Chapter 84
Chapter 84
Fifteen years ago, a series of murders occurred in Lanjiang City.
That serial case was also triggered by the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange ritual.
At the time, it was Song Xiaotian who told me about the case.
Later, we investigated further and gathered enough information to roughly deduce that Lv Zhengxian was the one behind it. His objective had been to perform a Soul Seizure on Du Ruhai.
Now, Old Zhao Seven was claiming to be a family member of one of the victims from that case.
We weren’t exactly shocked; after all, without a deep-seated hatred, it would have been impossible for Old Zhao Seven to go undercover by Du Ruhai’s side.
Still, hearing him say it personally left us somewhat stunned.
Song Xiaotian asked him, “The… the relative who was killed, what was their relationship to you?”
Old Zhao Seven let out a long sigh. “My nephew. My own flesh-and-blood nephew-my younger brother’s son. I never married or had children of my own, so my nephew was like a son to me. I raised him as my own, and the boy was very close to me.”
“But in the year he turned eighteen, he was murdered. Later, my brother and sister-in-law couldn’t handle the blow and drank pesticide. The whole family was just gone. You tell me, what kind of hatred is that?”
Hearing this, our hearts softened for a moment.
To be honest, it was truly tragic.
Song Xiaotian’s tone mellowed as he asked, “So your nephew’s surname was also Zhao. What was his name?”
Old Zhao Seven’s eyes suddenly reddened. “His name was Zhao Zimu. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and check.”
Song Xiaotian nodded. “I’ll call and check right now.”
With that, he walked over, told Meng Yifan to keep an eye on Old Zhao Seven, and then pulled me out of the room.
Once we were outside, I asked Song Xiaotian if he was actually going to call and verify the identity of one of the victims from back then.
“Check my ass. It’s too late for that now.”
Song Xiaotian continued, “It would take at least an hour. If we’re really going tonight, every second counts. Besides, since he dared to tell me to check, it means there really was a victim named Zhao Zimu back then.”
I nodded, noting that Old Zhao Seven didn’t seem to be acting. “He seems sincere about wanting to cooperate with us this time. What do you think… should we trust him?”
Song Xiaotian rubbed his chin, frowning. “How should I know? If what he says is true, then we definitely should make the trip tonight. Once we get those letters, we’ll have Du Ruhai right where we want him.”
“But I’m afraid he’s playing us. If… if this old geezer is tricking us, Du Ruhai will be waiting to catch us like turtles in a jar. And we’d be the turtles…”
It was a difficult decision.
The temptation was simply too great.
However, Old Zhao Seven himself wasn’t trustworthy, and his track record made us even more hesitant to cooperate with him.
After several minutes of hesitation, I said to Song Xiaotian, “Let’s trust him one more time. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Song Xiaotian nodded, and the two of us walked back inside.
Upon entering, Song Xiaotian suddenly flared up in a rage, glaring at Old Zhao Seven. “You dared to lie to me! There was no victim named Zhao Zimu back then! How do you explain that?”
Old Zhao Seven was taken aback for a moment, then looked up and glanced at Song Xiaotian. “Cut the crap. Do you think I’d forget my own nephew’s name?”
Song Xiaotian hurried over to untie him, offering an apologetic smile as he worked. “Seventh Master Zhao, I was just joking. Don’t take it to heart. Since you want to work with us, then let’s do it. We’ll form an alliance today.”
Old Zhao Seven huffed, clearly displeased by our earlier rudeness.
“Seventh Master, since you’re familiar with that place, why don’t you tell us what you’re planning? Give us an idea of what to expect.”
“It’s simple,” Old Zhao Seven said.
“I can come and go as I please at that place. Everyone inside knows me, and as luck would have it, Du Ruhai isn’t there today. This is the perfect opportunity. I’ll take you straight in, we grab the items, and we leave immediately. As for what to do after that, we can figure it out later. How does that sound?”
Song Xiaotian nodded. “Fine. Then here’s to a smooth partnership. But don’t blame me for being blunt-if you try to pull any stunts or do anything out of line…
“I will gut you like a fish.”
Old Zhao Seven’s expression soured, but he was no match for Song Xiaotian. He could only huff and say, “Don’t worry. I’m not tired of living yet.”
***
Inside the car.
A group of four.
We had originally come to find Du Mingyang’s ashes. Now that we had them, we still had to take care of something equally important.
Song Xiaotian was driving my car. His own was still parked at the foot of Baishi Mountain; he hadn’t had a chance to go back for it yet.
Du Mingyang’s Ashes Urn was currently inside my backpack, which I held tightly in my lap.
Meng Yifan thought it was a bit macabre and asked why I didn’t just put the ashes in the trunk. I didn’t explain much to him with Old Zhao Seven present, but the truth was that Li Xiumei’s ashes were already in the trunk. I didn’t dare put the two of them together.
We were about twenty minutes away from the Club Old Zhao Seven had mentioned.
On the way, I couldn’t help but ask him why he had swapped Du Mingyang’s ashes in the first place.
Since we were partners now, he didn’t hold back on things that could be shared. He explained, “I told you back at the house-Du Mingyang is an Infant Spirit who never had the chance to be born. Infant Spirits are the most troublesome kind of ghost because they died before they could even see the world. Their resentment is incredibly heavy. Moreover, they lack the intelligence of adult ghosts; if they feel resentment, they simply harm people.
“That’s the first reason. The second is that in cases where both mother and child die, if one becomes a ghost, they will inevitably seek out the other because of the bond between them. When a mother and child reunite in death, it is known as a mother-and-child evil spirit.
“As for how powerful a mother-and-child evil spirit is… it’s like releasing a wild beast into a city. The consequences are catastrophic.”
I understood the gist of it.
If Du Yuwei reunited with her child, they would become a mother-and-child evil spirit, and Du Yuwei would likely transform into the most vicious kind of ghost imaginable.
“And the third reason?” I asked Old Zhao Seven.
Old Zhao Seven blinked, looking at me blankly. “What third reason?”
I gave him a meaningful look. “I took the ghost you buried in that grave after the swap to see Du Yuwei. He knew exactly where she was hiding. You’re in league with that ghost, and you’re looking for Du Yuwei. Why?”
At my words, even Song Xiaotian couldn’t help but glance back at Old Zhao Seven.
Old Zhao Seven realized he couldn’t keep up the act any longer. He let out a helpless laugh. “Smart. Very smart. It seems I was too hasty when I called you lot stupid earlier. You’re right-I am looking for Du Yuwei.
“For one, I want to work with her to take down Du Ruhai. Secondly, I want to perform an Exorcism for her. She’s a pitiful soul, after all. Since she’s already dead, she should start over and hope for a better life in her next reincarnation. If she commits a great sin now, she’ll be finished for good.”
I didn’t believe a word Old Zhao Seven said.
I felt he was lying.
However, what I was asking didn’t pertain to our mission tonight, so it wasn’t the right time to confront him.