Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Shui Ximen - Six

The night at the police station wasn’t easy.

Zhou Dafu lay on the small bed, tossing and turning.

He was worried that he was being watched.

He also worried about what would happen to the team still working outside after he had been brought in.

He was even more concerned... that by hiding some things, he wasn’t sure whether this was the right move or not.

Deceiving wasn’t a sin, just a strategy.

Everything he said at the police station in the afternoon was the truth, no lies added. If it came down to it, the most they could accuse him of was “not telling the whole truth.”

Everyone has their selfish side.

Zhou Dafu was a kind person, but also a successful businessman.

A businessman—who doesn’t care about gains and losses?

Zhou Dafu would never forget the two brothers who died after he had underestimated Shui Ximen.

It took him a long time to fall asleep, but his sleep was restless.

In his dreams, he always felt someone silently standing by his bed, saying nothing, moving not at all, just quietly watching him.

It felt as though his chest was being crushed by a stone, making it hard for him to breathe. He desperately tried to open his eyes, but his thin eyelids felt as if they were stitched together with needle and thread, no matter how much he pulled, they wouldn’t open. When he finally managed to tear a small slit open, he saw the two dead brothers, covered in dust, their faces streaked with blood and tears, staring at him.

On the sleeves of their dirty work uniforms, there were marks from 30-centimeter nails that had pierced through them, breaking their bones, wedging them into the cement.

Sadness and despair.

Why such cruelty?

Not enjoying life while alive, and not even being dignified in death?

Zhou Dafu let out a heart-wrenching, soul-piercing scream from his throat.

He couldn’t decide whether to face his conscience or face the brothers still working at Shui Ximen.

He didn’t know what to do, unable to sleep, unable to eat, restless and anxious.The imposing police station couldn’t give Zhou Dafu peace of mind.

The screams in the room sounded like wolves howling, with multiple voices, high and low, overlapping.

The room was pitch black, with a faint mist swirling.

Several shadowy figures sneaked about.

“……”

Ming Yue stood by the bed, tilting her head as she stared at Zhou Dafu. In the darkness, one of her golden eyes glowed like a torch, like a thousand-watt light bulb, making the eerie screams even more unsettling.

Bai Linlang held up the Yin Ghost Symbol that Ming Yue had drawn, studying it in every direction. She thought to herself that the time was too short to memorize it. Outside the door, An Xueru, growing impatient, lowered her voice to urge them, “Are you two done yet?”

“Stop playing around! Get to work!”

“There’s someone watching out here!”

The two inside made an “OK” gesture with their hands and began to work.

The Yin Ghost Symbol could make the living see ghosts, scaring the living, which was quite a regular occurrence.

But Zhou Dafu, who earned a lot of money, also understood a bit of Yin-Yang Dao. A wandering spirit on the street wasn’t enough to move him.

But this time and place were different.

This was the detention room of the Shui Ximen Police Station.

What is the usual purpose of the police station's detention room? One can imagine.

Would there be people committing suicide here?

Of course.

It was full of Yin energy, but also upright and righteous.

“……”

Ming Yue touched her left eye, which was absorbing Yin energy, feeling that the sensation from the detention room was similar to Bai Wuchang’s presence.

She lifted her head and exchanged a close gaze with the group of old guests, who were hanging upside down with only their heads exposed, on the flat roof.Old Ghost: "……"

Ming Yue: "……"

Looking at their round heads, tightly packed together, neatly arranged, not saying a word, not even blinking, their expressions motionless.

It looked like a bunch of Tathagata Buddha's scabby scalps, or like a roof full of hanging watermelons.

It seems that this Shui Ximen Police Station has been around for quite some time.

Ming Yue reached out to Bai Linlang.

Holding the Yin Ghost Symbol, Bai Linlang hesitated a bit, "Is this appropriate, Ming Yue? Look at all these ghost heads in the room, what if Zhou Dafu opens his eyes and gets scared to death?"

Ming Yue: "……"

Ming Yue suddenly remembered that when she used the Yin Ghost Symbol on Zhang Aihua last time, standing next to her were senior students from the fourth year and Yan Jun.

"You weren’t scared, why are you worried about him?"

"It’s fine."

"These are all people with good fortune. A small thing could scare them to death, yet they still gather so much wealth?"

"Don’t worry, the Yin Ghost Symbol only lasts for three breaths." Ming Yue said.

Bai Linlang was still uneasy, "Isn’t this a bit... offensive? Zhao team might come after us."

Ming Yue actually agreed with this point.

"I think Zhao team will definitely come after us."

"However, at the same time, I also think that Uncle Zhao is just waiting for us to sneak around and cause trouble. After all, this method breaks through a person's psychological defense so quickly, right?"

"I guess the surveillance in this room is not only keeping an eye on Zhou Dafu, but also waiting for us."

Saying this, Ming Yue pointed to the darkness around them.

Watching the surveillance in the dark, Zhao Team: "……"

Whose girl is this?!

She’s speaking so bluntly!Since the conversation has reached this point, Bai Linlang had no choice but to hand the symbol paper to her werewolf roommate.

