Letting Go

"Tian Ge, let's go back. I think we should just give them the Star Fixing Compass. Qian can't take any more stress. Grandpa is gone, and I can't lose Grandmother too..." Zhao Qian cried as she spoke to me.

"Mhm, one Star Fixing Compass isn't worth a life." I nodded and drove the car back to the residential complex.

"Tian Ge, you shouldn't go to the manor either. Second Uncle said that with Master Wu handling the all-night vigil, they don't need any other unorthodox methods causing trouble. He told Father to call me and forbid you from coming." Zhao Qian said, her eyes teary, looking at me with embarrassment.

"Alright, but you have to tell me what happened." I tried to keep my tone calm.

It turned out that Zhao Qian had gone to the hospital, and Zhao He had been taken to the police station. The consecutive incidents had exhausted the Zhao family matriarch, and the household was in a state of panic. Fearing that the previous accident would happen again, they had called doctors and nurses to stay at the manor to provide care if anything happened, and to look after the matriarch.

But somehow, when the Zhao matriarch woke up in the morning, she found Old Man Zhao lying next to her in bed. He even asked where the Star Fixing Compass and the Compass Manual were.

The Zhao matriarch screamed and rolled off the bed, scrambling out and shouting for help.

Yesterday, Second Uncle Zhao Zhou had arrived with Wu Zhenghua. After asking about the situation, he felt he was already half the Family Head. Busy with everything, he wanted the Zhao matriarch to hand over those two items to him for safekeeping, so that the old man would be at peace.

However, the Zhao matriarch couldn't produce the two items. She had always kept them hidden by the old man, and she didn't know where they were.

Zhao Zhou was ruthless. He insisted that his mother was just thinking too much, which was why she was having nightmares, and then he ignored her.

The Zhao matriarch also thought that since Master Wu Zhenghua had arrived, the old man's Lingering Spirit shouldn't come back to demand things. Besides, she wouldn't sleep and would stay in crowded places. She figured the old man couldn't possibly manifest and scare her in front of everyone, right?

Yesterday, it was drizzling. The matriarch didn't dare to stay indoors, so she went to chat with some old cooks to relieve her boredom. While they were talking, Old Man Zhao waved at her from the woods. She was so scared that she fell headfirst into a basin of vegetables on the spot.

Wu Zhenghua examined the matriarch's complexion and said that she had been cursed. If this continued, she would surely be taken to the underworld by the old man.

Terrified, the Zhao matriarch asked for a solution. Wu Zhenghua went around in circles and eventually pointed the finger at Zhao Qian, saying that a guy who specialized in evil arts, brought by Zhao Qian, had set a trap, preventing the old man's Lingering Spirit from going to the underworld and causing it to linger in the manor.

To resolve this, they needed to retrieve the Star Fixing Compass, otherwise, the situation couldn't be resolved.

It all came back to the Star Fixing Compass. The matriarch used to be a Red Guard. All sorts of ghosts and monsters ran away from her. The old man himself was terrified of her when he was alive, and now he dared to come back for her life?

Thinking about it, she realized she had indeed been trapped.

The matriarch thought that the old man had doted on his granddaughter Zhao Qian the most. The Star Fixing Compass must be with her. An inanimate object couldn't be worth her life and everyone else's, could it?

She sent someone to find Zhao Xi and had him call Zhao Qian, asking her to bring both the Star Fixing Compass and the Compass Manual.

"Give him the Star Fixing Compass, what about the Compass Manual?" I looked at Zhao Qian with some sympathy. An inanimate object was just that, it couldn't compare to human lives. Without the Star Fixing Compass, Zhao Qian would still be a beautiful Feng Shui Master. Talented people wouldn't rely on mere objects.

"Qian will write it for him," Zhao Qian said resolutely.

"Will he stop after she writes it for him?" I shook my head.

"He will. Father said that as long as the items are returned to the Family Head, he won't make things difficult for me." Zhao Qian had lost her own will and was just doing as her father said.

"Alright." This was the Zhao family's business, and it wasn't something I could interfere with.

I drove the car home, and Zhao Qian entered the house. I called Han Shanshan from the doorway. "Hello, Han Shanshan, where are you?"

"Nowhere in particular, why? Haven't seen you for just half a day, and you miss me already? Want to know where I am?" Han Shanshan sounded very excited on the phone, with heavy metal music blaring in the background.

"Where else could you be? You're not at a bar, are you?" I frowned. Such places were full of smog and all sorts of people.

"Yeah! How did you know? Do you want to come? I'm dancing closely with a guy right now, and he took the liberty of groping me. I'm so excited! Want to come? I'll buy you a drink!" Han Shanshan said slyly.

"Xiao Han, what are you doing? We're on a case, hang up the phone quickly." A voice came from Han Shanshan's end of the line.

"No, you're on a case, right? Call me back when you're done. It's urgent, don't forget." As soon as I heard Captain Huo's voice, I realized Han Shanshan was working. Police work was important, so I let it go.

"Oh, okay, hmph, I was actually trying to trick you into coming. I didn't expect you to be so calm." Han Shanshan huffed in dissatisfaction and hung up.

I breathed a sigh of relief. What kind of person was she? She was terrified to death in the morgue today, slept for half the day, and now she was out on a case at night? She even lied about being groped and said she was excited about it. Damn it, she had everything except a functioning brain! I needed to recover.

