Feng Tian called out a few times before the old Daoist priest snapped out of his trance. He looked at Feng Tian, then at Kuang Feifan, a look of apology spreading across his face as he forced a smile. "It's nothing, just thinking about something. I must have zoned out. I need a moment to sort things out."

Feng Tian frowned slightly and asked, "Is this about Ji Ping?"

The old Daoist priest shook his head. "No, no. Regarding Ji Ping's matter, I've given it some thought and have some initial ideas about breaking the formation. But I still think it's best if you two meet with Ji Ping first, to understand the whole story behind his seclusion. That will be helpful for dealing with the formation later."

Feng Tian let out an "Oh," then waved his hand, signaling Kuang Feifan and Wang Hai to leave.

It wasn't until they were in Wang Hai's car that Kuang Feifan couldn't help but look at Feng Tian and say, "The old Daoist priest is acting strangely."

Feng Tian shrugged helplessly. "If he doesn't tell us, we can't exactly force it out of him, can we? Let's focus on how to deal with Ji Ping for now."

Kuang Feifan sighed deeply. "I'm a forensic expert, not a cop. Even though I've learned a little interrogation skill, I've never actually practiced it. I'm hardly professional."

Feng Tian clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Why didn't you study harder back then? Speaking of which, didn't you learn any hypnosis or anything?"

Kuang Feifan nearly blew a gasket, glaring at Feng Tian. His eyes darted around, and he shot back, "Hey, you big 'charlatan,' don't you have any talismans to make people tell the truth? I heard there's some kind of that forces honesty—didn't you learn about that?"

Feng Tian pursed his lips; he conceded this round of banter for the moment.

The truth was, both of them carried a heavy weight in their hearts. They had absolutely no confidence about questioning Ji Ping later. The reason was simple: Ji Ping was a police officer and would possess standard counter-surveillance abilities. More importantly, the role he played in this whole affair was incredibly bizarre. All signs pointed to him consorting with ghosts, practically being allied with them. And the ghost accompanying him was highly likely connected to the spirit guarded in the old Daoist priest's temple. But what exactly was the connection? If Ji Ping wouldn't speak, it would be nearly impossible to figure out through mere speculation.

The actual situation was indeed just as they feared. Upon arriving at the hospital, the two officers guarding the door easily let Feng Tian and Kuang Feifan enter. However, the moment they stepped into the hospital room, Kuang Feifan understood why the police had let them in so readily.

Ji Ping was half-lying in the bed, eyes closed, the white sheet covering him obscuring almost half his face. It seemed the police hadn't made any headway with Ji Ping. If not for the overwhelming evidence at the crime scene, this surveillance would likely have been lifted long ago.

Then again, even with ample evidence, if there were no developments soon, the surveillance would probably be dropped anyway.

Of course, these were all just Kuang Feifan's personal conjectures.

As the two police officers retreated to the doorway, Feng Tian suddenly whispered, "By the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"What is it?" Kuang Feifan asked, intrigued by Feng Tian's secretive manner.

Feng Tian paused before asking, "Why do you have a *on you? Shouldn't you hand over your * when taking leave? Is that illegal? It won't get me in trouble, will it?"

Kuang Feifan rolled his eyes, shaking his head in exasperation, but still explained, "Although I took leave, I was registered as a patient at the time, so I didn't have time to turn in the *. As for now, Xu Hui is covering for us above. As long as Ji Ping stays alive, even without a resolution, you’ll be fine, OK?"

Feng Tian shrugged and then turned back to look at Ji Ping, squinting as he examined him carefully. He spoke in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, "Tell me, is he sleeping, in a coma, or just pretending?"

Kuang Feifan's lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly, as if he were smiling. Just then, a "buzzing" sound came from his pocket. He glanced at Feng Tian, then pulled out his cell phone, which he had already set to vibrate. He had bought this phone on the way to the hospital just now. While in Wang Hai's car, he had specifically given his number to Xu Hui and, from memory, sent a text message to Bai Ru, hoping she would receive it at the appropriate moment.

Feng Tian shifted his gaze from Ji Ping and asked Kuang Feifan, "Whose call is that?"

"Wang Hai," Kuang Feifan replied, switching on the speakerphone casually.

"What's up?"

"Brother Fan, Brother Tian, I just received a message from the old Daoist priest. He said he's found a way to break the formation, and he also has a way to deal with what's sealed inside. Whether you two succeed over there or not doesn't matter anymore."

