Dongzi gradually awoke from his hazy slumber, rubbing his eyes and instinctively pulling a military shovel from his backpack: "Brother, don't worry, today whoever is displeased, I'll flatten them!"

"Alright, we might have to spar a bit with the bodyguards shortly. Don't be so tense. Lock the car doors and bring your things!" Zhou Huan saw that Dongzi and Tianxiong had both gotten out of the car. He pressed the electronic lock and led his two apprentices straight toward the Spirit Summoning Circle.

The three quickened their pace and noticed the road ahead seemed tidied, with various colorful flowers planted along the edges. Moreover, right where Zhou Huan had performed the spirit summoning two days prior—precisely over the center of that circle—someone had erected a statue. The three men stared at it, finding it increasingly familiar.

"Master, is that your statue?" Tianxiong discerned a likeness to Zhou Huan in the sculpture, except the base was missing legs. Beneath the statue, an altar was set up, complete with a spirit tablet.

Zhou Huan slowly approached the altar, picked up a plaque with both hands, and looked at it. To his exasperation, his own name was inscribed on it. Even more infuriating, the entrance to the Solitary Souls Hall beneath the statue was entirely blocked by it, while the exit was oriented toward the altar. This arrangement meant that any wandering spirit emerging would first lay eyes on Zhou Huan. Thus, no matter what, as long as these spirits hadn't returned to the netherworld, they would seek out Zhou Huan, which explained why those hanged ghosts blocked the road demanding money.

"Brother, shouldn't we just destroy this statue?" Saying this, Dongzi pulled out his military pickaxe, rushed a few steps onto the altar, and raised his hand to smash it.

Zhou Huan pulled Dongzi down from the altar: "Go stand aside. Leave the statue as it is, and hand me the compass!"

Dongzi scratched his head and passed over the compass. Zhou Huan struck the compass in the four cardinal directions. In theory, no solitary souls needing to return should be within a dozen li radius. So, Zhou Huan instructed Dongzi: "On the statue's ground, fill in any depressions with earth. Then, scatter realgar, cinnabar, black dog's blood, and wild ox hair around the perimeter. After that, burn some paper money!"

"Got it!" Dongzi leveled the earth near the statue, while Tianxiong followed Zhou Huan’s method, scattering the required items.

"Master, what is the wild ox hair for?" Tianxiong was curious. They had never used things like wild ox hair before, so its inclusion now naturally surprised him.

Zhou Huan smiled: "This is just a feint. Actually, the wild ox hair isn't very useful; it just helps the black dog's blood fully permeate it."

After the three finished their work, they spotted a group of people rushing out of the villa in the distance, brandishing weapons and charging straight toward Zhou Huan and his party.

Zhou Huan saw the danger: "Apprentices, prepare to fight. If we can't win, we run! Listen closely, no one gets hurt!"

In truth, none of Zhou Huan's group were low-level fighters; any one of them could fight impressively, possessing various clever methods.

"Zhou Huan, don't you run! Watch us take care of you!" the rushing men shouted, waving their iron spikes and machetes. In a short time, they had surrounded the three men: "Heh heh, Master Zhou, today is not like other days. We dared not confront you before, but now, you are definitely no match for us."

Zhou Huan carefully examined the man speaking. It turned out to be the fellow he had beaten up previously, and now this man looked quite smug. Smugness requires capital, after all. Zhou Huan’s lips curved: "Oh? Is that so? Tell me, why didn't you dare provoke us before, but you do today?"

"Hahaha!" the speaking bodyguard continued, "Look at these men behind me—they are all death row inmates released from prison. Doesn't every one of them have several lives on their hands? Hmph, hmph, most of them have served as mercenaries overseas. How about it, Master Zhou? Want to test them?"

Zhou Huan kept sizing up the men surrounding him. Indeed, as the bodyguard claimed, these individuals were all robustly built, each seemingly bearing different tattoos, and every tattoo looked numbered. Furthermore, through their eyes, Zhou Huan could inexplicably sense a heavy killing intent. He steadied himself and said, "You all look quite strong. Did you come out today just to seek revenge against us?"

"That’s the main reason. Also, our Young Miss said you must not approach the villa any closer, or we won't hold back." The bodyguard spoke smugly, as if he had finally found his mountain to climb.

While the man was speaking, Dongzi’s hand moved swiftly. He secretly pulled out his shovel and swung it toward the so-called mercenary in front of him. However, this group was clearly not for show. Seeing Dongzi’s shovel coming, the man merely shifted his body slightly, threw an uppercut, and caught Dongzi squarely on the jaw. Instantly, Dongzi felt the world spin, saw stars, and collapsed, gasping for breath.

Zhou Huan saw things turning bad: "Tianxiong, move!" Master and apprentice unleashed their tools, and the group clashed together. Before long, Li Tianxiong was also knocked to the ground, unconscious.

Zhou Huan fighting alone was proving quite difficult; the practical combat skills of these mercenaries were too strong. The leading bodyguard sat to the side, leisurely smoking a cigarette. Although several thugs had already been taken down, their sheer numbers overwhelmed Zhou Huan, who was trying to handle five or six men at once—it was too much. He fought while slowly retreating toward the woods.

