Chapter 31

The wail of police sirens instantly doused Run Sheng's hot-blooded bravado. He pulled out a stick of incense, lit it with a match, clamped the other end between his lips, puffed out his cheeks, and took a deep drag, somehow smoking with an air of desolation.

Li Zhuiyuan watched curiously, wondering whether he could really blow smoke rings.

The next moment, wisps of smoke drifted from Run Sheng's nostrils.

He was smoking it.

For a moment, Li Zhuiyuan could not help wondering whether this was the proper way to use incense.

He understood why Run Sheng was feeling down. Run Sheng usually monopolized the television at home, and the local county station loved replaying gangster movies.

Whenever Li Zhuiyuan went out at night to use the toilet, he could always hear the sounds of hacking, slashing, and gunfire coming from the first floor.

Run Sheng had clearly absorbed too much of it and been influenced.

In truth, most people his age had such fantasies and impulses. The difference was that Run Sheng's build and strength gave him tremendous ability to act on them.

Other than when he had first learned Face Reading Fortune Telling and calculated the fates of Great Grandfather and himself, Li Zhuiyuan had deliberately avoided calculating the destinies of those close to him.

A destiny was like the most private of personal secrets. Peeking into it casually was unethical, and it would also affect how people got along in daily life.

Still, even without using calculations, Li Zhuiyuan could tell something just by glancing at Run Sheng's face. His facial features were highly typical, the kind that could be printed in a textbook as a model example.

Run Sheng had a standard Seven Kill Formation, also known as a Partial Official Formation. He had drive, perseverance, ambition, and courage. Like a fierce tiger trapped in a cage, it was an extremely ominous formation.

However, a Seven Kill Formation could also change. Misfortune could be turned into good fortune, depending mainly on whom one followed and who influenced them.

"Brother Run Sheng, those movies on TV are fine to watch for fun, but don't take them completely seriously, and don't actually imitate them."

"Huh?" Run Sheng, who had just been immersed in his melancholy, was so startled that the incense nearly fell from his hand. "I can't watch TV anymore?"

"That's not what I mean. Watch whatever you want at home, but don't immerse yourself in it completely. Brother Liangliang said that society will only become more orderly and stable in the future. Fighting and killing have no future."

In ancient times, many generals had destinies like Run Sheng's. But this was a peaceful era, and people with such destinies often went astray.

"Oh, all right. I'll listen to you."

Run Sheng scratched his head. As long as he was not forbidden from watching television, anything was fine. Frightened, he hurriedly took another drag of incense to calm himself down.

Several police cars drove up to the Jiang family home. Tan Yunlong led the team. Before he even had time to show his documents and explain why they had come, someone inside the Jiang residence opened the gate and welcomed the police in.

That surprised Tan Yunlong. Reality was not like television, where everyone was a deeply hidden smiling tiger. Especially in rural towns, nouveau riche types often liked to put on a tough act in front of the police even when there was nothing to gain from it, even if it meant deliberately acting stupid, just to show how gutsy they were.

After entering, Tan Yunlong heard the Jiang family asking one another who had called the police. Once he explained their purpose, he was told that Jiang Dongping, the family head who had built up this fortune, had gone missing three days ago.

At first, the family had not thought anything was wrong. The Jiangs owned several entertainment businesses in town, and it was common for him to go out socializing. It was not unusual for him not to return at night; they assumed he had slept at one of his mistresses' homes, and even Jiang Dongping's wife could understand that.

But yesterday had been the Jiang family's ancestral worship day. They had been honoring the grandfather who had personally raised Jiang Dongping, yet Jiang Dongping still had not returned.

They had searched all day yesterday and were still searching today. When the police arrived, they thought someone in the family had reported him missing.

Tan Yunlong frowned slightly. His first thought was that Jiang Dongping had fled to avoid punishment, but the Jiang family's reactions did not resemble that at all. Besides, if he had fled, how could he have failed to deal with his assets beforehand?

Still, he remembered why he had come. He ordered people to seal off the pond while sending others to borrow a water pump from a nearby construction site.

The Jiang family found this puzzling. Some wanted to step forward and stop them, but the officers blocked them.

Tan Yunlong remembered the few who had tried to interfere.

The ornamental pond had only been dug the day before yesterday and was not very deep to begin with. After pumping for only a short while, there was just a shallow puddle left inside, exposing broad stretches of mud.

At the very center stood a Water Vat.

Tan Yunlong walked over. The vat was full of water, and inside was a large clump of yellowish-white flocculent matter. It looked a little like glue, and a little like the jelly his son liked to eat.

"Come on, help me move it."

The vat was heavy, its bottom stuck fast to the mud. Tan Yunlong and several officers worked together before they managed to shift it aside. Then he took an iron shovel, pointed below, and said:

"Dig!"

They had dug less than a meter down when a hand emerged.

