It was pure mayhem, but none of the villagers had fatal wounds. I used the tap in the yard of the house to wash my hands while Yin Xinyue cleaned the wound on my shoulder, sprinkling some Yunnan powder over it before wrapping it. I moved my arm, and although It was a bit painful, it didn’t hinder my movement.

I said, “The ambulance will arrive soon. We should seize the moment to get in there and find Cheng Dalong!”

Officer Liang had kicked the door open, so we directly entered the living room of the western-style house and groped around to turn on the lights. However, there was no power; perhaps someone had turned off the main power switch.

In the end, the three of us had to use mobile phones to light the way and search around.

The house was one big mess. It was moldy, with cans and packages of frozen food scattered on the floor. Li Mazi checked the fridge, which was full of frozen meat and vegetables. “This Cheng Dalong is a homebody that doesn’t go beyond his door.”

“I think he just doesn’t want the folks here to see his face,” I said with a snort.

The Courtier Drum produced a powerful backlash, and he had overused it to satisfy his needs. At this time, he had likely turned into some kind of monstrosity. I could imagine him with a face covered in pustules.

Why did he have to do this? I asked myself.

There was no one in the living room, the kitchen, or the bedroom, so we went to the bathroom. The bathtub had been filled with some sparkling green water that exuded a strange smell similar to oriental medicine. Perhaps he had used it to cure the pustules on his body. Li Mazi lifted his head to look at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“Tch tch, these parvenus. Once they get a hold of some dirty money, they hate that they can’t openly show their wealth to the world. What kind of rubbish taste is this? Why hang a crystal chandelier in the bathroom?”

While Li Mazi was speaking, a female hand jutted out of the green water in the tub; water splashed on Li Mazi’s body.

Yin Xinyue and I were stunned.

Yin Xinyue covered her mouth, pointing at the space behind Li Mazi.

Li Mazi didn’t notice anything. “Huh? Do I have something on my body? Little Brother Zhang, did you get pig dung on me when you were throwing it around? Ru Xue bought me this shirt. It’s worth several thousand… Aaah!”

Li Mazi saw the hand as soon as he turned to check. He shrieked in fright and grabbed a stainless steel pipe that was part of the towel holder. I stopped him when he was about to hit the woman.

“She seems to be alive,” I said.

Soon, a naked woman emerged from the greenish water. She was hugging her knees while she sat in the tub. Her long, wet hair covered her face, which didn’t allow us to see her features clearly. However, I noticed the painful pustules on her arms and legs. She didn’t have a square inch of healthy skin.

“Are you here to catch him?” The woman sighed deeply. “He can no longer live after the crimes he’s committed. He only regrets it when he’s at a dead end. It’s too late. Too late!”

“Ma’am, how are you related to Cheng Dalong?” I asked.

The woman didn’t answer, but her hands were protecting her belly. Yin Xinyue waved at me, whispering to my ears, “She’s pregnant.”

I took a closer look, and she was right. We could tell from her exposed body that she was roughly seven-months pregnant.

“Stupid man, losing everything for a fight.” The woman rubbed her belly. “This is the fourth already…”

Then, she stood up from the bathtub. Yin Xinyue reached for the bathrobe nearby and covered her. Li Mazi and I turned around to avoid seeing her. Li Mazi quietly pointed at his head, as if telling me that the woman had some mental problem.

The woman moved quickly, like a creepy ghost. I soon heard crackling noises from the staircase. Suddenly, the lady began to sob, which was rather frightening in this eerily silent house.

“Hurry, let’s go and check on her!”

We rushed to the stairs, and there was a blood streak on the floor near the stairs, leaving a trail that led to a room. We entered the room and saw the woman on the floor in a puddle of blood. A pair of scissors had been stabbed into her belly. A man covered in pustules lay next to her. He had a bullet hole on his forehead, but there wasn’t much blood. It seemed he had died moments before.

“Call for help!” I freaked out.

