Chapter 124 Ten Threads of Merit
"Exorcism?"
Chu Ci was pulled out by the fat monk, who also locked the shop door for her.
"Yes!" the fat monk exclaimed excitedly.
"Such a big thing as Mingguang Middle School can't be kept secret!"
"For example, I heard that all the newspapers and television stations in Hong Kong went to Ming Kwong Middle School for interviews."
"If we could get firsthand information, we'd definitely make a fortune!"
His small eyes narrowed to slits, gleaming with a sharp light.
"With such high public attention, how could the masters not want to get a piece of the pie!"
"If we can save those students and the reporters report on it, the whole of Hong Kong will know!"
His short, thick eyebrows twitched, and he winked excitedly at Chu Ci.
"With fame, do you still need customers?"
With customers, money will naturally flow in!
As he spoke, he pulled Chu Ci into a car and got into the driver's seat himself.
Chu Ci stared wide-eyed at the expensive car.
You still have a car?
"I not only have a car, I also have a mobile phone!"
The fat monk gestured for her to look at the mobile phone next to him.
He glanced at Chu Ci and sighed:
"Look at you, you run such a big store, you shouldn't be short of money!"
"He's a well-known spiritual medium in our Kwun Tong district, after all. He should buy something to maintain appearances!"
Looking at the mobile phone in his car, Chu Ci smiled and sighed.
"Forget it, I'll think about it when I have money!"
The fat monk was about to say, "If you raise your divination fee, you'll have money," but then he suddenly remembered Master Jin, whose divination fees were extremely high.
With a "screech," the car suddenly stopped at the side of the road.
Chu Ci was thrown forward, almost crashing into the windshield in front of him.
She rubbed the back of her head, which had hit the back of the chair, and looked up, glaring at the fat monk:
"What are you doing! Why did you suddenly stop!"
The fat monk looked solemn, his face turning slightly pale.
He swallowed hard, his voice trembling: "That, that Master Jin... he's dead, you know that?"
"I know," Chu Ci said, clutching the seatbelt. "What's wrong?"
Fat monk: "We just dealt with him yesterday, and he's dead today, so what do we..."
Even if you're working part-time in the underworld, you still can't disregard the laws of the living world!
If he gets arrested and sentenced to decades, what's the point of living?
He didn't enjoy going to jail, that's why he's lived so long!
"Oh, you're worried about that."
Chu Ci waved his hand, indicating that he shouldn't worry.
“I was the one who bewitched him yesterday. If he’s going to die, he’ll die at Mingguang Middle School.”
"It's not like he died in the hospital, what does it have to do with us?"
Hearing her words, the fat monk immediately felt relieved.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and started the car.
"It's good that it has nothing to do with us."
Otherwise, I'd really be going to jail.
But as he walked, he realized what was happening.
"Why is he going to Mingguang Middle School instead of staying in the hospital after he's injured?"
They're all so old, they can't possibly be going to school, can they?
"What else can we do but do bad things?"
The fat monk's eyes widened. "So many students at Mingguang Middle School aged prematurely, and he's the one who did it?"
No, that's not it.
Chu Ci has the right to speak on this matter; she just received inside information from Zhong Jia.
"So many students at Mingguang Middle School have aged because they were taken in by the deceased Min Min."
As a member of the longevity-borrowing group, Min Min should have died of illness more than 20 years ago, but she later joined Zhong Jia's group and was able to live until now.
But now Zhong Jia plans to retire from the criminal life, while Min Min still wants to live.
In order to maintain her youthful and beautiful appearance, she secretly held a birthday celebration, bypassing Zhong Jia and Principal Mo.
As a result, they couldn't control the amount and almost drained those young girls and their sons dry, causing such a big incident.
To avoid being discovered and implicated, Principal Mo killed her.
"As for Master Jin, he also wanted to borrow a life, but I discovered it beforehand."
As he spoke, Chu Ci touched the brand-new Soul-Hooking Rope at his waist.
"So I arrested him and went down to the lower levels to claim credit."
"Wow, you got a new Soul-Hooking Rope?" The fat monk asked with envy.
The soul-hooking rope he used was so dirty and broken, it was probably from a previous owner's shop.
I never expected the new Soul-Snatching Rope to be glowing!
