As Wang Xiaohe stepped into the office, a towering stack of pending cases immediately greeted her on the desk. She immediately snatched up the phone.

"Li, call everyone involved in the Red Gown, Green Sleeve case to the conference room. We'll have a quick meeting in ten minutes.

Oh, and while you’re at it, divide this mountain of paperwork among the three teams." "Yes, Sister Wang!" "Xiaohe, we absolutely must thoroughly investigate this woman's *—otherwise, our work here won't progress!" Zhou Huan said, his tone grave and earnest. Wang Xiaohe looked at Zhou Huan, replying coolly, "Indeed.

Otherwise, who knows how many more people will end up dead!" "Knock, knock, knock!" Three sharp raps sounded, and an officer entered the office. "Sister Wang, this is the field investigation material just sent from the female victim's hometown, along with a video.

It’s footage of the deceased showing off her itinerary when she visited home—it was recorded for her mother!" "Understood. We'll all watch and analyze it together during the meeting!" Zhou Huan rested one hand on his chin, standing before the wall plastered with case files.

He meticulously reviewed the entire sequence of events from start to finish, perhaps for the tenth time, pondering the issue of the female ghost. First the taxi driver, then Li Cheng, followed by Old Song, not to mention Old Song's injury—all attributed to this female ghost.

What on earth was going on? The only thread connecting these incidents was the female ghost, yet these four individuals had absolutely no links.

Though they all enjoyed drinking, how could Old Song’s injury be explained? He had only grazed the ghost’s blood; it shouldn't have resulted in such a severe wound.

Furthermore, Zhou Huan had tried everything to save him, so why did none of the measures take effect? The power of the Red Gown, Green Sleeve was immense, but it shouldn't implicate an outsider like Old Song.

Could it be...? As this thought struck him, Zhou Huan instinctively shook his head.

As a disciple of the Shoushi Sect, they never invited trouble upon themselves—it was impossible! "Brother Huan, let’s go.

Come upstairs to the conference room with me; there are some things I need you to explain to everyone!" Xiaohe, clutching her notebook, headed for the door with Zhou Huan. As they reached the entrance, Li just happened to be standing there.

"Sister Wang, I’ve come to collect that huge stack of cases you mentioned!" Xiaohe turned back and pointed to the mound of files stacked on the desk. "Those materials in the corner are the ones.

Take them to Team Three and give them to Old Sun; have them process those as quickly as possible!" "Got it!" Li paused before stepping inside. "Sister Wang, there's something I need to tell you!" "What is it?" "Wang Qiang's father came by this morning, specifically asking for you.

He claimed you used physical coercion during his son's interrogation. The precinct chief managed to block it, but the chief is out now.

He'll probably come looking for you when he returns!" "Oh? Is that so?

That’s pure bullying backed by authority! I see.

We’ll address it when the chief gets back." He then pulled Zhou Huan's arm. "Come on, let's go upstairs!" Zhou Huan and Wang Xiaohe went upstairs.

As soon as they entered the conference room, Li’s summons had ensured everyone was present. Xiaohe assigned Zhou Huan a seat among the observers.

Xiaohe didn't even sit down; she switched on the projector, and photographs of several victims appeared on the screen. Xiaohe cut straight to the point.

"The final deadline for the Red Gown, Green Sleeve case is two days away—today and tomorrow. Last night, Zhou Huan, our Shoushi Zhou, and I encountered an accident while processing the body in the morgue.

According to the specters, the female ghost has escaped. She will likely seek her next target for revenge tonight.

You might not believe me saying this, but I personally witnessed phenomena related to specters. We must find the ghost’s next intended victim before dark." "Sister Wang, our forensic results indicate that..." "Go on, what are your findings?" "Our report is simply unwriteable.

From a scientific standpoint, many aspects cannot be rationally explained. We couldn't find a single extraneous fingerprint or DNA trace on the entire Red Gown, Green Sleeve.

Moreover, the Green Sleeve should have passed through the victim’s body seamlessly, without creating any additional lacerations..." The forensic examiner gulped repeatedly while speaking, taking continuous sips from his water glass. Seeing the pathologist so flustered, Xiaohe knew that ordinary people truly couldn't cope with such horrific sights.

She took over: "Since this case defies conventional explanation, we will proceed by treating it as a case involving a specter." The officers began to murmur among themselves. "We’ve never dealt with a specter case like this before.

Old Song used to handle only sudden or violent deaths; those cases were mostly about comforting the living. But this situation..." Amidst the discussion, one officer spoke up, "Sister Wang, we heard Old Song was injured and can't assist.

If we handle this using normal investigative procedures, will it work?" "It doesn't matter; Shoushi Zhou is still here!" Xiaohe affirmed Zhou Huan's presence. The gazes of all the assembled officers turned toward Zhou Huan, who was sitting on the side.

An officer next to him whispered, "Sister Wang, isn't he that beggar? He looks more like a pretty boy; how could he handle matters concerning the dead?" Xiaohe said nothing, completely ignoring the remark.