Yin Xinyue knelt next to the woman to check. “She’s not in danger yet. But the scissors stabbed deep into her abdomen, and the amniotic fluid has started leaking. I’m afraid she won’t be able to keep her baby.”

I checked around. There were three glass jars on a wooden cabinet where three malformed, dead babies were being kept in some liquid. We finally understood what she meant by ‘the fourth already.’ Even if this baby came into this world, it wouldn’t survive for long.

Actions led to consequences. It seemed that Cheng Dalong had done too many misdeeds, and not even the heavens wanted him to have descendants!

Li Mazi found a pistol on the ground, but I stopped him when he was about to pick it up.

Then, it dawned on me that we had stepped into a wicked trap.

Officer Liang had killed Cheng Dalong while we were fending off the villagers. He took the Courtier Drum with him and escaped through the back door, leaving his pistol here.

He wanted us to shoulder his crime!

I was sure that the police would flood this house soon. We would never be able to prove our innocence if they found our fingerprints on that gun. Although Cheng Dalong’s wife was there, she wasn’t in her right mind. She couldn’t testify in our favor.

If it was before, I would have dumbly stepped into this trap. However, I had been exposed to many cunning and wicked conspiracies since then; I could be considered a real expert at the moment.

I told Li Mazi and Yin Xinyue about this strange situation. “We shouldn’t touch anything. We have to leave this place immediately.”

We hurried to get downstairs. Li Mazi asked behind me, “Little Brother Zhang, don’t you feel that there’s someone else in this house?”

“Don’t think too much, just hurry up…”

I turned around to check out of habit, and I was so scared by what I saw that my eyes almost fell off. While Li Mazi was looking around, a man in police uniform was standing quietly behind him. When Li Mazi turned to the left, that man moved to his right. When Li Mazi turned to the right, that man moved to his left, always keeping himself in Li Mazi’s blind corner. He was like a ghost clinging onto Li Mazi’s back.

“It’s strange. I still feel that someone’s here.” While Li Mazi was mumbling, the person behind him quietly opened his mouth, aiming at Li Mazi’s neck.

“Dodge!” I kicked Li Mazi to one side.

Li Mazi landed on his butt, complaining loudly, “How many times have you kicked me today? Brother Zhang, if you have something you want to tell me, just talk! Don’t just hit me all the time, okay…?”

While talking, Li Mazi suddenly stared at the space behind me.

“Brother Zhang, move!” Yin Xinyue screamed.

I heard someone inhaling behind me, and I immediately rolled forward.

Right after, a loud bang echoed. That man had just tried to bash my head with a wooden red tea table. I was lucky to have reacted fast, or else my head would have been smashed.

As soon as I turned around, I saw the one who had just ambushed me. His face was burned, his skin rotten, and his gums exposed. He was wearing a tattered police uniform, but we could clearly recognize Captain Liang’s figure.

However, his current appearance was that of a zombie that had been dead for years!

I hurried to check my chest and remembered that all the Corpse Subduing Talismans had been ruined. I cursed eighteen generations of Li Mazi’s family once again.

The zombie opened his bloody mouth and stormed toward me one more time, but Yin Xinyue struck him in the head with a big flower vase. The zombie was enraged; he turned and jumped toward her. Yin Xinyue screamed and ran fast to escape.

I jumped and held the zombie’s neck from behind, but this fellow was super strong despite being very thin. He raised his hands and hurled me to the ground. It was such a strong fall that I thought my rear had broken.

I groped on the ground and fortunately caught a piece of electric wire. I tried my best to pull it and coil it around the zombie’s neck.

I saw the wire under the wall being pulled and coiling around the zombie’s neck. No matter how hard he tried to break free, he couldn’t get rid of it and chase after Yin Xinyue. I couldn’t help but praise the bronze-core electric wire for its good quality!

But then, the zombie slowly turned around, baring his white teeth and growling at me. His eyes were like two red lanterns, flashing a dangerous light in this dark room.