"Ah!" Several female officers gasped, covering their mouths, and Xiang Jiao, who had just followed them up, also fainted.

Xiao He pushed through the crowd. Even these seasoned officers were visibly unsettled by the sight before them. "Huan Ge, what is this?"

Zhou Huan stared intently at the contents of the urn. The ashes were gone. What remained was a single, blood-soaked hand—a hand completely intact, not missing a single strand of hair.

"This..." Shi Bingyuan was stunned into silence.

Zhou Huan carefully placed the urn back down and instructed Xiao He, "Tell your people to secure this properly. Preserve it well. This might be the key to finding the truth of this matter."

Next, Zhou Huan walked over to Xiang Jiao and firmly pressed the Ren Zhong acupuncture point on her philtrum.

Xiang Jiao managed to catch her breath and slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Zhou Huan, she immediately reached out to hug his neck.

Just then, a figure lunged forward from behind Zhou Huan—it was Li Guang. He stretched out his neck for Xiang Jiao to grasp, and with that momentum, Xiang Jiao slowly managed to sit up.

"Sister Xiang Jiao, remember this: you must assign people to guard this place day and night. In a moment, I will draw a circle with a Ghost-Averting Talisman; no one enters. Also, only when this case involving humans and ghosts is finally solved can your elder be laid to rest. The diqi (earth energy) here hasn't been broken, only the coffin was destroyed. Fortunately, you still have wood; you can still build another." Zhou Huan explained to Xiang Jiao, though she didn't truly understand any of it. The one who responded to Zhou Huan was the honest, simple man, Li Guang.

"Xiao He, are you done? Shall we pull out?" Zhou Huan was starting to get anxious.

Xiao He looked around. "Have all the evidence been collected?"

"Done. We even secured the footprints that ran hundreds of meters away," someone reported to Xiao He.

Xiao He then asked, "Have you dispatched people to search for evidence in the direction those footprints led?"

"They're all back. We had a large contingent today, so the work was fast."

"Very well, fall back!" As soon as Xiao He finished speaking, she felt waves of dry heaving rising in her stomach. However, seeing so many people present, she felt too embarrassed to cover her mouth, quickly hurried to her car, got in, and sped away with her team.

Zhou Huan, naturally understanding what was happening, pulled his disciples along and followed Xiao He back in their vehicles.

The burial site was sealed tight by Xiang Jiao's assigned guards—so secure that not even a fly could get in, with shifts rotating day and night.

Xiao He’s car stopped at the entrance of Fushou Hall. She directed the others in her car to take a different vehicle back, while she accompanied Zhou Huan into the hall.

Zhou Huan helped Xiao He up the stairs. Once inside, he looked at her earnestly and said, "My dear, as soon as we resolve this matter, let's set a date for the wedding. How does that sound?"

"Get lost! Who’s marrying you? I’ll go get rid of the baby tomorrow!" Xiao He said this clearly to spite Zhou Huan. After speaking, she asked him, "What do you think our child will be, a boy or a girl?"

Zhou Huan's eyebrows went up on one side and down on the other. This was truly a difficult question to answer. "I think it’ll be twins—one boy and one girl. That way, neither of us has to argue over who we get."

"Forget it. You’ll exhaust me! I don't want to be heavily pregnant when we take our wedding photos for the license, so we need to put some serious effort into this!" Xiao He laid down an ultimatum. Zhou Huan also wanted to wrap up the Sun family's business quickly; he didn't want it dragging on endlessly.

The entire night, Zhou Huan and Xiao He did nothing but contemplate the entire sequence of events. All they currently held were that blood sample, that hand, a few fingerprints, and a few footprints.

As dawn slowly approached, the two had long since fallen asleep together, one leaning against the other, a picture of harmony. When the sound of car engines rose outside, passersby began to stir.

The four disciples downstairs were already busy preparing breakfast. Shi Bingyuan, however, was reconstructing the entire scene on a large table, using foam boards to mark every important location, then utilizing small flags to represent various critical objects, placing them according to his memory of the scene.

When Zhou Huan and Xiao He came downstairs, they saw that Shi Bingyuan’s technique was indeed meticulous; he had arranged every element quite convincingly.

"Shi Bingyuan, your craft is excellent. This display is very well done," Zhou Huan said, leaning close to the table to examine Shi Bingyuan’s work.

Xiao He placed an arm over Zhou Huan's shoulder, resting her head against him as she looked at the items on the table. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Right, Huan Ge, we forgot a very important thing last night."

"What is it?" Zhou Huan noticed Shi Bingyuan holding five pieces of paper, unsure where to place them. Zhou Huan immediately asked Shi Bingyuan, "Are those the five golden basins you're holding?"

"Yes!" Shi Bingyuan replied. "These five golden basins were originally there, but when we arrived, they were gone."

