Tilly eyed Shannon even more suspiciously. "She's so young. What can she do? Helen, are you sure you didn't get tricked again?"

She turned toward Helen with a questioning expression.

Helen's expression turned a little dark. "Mom! Although Ms. Jensen is young, she's good at what she does. Please watch what you say."

She was afraid Tilly would offend Shannon.

However, Tilly pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. She didn't believe that a young woman like Shannon had any real ability. She assumed that Shannon had merely fooled Helen with the gift of the gab. So what if Helen was highly educated? Helen was still a poorer judge of character than she was!

Tilly was glad she got another expert to come over. They were doomed if they only had this young woman to rely on. The family wouldn't survive without her.

Keen to knock Shannon down a peg, Tilly looked at Shannon and said, "You claim to b

"If you even had the slightest ability to sense such matters, you would know there isn't any malevolent force in this room. Ms. Shaw isn't unconscious because of some ghost. Someone used a dark arts technique to try and steal her lifespan from her," Shannon declared.

Upon hearing that, both Donald and Helen reacted in horror. They hurried forward and asked, "Ms. Jensen, what dark arts technique are you talking about? Is someone trying to take Emmie's life?"

Turning toward them, Shannon continued, "They're not trying to kill her. Those involved in the mystic arts call this a lifespan transfer. I once said that Ms. Shaw has a blessed fate. She is supposed to have a blissful, carefree life. Due to that, someone seems to have set sights on her fate. They want to use her lifespan to extend their own."

Shannon took Emily's hand again and pointed at the little red mark on the tip of her thum

Oblivious to the odd looks on everyone's faces, Donald and Helen spoke with obvious urgency, "Mr. Jensen, we sincerely want to apologize to the great Ms. Jensen in person. Can you please let us see her?"

Adam parted his lips, looking as if he had taken a long while to understand what was going on. He was a little dumbfounded as he said, "Shannon isn't here."

Donald and Helen seemed anxious when they heard that. They hastily asked, "Is she away? When will she be back? Perhaps we can wait here for her return?"

In the living room, all the members of the Jensen family had awkward looks flashing across their faces.

They didn't know how to tell Donald and Helen that Shannon had moved out, and she definitely wouldn't be back by today.

Donald and Helen were already anxious enough, so when they realized that the Jensens weren't going to say anything, their anxiety increased.

"Mr. Jensen!"

Adam was about to say something when Hector stepped forward. "Shannon probably won't be home today. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, if you're in a hurry, I can help you contact Shannon for now. If she's available, I can take you to her."

"That'd be wonderful." Donald didn't intend to shy away from the offer. "Thank you so much."

Smiling, Hector nodded. Then, he turned around and walked away to make the call. Soon, he came back.

"Shannon said that she has now understood your reason for coming over. She will be heading to the Shaw residence right now, so you can meet up and talk with her in your home."

Donald and Helen were elated when they heard that Shannon was willing to go to the Shaw residence right away. Skipping the pleasantries with the Jensens, they hurriedly tried to say goodbye.

Hector followed Donald and Helen outside. "I'll send you home."

Of course, Donald knew that Hector was worried that Shannon might be mistreated at the Shaw residence. Emily was in a dire condition right now, so he couldn't be bothered to deal with those details.

It wasn't until the car disappeared into the night that the Jensens finally came to their senses.

"The Shaws were in such a hurry to talk to Shannon. Could it be that something happened to the young lady of the Shaw family?" Janice, Adrian's wife, spoke up with uncertainty. Her voice was filled with obvious worry.

Adam frowned. There was a dark look on his face.

"Something probably happened."

Also, that something might very likely be the occurrence Shannon predicted.

The villa area the Shaws lived in was quite far from Silver Bay Estate. It took more than 30 minutes by car to reach the Shaw residence.

When the three got there, Shannon also happened to arrive at the entrance.

Donald looked at the young woman in a T-shirt and jeans. He had heard Helen mention the age of the newly reunited young lady of the Jensen family, but he still had his doubts when he saw Shannon's overly innocent and well-behaved appearance.

On the other hand, Helen had shed her courteous and distant behavior. She had an earnest gaze in her eyes when she looked at Shannon.

"Ms. Jensen, I had made some brash decisions today. Thank you for coming over regardless."

Since Shannon had decided to come here, she was going to help them solve their problem. So, without any intention to put on airs, she said, "Let's go in first."

The couple sprang to action, hastily leading Shannon into the house. As they walked, they explained to her what had happened that day.

"Every day after her afternoon nap, Emmie will take walks and play in the children's playground in our residential area.

"Despite the reminder in the morning, which I ignored back then, I allowed Emmie to go out in the afternoon. In the end, for some reason, Emmie disappeared while she was outside. At first, I thought that it was a kidnapping case…

"But in about ten minutes, the security guards found her at the fountain. I thought that it was just a false alarm.

"But then, not long after Emmie came home, she suddenly fainted. No matter what we did, she just wouldn't wake up. The family doctor examined her, but the cause remained unknown…"

At that, Helen paused for a moment. She could barely hide the anxiety and sorrow in her voice. She looked at Shannon, continuing, "The doctor was at a loss, so we decided to send Emmie to the hospital for a thorough checkup. But when we were carrying her, we noticed something falling from her body."

