Chapter 16: Three Souls and White Bones (Part 8)
Late at night, only a few scattered lights pierced the darkness of the homestay’s courtyard.
A long, winding wooden corridor led into a building obscured by several scholar trees.
With a creak, a half-closed door was pushed open. Inside, the room was brightly lit and filled with the aroma of food. Several chefs were working feverishly, the sounds of chopping and stir-frying creating a cacophony.
The homestay owner stood there for a moment, a smile slowly creeping into his eyes. His dry, wrinkled eyelids drooped into sharp arcs, covering half his pupils and revealing too much white, making him look utterly eerie.
In the dining hall, the film crew was eating happily. Tonight’s dinner was exceptionally lavish; even the female stars, who usually watched their figures, picked up their chopsticks for a few extra bites.
The assistant director, who had been running around all day, finally caught a chance to be alone with Director Zhang during the meal. Lowering his voice, he asked what they should do about the movie.
Director Zhang looked worried. He didn’t know either. But one thing was certain: they couldn’t film here anymore.
“It’s so f*cking weird,” the assistant director said, only daring to speak his mind because Xu Jing wasn’t around. “Do you think the haunting on our set was caused by Xu Jing’s sister?”
Director Zhang looked at him.
The assistant director continued, “I heard ghosts lose their humanity after death. Since she died unjustly, who knows how fierce she is. Maybe we should find someone to…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear to both of them.
Director Zhang had always had a fiery temper and a clear distinction between love and hate. He never expected his assistant director to be this kind of person.
Just as he was about to explode, he heard a thud, like a heavy object hitting the floor. Before he could turn to look, a series of louder noises followed.
Director Zhang turned his head in horror, only to find that the people who had just been eating happily had all collapsed onto the floor.
“What’s happening?!”
Before he could figure it out, he felt his own head swimming. His eyelids grew heavy, his body went limp, and like everyone else, he collapsed.
After a while, the homestay owner strolled out leisurely. Like a landlord inspecting his territory, he looked down on them with arrogant disdain.
He spotted Director Zhang lying on the floor immediately. Stepping on his chest with the sole of his shoe, he let out two cold laughs.
“You actually dared to lie to me!”
His palm slapped against Director Zhang’s face in humiliation, each strike harder than the last, producing crisp sounds. The look in his eyes as he stared at Zhang was sinister, as if looking at a dead man.
“I’m most disgusted by high-and-mighty things like you… What ‘big director’? You still fell into my hands. And that little bitch—none of you will escape.”
“Even if I die, I’m dragging everyone down with me to be buried.”
Someone walked over and handed a machete, sharpened until it gleamed, to the homestay owner.
“Do it.”
It was one of the chefs who had been helping in the kitchen just moments ago.
Killing a person was like killing a pig. First, knock them out with a heavy blow to the head. Once they stop struggling, pour boiling water over them while scraping off the hair. Then, use the sharpest knife to slice open the belly, slowly drain the blood, and once the blood is mostly gone, remove the internal organs one by one, chop the bones, and cut the meat.
The homestay owner was a skilled butcher. He raised his arm, ready to bring the knife down and sever Director Zhang’s neck.
With a sizzling sound, the electricity cut out instantly, plunging the entire dining hall into darkness.
The owner’s face was as dark as ink. Just as he was about to call for lights, he suddenly felt a chill behind him.
A long stick glowing with golden light struck down from behind, hitting the back of his head with precision. The owner cried out in pain. His nerves, stimulated by the blow, flared. Ignoring the dizziness, he swung his knife madly into the empty air.
He saw a white shadow weaving through the darkness, but he couldn’t hit anything solid.
The most terrifying scene from the depths of his memory surfaced before his eyes. In a trance, the owner thought that person had come back to claim his life.
So he swung the machete even more viciously, cursing as he did. “F*ck you! If you have the guts, come at me! I killed you once, I can kill you a second time! Don’t think I’m afraid of you. If I get the chance, I’ll make sure you can’t even be a ghost!”
There seemed to be a few screams in the darkness, and warm blood splattered, spraying across the owner’s face.
Who knew how much time passed before the lights flickered and returned to normal brightness.
In the instant transition from dark to light, a burst of white radiance flashed, followed by another baton strike to his abdomen and legs. It forced the owner to flop down onto his knees, clutching his stomach with a twisted expression.
The chef who had been standing beside him earlier was already lying on the ground, eyes wide open. His white chef’s uniform had been slashed open in a dozen places, crimson blood seeping out and pooling on the floor.
He was gasping his final breaths, “Huk… huk…”
His eyes rolled back as he reached an arm toward the door.
