Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Curse! (Rewritten)
Translator: 549690339
Hearing this, a hint of joy flashed across the faces of Wang Lin and Bai Wei!
The experts of the Spirits Management Bureau are indeed impressive.
But when spread across the vast expanse of Da Xia, these numbers dwindle. In Wu City, we only have one team, a total of twelve people.
Notably, these twelve are all warriors.
They generally handle strange cases by brute force.
Catching yin spirits is done purely by shocking them with one’s vital energy…
As warriors’ vital energy is extremely yang-like, it deals tremendous damage to yin spirits. Ordinary yin spirits would scatter as soon as they are struck by such energy.
However, this could never truly match Daoist skills. When these spirits decide to hide or run away, they would not know what to do.
The addition of Xu Yang, even if it’s just “assistance”, is welcoming news for them.
Wang Lin said: “Master Xu’s willingness to help is a cause for celebration. Why don’t I report this to our captain before first arranging a welcome meal for you, Master Xu? We can get to know each other better later.”
“No need.”
Xu Yang stood up and said: “Yin spirits and malevolent beings do not pick any specific time to cause trouble… Tell me about all the strange cases you currently have. We should use our time efficiently.”
Next month on the first day, he has to follow Elder Wang to the Ghost Market.
Who has time for pleasure?
Xu Yang wished he could catch a bunch of yin spirits, scare them every day, gain merit, and increase his strength!
Since Xu Yang had said this much, Wang Lin naturally did not hold back.
He went directly to the car and brought back a file bag filled with a thick stack of documents.
“These are records of six unsolved mysteries that Bai Wei and I are currently investigating… The first case 1 mentioned to you earlier is this one here.”
Xu Yang picked up a case file and began to read carefully.
This file documented a strange event that occurred in a town called “Guoqiao Village” in Wu City.
There are four households in Guoqiao Village with the surname Zhang, brothers who are part of a single family.
Every three years, something tragic happens to a child from one of these four families.
The case can be traced back to 18 years ago when the eldest son of the eldest Zhang brother was studying in high school. He suddenly had a seizure in his sleep and died.
The child was not bullied at school, so the family initially thought he had a sudden illness.
Three years later, the daughter of the second eldest Zhang brother suddenly died mysteriously.
The time of her death coincided with that of the eldest brother’s son, even down to the approximate time in the night.
This aroused suspicion among the four Zhang brothers, and they even reported it… But after the police investigation, no clues were found, and the deaths were attributed to mere coincidence.
Another three years passed, and the child of the third Zhang brother also suddenly died.
And then, it was the turn of the fourth Zhang brother’s family…
Over the course of eighteen years.
Six deaths occurred in the Zhang family.
The times of death all happened three years apart, on the same month, the same day. Naturally, this caught the attention of the Spirits Management Bureau.
Bai Wei, with a serious expression, said: “I encountered this case when I first arrived in Wu City three years ago. I’ve investigated but found no traces of yin spirits or malevolent beings in the Zhang family.”
“The bureau even invited a Path Leader of the Maoshan Sect to investigate at one point, but they found nothing. His guess was that the Zhang brothers might have offended someone, being cursed by some form of witchcraft.”
Xu Yang closed the case file.
The front page of the file was labeled with the bolded word “Curse.”
He had no clues about this kind of case either. After thinking for a while, he asked: “The occurrences of these cases happen every three years on the lunar date of May 15… In other words, something is expected to happen to the Zhang family this May 15th?”
Xu Yang took out his phone and checked the date.
Today is June 26th, 2023, the 9th day of May in the lunar calendar.
There were six days left until May 15th.
He thought for a moment and asked: “Do the Zhang brothers still have children now?”
Having investigated this case, Bai Wei was quite familiar with the situation of the four Zhang brothers. She said: “Yes, the Zhang family currently has five children, the oldest is 25 years old and just got married at the beginning of the year, and the youngest is 11 years old, currently in their last year of primary school.”
“Six days…”
Xu Yang said: “After we finish lunch, let’s go to the Zhang family’s place to dig around, see if we can find any clues.”
He had no idea about this strange case.
For now, he could only take one step at a time.
