The aftermath of the family annihilation case had a significant impact on Ms. Wu and her son. Tao Rui did not inform his son, who was about to take the college entrance exam, about this incident. However, as the Internet is becoming more and more developed, and the word "family annihilation" is too eye-catching, the case directly became a hot topic. Many people, while scolding the murderer, were also scolding Ms. Wu for sheltering the criminal.

Their son inevitably witnessed and learned the full story. Of course, he couldn't handle it. It wasn't just the shattering image of his parents, but also the changing attitudes of everyone around him. Who would want to associate with the son of a murderer? Even if he seemed normal, his father was also normal, a kindhearted man who did good deeds!

The boy's college entrance exam was a failure, so Ms. Wu spent a lot of money to send him abroad, hoping he could take a year off to continue his studies. It was also to allow him to escape this sad place and the oppressive public opinion.

This may be the best way for the teenager, but the scars on his heart will probably never heal.

The boy left, but Ms. Wu couldn't leave. She had to pay the price for hiding the truth for so long.

Simply knowing the truth and not reporting it is not illegal. At most, she will be severely criticized. Because Ms. Wu simply divorced and left without providing the murderer with a place to take refuge, and did not lie to the police, it does not count as a crime of harboring a criminal.

But coincidentally, Ms. Wu was more careful and took the diary away!

That diary is now a crucial piece of evidence. Having it in Ms. Wu's possession means she's hiding the most crucial evidence in the murder case, changing its nature. Although the murderer insists he voluntarily left the house, paid child support, and wasn't blackmailed, Ms. Wu must still be held accountable for concealing the evidence.

But considering that she testified in court and identified the murderer, and that she was also one of the victims, she was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

In other words, if she behaves well during these two years, she won't have to serve her sentence in prison, but she won't be allowed to leave the country during these two years.

For others, a suspended sentence might be a relief, as they wouldn't have to go to jail. But for Ms. Wu, it was pure torture. Because in her son's eyes, it meant she hadn't been punished at all.

Regardless of the truth, it was Ms. Wu who personally led her ex-husband to his death, something no child could accept. No matter how discerning one is about right and wrong, it's unforgivable. Furthermore, Ms. Wu exploited this to extort money, only to be left alone in the end. Her son couldn't accept this.

This was the greatest punishment for Ms. Wu. She lost her job, became alienated from her family and friends, and her son didn't understand her and even stopped answering her calls, cutting off all contact. And she had a two-year probation period, which prevented her from leaving the country to visit her son.

After these two years, she and her son have missed the best period for recovery, and perhaps they will never be able to be loving mothers and filial sons again in their lifetime. This is more painful for her than imprisonment.

But this was her choice. If she had discovered the truth and reported it to the police immediately, at least others would have considered her righteous and not alienated her. Her son wouldn't have thought she was wrong, and perhaps their relationship could have been reconciled. She chose this path, and she alone will bear the consequences.

The case came to a close, and the Water Ghost, the Hanged Ghost, and the Starving Ghost were all gone. The Water Ghost and the Hanged Ghost felt that their wishes had been fulfilled, while the Starving Ghost followed Tao Rui around, eating well and in various ways every day. He even served as an auxiliary police officer and helped Tao Rui solve the case. He was satisfied and his obsession was gone.

What surprised Tao Rui was that besides them, Lu Yaxin also wanted to leave.

Lu Yaxin said to Tao Rui: "I went to scare Yang Zhijie every day. Seeing that he couldn't eat or sleep well and was so frightened, he really had some mental problems. I suddenly felt that it was meaningless. I used to hate him so much, but in fact, deep down in my heart, I still hid fear. When he tried to kill me, it was really terrifying.

But now he's afraid of me, very afraid. I occasionally bring some wandering ghosts to scare him, and he's had a mental breakdown. I just realized that people who have done bad things are really afraid of ghosts. As long as he knows that ghosts exist in the world, he won't need to see me to be afraid.

So I thought, I don’t need to waste time with him anymore, I should go live my own life.”

Tao Rui smiled and said, "Although it's a bit unexpected, it's great that you can think it through. Let's go, I'll see you off. Is there anything else you want to do before we go?"

Lu Yaxin shook her head. "No, I used to be trapped in the villa and always wanted to visit my parents when I was free. But now I know they have been reincarnated and are living well, so visiting them is no longer important."

"Okay, let's go." Tao Rui took a few ghosts to the top floor.

These ghosts have been following him for a long time. They already know each other and have developed feelings for each other after spending so much time together. Now they are all leaving suddenly, and the headless ghost Lin Yang is particularly reluctant to let them go.

But he knew that it was right for them to leave, and that they would soon see the world with fresh eyes. So Lin Yang wished them well: "May your new life be smooth and successful."

"You too, follow Brother Rui and accumulate more merits."

Several ghosts waved to Lin Yang, then spontaneously bowed to Tao Rui in front of the Samsara Gate to express their gratitude. If they hadn't met Tao Rui, they didn't know how long they would have been trapped there. They were truly lucky, with the right time, right place, and right people. They met Tao Rui just when he needed some ghosts.