Chaotic footsteps sounded from outside. A row of police officers burst through the door, only to be met with this gruesome, bloody scene.
Five hours ago.
The forensic doctor conducted a meticulous examination of Xu Lanyue’s skull and finally extracted a very tiny piece of human tissue from the oral cavity, which had long since turned to bone.
This discovery shocked the entire police station.
A skull buried in the dirt for fifteen years… Xu Lanyue’s flesh had been eaten away bit by bit, yet in the tightly clenched gap of her jaw, a small piece of flesh had remained intact.
This was her final struggle for herself, and the key evidence provided for the police to crack the case.
The investigating officers took this tissue sample, extracted the DNA, and compared it against the national database. The final results pointed squarely at one person.
One hour ago.
Jiang Si found Wang Zhao and asked him to help tear down all the wallpaper in the room.
The clean, white wallpaper was peeled away piece by piece, revealing the dense, utterly disgusting talismans hidden in the deepest layer. The entire room, every corner of all four walls, was plastered with yellow paper charms. One could only imagine how terrified the homestay owner was of the thing he had trapped.
Looking at these shocking sights, the hair on Wang Zhao’s body stood on end. He couldn’t help but curse the culprit again. “Sh*t, damn it all, what the hell did this guy do to deck out a room like this?!”
Hearing no response, Wang Zhao hurriedly looked aside. Jiang Si had walked into the bathroom and was staring blankly at the wall there.
Wang Zhao was silent for a moment. “No way, in here too?”
“Let’s test it,” Jiang Si said simply, reaching out to feel the innermost wall inch by inch.
This area was tiled with waterproof ceramic, not wallpaper. Wang Zhao was just breathing a sigh of relief, wanting to leave, when he saw Jiang Si produce a hammer from who-knows-where and smash it ruthlessly against the wall.
Clang—
The tiles shattered on impact, and several fragments fell. Jiang Si quickly wiped away the layer of cement, and a patch of earthy yellow was vaguely revealed beneath.
Jiang Si turned his head. Wang Zhao was staring at him in a daze, so he called out directly, “What are you staring at? Come help.”
“Oh, oh, coming.”
Wang Zhao grabbed a hammer, and together they smashed the tiles one by one. The talismans, which had been completely cut off from oxygen, were revealed once the cement layer was removed. The color was more vibrant than elsewhere. Whether it was Wang Zhao’s illusion or not, he felt the talismans here seemed different from the ones outside.
“What do you think is hidden here?”
“Do you want to know?” Jiang Si asked back.
Wang Zhao had a bad feeling.
Jiang Si didn’t continue. Instead, he pulled up the corner of his lips in a smile, seeming to comfort Wang Zhao. “We can’t move it yet. We have to wait for the police to come and examine the crime scene.”
Wang Zhao was even more scared now. Jiang Si picked up his phone to call the police, then waited for their arrival, timing it perfectly to lead them to the dining hall to find the others.
At that moment, Hai Di stood with his hands behind his back, holding the golden baton. A large pool of blood had sprayed onto the ground, some of it slowly flowing toward his feet. Although it wouldn’t stain him, Hai Di instinctively felt disgusted, furrowing his brows as he watched the police subdue the homestay owner.
The man, his hands and face covered in blood, offered no resistance as he was apprehended, mumbling ceaselessly: “I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!”
“I’m going to kill you!”
“You still want to kill people? Keep dreaming!” the police officer scoffed coldly.
Unceremoniously twisting the man’s arms behind his back, they forcibly marched him away.
As soon as Jiang Si entered, he saw Hai Di, who looked completely out of place in the chaotic scene. Seeing the blood on the ground, he was startled. He looked up and met Hai Di’s gaze from a distance.
Some people wouldn’t look like criminals even if they were holding a murder weapon. Hai Di held the underworld-edition 24k solid gold baton as if he were holding a designer umbrella. Just standing there naturally exuded an air of nobility. Who would have thought he was the one who had bashed the owner over the head in the dark?
After holding eye contact for a moment, Jiang Si walked over nonchalantly, stood beside him, and whispered, “Are you okay?”
Completely surprised that Jiang Si’s first words were of concern for him, Hai Di felt a slight warmth in his heart. He maintained his reserve and said, “He couldn’t touch me. What could happen?”
“That’s good. I was worried you wouldn’t adapt to this task,” Jiang Si said, suddenly wanting to laugh. “After all, you look like a rich young master who hasn’t the strength to truss a chicken. I assume you’ve never been in a fight growing up.”
Hai Di had no memories, so naturally, he couldn’t answer.
However, the corners of his mouth quietly turned upward.
