"Opponents?" Dongzi, his body drenched in sweat, managed to voice the most emotional question he had ever asked.

Zhou Huan looked at Dongzi’s state and laughed. “I was actually afraid he wouldn't show up. Now that he has, the rest of the situation has direction, and we have a way to deal with them. As the saying goes, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will win a hundred battles. Watch this, Dongzi. Tonight, you’ll get a good night’s rest. I’ll have Xiaoling take care of you. Tianxiong and Hongkun should be arriving too, which will give me some backup.”

“Brother, I want to help too. I think I can still manage.” Dongzi seemed changed now; his speech was less monotone than before. At least now, he had his own thoughts.

As they spoke, the convoy of reporters followed closely behind Zhou Huan’s car. Zhou Huan’s public ritualistic opening on the main avenue was front-page news for every paper in the county. These small-town reporters hadn't had a proper story all day, and they certainly weren't going to let go of such a bizarre scoop.

Xiaoling glanced back at the pursuing vehicles, her expression showing a hint of panic. “Huan-ge, this... what should we do? They’ll catch up to us soon.”

“You two sit tight. Let them chase. Let them chase us all the way to the Public Security Bureau!” As Zhou Huan spoke, he pulled his seatbelt tighter, then stomped the accelerator to the floor. The car's fuel gauge pointer was already pointing toward one hundred and eighty miles per hour.

Zhou Huan sped through the bustling downtown area, running perhaps seven or eight red lights, until finally, the reporters' pursuit disappeared from his rearview mirror.

“Xiaoling, when we get upstairs, get ready to pack our things. We’re switching hotels, or we won’t be able to handle our own business.” As Zhou Huan spoke, the car screeched to a halt in front of the hotel where they were staying. Before getting out, Zhou Huan scanned the immediate vicinity of the hotel carefully. Seeing no suspicious signs, he took Xiaoling upstairs.

After they entered the room and packed their belongings, Zhou Huan locked the door, then began searching the room thoroughly. Just as he suspected, he found a pinhole camera hidden in the wall. Zhou Huan quietly covered the lens with a piece of white paper.

“Huan-ge, I’m ready. We can go now,” Xiaoling called from outside Zhou Huan’s door. Zhou Huan opened the door, pulled Xiaoling inside, and then covered her mouth.

Zhou Huan lowered his voice. “Don’t speak yet. These bastards really did plant a camera in the room, just as I thought.” As he spoke, Zhou Huan quickly retrieved the large photograph he had hidden under the carpet earlier, concealed it on his person, and then, grabbing Xiaoling and their luggage, they turned and ran. “Xiaoling, hurry, keep up with me! We’ll worry about the bill later. Let’s just get out of here!”

They bolted like common thieves, ignoring the security guard’s attempts to stop them at the door. They jumped into the car and sped away. Around the area of that hotel, Zhou Huan found a smaller inn and booked a few rooms. According to the plan, Xiaoling would stay at the inn to look after Dongzi, while Zhou Huan drove back to the original hotel alone.

“Tianxiong, you two go straight to the hotel I mentioned. I’ll wait for you at the entrance.” Zhou Huan called Tianxiong. After speaking, he didn't say another word, heading straight into the hotel. He dismissed the security guard, paid the bill, and waited alone by the entrance.

Not long after, a taxi pulled up in front of Zhou Huan. Hongkun and Tianxiong got out. The fatigue and weariness from their journey were clearly visible on their faces, the hardship of long-distance travel, even with today’s advanced transportation, still involving the grueling process of transferring between vehicles.

“Master, are we staying here tonight?” Tianxiong was the first to ask Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan pulled them into the car and said, “Hongkun, watch closely. If any car or person follows us, we’ll throw out the garbage from the car.”

“Master, what garbage? I don’t see any garbage,” Hongkun asked Zhou Huan, confused.

Zhou Huan smiled slightly. “Look at the seat behind you. Just toss whatever is back there.”

