"Several lonely souls, hold your payment for a moment. As the saying goes, taking another's money means taking on their troubles..." Before Zhou Huan could finish speaking, two ghosts lunged close to him, holding out their hands in a begging gesture.

"Master, anyone can see you are an extraordinary master. We just love money. Burn some more for us, and we'll agree to whatever you say!" The greed of ghosts is truly endless, but the saying that ghosts are full of lies also has some truth to it, so even if Zhou Huan were stupid enough to die, he wouldn't fall for their tricks.

Seeing that Zhou Huan refused to tread on the territory of these few lonely souls, they became instantly disgusted. In a flash, the lonely souls swelled into large, vague shadows, their faces displaying the look of the dead, greenish-blue complexions streaked with black blood. Something terrifying was just beginning to seep from their mouths when three talismans were pressed onto their glabella. The three lonely souls were immobilized except for their mouths, which were still capable of speech. Forget about oozing anything nauseating.

"Listen to me carefully. This talisman is called the Wealth-Breaking and Immobilization Talisman. Not only have I fixed your bodies, but in exactly one hour, your wealth will be broken as well, unless I personally remove it," Zhou Huan said, his expression unchanged. Seeing the somewhat agitated look in the ghosts' eyes, he added, "Don't even think about finding other lonely souls to help remove these charms. If you do, I'll break your wealth right now."

Unable to make any discernible expressions, the lonely souls could only reply in their ghastly voices: "Wuuu, Master, please! It's not easy for us to save up our nether-currency. Living up on the mountain peak, aside from robbing the mansions of wealthy ghosts who come down to the area, we have no other source of income. Saving money is hard for us."

"Hmph, good that you know. From now on, if you utter a single lie," saying this, Zhou Huan drew out several more talismans. "See this charm? This is the Debt Talisman. Stick it on you, and it takes effect instantly, guaranteeing that King Yama will claim you immediately, forbidding you from earning a single piece of nether-currency for at least ten ghost years."

"We'll talk, we'll talk! We promise!" The few vicious spirits spoke in unison, though whatever came out was still that ghostly, eerie sound.

Hong Kun saw that Zhou Huan was having an enjoyable time playing with the lonely souls and couldn't stop grinning. "You few, hurry up and say what you need to say. If you lie, not only will my master deal with you, but I guarantee you won't make it back to your cave."

The lonely souls all drooped their mouths. "Don't worry, Master. Over the past decade or so, there hasn't been much happening on the mountain. Ask us anything, and we promise to tell."

"Very well, I'll ask. Do you have the remains or the grave of an elderly person around here?" Zhou Huan got straight to the point.

The few vicious spirits were nearly in tears, their upper and lower lips trembling. "This... this, Master, we know who you are talking about, but we truly dare not speak."

"What? Is there a fate worse than the poverty-stricken wandering I can threaten you with?" Zhou Huan asked deliberately.

"Yes! I'm afraid if we speak, the Spirit-Extinguishing Talismans on us will activate, and then our souls will scatter completely. Who will we find to save us then?"

"Go ahead and tell me. In your ghost realm, there seems to be nothing Zhou Huan cannot accomplish," Zhou Huan's tone was utterly reliable and firm as a boulder.

The vicious spirits fell silent for a long time, still afraid to speak.

Seeing that this group was completely uncooperative, Zhou Huan immediately pulled out a handful of talisman papers and roared, "Listen up! I only have one charm here that can lift the Spirit-Extinguishing Curse you're under. Whoever speaks first gets it stuck on them! Furthermore, I have a Soul-Exploding Talisman ready. Whoever knows something and stays silent, I'll personally send them down to the oil pits of hell!"

Zhou Huan's words carried absolute conviction, his threatening tone resonating powerfully. Instantly, slobber began dripping from the mouths of all the ghosts, and they scrambled to speak. "I know what happened to that old man's corpse!"

