After Rebirth, I returned to Miaojiang to inherit my family business - Chapter 38

“The hanged one is dead, and the one in the room is still alive.”

The thin-haired middle-aged director rushed up, and after a while, he carried two people down from the art building. He looked like the kind of middle-aged man who hadn’t exercised for a long time and was very weak. Yet he carried two people downstairs without panting. The canteen chef who summoned the golden cicada with the Buddha’s name whispered “Amitabha” and hurried forward to help. 

However, even though he seemed to have a big arm and a round waist, when he took over from the middle-aged director, he was trembling under the pressure, as if he could not bear the weight, and he almost fell to the ground altogether.

“Hey, little master Hui Xin, be careful, let me do it.”

The middle-aged director easily picked up the unconscious man, who almost overwhelmed the canteen chef, with his empty hand and put him on the ground: “Yin Qi entered his body and now he’s fainted, just get him some more sun.”

“The deceased is Zhao Wenwu, male, a student in Class 6, Grade 2, whose real identity was Xu Tao, a tester. Received two punishments. Skipped class again just like yesterday. There was contact with him at the playground, between him and the warehouse manager, at 7:30 this morning. He arrived at the art building with the warehouse manager at 8:15. The time of death was 8:20, and the cause of death was suffocation.” 

The middle-aged director’s eyes were empty, as if he saw the distance in the void, the whites of his eyes were engulfed in darkness, and a deep and cold breath came from him. A semi-transparent, shining silver book appeared out of nowhere in his left hand, and the pages flipped, as if an invisible pen was writing rapidly.

“Warehouse manager, male, whose real identity is You Yingfa, a tester, reached a cooperation agreement with Xu Tao in the cafeteria at 6:53 yesterday evening, and came to the art building alone at 6:40 this morning. Met up with Xu Tao in the playground at 7:30, arrived at the art building at 8:15… You Yingfa, male, sexual orientation bisexual, master of time management, maintains an intimate relationship with four people, ”3D” 145, 135, 150, five centimeters, today’s underwear is a burgundy polka- underpants, the front of his socks have a hole, his neckline is oily… that’s enough, enough! I didn’t ask you for this!” The middle-aged director’s cheeks twitched, as he indignantly and angrily roared. With an indifferent ‘chi’ sound, the darkness in his eyes faded away, and the silver notebook disappeared at the same time.

Facing the weird atmosphere around him, the middle-aged director blushed, and the few strands of hair on his forehead, which were already sparse, trembled, he explained, embarrassed: “I’m not, I’m not, this is the death perception of the special police, no, I’m not a pervert, it’s my transplanted ghost eye…”

“Amitabha, don’t worry about this, benefactor.”

The canteen chef’s voice was like a bell, his voice was so loud that some of the students who had left just now were curious, looking over here. The middle-aged director’s expression was complicated, and his tone was weak: “Thank you, little master Hui Xin, for your understanding.”

“By the way, I have something urgent!”

The middle-aged director, who was distracted by the unexpected case, came back to his senses and said anxiously in a low voice: “Please turn off the live broadcast.”

After the live broadcast was turned off, he took out his police officer’s card from his pocket, and said seriously, “I am tester Kang Jianbai, the seventh special police officer of Yangjiaping Sub-bureau, ghost number 1690, and I am carrying out a secret mission. Did you just see a boy dressed as a student, about 1.75 meters tall, with a scar on his face passing by?” 

“He is an extremely dangerous suspect, Liu Hu, is his real identity.”

Liu Hu?

Wu Rong, who was about to leave, stopped.

“Amitabha, I have never seen him before. I had felt an omen in my heart and came here when I sensed that there might be a bloody disaster here. It’s a pity that I came a step too late.” 

The cafeteria chef shook his head, his face full of compassion, and he lowered his voice after realizing that his voice was too loud, but coupled with his slender face, big waist and round body, he looked like a fierce and strong man threatening the other three from a distance. Additionally, with the extremely conspicuous yellow and white chef uniform, it was quite easy to attract passer-by’s attention.

“This is not a place to talk.”

Kang Jianbai said, “I know there is an empty conference room nearby.”

The three of them followed Kang Jianbai to the conference room. Along the way, Kang Jianbai carried the dead Xu Tao in one hand and the unconscious You Yingfa in the other. Without any movement, Xu Tao remained fixed in the state of death, and even his blood did not drip down. However, such a strange combination of several people did not cause a sensation when walking along the campus road. People passing by seemed to be blindfolded and could not see at all. 

