"Cut the nonsense. Speak up, or I'll send you straight to reincarnation!" Zhou Huan was getting impatient; after all, they were talking about the woman he admired.

Xiao Tao was genuinely afraid that Zhou Huan might do something to him, so he continued, "After the Boss beat Guo Hua that day, he dragged her into a private room. I don't know what happened next. The rest of us just fell asleep in the karaoke room. But before four in the morning, the Boss sent someone to call us, saying he needed help moving a large trunk. Then we left the KTV, hailed a taxi, took the trunk to the Yalu River, tossed it into the water, and just left."

Xiao He kept writing with her head down. Upon hearing what Xiao Tao finished saying, she asked, "Is that all?"

"That's everything. I haven't done anything else for Wang Qiang. Usually, I just hang around him to get free food and drinks; we all knew he had money. Master Zhou, please, let me go. I haven't done any other bad deeds. I’m just a lecher, but it never went beyond mere looking." Chen Xiaotao knelt down, kowtowing and pleading with Zhou Huan, the eyeball dangling outside his socket twitching back and forth.

Zhou Huan glanced at Xiao He, then said with a perfectly natural expression, "Alright, I think what you've said is enough for me to question Wang Qiang. Let's send you off now!" He then pushed his hands, formed into the Lotus Mudra, toward the Four-Eyed Ghost, chanting, "Let the deceased depart; accept the spirit money. Black and White Officials, execute justly!"

"Clang! Clang!" A series of crisp chain sounds filled the corridor, creating an uncanny silence. It seemed everyone in the hallway heard that distinct sound—the sound of the Black and White Impermanence shackling the spirit with iron chains.

Zhou Huan swiftly threw the ingots and paper money prepared for Chen Xiaotao into the basin filled with cinnabar. Although it was a basin of paste, strangely, the paper money Zhou Huan burned burned with surprising vigor. In a short time, the entire Grand Array of Drunken Cinnabar, mixed with yellow wine and cinnabar, vanished as the paper money burned away. All that remained was some blackish paper ash, which a faint, cold breeze scattered everywhere.

Zhou Huan turned to look at Old Mr. Wang's slightly calmer expression, wiping his hand across the old gentleman's face: "Old Sir, you are well now. You won't see any more ghosts, no need to live in fear! You heard what that spirit said just now, didn't you!"

"I heard it, alas!" Old Mr. Wang let out a long breath. "You all come in. I think Wang Qiang can tell you what you need to know!"

Wang Xiaohe felt elated. Finally, there was a solid reason to interrogate that bastard Wang Qiang thoroughly. Most assault and battery cases usually involved him somehow; this time, she was determined to find a way to make him confess everything. Xiao He inadvertently glanced at her notes and discovered a crucial detail mentioned by the spirit that reminded her of a case from a while back—a case where the victim voluntarily chose not to press charges against the perpetrator, so it was ultimately dropped.

Thinking this, Xiao He picked up the phone and dialed the archives room she had crawled out of: "Help me check the files for that wooden box case from last month. Find out who the victim was and if there are any records. Call me back shortly."

Zhou Huan followed Old Mr. Wang into Wang Qiang's hospital room. After making the call, Xiao He followed them in as well.

Just as everyone felt the panic slowly dissipate after Zhou Huan dealt with the terrifying corpse, people gradually started leaving. The plump woman, seeing her subordinate dead, stood there at a loss and was led aside by the police to give her statement. Afterward, the hospital staff returned to their posts, resuming their duties.

At that very moment, another person slowly approached from the end of the hallway, leaning against the wall. As this figure drew near Wang Qiang's room, two bodyguards intercepted him. However, upon seeing the person, the bodyguards said nothing more, allowing him to proceed as he wished. This individual stopped at Wang Qiang's doorway and leaned his ear slightly toward the door.

Inside the room, Wang Qiang saw Zhou Huan and, gathering a sudden surge of strength, instantly sat upright: "You are?" Although Wang Qiang had heard the various screams from outside, he seemed to have grasped what had happened. What he never expected was that the voice of Zhou Huan he had just heard belonged to the beggar he had previously beaten.

