Zhou Huan shoved the door open and swiftly bolted it from the inside, then lunged toward Li Guang with the speed of a leopard, clamping both hands around Li Guang’s neck. Li Guang struggled desperately, just as a figure emerged unsteadily from the inner room of the small cabin—it was Xiang Jiao. “What in the world are you two doing?

I’m not finished relaxing yet…” Xiang Jiao gasped in astonishment, her eyes fixed on Zhou Huan as she mumbled indistinctly, “Zhou Huan…” “I’ve locked the door. It seems we’re going to have a serious talk right here today, Miss Sun. You can scream, you can shout, but if you think you two can walk out of the Sun family villa alive today, then I, Zhou Huan, have lived these years for nothing.” Zhou Huan was issuing a threat.

In that moment, he felt like a bandit holding hostages, constantly mocking himself internally, yet compelled by the dire situation. Xiang Jiao seemed momentarily stunned, her hand slipping inside her clothing as if reaching for something. In this critical juncture, Zhou Huan dared not relax for a split second.

He roared, “Keep your hands where they are! If you don’t want your husband to die, keep those hands by your side!” What Xiang Jiao pulled out was a pack of cigarettes. A tiny spark ignited her cigarette.

She took two sharp drags, and the color in her face seemed to shift dramatically; the initial ashen pallor gave way to a flush of red. “Zhou Huan, I simply do not believe you would dare lay a finger on my Li Guang today.” Zhou Huan realized this was not the simpleminded woman he had first perceived. This woman was far from ordinary; it was highly probable that all of Li Guang’s actions had been orchestrated by Xiang Jiao.

Zhou Huan offered a faint smile, the corner of his mouth curving upward slightly. “Whether I touch him is my business. Whether I touch you is also my business.

If you intended to conspire behind my back, I suspect today is the day I expose it all. Therefore, I strongly suggest you two recount the entire convoluted history right here in front of me.” “Fine, hmph hmph. Let Li Guang go first, or I might forget everything,” Xiang Jiao tried to employ a counter-stratagem, but she severely underestimated Zhou Huan.

Although he found the situation prickly, Zhou Huan felt no inherent barrier to resolving it—only the conviction that this matter must be seen through. Zhou Huan knew they were locked in a stalemate, but releasing Li Guang was out of the question. However, Li Guang chose that moment to become restless.

His right hand shot up, his index and middle fingers pinching a needle aimed directly at Zhou Huan’s thigh. “Ah!” Li Guang let out a piercing scream just as Zhou Huan’s palm struck the back of his neck. Li Guang tumbled to the floor, eyes shut tight, his body completely limp.

Xiang Jiao’s expression tightened. She watched the speed and ruthlessness of Zhou Huan’s technique as he slowly advanced toward her. “Miss Sun, I’ve sensed something deeply unsettling between you and Li Guang for a while now.

Today, you must tell me exactly what operations you are running here, and why you indulged in those unnecessary charades with me—were you trying to confuse me, or did you have an ulterior motive?” Zhou Huan’s expression was grim, forcing Xiang Jiao backward. Simultaneously, Zhou Huan ignited a talisman in his hand and chanted, “Evil spirits, appear!” With a loud “Bang,” two malevolent ghosts materialized. Upon seeing Zhou Huan, they bowed deeply: “Grandpa Zhou, why have you summoned us two bastards?” “Guard that bastard passed out on the floor.

Your Grandpa Zhou intends to deal with the woman!” Zhou Huan commanded, and the two ghosts burst into coarse laughter. “Master Zhou, so you have a taste for this sort, eh? But this woman’s figure and looks aren’t quite suited to you, and besides, her physique…” At this, the two ghosts began to retch violently.

Zhou Huan frowned deeply. “Stop the nonsense! I, Zhou Huan, am not that kind of person!

Go watch the man now!” The two ghosts swaggered over to Li Guang, hauled him up, and bound him tightly. Zhou Huan turned back with a slight smirk, ready to resume dialogue with Xiang Jiao, but he found that she, too, had ignited a talisman. “Cage of Confinement!” A chilling, spectral cage formed directly above the two ghosts, enveloping them and Li Guang.

Xiang Jiao smirked, “Zhou Huan, don't think you can control me. I know those so-called Divination Master arts of yours too. Hmph hmph.

Let’s have a real contest here today. I don’t care what you do to me, and I certainly won’t be afraid—this young lady might just eat you, handsome boy!” At this declaration, Zhou Huan gagged and vomited onto the floor. How could this woman be so shameless?

She was fatter than a farm pig, uglier than a wild boar, her physique resembled nothing so much as a misshapen turnip. What did she possess that would make any man serve her? Was it nothing more than his money?

Zhou Huan finished vomiting, regained his composure, and said, “Xiang Jiao, Elder Sister, isn’t it better for you not to insult yourself like that? Let’s discuss matters properly today. All I want to know right now is how Old Master Sun died, what your recent actions have been about, and whether those two dead bodies have any connection to you.” “Hahaha, Zhou Huan, you overestimate me.

