Spirits and humans were different, after all. The spirit in front of me was just a wisp of Cao Cao’s will. He was nothing compared to the heroic figure who had lived in the Three Kingdoms era. Communicating with me in a normal way would be impossible.

I suddenly felt regretful. After some consideration, I told Chief Liu to close the door to prevent the wind and snow from affecting my Eight Diagrams formation.

Then, I jumped through the window to go to another room where I released the ghosts of Zhang Yang and Wang Zhuangzhuang.

There had been four people involved thus far, and Zhu Fengchun was Cao Cao’s accomplice. Since Li Tiansheng’s body had been minced, his soul must have perished already, leaving Zhang Yang and Wang Zhuangzhuang as my remaining clues.

The resentful energy they originally carried had been absorbed by the Hundred Ghost Pouch. They looked dull when they reappeared, like senile people. Their blank eyes looked at me. Their movements were also stiff, almost robotic.

Those were the signs that their souls would perish soon. I cursed under my breath and quickly asked them, “Tell me, how did you die?”

“Die?” The two reacted in unison. They lifted their heads and started wailing.

They were crying their hearts out, their howling filled with sadness. It felt as if their voices came from Hell, which made my scalp tingle. I was enraged and yelled at them, “Stop crying! Answer me!”

Living humans shouldn’t listen to ghosts crying, or their souls would be bewitched.

Perhaps my face was really scary or they were afraid of the Hundred Ghost Pouch’s power, but Wang Zhuangzhuang and Zhang Yang exchanged looks and slowly told me the story.

It turned out the four people involved in this case had known each other before. They met by chance and took the same taxi in Linzhang County to go home.

However, that taxi wasn’t registered. That was why the police couldn’t find it.

If things had taken a normal course, the four migrant workers would have gone back to their hometown for New Year’s celebration to see their wives and children. However, Zhu Fengchun had enthusiastically invited them to visit his house for dinner.

People from the countryside were always naïve and simple, and Zhu Fengchun looked very kind. Since it was around midnight already, they decided to follow him so as to avoid disturbing their families.

Zhu Fengchun hadn’t prepared much to properly treat them. He made some dried peanuts, cabbage, and dried meat for them.

After supper, they set up the brazier to continue drinking and chatting.

They became drunk after a while of merrymaking, and they kept on talking, sharing their harsh experiences working in the big cities. Some even cried.

At that time, Zhu Fengchun lowered his voice and told them that there was a treasure hidden in a shabby temple within the area. If they could get it, their days would become much better. He wanted to recruit them if they were interested.

No one would have believed Zhu Fengchun under normal conditions, but since they were drunk, they felt braver. They grabbed shovels and hoes and followed Zhu Fengchun to the abandoned temple on the other side of the Zhang River.

Zhu Fengchun led them to a ruined temple with a Bodhisattva statue inside that looked like Cao Cao.

When I heard that, I furrowed my brow and asked with uncertainty, “You mean that Zhu Fengchun knew that the Bodhisattva statue was abnormal?”

“He knew. He deliberately killed us,” Wang Zhuangzhuang’s ghost said through his gritted teeth. “But we couldn’t do anything since the spirit of Cao Cao was with him. We couldn’t defeat Zhu Fengchun.”

They had almost sobered up when they saw the statue that resembled Cao Cao. The folks living in the countryside were really superstitious. They all thought that the statue looked too real, which wasn’t normal at all. They wanted to leave.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Fengchun sneered. “You drank my wine, and you still want to run?”

He had drugged them. Wang Zhuangzhuang and the other two couldn’t run anymore, so Zhu Fengchun tied them up easily.

He then used a syringe to take their blood, smearing it on Cao Cao’s eyes and mouth. Afterward, he sat cross-legged in front of the statue and chanted something.

They would never forget what happened next. The dark-skinned statue that looked like Cao Cao seemed to have been revived. It then went to whisper something to Zhu Fengchun.

On the next day, they woke up and found themselves in a wasteland. They didn’t get hurt or encounter anything unexpected. As such, they decided to forget what happened the night before since it had been too bizarre.

No one had thought that they would be beheaded a few days later!

