Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Yun Jianyue told Granny Chang about Yu Lu, but Granny Chang had no idea why it had happened either.

“How about asking the weasel spirit?” Yun Jianyue suggested. “She must know something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dragged Granny Chang here.”

Granny Chang nodded as well. “After she brought me here, she ordered me to help her perform a ritual. When I refused, she threatened to attack me.”

Fortunately, Granny Chang had some cultivation to protect herself, along with plenty of merit. The weasel spirit had failed to kill her, so she had decided to imprison her deep in the mountains and starve her to death.

“The weasel spirit isn’t in these mountains anymore?” Yun Jianyue asked Mo Chen.

Mo Chen nodded. There truly wasn’t any trace of another supernatural creature or evil entity in the mountains.

Granny Chang tremblingly pulled a small tuft of yellow fur from her sleeve. “I tore this off that weasel. I don’t know whether it will help you.”

“It will.” Yun Jianyue held the weasel’s fur beneath Mo Chen’s nose. “Give it a sniff. Can you find her current location?”

Mo Chen clenched his jaw. “Are you treating me like a dog?”

Yun Jianyue slapped her thigh. “How can you say that about yourself? With an ability like yours, you’d at least be a police dog with an official position!”

“Yun Jianyue!” Mo Chen shouted, embarrassed and furious, as he slapped her hand away.

Calling him a dog was nothing short of the ultimate humiliation!

“Do you still want to find the mastermind?” Yun Jianyue asked, hitting him right where it hurt.

The pressure radiating from Mo Chen was frighteningly low. Just as everyone thought he was about to lose his temper and hit someone, he gave a cold snort, tore open space, and left.

Chen You couldn’t help giving Yun Jianyue a thumbs-up. “Comrade Yun, you’re the only one who could pull that off. That’s incredible!”

“Small potatoes.” Yun Jianyue waved her hand dismissively.

Granny Chang’s gaze fell on Si Wuming once again. The way she looked at him seemed to suggest that she was looking through him and seeing someone else.

Her eyes held reverence and longing. She looked as devout as the family members of a patient praying to the gods and Buddha in a hospital.

“What’s your name?” Granny Chang asked Si Wuming.

“His name is Si…”

Yun Jianyue hadn’t finished speaking when Si Wuming interrupted her. “Names aren’t important. Since your paths crossed, just cherish the memory. There’s no need to ask about the past.”

Granny Chang grew even more agitated at those words. “Did Mr. Si tell you about me?”

“He did not. He has lived a long life, and he has met many people. He has also forgotten many people.”

The light faded from Granny Chang’s eyes. “Of course. A person like Mr. Si must have seen too many people and too many things. How could he remember an insignificant nobody like me?”

Inside the jade pendant, Lu Changxue scratched her ears and fidgeted, feeling as if every one of her internal organs itched unbearably.

This was obviously gossip! What kind of gossip was it? Could they stop speaking in riddles and just say it already?

Yun Jianyue was much more direct. Like any good college student, she simply asked whenever she didn’t understand something. “What exactly happened? Enough with the Riddler act!”

“It’s a secret.” After saying this, Si Wuming quickly turned his head away.

“Fair enough. You do have quite a lot of secrets.” Yun Jianyue shrugged. Since Si Wuming didn’t want to talk, she couldn’t be bothered to press him.

Only Lu Changxue was left completely baffled. “When did the Show-Off King get secrets? How come I didn’t know?”

Inside the jade pendant, Zhong Lin quietly consoled her. “Big Ghost Sis, you need to accept that there is an intelligence gap between people… and between humans and ghosts.”

This female ghost sister called Lu Changxue was obviously not as clever as that Yun sister outside.

Lu Changxue felt as if she had been insulted, but she couldn’t figure out how. Her head itched terribly. Was she about to grow a brain?

Mo Chen was incredibly fast. Within a few minutes, he returned to the cave, dangling a weasel that had been beaten back into its original form.

He disdainfully tossed the barely breathing weasel onto the ground, then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his hands.

Zhong Lin thought, This entrance looks very familiar. I’m not sure yet. I’d better keep watching.

“There’s hardly any demonic aura left in this thing. You really went all out.” Yun Jianyue crouched down to examine the weasel. Over the past few months, she had learned a great deal about metaphysics, and distinguishing demonic, evil, ghostly, and resentful auras was no longer difficult for her.

The weasel lay on the ground pretending to be dead. Si Wuming crouched down beside it as well.

He gently poked the weasel’s limp body with one finger, looking exactly like a bored child who couldn’t resist meddling.

Yun Jianyue said, “What are you doing? She’s a female weasel. Are you trying to take advantage of a demon?”

Si Wuming immediately withdrew his finger and said in a low voice, “There’s a contract on her. She’s a demon raised by a human.”

The weasel, who had been pretending to be dead the whole time, opened her eyes at once. Summoning every last bit of strength in her body, she shouted at Si Wuming, “I will never betray my master! Give it up!”

Si Wuming: “…”

What had he even said?