I’m stuck here all day; how could I manage all those things?” Saying this, Xiang Jiao casually poured two cups of water, handing one to Zhou Huan. “Come, let’s sit down and talk this over properly. It seems you, Master Diviner Zhou, hold quite a prejudice against my family.” Bold due to his superior skill, Zhou Huan accepted the water and sat opposite her.

The two settled into a tense standoff, resembling a negotiation. But at that moment, what shocked Zhou Huan wasn't Xiang Jiao’s array of skills, but rather her unnerving calmness and natural composure. This forced Zhou Huan to meticulously reconsider his strategy against her.

“Master Zhou, you are simply a man fated to worry. I only asked you to properly settle my father’s soul, and that should have been the end of it. But you insisted on chasing me down relentlessly.

How could you expect me not to fight back? I’ve been trying my best to avoid you, to accommodate you. Take a good look at the people outside the door—never mind just you, but even if you summoned countless wandering ghosts, one talisman from me can neutralize them all…” As Xiang Jiao spoke, her gaze drifted toward Li Guang, followed by a sigh.

Zhou Huan closely observed Xiang Jiao’s expressions and movements; she remained as easygoing and natural as before, utterly unlike the woman he first encountered—like two different people. “Master Zhou, Li Guang isn't of much use to me. He was merely a tool I used to bear my children and serve me.

But alas, that short-lived child was not fated to inherit our Sun family legacy. So, I intend to squander every last bit of this inheritance, and no outsider will receive a single copper. That, perhaps, is what you needed to know?” Xiang Jiao sounded smug and supremely confident, a faint, utterly natural, and arrogant smile playing on her lips.

Zhou Huan merely laughed loudly in return. “Forget your pathetic little cage; even a thousand or ten thousand Mount Wuxing mountains, I would shatter them. Furthermore, your family is dead—why are you bent on wasting wealth and causing so much that should never be done?” Xiang Jiao’s expression abruptly soured.

“You all forced me! At first, I only wanted to use your reputation to quickly bury my old man. Who knew you would stir up so much trouble, even stealing the five gold basins from my family?

Hmph hmph. Forget a few broken basins; I could afford to lose five gold mountains!” “What?” Zhou Huan was stunned. This Xiang Jiao suspected him of stealing five gold basins.

But no matter how he tried to explain, if this matter remained unresolved, Xiang Jiao would continue to plot against him. Was this her delaying tactic? He distinctly heard movement outside just now—Zhou Huan hesitated, not answering her accusation directly.

Instead, he raised a hand, unleashing a talisman that instantly shattered Xiang Jiao’s Ghost-Binding Cage. Xiang Jiao was genuinely startled, but she managed to conceal it from Zhou Huan, discreetly glancing at him as she spoke calmly, “Impressive technique. As expected of a Master-level figure.” Her right hand simultaneously pressed the control switch for the door Zhou Huan had locked.

The door to what Xiang Jiao called her office slowly rose, revealing the bodyguards and the so-called worker-scientists waiting outside, all charging in brandishing firearms. A bestial pressure rolled toward Zhou Huan from these men. Zhou Huan roared, “Second Ghost, call for reinforcements!” Xiang Jiao was equally defiant: “Celestial Prison Immortal Cage!” More and more vengeful spirits poured forth from behind Zhou Huan, emerging from every corner of the basement, while Xiang Jiao’s Celestial Prison utterly sealed the entire space.

“Master Zhou, summon as many as you like. Let’s see which ghost can enter and ever leave?” Sweat began to stream down Xiang Jiao’s forehead as both her hands formed hand seals, just like Zhou Huan’s. When Zhou Huan looked, he was utterly dumbfounded.

She was using the Demon-Trapping Seal—a technique he himself had invented. “Where did you learn that?” Zhou Huan couldn't help but ask Xiang Jiao. Xiang Jiao’s laughter was now utterly manic, almost entirely devoid of human semblance, appearing no different from a vengeful spirit.

She sneered mockingly, “You think your paltry tricks can compete with me? I’ve been studying your methods for two lifetimes now. Remember your apprentice—the master of Shi Bingyuan, your current disciple?” “What?” Zhou Huan shook his head repeatedly, refusing to believe what he saw and heard.

“You are that wicked disciple?” “Hahaha, call me what you like. Ever since I used illusionary arts to find my previous incarnation, I knew this day of reckoning with you, Zhou Huan, was inevitable. Let me show you one more thing you invented!” Xiang Jiao plunged her hand into her pocket, pulling out a handful of powder.

She placed half in her mouth and scattered the other half over her body. Immediately, her entire body began to shake violently, convulsing as if seizing, foam appearing at her mouth, and the skin on her body starting to rot. Finally, a scream of pure agony ripped from her, “It hurts!

Ah!” That agonizing cry seemed capable of piercing the entire basement, shattering the very villa above them.