“Little Master Hui Xin, Daoist Fu, this, uh, should be Mr. Wu Rong.”

Finally arriving at the destination, Kang Jianbai laid Xu Tao and You Yingfa on the conference table, went to the door to close it, and came back solemnly, “You are all people trusted by Director Zhou, and it is the same for me. I should not have revealed this secret mission, but now the situation is urgent and involves endangering the lives of everyone in the Tiankeng, including all of us. I have to make an exception, and I hope that everyone will not spread the word.”

“Is it about Liu Hu?”

Wu Rong took the rare initiative to ask. 

“Yes.”

Kang Jianbai nodded heavily, and glanced at the three of them: “Actually, this is a secret in the bureau. According to reliable sources of information, the Ministry of Public Security suspects that Liu Hu is very likely to become a fierce ghost after his death.”

Wu Rong: ?

“Amitabha.” 

Hui Xin’s expression became solemn: “Benefactor Kang means that Liu Hu is now…”

“He is out of my control.”

Kang Jian’s pale face turned paler and paler, seeming a bit ashamed: “He has been hiding his strength, and is good at disguising. When I entered the 444th Tiankeng, my ghost eyes didn’t see his true identity on the first try, and I tracked him all the time, but I couldn’t stop him from making a move.”

“You mean…” 

“That’s right, Liu Hu has been hiding on the sixth floor of the art building.”

Bjcu Aljcyjl vlvc’a qgfafcv ab pbxf, jcv rjlv ragjlutaobgkjgvis: “We Kjb’r vfjat lr jirb lcrfqjgjyif ogbw tlw.”

Cr tf rqbxf, tf kjixfv ab atf mbcofgfcmf ajyif, abbx bea j qjlg bo rafglif uibnfr ogbw cbktfgf, jcv aegcfv We Kjb’r ybvs ab atf ogbca. Ktfgf kjr j vffq afjg bc atf yibbvs mtfra atja kjr qlfgmfv ys atf uijrr, jr lo jaajmxfv ys j ijguf yfjra.

“Liu Hu took his heart and liver.” 

Kang Jianbai said: “Xu Tao is a senior ghost breeder. There is something fishy. Even if his internal organs are taken away, he will not die. His real cause of death is strangulation by the ghost on the sixth floor of the art building.”

As he spoke, he took out a small gold box from his pocket: “I found this at the scene of the crime. Liu Hu used it to temporarily control the ghosts on the sixth floor.”

Seeing the item in the gold box, Wu Rong’s eyes froze.

It turned out to be a white bone bell inside, exactly the same as the one he had seen in the hands of the gangsters in the factory! The bandage on his left arm was slightly puffed up, and the big ghost began to stir again, Wu Rong’s brows were furrowed. Now it is different from that time, with so many people around, it is inevitable that some people will find out that the big ghost is abnormal, not to mention that the bone bell is inseparable from Liu Hu, and that the big ghost can’t move at this time. 

The surrounding area had already started to cool down, and at this moment, Wu Rong’s pocket became hot, it was the Buddha beads relic. The warm and peaceful breath dispelled the continuously emerging ghost energy. Taking this opportunity, Wu Rong tried to test it out, just like communicating with the little spider and the snake Gu, he conveyed the comforting consciousness to his left arm. Originally, he didn’t have much hope, but unexpectedly, this time the ghost in the left arm didn’t respond, neither did he resist. He really stopped being restless and returned to quietness.

When the movement of the left arm stopped and the Buddhist beads were no longer hot, Wu Rong fell into deep thought.

Is it the effect of the relic beads, or was the reason  because of last night’s dream?

“The vicious dog tattoo on Liu Hu’s arm must be fed with fresh flesh every day. The only living people in this Tiankeng are the testers. After today, he will attack other people.” 

“And tonight is the day Chi Fangfang died and the blood mud in the toilet appeared…”

Kang Jianbai stopped, looking at Wu Rong, and finally said solemnly, “Be more careful.”

Kang Jianbai wanted to continue to track Liu Hu during the day. Seeing that he could not find any clues here, he soon left. Xu Tao was the first one to die in the Tiankeng. It is not uncommon for people like him to come to the Tiankeng for a trial, a competition of strength and luck, just like You Yingfa, who obviously went to the art building with Xu Tao, but in the end he was safe and just in a coma, whereas Xu Tao did not have this good luck.