"You are that little beggar? You are Zhou Huan?" Wang Qiang could barely suppress the urgency to confirm his judgment.

Old Mr. Wang looked quite surprised. "You two know each other?"

"We had a chance encounter, just one, hehe!" Zhou Huan knew inwardly that under no circumstances could he reveal the part about him and Dongzi ambushing Wang Qiang. Following this, Zhou Huan moved closer to Wang Qiang, closely examining his injuries. The wounds on his left and right arms were indistinguishable from Old Song's. Therefore, Zhou Huan suspected Wang Qiang was the female ghost's ultimate target. What utterly baffled Zhou Huan, however, was why the female ghost didn't just kill Wang Qiang directly, but only left him severely injured. He decided to first inquire about what exactly transpired between Wang Qiang and Guo Hua.

"Young Master Wang, start by telling me about your affair with Guo Hua!"

Wang Qiang sat up, his upper body bare, an amulet hanging on his chest.

Zhou Huan watched the jade pendant swing back and forth, observing it carefully. It turned out to be a pendant carved with the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva. This immediately resolved the confusion in Zhou Huan's mind. No wonder the female ghost could never get close to him. At this moment, Zhou Huan recalled the events at Baoguang Temple; he was now certain that Wang Qiang had gone to Baoguang Temple specifically to seek a protective talisman.

Wang Qiang’s hazy eyes were filled with doubt and confusion. The little beggar he had violently beaten was now a Master of Longevity whom even his own father treated with respect. He felt his dignity plummeting as if from a cliff. He could only manage a quiet remark: "Oh, you are Master Zhou Shou? You want to ask me about Guo Hua?"

"Yes!" Zhou Huan’s reply was firm, but seeing Wang Qiang's deeply conflicted expression, his eyes darting around and his face turning slightly sallow, he hesitated to speak, clearly unwilling to divulge anything about Guo Hua.

Wang Xiaohe had interrogated Wang Qiang alone before; she knew this guy’s mouth was exceptionally tight, and he excelled at evasiveness. Xiao He looked at Old Mr. Wang and remarked, "Old Mr. Wang, it seems Wang Qiang has quite a complicated history!"

Old Mr. Wang looked at Xiao He, then at Zhou Huan, and also skirted the issue: "Well, I’m usually very busy. To be honest, I haven't had the time to properly discipline my son. Ask whatever you need to ask!"

Zhou Huan gave Old Mr. Wang a look, then deliberately said, "Oh, Old Sir, you usually can’t look after your own son. Now is your chance to show him how it’s done. You absolutely must make him tell the truth, or he might be in mortal danger—he could die a much worse death!"

Old Mr. Wang's expression shifted to one of utter shock upon hearing Zhou Huan’s words, making him desperately eager to know why his son would meet such a terrible end. It seemed Zhou Huan's goading tactic had worked, yet Zhou Huan knew this wasn't baseless scaremongering; it was an inevitable outcome.

Old Mr. Wang paused, then said sternly to Wang Qiang, "You little brat, tell them whatever you're hiding. The police and Master Zhou are here; believe me, they will find a way. Besides, if you had nothing to hide, why did you go to Baoguang Temple for a protective talisman? Tell them everything you’ve done wrong!"

"I... I..." Wang Qiang was pinned down by his father's words, but he still harbored resistance.

Old Mr. Wang’s tone grew severe: "I'm telling you, if you don't speak now, no one will help you later, not even me!"

"I'll talk!" Wang Qiang had relied on his father for everything since childhood; his mother had died early, so his father had spoiled him even more. But hearing that even his father would abandon him was unbearable. He suppressed the deep-seated resistance within him, and his facial expression became unexpectedly placid.

Wang Qiang let out a long sigh: "Ah, Father, don't blame me when I tell you. This whole thing was my foolishness!"

