Just then, Shi Bingyuan and Hong Kun, who were hiding outside the wall, signaled Zhou Huan with a sound like a pigeon's coo. Zhou Huan immediately knew something was wrong, as he had agreed with Shi Bingyuan that if they separated, a pigeon's call from one of them meant that person was injured.

A sudden alarm went off in Zhou Huan's mind. He quickly left the Sun residence, stealthily driving a detour to Shi Bingyuan's hiding spot. As he left, he noticed something extremely peculiar: Li Guang's expression was one of intense vexation and dejection. Zhou Huan didn't dwell on it, but that look left a deep impression on him.

Zhou Huan drove his car to the outside of the wall where the remains had just been exhumed, following the signs left by Shi Bingyuan. Not far along, he saw Hong Kun sitting on the ground, clutching his hand, his face contorted in pain.

"Hong Kun, your hand?" Zhou Huan asked, his voice tight with tension.

Shi Bingyuan answered for Hong Kun. "His hand is compromised. We heard you digging for bones inside, but the sewage was already seeping out. Hong Kun stumbled and cut his hand, getting poisoned by the escaping corpse toxin. I already used the glutinous rice wine I brought to clean it."

Zhou Huan lifted Hong Kun's hand for a look. Several large and small blisters had already formed on it. "Shi Bingyuan, you stay here. I'll take him back for treatment. He should be fine after a night's rest; he can come back tomorrow."

"Fine, no problem. I'll be careful on my own."

Zhou Huan paused, then added, "They haven't discovered you monitoring them yet, but one thing—you must be extremely cautious about everything in that courtyard, especially Li Guang. I have a strong feeling he's not right. If you can manage it, get a high-powered telescope and watch them from a tree or something."

"Understood, I'll go back and keep an eye on them now. Bring the telescope back to me when Hong Kun returns."

After their brief discussion, Zhou Huan took Hong Kun and they left the area, driving toward Fushou Hall.

As Zhou Huan drove, calculating how to explain the discovery of the skeletal remains, his phone rang again.

"Master Zhou, we have another body here. Please hurry over. This person died rather strangely; I don't know if it's a supernatural incident."

"Where are you? I'm on my way!"

"Near the Wild Grass Hall on the outskirts!"

Zhou Huan immediately accelerated, sending Hong Kun to Fushou Hall at speeds pushing 150 or 160 kilometers per hour. Dongzi had already returned to Fushou Hall and rushed out when he saw Zhou Huan arrive. "Brother, why didn't you call me when you left?"

"Stop the chatter. Here's a task for you: mix glutinous rice wine, cinnabar, the ash of exorcism talismans, and the ash from our incense burner into a paste and apply it to Hong Kun's injury. Then, take good care of him." As Zhou Huan spoke, he noticed Dongzi peering into the car. He then barked, "What are you looking at? Get the man downstairs, quickly."

"Oh, understood, Brother." Dongzi opened the car door, helped Hong Kun out, and led him into Fushou Hall.

Zhou Huan slammed the accelerator, shooting away in a flash, heading straight for the Wild Grass Hall on the outskirts.

Along the way, Zhou Huan kept thinking about the person who died last time, wondering what the manner of death looked like this time.

His car entered the vicinity of the Wild Grass Hall. A crowd of people stood surrounding the hall. This grass hall had once been the residence of a writer during the war period; he had tried to emulate Ji Xiaolan in his writing, producing mostly seditious material, but he was killed soon after. However, the place was inherited by his descendants through generations, though in recent years it had been left untended, becoming a grim and eerie abandoned structure.

"Master Zhou, Master Zhou." A figure dressed as a forensic examiner hurried unsteadily towards Zhou Huan. "Master Zhou, is this person's death the same as the last one?"

"The last one?" Zhou Huan wasn't entirely certain of his suspicions and pressed for clarification.

"Yes, the one from the construction site."

Zhou Huan felt his intuition was correct. He hastily got out of the car, slung his bag over his shoulder, and plunged into the crowd, crossing the cordon line to see a corpse lying face down on the ground.

The body's arm had been severed from its torso, and there were many bloodstains on the body. There was also a cut mark from a sharp weapon on the deceased's neck, but the face was so beaten that his features were unrecognizable. This time, Zhou Huan carefully examined the corpse's wrist; he sensed this wrist had been severed by a sharp instrument, unlike the construction worker's hand, which had been violently ripped off.

Zhou Huan lit some paper yuanbao and chanted an incantation, sending blessings for the deceased, before instructing the medical examiner to proceed with the autopsy.

After completing the preliminary examination, the medical examiner asked Zhou Huan, "Master Zhou, could you burn a talisman for us? Otherwise, we'll have nightmares when we go back tonight."