"Exactly. That proves one thing: these people were after those five golden basins. Whether they were Sun family insiders or not is hard to say, but the first thing we need to clarify is the whereabouts of those five basins. Finding those five golden basins is the breakthrough point for this entire case," Xiao He articulated her perspective in the manner of a police investigator.

Zhou Huan pointed a finger at the spot on the table representing the urn. "Whose hand is in the urn? That is also crucial. Did they see the five basins and decide there was an uneven distribution, or did someone try to hoard them? But one thing I am certain of: this hand is more than half not severed by human hands. You can see from the seam of the urn lid; if that object had cut off the hand, the edges wouldn't be so neat. But if a person cut it off with a knife and placed it inside, why are there still traces of flesh on the lid? Moreover, if an object as thick as the urn's edge could sever a hand so cleanly, it's highly unrealistic."

"Huan Ge's analysis is correct. Then who made this supernatural event happen?" Xiao He asked.

Shi Bingyuan looked at Zhou Huan, then stated, "It must have been Old Man Sun himself. Look at all those ashes scattered on the ground. If it were you, wouldn't you seek revenge on that person? Actually, this matter might be simple: once the seventh day after Old Man Sun's passing (the end of the traditional mourning period) is over, we can try to summon him and ask. We’ll understand much more then."

"Don't be so optimistic. I think these seven days will be enough time for plenty to happen," Zhou Huan cautioned Shi Bingyuan.

Just then, Dongzi and Li Tianxiong emerged from the kitchen carrying stacks of food. "Time to eat! It won't taste good if it gets cold!"

Hong Kun ran back in from outside. "Everyone’s up! I’m exhausted!"

"Where did you go?" Zhou Huan immediately asked Hong Kun.

Hong Kun laughed, "Just went over to the Old Sun residence for a bit. I was watching secretly from outside. Nothing seems amiss in their house; there’s no sign of the grief or turmoil one would expect after discovering a grave has been desecrated."

"Is that so?" Zhou Huan's mind was racing. He paced a couple of steps. "Here's the plan: from now on, Shi Bingyuan and Hong Kun will surveil the Old Sun residence. If you get discovered, you two still have some reputation to uphold—just go in and perform a simple ritual and leave."

"Okay, that’s no problem. But what exactly are we supposed to look for in their house?" Shi Bingyuan asked Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan smiled. "You just keep watch. See if anyone in that family suddenly struck it rich, or if anyone has lost a hand. These are things you need to observe. Trust your instincts; there might be something there useful to us."

"Right, and today we'll officially send people to investigate the Sun family openly. You two watch from the shadows," Xiao He interjected.

Then Zhou Huan continued giving orders. "Li Tianxiong, you go to the burial site and control the wandering spirits around it. Try to summon the soul of Old Man Sun or his elder father. Given the grave disturbance, it might not be easy for them to emerge, so you must manage the relationships with the surrounding ghosts and deities properly."

"Got it. I'll bring plenty of joss paper and ingots," Li Tianxiong confirmed.

Next, Zhou Huan prepared to eat, but Dongzi became anxious. "Brother, everyone has a job. What about me? Am I supposed to stay home and cook?"

"You, your task is even more important." As soon as Zhou Huan said this, Dongzi immediately puffed out his chest.

"Brother, tell me, what is my task?"

"Protect me!" Upon hearing this, everyone laughed. Zhou Huan then reassured Dongzi, "Don't worry, there will be a time for you to shine. Don't rush. Just stay with me; I need someone by my side, after all."

This finally pleased Dongzi. "Alright, if I'm following Brother Huan, I won't say another word!"

The group chattered happily. After breakfast, Zhou Huan drove off with Dongzi and Xiao He, heading straight for the police station. At the station, Xiao He took Zhou Huan and Dongzi directly to her office.

Xiao He picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers. "Evidence Center? Have the materials from the cemetery site in the suburbs yesterday been processed? Could you fax them over?"

Less than ten minutes later, the fax machine began spitting out pages from the other end. Xiao He read through the faxes once before handing them to Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan nodded silently. "I see. It seems this matter is quite complicated. We can't trace the origin of any evidence; we can't even locate the person belonging to that hand."

"Mm. Let's wait a little longer. The team investigating the hospital will be back soon, and the team investigating the Old Sun residence has also left. We should have new information by the afternoon," Xiao He briefed Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan placed the materials on the table and slowly sipped his tea.

Dongzi took the materials and looked them over slowly, then asked Zhou Huan, "Brother, what does all this say?"

"It's all analysis reports of the evidence, along with some diagrams."

"Mm, I can understand these diagrams. Isn't this a footprint?"

Zhou Huan smiled. "Of course. Anyone can recognize that. Two of those four footprints are identical."

"Four? Why do I see five?" Dongzi questioned.

"There are five pictures, but two have been identified as the same print, so we call it four," Xiao He explained according to the report.