Chapter 40: Chain Reaction

"Hmph, even if you had a problem, you wouldn't be able to solve it. Take down my number. If anything happens at the estate, notify me immediately. I'll be waiting right outside." I gave a cold snort and recited my phone number to Lei Qing.

"Senior, I've got it noted down. If anything happens at the estate, I will definitely call you." Lei Qing took out the latest 5.5-inch Apple phone to save the number, then dialed mine. My knock-off phone in my pocket immediately blared with the divine melody of "Little Apple."

Lei Qing heard the song and, seeing my less-than-friendly expression, felt his heart skip a beat.

Back at the morgue, he had seen me holding that knock-off phone with this exact garish ringtone. Suddenly remembering that he had a new batch of phones on him—gifted by Zhao Yi to help him manage the scene—he quickly hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

He shoved A-Biao, the man who had just been grabbed, and urged, "Go get that unopened iPhone 6 from my car and give it to the Senior. He must be busy lately and doesn't have time to wait in line to buy one."

"Huh? But that's my..." A-Biao’s brain stalled for a moment.

Another man, who had a keener eye for the situation, kicked A-Biao in the backside. "Do what the boss tells you! Why are you being so dense? You offended the Senior just now—don't you think you should offer some compensation? Do you still want to stay in this county?"

Watching A-Biao look deflated, Zhao Qian covered her mouth with the back of her hand, giggling on the sidelines with an amused expression. I didn't say a word—why would I refuse a new phone? Xiao Xue is already in high school and still doesn't have one.

A-Biao nodded frantically, ran to the nearby van, and retrieved an unopened new phone, handing it to me with trembling hands.

"At least you’re sensible. In the future, if your family is ever haunted by malicious spirits or harassed by vengeful ghosts, feel free to call me." I took the phone, returned to my car, and laid back to wait for trouble at the estate.

"Yes, yes! Since you’ve said so, Senior, you mustn't lie to me." Lei Qing was beaming; this was a chance to build a good relationship. This man was definitely a powerful expert in the mysterious arts, far beyond that kid Zhao Yi.

Zhao Qian laughed until she nearly choked, but remembering her grandfather was still lying in his coffin, she felt it was inappropriate and forced herself to stop.

"Alright, take your people and escort Zhao Qian inside. Remember, you’ve accepted the karma. If anything happens to her… heh heh." I sneered as I rolled up the car window, leaving the rest unsaid.

After clearing out the group of thugs, Zhao Qian entered the estate. I watched her until she was out of sight, then sat in the front of the car and began to draw talismans.

As I chanted the spirit-incantations, I drew the runes. Soon, several Ghost-Repelling and Mind-Calming talismans appeared in my hands. Although these low-level talismans weren't very effective against powerful vengeful spirits, having them was better than nothing; it gave me peace of mind to keep them on me.

After writing two or three, my knock-off phone rang again. Could something have happened already?

I hurriedly pulled out the phone to check. It was Han Shanshan, so I answered: "Speak quickly, I'm busy."

"Wow, are you actually annoyed that I'm calling you? Do you know how many handsome guys are hovering around me at the police station every day?" Han Shanshan mocked.

"I don't know, are you going to talk or not? If not, I'm hanging up!" I was afraid the line would be tied up if something happened later, so I prepared to hang up. I had originally wanted her to accompany Zhao Qian into the estate, but since she was working a case tonight, I hadn't asked her to come.

Han Shanshan immediately softened her tone and pleaded, "Don't, don't! Alright, I surrender to you. Tell me, why did you call me earlier?"

"It's nothing. I knew you were busy, but I was planning to ask you to accompany Zhao Qian into the Zhao family estate. I'm afraid someone might try to harm her." I knew if I didn't tell her, she would find a way to investigate it herself—it was her occupational hazard, otherwise she wouldn't have called.

"That's it? Then why aren't you protecting Qianqian yourself? Isn't that what you should be doing?" Han Shanshan was a curious soul, asking questions incessantly.

"You think I don't want to? I was turned away by the Zhao family and couldn't get in. I'm currently standing outside in the cold wind."

"Hmph, you should have told me earlier! I’m having someone drive me over right now!" Han Shanshan decided to come over without hesitation and hung up the phone.

I shook my head. Han Shanshan wasn't a bad person—she was beautiful and had a fiery figure—but she was a bit dense. Look at that, hanging up before I could even finish.

It's better to keep my distance from her in the future.

After I drew a few more talismans, Han Shanshan’s police car arrived.

She ran over, knocked on the window a few times, and I unlocked it so she could hop in.

"Wow, selling calligraphy? You drew so many! Oh, is this the new iPhone? Did you just buy it? You can make this much money selling calligraphy? And it's the 128GB version, that must cost eight thousand yuan! I heard you have to queue up just to buy one! I couldn't bear to buy one myself." Han Shanshan picked up the phone, examining it from every angle.

I was speechless and said, "Someone gave it to me."

"How come no one gives me anything!" Han Shanshan said with disdain, assuming Zhao Qian had given it to me.

"Lei Qing gave it to me," I added. Han Shanshan froze.