The surrounding officers immediately became excited. Without needing orders, they began securing the entire Jiang residence and temporarily prohibited anyone inside from leaving.

Only Tan Yunlong's gaze revealed confusion, because the hand was far too fresh. It did not look like it had been buried long ago.

It was also wearing a gold watch that glinted in the sunlight. Why had the person who buried him not casually taken it?

Still, they had at least truly dug up a person—and a dead one.

Although only one hand had appeared, they could already see how miserable his death had been. His hand was reaching straight upward, which meant his main body was actually farther below.

His fingertips were badly damaged, and his nails had been severely torn away. Although the blood had long been diluted by the wet mud, the brutal struggle for survival was still evident.

He had likely been buried alive while conscious.

But...

Tan Yunlong handed the shovel to an officer beside him and kept backing away until he stopped at the edge of the pond. He began carefully observing the surroundings of the pond and the Water Vat that had been moved aside.

There were clearly no signs that this pond had recently been excavated. So how had this fresh corpse been buried alive inside it?

When they had moved the Water Vat earlier, the moss and vegetation on its bottom had clearly blended into the environment of the pond floor beneath it. That could only have formed after it had sat there for many years. Could someone have moved it away and then deliberately restored everything?

Tan Yunlong had heard of restoring cultural relics, but restoring this... Going to such lengths just to murder someone and hide the body? They might as well have thrown him into the nearby sand quarry and ground him to pieces.

"Other than the people digging up the body, no one else enters the pond. Protect the scene."

After giving the order, Tan Yunlong walked to a corner, squatted down, and took out a cigarette pack.

The conversation he had earlier with that child named Li Zhuiyuan surfaced in his mind.

The conversation had been brief. The child had practically explained the report in one sentence. What had truly surprised Tan Yunlong was when he asked why the child had specifically come to him.

The child had said: Because I knew you would not cause trouble in my life.

"Heh."

Tan Yunlong blew out a smoke ring. Ordinary suspects sitting before him would deliberately avoid his gaze, but that child had calmly looked him in the eye and even dared seize the initiative in their conversation.

"Captain Tan, there's a problem."

"What is it?"

"This body is hard to dig out. It's sinking."

Tan Yunlong immediately stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it over the wall. Then he walked into the pond and examined the body.

They had dug another meter deeper from where they had started, yet the only part exposed was still that hand.

Tan Yunlong took the shovel again and personally joined the excavation.

As they dug, it was true—the body kept sinking, as if there were a drain beneath it.

But that should not have been possible. This pond had been dug only the day before yesterday. If it was like this underneath, how had it held water normally? There was no water pump constantly replenishing it.

"Use a rope."

They tied a loop in the rope and threw it down, catching it around the corpse's wrist. When they pulled upward, it tightened at once. Tan Yunlong called another officer over to pull with him, but they could not move it at all.

It was as if a force below was also dragging the corpse, wrestling against them.

If they increased their strength further, they might damage the body.

"Captain Tan, should we call an excavator?"

"Then the scene will be impossible to preserve." Tan Yunlong immediately shook his head. "And the body is so deep that a machine will definitely damage it. Keep digging and see."

Several officers dug for a while longer, but there was still no solution. Every meter they excavated along the corpse's edges made the body shrink another meter into the mud below. The mud around it was visibly growing drier, yet the corpse somehow continued sinking.

At the same time, the officers digging below were in danger too. At any moment, the ground beneath their feet might collapse and the surrounding mud could smother them.

At that moment, an older officer silently walked to Tan Yunlong's side and whispered, "Captain Tan, this is a little strange."

"Brother Sun, do you have an idea?"

"How about finding someone who retrieves bodies from the water? They might have their own methods for getting the body out while keeping it intact."

"Anyone you recommend?"

"There's a fairly famous one in Siyuan Village, Shinan. His surname is Li."

"Call the station. Have someone go invite him, but don't wear police uniforms. Let him know in advance too, and ask whether he can avoid making such a big spectacle of it."

"Got it."

"Forget it. I'll make the call."

"All right, Captain Tan." The older officer felt greatly relieved. This would reflect badly if handled poorly. He had only offered a suggestion and did not want to shoulder the responsibility himself.

Tan Yunlong patted his shoulder, walked to the police car, took out his radio, and relayed the instructions. Afterward, he leaned against the car door and lit another cigarette.

"Sigh, all we can do is wait."

"Little Yuan, how much longer do we have to wait?"

"I don't know."

"Why is it taking so long? They've been digging forever."

The tricycle was parked on a dirt slope. With the higher ground and the Jiang family's iron-bar fence that did not block the view, the two of them could roughly see what was happening inside despite being some distance away.

"They probably ran into some trouble."

A rumbling sound came from beside him.

Li Zhuiyuan looked over. Run Sheng lowered his head awkwardly. He was hungry.