"Did you get this for currying favor?" His eyes sparkled.
Chu Ci: "..."
She couldn't help but sigh when she talked about this.
The Black Underworld Messenger is an old man from the underworld; what he gets in return is definitely better than what she gets.
By entrusting Master Jin to him, we can definitely secure the best possible rights and interests.
It's just that I can't actually access these rights, which makes me a little melancholy.
She replied to the fat monk, "I suppose so."
The fat monk took a deep breath, his eyes filled with longing.
"Then I'll catch one too, and send him over to claim credit!"
He's been working for the underworld for many years now, and he wants to get a new tool!
When the fat monk drove to Mingguang Middle School in his daydreams, the street where the school was located was already full of parked cars.
The traffic police seemed to have fallen into a rice bin, laughing as they issued tickets to illegally parked cars.
As soon as the fat monk's car stopped, their gleaming eyes looked over.
"Oh dear, oh dear, I'll get a fine for parking here! I'll find another spot!"
The fat monk put Chu Ci down and drove off to find a parking space.
Chu Ci stood there, looking at the entrance of Mingguang Middle School, a feeling of shock filling her chest.
The entire street where Mingguang Middle School is located was densely packed with reporters and photographers.
At intervals, people dressed in different clothes were setting up altars.
More than a dozen enormous altars rose from the ground, magnificent and awe-inspiring.
At each altar, a master was being interviewed.
The fat monk parked his car and came over. He could tell from the scene that today's exorcism ceremony had nothing to do with these two small fry.
Wow! Does this have to be so exaggerated? Such a grand spectacle!
The fat monk stared at the rows of altars being built, feeling like his head was about to explode.
He couldn't help but complain to Chu Ci:
"Look at these masters, they can afford to support so many disciples and followers, they must have swindled a lot of money in the past!"
Even so, he had to admit that they were all capable masters and legitimate successors.
It's heartbreaking to not be able to eat this food yourself.
Chu Ci and the fat monk squeezed into the crowd to watch the excitement, only to find that almost all the police officers they knew had come.
Reporters, desperate for attention, were still trying to squeeze into the school while maintaining order at the school gate.
Shen Xiu and Ji Jing were standing right in front of him, their faces almost squashed.
Looking at the chaotic scene, the fat monk couldn't help but sigh, "Everyone has it tough!"
He spotted an acquaintance in the crowd and asked Chu Ci to wait a moment.
"I'll go ask them when the exorcism ceremony will begin."
"good."
A group of people crowded at the front door. Chu Ci hesitated for a moment and then went around to the side door where he had met with Wu Jiangxue last time.
Compared to the main entrance, which was packed with people, there were far fewer people at the side entrance.
Although two reporters' cars were parked there, they were both stopped by the police at the entrance.
As Chu Ci approached, a female police officer in uniform walked over.
She quickly explained, "I don't want to go in..."
"Master Chu!"
The two spoke at the same time.
Chu Ci: "...You know me?"
The policewoman smiled and nodded, "I met you at the hospital last time when I was on duty with Officer Wu."
Chu Ci then remembered that this person seemed to be the policewoman who had been following Wu Jiangxue when she first met her.
"Oh, it was you!"
The policewoman smiled, and seeing the two reporters who were trying to force their way out leave, she pulled Chu Ci to the door.
He whispered, "Our Inspector Wu guessed you might be coming, Master, so he specially asked me to wait for you here."
She opened the entrance. "Inspector Wu and our chief are inside. Master, you should go quickly."
As Chu Ci entered through the entrance, she turned to look at the policewoman, who urged her to hurry inside.
"Hurry up and go, Master!"
Chu Ci first went to the woods he had visited the previous night.
But the lush forest that was green last night is now largely withered and yellow.
It turned out to be the soul of an infant.
It has faded so much that it has almost blended into its surroundings, like the empty shell left behind after a cicada sheds its skin.
Moreover, this isn't the only baby's soul here; almost every tree besides this one has a soul.
Chu Ci looked at those souls and couldn't help but gasp.
No wonder these trees grow so lushly; they are nourished by the souls of these babies.
She pursed her lips, memorized the location, and planned to have the fat monk work overtime with her that evening.
The whole school was quiet. With such a big incident, none of the students came to class.