In the back of Zhou Huan’s car were several large sheets of paper, each bearing the characters for the word "GARBAGE."

“Master, what good will throwing these things out do?” Hongkun inquired, but after a moment of thought, he smiled.

Tianxiong also smiled. Finally, Tianxiong articulated Zhou Huan’s intent: “Actually, Master prepared this long ago. Just look how many lone spirits are following the car behind us. Those spirits can’t stand provocation. Master must have angered them, and those fellows will definitely do what Master says.”

Just as he spoke, Zhou Huan’s prediction proved true. Indeed, two black sedans were trailing Zhou Huan’s car, and a police car was following them from a distance.

“You little brats, which one of you can take out the cars behind us? I don’t believe you can’t handle it!” Hongkun burst out, cursing the lonely spirits following them. Those who could see such things clearly saw the spirits jumping out of the cars, howling as they clung to the oncoming vehicles. The two following sedans crashed head-on and were thrown far apart, and the police car’s tires all blew out on their own.

“Haha, Master’s trick really works,” Tianxiong laughed.

Zhou Huan’s expression immediately turned solemn. “Apprentices, I have some bad news for you. We might be facing a confrontation between two sects. This isn't as simple as dealing with mere ghosts, like we usually imagine. This time, not only will we fight ghosts, but we will also have to deal with people who are cunning and vicious in their methods.”

“People? What sects?” Tianxiong and Hongkun asked in unison.

Zhou Huan knitted his brows. “Yes, a sect conflict. Perhaps you two have heard of this sect before. It’s a major branch within our field of funeral rites. They evolved from Taoism during the Song Dynasty, so their methods for handling matters involve many Taoist techniques. Their skills are only slightly superior to ours, but certainly not inferior.”

“Master means… the long-lost Song School?” Tianxiong must have learned a great deal during his time on Mount Wutai, for he remembered such history clearly. “The Song School originated in the early Song Dynasty. Initially, they were just laborers cooking and tending fires in the Taoist temples. Later, whenever someone in a village died, these people were invited by the Taoists to come down the mountain to assist with the rites. Over time, they became a specialized branch for handling funeral affairs. Legend says their techniques incorporate many Taoist methods of summoning deities. If it were just about dealing with spirits, we might not be worse off, but when it comes to dealing with people, we might be at a disadvantage.”

Hongkun casually chimed in, “Right. These guys are purely motivated by profit. Even though they cultivate spiritually, they can’t escape the lure of fame and fortune.”

“Exactly, you are both correct. I just managed to pull Dongzi back from the brink of death; he fell victim to a technique from the Song School called ‘Parasitic Evil Insect.’ Unfortunately, that evil insect turned into a butterfly and flew away. It seems we have quite a few problems to deal with; we might be busy for several more days,” Zhou Huan explained the situation candidly. He didn't want to burden his apprentices, but he had no choice; he couldn't resolve this matter alone, especially since the master of the Song School had shown his face, and who stood behind him was currently unknown.

Zhou Huan drove back to the inn, retrieved the necessary items, and stored them in the room. Then, he parked his car in a secluded, remote grove of trees, covered it with a car cover, and took a taxi back to the inn alone.

“Master, Dongzi seems much better. What do we do next?” Hongkun asked Zhou Huan, and Tianxiong followed up with the same question.

A faint smile touched Zhou Huan’s lips. “No worries. We’ll proceed with our own methods. As for dealing with the people, we’ll figure that out later. Right now, no one can predict who else might be backing this Song School. Here’s the plan: Tianxiong, you guard Dongzi tonight. Xiaoling, Hongkun and I will head to Old Baldy Mountain south of the city to take care of some business.”

With the arrangements settled, Zhou Huan shouldered his pack and, with Hongkun, they left, hailed a taxi, and headed toward Old Baldy Mountain in the south of the city.

They didn't speak much on the way. Since it was nighttime, there wasn't a single point of light.

“This damn night, not even the moon is out,” Hongkun grumbled.

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