Although he had been eating incense on and off, incense was only like green onions eaten alongside a meal to him. No one could live on green onions every day.

Li Zhuiyuan took out the money Great Grandfather had given him that morning and handed it to Run Sheng. "Brother, there's a small shop by the road ahead. Go buy something to eat."

"Ah, that's such a waste." Run Sheng shook his head. "That stuff is only for tasting. How can it really be used as a meal?"

"Just buy a little first to fill your stomach."

"Should I ride to the restaurants at Town Market and buy some food?"

"That's too far. We need to stay here. Those two things might come over at any time... or leave."

"That's true. I'll go buy some. Little Yuan, what do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine. Just buy what you like."

"Then wait here. I'll be right back."

Run Sheng took the money. Rather than ride the tricycle, he simply took off running.

Before long, Run Sheng came back carrying several bags of instant noodles and biscuits.

"Here, Little Yuan. This is the change."

"Why didn't you buy more?"

"I couldn't bear to. With the money for just this little stuff, we could buy so much rice and flour."

Li Zhuiyuan only ate a few biscuits. He had eaten breakfast late and was not too hungry yet. Run Sheng had worked in the fields that morning, so Li Zhuiyuan needed to let him eat first.

After all, Run Sheng was his greatest support. He could not have all the fine tools prepared only for the one using them to be too hungry to perform.

After finishing everything, Run Sheng gathered up all the seasoning packets from the instant noodles.

Li Zhuiyuan had been puzzled before. Although they could not cook or soak the noodles right now, would it not taste better to pour in the seasoning, crush the noodles, shake them up, and eat them dry?

But Run Sheng had not done that. He had eaten the instant noodles as whole blocks instead.

Now, Run Sheng tore open a seasoning packet and poured the powder into his palm. Then he stuck out his tongue and licked a little from his hand.

Then he kept pouring out seasoning while licking it. His face was full of satisfaction. He clearly enjoyed eating it this way.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan watching him, Run Sheng smiled and asked, "Little Yuan, want to hold out your hand and have some too? It's delicious!"

"Oh, all right."

Li Zhuiyuan held out his hand and let Run Sheng pour some into his palm. Then he gently licked his palm as well, carefully and seriously savoring the taste.

Sure enough...

It had a rich instant noodle seasoning flavor.

"Hehe, this is great. Before, everyone had to share one packet and take turns licking it. Now I get to eat it all by myself."

During this era, children had very few snacks in their daily lives, so this way of eating seasoning packets gradually became popular. It had flavor, and it was fun.

Li Zhuiyuan touched the change Run Sheng had given him earlier in his pocket. Although the old carpenter had not charged him a processing fee, it had cost Great Grandfather a favor and reputation. He could only use that once.

And the materials and experimental costs afterward, along with the possible consumption during use... pocket money was far from enough to support all that.

It seemed he needed to find a way to make some money.

"Brother Run Sheng, do you know where people play cards?"

"Cards? My grandpa plays. He likes Three-Card Brag. There are several regular card games in the village. You can sit down and play as soon as you get there."

"How is Grandpa Shan at it?"

Hearing that question, Run Sheng suddenly looked a little embarrassed and said quietly:

"When we could have eaten solid food at night, he went to play cards, and then the two of us could not even afford enough thin porridge to fill our stomachs."

Li Zhuiyuan remembered that Great Grandfather seemed to have said Grandpa Shan always lost money playing cards.

"Brother Run Sheng, do you want to go back and see Grandpa Shan?"

"I do."

"Then tomorrow, I'll go to Xiting with you and visit Grandpa Shan."

"Great!"

Run Sheng happily stood up, stretched lazily, and looked around. Soon, his smile disappeared. He pointed at a motorcycle approaching in the distance.

"Um, Little Yuan, doesn't the person sitting on the back of that motorcycle look like your Great Grandfather?"

"It is Great Grandfather."

Li Sanjiang sat on the back of the motorcycle, with a bundle wedged between him and the driver. Another bundle was tied behind the motorcycle, and he held one in each hand.

The wind howled around him, making his arms tremble. He was exhausted.

Someone from the authorities had come to invite him, so he had to go. Otherwise, he would not have the confidence to carry that plaque next time.

Unfortunately, the family mule had gone wandering off today. Even more unfortunately, the mule had taken the tricycle with it.

"Comrade, stop for a moment, stop."

The motorcycle stopped. Li Sanjiang looked at Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng standing by the road and asked in surprise:

"Why are you two here?"

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "Just like you, Great Grandfather. We were called here."

"What?" Li Sanjiang froze for a moment. Without thinking much further, he tossed what he was holding to Run Sheng. "Let's go."

Li Zhuiyuan had not expected that he would be able to enter the Jiang family courtyard so soon.

The moment he entered, he felt Tan Yunlong's gaze. Li Zhuiyuan deliberately avoided it.