With fewer people around, the black mist floating in the air became even more noticeable.
Following the dark aura, she arrived at the door with a sign that read "Principal's Office".
The voices of Wu Jiangxue and the old director could be heard coming from inside.
The remaining voice sounded familiar; it was the man who had been chatting with Master Jin last night.
"Of course, our school will cooperate fully with the police investigation..."
"Yes, no one expected this situation today."
"It's alright. Even if it affects next year's enrollment, there's nothing we can do about it. Thank you all for your help."
...
The office door wasn't very soundproof, but you still couldn't hear everything they said.
Once the house was completely silent, footsteps could be heard.
As soon as Wu Jiangxue opened the door, she came face to face with Chu Ci standing at the door.
She was stunned for a moment, "Chu Ci?"
Chu Ci didn't look at her; her gaze passed over her and the old director, landing directly on Principal Mo behind them.
The old director was stunned when he saw her. He immediately widened his eyes, pointed at her, and was so angry that he was blowing his beard and glaring.
"You...how did you get in! What are you doing here!"
However, Chu Ci ignored him, forcefully pushed his hand away, and walked straight towards Principal Mo.
The old director tried to stop her, "What are you doing! What are you doing..."
But before he could finish speaking, Chu Ci pushed him aside.
Wu Jiangxue quickly caught the old director and called out to her in confusion, "Chu Ci?"
"You all stay away." Chu Ci drew the Soul-Hooking Rope from his waist.
Upon seeing the Soul-Hooking Rope, Principal Mo's face immediately turned pale.
His heart pounded as he took a few steps back, then suddenly ran back behind his desk and pulled out a black statue.
The statue is a woman completely wrapped in a black cloak, with skulls scattered around her feet.
The old director's eyes widened even more, and he rubbed them in disbelief.
"Principal Mo, how come you... have this thing!"
This is a miniature version of the statue that was found at Minmin's house!
However, all he got in return was a glare from Principal Mo.
Principal Mo stared warily at the Soul-Hooking Rope in Chu Ci's hand.
The moment the black, sinister rope lashed out, he threw the black statue at it.
"So what if you're a messenger from the underworld! Our Holy Mother can still deal with you!"
The black statue exploded on the ground, sending up plumes of thick black smoke.
Seeing Chu Ci surrounded by black smoke, he burst into laughter.
However, seeing Chu Ci emerge from the black mist unharmed, his mouth and nose covered, all laughter was caught in his throat.
"you……"
He stared at Chu Ci in astonishment, and involuntarily took a few steps back.
Chu Ci stepped out of the black mist and glanced back at Wu Jiangxue and the old director.
Wujiangxue was in her prime and was not affected by the black fog.
The older director, whose resistance was not so strong, was already lying on the ground, his body convulsing.
But it was just a nightmare, nothing serious.
"If you want your Holy Mother to protect you, you'll have to keep paying protection money!"
She turned to look at Principal Mo and gave a slight smile.
Zhong Jia, as the person directly in contact with this evil entity, had long since given up his life of crime and had been starving the "Holy Mother" for who knows how long.
Why would anyone be willing to do work for free?
Principal Mo's face looked as if a palette of colors had been overturned; it was extremely ugly.
He turned to jump out of the window, but before he could move, his neck suddenly tightened.
With a slight exertion, Chu Ci pulled Principal Mo's soul out of his body.
He was already a hunched old man with white hair.
However, the body, now free from the control of the soul, fell from the fifth floor with a loud "thud".
He fell face down, and soon a large amount of blood flowed out, congealing into a slowly expanding pool of blood beneath him.
"No!!!"
All the health he had carefully nurtured over the years, and his hopes for immortality, were destroyed by this fall!
After a brief breakdown, he turned and stared intently at Chu Ci.
"you!"
Looking at his gray hair, messy white beard, and wrinkled skin, Chu Ci touched the tip of his nose.
"Why are you looking at me? You insisted on standing on the windowsill!"
Principal Mo: "..."
He was so angry he gritted his teeth, but his soul already resembled that of an old man, long since toothless.
Wu Jiangxue could not see Principal Mo's soul, only his body that had fallen out of the window.
She peered out the window and saw the pool of blood beneath Principal Mo slowly expanding.
