just as Lin Hu was about to speak, he noticed something strange. The little girl in the painting, who was holding hands with her parents, suddenly grinned and even stuck out her tongue. Then, the girl reached out a hand from the painting, her fingernails turning sharp, aiming for Chen Ping.

"I didn't expect you to show yourself so willingly. This saves me the trouble of explaining!" Chen Ping said, reaching out with his right hand to grab the hand emerging from the painting. Instantly, the girl's figure was pulled out of the painting.

"Daddy! Save me! There's a bad man trying to hurt me!" The girl cried out, as lifelike as a real person.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Lin Hu's eyes, but at that moment, Chen Ping turned sharply to look at him. In an instant, Lin Hu felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, calming him down. He reminded himself, this wasn't his daughter!

"I could tell right away you're not human! You daredevil! Reveal your true form!"

Chen Ping shouted fiercely, pointing a finger as energy burst forth. In an instant, it exploded like a clap of thunder. The little girl screamed and turned into a cloud of black mist, fleeing toward the window.

"Trying to escape?"

Chen Ping was quicker, his figure flickering in front of the window, blocking her path. He pointed again, and a wail echoed. The black mist dissipated instantly, turning into a drop of ink that fell to the floor!

"Mr. Chen! What's going on here?"

Lin Hu approached, bending down to examine the drop of ink. Within a couple of seconds, it had dried up. Xu Tianshou was bewildered, but suddenly he screamed, "The little girl in the painting is gone!"

Lin Hu stood up and looked at the painting. There were supposed to be three people: parents holding their daughter's hand. But now, only the parents remained; the daughter had vanished, leaving nothing but a clean space.

"Mr. Chen, this is..." Lin Hu found it all too incredible, struggling to explain what had just happened.

"What on earth is going on? Could it be I've encountered a ghost?" Lin Hu couldn't help but feel a bit scared.

"A ghost? That's not a ghost!" Chen Ping replied ambiguously. "This painting, though drawn by your daughter, has someone else's spirit attached to it. That's why you've been suffering from illness for the past three years."

"Vital energy?" Lin Hu was puzzled, not quite understanding what it meant. Beside him, Xu Tianshou looked equally bewildered.

"When a person's vital energy is strong enough, they can influence the physical world with their mind, like this..." As he spoke, Chen Ping's presence suddenly shifted. For a moment, Lin Hu and Xu Tianshou felt an overwhelming urge to kneel in reverence.

Fortunately, the sensation was fleeting. In the next instant, they noticed a fleeting gleam in Chen Ping's eyes. Then, the man in the painting seemed to move, stepping out and taking on Chen Ping's likeness. However, it only lasted a second or two before the figure disintegrated, turning into a drop of ink.

"Of course, the person targeting you has slightly stronger vital energy than you," Chen Ping continued. "If they were to face you directly, they might not be able to defeat you. As for the painting, if you had discovered it earlier and burned it, none of this would have happened!"

He added, "The painting was imbued with vital energy three years ago. Now, three years later, I can't be sure of their current strength. But by disrupting the energy attached to it, that person will likely sense it and might come looking for you soon."

Hearing this, Lin Hu shivered. He wasn't afraid of a face-to-face fight, but these unpredictable tactics unnerved him.

"Mr. Chen! Help me!"