Remaining resentment and new clues

The morning sun filtered through the curtains, casting a faint glow on the bandage on Qi Chen's arm. Lu Ye sat by the bed, cotton swab in hand, carefully changing Qi Chen's bandage. Yesterday in the cave, Qi Chen's arm had been deeply scratched by a skeleton. Although it had been treated, it still required daily dressing changes.

"Does it hurt?" Lu Ye moved very gently, afraid of hurting him.

Qi Chen shook his head and looked at his serious profile with a smile in his eyes: "It doesn't hurt, just be gentle."

After changing the medicine, Lu Ye put away the medicine box and sat next to Qi Chen. "The core of that huge wronged spirit was resolved yesterday, but I still feel like there's still some resentment left, like the relics in the museum and the stuffed rabbit in the tailor shop. Is there still a problem?"

Qi Chen nodded, picked up his phone, and pulled up yesterday's news. "After the black fog dissipated last night, there were still a few small-scale resentments in the city, such as Qiming Middle School and Jingyuan. People from the Cultural Relics Bureau said that Su Qingyuan's diary and Su Manqing's porcelain vase were still slightly warm, as if there was lingering resentment."

"Then let's go check it out today," Lu Ye said, "and clear out any remaining resentment to prevent further problems."

After breakfast, the two of them went to Qiming Middle School. The school had already suspended classes, with a sign at the entrance reading "Temporarily Closed." Entering the teaching building, it was quiet, with only the rustling of the wind blowing through the windows. In the Grade 8 (3) classroom, Lin Wanqiu's lesson plan was still on the podium, the chalk dust on it turning black, as if stained with resentment.

Qi Chen picked up the lesson plan and flipped it open. Inside, he found a small note from Xiaoyu: "Teacher Lin, I'll help you find evidence." The handwriting on the note had turned black, still glowing faintly. "It's lingering resentment," Qi Chen said. "Xiaoyu's obsession still lingers. He's worried that Teacher Lin's injustice hasn't been completely cleared."

Lu Ye walked over to the blackboard and wiped away the chalk dust with a rag, revealing the words "Restore my innocence." He picked up a piece of red chalk and wrote next to it, "Teacher Lin, your grievances have been cleared, and Xiaoyu has found evidence. You can rest assured."

After finishing, the note on the lesson plan slowly returned to white, and the chalk dust also turned to its normal color. Qi Chen breathed a sigh of relief: "Xiao Yu's obsession has dissipated, and the resentment here has also been cleared."

The two went to Jingyuan again. The fog in the western-style building had dissipated, and the sunlight shone through the windows, shining on the wooden floor of the living room, emitting a warm light. Su Qingyuan's diary was placed on the table in the living room, and the cover of the diary was still slightly hot. Qi Chen picked up the diary and opened the last page. A line of words slowly emerged on it: "Thank you, I can go to reincarnation with peace of mind."

After the words finished appearing, the diary cover stopped burning and returned to its normal color. Lu Ye walked to the dressing table in the bedroom and looked into the bronze mirror. There was no longer Su Qingyuan's shadow in the mirror, only the reflection of the sun. "She's gone," Lu Ye said softly, "with a clear conscience, she's gone to start a new life."

When they left Jingyuan, Zhou Mingyuan called and said that Su Manqing's porcelain vase in Wangchuan Garden also had residual resentment, and asked them to go and have a look. The two immediately drove to Wangchuan Garden.

The fog in Wangchuan Garden had dissipated, and the water of Wangchuan Lake was clear, no longer the black it had been before. Zhou Mingyuan stood by the lake, holding a porcelain vase, his face a little pale. "After the black fog dissipated yesterday, the porcelain vase started to get hot and made a buzzing sound. I didn't dare touch it."

Qi Chen took the porcelain vase and held it in his palm. It was indeed getting hot, and the lotus pattern on it had turned black. "Su Manqing's obsession still lingers," he said. "She's worried that Zhou Tingshen's crimes haven't been known to everyone yet, and that some people might still misunderstand her as a runaway."

Lu Ye walked into the Wangchuan Pavilion, picked up a brush, and wrote on the stone table: "Su Manqing, Zhou Tingshen's crimes have been exposed, and your grievances have been cleared. Everyone knows that you were wrongly accused. You can rest in peace."