It was now noon. Upon hearing that it was time for lunch, Wang Lin immediately offered to treat them. Xu Yang took him up on his offer and they headed out to a restaurant for their meal.
After they finished eating.
The trio then drove to Guoqiao Village.
However, they hadn’t made it to Guoqiao Village when Wang Lin suddenly received a phone call.
“Bai Wei, Master Xu.”
“There’s a situation!”
“Over at Haojiaqiao County, a strange event has occurred. It’s very likely the work of Yin spirits!”
Bai Wei promptly decided, “Let’s head to Haojiaqiao County first!”
Haojiaqiao County, which neighbors Guoqiao Village, isn’t under the jurisdiction of Wu City but rather the neighboring Lingzhou City. It’s only a 20-minute drive from Wu City.
Wang Lin sped up the whole way and quickly reached the scene of the incident.
This was a village in Haojiaqiao County, named “Xijukou Village”.
The incident had taken place in a villager’s house.
The house was quite well-off, boasting a three-story Western-style building. The yard was vast, a Tesla parked in the garage, and even the front door was electronic.
When Xu Yang, Wang Lin, and Bai Wei arrived, there were already quite a few people gathered around the house. They were all pointing and whispering, it was unclear what they were discussing.
Within the yard, several police officers were questioning a weeping woman about the situation…
Wang Lin and Bai Wei went in, showed their identification, and began negotiating with the officers, trying to understand what had occurred.
Xu Yang stayed at the entrance, stopping an elder woman with a smile. “Auntie, what happened here? I see the police are here?” he asked.
“What a sin, such a sin!”
The elder woman shook her head and scolded, “Those three sons of the Hong family are nothing good, they deserve their retribution… Tsk!”
Another elder woman nearby added, “I tell you, it’s all caused by old man Hong… You wouldn’t know… But I heard those three sons killed him!”
She whispered the last sentence.
Probably fearing possible defamation liabilities. However, as Xu Yang’s cultivation improved, his intuition became sharper, so he naturally caught this whisper.
Before Xu Yang could ask further, the eyewitnesses had moved on to discussing their card game. They all bent over and picked up their stools, shuffling towards the shade to play poker.
He entered the yard.
Wang Lin had already finished talking to the policemen.
“Wang Lin, what’s the situation?”
“Master Xu, this is the situation… This family’s surname is Hong, and the head of the house is Hong Jianlin. Based on his wife’s account, it seems he’s been afflicted by something malevolent. He was fine and then suddenly went mad, furiously scratching his own hair and face, even ramming into walls. If he encounters someone, he’ll pounce on them and bite…”
“Oh?”
Xu Yang raised his eyebrows, asking, “Where is Hong Jianlin now?”
Wang Lin pointed at the Western-style building and said, “He passed out. He’s inside the house right now… But his wife won’t let us go in to investigate.”
Bai Wei was currently negotiating with Hong Jianlin’s wife.
Hong Jianlin’s wife, who looked to be in her thirties and was very well-maintained. Her earrings, necklace, and rings were all gold, and the two jade bracelets on her wrist looked very expensive.
“You are also police, right?”
“My… my husband hasn’t committed any crime. He’s just been afflicted by something malevolent. I’ve already contacted someone who knows about these things…”
The phrase “knows about these things” is slang. In rural areas, during events like funerals, weddings, or even construction, people would hire someone who “knows about these things”.
The woman’s gaze was somewhat evasive. In any case, she wasn’t letting Xu Yang and his companions into the house.
Seeing that Bai Wei was unable to negotiate further, Xu Yang stepped in, “Sister, we’re not police… To be honest, I’m a Taoist priest, and 1 don’t mean to brag, but there’s nobody in Wu City who knows about these things better than me…”
Before he could finish speaking, a scream suddenly came from the outside-
“Murder!”
“Help!”
“Hong Laoer has gone mad, he’s trying to kill people!”
Xu Yang and his companions rushed out to see the elderly women who had been carrying their small stools just now running away in panic.
Behind them, a man with his upper body bare was chasing them, his eyes bloodshot, like a crazed beast. He was letting out a roar like that of a wild animal, pursuing the elderly women!
PS: It’s the start of a new week, hoping for all kinds of stats!!!