After a while, it was another time for Wu Qianqian to actually see her baby. Aside from the first few times she had gone to see him, he was always unavailable when she would ask for him. If Li Heilong's family wouldn't speak about him, she would be very worried that something very bad might have already happened to her baby.

These days, Liu Li had to travel back to their home to check up on the business to make sure it would be running without a hitch even if he was to stay away longer than expected. Because of this, Wu Qianqian was stuck at home on her own, unavailable to take more chances of seeing her son.

She waited for Liu Xiaodan to be brought out that afternoon. When he showed up, he quickly smiled widely and went to sit down in front of his parents. Likewise before, the inmates and the wardens were all eyeing him. However, their gazes had become either fearful or curious. None of those 'I am watching your every move' eyes were there.

"Mom, Dad… " Liu Xiaodan bowed deeply. "I'm sorry for making you go through a lot these days."

"Aiya, Xiaodan, please don't mind it." Wu Qianqian shook her head. Even if she felt like she and her husband had grown ten years older because of their son's circ.u.mstances, she didn't want Liu Xiaodan to solely blame himself. "Xiaodan, how are you? Are they taking care of you well?"

Liu Xiaodan only smiled and nodded. It was a prison so there's no 'taking care' happening inside. However, since he was able to survive without much of a hitch now that the Black Boss was gone, it was the same as getting taken care of.

As for who took care of him, whether it was Guangru, Tang Mingming, or someone else; Liu Xiaodan would thank them.

He then hummed as he stared at the gifts he was to receive from his parents. "Mom, just earlier, the judge had issued a statement. They're transferring me to Cherry Medical tomorrow. I know Mr. Li could get you a ticket to that place, but I hope you wouldn't have to go through the trouble."

Wu Qianqian twitched and made a sad face. "Xiaodan, not everything is your fault. Your other cases had been dismissed, and the one you're convicted in was even ruled as self-defense. Xiaodan… you're not a criminal..."

"I'm a monster." Liu Xiaodan looked up at Wu Qianqian. "It's okay, Mom. I'll be okay."

Even if she was not allowed to do so, Wu Qianqian still reached out her hand to stroke at her son's head. "I'm sorry I can't save you, baby. Maybe it's better for you if I wasn't your mother. Mom is so useless..."

Liu Xiaodan grew confused, but Wu Qianqian already got to her feet and sobbed on her way out. Liu Li only patted his head before leaving as well. He wanted to tell his son a lot of things, but he didn't want Wu Qianqian to be walking alone.

The son only took his gifts and got to his feet to leave. When he looked past his shoulder to where he last saw his parents, he saw Guangru running out to chase them. Perhaps, the child would find out what she meant.

"This isn't something that she can save me from. I wish Mom wouldn't blame herself at all..."

…

Wu Qianqian only stayed in the small garden just outside the building. It was near the parking lot and was a place for the visitors to wait for in case the inmate was not yet available to meet with them. She sat on the bench and had a small flower on her palm.

Liu Li was sitting next to her, stroking at her head. "Xiao Qian, you're not at fault. I'm sure Xiaodan has always been so happy to have you as his mother. You raised him well; he's respectful, polite, and not addicted to anything illegal."

"Xiao Li, do you know?" Wu Qianqian played with the flower. "I never told you that I can feel spirits. I only said that my mother and I are being chased around by them, right?"

"...what difference is this going to make, Xiao Qian? You're still my life, whether you hid truths from me or not."

"Hehe, I really love you, too, Xiao Li." Wu Qianqian gave a fleeting smile at her husband, but her eyes grew downcast again. "To answer you… it's about my blood… rather… it's Mom's blood. Mom is a Mian by blood, but she had a different ability than the rest.

"While Bingbing's mom and the rest of their siblings were natural-born shamans, Mom didn't have the ability to banish them.

"What she had was the ability to invite spirits inside her body and become one with her. Plainly put, she was more than a medium. It was a dangerous ability, and Auntie Ni wanted her to stop practicing it. One wrong invitation, and her body would be claimed by something else."

Wu Qianqian then rubbed the flower's petal. "However, she got mixed up with the Qiao family who gave her the opportunity to master her ability… and promised her prominence in the shaman world.

"However, after I was born, she realized that the Qiao family had been draining her ability. I didn't have the same ability as her, and my spiritual power is too weak.

"That made her sure that the Qiao family had been tricking her. She then ran away with me to the Mian family, but they turned us away. They were scared of the Qiao family's Black March—the attack of thousands of evil spirits."

Wu Qianqian dropped the flower and gazed at the color smudged on her thumb, the reddish dye that she got from the flower. "If it wasn't for Mr. Li, you would never find me and Mom still alive. Even if I feel bad for becoming Mr. Li's bargaining chip against Bingbing, I'm happy to survive.

"However… I didn't think my ability would still be passed onto Xiaodan…

"No, it's Mom's ability that he got." She sighed. "Maybe Uncle Yu was right. I should've given Xiaodan to them. He started seeing spirits at a very early age, but we decided to ignore it so he wouldn't hone it." Wu Qianqian then leaned against her husband. "If only I told him about it… he wouldn't be so reckless…

"Now tell me, Xiao Li… will Xiaodan still be happy having me as his mother, considering that I am partly responsible for what is happening to him now?"

Liu Li only shook his head. "Xiao Qian, none of this… will make Xiaodan and me change our minds."

The mother moved her head to look up at her husband. However, she didn't speak. Liu Li then smiled kindly at her, hoping to convince her at least.

"Xiao Qian, we have no control of the things that could happen in the future. None of us readied for such a strong spirit that found its way to Xiaodan. None of us knew that he would be waking his inherent ability to this extreme.

"I know you feel bad for passing down something to Xiaodan, but can you imagine what would have happened if he didn't grow up under your guidance? That he didn't have the same mindset as he had now?

"Guangru is a powerful spirit. If he ended up terrorizing Xiaodan, our son could have been just one of the child's victims. Worse, he wouldn't be able to influence Guangru into becoming docile, and more people might have to die… all of their deaths on Xiaodan's hands.

"I know that this isn't the rightest way to do it, but this is what we have now. Right now, the most important is to help Xiaodan go through this. With or without us by his side."

Wu Qianqian's eyes flickered slowly. She then looked away and stared at the flower by her feet. Her lips opened, but she chose to close them again.

There's no use arguing about this and that; Liu Li was right. They were already at that juncture, and their child had to start living away from the sane civilization tomorrow.

She then got to her feet. "Can we go see him again? I want to say sorry..."

Liu Li sighed in disappointment. "I doubt we'll be allowed to see him again without reservations. Let's just see him after he settled down in Cherry. That way, we'll be assured that his living conditions wouldn't be shabby."

The mother then nodded and just looked in the direction of the building one last time. Liu Li got to his feet as well and invited her to come with him. He would have to ask Li Heilong to give them even just one chance to visit their son.

With that kind of high-class facility, their Xiaodan wouldn't be living like a demented patient, right?

As soon as they walked away, a figure of a woman came out of the tree behind them. She seemed to be listening to them through her heightened hearing. Her eyes flickered before looking in the direction of the cells.

"Liu Xiaodan… is a blood descendant of Grandma Leng? No wonder he could fuse with the dybbuk's powers and control them." Qiao Shan then curled her lips in a bitter smile. "I thought it was the child that is valuable. Now, it seemed the father was far more valuable than him now.

"Wangguan is sending him to Cherry Medical? Looks like Yunyun knew how to make things work." She seemed excited, but her eyes were sad. "I need to get close to Liu Xiaodan."