It was because of that something that Helen went to look for Shannon again.

It was the talisman Shannon left behind. Back then, Helen had told the household staff to throw it away, but unexpectedly, Emily took interest in it, so she sneakily retrieved the talisman and hid it on her.

So, it was the talisman that had fallen from her body. Helen and the household staff didn't know what it was at first, for it was completely charred. Curiously enough, the item was already burned to ashes, but it held its original shape.

It was the butler who recognized it later on and told Helen that it looked like the talisman Shannon had left behind.

Shannon's talismans were folded with a special technique, so it wasn't hard to recognize them.

Then, Helen asked someone to check Emily's body. They found that there were no traces of scalding or burning on her body. Only the talisman, which was supposed to be yellow, had turned an ashen black.

Helen was an intellectual and a materialist. She never believed in ghosts or gods, so she didn't know anything about these things.

Tilly had recently looked into mystic arts, so she was familiar with some concepts. She guessed that the yellow paper turned to ashes because the talisman had warded off a malevolent spirit. But Emily was still unconscious, so it meant that the malevolent spirit was still around.

So, Tilly said that they should ask a geomancy master for help.

It was also at that moment that Helen remembered Shannon. Helen feared that Shannon would hold a grudge for driving her out and refuse to help. Thus, she visited the Jensens to apologize in person.

For the safety of their daughter, Donald and Helen couldn't care less about their pride.

Shannon could see that the Shaws sincerely cared about Emily. So, she spoke with rare comfort, "Don't worry. I've said before that Ms. Shaw has astrological houses with long-lasting good luck. Even if she gets hurt today, I can guarantee that she'll still make it out alive."

As Shannon spoke, they had already gone up the stairs to a room on the second floor of the villa.

As soon as they opened the door, a blaze shot out of the door, leaping right at them.

The couple was startled. Daniel subconsciously pulled his wife backward. Hector, who was walking behind them, moved to pull Shannon behind him as well. However, before he could do anything, he saw Shannon raising her hand.

The flame that was headed toward them instantly disappeared.

Before the Shaws could marvel at Shannon's movements, they caught a good look at the current condition of the room.

An altar was already set up in Emily's room without their knowledge. A middle-aged man in yellow robes was standing in front of the altar. He was holding an amulet in his hand, murmuring something as he waved the amulet in the air from time to time.

The blaze that startled the four when they came in was an effect of his performance.

Donald had guessed that his daughter had bumped into some malevolent spirit, but when he saw the mystical scene, he still couldn't help but feel frustrated.

He turned to look at an old woman in the room, saying in exasperation, "Mom, what's going on here?"

The woman in the room was none other than Donald's mother Tilly, who was said to have looked into mystic arts. Tilly was a plump old woman who seemed to have come from a wealthy background. When she heard her son talking, she hastily stepped forward to explain.

"Emmie got involved with malevolent spirits, right? So, I had someone ask for help from a geomancy master they know very well. This man here is Mr. Desmond Lund. Don't worry, Mr. Lund said that Emmie will be fine. When he's done, Emmie will have woken up. He said that she may even become smarter."

Helen was a little frustrated. "Mom, didn't we agree that Donald and I would be the ones to get a geomancy master here?"

It wasn't appropriate for multiple authorities to be tasked with solving a single problem. Helen didn't know much about the rules of the mystic arts, but still, she was aware that getting simultaneous help from two geomancy masters wouldn't bode well.

But Tilly didn't seem to mind it much. "What's wrong with getting more of them to help Emmie out? If you two hadn't treasured the child so much, I wouldn't have bothered."

With that, she looked at Shannon and Hector, who were standing next to Helen. She had a doubtful look on her face.

She knew Hector. He was the eldest grandson of the Jensen family, so the so-called geomancy master was definitely not him. So, it could only be the young woman next to him.

Frowning a little, Tilly said, "So this is the geomancy master you invited? Why, she's just a little girl!"

Her tone was filled with disdain toward Shannon.

Shannon raised an eyebrow.

Had sexism become so rampant that it existed in this field too?

Tilly eyed Shannon even more suspiciously. "She's so young. What can she do? Helen, are you sure you didn't get tricked again?"

She turned toward Helen with a questioning expression.

Helen's expression turned a little dark. "Mom! Although Ms. Jensen is young, she's good at what she does. Please watch what you say."

She was afraid Tilly would offend Shannon.

However, Tilly pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. She didn't believe that a young woman like Shannon had any real ability. She assumed that Shannon had merely fooled Helen with the gift of the gab. So what if Helen was highly educated? Helen was still a poorer judge of character than she was!

Tilly was glad she got another expert to come over. They were doomed if they only had this young woman to rely on. The family wouldn't survive without her.

Keen to knock Shannon down a peg, Tilly looked at Shannon and said, "You claim to be a real expert, right? Go on. Prove it."

She should at least be able to wield a sword like Desmond

Chapter 22