After dark, Xu Tao will be swallowed by the Tiankeng and become a new ghost in the Tiankeng. At the moment of death, his soul had already been controlled by Tiankeng. In this case, even a master with profound Dharma cannot save him. Even so, Hui Xin still recited a sutra of Ksitigarbha for him. The wooden fish with the golden cicada is probably a rare treasure, which makes people calm and serene when struck. Although it was not as good as what Wu Rong heard in his dream. When after the town was destroyed, Master Kuchan read the Sutra, but his also has some charm. 

Listening to monks chanting scriptures is like listening to Taoist singing, being of great benefit to ghost raisers. Wu Rong had something on his mind, so he closed his eyes and sank into this rare peace.

“Amitabha.”

The dead are dead, but the living must move on. Wisely, he looked at Fu Qing, who was indifferent, and then at Wu Rong, who was absent-minded, and resigned himself to carrying the comatose You Yingfa.

“I’ll send Master You back first, so don’t let this go, you two be careful.” 

After Kang Jianbai left, the little master acted more anxiously than before, and before he finished speaking, he carried You Yingfa on his shoulders and walked outside. When he was about to go out, Fu Qing said calmly:

“Remember what you promised me.”

Hui Xin staggered when he heard that, and almost rolled down with You Yingfa babbling. He hurried away as if he didn’t dare to look back.

“What’s the matter?” 

After leaving the conference room, Wu Rong recalled the embarrassment of the little master just now, and was rarely curious.

“I originally planned to take you to see him this morning.”

Fu Qingdao: “Hui Xin learned from Master Kuchan, and the Dharma he practiced is the most upright and peaceful, and it is the most suitable for neutralizing the yin and ghosts in your body.”

After a pause, he said: “The heavier the ghost, the shorter the lifespan.” 

Fu Qing was thinking of him.

Wu Rong felt warm in his heart. Although he didn’t know what it would cost to neutralize the yin qi and ghost spirit with Buddhism, seeing the little monk running away it seemed that wanting to overwhelm Wu Rong’s ghost qi would be a major headache. Fu Qing said it was Hui Xin’s promise, and seeing Fu Qing’s own manners, he probably unilaterally ‘informed’ Hui Xin. Let’s be grateful to the little monk’s good temper.

But now that Wu Rong has the relic of Master Kuchan, this problem is solved easily.

“It’s nothing, I have a way to suppress the ghost energy now.” 

Give me a wooden peach and I’ll repay it with a Qiong Yao. Fu Qing, who is so cold and indifferent, cares so much about him. If Wu Rong keeps it a secret again, wouldn’t it be acting too cold to his friend? He thought for a moment, then said with Fu Qing, “I have seen the bone bell in Xu Tao’s hand before.”

As he spoke, Wu Rong shared what happened in the factory with Fu Qing, implicitly implying that it was also the rebirth of the ghost dog king.

“It’s the same as you. It’s ‘special’ to me.” 

“It’s not the same.”

Fu Qing said in a cold tone, staring at Wu Rong with frowning eyebrows, his indifferent eyes swept across slightly bewildered expression, and repeated coldly again, “It’s not the same.”

“Only I am special.”

…Why are you competing for favor with a dog? 

Wu Rong was silent for a moment, then continued: “It’s just that I didn’t expect that after Liu Hu died, he would turn into a ghost.”

The concentration of ghosts in Yangjiaping definitely exceeded the standard, but in this way, Wu Rong could figure out the motive behind Liu Hu’s many actions.

“His subordinates control several industrial chains that abuse cats and dogs, and use the resentment and blood generated by cats and dogs to cultivate ghost dogs. There must be a plan for entering the Tiankeng this time.”

If Liu Hu really becomes a ferocious ghost in the Tiankeng, plus the increasingly dangerous level of this Tiankeng, let alone him becoming a ghost, if the situation became really dangerous to the extreme, maybe even Wu Rong would become a ghost. Especially since that bone bell, which appeared twice, can cause the big ghost to act, making Wu Rong particularly concerned. 

“Fu Qing, can you call back souls?”

The two returned to Fu Qing’s staff dormitory. Once they were ready, Wu Rong put down his backpack and took out an amethyst necklace.

“This may be an item from the resentful ghost of the art building.”

The prophecy made by the stone carving head has now been fulfilled. In addition to someone dying five minutes later, there is still the item he got before the death, which would be the key to the murderer. So far, what Wu Rong got after entering the Tiankeng, apart from the amethyst bracelet that seemed to have been hidden deliberately, was the Buddhist beads relic. The former is more likely to be the key. 

Liu Hu had used the bone bell to control the female ghost on the sixth floor of the Art Building. The female ghost should know something more or less.

“No need to summon the soul.”

