“Ah!”
The deliveryman shrieked. The parcel hit the ground with a thud, and the sealed wooden box inside popped open with a click. Out spilled grayish-white powder mixed with small shards of bone. No matter how you looked at it, it was a cinerary urn.
The deliveryman nearly bit his tongue. His phone tumbled to the ground, and from the other end of the line came a low chuckle. The man sounded exceptionally pleased.
The stranger’s number kept calling back repeatedly.
Fuming with rage, the deliveryman was about to pick up the phone to unleash a torrent of abuse, but the other party had already hung up.
He resorted to cursing at the phone for a few moments. Then, realizing that dropping someone’s ashes was a bit wicked regardless of the circumstances, he grumbled and turned back to pick up the box. He muttered under his breath, “It is not my fault. That person scared me on purpose. Sir, please do not take offense.”
Just as he leaned down, he felt his back growing heavier and heavier. His hanging head and hands simply would not lift.
He remained frozen in that eerie posture, his palms trembling slightly. A deathly chill seeped into his marrow, and his throat felt as if it were locked tight, making him unable to let out a cry for help.
After an unknown amount of time, he heard himself let out a sigh. In a tone and cadence that did not belong to him, he spoke slowly, “It is over. It is all over.”
His eyes stared blankly at the ground. He had lost control of his lips and tongue; even his thoughts had become sluggish.
Even the realization of “I have seen a ghost” felt stretched out, drifting through his mind with agonizing slowness.
Fengcheng New Village
“I have confirmed his location.” Xie Chongyang looked up and slammed on the accelerator. “The delivery order from Room 602 is headed for No. 18 Guishan Villa. We are going up the mountain.”
“Also, it is not yet certain if the resident of 602 is involved in the case, so we cannot arrest him directly. However, the police force will send people to keep an eye on him to prevent him from fleeing.”
Xie Chongyang emphasized, “This is not a solo operation.”
Cui Renwang had no objections. He only said, “Once we arrive, you might see some strange things.”
“I have one requirement.” He looked at Xie Chongyang. “You do exactly what I tell you to do.”
Xie Chongyang hesitated, his expression turning odd. “That sounds like it covers a lot of requirements.”
Cui Renwang replied matter-of-factly, “Yes, you could say that.”
Xie Chongyang wavered for a moment. “Fine. But nothing illegal!”
Cui Renwang said, “I will try my best.”
Xie Chongyang’s eyes widened as he looked at him. “Huh?”
Cui Renwang remained calm and composed. “Watch the road, not me.”
Guishan, Fengcheng
The deliveryman stood before the gates of Villa No. 28, his head hanging low.
“He” was still rambling, his tone devoid of life. “It is all my fault. It is all on me. I was stupid. I should just die. I should just die! Anyway, you all want me dead!”
As he spoke, his emotions became agitated. He suddenly turned and walked toward the guardrail halfway up the mountain, a height easily cleared with one step.
Beyond the railing lay the lush, leaf-shrouded Guishan. Looking down, it appeared like a deep, green abyss.
He swept a hollow gaze aimlessly toward the bottom of the mountain, his voice sinking again. “Anyway, the job is gone, the wife is gone, and the kid will not see me. Now, I have nothing but a mountain of debt. Nothing at all.”
He slowly braced himself against the railing and swung one leg over. Suddenly, a series of urgent beep-beeps rang out behind him. Two electric scooters came racing one after the other along the winding mountain road.
Taoist Master Zhang, wearing a helmet, flipped up his visor, chanting continuously. As he rapidly approached, his incantations boomed like thunder in the ghost’s ears, “Drive away evil and bind the demons, protect life and guard the body!”
The deliveryman’s hand twitched violently, and his movements ground to a halt.
Without breaking his chant, Master Zhang seized the opportunity to stop his bike. He lunged forward, grabbing the deliveryman from behind and hugging him tightly, shouting even louder, “The three souls shall endure forever, and the seven po-souls shall not perish!”