I couldn’t help but ball my hands into fists after listening to their story. Everything was clear to me now. That moron Zhu Fengchun had learned evil techniques from somewhere, and he used the blood of the three men to awaken Cao Cao’s spirit. He then offered the three men’s lives in exchange for Cao Cao’s assistance.

People had little respect for our profession because of these worms. Zhu Fengchun had done things he shouldn’t have. No matter what, I had to purge him!

After making up my mind, I asked Wang Zhuangzhuang, “Do you remember where the ruins are?” The ghost nodded then slowly approached me.

I was surprised, but I quickly understood his plan. I raised my hands and interlaced my fingers with his.

I closed my eyes, and the route from the Police Bureau to the temple ruins appeared in my head.

I then respectfully bowed to Wang Zhuangzhuang. Since his soul was too weak and he had communicated with my soul to show me the way, he received further damage because of my Yang energy.

As I was afraid that his soul would perish, I placed the two ghosts back in the Hundred Ghost Pouch.

When I returned to the room to check on Cao Cao, I was surprised to see that the Death gate was gone!

Moreover, all the mirrors had been shattered to pieces. Cao Cao was no longer imprisoned in the center of my Eight Diagrams formation.

“Damn it!” I could only curse after seeing this.

I strode forward to check the room. Chief Liu was on the ground with blood on his head, convulsing. He tried to write the word Zhu on the ground when he saw me. But before he could finish, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and fainted.

“Zhu Fengchun!” I was sure Zhu Fengchun was the one who had assaulted Chief Liu and broken my Eight Diagram formation.

I hurried to call the police, asking them to head to the station and help Chief Liu. Then, I grabbed my Sirius Whip and the Soul Peach Flower, rushing outside.

At this moment, the snow had stopped falling, and there was no wind. The snow had preserved Cao Cao’s trail of Yin energy well. I followed his Yin energy, realizing that he was heading toward the temple.

It seemed Zhu Fengchun was taking Cao Cao back to his temple... There certainly was some conspiracy afoot! I became more vigilant as I followed them.

My jaw fell when I reached the temple. It was an awe-inspiring sight as the entire shabby temple was made up of antiques. The blue bricks on the ground, the red tiles on the roof, and even the incense holder were at least one thousand years old.

As an antique merchant, I could recognize at first glance that this poorly-preserved temple was a historical site. This small Linzhang County was hiding such a gem!

I was from the South, so it wasn’t strange that I had no knowledge about this temple. However, it was strange that Wang Zhuangzhuang and the other two knew nothing about this, even though they were locals. I assessed the temple again. Eventually, I found the problem.

This battered temple was shaking a little!

The surroundings were completely still, but the temple was shaking. This couldn't be normal. I hesitated, but in the end I clenched my teeth and decided to get inside to know the truth.

Right at this moment, someone called me from behind, “Don’t go in there!”

It was Li Mazi’s voice. I wanted to turn to see him, but I remembered Li Mazi was unconscious in the police dormitory’s guest room. How could he be here? My heart sank, and I subconsciously grabbed the Sirius Whip tighter.

Li Mazi called again since I didn’t react. “Little Brother Zhang, this abandoned temple is just an illusion. It’s actually a mass grave!”

I shuddered, looking at the temple again. I felt scared now.

Li Mazi walked toward me. I knew I couldn’t just stand still. Resolutely, I lashed at him with my Sirius Whip, shouting, “Stay away!”

Li Mazi grabbed the Sirius Whip and said anxiously, “Little Brother Zhang, it’s me!”

I focused on his face. It was indeed him.

He definitely wasn’t a ghost if he could grab the Sirius Whip and still be all right.

I exhaled in relief and asked him, “Dude, weren’t you unconscious? Why are you here?”

At the same time, I scanned the temple one more time.

“At some point, I heard Chief Liu’s scream. When I was about to get up, I saw how Zhu Fengchun broke your formation, eventually fleeing with Cao Cao’s soul.”

Li Mazi paused, scratching his head. “I didn’t know where you were or what to do, so I followed them to this place.”

I was touched after looking at his despicable face. I patted his shoulder.

“Okay, let’s talk about serious stuff. Guess what I’ve seen just now?” Li Mazi’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me.