Kuang Feifan chuckled lightly. "I knew the old Daoist priest was amazing. We'll head back in a little while."

After hanging up, he turned to Feng Tian and said, "Alright, get to work."

Feng Tian took out several small bottles and a few talismans from his side bag, bustling around the corners of the hospital room. He instinctively patted his hands where there was no dust, declaring, "Done."

Kuang Feifan sounded unconvinced. "Are you sure?"

Feng Tian glanced at Ji Ping lying in the bed, his tone relaxed. "Relax. This guy is badly injured, half-dead. Plus, we severely wounded the ghost protecting him over there yesterday. Even if we hadn't placed these tools today, he wouldn't be spirited away anytime soon."

Kuang Feifan nodded, took a deep breath, and fell silent for a moment. His voice suddenly turned somewhat low. "It seems the old saying is true: evil ultimately cannot triumph over righteousness."

Feng Tian said nothing.

Suddenly, a cold laugh echoed inexplicably in the room, the sound somewhat muffled.

Kuang Feifan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Feng Tian. Their gazes both fell upon the hospital bed.

Ji Ping, who had kept his eyes shut, had opened them at some point and was staring coldly at Kuang Feifan. Although his expression remained blank, Kuang Feifan could see a flicker of venom in his intensely cold eyes.

Noticing Ji Ping staring at him, Kuang Feifan met his gaze directly, locking eyes with Ji Ping. Neither seemed willing to speak first.

Feng Tian, standing nearby, tensed up, uncharacteristically biting his tongue, clearly intending to let the eerie standoff continue.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Ji Ping's gaze suddenly flickered, his eyes shifting as he deliberately avoided Kuang Feifan's stare.

"You two... are dead," Ji Ping said in a muffled voice.

Though not loud, both Kuang Feifan and Feng Tian heard him clearly.

Kuang Feifan responded flatly, "A ghost told me that long ago. But here I am, still very much alive."

Ji Ping snorted.

Kuang Feifan curled his lip and continued, "I'm curious. Do you even have the ability to kill me right now?"

Perhaps stimulated by Kuang Feifan's air of effortless calm, Ji Ping's eyes sharpened. He lifted a hand and yanked the sheet covering his face away, stiffening his neck. "What do you know? Killing you lot would only take a couple of minutes. The only reason I haven't done it yet is because the situation requires it."

Kuang Feifan suddenly smiled, choosing not to press the issue. Instead, he reached out, pulled over a chair from the side of the room, sat down, and then spoke, "Honestly, putting aside all this nonsense, I actually kind of miss the experiences we shared working together a few days ago."

A trace of subtle astonishment crossed Ji Ping's face. He looked at Kuang Feifan for a long moment before finally letting out a cold laugh. "You're crazy."

Kuang Feifan shrugged. "I'm not crazy, and I'm sure you're not either. So, if you plan to use a mental health defense to deflect from the murder, you should start thinking about how to explain your fingerprints at Mr. Luo's crime scene to the police."

Ji Ping contemptuously curled his lip, essentially too lazy to address Kuang Feifan's question.

Kuang Feifan wasn't disappointed; instead, he let out a soft chuckle. "If my judgment is correct, the reason you don't care is probably because you genuinely don't."

This statement was the height of banality, yet it caused Ji Ping's eyes to flicker once more. Abruptly, he asked, "What exactly do you two want?"

Kuang Feifan spread his hands. "You can't guess?"

Ji Ping snorted. "You want to ask me questions?"

Kuang Feifan shook his head, responding vaguely, "Didn't you see what Feng Tian was busy with just now? We were worried you might endanger the safety of the two officers outside."

"Indeed, meddlesome types," Ji Ping muttered quietly.

Kuang Feifan crossed his legs and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Yeah, if we weren't meddlesome, we wouldn't have run into you, would we?"

Ji Ping's expression turned somewhat ferocious. "Exactly. You two are truly annoying." He then let out a wicked laugh. "But you won't get away."

Kuang Feifan lowered his legs and stood up, pointing toward Feng Tian, who had long since settled into a chair in the corner. "We have no intention of running away. Because of him, we won't just face it—we'll thrive." He waved his hand. "Let's go, Feng Tian. Our Mr. Ji here has no idea how capable we are, nor can he imagine it."

Before they reached the door, Ji Ping, still in the hospital bed, suddenly spoke up: "Wait."

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