She pulled out the optical disc that the investigator had given her earlier. "This is the recently obtained video of the female ghost before her death.

Everyone watch closely. See if there’s anything we missed during our investigation, anything that can link back to this case." An officer opened the computer drive and inserted the disc.

The video on the screen began. First, there was the sound of celebratory firecrackers, followed by strings of firecrackers exploding.

A BMW X6 slowly drove into the frame. Upon seeing this vehicle, Zhou Huan, seated nearby, stiffened instantly, his bright, clear eyes fixed on the images flashing across the screen.

The scene shifted, guiding everyone's gaze to a rural courtyard. The perimeter wall was constructed of packed yellow earth and rough stones, standing only waist-high to a person; within the yard stood two structures with black, moss-covered tile roofs that exuded the aura of a bygone era.

An elderly woman, over sixty, accompanied by a young girl, stood before the dilapidated wooden gate, gazing toward the approaching vehicle. "Thud, thud!" The sound of two doors slamming echoed, and two beautiful young women emerged from the car.

One was instantly recognizable as the female ghost who committed suicide; the other woman was unfamiliar. Then, two young men dressed in sharp suits walked out from behind the camera, carrying large bundles of items, following the two women toward the courtyard.

When the two women alighted from the car, the old woman standing at the entrance looked visibly moved. Her legs slowly carried her toward the female ghost who had committed suicide; the younger woman walked to meet her, and when they met in the middle, their hands clasped tightly together.

"Child!" a voice, ancient and trembling, called out—a mother's greeting to her offspring. "Mom!" The woman's voice sounded excited yet filled with joy.

One could clearly see a glimmer of tears welling up in her eyes. "Mom, we have money now!

I’ve come to take you to the city to live!" "Oh, it's good that you're back. Come inside!

Mom made your favorite dish, stewed chicken with mushrooms!" The woman held the old woman's hand. "Mom, wait a moment.

Look at all the things I brought you!" The woman gestured, and the camera focused on the group behind her. When everyone witnessed this scene, they were stunned!

A procession of dozens of people followed, all impeccably dressed in suits, each carrying different gifts wrapped in exquisite paper tied with beautiful bows. "Child, this..." the elderly woman asked excitedly, "Who are these people you brought?

You...?" "Mom, we’ll talk inside; let’s get the things inside first!" "Yes, Auntie, let us take the gifts in first!" The woman accompanying the female ghost waved toward the procession, instructing, "Take the items into the old lady's house carefully, don't mess anything up. Wait outside after you're done!" "Yes!" the group of gift-bearers responded in unison!

"Doesn't this look like a scene from the imperial harem?" one of the officers in attendance asked. The camera didn't follow the female ghost inside.

Instead, it panned back from the BMW X6, showing a long convoy: over twenty Audi A6 sedans stretched all the way to the edge of the village. The video abruptly cut off here, suggesting the latter part of the disc was damaged.

After watching the video, Wang Xiaohe stated, "Did everyone notice the license plate? And the woman accompanying the deceased?

This is new information outside of what we currently have on this case." "Understood, Sister Wang. I'll check on this woman and the BMW’s license plate immediately.

Liao FA1888—it screams wealth just by looking at it!" An officer ejected the disc and hurried out of the conference room with it. Xiaohe turned her attention to Zhou Huan.

"Shoushi Zhou, based on the patterns of specters, explain the ultimate cause of this event and anything else we should be mindful of. Once you've finished, we can all get back to work.

I’ll call on you if anything else comes up." As soon as she finished speaking, the officers around the room began to grumble and rose from their seats. "Sister Wang, if it’s alright, we won't listen to him for now.

We can't easily accept what he says. I'm going to help Xiao Zhang trace that license plate!" "Right, right, we’ll all pitch in!" In the time it took to speak, only Zhou Huan and Xiaohe remained in the room; the other officers had filed out.

The officers' swift departure caught Xiaohe off guard, but given the tension between atheism and dealing with specters, she couldn't truly stop them. Zhou Huan's mind raced.

Seeing the others leave, he spoke with absolute certainty, voicing a single name: "Wang Qiang. He must be connected to this spectral incident, and he is the reason the female ghost is killing." "That doesn't sound right.

I questioned Wang Qiang alone yesterday, and he didn't reveal anything suspicious," Xiaohe expressed with a touch of doubt. Zhou Huan grew even more resolute.

"It has to be him. He and this female ghost must be connected, because I have seen that car before." "Brother Huan, our city isn't a metropolis, but we still have a few BMW X6s.

It could also be an out-of-town vehicle using cloned plates. We shouldn't jump to conclusions like this." "No, my intuition tells me that car belongs to Wang Qiang!" Zhou Huan reiterated his conviction with unwavering firmness.

Seeing Zhou Huan so certain, Wang Xiaohe fell silent, her thoughts turning inward as she pondered deeply.