"All right, here!" Zhou Huan pulled out a stack of talismans from his pocket. "These are all for warding off ghosts, but I still hope you don't use them carelessly. When you get scared, burn one and that's it."

"Understood!" The two examiners immediately burned two talismans, then arranged for someone to carry the body away.

Because the location was remote, only the two reporters who made the initial call, the police, and Zhou Huan himself remained.

Zhou Huan asked the two reporters, "Do you live nearby?"

"Yes, we live in the village near the Wild Grass Hall, about two li away."

"Then, when you found the body, did you notice anything unusual around you?" Zhou Huan asked in minute detail.

The two replied, "We didn't notice anything when we found the body, but we've felt something strange about this Wild Grass Hall recently. Every time we come back at night, we see a light on, but after dinner when we go out for a walk, the light is off again. We thought about coming over to check, but we never dared."

Zhou Huan smiled faintly. "Afraid of ghosts?"

The two nodded slightly. Zhou Huan asked them to leave, requesting to stay behind himself for a while, and dismissed everyone else.

The people gone and the house empty, as Zhou Huan remained alone, the entire building exuded wisps of loneliness and gloom. Gusts of night wind swept across Zhou Huan's face, seemingly carrying some inexplicable messages.

Zhou Huan picked a spot to sit. The place he chose was very dark; without a light source, no one could see his presence, which was why he selected it.

Several crows perched on the trees outside the building were cawing incessantly until, suddenly, they all took flight with a flurry of flapping. Zhou Huan vaguely heard the sound of someone walking outside the structure, the sound very faint. He strained his ears, hearing only that the person was getting closer to Zhou Huan.

In the darkness, he saw a dark shadow drift past his line of sight, and then it was gone. Zhou Huan found this extremely strange. What was that? He formed a ghost-dispelling hand seal, but he felt nothing on his hands, which proved it wasn't a ghost. Could it be a person?

Zhou Huan wrestled with his own thoughts, widening his eyes to look out into the outer room. Everything around him was intensely quiet; even his own breathing was the only sound audible.

Zhou Huan finally lit his flashlight and began searching the surroundings for clues. He found remnants of the arm that had fallen off near where the body had been placed.

Next, Zhou Huan lit a Ghost-Seeing Talisman, and after burning it, he burned some more yuanbao inside the room. Zhou Huan looked around, but he couldn't even detect a solitary wandering spirit. What about that shadow just now? This triggered a sense of unease and panic he had never experienced before.

In Zhou Huan's mind, the first conclusion was: there was a shadow, but no soul he could locate. Second, after burning the Ghost-Seeing Talisman, there wasn't even the slightest presence of a wandering spirit. This forced Zhou Huan to suspect something genuinely peculiar about the house.

Now Zhou Huan could firmly conclude that this death was man-made, definitely not supernatural. His opponent was clearly cunning, using seemingly spiritual events to cover up his crimes.

With this thought, Zhou Huan decided he must investigate the area thoroughly during the daytime; the killer would certainly have left some trace.

As Zhou Huan moved to leave, he suddenly felt a cool rush of air across the back of his neck. "Who?" Zhou Huan spun around sharply, intending to demand an answer, but nothing happened. It was still the same empty, old house.

Zhou Huan slowly walked to his car and turned the ignition, preparing to depart, but in the rearview mirror, he saw a figure clinging to the inside of the house door. The shadow was indistinct, but the physique suggested someone formidable.

"Brother in the back, which hero are you? Announce yourself first?" Zhou Huan asked cautiously, believing he was close to solving the mystery.

But the person behind him suddenly vanished, only to reappear instantly next to Zhou Huan. "Brother Huan, it's so late, can you see clearly?"

Zhou Huan recognized the voice as familiar but couldn't immediately place it. He leaned closer. "Li Guang?"

"It's me. Whenever I'm free, I come here to jot down a few sentences or read a book. But there's one condition: I only get an hour or so to myself after Xiangjiao is asleep."

"You come here so late? Aren't you afraid of ghostly occurrences?" Zhou Huan asked with concern.

But Li Guang just laughed heartily. "Zhou Huan, don't assume you're the only one who knows the arts of the Master of Longevity. I, Li Guang, know them too; I just don't use them often."

"What?" Zhou Huan returned the laugh. "Then you know about the corpse here just now?"

"Know? Of course, I know. But I prefer not to talk about it." As he spoke, Li Guang glanced at his watch and prepared to bid Zhou Huan farewell, but Zhou Huan gripped Li Guang's hand tightly. "Where are you going? You aren't leaving until this is cleared up."

"Hahaha, isn't it clear enough? Are you, Master Zhou, going to force me?" Li Guang said, clenching his hand into a fist.

Zhou Huan knew he couldn't let him leave now. He, too, clenched his fist. "Li Guang, you must explain things clearly today, or neither of us will leave here in good shape."

For more novels, visit storyread.net.