The deliveryman began to struggle violently, and sound finally returned to his throat. He screamed at the top of his lungs, “Help! Help me! I cannot control myself! There is a ghost! There is a ghost!”
“I know, I know!” Old Zhang held him in a death grip, locked in a stalemate over the guardrail. “Do not struggle forward! Lean back! Fall backward! Xiao Tao! Get my talismans! In my bag! I cannot let go!”
“Coming!” The girl on the second scooter scrambled off her bike. She stumbled over to his side and began rummaging through his bag in a frenzy. “Which one?”
Lin Xiatao opened the bag and nearly burst into tears. “Old Zhang, your bag is a mess! How could you put the toilet paper and the talismans together?”
Old Zhang cried out piteously, “I will organize it next time! Ouch!”
The deliveryman suddenly fell backward, taking Old Zhang with him and knocking over Lin Xiatao. The three of them tumbled into a tangled heap.
“Ouch, my old bones,” Old Zhang clutched his waist, his eyes suddenly bulging. “Not good!”
The deliveryman was already standing up again. Since he was possessed by a ghost, he felt no pain, and his movements were faster than those of a normal person.
“Just leave me alone!” he shouted, clutching his head in a breakdown. “Do not save me! Let me die! Let me die!”
He turned once more and charged toward the railing.
Right then, a black SUV screeched to a halt. Its headlights suddenly flared to high beam, and the deliveryman let out a piercing scream, covering his eyes.
Lin Xiatao shouted, “Old Zhang! Now!”
Old Zhang could not see either, but he pulled out a talisman and reached out blindly to find where the person was.
Xie Chongyang had already leaped out of the car. In two or three strides, he reached the deliveryman, who was still stumbling toward the railing. He grabbed him by his clothes, seized his neck, and hoisted the man up bodily.
Squinting, Old Zhang finally managed to slap the talisman onto the deliveryman.
Xie Chongyang instantly felt the resistance in his hands vanish. The man went limp and fell downward.
“Whoa! He is going down!” Old Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Xiao Tao, hurry!”
Cui Renwang turned off the high beams and stepped out of the vehicle. Xiao Tao had already taken a scented candle from the bag and lit it. She sat cross-legged on the ground, took two deep breaths, shook the silver plate engraved with strange characters around her neck, and whispered, “Living at… ID number… Li Cheng! Come!”
Xie Chongyang blinked in confusion and instinctively looked at Cui Renwang.
Cui Renwang put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.
With a clap, Lin Xiatao raised her hands high and pressed her palms together. Her eyes remained tightly shut. She exhaled a long breath, “He has been invited. He, ugh!”
Her cheek twitched unnaturally. Cui Renwang stood before her and said softly, “Be quiet.”
An icy wind seemed to blow through the area. Everyone except Xie Chongyang appeared tense.
The ghost of Li Cheng, who had been restless after being temporarily invited into Xiao Tao’s body, instantly fell silent and ceased his agitation.
Lin Xiatao sighed in relief. “Everything is fine now! Thanks to you, Boss!”
“Mm.” Cui Renwang nodded and met Xie Chongyang’s gaze. “You can put him down now.”
Xie Chongyang was still holding up the unconscious, unlucky deliveryman.
“Oh!” Xie Chongyang nodded quickly and looked at the three of them. “You guys are…”
Cui Renwang gave a brief introduction, “Taoist Master Zhang Buxu and Medium Lin Xiatao.”
“Oh,” Xie Chongyang realized. “The three of you are a gang!”
Cui Renwang said nothing.
Xie Chongyang asked again, “Then what is your role?”
Cui Renwang replied expressionlessly, “Special Consultant.”
“Hehe, is this the guy the police department assigned to you?” Seeing the ghost had been caught, Old Zhang relaxed instantly. He pointed at Xie Chongyang with a grin. “Did you not explain the situation to him?”
“I did.” Cui Renwang mumbled, pulling up his scarf. “He does not believe in the supernatural.”
