Chapter 218
Chapter 218
Ding Ruoning had already been here.
But I was curious why she hadn’t made a move. Or had she simply not had time?
And she hadn’t left, either. She had already possessed one of us.
The moment Seventh Master said that, I tensed up too.
I thought, Ding Ruoning couldn’t have really gone mad with bloodlust and started killing indiscriminately, could she?
“Who did she possess? Master, can you please explain it clearly?”
Jiang Nan was so frightened that he quickly backed away, pulling his wife and child with him to put distance between us.
“I’m not sure yet.”
Seventh Master sighed. “This ghost is very cautious. After possessing one of you, she hid herself. You can’t tell with the naked eye alone. So no one is allowed to leave this room. I have a way to verify whose body she’s in.”
Jiang Nan hurriedly asked, “Master, just tell us what the method is! She’s trying to hurt my son. You can’t let her succeed!”
Only then did Jiang Xiaoyu start to get scared, hiding in his mother’s arms the entire time.
Maybe Jiang Nan and his wife had been afraid of frightening him before, so they hadn’t dared tell Jiang Xiaoyu the truth.
But now, with so many adults gathered here, he probably understood that something was going on.
“I have a Talisman here. As long as it’s placed on the person who’s been possessed, the ghost will be forced out.”
Seventh Master took out a Talisman, his gaze sweeping over everyone. “So all of you just obediently let me stick it on you once. Whoever refuses, or whoever tries to run, is the one the ghost is possessing.”
Jiang Nan questioned him. “Master… what about you? What if the ghost is possessing you?”
Seventh Master glared at him. “Nonsense. How blind would this ghost have to be to come at me? Besides, if she were inside me, would I still be able to hold this Talisman?”
After saying that, Seventh Master first stuck the Talisman onto Zhang Bo.
Zhang Bo smiled. Clearly, he was fine.
Next was Song Xiaotian. Song Xiaotian was fine too.
Then it was me. Naturally, I was fine as well.
After that came Anning. But just as Seventh Master walked up to Anning with the Talisman Paper in hand, Anning suddenly turned and ran out of the room.
The moment she ran, everyone’s expression changed drastically. Even I was startled.
Anning had been possessed by Ding Ruoning!
“Holy crap! Anning!”
Song Xiaotian and I were about to give chase, but Seventh Master stopped us.
“You two stay here and protect this family. Zhang Bo and I will go after her.”
With that, Seventh Master and Zhang Bo ran out.
I was a little worried. I was afraid Ding Ruoning had gone mad with bloodlust and might harm Anning.
But just then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Jiang Nan. I saw the corner of his mouth lift slightly.
He was smiling!
What was he smiling about?
His wife had only just been scared half to death, and their family was still in danger. What was there for him to smile about?
“Why do you think Ding Ruoning possessed Anning…”
Song Xiaotian was still discussing it with me. I quickly grabbed him, backed up to the doorway, and gestured at him.
He looked at me in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“Ding Ruoning is still in this room…” I whispered.
And she was inside Jiang Nan.
Under Song Xiaotian’s and my terrified stares, Jiang Nan walked expressionlessly toward his son and yanked Jiang Xiaoyu out of his wife’s arms.
His wife was startled and looked up at Jiang Nan. “Honey, what’s wrong with you…”
Jiang Nan said nothing. He suddenly picked Jiang Xiaoyu up and slammed him hard onto the floor. Worse still, he threw him face-first.
A child whose body hadn’t even fully developed couldn’t possibly withstand a fall like that. Jiang Xiaoyu was knocked senseless at once, his face covered in blood as he lay on the floor, wailing nonstop.
Jiang Nan’s wife stood frozen in place, scared stiff. For a moment, she couldn’t process what was happening. All she could do was scream.
Jiang Nan grabbed the ashtray off the table, his expression twisting into something savage in an instant. With that look on his face, he might as well have been about to kill someone.
Song Xiaotian was stunned. Neither of us stepped forward to stop him. We just stood there and watched as Jiang Nan raised the ashtray and smashed it down toward Jiang Xiaoyu’s head.
At first, Jiang Xiaoyu still let out a couple of miserable screams. After that, he stopped screaming altogether. I guessed he couldn’t make a sound anymore.
“You bastard! That’s your son!”
“Xiaoyu!”
Jiang Nan’s wife rushed over. Only then did she seem to remember she had to stop him.
But she couldn’t stop him at all. Jiang Nan swung the ashtray and knocked her unconscious on the spot.
He brought it down again and again, laughing as he smashed. Jiang Xiaoyu’s head was almost beaten into mush.
Song Xiaotian and I turned and ran out, shouting at the top of our lungs as we fled.
“Murder! Murder!”
“Someone’s killing people!”
We ran and banged on doors at the same time. The guests upstairs and downstairs all came pouring out.
But they weren’t running away. They all ran to the third floor to watch the commotion.
I thought to myself, Someone’s getting murdered, and their first reaction is to go watch? Aren’t they afraid of getting caught in it?
Just as we reached the second floor, two hotel security guards charged up and grabbed Song Xiaotian and me, asking, “Who’s killing people? What floor?”
“Third floor. A father is killing his son. Hurry up and go!”
“What?!”
The two guards’ faces changed drastically, and they rushed upstairs at once.
Song Xiaotian and I had just reached the lobby on the first floor when we saw Seventh Master and Zhang Bo bringing Anning back, cursing as they went.
“If you weren’t possessed, why did you run?”
“Were you trying to cause trouble or what?”
The moment the two masters returned and saw the entire hotel in an uproar, their expressions shifted.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“Didn’t we tell you two to keep an eye on that family?”
I swallowed and said, “The one who was possessed was Jiang Nan. He killed his son…”
“What?!”
Seventh Master and Zhang Bo’s faces changed wildly. They no longer bothered with Anning and hurried upstairs.
When Anning heard that Jiang Nan had killed Jiang Xiaoyu, she looked rather pleased with herself.
Song Xiaotian gave her a meaningful look. “This girl is pretty crafty. That’s downright sinister.”
By now, it was obvious. The one possessed had been Jiang Nan, which meant Anning hadn’t been possessed.
But why had she run?
Because at the time, Seventh Master’s Talisman had already confirmed that none of us had been possessed. In the end, the only ones left were Anning and Jiang Nan’s family.
Anning knew she wasn’t possessed, so the possessed person had to be someone from Jiang Nan’s family.
She had deliberately fled to lure Seventh Master and Zhang Bo away, giving Ding Ruoning a chance to strike.
To be honest, Anning really was ruthless. Her ability to react on the spot was no joke.
If it had been me, I probably wouldn’t even have realized what was going on in time.
The hotel had already called the police, and they soon arrived to seal off the scene.
Coincidentally, the officer who responded was Brother Liu. The moment he saw all of us there, he understood what had happened.
Jiang Xiaoyu was already dead. Jiang Nan had beaten him to death with his own hands.
Jiang Nan’s wife wasn’t dead. I figured Ding Ruoning hadn’t intended to kill her.
After Jiang Nan beat his son to death, he passed out. Then the police cuffed him and took him away.
All of us were taken to the station to give statements as well.
Under normal procedure, we definitely would have been detained, because what we were doing involved the occult. The occult isn’t recognized by the law, and it would be treated as feudal superstition.
Fortunately, the responding officer was Brother Liu. After listening to our detailed account, he had us sign our statements and let us go.