"..."
After staring at the ever-expanding pool of blood for a long time, Wu Jiangxue turned to look at Chu Ci.
"...What's wrong with him?"
She thought that Principal Mo was at least somewhat confident that he could leave through the window.
Who knew he would just plunge headfirst into the ground and end up like this?
Chu Ci tugged at the Soul-Hooking Rope in his hand, but Wu Jiangxue couldn't see anything.
She could only shrug. "Maybe he felt he had committed a terrible crime and was overcome with grief, so he didn't want to live anymore."
Her answer came from the other end of the Soul-Hooking Rope: Principal Mo's violent struggle.
Wu Jiangxue: "..."
"All right."
She shrugged helplessly and called to Chu Ci, "Come and give me a hand, help me carry the old director downstairs."
As she spoke, she asked Chu Ci, "Is our old director alright?"
"It's alright, your soul is still inside your body, you won't die."
Two men carried the old police chief down from upstairs and put him in a police car.
The police car quickly took the old chief to the hospital.
Wu Jiangxue stood at the side gate of the school, looking in the direction of the principal's office with a headache.
The reporters outside are all waiting for the principal to give an explanation, but the principal is dead.
How can she explain this to the media?
"That's hard to say."
Chu Ci nudged her with his elbow, gesturing for her to look at the Soul-Hooking Rope in his hand.
Wu Jiangxue couldn't see anything. "What?"
Chu Ci shook the Soul-Hooking Rope, and Principal Mo on the other end shook it twice as well.
"I'll send him down to report, and then ask if anyone knows how to return the lifespans of those girls."
"Once those girls recover, this matter won't last too long."
"Just let it go when the time comes."
There are always new things happening every day. Once something even newer has diverted their attention, reporters will naturally flock to it.
As time goes by, few people, except those directly involved, will remember what happened in the past few days.
The "cold treatment" method worked decades later, and it still works in Hong Kong today.
"Okay, let's leave it at that for now," Wu Jiangxue sighed.
The main reason is that the facts surrounding Principal Mo are not convenient to be made public; otherwise, Hong Kong society would definitely descend into chaos.
Such consequences are something none of them can bear.
Chu Ci took Principal Mo to the underworld, but they were stopped by the Black Underworld Messengers before they even reached Hall 4.
The Black Yin Messenger was taken aback when he saw the even older soul.
"You caught another one?"
"Yes, we just happened to run into each other."
Chu Ci patted the Soul-Hooking Rope on her waist and smiled, "And I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel that this Soul-Hooking Rope is even more useful."
"When I was trying to draw out that vengeful ghost before, it took me a lot of effort, but today it was surprisingly easy to draw out this person's soul!"
“Of course it’s easy!” Hei Yincha raised an eyebrow smugly.
"This soul-snatching rope was specially made by someone I had made, and it works really well!"
He then took out a new soul-snatching rope from his waist and took Principal Mo away.
"Although my soul-snatching rope is new, it can't compare to the one I gave you."
Chu Ci chuckled twice, holding the Soul-Hooking Rope.
The black-clad messenger reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the soul-snatching rope. "Alright, I have to send this person over too."
He pointed in a direction and sighed.
"This matter has attracted the attention of the higher-ups. If you catch any of their accomplices in the future, just send them to me directly."
"The higher-ups said that once all the people have been arrested, they will be interrogated together."
Chu Ci: "Okay, I understand."
Just as the Black Yin Messenger was about to turn and leave, Chu Ci asked again:
"Senior, what reward did they say we'd be given?"
Speaking of this, the Black Yin Chariot laughed.
"I told you! This time, the two of us are the main force, and each of us will receive ten strands of merit!"
He pinched his chin and chuckled twice.
"Once I've accumulated enough merit, I'll apply to be reincarnated, take a trip in the mortal world, and then come back to be a messenger in the underworld after I die!"
Chu Ci exclaimed in surprise, "You can do that?"
“Generally speaking, that’s not allowed,” the Black-Clad Servant winked at her, “but we did perform a service!”
In other words, this can be considered a reward for them.
"I see." Chu Ci nodded.
Seeing that the dark-skinned official was about to leave, she quickly stopped him, glanced around, and asked:
"Why haven't I seen Mr. Zhong today?"
