Attract evil spirits
Chu Xiao said, "My throat is just a little dry, I'm coughing to clear it. Thank you for your concern, but you look a little weaker, so you should take more medicine as a precaution."
"Don't worry, even if I have a cold, my wife can cure it with just a few prescriptions. Right, my wife?"
The sound of the tunnel door opening again interrupted their conversation. Heng Jin came out with a look of worry on his face. He said, "What I'm looking for isn't here. Chu Xiao, is there anything else you need to investigate in the Chen or Zhao residences?"
"Not yet. If you don't have any, I will send someone to dig up the body in the backyard of the Zhao Mansion as soon as possible."
Heng Jin said, "We don't have any left. Tomorrow morning, bring more people to search. Tonight, you should go back first. As an official, it's best not to stay here for too long. Go directly from the roof."
"What about you? The doors are all locked. Mr. Chen seems to be talking nonsense and is a habitual murderer. Miss Chi Li is just a girl after all. It's too dangerous here."
Yuanli said gratefully, "Thank you for your concern. It's okay. They can protect me."
"Yes, thank you for taking care of my sister. We will protect her. Don't worry about us. We will stay here for a while to earn some gold." Heng Jin said.
Chu Xiao didn't say anything more. He took out a small flare from his waist pouch and gave it to her, saying, "If you encounter a danger that cannot be solved, set it off."
"Thank you." Yuanli accepted the flare and said, "Be careful when you go back. Don't let anyone find you."
Chu Xiao nodded, then stepped onto the beam as light as a swallow, lifted up a few tiles at a corner, and crawled out.
Seeing Heng Jin sitting back in her chair calmly, Yuan Li asked, "You went down to check the jade hairpin on her head. What was it like, right?"
"It's a fake, just a fake that looks exactly like the original. I observed Madam Chen, and she did show signs of having used the real jade hairpin. It must have been swapped with someone with ulterior motives. The one she's wearing now is the root cause of her transformation into a monster. This jade hairpin is somewhat sinister, just like what I just lied to Mr. Chen about, it gathers evil and attracts bad luck."
"Then how do we check this?"
"I've explored Madam Chen's memories. Her memories are similar to Changmei's, with gaps and blanks. The real jade hairpin should already be in the hands of Xie Yuan's former subordinates. I'm afraid the only way to continue the investigation is to find the great demon who can extract memories."
"Then why are you so calm? Since you're no longer in the Chen residence, collect the illusion and go back first. Do you really have to help Mr. Chen fulfill his wish just because you accepted his ten ingots of gold? That's against the will of heaven and can't be done."
Yuanli placed the two boxes she had just obtained on the table and took the three gold bars she had obtained from selling the three sentences. "Let's go. He has lost all conscience and will be punished. Who will help him?"
"His grandmother's resurrection wasn't an illusion created by my spell. Although the scene where the black fox bumped into the corpse was indeed facilitated by my little trick, the murderous corpse tonight was real and had nothing to do with me. It must be the fake jade hairpin that gathered evil and triggered his grandmother's resentment, causing her to resurrect. And that witch wouldn't do that. That burial method has no effect other than to appease Zhao Hu."
Yuanli felt a little scalp-numbing and said, "So, what we saw just now was real?" As she spoke, Yuanli recalled the scene just now and couldn't help feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit.
"Indeed."
"Will the ones buried in the backyard also be catalyzed and crawl out?"
Heng Jin said, "I don't know, maybe. But I've secretly investigated, and those buried in the backyard haven't been catalyzed to the point of becoming vicious corpses. There are many corpses of wronged souls with deep grievances in the world. If all of them could be so easily catalyzed into vicious corpses by something like this, I'm afraid the world would have been in chaos long ago. Let nature take its course, there's no need to interfere too much."
"Then what are we still sitting here for? Haven't we already confirmed that what we're looking for isn't here?"
"Wait for Mr. Chen to come back. After all, Grandmother Zhao Hu was created by a fake jade hairpin. Although I have just broken the fake jade hairpin's evil-gathering effect, Grandmother Zhao Hu has become a murderous corpse. I am afraid that in addition to seeking revenge, she will also harm innocent people. Although it is all cause and effect, our arrival here is also caused by cause and effect. Since we are here, we should save her if we can."
Hearing this, Yuanli sat back down. "The Chen and Zhao residences are so close to each other. Logically, Mr. Chen should have returned to get help long ago. He's been gone for so long, I'm afraid he might have been killed. How about we go over and take a look?"
"If you're not afraid of vomiting after seeing that scene, we can go and take a look."
"Although I still feel like vomiting when I think about the scene at the Zhao Mansion, I still really want to see them get the retribution they deserve."
Cha Suxun agreed, "Then go."
Heng Jin stood at the door and cast a spell, saying the words "open the door" to the woman outside. The woman outside swiftly opened the door. No one stopped them on the way out of the house. Yuan Li moved closer to him and whispered, "Didn't you say we can't do that in the human world?"
"We've already done it twice in the tunnel, so we're not afraid of opening the door this time. Those women are all loyal servants. If we use human methods to get out, it will probably take a long time. I'm afraid that when we get out, there will be only two skeletons left."
