The name Chen Li'an was like a nail driven into his temple.

I suddenly remembered Zhang Xixi saying that Chen Li'an's wife wore a mink coat.

The news reported the time of death as 3:30 AM.

It seems to have been around the time Zhang Xixi knocked on the door.

"Boss, two more tea eggs, please."

I held my hand down and opened Lao Huang's reply section.

"I heard this woman is usually quite fierce. She forced Chen Li'an to buy her a gold ring, but as soon as he put it on, she went crazy and started scrubbing her face with a steel wool pad..."

The accompanying image is a blurry screenshot from WeChat Moments.

The breakfast stall owner brought over eggs, and the plastic tray clattered onto the table.

"Young man, why do you look so pale? Did you see a ghost?"

I stared at Li Fang's twisted fingers in the news, black dirt embedded in her fingernails.

It's exactly the same as the one inside Zhang Xixi's toenail.

It turns out that the drain I blocked that day didn't stop her resentment at all; she just used me to find Chen Li'an's weakness.

"It's like seeing a ghost."

I threw the silver bracelet into the bowl of soy milk, and the white liquid instantly turned black: "But this ghost is seeking revenge for a life."

The phone suddenly vibrated. Lin You sent a message: "Master Chen, I called the police earlier. The police said the case has been solved and it's even on the news. The guy next door was arrested today. Isn't that strange? He was carrying a bloodstained kitchen knife in his pocket!"

The guy next door?

Holy crap!

Does that mean Chen Li'an lives next door?

I stared at the black water in the bowl, feeling somewhat dazed.

Chen Li'an thought that cutting Zhang Xixi into so many pieces would quell her resentment.

Little did he know that every bone he crushed would become a needle piercing his life.

"what goes around comes around."

As for asking me to arrest Zhang Xixi? Impossible.

Firstly, now that she has killed someone, her strength has greatly increased, and it's hard to say whether I can be her match.

Secondly, I suspect she won't let Chen Li'an off the hook, even if he's thrown in jail.

Moreover, since Zhang Xixi killed someone, she definitely can't be reincarnated. Naturally, ghost soldiers will come to capture her.

...

I paid and got up to walk back to the shop.

Yuan Ying is no longer here, but the shop must continue to operate.

The only difference is that I'm now the boss.

However, I no longer live in the shop, but in Yuan Ying's house.

They had only gone halfway when they suddenly heard someone shouting behind them, "Master... Master..."

I thought she wasn't calling me, but the girl suddenly appeared right in front of me, grabbed my arm, and ran so fast she was out of breath, her face flushed.

"You...were looking for me?"

I looked at the girl in front of me with suspicion. She was wearing a white T-shirt, light blue jeans, and white Crocs. She looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place her.

"Master, it's me! We met on the bus last time. I was wearing a white dress!"

Her reminder made me realize it immediately.

"Oh, it's you. What a coincidence!"

I was quite surprised. I thought he was a complete stranger I would never see again, but we met again a few days later.

At first I couldn't remember, but after saying a few words, I remembered.

I was on my way to Lin You's house when she and some classmates were about to take the bus back to school. They greeted me from the bus.

They also asked me a lot of bizarre questions.

“I remember your name is… Qiaoqiao or Haohao?” I asked.

"Master, my name is Xiaoyue!"

Xiaoyue rolled her eyes.

Before I could even feel embarrassed, Xiaoyue suddenly grabbed my hand and said in a panic, "Master, can you catch ghosts? Can you?"

I subtly withdrew my hand and gently pressed my thumb on the "Laogong" acupoint in her palm.

The palms were warm, without any cold or damp feeling.

Looking up at her face, I noticed she had an oval face, fair skin, and her eyebrows were about two fingers apart. Her life palace was smooth and without any blemishes, and her temples were slightly raised, which was the location of her "academic palace".

"Your forehead is bright and clear, the bridge of your nose is straight, and the proportions of your three facial sections are well-balanced."

I took out a compass and waved it in front of her. The needle pointed steadily to due south: "Your life palace has no dark aura, and there are no dark lines at the corners of your eyes. Although you have had some false alarms recently, it is not a sign of encountering ghosts."

Xiaoyue's eyes widened in surprise: "Then why do I keep hearing someone knocking on the wall? Last night I even dreamt that a woman was standing by my bed..."

"The sound of knocking on the wall is the resonance of the pipes; dreaming of a woman indicates liver deficiency and gallbladder cold."

I pointed to the faint dark circles under her eyes: "Have you been staying up late writing your thesis lately? The redness in your career palace clearly indicates that you are overthinking and your fire element is overpowering your metal element."

She suddenly covered her mouth: "How did you know I was working on my master's thesis? Master, you're so accurate!"

"A full and prominent nose tip, a lustrous wealth palace, and a full and radiant academic palace."

I put away the compass, took out a mind-awakening talisman and handed it to her: "Not only will there be no ghosts, but you will also make some progress within half a month, and your thesis will be appreciated by your supervisor."

Xiaoyue held the talisman, her expression shifting from shock to suspicion: "Then the dark figure I saw yesterday..."

"The motion-activated lights in the hallway are malfunctioning, and the soles of your slippers are too thin."

I pointed to her Crocs: "Evil spirits like dampness. You always get up at three in the morning, and the dampness in your body is what makes you feel like you're seeing ghosts."

She looked down at her shoes and suddenly burst out laughing: "Master, you're amazing! My advisor did say he'd help me revise my thesis this week... So how do I apply this talisman?"

"Put it on the upper left corner of your desk and soak your feet in warm ginger water every day between 5 and 7 a.m."

I caught a glimpse of the lucky charm she was wearing on her wrist; it was made of plastic, and the cord was braided in the wrong direction.

"Also, don't wear these beads anymore. I'll give you a sandalwood string instead, so you can sleep peacefully tonight."

When Xiaoyue took the wooden string, I noticed ink stains on the inside of her index finger, which was indeed the hand shape of someone who had been holding a pen to write papers for a long time.

"Thank you, Master!"

She carefully tucked the talisman into her small bag, took out her phone to transfer money: "I'll definitely send you a banner after my thesis is approved! By the way, Master, how much is it?"

"Forget about the banner and the money."

I waved my hand and said, "Consider it fate that I'm giving it to you."

It's not worth much anyway. If I really wanted to sell it, it would only be worth a few dozen yuan, so it doesn't matter.

"Thank you very much, Master!"

Xiaoyue was incredibly excited.

I hummed in agreement and turned to leave.

But after taking only a couple of steps, he heard Xiaoyue suddenly scream "Ah!" behind him.

"Master, wait! Master!"

Xiaoyue caught up with him again.

"What's up?"

I frowned. Why was this girl so easily startled?

"Master, it's not me who's in trouble, it's my friend. My friend has been haunted by a ghost. I almost forgot about it after you scolded me!" Xiaoyue said somewhat embarrassedly.

But more than anything, there was panic, and a hint of fear.

"Your friend?"

"Mmm!"

Xiaoyue nodded quickly: "Actually, Master, you've seen her before. She was drinking milk tea at the time."

After she finished speaking, she described it to me.

I thought back carefully and remembered that there was indeed such a girl, who seemed to have a bit of baby fat.

I vaguely remember them asking me if there really was a Ouija board.

Damn it!

Did they really summon a ghost?