The staff member monitoring the comments hurriedly relayed the matter to Qi Gu.
"That's easy." Without a change in expression, Qi Gu cut his fingertip, then dipped into the blood and swiftly dabbed each ghost's soul.
The instant Qi Gu's fingertip touched their spirit bodies, the ghosts opened their mouths in astonishment and discovered that what came out was indeed the human language they had once known so well.
"Wh-what's going on?"
"Ah... how can I speak like a human again?"
Questions rose one after another. Qi Gu said, "Go say a few words to your families in front of the camera. Once the Underworld Constables arrive, it'll be too late."
"Our... families?" One ghost's voice choked up.
Some had died so long ago that they had no idea live streaming even existed now. They awkwardly approached the camera and asked nervously, "D-do we stand here to talk?"
The ghosts finished speaking one after another, leaving only Hua Yun and the Taoist priest.
The Taoist priest said he would pass.
Hua Yun tidied the disheveled hair hanging over her face, then patted her cheeks, hoping to give them a little color. With difficulty, she began, "G-Grandma, it's Xiaoyun."
"I'm leaving. You have to take care of yourself. Please don't be too sad..." Hua Yun's voice faltered. She struggled to say something more, but the remaining words stuck in her throat.
Because she knew very well that her grandmother could not possibly be all right.
An impoverished elderly woman with uremia who needed expensive treatment, after losing her only granddaughter... how could she possibly be all right?
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... it's all my fault for being so stupid. I didn't realize Diao Huaqing was a bad person in time..." Hua Yun hated her own stupidity for leaving her grandmother in her current predicament.
"Sweetie, don't cry. Tell your grandma something happy, then write down her address for me, all right?" Vivian took a business card from her bag, her tone gentle. "I run the Happiness Charity Fund. I promise you that we'll cover your grandmother's future medical bills and living expenses in her old age. If she'd like, she can move into our fund's eldercare facility free of charge."
"Thank you, thank you so much!" Hua Yun stared blankly for quite some time before finally managing to voice her thanks.
She moved aside with Vivian and wrote down her home address and her grandmother's name. Vivian did not mind her deformed, twisted spirit body at all, and tried several times to pat her shoulder to comfort her.
About five minutes later, the already cold and gloomy health center grew colder still, as though winter had suddenly descended on the place.
Wind rose indoors. As dust swirled through the air, everyone present instinctively closed their eyes.
Qi Gu knew the Underworld Constable had arrived.
A moment later, everything settled down.
The spirits in the room had vanished completely, all taken away.
[Wait... what exactly is going on in this stream???] This was a bewildered viewer who had just joined.
[Why did the stream cut out for a second just now? It felt like there was wind howling through the camera.]
[They're all gone. Did the Underworld Constables take them away?]
[I think so.]
[Ah, they were trapped for so many years. Now that the murderer's been brought to justice, being able to reincarnate without trouble counts as a good ending, I suppose.]
[We really have Qi Gu to thank this time. Without him, the guests would definitely have left as soon as they reached the first floor and realized something was wrong. No way would they have stubbornly pressed on.]
[And Gugu even divined Diao Huaqing's exact location. What an assist for the police!]
[Anyway, Qi Gu deserves some serious credit for this!]
[He also prevented any new victims. This is wonderful.]
[Thank you for letting me hear my mom call my name one last time.]
... With that, the first live broadcast of Investigating the Strange officially ended.
When the guests and camera crew walked out of the health center and saw daylight overhead again, they felt as though a lifetime had passed.
Outside stood the team Li Xiang had brought, having regrouped after seeing that the live broadcast had ended.
The moment Li Xiang saw Qi Gu, he stepped forward and saluted. "Comrade Qi Gu, thank you for your significant contribution to the police operation to apprehend Diao Huaqing!"
"Diao Huaqing has been on the run for years. The rewards offered for him over that time total around eight hundred thousand yuan. We'll transfer the full amount to your account after deducting taxes." Li Xiang's eyes were full of admiration and appreciation as he looked at Qi Gu.
Were it not for this young man before him, those who had died in despair inside this health center might never have received justice.
"E-eight hundred thousand?" Qi Gu's almond-shaped eyes went round.
If such a huge sum landed in his account all at once, just how disastrous would his bad luck have to be to offset it?
A car accident? Cancer?
The more Qi Gu thought about it, the more unnerved he became. He hurriedly said, "Please help me donate the money to a trustworthy charity."
Every time he finished handling a matter for someone, he donated part of his payment to accumulate merit for himself.
Given that his current merit was probably in the negatives, he had no idea how many years it would take before his bad luck went away, but Qi Gu still held on to a little hope.
Even if he could not turn his luck around completely, surely he could at least raise his five-thousand-yuan limit to ten thousand?
Hearing this, Li Xiang regarded Qi Gu with even greater respect. Together with the officers behind him, he saluted Qi Gu once more in unison.
After exchanging pleasantries with Qi Gu, Li Xiang lowered his head to look for his little superior, intending to head inside with him. But when he turned around, he saw that the pale, thin man with peach-blossom eyes among the guests was kneading his little superior's cheeks.
Pubu Gesang looked thoroughly indignant but dared not speak, trembling under the Great Demon King of a boss's hands.
Worried that Lin Hanzhi, an ordinary person, might offend his little superior and earn his resentment, Li Xiang hurried over to rescue him.
Only then did Lin Hanzhi let go, remarking casually, "This kid's pretty cute. Nice cheeks to squish."
Pubu Gesang rubbed his bright red cheeks aggrievedly, cursing inwardly.
Why on earth was that Great Demon King Lin Hanzhi here???
Lotus Town Health Center looked like nothing more than a straightforward D-rank assignment. Even a reincarnated living Buddha like him, who had yet to fully awaken and inherit his past-life memories, could handle it.
Why had he come in person?
As Pubu Gesang pondered this, Lin Hanzhi strode over to Qi Gu on his long legs, his voice rich and resonant. "How are you getting home later? Want me to give you a ride?"
Pubu Gesang: ?
What the hell? Had the Great Demon King been possessed?
Wasn't he so lazy that he refused even to write his own mission reports, outsourcing them to other anomalous affairs officers every time?
How could someone like that now be offering so amiably to take someone else home?
Sure, that practitioner named Qi Gu had shown some genuine ability, but... weren't you getting a little out of character, Great Demon King???
While Pubu Gesang was still wondering, Qi Gu blurted out without hesitation, "No need."
Pubu Gesang: !
He decided to take back his earlier assessment that Qi Gu merely had some genuine ability.
How could someone who dared turn down the Great Demon King merely have some genuine ability?
This was clearly a big shot among big shots, a man among men!
Qi Gu had no idea that those two words alone had earned him such high regard in the reincarnated living Buddha's mind. His eyes shone as he looked toward Song An, who was standing nearby waiting for the big shots to finish talking. He said eagerly, "The director said we could eat once filming was over. I'm going home after dinner."
Suddenly called upon, Song An hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes! What would you like to eat, Master? Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan, hot pot, barbecue, or Japanese?"
If not for Qi Gu, his show would have run into serious trouble on its very first episode!
Never mind Qi Gu asking him to buy dinner-even if Qi Gu wanted to eat him, he could grit his teeth and cut off a piece for him to taste!
"Grilled meat!" Qi Gu's eyes gleamed hungrily. He swallowed, his face animated.
Song An immediately called the staff and guests to come along. Only Sha Chuan, his face livid and black energy coiling around him, offered a casual excuse and left.
Not that anyone tried to keep him there... naturally, normal people kept a respectful distance from an idiot who courted death and had such a rotten character.
Before you continue