“That is good.” Old Zhang smiled benevolently. “Those who do not believe are indeed less likely to be possessed. The police force needs talent like this.” He waved his hand. “Let us go. Will this officer give us a lift?”
“Sure,” Xie Chongyang agreed readily. “First, we take this deliveryman to the hospital, and then you lot…”
“We will go back to the station with you. This young lad is fine; he just fainted from the scare. Just take him to your station’s medical room. No need for a hospital.” Old Zhang had already gathered the spilled ashes and was holding the urn as naturally as one would hold a lunchbox. He opened the back door with practiced ease and pointed to Lin Xiatao, who had also quietly climbed in. “This one needs to be interrogated immediately. We have to strike while the iron is hot!”
Although he knew Xie Chongyang would not believe him, Cui Renwang still said, “Li Cheng’s ghost is currently in Xiao Tao’s body. In a moment, we can use her body to speak with a relatively calmer version of his spirit.”
“Actually, our Little Cui could just ask him directly,” Old Zhang said with a chuckle. “But Xiao Tao can empathize. She can see images that some ghosts cannot put into words.”
“Uh,” Xie Chongyang scratched his head. He looked at the girl in the backseat, who was exceptionally quiet with her eyes closed. He gave Cui Renwang a look of hesitation.
Cui Renwang looked back at him, perfectly justified.
Xie Chongyang ultimately said nothing and stepped on the gas.
Old Zhang asked with great interest, “Hey, Little Cui, how did you know the headlights would restrict his movement?”
“I guessed.” Xie Chongyang looked down to check his phone. “He said earlier that this car has solar charging.”
Old Zhang was enlightened. “Oh.”
“Solar energy converted to electricity to suppress ghosts. Reasonable!”
Xie Chongyang blinked, bewildered. “Huh? Was he not simply blinded by the light?”
“Mm,” Cui Renwang replied dismissively. “Just assume that is what happened.”
However, Old Zhang scrutinized Xie Chongyang with a smile and asked, “Young man, how old are you? What is your birth date?”
“Born on the Double Ninth Festival in the year XX,” Xie Chongyang answered easily. “Why? Are you going to tell my fortune? I do not believe in that stuff.”
“Oh.” Old Zhang performed a quick calculation on his fingers. “The ninth day of the ninth lunar month, which means double Yang energy. No wonder I see such abundant yang energy in you. Your Bazi is indeed very strong!”
Cui Renwang sensed something was off and looked back at him. “What bad idea are you cooking up?”
“Tsk, it is a great idea,” Old Zhang said, winking at him with a grin.
Cui Renwang felt a bad feeling about this.
The carload of people and one ghost returned to the police station. Old Zhang said he was going to greet the Bureau Chief. He shoved the urn into Cui Renwang’s hands and strolled into the Chief’s office.
He knocked, and Bureau Chief Zhao, a man with a square face, looked up without surprise. “You are here?”
“How is it? Is there hope of finding the person behind this this time?”
“The hope is better than before, at least.” Old Zhang smiled and sat down across from him. “At the very least, no one else will die like Li Cheng in the future.”
“A resentful ghost like him has no intention of actively harming people. But because he is trapped in the moment before his suicide, he possesses others to repeat the act of suicide over and over. The evil cultivator who uses him like this is truly sinister!”
“We moved fast this time. The person driving this ghost has not been silenced yet, so we should be able to get some answers.”
Zhang Buxu suggested, “Old Zhao, it is time to arrest the person in 602.”
Chief Zhao nodded slightly. “But we must follow procedure. We need a valid reason to bring him in.”
“That is simple.” Old Zhang clapped his hands. “Just say someone reported him for conducting feudal superstitious activities at home. Trust me, his house is bound to have plenty of cult-related items. You will find evidence the moment you step through the door.”
Chief Zhao hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. “Alright.”
“Great, then I will wait for the good news.” Old Zhang smiled. “I will go find the others first and see what Li Cheng has to say. Our base of operations should be getting approved soon, right? I also want to ask you for one more person.”