To his surprise, Tan Yunlong actually walked over, bent down, wrapped an arm around him, and pretended to tousle a child's hair as he leaned close and whispered in his ear:

"You reported the case to get work for yourself?"

"Then this money is awfully hard-earned."

"Hehehe." Tan Yunlong laughed and patted Li Zhuiyuan's head. Then he looked at Li Sanjiang. "Sir, sorry to trouble you into coming all this way. Don't worry, I'll cover the labor fee."

"Don't mention it, don't mention it." Li Sanjiang hurriedly waved his hands. "You're being far too polite. This is what I should be doing. The police and the people are like fish and water."

"How could we accept that? We're already very grateful that you're willing to cooperate with our work."

"Is the person in the pond?"

"Yes, please take a look first." Tan Yunlong accompanied Li Sanjiang toward the pond and lowered his voice. "Sir, when you get to work later, we'll have to trouble you to keep the spectacle to a minimum."

"The comrade who brought me here already told me. Don't worry, I understand."

"Please understand."

"I understand, I understand."

Of course he knew why. Police officers in uniform getting too close to feudal superstition did not look good. The last time he had fished Big Beard and his son out of Big Beard's fish pond, the arriving police had also waited beside their patrol cars on the road.

Everyone cooperated when they needed to, and observed boundaries when they needed to.

Li Sanjiang called out to Runsheng Hou, "Runsheng Hou, get the gear!"

Runsheng Hou hesitated and did not move. He turned to look at Li Zhuiyuan, who had already quietly stepped to the edge of the pit and was peering down.

When Li Zhuiyuan saw the hand below, confusion appeared in his eyes. Why did this hand look so fresh?

According to Brother Leopard, he had helped Jiang Dongping bury the body here back then. It had been quite some time—perhaps even years.

This was at the bottom of a pond, damp to begin with. The corpse should have decayed quickly. How could its flesh and skin still be so clearly visible?

Either this body was not the murdered Old Zhou, or there was something wrong with the current Old Zhou.

"Runsheng Hou, why are you standing there like an idiot? Get the gear!"

Li Zhuiyuan came back to himself and looked at Runsheng Hou. "Brother Run Sheng, get the equipment ready."

To be safe, they should still use their own.

"Right!"

Runsheng Hou answered and immediately pulled back the tarp on the tricycle, carrying over a brand-new set of tools.

Li Sanjiang looked somewhat puzzled at these new tools, which resembled his own but were not quite the same. However, with the police all watching, it was inconvenient to ask questions. Besides, new or old made no difference to him.

"Great Grandfather, let Brother Run Sheng handle it first. If he can't fish it out, that means Grandpa Shan doesn't have the ability to teach disciples. Then you can step in and properly teach him a lesson."

"Mm, all right."

Li Sanjiang felt that Little Yuanhou's reasoning made sense.

Runsheng Hou took the tools and arranged them by the edge of the pit, his face full of eager anticipation.

Li Sanjiang found a small wooden stool and set out a simple offering. He had even brought two white candles that had nearly burned down to their ends.

He had indeed followed the police comrades' request not to make a big production of it, so he kept everything modest.

After lighting the candles and burning the paper, Li Sanjiang muttered under his breath and began circling the pit.

The younger police officers nearby watched curiously, while the older ones silently retreated a little farther away.

Tan Yunlong looked around. Old Jiang's house was large and naturally rather isolated, with few nearby residences. Coupled with the Jiang family's status as local bullies, not many villagers dared come to watch their household's excitement at this time. Beyond the walls, only a scattered dozen or so people stood around, half of them having merely stopped after seeing police cars parked here.

As for the Jiang family members, Tan Yunlong had already instructed that they all be taken inside to give statements.

The surroundings were fairly quiet. At least not too many people would see this and start gossiping.

After finishing the ritual, Li Sanjiang took two beer bottles plugged with cloth strips from a bundle. They were filled with a bright red liquid.

The moment Tan Yunlong saw them, he stepped forward to stop him. "Sir, what are you doing?"

"Black dog blood. I'll first rid it of the baleful energy. This thing can't be dug out and keeps shrinking deeper in. It's holding a grudge."

"Can you not splash it?"

"Not splash it?"

"If you splash that on it, we won't be able to examine the corpse."

"Then I'll give it a try. Runsheng, you can start. Let's see whether Shan Pao taught you any real skills."

As he spoke, Li Sanjiang set the two bottles of mixed pig blood in his hands on the ground.

To show off his status as an old master, he deliberately walked a few steps away, took out a cigarette, and tried to light one to put on airs.

A police officer beside him reminded him, "Sir, if you want to smoke, you'll need to move farther away. We still need to conduct an evidence search here later."

"Oh, all right." Li Sanjiang hesitated, but since he had put on this display himself, he could only take his cigarette to a corner. Then, after searching his pockets, he discovered that he had left in too much of a hurry and had not brought matches, so he had to go borrow a light.

