Zhou Huan was temporarily blinded by the barrage of camera flashes, his vision reduced to a blinding white beam, at the end of which appeared faint white lines, leading finally to a scattering of starlight.

"Oh! Oh! Hah!"

Not far from Zhou Huan, the person who had been tied up let out a series of sounds, followed by waves of bone-chilling dampness washing over Zhou Huan's heart. Zhou Huan lowered the person in front of him, and when he rushed over to the other spot, he found the bound individual had vanished. On the light brown floor, only faint traces of blood were visible under the dim nightlight, the trail leading toward a window near the corridor, which stood ajar, the wind streaming in from that opening.

Zhou Huan immediately sensed the person was gone. Trembling, he glanced sideways at the photograph in his hand; it was now just a blank piece of something, with something being the image of a massive, ancient tree, looking utterly serene and robust.

"Ah!" The dazzlingly seductive woman from moments before emerged from the room at the end of the corridor. After that shriek, she collapsed onto the floor.

Zhou Huan froze. The scale of this event, and its sheer speed, was overwhelming. As the grand-master of the Shoushi sect, Zhou Huan had allowed two deaths to occur completely unnoticed—it was a devastating blow to his pride. He peered cautiously out the window, catching a glimpse of a figure stumbling and falling onto the ground below, vaguely visible under the hotel's streetlights.

"Hello, Director Li? I have two deceased here. Send someone over to clean up," Zhou Huan said into Director Li's phone with a sigh of resignation.

He then proceeded to set up a spirit-receiving platform in the corridor according to the traditional method of Soul Sending. Golden-yellow silk cloth was spread over a table; on the table lay a spirit tablet inscribed with Zhou Huan's strong, vigorous calligraphy bearing the name of the unnamed deceased. Before the tablet was an incense burner with three sticks already lit. Arranged on the table were Zhou Huan's usual array of ritual implements: the copper coin sword, the Sky Silkworm Gauntlets, a stack of talismans, cinnabar, gold dust, and a single writing brush.

"Heaven and Earth possess spirit; all souls make way. The deceased died without clear identification; I humbly request all present to guide their path well, straight to the Underworld. After Zhou Huan has investigated the matter, I shall personally ensure their reincarnation or continued existence in the Yin Realm." Three of Zhou Huan's spirit talismans burned in quick succession, a handful of glutinous rice was scattered into the air, and the sword in Zhou Huan's hand carved streaks of purple light across the void.

The atmosphere in the corridor grew thicker, increasingly cold, so frigid it was hard to breathe. Xiao He and Dong Zi habitually woke from their dreams and emerged from their respective rooms. Upon reaching the corridor, they activated their opened Ghost Eyes, allowing them to see from one end to the other: the entire hallway was thronged with solitary, unattached spirits and wandering ghosts.

"Brother Huan, what is happening? How are there two more deaths?" Xiao He asked Zhou Huan, astonishment laced with terror.

Dong Zi rubbed his eyes: "Brother Huan, my money was wasted, and today’s sleep was wasted for nothing." As soon as his words landed, his body jolted violently. Seeing the entire corridor packed with specters, he broke out in a cold sweat: "My God, where did so many souls come from?"

"I summoned them. Dong Zi, help me sort them out numerically!" Zhou Huan handed Dong Zi the talismans he had written out, organized according to the sequence in the Compendium of Shoushi Incantations, instructing him to distribute one to every spirit in order.

Dong Zi looked at Zhou Huan with an expression of pure innocence, his lips pouting as he replied miserably, "Brother Huan, your book is too massive; I haven't memorized it! Over a thousand types of charms—where am I supposed to remember them all?"

"That’s progress, at least you remember there are over a thousand charms. Start from the top and work your way down, one by one. When you run out, write out some Soul-Driving Talismans for the remaining ghosts." As he spoke, Zhou Huan slipped the Sky Silkworm Gauntlets onto his hands.

Dong Zi hurriedly began distributing the Yin Realm assignment slips as instructed. Once his gauntlets were on, Zhou Huan formed the Boundary-Breaking Hand Seal: his right hand became a sword finger, while his left hand cupped the right, pushing forward a wisp of pure white energy.

While the corridor descended into chaotic activity, police sirens blared, signaling the gathering of patrol cars downstairs amid a flurry of commotion.

"Brother Huan, I'll handle what's happening downstairs. You finish up upstairs first; I'll go watch the situation below," Xiao He declared before darting down the stairs.