Fu Qing nodded, he pulled up the cloth bag that he brought into the Tiankeng, and took out a small blue and white porcelain bowl and a handful of rice, which happened to fill the small bowl till it’s half full. Immediately afterwards, he took out a purple-red fine incense, similar to sandalwood, and lit it waiting quietly for a little gray ash to appear on it. He knocked the incense ash into the center of the rice bowl, then took the amethyst bracelet from Wu Rong and placed it in the bowl. After Fu Qing drew the curtains and turned off the lights, the room was suddenly pitch black.

Wu Rong opened his ghost eyes and clearly saw that Fu Qing took out a talisman with a drop of blood on it, like the talisman he threw out before. 

“I’ve caught it.”

The Taoist’s slender and beautiful fingers held the talisman like a flower and knocked it into the rice bowl.

A thick ghostly atmosphere pervaded the room. A thin ghost with thick fingers, and her hair is disheveled. The white ghost face full of hatred and enmity emerged from the seal script. The sense of horror was just like that of Sadako. But in the next moment——

“Ah——!” 

The ghost let out a miserable scream, and plunged back into the talisman like it had burning buttocks.

Wu Rong was puzzled, Fu Qing was silent, and he said after a while, “You have something consecrated by an eminent monk on your body.”

“She was almost saved.”

Wu Rong: … 

Bang.

The door was closed, and Wu Rong, who was kicked out of the staff dormitory, stood alone in the corridor. The early morning sun shone on his receding figure, making him feel unspeakably desolate. Wu Rong didn’t stop until the relic beads were no longer hot. The eminent monk’s relic Buddha beads had a profound Buddha nature, and even in the hands of ordinary people, they can restrain ghosts, especially ghosts with deep resentment.

The string of the eminent monk’s relic in Wu Rong’s hands is so extraordinary that it would rank among the top six in the world list of spiritual objects. Not only does it neutralize the ghost aura on Wu Rong all the time, but it can also save a little ghost at the same time. Its effects can only be mitigated by being at a sufficient distance. Fu Qing was in charge of interrogating the female ghost, and Wu Rong just needed to stay away and not get in the way.

The staff dormitory is also an old dormitory. The location wasn’t good, and it was shaded. The walls and fences were covered with old verdant ivy crowded together, and there were branches and vines hanging down from the roof, creating a shady environment under the cover. Although it was midsummer, it was very cool there, and it could even be said to be gloomy. As the breeze blows, the palm-sized leaves of the ivy collide and rub against each other, rustling, as if something is crawling among the branches and leaves. 

Like an illusion, the rustling sound was getting closer and closer to Wu Rong.

At this time, Wu Rong was thinking about the fact that Liu Hu would become a ghost after his death and fell into deep thought. The vicious dog tattoo on his arm is inextricably linked to the big dog. Originally, Wu Rong thought that if Liu Hu was dead, the big dog would naturally not be restrained anymore, but if Liu Hu really turned into a ghost after death, the situation would be more complicated.

The wind stopped, the leaves of the ivy tree no longer collided with each other, and there was a rare tranquility.

But the rustling didn’t stop, and it was… right above Wu Rong’s head. 

Sensing something, Wu Rong raised his head, and there was a pale, distorted flat grimace hanging among the dense branches and leaves above his head, among the green ivy.

A pair of thin plush ghost nails, nearly three meters long, which were completely out of proportion to its face, quietly poked towards Wu Rong’s back.

Cluck!

As if enraged by Wu Rong, there was a hard collision with the sound of joints twitching, and the grimace leaped forward, the eyes that were originally closed like two black lines suddenly opened, the pure giant black eyes were hollow and terrifying, and the reddish-brown spots that were as red as blood came out. Pale ghosts appeared with this face, densely packed, able to evoke the deepest terror in people’s hearts. 

Boom!

Wu Rong’s backpack shook violently. It seemed that the lid of the pottery jar hit the jar’s body. The next moment, a black shadow sprang out instantly, and the black rock tarantula leaped onto Wu Rong’s head with its teeth and claws like a jumping spider, and then jumped on the pale ghost with lightning speed. With such momentum, it threw itself onto the pale ghost’s face extremely heroically!

All of a sudden, the grimace face trembled violently, even the ivy on the front wall trembled violently, and another pair of three-meter-long ghost claws waved fiercely, trying to drive the black rock tarantula away. But the black rock tarantula was like a warrior who was taming a fierce horse. It clung to the face of the pale ghost, bit aggressively with its poisonous mandibles, and spun silk from its abdominal silk sac, firmly sticking it to the ghost’s face.