“This weasel doesn’t seem particularly bright.” Yun Jianyue grabbed the weasel by the scruff of her neck and lifted her up. Staring at her, she asked, “Are you sure? You’re awfully stubborn for someone in your position. Do you know who the person that captured you is?”
The weasel spirit shrieked, “No matter who he is, I would never betray my master!”

So what if he was an Evil God? She had seen plenty of Evil Gods! Her master was ten thousand times more powerful than an Evil God! It couldn’t be that this Evil God was the legendary Immortal Evil God Mo Chen, could it?

“He’s Mo Chen. Have you heard of him?” Yun Jianyue asked.

The weasel spirit fell silent.

After a moment, she put on a fawning smile. “What’s there to hide? I, your humble little mouse, will tell you everything I know!”

If she’d known the one who captured her was Mo Chen, she wouldn’t have resisted back then. She would have dropped to her knees, kowtowed, and confessed everything on the spot!

What did a little backlash from betraying her master matter? This was Mo Chen! The Immortal Evil God Mo Chen!

Yun Jianyue looked at Mo Chen in shock. “You’re that powerful? You scared her out of her mind.”

Mo Chen neither confirmed nor denied it, but a plainly visible trace of pride appeared on his icy face.

Under Mo Chen’s overwhelming intimidation, the weasel spirit immediately confessed that her master had ordered her to capture Granny Chang, and that her master was a Wandering Daoist.

As soon as she finished speaking, the weasel spirit spat out a large mouthful of blood and fainted. She had clearly suffered backlash for betraying her master.

“Another Wandering Daoist?” By now, even Yun Jianyue realized that something was wrong.

Wasn’t this Wandering Daoist showing up a little too often?

The Twin God of Xianyin Village had been created by a Wandering Daoist.

Later, the matter of Zhou Benxin’s Doppelganger had also been caused by a Wandering Daoist.

And now, a Wandering Daoist had appeared in Granny Chang’s case as well.

Could the Wandering Daoist involved in all three incidents be the same person?

Mo Chen asked, “What have you figured out?”

Yun Jianyue said, “I’m not certain. Can you use the master-servant contract on this weasel spirit to locate her master?”

“I’ll try.”

Si Wuming formed a tracking spell seal. The yellow paper burned to ash in midair, but after a long while, there was still no response.

“Once the backlash for betraying her master began, the other end severed the contract link.” Si Wuming shook his head. The weasel spirit was now an unclaimed demon and would have to be taken back to the Paranormal Bureau for processing.

He wrapped the weasel spirit in yellow talisman paper, tied it into a bow, and stuffed it into his bag.

Lu Changxue’s attention went completely off track. “The Show-Off King knows how to tie bows! Oh my gosh! His shoelaces are tied in bows too!”

“Is there a problem? Even a soul can be tied into a bow.” Si Wuming looked somewhat bewildered at the jade pendant, as if he could see Lu Changxue’s true form through it.

Lu Changxue: “…”

Could someone tell her whether that was a threat? Was the Show-Off King planning to twist her into a bow? Did little ghosts have no rights at all?

Yun Jianyue tucked the exposed jade pendant inside her clothes. “That lead has gone cold. We can only go ask Wu Sulian and Zhang Qixi again.”

She had thought this would be an ordinary task, but it had ended up dragging so many things into the open.

It was as if an invisible net had wrapped itself around everyone without anyone knowing when it happened, leaving them unable to breathe.

They took Granny Chang to the hospital, allowing Zhong Lin and Granny Chang to reunite.

Since they were already at the hospital, they took the elevator to Wu Sulian’s room as well.

The moment Wu Sulian saw them, she became intensely wary. “What are you here for this time? I’ve already told you everything I know. Since you can’t save my daughter, stop bothering me!”

“I’m not here to bother you. I just want to tell you something. A person with an incomplete soul can’t even turn into a complete ghost after death, much less be raised by someone.” As she spoke, Yun Jianyue kept her eyes fixed on Wu Sulian’s expression.

Wu Sulian’s pupils contracted sharply, and her hand instinctively tightened around the edge of the bed.

But in the next moment, she sneered. “You’re a clever little girl. You want to trick information out of me? No chance!”

“We’re helping you look for the fragment of your daughter’s soul, but we didn’t find it. Do you understand what that means? She wasn’t sacrificed to an Evil God. Someone stole her. Think carefully. Maybe you’ve been deceived.”

After saying that, Yun Jianyue headed for the door. “That’s all I have to say. Believe it or not, it’s up to you.”

She had previously assumed that Wu Sulian was so certain she and Yu Lu could still reunite as mother and daughter after Yu Lu’s death because Granny Chang had arranged it.

But after meeting Granny Chang, Yun Jianyue realized that Granny Chang had merely been manipulated. The person behind it all had taken advantage of her kindness, and Granny Chang knew nothing.

That meant the person who had told Wu Sulian how to raise a ghost had to be someone else.

What Yun Jianyue needed to do now was break through Wu Sulian’s psychological defenses.

She had shamelessly exploited a mother’s love for her child.