On the bed, Zhou Dafu was still struggling with a nightmare, as if something heavy like a 500-pound pig's head was pressing down on him.

In front of the bed, Ming Yue was quick and efficient. She pressed her left hand firmly on Zhou Dafu’s eyebrow bone and the hollow of his eye socket. As he let out a scream and jumped up, she quickly pressed the symbol paper onto his sweaty forehead!

With a loud smack sound.

The sweat soaked into the yellow paper, and in the darkness, a gray light flickered across the Yin Ghost Symbol.

Zhou Dafu couldn’t understand what kind of hell this was.

After much effort, he managed to wake up the two brothers standing by the bed and pulled them over to drink a glass of wine. The three of them drank with snot and tears running down their faces.

Just as he was about to pour out all his grievances, hoping for forgiveness from the vengeful spirits, Zhou Dafu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eye socket, as if someone had punched his forehead! He immediately screamed and struggled desperately—

His vision suddenly blurred, and his face felt like something was covering it, blocking his ears and making him panic.

An icy chill, like long legs, drilled into his eyeballs.

Zhou Dafu screamed, exerting all his strength, and finally opened his eyes!

The dark room should have made it hard for him to focus, but the Yin Ghost Symbol instantly provided him with a clear focus!

The sense of surprise felt like cramming ten volumes of practice books three days before the college entrance exam!

The thrill spread throughout the world!

In his ears, he heard the sound of his childhood teacher banging the blackboard.

In front of him was the ceiling, covered with the brown scalp flakes of the Buddha.

These “scabs” were tightly packed together, each with an eye and a mouth, their black-and-white pupils rolling in exhaustion, staring at the stupefied Zhou Dafu.

Zhou Dafu: "……"

He slowly stuck out his tongue.

The three students were very observant and immediately covered their ears.

Sure enough, in the next second, five or six police officers monitoring the detention room were treated to a display of just how huge a middle-aged man’s lung capacity could be!"Ahhhhhh—!!!!"

"Ghost—!!!"

Zhou Dafu clutched his head and screamed.

Bang.

Team Leader Zhao, holding the listening device, was pierced by the eerie sound, unable to resist throwing the instrument aside.

The other brothers around him were also in discomfort, rubbing their ears.

"God, this is really something."

"These ghost exterminators are good people, fortunately. If this were interrogation, who could withstand it?"

"Enough talking, Zhou Dafu's calming down! Quick, listen!"

In the detention room, Zhou Dafu was breathing heavily, like someone blowing a bellows. His hands were protecting his chest, his face pale, and he looked helplessly at the three students in front of him.

His large breaths caused the yellow symbol paper on his forehead to flutter, repeatedly lifting off.

Ming Yue: "……"

Ming Yue carefully removed the symbol paper, bowed to apologize to Zhou Dafu, and then straightened up and spoke without holding back:

"Uncle, I sincerely apologize for using the Yin Ghost Symbol on you."

"In urgent situations, we have to make do. I hope you can be understanding."

"I'm sure you must have seen it—" Ming Yue pointed to the ceiling above. At this moment, the cement ceiling appeared intact, but Zhou Dafu couldn't help but tremble.

He couldn't forget the Buddha's scalp on the ceiling.

"—If you continue to hide anything, the two brothers from your team will end up the same way."

"The bond between the living and the dead is not just about surviving with hope."

"It also carries the obligation to repay favors and reveal the truth."

"Souls whose deaths remain unclear, once they enter the underworld, will be unable to speak.""No matter if it's being thrown into boiling oil or ascending to the heavens, they can't express any feelings."

"Happiness cannot be spoken of, and pain cannot be spoken of either."

Ming Yue paused for a moment, trying her best not to let her gaze carry any reproach:

"Uncle, based on your appearance, I know you're not a bad person."

"I beg you, please, help give the two brothers who died their freedom after death, just a little bit, okay?"

Zhou Dafu looked at the tattered symbol paper in Ming Yue's hand, how could he not understand its function?

He suddenly burst into tears.

A man weighing over two hundred pounds, jumping up, made the floor shake. His loud crying now carried an overwhelming force.

"I didn't want this..." Zhou Dafu said.

"I really didn't want this..."

"I'm sorry, I’m sorry to those two brothers, I’m sorry to them..."

"I should have never agreed with the Ministry of Transportation, choosing some damn place like a domestic violence village, I should've fought for it..."

The middle-aged man painfully buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Ming Yue and the three others exchanged glances.

On the other side of the surveillance, several night-shift police officers nodded at each other.

The psychological defenses had been broken, and the truth was laid bare.

"This morning you said the domestic violence news around Shui Ximen and the human bones discovered during the collapse made you uneasy."

Ming Yue took the lead in questioning: "Uncle, you've been in the industry for many years, you've done all kinds of work."

"I don't believe you'd be scared by such tricks."

"Back then..." Ming Yue asked, emphasizing each word, "Back then, when the Shui Ximen subway station collapsed, what exactly did you and your team see?"

Zhou Dafu’s fat face was streaked with tears, and he let out a bitter laugh."You’re pretty clever."

"What did I see? What could I have seen?"