"Lei Qing? Isn't that the kid who collects protection money in the west side of the city? I heard he's even involved in smuggling near the border. How did you get mixed up with him?" she asked.

Seeing she wouldn't stop, I shoved two talismans into her hand: "Take these, then go inside and watch Zhao Qian from a distance. If you notice anything wrong, go in and support her. Did you bring your gun?"

"Oh, I did! I was on duty and hadn't returned it yet. Captain Huo is still at that bar, and I came here on my own." Han Shanshan’s brain finally returned to the main point.

"Good, I'll call Captain Huo and tell him I'm borrowing you for a few hours." I said, dialing Huo Dadong to explain the situation at the Zhao estate. Huo Dadong agreed readily.

"Alright, go." I urged her to leave.

Han Shanshan pretended to look aggrieved, deliberately pulling at her collar to reveal a patch of snowy-white skin on her chest: "Hmph, you’ve already borrowed me from Captain Huo for a few hours, yet you won't even let me spend more time with you. Are you afraid I'll eat you up?"

I felt a chill run through me. Is this policewoman trying to pull a uniform seduction? When I saved her two days ago, I did have to touch her all over; that soft strength was quite powerful. If she really tried to seduce me, I wasn't sure if I could resist.

Just as I was stunned by her antics, Han Shanshan burst into laughter and patted my shoulder: "Haha! Look at you, so scared! I thought you weren't afraid of anything! Forget it, I’m off!"

"You really are dense," I muttered to myself, still reeling from the experience, having almost been crushed by the oppressive aura of my "Wife-Sister."

I took a deep breath, released Xijun to keep watch, and continued making my incantation talismans.

After the battle at the morgue, Xijun’s strength had improved significantly. Just a moment ago, a casual grab of hers had left the thug’s hand bruised, which gave me plenty of confidence.

However, open spears are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. I would prefer to have more helpers like Xijun. Thinking of my grandmother, she probably keeps a whole army of them. Having only one, and not even a true combat type, felt like far too little.

I drew many paper talismans and stored them in my pockets, then took out Grandmother’s book to find the incantations for communicating with ghosts. After all, if I want to lure ghosts into a trap and keep them as my own vengeful spirits, I can't do it without knowing how to communicate.

But the paths of the living and the dead are different. When humans communicate with ghosts, the ghost is separated by a layer of worldly "Yang" energy, making it difficult to understand what they are saying—unlike how easily ghosts can hear human speech, as Yang energy pierces through Yin and can reach many places.

That is why the elders often say one shouldn't curse at ghosts randomly; the dead are to be respected, and they can hear you. A single careless word could provoke a spirit into becoming a vengeful one, and by then, it would be too late to regret the haunting.

The passage I found wasn't for true "Ghost Language," but a type of talisman. Once I drew the talisman and performed the ritual, sleeping with it under me would, in theory, allow me to communicate with the spirits of the dead.

However, this was relatively dangerous. If I tried to communicate with spirits while sleeping and my willpower wasn't strong enough—or if I ate their food or drank their wine—I risked being taken away by them. Therefore, I needed someone to guard me. Although I had Xijun, I still needed someone reliable and strong to pull me back if things went south.

That requires a good Taoist partner. I felt Zhao Qian had great potential, so I decided to reserve that role for her.

"Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, Ji, Dou, Niu, Nü, Xu, Wei, Shi, Bi, Kui, Lou, Mao, Ang, Bi, Zi, Can, Jing, Gui, Liu, Xing, Zhang, Yi, Zhen—by the names of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, I borrow divine power to enter this talisman." As I chanted the spirit-incantation, I used cinnabar to quickly write the "Spirit Communication Talisman" on old yellow paper. Every stroke was focused with absolute sincerity, devoid of any distracting thoughts.

Having had experience drawing talismans as a child, drawing these low-level runes wasn't too difficult, though the spirit-incantation was tricky; I had reviewed it several times until I memorized it.

A Spirit Communication Talisman was soon completed. With the spirit-incantation infused, I could see a faint, imperceptible yellow glow in my eyes—the manifestation of the borrowed power of the Twenty-Eight Mansions. Of course, had I not been saturated with Yin energy, I wouldn't have been able to see it at all, and only a talisman infused with divine power would be effective.

I drew talismans while keeping an eye on the phone to see if anything was wrong. Yet, deep into the night, nothing happened. Inside the Zhao estate, people were still playing cards and guessing fingers; it didn't seem like anything was going to happen.

I checked the time: 4:30 AM.

This wasn't right. Around 3:00 AM, I felt the Yin energy was quite heavy; if there were to be any ghost-summoning, it should have happened by now. How could it be this late without any incident?

I picked up the phone, intending to call Han Shanshan to ask what was going on inside.

Just then, I looked out the window and saw a light, scattered rain falling. Could it be?

As I looked, I suddenly saw Old Man Zhao appearing in the rainy night, his aged face a sickly, greenish hue, staring blankly at me!

Instantly, goosebumps broke out all over me, and my "Wife-Sister" yanked on my sleeve!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Inside the Zhao estate, gunshots rang out!

"You are my little, little apple, no matter how much I love you, it's not enough..."

The moment the gunfire erupted, the phone sitting in my car’s mount started ringing!