"Stop!" Zhou Huan cut off the first spirit. "I don't just want to know about the old man's body; I want the entire sequence of events, and who placed the Spirit-Extinguishing Talismans on you! Starting now, you will speak one by one. Those who speak well will have their charms removed; those who speak poorly will have their souls exploded!"

"Yes, yes, I'll speak first. That old man came here last month. He arrived alone and hid something in our cave. But later, another person came and took it. A few days after that, the old man returned to the mountain, realized his things were gone, and just then, someone strangled him, then hacked wildly at his body and head with a knife. After that, the attacker vanished. Then, the old man crawled into the hole beneath the rock and starved to death alive." As the first spirit finished, the second lonely soul grew agitated and shouted over the first one.

The first and second spirits engaged in a squabble. The second spirit stated, "When that old man died, his soul dragged itself away three days later. We even prepared to keep him, but he insisted on going down the mountain, saying he had a wish to fulfill."

The third spirit interjected, "He said his granddaughter was coming, and he wanted her to help fulfill his last wish."

"Alright, stop there. What you're saying is that the old man is in that narrow hole?" Zhou Huan then asked the lonely souls.

The lonely souls' lips quivered. "Yes. He was carrying a camera when he came down."

Zhou Huan continued, "Listen closely, who placed the talismans on you? And what was his purpose for coming here?"

"We don't know his full name, but we know he was a prominent figure from which Song lineage?" Zhou Huan analyzed confidently.

The ghosts all rushed to speak. "This person came back after the old man died. He examined the old man's corpse, searched the entire mountain for a long time, and then left dejectedly, presumably failing to find what he sought. Judging by his methods, he must practice Daoist funeral arts."

Zhou Huan casually removed the charms from the lonely souls' heads. "Alright, you are fine now. You can leave. Go to that Master's place and collect paper money and ingots. I'll give each of you a bag—that should be enough for you to enjoy yourselves in the ghost realm for a while."

"Not at all, not at all." The oldest-looking ghost seemed hesitant to speak to Zhou Huan, then suddenly seemed to recall something. "Yesterday, another person came. He said he was from the Public Security Bureau. We didn't go out because we saw no opportunity for profit."

"Go on, take your money," Zhou Huan gave up on further questioning and began thinking about how to get into the hole himself.

After receiving the money, the vicious ghosts clutched it tightly in their pockets. Seeing Zhou Huan approach them, they asked, "May we ask if you are the original Zhou Huan, Master?"

"Heh heh, that's me!" Zhou Huan answered straightforwardly, without concealment.

At this moment, Hong Kun was leaning over the cave entrance, shining his flashlight down. The lonely souls also gathered close. "Master Zhou, this hole is easy to descend into. Just lift the stone slab below, and you can drop right in. But it can only fit one person, and the hole is quite deep—it will probably take an hour or so to get down and back up."

"Alright, thank you all. That person from the Song lineage, the one who bullied you—that's their Sect Leader, Sui Xi." After speaking, Zhou Huan leaned close to the ghosts' ears. "You can find a way to locate him. Give him some trouble, and he'll submit to you."

The ghosts shook their arms, saying they dared not, and then hurriedly departed. It was truly a sight: "They arrived with a wisp of cold wind, and left in dim obscurity; they looked like ghosts, but were certainly not human."

Hong Kun walked up to Zhou Huan. Neither spoke a word. Zhou Huan wasn't focused on the hole beneath the rock that the lonely souls had described; he was thinking that the entire matter seemed to be connected to this Sui Xi, including all the deaths since Zhou Huan had arrived here.

Hong Kun, meanwhile, was pondering how to pry open the obstructing stone beneath the rock. Prying it open forcefully would likely be futile; the only way might be to use explosives. He glanced at Zhou Huan, saw no reaction, and used his flashlight to check Zhou Huan's face.

Zhou Huan suddenly shot a look at Hong Kun. "What are you looking at? We need to pry open that rock. If we don't move the stone, we won't know anything."

Hong Kun looked entirely innocent. "I saw you deep in thought, so I shone the light on you. But if we really have to pry that rock, it's going to take a tremendous effort."

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