Zhou Huan instantly sensed the magnetic field of the five-colored gemstone ring, no wonder Xiao Shan had reacted so strongly.

"Elder, since you know so much about us, why didn't you mention it earlier, and now you're volunteering the reason?" Billy asked the old woman, perplexed.

The old woman smiled and replied, "Earlier, I couldn't quite grasp your intentions. Now I understand; there's not a shred of killing intent on you. I immediately thought you weren't thieves, but rather people coming to investigate something, just like those who visited my old house last time."

"You knew about our last visit?" Billy was very surprised. He couldn't believe this old woman could tell they had been to that old farmhouse, especially since they hadn't touched anything inside, and they hadn't spotted anyone lurking around the property.

"That farm was where my husband and I lived after we returned, until he passed away ten years ago, at which point I moved here, to my daughter's house. However, I still return there every couple of days, if only out of remembrance for my husband, just to look around. But I know exactly how everything there is arranged, the precise state of every single item. Perhaps I am just meticulous, but I sense the slightest alteration. That’s how I was certain someone had been there. Later, I deliberately waited in the old house a few times, and indeed, you visited again. But I felt you bore me no ill will, and nothing was stolen from the house, so I stopped paying such close attention to the things there," the old lady explained, as she accepted the orange juice her daughter offered to the group.

Zhou Huan cradled the fresh orange juice, taking a slow sip. It was truly delicious. Turning back, he asked, "Elder, I wonder if your husband left you anything particularly valuable, or anything he specifically entrusted to you before he departed?"

"I did," the old woman answered quite directly. She set down her glass of juice and pulled a small box from her bosom. When she opened it, everyone gasped in unison.

"The five-colored gemstone!" Billy, Mr. Wang, and Dongzi exclaimed in shock simultaneously.

Zhou Huan, however, remained as steady as a mountain, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Elder, this ring... was this left to you by your husband?"

"Yes, this ring—ah... my husband told me he bought it in China for a great sum of money. But he said the money he used to buy it was acquired from a Chinese person. At the time, that person was desperate for funds to raise an army to fight the invaders, so my husband took it upon himself to give that Chinese man's money to that fellow whose surname was..." The old woman struggled to recall, "What was his surname? I can't quite remember. In any case, he intended that money to be donated to the Chinese for the war effort."

"Was that man surnamed Long?" Zhou Huan ventured, testing the waters.

"Yes, surnamed Long. He was the one who accepted the money then. My husband didn't want any repayment, but the man surnamed Long insisted on giving us this ring as an exchange, so my husband accepted it, and then he returned home." After speaking, the old lady seemed exhausted and slowly sank onto the sofa, letting out a long sigh.

The old woman's daughter entered, holding a bottle of medicine. She poured out two pills and offered them to her mother. "Mother, rest for a while. You've spoken enough for today; this isn't good for your health. Come, take your medicine first."

The old lady took the pills from her daughter, swallowed them down in one gulp, and then handed the box back to Zhou Huan. "Return this ring to you. Go and do what you need to do. When you finish, come back here, and return all of my husband's personal belongings to me; I wish to keep something to remember him by."

The old woman's words were strikingly simple. She seemed to know the purpose of Zhou Huan and his group, something that wasn't at all apparent from the reporter's diary. Yet, the old woman's eyes were sharp enough to see everything clearly.

Zhou Huan hesitated, reaching out to take the five-colored gemstone ring from the old woman's hand. Suddenly, a thick cloud of white smoke billowed up inside the room, perfectly obscuring Zhou Huan from the old lady. Zhou Huan's first instinct was that something terrible was happening; the five-colored ring was about to cause trouble.

He fanned the thick smoke away frantically. When he looked again at the old lady and her daughter, Zhou Huan’s eyes froze in place, stunned and wide-eyed as he stared at the two women before him. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

When the others rushed over to look at the two figures, they were all dumbfounded. The old lady’s eyes were fluttering aimlessly, staring at something unseen. Her throat had been slit by a sharp blade, and her daughter's throat had been pierced by a long spike.

"Billy, immediately take people outside and pursue! Dongzi, you chase after them!" Zhou Huan snapped out of his stupor after a moment. He knelt down, straightened the bodies of the old lady and her daughter, and gently closed their eyes. Then, his brow furrowed tightly. "Those damn RB bastards."

"Master Zhou, these are the methods of Japanese Ninjas. They arrived fast. It seems the people they sent this time are not just those from the hotel," Mr. Wang said, approaching Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan was consumed by rage; his internal fire flared up completely this time. Mr. Wang felt, for the first time since meeting Zhou Huan, the sheer scale of murderous intent radiating from him.

"Master Zhou, calm down. We need to discuss this carefully," Mr. Wang, an old hand at navigating dangerous waters, managed to keep his composure.

Zhou Huan pulled a large handful of talismans from his bag, lit them with a fire, and scattered the ash over the two bodies. He then sprinkled a handful of cinnabar powder around them. "Let’s see who dares touch these corpses. Anyone who moves them will undoubtedly die."

"Master Zhou, please wait a moment, I need to make a call." Mr. Wang pulled out his phone and dialed. As soon as the person on the other end answered, Mr. Wang said nothing else, simply stating, "Los Angeles, make arrests!" The voice on the line only replied with a single, brief affirmation before the call ended.

Zhou Huan abandoned the mother and daughter, threw open the door, and rushed out. Mr. Wang risked everything and followed Zhou Huan, running outside. Not far out, they saw footprints scattered haphazardly, leading off in all directions.

"No good, these guys split up!" Zhou Huan suddenly lost his sense of direction. Xiao Shan, inside his purple jade gourd at his waist, was shaking the gourd violently.

"Master Zhou, let me out! I can find them; I can make sure none of them get far," Xiao Shan said to Zhou Huan in her unique voice.

Zhou Huan casually opened the purple jade gourd. "Come out. We'll give it our all. Xiao Shan, unleash your Scarlet Moon."

"Ah!" Xiao Shan shrieked—a piercing, heart-rending cry that echoed through the night sky and soared toward the heavens.

The moon in the sky slowly began to turn deep crimson, as if it were bleeding across its face. Xiao Shan drifted away with the lightness of the wind.

Zhou Huan's speed increased incrementally, with Mr. Wang following with all his might.

Xiao Shan hadn't flown far before she stopped abruptly. At the spot where she halted, Billy and Dongzi were already collapsed on the ground, spitting up white foam. The other detectives were in even worse states; some were stuck upside down in trees.

Xiao Shan stopped here and began searching all around. The murderous aura emanating from a spirit was not something ordinary people could withstand; it was enough to cause suffocation and make one forget their own existence.

"Master Zhou, they didn't leave. They are right here." Blood began to spurt from Xiao Shan's eyes. "RB devils, you bastards, show yourselves!" Xiao Shan was truly enraged. She sensed the lingering ghostly energy of the Japanese people all around, but she couldn't pinpoint their exact locations.

Zhou Huan immediately pulled out his compass and gently flicked the needle with his finger. The compass spun rapidly, but the pointer began twitching erratically, unable to lock onto any direction. Zhou Huan’s expression tightened; even Mr. Wang could tell this meant that not only were there living people present, but also a single, immensely powerful ghost.