Over there, Wang Zhao had hurriedly pinched Director Zhang’s philtrum to wake him from his faint, and called 120 to send the rest of the unconscious crew to the hospital.
With Jiang Si’s tip-off, the police easily discovered the hidden compartment adjacent to that room. Since it was the end room, they had to smash through the bathroom wall.
Hidden in the half-meter-wide gap were two bodies—strictly speaking, one and a half bodies.
The half-corpse was Xu Lanyue. The other body belonged to the homestay owner’s ex-wife.
Waking up in the hospital, Xu Jing learned that her sister had been found. Ignoring the IV drip in her arm, she yanked out the needle and rushed straight to the police station.
Wang Zhao filled them in on the rest. After giving his statement, Jiang Si went up the mountain for the third time. This time, he brought the items he had prepared in advance.
Soul-Guiding Incense and a Spirit-Summoning Banner.
While Jiang Si was at the station giving his statement, Xiao Fengxian had gathered all three of Xu Lanyue’s souls, waiting for him to return and perform the ritual.
The Seven Slips of a Cloudy Satchel records: “The human body has three souls. One is Tai Guang, the energy of grand purity and harmony; one is Shuang Ling, the transformation of yin energy; one is You Jing, the mixture of yin energy.”
These three souls correspond to what is commonly called in folklore: the Heaven Soul, the Earth Soul, and the Life Soul.
The spirits causing trouble on the set were Xu Lanyue’s three souls. One, sensing the presence of the other two, had followed the two directors. One, more ferocious, had undone the wire to cause chaos. The final soul had been trapped in the wall all along, unable to leave due to the fear of the wall full of talismans.
Jiang Si lit the Soul-Guiding Incense. The fragrant smoke curled and melted into the air. Beside it, the Spirit-Summoning Banner with her name written on it burned along with it. He chanted, “Xu Lanyue, return your soul.”
“Gazing a thousand miles, the spring heart is wounded. Soul, return, mourn the Jiangnan.”
Jiang Si’s expression was solemn. A milky-white spirit gradually took form. The white mist that had shrouded her dispersed, revealing the appearance of a clear, beautiful young girl.
She bore a resemblance to Xu Jing; anyone who saw them could tell they were sisters.
“Thank you.” Xu Lanyue’s voice was different from her gentle appearance; it was strong and crisp. Even as a ghost, she remained poised and graceful. She nodded to the two ghosts behind Jiang Si. “Thank you both as well.”
“So this is what you look like!” Xiao Fengxian’s eyes lit up instantly. She floated forward, taking Xu Lanyue’s hands affectionately and looking her up and down. “Good sister, my search these past few days wasn’t in vain. You didn’t disappoint me.”
That figure, that voice, that throat.
The more Xiao Fengxian looked, the more she liked what she saw, her eyes burning with enthusiasm.
Xu Lanyue was dazed for a moment. Seeing the other ghost in full opera costume, she didn’t dare move, letting her hold her hand and inspect her. She asked hesitantly, “How should I address… this elder sister?”
“My family name is Yu. You can call me Sister Yu or Xiao Fengxian. Xiao Fengxian is my stage name,” Xiao Fengxian smiled. “Sister, have you read any books?”
“Huh?”
“No, I’m asking, do you have any thoughts on singing opera? I feel you’re very good, a promising talent.”
…
Jiang Si was shoved to the side by her. Listening to her words, he didn’t find it strange at all. Xiao Fengxian was obsessed with opera to her bones. previously, she had even kidnapped Hai Di to be an NPC actor. Now that she had finally found a female ghost who met her criteria, she was naturally even more excited.
Thinking this, he packed up his things and walked over to Hai Di, planning to head back first.
He had taken only two steps when he suddenly stopped.
Confused, Hai Di urged him, “Why aren’t you moving?”
Jiang Si stared at him with wide, shocked eyes. Just then, a breeze lifted the blue-highlighted curly hair from his forehead, allowing Hai Di to see his emotions even more clearly.
“No way… the one singing opera while I was showering that night was her?”
Two corpses had been separated from him by only half a wall, living with him for so long. Even with all his experience, thinking about it now, Jiang Si found it a bit hard to accept.
That homestay owner was guilty of ten thousand crimes, but the one good thing he did was probably getting real talismans to suppress Xu Lanyue, preventing her from seeing Jiang Si in the shower.
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
Comforting himself with this thought, Jiang Si received a call from Wang Zhao as soon as he returned to the foot of the mountain. Over the phone, Wang Zhao cursed the homestay owner viciously, then added, “I heard that beast still refuses to confess his crimes. I’m seriously impressed by his stubbornness. Old Jiang, when are you coming back? Xu Jing is right next to me; she wants to thank you in person.”
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