You know, they had encountered ghosts on the road before, and Tao Rui didn't always intervene. So they were filled with inexpressible gratitude, and before leaving, each of them expressed their most sincere blessings to Tao Rui.

Lu Yaxin smiled sincerely for the first time, feeling relieved about the past, and floated into the gate of reincarnation with a few companions.

Lin Yang asked Tao Rui, "Are they all going to be okay?"

Tao Rui said: "Everyone has their own karma. If they help solve the case, they will accumulate merit, which will benefit their reincarnation."

Lin Yang suddenly had an idea and looked at Tao Rui with wide eyes, "Then I...Brother Rui, if I, I keep helping you solve the case, then wouldn't that be..."

Tao Rui raised his eyebrows, smiled and nodded, "You just realized it? Work hard and let your parents do more good deeds, so that your family will have a much easier time."

"Yes, yes, I'll tell them right away! Brother Rui!" Lin Yang hugged Tao Rui tightly and said with emotion, "Brother Rui, you are so good to me. Thank you. I will never let you down!"

"Go ahead, stop being so cheesy." Tao Rui patted his back and pushed him away.

This was the order of heaven and earth; Tao Rui had merely explained the rules to Lin Yang. Lin Yang had earned all the merit, and the family reunion was his due.

When he got to work again, Tao Rui asked the chef to prepare a delicious afternoon tea and send it to the police station, and invited everyone to eat together.

Many people say that he is amazing. After joining the police station, he has been solving cases and has solved three unsolved cases in a row.

Tao Rui said with a smile, "I just found some clues. It was everyone's concerted efforts and overtime that solved the case. The credit belongs to everyone. But it's true that I've been busy recently. I haven't had a formal gathering with everyone in such a long time. Tonight is my treat. How about we go out for dinner after get off work and have fun until the early morning?"

"Wow! This is great. Can we bring family members, Brother Rui?"

"Now that I know you have a girlfriend, do I have to show off like this?"

"Your sister-in-law is here too, as is your daughter. It's more lively with more people. How's Brother Rui?"

Tao Rui smiled and said, "Of course that's good. If your family members are free, please bring them. It's a good opportunity to get to know each other. If you have children, don't go to those places with singing and dancing. Just come to my house. I'll ask the chef to cook some food and we'll have a BBQ!"

"Okay, okay, that's great! I'll make a call right away!" Those with family members had already rushed to contact their contacts. Everyone had been so busy for so long, it was time to relax.

As everyone was talking, a young police officer came in from outside, greeted everyone, then walked up to Captain Zhang and said, "Captain Zhang, I'm back."

Captain Zhang nodded. "Have you dealt with all the issues back home?"

The young police officer pulled up the corners of his mouth and revealed a far-fetched smile. "Hey, the wedding in the fall is cancelled, and I'm single now. But I haven't seen Xiaoyue yet, and I'm not willing to give up. This time I came back, I wanted to ask for another two weeks of leave. Captain Zhang, I know it's a bit excessive, but I really can't accept it. I must find out what's going on."

"You haven't seen her yet?" Captain Zhang frowned. "Then where is your girlfriend now? Has she been locked up by her family?"

The young officer nodded. "I guess so. But as police officers, we have to be more careful in everything we do. I can't just barge in and look for them. If I speak more forcefully, they'll threaten to file a complaint." He ruffled his hair and let out a long, irritated sigh. "I'm really at my wit's end. I've decided to call the police and ask them back home for help."

Tao Rui had been watching him for a while, then spoke in a voice only the three of them could hear, "Your forehead is black. This trip may bring a bloody disaster, a fatal one."

The young police officer was stunned. "Captain Zhang, I was just about to ask, why is Master Tao here?"

Captain Zhang patted Tao Rui on the shoulder and said, "Tao Rui is our colleague now. The office behind your desk is his."

Captain Zhang glanced at the people eating, called them into Tao Rui's office, closed the door, and drew the blinds before asking, "Tao Rui, what did you mean by that just now? Is Wu Jian in danger? What's going on?"

Tao Rui shook hands with Wu Jian and recognized that Wu Jian was the young man who had curiously spoken to him at Ye's house. They even added each other on WeChat.

Tao Rui said: "You have my WeChat, why didn't you contact me when you encountered difficulties?"

Wu Jian rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "At the time, I was thinking of asking you for a talisman when I got married, but then my girlfriend's family wanted to cancel the engagement, so I put it aside. Besides, canceling the engagement because of not being satisfied with the betrothal gift has nothing to do with metaphysics."

Tao Rui shook his head and said, "It's more than just related. This matter is definitely related to ghosts. You have been contaminated with a lot of ghost energy. Let me help you clean it up first."

As he spoke, he walked around to the desk, opened the drawer, took out a piece of talisman paper and a cinnabar pen, and wrote a talisman in one go in front of the two of them.

Wu Jian looked at Captain Zhang with a bit of unease. He hadn't been here for a while, so why did it feel so strange to be drawing talismans in this office? Captain Zhang seemed to believe it, didn't he?

Captain Zhang noticed his gaze and said to him, "Be serious. Tao Rui is very smart."

Wu Jian felt his worldview shattered in an instant. What happened when he was away?