Summoning the Soul

(Brain storage)

"The body was found beneath the dance stage."

"The deceased was male, twenty-five years old. Quite young."

Several black-and-white vehicles soon arrived, and the handsome men in uniform quickly sealed off the area.

"According to the coroner, he had been dead for at least seven days."

Youyu had rushed over only a few minutes ago. After Lin Yiyi listened to Youyu's manager explain the situation, he came up with an idea.

"Just in time for the seventh day after death?"

"Are there any clues at the scene?"

The manager shook his head. "The organizer said this stadium hadn't even opened in the past few days."

"Then it was probably an inside job by whoever was in charge?"

"But we can't rule out anyone present as a suspect."

Ei suddenly spoke up, plunging everyone back into thought.

"Youyu! Youyu!"

At that moment, Lin Yiyi heard someone calling out. The group looked up to see a graceful blue figure running toward them—it was Jiang Yehua, dressed in a Furina cosplay.

As cosplay bloggers, it was only natural for the two to know each other. Their fame had also drawn plenty of fans. Even though some people knew that something unusual had happened inside, there were still those who didn't take it seriously.

Those people followed behind the two bloggers.

"Teacher Jiang!" The two immediately rushed forward and hugged tightly.

Only then did Jiang Yehua notice the two members of the Narukami Duo behind her: Ei and Yae Miko.

"Hey, hey, hey, did you see that? Their Narukami Duo cosplay is so accurate!"

"Yeah, yeah! Are they some new bloggers? They're incredible!"

"Can we get a photo with them?"

The fans behind the two bloggers immediately split into two groups, with some running over to get photos with Ei and Yae Miko.

Before beautiful older sisters of such high quality, all negative emotions became insignificant!

The young man remained seated in his chair, saying nothing. No one came to ask for photos with him anymore. He was thinking about what to do with the body at the scene.

What was the motive? How had the victim been killed? Was there a need to communicate with him directly?

"Why are you all gathered here? Disperse!"

A stern voice suddenly rang out. Everyone turned around and saw two young men in blue uniforms walking over.

The crowd had no choice but to disperse. Including the three people Jiang Yehua had brought, only eight remained standing together.

"You shouldn't be standing around either. Move along."

One of the young men advised them, and Lin Yiyi answered him.

"We're together."

"These two are Youyu and Jiang Yehua, popular internet celebrity cosplay bloggers."

"The purple-haired and pink-haired ones are my friends."

"Don't mind those people in casual clothes. Big bloggers always have people accompanying them when they go out."

The two handsome men exchanged looks. Then the other one said, "Please make more positive statements about this matter."

Youyu and Jiang Yehua both nodded. There was no benefit in stirring up public opinion over something like this.

"How's the body?" Lin Yiyi suddenly asked.

The two uniformed men looked him up and down. He was wearing a Taoist robe; they had no idea whether it was cosplay or whether he truly had some ability.

But out of their duty to serve the people—and since it wasn't classified information—one of them answered, "It's already severely decomposed. The coroner determined it was homicide. There are knife wounds on the body."

"What about the surveillance footage?"

"The surveillance records here are only kept for seven days."

"Damn."

"Looking at what you're wearing, are you into cosplay too?"

The young man nodded and chose to deceive them. He didn't want to be accused of promoting feudal superstition, though he could at least determine that the victim had been stabbed to death.

"When can we leave?"

People in the distance suddenly began to complain. They had been stuck here all afternoon, and with all this happening, no one was in the mood to enjoy themselves.

The young man looked around. No surveillance, no footprints, no clues whatsoever. The only possibility was that the venue staff had turned on one another.

Lin Yiyi had already thought of a solution, but unless it was absolutely necessary, he did not want to reveal himself in front of too many people.

"There's no other evidence at the scene. Just this one body."

"Seven days is enough to erase every trace."

A plump, older-looking officer heard his subordinate's report, sighed, and signaled that the people could leave.

"What a waste. I didn't even get to have fun."

"Hey, who could be in a good mood after something like this?"

"Why haven't Jiang Yehua and Youyu left yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, why are they still here?"

Some people headed outside, some stayed where they were to watch the drama, and others kept their attention on the two famous bloggers.

"Do you really have a way?"

Jiang Yehua looked utterly incredulous. She did not believe that this so-called master, who looked like he had no abilities whatsoever, could find even the slightest clue.

"Believe, and it exists. Don't believe, and it doesn't."

Today happened to be the seventh day after the victim's death, the best time to summon a soul. The young man picked up the backpack he had tossed aside and walked toward the body.

The cold corpse, giving off waves of rotting stench, lay silently under a white sheet.

"Please stay away from the scene!" A coroner quickly came over.

Lin Yiyi said nothing. Instead, he tossed the man a small booklet. The coroner caught it and saw three large golden characters printed on it.

"Taoist Priest Certificate"

The coroner frowned. "Even if you truly are a Taoist priest, it doesn't seem like you can change the current deadlock, can you?"

The young man lifted the white sheet and looked at the shriveled corpse. As someone who had spent years among the dead, he quickly adapted to the utterly nauseating smell.

"Hey, hey, hey, look at that Taoist master!"

"Holy shit, is something straight out of a TV drama about to happen?!"

"Wow, a Maoshan Taoist performing a ritual on the spot?"

More and more people gathered to watch. Lin Yiyi took several candles from his backpack, lit them, and arranged them in a circle around the body.

"Doctor, what's his surname?"

"Guo."

"Ding-ling-ling—"

"Heaven without end, earth without bounds; the Three Mountains and Five Sacred Peaks, heed my command. Quickly reveal this man surnamed Guo, whose startled soul lingers in the realm of the living. I worship the mountain gods and honor the earth deities—tell me, where has this man gone? Return swiftly, return swiftly! Grand Supreme Elder Lord, urgent as the law decrees—"

"Ding-ling-ling—"

A chilling breeze suddenly swept through the vast stadium. It was not strong, but it was bone-deep cold, making everyone present shudder.

"Fuck!"

"Ahhhhhhh—"

Then they witnessed something they would never have imagined in their lives.

As they watched the corpse slowly sit up, most of the gawkers instinctively took a step back.

"Silence! Do not disturb the departed!" Lin Yiyi shouted, then looked at the seated corpse.

"Are you Guo?"

"Crack... crack..." The corpse nodded.

"Where were you killed?"

"By the river..."

Lin Yiyi froze for a moment, then asked again.

"Who killed you?"

"The manager..."

"State his name."

"Yang Long..."

"What was your relationship with him?"

"My boss..."

"What was your company called?"

"Shouhe..."

"I shall seek justice for your grievance. Depart swiftly, and be reborn without delay—"

"Ding-ling-ling—"

No one knew how long it took before the crowd finally came back to their senses.

"That's it? He got everything out of him?"

One of the uniformed young men seemed to have short-circuited and still had not processed what had happened.

Lin Yiyi lit two talismans and shook his bell again, sending the departed on part of his final journey.

The dozens of people present immediately erupted into chaos.