The Chen Mansion was dark, dimly lit, and the roads were winding. They took the wrong road twice before they finally entered the gate of the Zhao Mansion.
The Zhao residence was utterly silent. They huddled close together, observing their surroundings cautiously. When they reached the backyard, they saw a few bloodstains on the ground. The peculiar smell of decaying corpses was so strong that Yuanli and Cha Suxun, both mortals, nearly fainted. They quickly pulled out the sachets from their waists and stuffed them in their noses.
Heng Jin turned around and, in the moonlight, clearly saw that the sachets they were holding with their noses were a pair, embroidered with mandarin ducks, symbolizing the harmonious and happy life of a couple. He stared at them for several seconds, his free hand subconsciously stroking his own empty waist, a touch of envy.
Heng Jin's eyes fell on Yuan Li's, and she thought he was blaming her for not giving her something to cover her nose with. Even though he was a deity and wouldn't faint from the stench, it still smelled unpleasant. Yuan Li, somewhat reluctantly, took out her embroidered handkerchief and gave it to her: "I don't have the sachet anymore, so this is it. It's barely fragrant, and covering your nose with it might help a little."
Looking at the embroidered handkerchief handed over by Yuanli, Hengjin's lips curled up and she felt very happy.
But, the next second, Cha Suxun reached out and took back the embroidered handkerchief that Yuanli handed to him and replaced it with his own handkerchief.
"Use this. Mine is thicker. Silk ones are not as good as cloth and can't block the smell."
Heng Jin's face fell, "No, I just want the one just now."
"No, you, my wife's handkerchief, are in my arms. If others see it, they'll talk nonsense."
Yuanli turned around and said, "Shh! Stop arguing, or that evil corpse will find you. Are you still three-year-old children who can't grow up? Fighting over a handkerchief, it doesn't matter what it's used for."
Seeing them quiet down, Yuanli finally turned her head, searching for traces of the corpse. Taking small, slow steps, she saw two leg bones stuck upside down in the pit beneath the pomegranate tree. Other broken bones, stained with blood, and scraps of flesh were scattered haphazardly in the pit. A miniature mountain of flesh had formed beneath the tree's roots. Countless scraps of cloth clung to the tree's branches, rustling in the breeze, making them look like leaves to those who didn't look closely.
There were also scraps of cloth on the ground that looked like fallen leaves. Yuanli squatted down and looked closely at the patterns on the cloth. They looked a bit like the clothes that Mr. Chen was wearing tonight.
After taking a rough look and not seeing any trace of Zhao Hu's grandmother, Yuanli walked out boldly.
Passing by a bush, he suddenly heard a faint cry from inside. He said weakly, "Great Immortal, is that you?"
Yuanli squatted down and looked in the direction of the bushes where the sound might have come from. There was indeed a person lying in it. "Zhao Hu?"
Zhao Hu, as if he had grabbed a lifeline, crawled out of the bushes flat on his stomach, his body half covered in blood and flesh, his legs dragging on the ground as if he had lost all feeling.
"Great Immortal, save me."
"Where's Mr. Chen?"
"He was bitten to death by my grandmother. Didn't you see that pomegranate tree when you passed by just now? The bones and pieces of flesh under the tree are his." Zhao Hu looked back at his legs. "My legs were also broken by my grandmother. Great Immortal, please save me. I am willing to give you all my money. Just take me to the clinic. I am the only one my mother has. I can't die, I can't die..."
"Where's your grandmother?"
Zhao Hu placed his index finger on the center of his lips and hushed, "Shh! Keep your voice down. Grandma is looking for my mother. She's in the Zhao residence."
Yuanli snorted coldly, "Your grandmother hasn't killed you yet?"
"My grandmother hated my mother so much that she said she wanted to find her and keep me alive so I could see with my own eyes how she tortured her to death. Great Immortal, please save me and take me away! She will be back soon, take me away."
Zhao Hu used all his strength to crawl to Heng Jin's feet, grabbing his instep and begging, as if this would give him a chance to survive.
Heng Jin removed her gripped foot and looked down at Zhao Hu with disgust and disdain, "I won't take this business. It's too unlucky."
"Then please save my mother. You've been to the Chen Mansion, so you must already know where my mother is. Great Immortal, if you save my mother, it will be like controlling all my family property. All the gold that can't be spent is yours."
"Your mother is already dead, and you all deserve it. You deserve to die." As she said this, Yuanli spat at him.
Zhao Hu stared at them fiercely and threatened, "You won't save us? Then you'll all die here." Then, Zhao Hu began to yell with all his might, "Mother! You're here, mother! Run, mother! That old witch is going to kill you, mother! Run, mother!"
Yuanli kicked Zhao Hu angrily and warned him, "Go ahead and call your grandmother. I'll tell you where your mother is hiding."
"Hahaha! Idiot! My grandmother is now pretending to be dead, and you still want to communicate with her properly? Today, either you will be killed by my grandmother, or my grandmother will be killed by you. If you don't want to die together, then quickly find a way to deal with my grandmother! Big-breasted and brainless stupid woman, go home and take care of your husband and children! Don't talk too much!"
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