"Absorbing yang energy?!"
Upon hearing Lu Fei's words, the couple Luo Xingfa and his wife were greatly shocked and found it hard to comprehend.
"What does this mean? Isn't the child haunted by a ghost? How can it be related to yang energy?"
Even Master Xiang was quite surprised: "Yes, Manager Lu, when a child looks old, isn't it because a spirit has possessed him and is causing trouble?"
"Actually, that's what I thought at first."
Lu Fei pointed at the Eight Trigram Mirror, explaining calmly without rush.
"But if a spirit had possessed the child, then the image in the Eight Trigram Mirror should be that of the spirit."
"But you see, although the face in the mirror is aged, it is still your child's face."
"This indicates that your child's lifespan has shortened, and in terms of age, they have already reached an elderly stage."
Hearing this, the couple hurriedly took another careful look at the aged little face in the mirror.
Master Xiang also narrowed his eyes.
As parents, they knew their child's appearance better than anyone, and could recognize them even if they had grown old.
The couple, Luo Xingfa and his wife, looked repeatedly, and despite their lingering doubts, they had to admit that it was indeed their child.
"How could this be? Can a ghost really drain a person's life force, but the child seems normal most of the time, right?" The couple was terrified.
"Yang Shou refers to the length of a person's lifespan. It is said that in the Book of Life and Death, everyone's lifespan is predetermined," Lu Fei continued to explain.
"The child appears normal because his physical body is just that of a five or six-year-old, so there's no visible difference to the naked eye."
"But in reality, his Yang Shou is nearly depleted."
Master Xiang's expression instantly grew grave, and he nodded forcefully, "Manager Lu is right! The child's white hair is due to the loss of Yang Shou, causing premature aging."
The couple's faces turned deathly pale, and they immediately recalled the doctor saying that the child's body was like that of a fifty- or sixty-year-old.
"Then how much longer can my Haohao live?"
"I'm not sure exactly how many years of Yang Shou he has left, but the situation is not optimistic... if left untreated, the child might not survive another week," Lu Fei said solemnly.
"A week?!"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Luo Xingfa nearly collapsed and fainted.
They come from a middle-class family, not extremely wealthy or powerful, but they live a comfortable life.
The couple has only one son, Hao Hao. They pamper him as if he were made of glass, and dote on him to the utmost extent, as if he might melt in their mouths.
But now, before their son has even grown up, his life is coming to an end.
How could they accept this?
"Manager Lu, is there any hope for Hao Hao?" Luo Xingfa, supporting his wife, asked with trembling voice.
"That depends on how the mirror is causing harm and what kind of evil object it is," Lu Fei chose to be honest. "Generally speaking, once one's allotted lifespan has passed, it cannot be regained. We can only try our best to see if there is any way to remedy the situation."
He did not want the couple to blame him and Master Xiang later on if, after removing the evil object, their son still did not have long to live.
"Manager Lu, Master Xiang, please, you must save my Hao Hao! He is still so young..."
In a state of panic, the couple, with tears in their eyes, pleaded with the two men.
Lu Fei's explanation coincided with the doctor's diagnosis; there was no reason for them to doubt it.
"Mr. Luo, Mrs. Luo, no matter what, Mr. Lu and I will do our utmost. For now, don't worry; let Mr. Lu find out what kind of evil object that mirror is..."
After a good deal of reassurance from Master Xiang, the two finally managed to calm down somewhat.
"Mr. Lu, what should we do next?"
"We can't forcefully take the mirror away, lest it agitates the child," thought Lu Fei. "When does the child usually look in the mirror?"
"At midnight."
"That should be the time when the mirror is active. We'll see what happens then."
"Okay, okay."
Throughout the day, Hao Hao slept drowsily in bed, not waking up once.
The couple, Luo Xingfa and his wife, were worried that their son might sleep too deeply and checked on him several times.
Time slowly passed in agony.
Finally.
Dong dong dong!
In the night, the living room clock struck, the hands pointing to 12 o'clock.
Hao Hao on the bed suddenly opened his eyes, grabbing the small bronze mirror and slowly sitting up.
"There's movement!"
Lu Fei and Master Xiang exchanged a glance, quietly approaching the bedroom.
Mr. and Mrs. Luo Xingfa followed them, tense with anxiety.
The desk lamp cast a soft glow.
On the bed, Hao Hao, with his small, stooped back facing the door, picked up the small bronze mirror and began examining his face in it.
Everyone couldn't see what was happening in the bronze mirror.
Lu Fei immediately took out the Eight Trigrams Mirror and compared it to the past.
Only through the Eight Trigrams Mirror could they see a vague figure in the small bronze mirror.
The image was too small to see clearly.
It seemed to be an old man.
The Luo Xingfa couple opened their eyes in horror, almost letting out a scream.
They had seen the bronze mirror before but didn't notice anything. It turned out that there really was a ghost hidden inside!
Lu Fei raised his hand, signaling them to stay calm so as not to alert the ghost.
The two struggled to suppress their fear, trying not to make any noise.
The old man in the bronze mirror stared at Hao Hao for a while, then suddenly retreated, knelt down, and began to kowtow to Hao Hao.
"Kowtowing?!"
Lu Fei and Master Xiang were both taken aback.
In folk lore, it is said that when an elder kowtows to a younger person, they are borrowing the younger person's years of life!
So it was borrowing life!
The eerie scene in the mirror frightened Luo Xingfa and his wife so much that they trembled all over.
But the child, Hao Hao, on the bed started to giggle as if he found the whole thing very amusing.
The clear, joyful laughter of the child seemed extremely eerie at this moment.
As Hao Hao continued laughing, his voice began to take on an aged quality.
After the old man in the mirror finished kowtowing and instantly vanished, more white hair appeared on Hao Hao's head, and his entire body hunched over heavily.
His round, plump face became loose and saggy.
His face was now covered with deep wrinkles and ugly age spots.
As old as can be!
Then, the small body fell weakly onto the bed.
"Hao..." Luo Xingfa's wife could no longer hold back and rushed over to embrace her son, tears streaming down her face.
Although her son's face had regained its childlike appearance, the sense of old age was even more pronounced, his skin unusually cold. She could even smell the odor of an elderly person on him, something only present in the very old.
Clearly.
After the old man in the mirror kowtowed to Hao, Hao became even older.
Seeing his son in such a pitiful state, Luo Xingfa felt as if a knife were cutting through his heart.
"Manager Lu, what kind of evil object is this mirror? Is there any hope for my Hao?"
Both husband and wife looked at Lu Fei, as did Master Xiang.
"This is a mirror used to borrow years of life!"
Lu Fei's eyes brightened.
"The good news is, Hao Hao might still be saved! Because his yang life was borrowed, not stolen or taken by force. Since it was borrowed, there's a possibility of getting it back."
Hearing this, the couple immediately felt a surge of hope in their hearts.
"Does that mean if we kill the ghost in the mirror, we can get Hao Hao's lifespan back?"