Thus, the only people truly standing at the edge of the pit now were Li Zhuiyuan, Runsheng Hou, and Tan Yunlong.

"Officer Tan, is the body shrinking downward?"

"Yes. The farther down we dig, the farther down it sinks."

"Officer Tan, could you have someone move that vat holding the 'Tai Sui'?"

"That's important evidence. We need to take it back to the station for examination."

"I'm not asking you to throw it away. Just have someone move it outside the gate. Don't leave it within the grounds of this house."

"Is there some taboo involved?"

"Yes."

"All right." Tan Yunlong immediately ordered several police officers on the perimeter to carry the vat outside the gate.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. That settled the karma between himself, Brother Leopard, and Zhao Xing. What came next was simply settling accounts.

When Officer Tan turned back, he saw the boy take out a crude wooden compass. Tan Yunlong felt that not even vendors selling shoddy toys at street stalls would stock such a toy—it was too ugly to sell.

The boy first adjusted the direction in which he was standing, then stared at the compass in his hand and turned in a circle on the spot. Once he stopped, he silently recited several numbers.

Tan Yunlong listened carefully, thinking he was about to chant some sort of spell, only to hear nothing but numbers.

After finishing the mental calculations and corrections,

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head to look into the pit and pointed beside Runsheng Hou. "Use the Yellow River Shovel. Here, here, and here... Dig six small slanted pits at these six points first."

"Got it!"

Runsheng Hou climbed into the pit with the Yellow River Shovel. Without even looking at the hand's location, he followed Li Zhuiyuan's instructions and dug six holes into the surrounding sidewalls.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. Those six holes were meant to break the miasma and disrupt the corpse's "sense of direction," so that when it panicked and tried to flee, it would lose its bearings.

Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu described this kind of corpse. They possessed abilities similar to razor clams and could burrow through dirt and sand.

Strictly speaking, though, this kind of corpse did not count as a Death Collapse. Wei Zhengdao had specifically noted: There must be something strange near such a corpse.

Li Zhuiyuan took out an inkpad, pressed his index finger into it hard, and ran it along the Seven Star Hook. As each section of the hook opened, he added a red fingerprint to it in turn. Only after all seven sections had opened did he toss the Seven Star Hook into the pit.

"Brother Run Sheng, place the hook between yourself and the corpse. Seal off its route!"

"Understood!"

Runsheng Hou caught the hook in one hand and, following the instructions, drove the Seven Star Hook into the ground between himself and the hand.

Very quickly, only the uppermost end of the Seven Star Hook remained above ground. Runsheng Hou pressed his palm there and began to turn it, and a series of cracking sounds immediately came from underground.

So far, because they had not touched the hand, the corpse had not continued burrowing downward.

Li Zhuiyuan pressed all five fingers into the inkpad, then quickly brushed them across the Soul Returning Basket and Homecoming Net before tossing both into the pit.

"Set the basket in front of it. Lay the net behind it."

"Okay!" Runsheng Hou had just caught the items when he froze for a moment and asked, "Little Yuan, which side is the front of the corpse?"

"The direction its palm faces is its front."

"Understood!"

Runsheng Hou set the Soul Returning Basket in front of the palm. At first glance, the basket's opening looked narrow and shallow, but once its fastening buckle was undone, its opening and depth could expand and contract freely, and it was exceptionally tough.

As for the Soul Returning Net, Runsheng Hou spread it over the direction of the back of the hand. The net covered a vast area, nearly blanketing that side of the pit wall as well.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the Luosheng Umbrella and said to Runsheng Hou, "Brother Run Sheng, catch me."

With that, he leaped into the pit. Tan Yunlong beside him had no time to stop him.

Runsheng Hou caught him steadily. Once Li Zhuiyuan was standing securely, he first bent down to inspect the hand at close range, then pulled out a Talisman Paper he had drawn himself from his pocket.

The preparations were complete. Now he wanted to conduct a private test—specifically, to test the Talisman Paper he had drawn.

The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons did not offer many detailed descriptions of Talisman Papers. It merely listed several prerequisites, much like needing to master certain foundational subjects before studying a particular field of knowledge.

Li Zhuiyuan met none of those hard requirements. He had simply followed the talisman pattern in the book and drawn it in a single stroke while gathering his breath and focusing his mind.

He knew there was probably no use in it, but... what if?

The distance was just right. Hovering above the hand, Li Zhuiyuan released the Talisman Paper. It slowly drifted down, and just as it was about to touch the hand, the fingers suddenly spread open and violently clenched the paper!

The Talisman Paper instantly turned black.

"Little Yuan!" The sudden change made Runsheng Hou immediately shield Little Yuan behind him.