When Mr. Zhong was mentioned this time, Hei Yinchai didn't say anything like "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask" again. Instead, he shook his head and sighed.
"Sigh, it's been so many years, it's not easy for him to have lasted this long."
Chu Ci's heart skipped a beat. "His soul has been scattered?"
"No, not really, but it'll be soon." The Black Shadow Guard shrugged.
"It was so sudden. It was fine just two days ago, but today its soul suddenly became faint."
“I urged him to reincarnate, but he insisted on waiting for his sister to come back.”
"That's really strange."
The dark-skinned man stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"How can someone live so long? It's been so many years!"
His eyes darted around, but he just couldn't figure it out.
Suddenly, Chu Ci spoke up: "Hmm... what if Mr. Zhong's sister also borrowed her lifespan?"
"How is that possible!" Hei Yin almost burst out laughing.
"You have no idea how many people Mr. Zhong saved while he was alive! He accumulated so much good karma!"
“In ancient times, this would have been enough to build a temple and sculpt a golden statue!”
"If we continue to offer sacrifices for two more years, we'll be waiting to sit in the position of City God!"
It's just that the times were wrong; otherwise, Mr. Zhong would have become a demigod with all those merits!
But seeing Chu Ci's hesitant expression, his smile quickly faded.
Terrified: "You...you're not serious, are you?"
Chu Ci nodded and recounted Zhong Jia's story.
Hei Yincha took a deep breath and almost fainted from shock.
"My God! How could she do such a heinous thing!"
She has harmed so many people, even if she had ten lives, it wouldn't be enough for the underworld to punish her!
Moreover, she has a highly respected Mr. Zhong above her.
Chu Ci: "What should we do? Zhong Jia wants to meet with Mr. Zhong, and there are also those dozen or so female students at the school who are in danger..."
"Sigh, everything just piled up at once."
Hei Yincha felt utterly overwhelmed.
"The lifespans of those female students are easy to deal with. Just find Min Min's body and return their lifespans."
He gave Chu Ci a piece of paper with a diagram of a magic array on it.
“I specifically asked someone to get it for me; I almost forgot about it if you hadn’t mentioned it.”
He handed the formation to Chu Ci, not forgetting to haggle over the price.
"Each person has ten strands of merit. Originally, the main credit was yours, but I plan to give you two strands from my side."
"But with this magic circle diagram, I..."
"Senior, you don't need to share with me."
Chu Ci smiled and took the magic array diagram, stuffing it into his pocket.
"Thank you, senior!"
"It's nothing, it's nothing!" The Black Yin Chariot beamed and waved happily.
He was happy and no longer worried about Zhong Jia meeting with Mr. Zhong.
"Regarding the meeting, hold off for now. I'll go ask what the higher-ups think."
Chu Ci nodded, "Alright, then I'll trouble you, senior!"
She came up from the underworld and, holding the array she had obtained, found Wujiangxue.
Hearing that the female students would soon be able to return to normal, Wu Jiangxue breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, I understand."
She took out her mobile phone and said, "I'll have those parents send their children to school right away."
The masters formed a group to prepare an exorcism ceremony, and the parents, naturally, couldn't miss it, so they waited outside with their children.
But now that Chu Ci has a solution, there's no need for parents and children to be outside together.
Chu Ci waited for Wu Jiangxue to send someone to pick up the children. The fat monk also came running over from a distance, panting and glaring at her.
"Hey, can you buy me a mobile phone? I can't reach you, I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"If you don't have a mobile phone, a pager will do!"
Chu Ci then remembered him and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, sorry, I just ran into a familiar officer and we chatted for a bit."
Seeing that the fat monk was still angry, she thought for a moment and said:
"I've found a way to restore those children's health. Would you like to come with me later?"
The fat monk's eyes lit up immediately.
"Really? You really found it?"
Seeing Chu Ci nod, he became even more anxious.
"Then we need to hurry! The blessing ceremony outside is about to begin."
"If we don't hurry, we'll run into them on the same time!"
Otherwise, if the children recover, is it their achievement or the achievement of those so-called "masters" outside?
-----------------------
Author's Note: The finale is almost here! I'm finally getting to the ending, and I'm quickly filling in the plot holes (wielding a shovel).
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