But she hadn’t lied. Even people from the Xuanmen couldn’t raise a ghost missing part of its soul. How could an ordinary person like Wu Sulian possibly do it?

Yun Jianyue walked toward the hospital room door at an unhurried pace, silently counting in her mind:

Three.

Two…
“Wait!”

In the end, Wu Sulian still didn’t dare gamble with her daughter’s life.

When Yun Jianyue turned back, Wu Sulian stared intently at her. “If I tell you everything, can you save my daughter?”

“There might be a chance of saving her if you tell us. If you don’t, there definitely won’t be,” Yun Jianyue said.

“It was Zhang Qixi. She was the one who told me.”

Those words seemed to drain all the strength from Wu Sulian. The moment she finished speaking, she collapsed onto the bed like a deflated balloon.

Yun Jianyue raised an eyebrow. She seemed surprised by the answer, yet somehow not surprised at all.

Lu Changxue felt so many goosebumps rise that she nearly shed them all over the floor. “Isn’t Zhang Qixi Yu Lu’s best friend? Why would she hurt Yu Lu?”

“Idiot. Not everyone is like the two of us,” Yun Jianyue scolded lightly.

The group left the hospital. They had barely driven to the entrance when Xiao Wang and Xiao Zhao, who had been missing all day, ran over and stopped their car.

Xiao Zhao handed Yun Jianyue a file, panting heavily.

“You asked us to check whether Zhang Qixi had an uncle who was a Taoist priest. She does, and it’s also true that people from Xuanmen had drinks with her uncle before.”

Then Xiao Zhao abruptly changed tack. “But here’s the problem: Zhang Qixi died half a month ago!”

Yun Jianyue lowered her head and looked through the file. It confirmed that Zhang Qixi was indeed dead.

She had died suddenly at home in the middle of the night. To ensure Zhang Qixi could reincarnate without resentment, her uncle had even taken her body to Chongguang Mountain to perform a ritual.

Her body had only been cremated and buried yesterday.

Because everything had happened so suddenly, the Zhang family hadn’t made any public announcement. They had performed the funeral rites and buried her in secret, without even having time to inform Zhang Qixi’s company of her death.

But the information Xiao Zhao had gathered revealed something else.

For the past half month, a “Zhang Qixi” had appeared at her company every day.

Not a single coworker had noticed anything unusual.

In other words, the person who had gone to the hospital to find Yu Lu, as well as the one who had taught Wu Sulian how to raise a ghost, had been Fake Zhang Qixi!

Lu Changxue let out a frightened whimper. “Wait, what is going on? Don’t scare a ghost! Could a Doppelganger have turned against Zhang Qixi and replaced her, just like with Zhou Benxin?”

“Fake Zhang Qixi hasn’t left work yet. We’ll go intercept her at the company,” Yun Jianyue said, making an immediate decision.

The group hurried to Zhang Qixi’s company. When they stormed into the office, Fake Zhang Qixi was still working on a presentation.

The coworkers around her cast curious glances at them. Fake Zhang Qixi merely smiled at her colleagues. “It’s fine. They’re here to see me.”

She was completely calm and composed, as though she weren’t a fake at all, but the real Zhang Qixi.

Fake Zhang Qixi stood up and swept her gaze over the group. Her eyes finally settled on Mo Chen and Si Wuming, flashing with a strange excitement.

Apparently realizing that she had let her emotions show, she smiled gently. “There are too many people here, and eyes everywhere. Why don’t we find somewhere quiet to talk?”

With that, Fake Zhang Qixi rose and walked straight out of the office, leading the group to the rooftop.

It was five in the afternoon. Winter darkness came early, and the sky had already begun to dim.

Fake Zhang Qixi leaned against the rooftop railing, her hair tousled by the wind. With her back to the group, she gazed down from the high-rise building.

“I didn’t expect you to move so quickly. Then again, with the help of the Evil God and Mr. Si, plus a Goddess who desperately needs to grow, you should have figured it out within a day.”

Hearing her identify them so accurately, Yun Jianyue knitted her brows.

“I told you already: enough with the Riddler act.”

Chen You: He was so small and helpless, he didn’t even deserve a name.

Fake Zhang Qixi chuckled. “You’re really interesting. If possible, we could still be friends.”

Lu Changxue immediately objected. “You are not allowed to be friends with her! I have to be your best friend and your only best friend!”

“All my friends are open and honorable. I would never befriend someone who hides behind a mask,” Yun Jianyue said.

Fake Zhang Qixi turned her head halfway toward Yun Jianyue. “It doesn’t matter. I haven’t had any friends all these years anyway. You’re looking for Yu Lu’s lingering soul, aren’t you? I ate it. I also ate many of the sacrifices offered to the Evil God.”

Black mist churned in Mo Chen’s eyes. He had sensed sacrifices several times recently, yet hadn’t received a single one. They had all been intercepted by Fake Zhang Qixi!

Fake Zhang Qixi chuckled softly. “The game has only just begun. Prepare yourselves for a desperate struggle, everyone.”