Li Zhuiyuan felt somewhat helpless. Not only had the other party ignored the threat of his Talisman Paper, it had even deliberately provoked him.

"Brother Run Sheng, pry it out."

"Okay!"

Runsheng Hou gripped one end of the Seven Star Hook with both hands, crouched down, and began pressing it downward with all his strength.

The hand began to move. The soil beneath it rapidly cracked, but this time it did not sink farther down. Instead, it kept changing direction in every direction, like a headless fly crashing about.

Runsheng Hou continued exerting force. He gritted his teeth, veins bulging in both arms. His feet had already sunk into the soil up to his ankles.

Li Zhuiyuan could not help sighing inwardly. Sure enough, corpse fishing was physical labor.

Look at Uncle Qin that night, then look at Runsheng Hou now. Without a powerful physique, no matter how good the tools were, one could not make proper use of them.

Fortunately, he was still young and could train slowly.

After a fierce struggle, the corpse was clearly beginning to lose its support. Suddenly, a great mass of earth wrapped in black mist burst from underground.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately opened the Luosheng Umbrella and held it in front of himself and Runsheng Hou. The umbrella trembled violently, numbing both of Li Zhuiyuan's hands, but he continued holding it firm.

When he noticed faint black mist appearing all around them, Li Zhuiyuan pulled out the Sanqing Fan, pressed its hidden clasp, and fanned it. White incense ash drifted out from within the fan.

In an instant, the air seemed to carry a faint smell of burnt coal.

"It's coming out!" Runsheng Hou let out a low roar. "Little Yuan, back up!"

Li Zhuiyuan immediately folded the umbrella and retreated. The ground ahead split open, and a corpse wearing pajamas was pried out. The Seven Star Hook lay beneath it, each segment extending outward like a series of clasps that held the corpse in place.

The corpse did not seem to move, but in a blur, it appeared to dart forward. After entering the Soul Returning Basket, the basket rapidly enlarged and stretched. The corpse fell backward into the Homecoming Net, whose mesh curled up around it and wrapped it inside.

The corpse then became still.

Li Zhuiyuan let out a breath and asked, "Brother Run Sheng, did the corpse move by itself just now, or were you pulling it with the Seven Star Hook?"

"The corpse didn't seem to move, but its weight kept changing. One moment it was extremely heavy, the next it was extremely light. It nearly threw off my strength."

"Then it was not the corpse moving. This corpse is not a Death Collapse."

Once the corpse was out, a pit about one person deep appeared where it had been. Li Zhuiyuan walked over to peer down and saw two pairs of skeletal hands protruding from the pit walls.

There were two more corpses reduced to bones down there!

It seemed Old Zhou, whom Brother Leopard had helped bury, was not the first person Jiang Dongping had murdered and buried here to cultivate Tai Sui Meat.

Looking more carefully at the positions of those two pairs of skeletal hands and how wide their fingers were spread, Li Zhuiyuan measured them with his own hands.

"Little Yuan, why are there bones down there too?"

"Brother Run Sheng, the reason this corpse kept sinking was because those two pairs of hands were pulling it down, refusing to let it leave."

"What about now? Can they still move?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "They're not Death Collapses, only Hauntings. They disperse when they see light."

Only in places unseen by people, beyond the reach of sunlight, would these Hauntings move and cause trouble.

For example, many people heard soft rustling noises from upstairs, downstairs, or other rooms in their homes while sleeping at night.

Sometimes those sounds were not made by upstairs or downstairs neighbors, nor by mice in the house. They were Hauntings within the home.

But when you gathered your courage and turned on the lights to investigate, you would find nothing. Hauntings would not let you see them. If you saw them, they would be gone.

Most Hauntings could only make small noises and posed little danger. A few stronger ones would enter your bedroom and climb onto you while you slept, creating, in very rare cases, sleep paralysis.

Runsheng Hou remarked, "Those three were buried here and developed feelings for each other? They couldn't bear to let the other one go?"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the corpse wrapped in the Homecoming Net and said,

"I suspect this corpse isn't one of the victims."

"Huh? Then whose is it?"

"What's the opposite of a victim?"

"What is it?"

"Brother Run Sheng, lift me up. I don't want to climb out and get my clothes dirty."

"Sure."

Li Zhuiyuan was lifted up, and Tan Yunlong above reached out to pull him over.

"What happened down there just now?" Tan Yunlong immediately could not help asking.

He had been standing above when mud suddenly splashed everywhere and blurred his vision. Then he seemed to see a large rat burrow out. After it rolled around a few times and his vision cleared, he saw a corpse wrapped in a net.

"Heave-ho!"

At that moment, Runsheng Hou came up easily, one hand carrying the net-wrapped corpse and the other gripping the slope.

Tan Yunlong's eyes widened. The strength it took to lift a "living person" like a chick was genuinely frightening.