However, not long after Xiao He left, a person slowly ascended the service staircase—someone Zhou Huan absolutely dreaded seeing.

"Master Zhou, you're watching over this, yet two more people die on your watch? What hope does this newcomer like me have?" The speaker was Sui Xi, who invariably arrived only to compete with Zhou Huan or deliberately create obstacles for him.

At this critical juncture, Zhou Huan was deeply conflicted. His current task remained unfinished, Dong Zi was no match for this Song Faction leader, and Zhou Huan himself could not move, lest he break the delicate balance of the entire setup and lose control of the summoned spirits. He forced himself to suppress his agitation, holding his hand seal perfectly steady.

"Sui Xi, arriving so late—is this a good omen or a bad one?" Zhou Huan attempted his usual delaying tactic, aiming to keep Sui Xi sidelined until Dong Zi finished distributing the talismans, thus allowing him to conclude this rite.

But Zhou Huan never expected Sui Xi to immediately snatch his copper coin sword upon arrival. With a swift motion, Sui Xi swung the sword, annihilating a ghost clutching a talisman: "Hmph. Killed people in a past life and you still come here for the fun? Begone!"

"Sui Xi, you little scoundrel, stop! Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Zhou Huan shouted. Seeing a soul destroyed was an act that incurred immense negative karma; even if he survived this night, a painful retribution awaited.

Sui Xi grinned maliciously. "Zhou Huan, you truly are a master of empty talk. Not only have you failed to send the deceased off, but you've summoned a hallway full of wandering souls. What effect can you possibly have? Better I just wipe out this mob of wayward spirits, and then you can handle those two dead ones." As he spoke, Sui Xi infused the copper coin sword with his full Daoist energy and began hacking wildly, causing ten more wandering spirits to collapse.

Sui Xi was still hacking with vigor when he suddenly felt a violent, sharp pain at the back of his skull, as if blood were spilling out. Before he could finish the swing of his sword, his vision went black, and he crashed face-first onto the floor.

"Damn his ancestors! Thank the heavens I keep a brick on me on the road, or this petty man would have ruined the operation today." The speaker was Dong Zi. While distributing the talismans, Dong Zi had noticed the remaining ghosts suddenly scatter when only a few slips were left. Puzzled, he turned around just in time to see Sui Xi wantonly destroying the wandering souls. Dong Zi promptly retrieved his brick and laid the troublemaker out with one solid whack.

"Well done, Dong Zi! Use your Ghost-Seeking technique to summon a few more for me. Distribute all the talismans you have left so I can barely finish this rite." Zhou Huan felt a mix of amusement and helplessness at Dong Zi's action, yet it had provided him with invaluable aid. Had the boy continued his disruption, who knew what further complications might have arisen.

Dong Zi was overjoyed to hear he could use his self-invented soul-summoning art. In a short while, he managed to call forth several stubborn, loyal souls. Dong Zi then adopted a posture of studied solemnity and announced, "I have summoned you all here today because I, Dong Zi, have a small request..."

"Stop the nonsense, just state your business, and quickly give them the charms!" Zhou Huan urged anxiously.

Dong Zi instantly dropped his rare air of composure, glanced at Zhou Huan, then turned back to the ghosts. "Yes, nothing much, just one charm each for you lot, and I'll burn some spirit money for you later!"

"Ho ho, understood, Master Dong Zi, you are truly long-winded!" The few wandering souls took their talismans from Dong Zi and moved to stand at the end of the corridor. With Zhou Huan’s supply of talismans now fully distributed, he put on his Sky Silkworm Gauntlet on one hand and gripped the copper coin sword in the other, his movements blurring as he swiftly dispatched all these spirits. The two souls of the recently deceased followed the large contingent of wandering spirits as they slowly departed.

Moments later, Zhou Huan retracted his hand seal and put away his ritual implements. "Dong Zi, clean up the scene. I’m going to deal with this bastard."

"Click, click!" Another burst of flash photography erupted.

This time, Zhou Huan finally identified the source of the flashes. Relying on instinct and his own experience, he followed the energy signature of the light, tracking it all the way to the hotel's first-floor restroom.

As soon as he entered the restroom, the magnetic field vanished before he could pursue further. Zhou Huan searched the area but found nothing at all, save for a large photograph laid flat on the floor—the person depicted in the image filled Zhou Huan with the same terror caused by the earlier flashes.