After waiting for a while, Zhao Qian came out with the Star Fixing Compass, her eyes full of tears. Yu Xiao Xue also looked curious, standing outside watching us.

"Tian Ge, why haven't you left yet?" Yu Xiao Xue seemed a bit puzzled.

"It's nothing, Xue. Go back to sleep. I won't be back tonight. Lock the door and don't wait for me." I told Yu Xiao Xue to go inside.

Yu Xiao Xue could only pout and reluctantly entered the villa.

"Tian Ge, after you drop me off at the Zhao Family Manor, you can come back here. I'll call you if anything happens. You must answer my call then." Zhao Qian had gotten used to having me around. If I wasn't there, she would probably be very uneasy.

"Alright. Does your phone have enough battery?" I asked.

"Yes, I have a spare battery." Zhao Qian seemed confused as to why I asked.

"Set up speed dial. If you notice anything unusual while on watch, call me first and keep it in your pocket. If I feel something is wrong, I'll come over directly. You don't need to say anything, I'll be waiting for you on the main road outside the manor." Although this wouldn't help with sudden emergencies, it was better than having no preparation at all.

"Oh, I will." Zhao Qian felt relieved and got into the car, fiddling with her phone's speed dial.

I drove her to the Zhao Family Manor. Zhao Qian reluctantly got out of the car, looking at me as if she didn't want me to leave.

The manor was bustling with noise and brightly lit. If I didn't know it was a funeral, I would have thought someone was getting married.

It seemed the Zhao matriarch had gone all out after encountering the ghost today. Besides inviting relatives and friends, she had also invited many young people. They were sitting around the banquet tables in the open space of the manor, loudly playing drinking games and cards. With so many young people, the yang energy was strong. The matriarch probably felt that no more incidents would occur in the manor.

But was that really the case?

If Wu Zhenghua was going to perform a ritual, these young people would be of no use at all.

I shook my head inwardly. Perhaps Old Man Zhao was killed by Zhao Zhou using Wu Zhenghua, but there was no evidence.

Old Man Zhao was quite a good person. Even after death, he didn't become a fierce ghost seeking revenge. It seemed he had fallen prey to Wu Zhenghua's scheme, his yang energy was gradually depleted, and he eventually lost the will to live and died by his own hand. After dying, he naturally wouldn't consider his death wrongful.

Now it was getting interesting. I thought Old Man Zhao had been taken to the underworld after his death, but his Lingering Spirit hadn't even left the manor before being summoned back. It was undoubtedly Wu Zhenghua's setup; I doubted anyone else had the ability!

Would Zhao Zhou let Zhao Qian go after getting the Star Fixing Compass and the Compass Manual?

Based on their current methods, I don't think they'll stop until they've completely eradicated the problem! If it were me doing this, I'd definitely capture a wisp of Zhao Qian's soul. That would ensure everything is peaceful.

After getting out of the car, I said to Zhao Qian, "Qian, keep the Soul Stabilizing Talisman and the Ghost Exorcism Talisman on you at all times. If anything feels off, recite the incantation and call me. I'll rush over immediately."

"Okay, Tian Ge, be careful out there too," Zhao Qian nodded.

As we were speaking, several young men with dyed hair were already watching us in the parking lot. One of them even picked up his phone, calling someone. Soon after, more scruffy-looking youths emerged from inside.

It looked like Zhao Zhou or Zhao Yi had called them.

Seven or eight young men stared at me with grim expressions. The one leading them said, "Zhao Qian can go in, but you should leave immediately."

Fearing they might harm Zhao Qian, I decided to stay and watch her enter the manor.

"Little punk, hurry up and leave! What are you standing around for?" The leader hadn't said anything harsh, but one of the punks with green hair pointed at me, looking like he was about to hit me.

"What are you looking at? Think I can't smack you to death!" Another impulsive one strode over, grabbed my collar, and was about to swing a slap!

"Ah Biao! Wait!" The leader tried to stop him, but the slap from the one named Ah Biao had already come down!

I coldly asked, "Do you want to die that badly?"

They couldn't see Xijun sitting on my shoulder, so they were acting without restraint.

Ah Biao's incoming slap was directly caught by Xijun. Then, a chilling wind swirled around me, and Xijun squeezed him until he knelt down.

The abnormality before them terrified the rest of them.

"Ah Biao! What's wrong with you?" The leader ran over to see what was happening with his subordinate.

The man's face was pale, and he was trembling in pain. His hand already bore five finger marks, as if a child had squeezed it.

The leader gasped. He and Zhao Yi were brothers, so he knew that matters of the Xuanmen couldn't be measured by ordinary thinking. That's why, when he'd asked me to leave earlier, he'd held the thought of leaving a path open for future encounters and hadn't spoken too harshly.

He hadn't expected his subordinate to be so impulsive and try to attack someone. As the elder brother, he immediately said, "Ah Biao was ignorant. I apologize on his behalf. Senior, you are magnanimous, please don't hold it against them. I am Lei Qing from the west of the city. I saw you at the hospital today. Please, sir, show mercy and let Ah Biao go..."

I glanced at Lei Qing and said grimly, "You and your men should stay away from Zhao Zhou. If I find out you dare to make things difficult for Zhao Qian, you can expect to be arranging coffins for your entire family at the Wang Family's place!"

Lei Qing's face turned ashen, and cold sweat broke out uncontrollably. He nodded vigorously, like a pecking chicken, "I understand. I won't let Sister Zhao Qian have any trouble."