Once the corpse was brought up, Runsheng Hou swiftly untied the net and packed up the basket. Then he turned and jumped back into the pit, retrieved the Yellow River Shovel and Seven Star Hook, and wrapped them up again.

This entire set was simply too useful. He decided he would diligently farm for Old Man Sanjiang. Once he had saved enough wages, he would have Little Yuan make him a set too. He would pass it down as a family heirloom.

Tan Yunlong took gloves from his pocket and put them on. Crouching down, he gently brushed mud from the corpse's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and his expression immediately turned grave.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Is it Jiang Dongping?"

Tan Yunlong lifted his head in surprise and looked at the boy. "You knew all along?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "No, I only just figured it out. There are two more skeletal corpses below. Uncle Tan, have someone keep digging. It'll be easy to excavate."

The only person whom two victims would grip tightly beneath them, dragging him down to sink together into the mud, was their perpetrator.

"I understand. Thank you, Little Yuan."

"Could you give me a piece of Tai Sui Meat as thanks?"

"What do you want that for?"

"Uncle Tan, you know how curious children can be."

Tan Yunlong took a small plastic bag from his pocket. Inside was a jelly-like piece of something. After leaning close to block the view from outside, he slipped the bag into Li Zhuiyuan's pocket.

"Promise me you won't eat it. It might be poisonous."

"I won't. But Uncle Tan, you really are generous."

"There's still a huge lump in the vat. Giving you one piece is fine."

"What, it's already been fished out?" Li Sanjiang had only had time to smoke one cigarette before seeing that the work was done. He could only say resentfully, "Looks like Shan Pao does know how to teach a disciple after all."

"Great Grandfather, Brother Run Sheng and I will ride the tricycle back first."

"Now that it's over, I'll leave with you too. That motorcycle made my ass hurt."

"Great Grandfather, you can't leave. Officer Tan wants you to stay and help examine the corpse. It was soaked in mud and water, and you have experience with this."

Tan Yunlong looked at Li Zhuiyuan with some confusion. There were professional forensic examiners for autopsies.

Still, he took off his gloves and grasped Li Sanjiang's hand. "Right, sir. Please stay and help us take a look and analyze things. Once we're done, I'll drive you home."

"Fine, then."

"Great Grandfather, we'll be going first."

"Be careful on the road, you two. Runsheng Hou, ride slower. Don't go and hurt my Little Yuanhou."

Run Sheng carried the tools out through the gate and carefully set them flat on the tricycle. Afterward, he could not resist reaching out to touch them.

"Little Yuan, once I save up enough money..."

"Brother Run Sheng, don't make any big movements. Secretly take a look at the little slope where we were earlier."

Pretending to continue organizing the things, Run Sheng glanced over from the corner of his eye and found two people standing there. They looked somewhat familiar.

"Have I seen them somewhere before?"

"At the video hall. They were the four hooligans who talked really loudly."

Their leader, the man in the suit, had already been arrested and was now trying to atone for his crimes. Fortunately, the suited man had still been in the stage of being recruited as a downstream distributor. He had not even gotten the goods himself yet, much less assigned tasks to his three underlings.

So after being held for a day and given their education, those three hooligans had been released.

"Do they live nearby too? Did they come to watch the excitement?"

"Shigang isn't as lively or fun as Shinan. Would someone living in Shigang go all the way to Shinan to watch videotapes? Brother Run Sheng, look at their feet again."

Run Sheng pretended to glance over casually again, then lowered his head. "Little Yuan, they're standing on tiptoe!"

"They've come. They finally showed up—the target we were really looking for this time."

Run Sheng silently gripped the Yellow River Shovel. "I'll rush over right now and smash their heads open!"

"Brother Run Sheng..."

"Don't worry, Little Yuan. They definitely can't run faster than me. Besides, they have to run on tiptoe."

"Brother Run Sheng, there are so many police officers right beside us."

"Ah..."

"Even the gangsters in Hong Kong movies aren't as brazen as you."

"I was wrong, Little Yuan."

"Let's get on the tricycle first and ride in the opposite direction."

"I'll listen to you."

Li Zhuiyuan got onto the tricycle, and Run Sheng pedaled it in another direction. After traveling some distance, they turned behind another residence.

"Brother Run Sheng, come on, drape this Homecoming Net over us. That way, they won't be able to see us."

Run Sheng's eyes lit up. "This thing can do that too?"

"Yes. Otherwise, how could it bind a Death Collapse? Death Collapses are so strong that they could tear ordinary nets apart with a casual struggle. Only a net they can't see can keep them from breaking free."

"Seriously, Little Yuan, compared to the things in my grandpa's house, what you have could make those look fit to sell to a scrap collector."

"Don't worry. I'll make you a set someday too."

"Uh... it must be expensive, right?"

"It's fine. We'll go see Grandpa Shan tomorrow, and then we should have money."