Wu Rong wanted to help, but after the little spider quickly conveyed a series of emotions to him in urgency, Wu Rong stopped and took two steps back to watch this ‘battle’. 

After a period of powerless convulsions, the curtains came to a close on the battle. The victor, the black rock tarantula, strode proudly on its eight legs and climbed to the top of the pale head, like riding a horse, beating rhythmically with its two forelimbs. Under its ‘urging’, a sluggish, mournful pale grimace flowed out of the ivy and lay across the wall.

When the black rock tarantula drove it to climb in front of Wu Rong, a ray of sunlight shone on it, and the white ghost’s face shivered, like a dead mouse that hadn’t seen the sun for a long time and was forced to be exposed to sunlight.

It was the human faced spider.

It was bigger than what Wu Rong saw in the underground air-raid shelter that day. Even if it was stretched across the wall, the eight extremely slender legs couldn’t fit there, so it could only curl up wronged, like a big ball of wool. As Wu Rong saw in the Gu section, this kind of spider can grow infinitely after devouring corpse insects, and the ghost-like pattern on its back is a sharp weapon to intimidate the enemy. 

But it itself is cowardly and timid, and only dares to eat some bugs in the dark to make a living. When encountering a stubborn, reckless, and extremely poisonous spider like the little spider, it immediately panicked, and the grimace face behind its back did not scare it away.

When the little spider shed its skin, it ate a total of four blood beetles. Although it only shed its skin once, it was very toxic. Though the poison can’t kill the human-faced spider, it can make it feel uncomfortable all over.

Unable to run and unable to fight, the weak-natured human-faced spider conceded defeat, resigned himself to the little spider, and tremblingly crawled up to Wu Rong with the little spider on his back.

‘Hiss, hiss, lord, master.’ 

A soft, uneasy, sobbing little girl’s voice sounded in Wu Rong’s heart.

The frightening-looking spider turned out to be a female.

“Chief, chief master…”

The black rock tarantula defeated her and is her master. Wu Rong is the master of the black rock tarantula, so he is the chief master. 

It’s logic is right.

The human-faced spider grew to such a big size, it was unknown how many years it has lived in the Tiankeng. It devoured Yin Qi and resentment, and after a long time, it accumulated more and became less like an animal and more like some kind of yin creature similar to the Qingling Gu. It is not surprising that wisdom is produced under the impact of so much yin energy. Although the human-faced spider is timid, it is also a very curious spider, and it is used to living with its own kind.

Without Wu Rong asking, it honestly and practically explained all its motives in that weird ‘hissing’ voice. It has lived in the underground bomb shelter for a long time, but there are no other spiders that could communicate with it there. The human-faced spider grew up diligently eating resentment and yin, wandered all day long in the underground air-raid shelters and the various dark corners of the campus, but could not find a companion.

That’s why it came after it felt the little spider in the underground air-raid shelter, including the scratching sound outside Wu Rong’s wall last night, the ubiquitous yin, and the feeling of peeping behind him, they were due to it. The human-faced spider curled up into a ball aggrievedly, and the long legs blocked the pattern on the back, so it was not so scary. 

It did not live here before, but was born on a mountain where there were many companions. But one day it somehow came here from the other side of the mountain and never returned.

Hearing this, Wu Rong had a thought. Could it be that the mountain mentioned by the human face is the barren mountain behind the dormitory? But isn’t it outside the Tiankeng, where the two are not connected to each other]?

The human-faced spider was confused and couldn’t explain clearly, and she hissed into a ball when she got anxious. Wu Rong simply suppressed his doubts for the time being, and prepared to take it to Fu Qing. But the human face is too big and too eye-catching.

With a thought in Wu Rong’s mind, the Black Rock Tarantula got the command to tap the ghost’s face mightily. The human face spider is like the Qingling Gu, which can concentrate the yin energy and make itself smaller. After a while it became the size of two palms, like a fluffy big anemone, carrying a little tarantula on its back. 

“It’s still too big.”

“Crack.”

The Black Rock Tarantula made two low clicks, not daring to disobey Wu Rong, and dismounted from its new mount with a face full of reluctance. It’s long legs are thinner than the strands of hair, and they are completely invisible from a distance. The phone buzzed, and Fu Qing sent a message that the interrogation was over. Wu Rong returned to the staff dormitory with the little spider and the human-faced scorpion.

“Su Jingjing is a tester, and was killed by Liu Hu using special means yesterday.” 

After returning, Fu Qing had already packed up the sundries used just now: “The body was buried under the tree outside the girls’ dormitory building.”