"Go on. Confession is good for the soul, better than bottling it up and suffering!" Zhou Huan truly knew how to seize an opportunity, pushing the flow of the moment.

"Guo Hua was a hostess I met at the KTV. After spending time together, I realized she was a good woman, but she was poor and wanted to earn money to go back home and make the villagers look up to her. So I helped her. With one thing leading to another, we naturally got together!" As Wang Qiang spoke, he kept glancing at Old Mr. Wang’s expression. Seeing his father's face, sweat poured down Wang Qiang's forehead, and the words he intended to say stuck in his throat.

As soon as Old Mr. Wang heard this, his face flushed with anger, a mixture of rage and hatred: "You little bastard! So that girl was a prostitute? I knew you wouldn't bring back anything good! You really want to anger your father to death!" The old man breathed in sharp, ragged gasps.

"Xiao He, have someone escort Old Mr. Wang out. We can continue the interrogation here. I’m afraid Old Mr. Wang might not be able to handle it, or..." Zhou Huan attempted to dismiss the old man right in front of him, trying not to let him interrupt Wang Qiang's train of thought too much.

"Master Zhou Shou, if he hides anything, beat it out of him! This rascal, how could I raise such a son who dares to bring a prostitute home!" While Old Mr. Wang was speaking, he was already being helped out by his bodyguard.

Zhou Huan's expression grew intensely serious: "Wang Qiang, continue. No concealment!"

Wang Qiang was meek as a kitten now, nodding silently: "Little beggar... oh no, Master Zhou Shou, you must help me! I don't want to die!"

"I can only promise to do my best. Go on."

"If I tell you everything, can you guarantee I won't die?"

"I can't promise that, but if you don't speak, you will certainly die. If you speak, you might survive. You choose."

"I’ll talk!" Wang Qiang wiped the sweat from his brow. "After I got to know Guo Hua, she quit her previous job. Later, we agreed to get married. She told me she wanted to go back to her hometown to show off that she was rich now, so I sent people to follow her there. After she returned from her hometown, we were preparing for the wedding. But one day, a man called her and offered her a large sum of money to leave me. They arranged to meet that evening. Sure enough, that night she secretly ran off and didn't return until morning. When I called her, her phone was turned off. That's why I asked Yan Jing and the others to go to the KTV with me!"

As Wang Qiang spoke, a police officer entered from outside the room, whispered a few words into Xiao He's ear, handed her a notebook, and then left.

Xiao He, holding the file which included photographs, casually tossed the entire binder in front of Wang Qiang: "Look who she is! Explain yourself clearly!"

Wang Qiang took the file Xiao He threw him. The photo on the front was of Guo Hua. The file detailed the recovery of the floating wooden box from the river. Turning to the subsequent photos, he saw pictures from Guo Hua’s home. Most striking among them was a book titled The Complete Guide to Folk Witchcraft.

"No wonder this slut was so vicious! She must have read this book! That damn woman, that whore, seeing other men behind my back, and plotting such a despicable scheme against me!" Wang Qiang muttered continuously.

Zhou Huan interjected, "Wang Qiang, tell us. How did you plan to kill Guo Hua?"

When Wang Qiang realized Zhou Huan had exposed the truth hidden deep in his heart—the secret could no longer be contained—he said quietly, "At the KTV, I was drowning my sorrows with alcohol. She called, wanting money, so I told her to come to the KTV to meet me. When she arrived, I questioned her if she had been fooling around with the man who called her. She denied it. We started arguing, and it escalated until we smashed everything in the private room. I struck her, but I didn't intend for her to pass out. I checked her, and she had no breath. So I ordered people to put her in a trunk and dump her in the river."

Hearing this, Zhou Huan smiled slightly: "Hmph, this is the key to the female ghost's murders. If I'm not mistaken, everyone who helped move that box that day is now dead, including the driver who helped haul it?"

"Ah? Who has died?" Hearing Zhou Huan say this, Wang Qiang was overcome with immense fear, his mind thrown into utter chaos.