"My grandpa has no money. If rice and flour weren't hard to sell in the village, I'd be afraid we might not even have food when we go home tomorrow."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Let's go after those two first."

"Fine."

And so, Run Sheng began pedaling the tricycle hard again. Whenever cars and pedestrians passed them on the road, they stared in shock at the tricycle wrapped in a net and the two people inside it.

When they reached the original spot, Run Sheng said in confusion, "Damn it, they're gone."

"They're ahead. They're heading toward the river."

Sure enough, the two figures appeared beside the river, walking downstream along its bank.

"Should I ride down there?"

"Stay on the road for now and follow them from a distance. We'll make our move once they reach somewhere secluded with fewer people."

Next, the two people walked by the river while Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng followed along the road.

They gradually headed into a remote area and turned onto a narrow path.

"Should we do it, Little Yuan?"

"Wait a little longer. Let's see where they're really going. Those two are only Vengeful Spirits. There's something behind them controlling them."

"Isn't the one controlling them that guy surnamed Jiang?"

"Jiang was buried in the pond himself. Who do you think buried him?"

"Little Yuan, you mean..."

"I suspect that one of the three people Jiang Dongping buried has already become a Death Collapse."

Li Zhuiyuan took out the bag of Tai Sui Meat Officer Tan had given him and continued, "There should be something wrong with this Tai Sui Meat."

A Death Collapse was not so easily created, especially one capable of controlling Vengeful Spirits. That was already an extremely rare level.

The Tai Sui Meat gave off a fishy stench even through the plastic bag. He had no idea how anyone dared to eat this as a supplement.

The sky gradually darkened as dusk arrived.

The two people entered a graveyard.

Run Sheng picked up the tools and continued following Li Zhuiyuan beneath the net, creeping forward on tiptoe.

Finally, the two stopped before a gravestone. With a thud, they dropped to their knees before it.

Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng, meanwhile, were wrapped in the Homecoming Net and hiding behind a gravestone in front of the two men. One was on the left and the other on the right, both peeking around the gravestone with extreme caution as they watched them.

Yet the two simply remained kneeling there, motionless, for a long time as the sky slowly grew dark.

Run Sheng looked at Li Zhuiyuan with a puzzled expression. What were they doing?

Li Zhuiyuan shrugged. I don't know either.

Run Sheng pointed around them, then at the Yellow River Shovel in his hand. It's secluded here, and no one's around. We can kill them.

Li Zhuiyuan waved to refuse, then pointed at Run Sheng's arm. Run Sheng did not quite understand, but when he saw Li Zhuiyuan lean his head over, he still raised his arm so Li Zhuiyuan could rest against it more comfortably.

No matter what, there had to be a reason Little Yuan was doing this.

After a while, the two people kneeling before the gravestone still had not moved, and neither had Little Yuan, whose head rested against his arm.

Unable to endure it any longer, Run Sheng turned to look at Little Yuan and found that Little Yuan had his eyes closed, breathing evenly. Run Sheng froze completely.

Little Yuan had actually fallen asleep?

Li Zhuiyuan had not really fallen asleep. He was merely trying hard to take a nap, and in that half-dreaming, half-waking state, he heard shrill wails and desperate pleas for mercy. They were Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing's voices.

He knew he had entered the state.

When Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, he found that Run Sheng, who had been leaning beside him, was gone. That was normal. Run Sheng had not entered his dream.

The wails and pleas for mercy continued. They seemed to be suffering an unimaginably horrific torture.

This was not strange. The last time Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing had come looking for Great Grandfather at the banquet, it was clear from their requests that they did not know Jiang Dongping had already been buried alive. Nor did they know that the one truly controlling them was actually a former victim, most likely the man surnamed Zhou whom Brother Leopard had personally buried alive.

Li Zhuiyuan slowly and cautiously peeked out from beside the gravestone in front of him. The two people who had been kneeling there were no longer visible. Like Run Sheng, they did not exist in this dream.

As he shifted his gaze farther, Li Zhuiyuan saw Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing beyond the place where those two had originally knelt. They were prostrated on the ground, their bodies constantly cracking and flaking away.

In an instant, Li Zhuiyuan froze, his whole body turning ice-cold.

Because they could not see filthy things before, he and Run Sheng had naturally assumed that those two were kneeling in worship before the gravestone in front of them.

But in truth, those two had only been vessels for possession. After being used to walk here, they had been cast off like shoes.

When shoes were not being worn on someone's feet, the direction their toes pointed no longer represented the direction the person faced.

Now, the direction Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing knelt and wailed toward was the gravestone directly in front of him!

And he and Run Sheng had been hiding behind that gravestone for a long time.

Li Zhuiyuan slowly lowered his head. At his feet, he saw an extremely long shadow stretching outward. Clearly, he was not that tall, so the shadow could not possibly be his.

So,

it

had been standing behind him and Run Sheng all along.