After writing, the porcelain vase slowly returned to its normal color and was no longer hot. Zhou Mingyuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Grandma Manqing can finally rest in peace."

The three of them sat in the Wangchuan Pavilion, gazing at the waters of Wangchuan Lake. Zhou Mingyuan suddenly said, "Actually, before my grandfather passed away, he left a suicide note saying he felt sorry for Grandma Manqing and hoped someone could help clear her name. Now, his wish has been fulfilled."

Lu Ye nodded: "All the grievances have been cleared, all the obsessions have been dispelled, that's all that's good."

It was already afternoon when they left Wangchuan Garden. As they drove toward the city, Qi Chen's phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. After answering, an elderly voice rang: "Excuse me, Mr. Qi Chen? I'm Researcher Zhou from the Municipal Archives. I have a Republican-era file that may be related to the tragic death of a former wronged spirit. I'd like you to take a look."

"Archives from the Republic of China period?" Qi Chen frowned. "Let's go there now."

When they arrived at the Municipal Archives, Researcher Zhou was already waiting at the door. He held a brown paper file bag in his hand, his face serious. "I found this file yesterday while sorting through materials from the Republican era. It records the construction and demolition of the monument in Bell Tower Square, as well as the cause of death of three workers. It's different from what you said before."

The three of them walked into the archives office. Researcher Zhou opened the file bag and took out a yellowed document. "It says that the three workers didn't die accidentally. They were killed on the orders of the then-mayor. They discovered that the mayor had embezzled public funds for the monument. The mayor was afraid of being exposed, so he killed them and buried them under the monument, claiming they were accidents."

Lu Ye and Qi Chen looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes - they had previously thought that the three workers died accidentally while dismantling the monument, but they didn't expect that they were murdered!

"That giant wronged spirit absorbed not only the resentment of the three workers, but also the resentment brought about by the mayor's crimes," Qi Chen said. "That's why its resentment is so strong, because it also contains evidence of the mayor's crimes."

Researcher Zhou pulled out another file. "And this one. The mayor was later arrested for corruption and died in prison. His body was buried underground in Bell Tower Square, right next to the three workers. So the giant wronged spirit absorbed his resentment and became even more powerful."

"I see," Lu Ye suddenly realized, "We only resolved the grievances of the three workers, but not the mayor, so there's still some residual resentment."

Qi Chen nodded: "We have to go to the underground of the clock tower square, find the mayor's body, and resolve his resentment, so that we can completely clean up the remaining resentment."

The three of them immediately drove to Bell Tower Square. The square was already bustling with activity, with elderly people dancing and children flying kites. Qi Chen and Lu Ye found the cracks that had been filled up. They dug them open with shovels, revealing the cave below.

The skeleton in the cave had disappeared, leaving only three workers' wooden boxes in the middle. Qi Chen's flashlight beam swept through the depths of the cave and found another skeleton there. The skeleton was wearing a suit, a Republican-era style. It must be the mayor's body.

"That's him," Qi Chen said, "His resentment hasn't dissipated yet, so there's still some residual resentment in the city."

Lu Ye walked over to the skeleton and discovered that it was holding an account book, which recorded his embezzlement of public funds. "He was obsessed with not wanting his crimes to be exposed," Lu Ye said. "We'll hand the account book over to the police, expose his crimes, and resolve his resentment."

Qi Chen nodded, picked up the account book, and carried it out of the cave along with the three workers' wooden boxes. They handed the account book to the police, who quickly publicized the mayor's crimes and erected a monument in Bell Tower Square, engraved with the three workers' names and deeds, to let future generations know about their injustice.

After all this was done, the remaining resentment in the city completely disappeared. Lu Ye and Qi Chen stood in front of the monument in the clock tower square, looking at the names on it, and felt a sense of peace in their hearts.

"It's finally over," Lu Ye said. "All the grievances have been cleared, and all the obsessions have been released."

Qi Chen nodded and took his hand: "Well, it's all over. We can spend a few days of peace and quiet."

The two walked in the square, the sun shining on them, warm and bright. Lu Ye looked at Qi Chen's profile and suddenly felt that such a day was really good - no terrifying ghosts, no difficult obsessions, only each other and the fireworks around them.

But he also knows that as long as there are innocent souls who need help, they will continue to move forward, because their mission is to ensure that every upright soul is treated kindly by the world.