I had to go to the haunted building, and I definitely needed to bring the Buddha Bone Relic with me—it was one of my trump cards.But for now, I could use it to temporarily suppress the evil spirit inside Zhang Ying, so that others wouldn't be so disturbed by her condition.I just didn't want Tang Quan to know, so I secretly instructed Mr. Zhang.
Mr. Zhang was momentarily stunned but quickly grasped the situation and clutched the Buddha Bone Relic tightly.I leaned closer and whispered to him, "After we leave, place it beside Zhang Ying. Once she calms down, have Chen Kai bring it to the haunted building to find me.This item will only temporarily suppress your daughter's condition. To resolve the issue completely, we'll need to destroy the source of the spirit inside the haunted building. This relic is crucial, so make sure Chen Kai brings it to me."
What I said wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't false either.I only said that to make sure Mr. and Mrs. Zhang didn't insist on keeping the relic, regardless of what might happen to me.
After making the arrangements, my second uncle took the cat bag from me, and we headed downstairs with Tang Quan and his disciple.On the way, Tang Quan tried to get me to ride in his car so we could "discuss" some things.But I didn't trust him, and I didn't like how he kept asking questions, so I insisted on riding with my second uncle.
Once we were on the road, I finally told my uncle that I suspected Tang Quan's real goal was the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
Uncle scoffed and said, "If he's looking to die, let him. Why should you care?"
I sat up straight, leaning forward against his seat. "Uncle, you sound like you know a lot about those mountains."
He replied, "Of course I do. The mountain is right behind our village. Even three-year-olds around here know how dangerous it is."
My brain took a second to process that. But thinking about it, he was right—no one from the surrounding villages ever dared enter those mountains.
Our car was right behind Tang Quan's. But just before reaching the haunted building, Uncle suddenly pulled over at a breakfast shop.Tang Quan's car followed suit. He opened his door and walked over, saying, "Looks like Master Li is thinking the same as I am!"
Uncle just smiled and ignored him.While I was still trying to figure things out, Uncle had already unbuckled his seatbelt and asked me to get out for breakfast.
Then it clicked.Uncle and Tang Quan had never intended to go into the building right away. Makes sense—who would willingly provoke a ghost before dawn?
Still, something about that didn't sit right with me.But at least breakfast was good.
During the meal, Tang Quan suggested that Uncle and I accompany him inside while Xu Wanrong stayed outside to provide backup.Uncle and I both firmly refused.In the end, it was decided that Uncle and Xu Wanrong would remain outside, and I would go in with Tang Quan.
While they were discussing the details, I used Uncle's phone to call Chen Kai.He arrived around 7 a.m.I met him at the door and discreetly took back the Buddha Bone Relic. Feeling how scalding hot it had become, I knew Zhang Ying had stopped her ghostly screaming.That alone earned me a huge favor from the Zhang family.
To my surprise, Chen Kai had pulled some strings and gotten the architectural blueprints of the haunted building from the local housing authority.
From the blueprints, we saw that the building had two emergency stairwells and seven elevators.The elevators were all out of service now, so only the stairways could be used.
Tang Quan suggested a plan: he would take the left stairwell with his disciple, and I would take the right one with Huang Jiu. We'd rendezvous on the 20th floor.
Splitting up like this is a standard practice in our line of work.When handling these kinds of situations, two people are actually more at risk than one.As Grandpa used to say, two people tend to relax a bit more than one does alone.And once your guard is down, evil spirits can exploit the opening.If one person gets possessed, the other has to deal with a greater threat than even the spirit itself.After all, many spells that work on spirits don't work on living humans.
My uncle and I both trusted Grandpa deeply.
We agreed on the plan: we'd enter at 8 a.m., and no matter what, we'd be out before noon. That way, we'd avoid the yin energy surge at midday.
After finalizing the plan, I took another look at the blueprints—and the more I looked, the more puzzled I felt.Eventually, I couldn't help myself. I turned the paper around and asked my uncle, "There are two stairwells in this building. That means no matter where a fire breaks out, there should be at least one escape route.Even if not everyone from the upper floors could get out, there's no way everyone above the 20th floor would've died in the fire."
That got both my uncle and Tang Quan looking at the plans again.The more they looked, the more suspicious they became.
Uncle asked Chen Kai, "Were there no detailed reports about the fire when it happened?"
Chen Kai replied, "There were some, but back then news didn't travel like it does today.There wasn't much public attention, and it was eventually swept under the rug."
Tang Quan, twirling his polished prayer beads, furrowed his brows deeply and said, "There's probably something shady behind all this…"
Just then, Huang Jiu, who was slurping his rice noodles, looked up and said with a noodle still dangling from his mouth,"What if it wasn't an accident at all, but deliberate? Think about it—even if people died in a fire, it wouldn't usually create this much yin energy, let alone spawn a parasitic spirit."
Huang Jiu had seen a lot in his time, and his words gave us pause.
Tang Quan frowned and said, "Little guy, I think we'd better change the plan. Let's stop at the 18th floor today and assess the situation first."
I absolutely agreed.That terrifying thing was definitely on the 20th floor or higher.If we didn't disturb its lair, it probably wouldn't go all-out on us.
As we left the noodle shop, Uncle told me not to be scared.He reminded me I was still a virgin boy—my yang energy was strong. Plus, I had both the Buddha Bone Relic and the Blood Thorn.Even if I couldn't defeat the spirit, I could definitely run.
If I said I wasn't nervous, I'd be lying.This was the most dangerous situation I'd faced since I started my career.But if I pulled this off, I'd even have the confidence to take on the Wang Shukun family case.
Back in the car, Huang Jiu popped out and said,"Little Li, if you're scared, just don't think about anything else—think about how much those rich folks offered!"
He started counting with his claws, calculating in chickens:"One chicken… two chickens…"But with so many offers on the table, he quickly ran out of claws to count on.
I always found it strange—Huang Jiu was smart about everything except money.I wasn't sure if his intelligence hadn't fully developed or if Huang Xian'er had kicked something loose in his brain.
Thinking about Huang Xian'er made me miss the corpse lady.I muttered to myself,"We didn't spend much time together, but ten years in that coffin—you inside, me outside—we're practically old married folks.I'm doing this to earn money to take care of you. If your spirit is watching over me…"
Pah! Pah!
I quickly spat twice.Calling her a spirit wouldn't do—who knows if she's dead or alive?
But I couldn't think of a better term. So I comforted myself:"Whatever you are, you'd better watch my back."
Huang Jiu saw me muttering to myself and spitting, looking at me like I'd lost my mind.He nervously said,"Kid… you okay? Did you lose your mind from fear?"
"Don't worry! I'll tell you a secret about the Blood Thorn.If you use it right, it can definitely save your life!"
I snapped out of it, grabbed him by the neck, and asked,"What secret?"