"All of you, stop fighting now!" A few mercenaries turned back to look. The mercenary leader, who had been sitting and smoking moments ago, was now held firmly in someone else's grip, forced to speak those words.

"Master, with this guy in my hands, let's see what they can do?" Hong Kun and Shi Bingyuan emerged. The two had set up a telescope in the tallest tree, camouflaged in green military uniforms, crouching on the branches. They spotted Zhou Huan’s group approaching. Initially, they hadn't intended to come down, but seeing Zhou Huan engaged in battle, they descended to provide support.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction of the thugs, Zhou Huan pushed off powerfully with both legs and ran over to Shi Bingyuan's position: "Bingyuan, watch this punk. I'm going to check on Dongzi and Tianxiong." Zhou Huan was drenched in sweat. In a short while, he revived both men and pulled a bottle of water from his pocket, handing it to Dongzi and Tianxiong. After drinking, they regained their composure and rejoined the fray.

"Brother, those sons of bitches, they dared to attack faster than me," Dongzi grumbled.

Zhou Huan glanced at the mercenaries before him. The few he had previously knocked down had gotten back up and were all staring toward Zhou Huan's side.

Zhou Huan wiped the sweat from his body: "Your Young Miss must have spared no expense to hire this group. It seems I, Zhou Huan, really have to show them a few tricks today."

"Master, shall we try 'Double Ghost Opens the Gate'?" Shi Bingyuan suggested, after which Zhou Huan burst into laughter.

Tianxiong was confused: "Master, what is 'Double Ghost Opens the Gate'?"

"‘Double Ghost Opens the Gate’ is something Master created in his previous life, specifically for self-protection. When encountering tricky opponents like these, we must use it," Shi Bingyuan explained to Tianxiong.

Tianxiong became excited: "Then hurry up and perform it! We really want to see it."

Zhou Huan threw a punch, knocking out the leading bodyguard instantly, then took up a stance with Shi Bingyuan.

In fact, this technique was created by Zhou Huan in his former life for self-defense, as Zhou Huan often managed to antagonize the relatives of vengeful ghosts or local hooligans. This move later evolved and became quite miraculous. It required both practitioners to understand the Shoushi arts, possess nimble movements, and have a solid foundation in martial arts; only then could its power be fully realized.

Zhou Huan attacked the right flank, and Shi Bingyuan attacked the left flank, facing more than a dozen desperate outlaws whose weapons, if they connected, would result in either death or severe injury.

This 'Double Ghost Opens the Gate' involved invoking a single po (soul fragment) from two vengeful spirits, transforming them into a third arm to help block attacks from multiple assailants while simultaneously countering fierce assaults.

After the two plunged into the circle of bodyguards, in less than ten minutes, all the mercenaries were sprawled on the ground—some clutching their faces, others holding their legs, some crying out in agony, and others unconscious.

Zhou Huan and Shi Bingyuan were dripping with sweat. After all, two people facing nearly ten opponents naturally required a massive expenditure of energy.

Zhou Huan placed one foot on the face of the bodyguard leader, who had been the most audacious, and slapped him awake: "Punk, I'm giving you ten minutes. Go back and tell your Young Miss to come meet me, Zhou Huan, or tonight, I will flip your entire villa upside down. I, Zhou Huan, mean what I say."

After speaking, Zhou Huan yanked the struggling bodyguard leader up and shoved him: "Hurry up and get out of here with them."

"Yes, yes!" This bodyguard leader was truly nothing; he was just someone looking to make money. He immediately signaled, and taking the so-called mercenaries, he ran back toward the villa.

After watching them retreat, Zhou Huan crouched down: "Take a rest. Those guys were too hard to deal with; every one of them looked like they had undergone demonic training."

"Master, I've heard of these men before. They are veterans who survived several campaigns; none of them are weak," Shi Bingyuan added.

Dongzi grinned widely this time: "So that means Brother Huan is even more formidable, taking them down in just a few moves."

"Alright, catch your breath, hurry up and follow me!" Zhou Huan said as he stood up. The group started moving toward the villa entrance. Before reaching the door, Zhou Huan gave new instructions: "Bingyuan, you take Dongzi and Hong Kun and go check out the place where you heard sounds the day before yesterday. Dongzi, where you were digging before, dig deeper. See if you can find anything new."

"Got it, let's go, Dongzi!" Shi Bingyuan led Hong Kun and Dongzi in another direction before they even reached the entrance.

Zhou Huan proceeded to the villa door with Tianxiong. The bodyguards at the entrance, seeing Zhou Huan, were clearly intimidated and involuntarily backed away.

"Open this door for me! I need to go in and find your young master and young lady." Zhou Huan's expression was severe, frightening the bodyguards into turning tail and fleeing.

Zhou Huan turned to Tianxiong and said, "Once we’re inside, prepare the spirit-summoning talismans. There are too many people; we'll use the wandering spirits against them."