Fix Smile Order Chapter 14
Translated by Pure
Edited by cookiecrunch
Chapter 14: Summoning of the Soul
"Then… can you call my little soul?"
"No."
"Without my soul, my legs are weak, so you have to carry me back."
"...I'll call your little soul." Tang Tianyuan turned his face away and replied. A faint redness crept up the base of his ear.
Tan Lingyin was very happy and taught him the specific steps. As a child, she was often frightened by Qingchen, so the shamans used this method to call her soul back. This method has never failed.
The steps were very simple. The frightened person had to lie down, close their eyes, and relax. A bowl of water would then be placed on their forehead. Then, the shaman would greet towards the door with a handkerchief, "XXX, quickly-- come– back-!"
They didn’t have a bowl at hand, so the water bag would have to make do. Tan Lingyin lay on the ground, put the water bag in place, closed her eyes, and waited for Tang Tianyuan to act.
Tang Tianyuan took her handkerchief, stood on the edge of the slate, and looked down the slope—the very spot where Tan Lingyin's soul was lost. He flicked the handkerchief as she had taught him, and got goosebumps. So he had no choice but to put his hands behind his back, facing the breeze passing by the mountains, and said aloud, "Summoning of the soul[1]!"
Tan Lingyin was very unhappy seeing him patronize and casually calling, "Don't talk nonsense! What if you invite someone else's soul? Also... are you Qu Yuan?!" The phrase ‘Summoning of the Soul’ was what Qu Yuan wrote to King Huai of Chu.
Tang Tianyuan raised his eyebrow and looked down at Tan Lingyin, "You’re quite knowledgeable."
"I said that I was well-versed," Tan Lingyin hummed disdainfully, "Being your head commissioner is a waste of my talent. If it weren't for—" She stopped.
"Weren’t for what?" Tang Tianyuan asked.
"You wouldn’t understand."
Tang Tianyuan thought to himself: I know, even if you didn’t tell me. If she wasn’t here for the position of the head commissioner, then she was here for the gold.
Great, at least three parties had now intervened for this large sum of money. Tang Tianyuan was not looking forward to the monsters and ghosts that would be attracted in the future.
Tan Lingyin urged Tang Tianyuan to call her soul again.
Tang Tianyuan then repeatedly recited loudly, "Tan Lingyin! Quickly, come back!" He felt like a lunatic with Tan Lingyin lying down beside him.
Tan Lingyin fell asleep amid his calling.
Seated cross-legged on the ground, Tang Tianyuan looked down at Tan Lingyin's sleeping face. He had many speculations, but he never expected that Miao Miao Sheng would be a woman—such a conspicuous woman at that. Before he came to Tongling, he had intended to repair Miao Miao Sheng to his satisfaction, but after coming here, he realized he was the one being repaired by Miao Miao Sheng all this time. Oh, no, more precisely, he was being harassed... He felt the grief of ‘To die on expedition while victory was already near[2]’.
Zhao Xiaoliu and the others arrived with the investigator and the coroners. Tan Lingyin was woken up by Tang Tianyuan. The effects of calling her soul back were obvious: Tan Lingyin came back to life again, full of energy. She watched them go down, and after a while, carried the body up to be transported back to the county office.
It was only at this time that Tan Lingyin had the guts to look at the poor girl. The girl possessed exquisite beauty, with her white, supple skin, a high nose bridge, slender eyebrows, and a small, cherry-like mouth. Even with her eyes closed, one could see that she was a great beauty when she was alive, which made onlookers even more regretful.
The group returned to the county office.
Tan Lingyin walked around the county government office and saw her brother, Tan Qingchen, standing under the ginkgo tree in deep thought. She decided not to go back to the county government office but turned around to find her little brother instead.
Tan Qingchen had been Tan Lingyin's exclusive tree hole since they were young; she loved to tell him everything. Seeing Qingchen at this moment, Tan Lingyin hurriedly poured out the hardships and tragedy she had experienced today.
Tan Qingchen frowned. He felt pain when his sister suffered. He moved a reclining chair and let Tan Lingyin sit under the shade of the ginkgo tree. Then he went to the backyard, took out a freshly chilled watermelon from the water well, split it in half, and put a small copper spoon in it. Carrying this refreshing treat, he returned to Tan Lingyin’s side.
Tan Lingyin sat on the reclining chair while indulging in the cool and sweet watermelon, feeling refreshed inside and out. She hooked her arm back and patted Tan Qingchen's forearm, "Qingchen, sister didn't love you in vain."
Tan Qingchen smiled, fetched a stool to sit behind the reclining chair, and massaged Tan Lingyin's shoulders.
Comfortable! Tan Lingyin felt she was a mess of silk threads, and Qingchen's hand was a big comb that smoothed her out. Now that she relaxed, her eyes felt a little heavy, and she gradually drifted off to sleep.
Tan Qingchen removed Tan Lingyin's half-eaten watermelon off her legs. He then grabbed a handkerchief and carefully wiped Tan Lingyin's hands clean. When he finished wiping, Tan Qingchen looked up and saw an additional person standing in front of them.
Tang Tianyuan had already seen the behavior of the two. He had just returned to the county government to deal with matters related to the murder case and had no time to pay attention to Tan Lingyin. When he finally intended to seek her out for a question, she was nowhere to be found. Tang Tianyuan felt that Tan Lingyin was too incompetent as a head commissioner. He went out to look for her, wanting to lecture her, but he saw the scene in front of him instead.
Tang Tianyuan looked at Tan Lingyin contemptuously, "shameless." A girl should never be touched by a man, even if the man was her boss.
Unbeknownst to him, the two individuals before him were siblings.
Upon hearing these words, Tan Qingchen’s expression darkened. He stood up and stared at Tang Tianyuan coldly.
Tang Tianyuan felt that the little boss had probably misunderstood. He pointed at Tan Lingyin with his fan and explained, "I'm talking about her."
It would have been better if he didn’t add this sentence. After he said it, Tan Qingchen's face became even more ugly. As a mute, Tan Qingchen was unable to voice his anger, so he resorted to using his hands. He looked around and picked up a brick by the root of the tree, and was ready to strike Tang Tianyuan with it.
Tang Tianyuan didn't expect this seemingly gentle-looking little gongzi’s temper to be so violent. As the head of the county, he couldn’t afford to be seen bullying ordinary people. Not wanting to fight, he took a few steps back and waved his hand, "It's okay, it's okay, it's my blunder, my apologies."
He was still a little puzzled. Tan Lingyin and this person behaved intimately, and this person was so protective of Tan Lingyin… What is the relationship between the two?
Their movements stirred Tan Lingyin from her slumber.
Tan Lingyin opened her eyes and saw that her brother was brandishing a brick at someone, so she jumped up from the reclining chair and positioned herself in front of Tan Qingchen, her voice laced with anger, "Who dares to bully my little brother?!"
Oh, it turned out to be just siblings. Tang Tianyuan calmly tucked his hands behind his back, turned around, and left a parting remark, "Go back to work quickly. This official does not raise idlers as subordinates."
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