"The devil, I saw the devil... I, I," Zhou Dafu gasped, unable to catch his breath. "What I saw, you won’t believe."

Ming Yue: "..."

We've all seen ghosts, what’s there to be afraid of?

The two roommates behind her shook their heads. An Xueru crossed her arms and coldly said:

"Zhou Dafu, others might not believe what you saw."

"But we won’t believe it?"

"Didn’t that symbol paper just get wasted?"

It was a little past 1 AM.

The moon was dark, and the wind was high. Escorting prisoners to the crime scene without informing the police beforehand—

Any one of these factors, if you think about it, would seem pretty unlucky.

The three major factors from Room 405 were all in place.

Tonight’s moon was a pale white, glowing with a snow-like light, and the vegetable fields in the dark looked strangely eerie.

Far in the distance, the sky met the earth, with the tall, dilapidated Shui Ximen station standing like a ruin against the night sky. Bai Linlang rubbed her goosebumps, feeling a bit cold in her thin clothes.

"Gods and demons, banish gods and demons, banish gods and demons."

"Bless, bless, bless."

At times like this, Bai Shizhang would repeat everything three times, giving insurance to the other two restless roommates in the dorm.

An Xueru kept looking back at the path they had taken, muttering:

"Ming Yue, you really are crazy."

"When Zhao team wakes up, he’ll definitely skin us alive."Ming Yue held the lamp and led Zhou Dafu, who was handcuffed, through the path. She turned around and whispered:

"I know this isn't right."

"I'll apologize to Captain Zhao later, bow my head and admit my mistakes."

"But Zhou Dafu refuses to say what he saw, and insists on taking us to see it—after all the effort to break through his mental defenses, what should we do?"

"Should we not come? Are you okay with that?"

"……"

An Xueru pouted. She agreed in her heart but didn’t want to show it.

"This Zhou Dafu really causes trouble..." she complained.

Ming Yue shrugged: "Relax."

"Look how easily we got out of the police station, it’s almost unbelievable."

"We didn’t run into any obstacles at all, the dog at the door was like it was deaf."

"Do you think... there’s no trick to this?"

An Xueru: "……"

An Xueru gave her a deadpan look: "Please stop with these bold ideas, Ming tycoon."

Ming Yue waved her phone with the flashlight, the strong beam shaking along with it: "Even if it’s baited, I’ve bitten."

"Whoever’s willing can take the hook."

Zhou Dafu sighed all the way, stumbling with handcuffs as he walked, nearly falling several times, leading the students through the Water West Gate subway station construction site, taking countless twists and turns.

Behind a dirt pit was a corner, and behind that corner were stone slabs. The students behind them clicked their tongues in awe:

"Wow, a real expert, the way he’s taking us around. Even if you gave me a map, I wouldn’t be able to find this place."

"How else do you think they build stations? You’re just someone who buys subway tickets and hands over the money."

"This geological structure sounds unique. No wonder the collapse didn’t affect other areas. With this 'three-dimensional' and 'twisted' structure, it’s no surprise it didn’t cause further collapse."The tunnel in the construction site grew deeper and deeper. Zhou Dafu finally stopped in front of a dirt wall.

With his hands bound, he kicked the dirt several times, revealing a hole. The hole collapsed in a few quick steps, instantly creating a sideway opening in the ground. The students quickly pulled Zhou Dafu back.

Booming sounds echoed.

In front of them appeared a hole about one and a half people high, with a width of about a meter, resembling a giant, bloodthirsty mouth.

Zhou Dafu lowered his head: "This is the old site where the collapse happened."

"We originally planned to have people go down and fill it, since we still needed to fix the foundation."

"But when the workers went down, they found bones and..." His voice caught, and he quickly changed the subject:

"Later, we killed a few black dogs, took their blood, bought charms, soaked them, and threw them down."

"I don't know if it's settled inside yet."

Ming Yue curiously asked: "What charm?"

Zhou Dafu: "The 'Urgent Command.'"

"They say it's from the Taishang Laojun, very effective."

The three spiritual academy students: "......"

The name of this charm really has too many holes for words.

The three of them, fearless, discussed and decided to jump in.

Zhou Dafu, frightened, hurriedly stopped them: "Let me go in front. You’re still kids, I’m already extremely grateful that you’re following me to see this."

"I'll go first."

Ming Yue shook her head, smiling: "Uncle, we appreciate your kindness."

"But as ghost slayers, it doesn't make sense to have a living person lead the way."

"Instead of offering yourself up to die, it’s better if you tell us what we’ll encounter."

"Being vague about the facts won’t help."Zhou Dafu was stunned, his face visibly turning pale.

Hell was ahead, and the souls of the dead were not far away.

The moonlight tonight reminded Zhou Dafu of the night of the geological collapse.

It was the same kind of white, woolly moon.

He saw the devil.

"It's nothing." Zhou Dafu’s lips moved in a hollow manner, his expression completely disconnected from his words, "It’s just that when I went down to fetch the bones, someone patted me on the back."

"I turned around and saw a hand knocking on my back and head."

"Just one hand." No body, no head.

"Alive."