"Singing?" This sentence made me feel awkward instantly. Coming out to sing in the middle of the night, how familiar a scene that was, just like the time when Nine-Two and I watched my father singing opera by the window at midnight. Honestly, I still don't understand why my father used to transform into a woman in the evening, put on makeup and sing Peking opera. I remember that night, my father's erhu and my mother's opera was a magnificent performance.
"I heard that Black Three's family is involved in this line of work, and they should know some experts in this field. I thought of finding someone to take a look, as this kind of thing happening outside is hard for us to handle, and now happening within the police station, it's even harder. It's making it difficult for the colleagues in the substation to focus on work," He Lei said.
Black Three was silently watching, and I wanted to intervene but couldn't. Because I'm not an onmyoji yet, and Lin Er Dan was too preoccupied with eating, so it was best that the matter be handled by the chubby guy in the end.
"Alright, I'll go take a look and see what the situation is, and then we'll talk. Nobody's seen anything like this," the chubby guy furrowed his brow, showing that he really didn't want to get involved.
After finishing the meal, we headed straight to the substation where the female corpse was being kept. We had a drink at noon, but who would dare to check for drunk driving with a police car bearing the ending number 888? When we arrived at the substation, all the male and female police officers were sitting in the office. Although the weather wasn't particularly cold, I sensed a chilling atmosphere in the office.
After the introductions, I noticed that the police officers were giving us strange looks, which made me feel uncomfortable. It was understandable to bring a geomancer for a family issue, but with the entire substation and the city police chief present, along with a few geomancers, to handle a paranormal event in a police station was unusual.
"Where's the body? Take Fat Master and me to take a look," the chubby guy didn't hesitate anywhere he went.
"Xiaowang, take this gentleman to the forensic room to see the situation," Yu Yang ordered a scholarly-looking man wearing thick black-framed glasses, who was the substation's forensic doctor.
Xiaowang's face suddenly turned unnatural, apparently also unsettled by the female corpse in the surveillance footage. But he couldn't refuse to follow the commander's orders, so he reluctantly led us out of the office, through the long corridor, and opened a door.
"The negative energy is strong," the chubby guy said as soon as we entered, but I wasn't sure if he actually sensed it or was just teasing the nervous policeman.
After Xiaowang heard his comment, he shuddered, then handed me the key, saying, "It's in the third freezer. You can open it yourselves; I need to use the restroom." And with that, he dashed off.
"What a bunch of weirdos. We're here, and now they've all left?" the chubby guy grumbled. I took the key from his hand and walked to the third freezer, and opened the door.
It was the forensic storage room, and it was emitting cold air. After the chubby guy took out the body bag and opened it, the three of us leaned in to take a look. When I saw the female corpse, I shivered, because I remembered that face, which appeared in front of me yesterday. But now, it had turned into a lifeless body.
The chubby guy wasn't afraid; he used his fingers to open the corpse's eyelids.
"Back away!" he called out to us after taking a look.
Not understanding the situation, we three immediately stepped out, standing outside the door and watching the chubby guy.
At this moment, Yu Yang and He Lei arrived with the police officer. It seemed they didn't want to lose face and brought us in without showing themselves.
"What happened inside?" He Lei asked when he saw us standing at the entrance.
"We had a little mishap," Black Three told him.
But after this sentence, a female police officer behind He Lei suddenly burst into tears. I found it a little amusing; with so many people, she was driven to tears?
"Don't cry, Xiaolan. What's the big deal with so many people?" He Lei comforted her.
"I don't want to die!" the female officer suddenly cried out. Then, she rushed past everyone, and with one leap from the corridor, she jumped down!
This unexpected event really frightened the police officers. Even I was terrified! Because that last cry from the female officer Xiaolan was very familiar. It was the same voice as the cold female corpse lying in front of us.
At that moment, the chubby guy also rushed out of the morgue. Looking down from upstairs, he shouted, "What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and go rescue her!"
The police officers, shocked by the recent turn of events, were jolted back to their senses by the chubby guy's words. They were like madmen, running downstairs to pick up Xiaolan from a pool of blood and lifted her into a police car. The calm substation had suddenly turned into a frantic ant's nest.
"Did that female ghost just take possession of you?" I shuddered and asked the fat guy.
"Damn it, this woman's death had a lot of grudges to begin with, and it happened just yesterday during the Tiankui day! Now she's become a walking corpse!" the fat guy sighed.
"Xiaofan, are we cursed? Why is it that every time I encounter you, it's always such a hassle for me?" the fat guy continued.
If at the beginning the police chief treated us with courtesy, now, we were being treated like VIPs, with the local sub-bureau arranging a hotel for us. They said that this matter had already caused us trouble, and we couldn't be left running amok. And all expenses could be charged.
That policewoman named Xiaolan didn't die, the forensics office was on the second floor. Other than the external injuries, her leg was broken from the fall, which lessened my guilt a bit. When I heard her say "I don't want to die," I already sensed something was wrong and was about to stop her, but I was frozen in fear at that moment, and she just jumped from the building in a flash.
We were being treated so well, but the fat guy returned with a furrowed brow, casting resentful glances at me from time to time, seemingly blaming me for causing him trouble.
"Fat Bro, saving a life is more valuable than building a seven-story Buddhist pagoda. Since the matter has already happened, let's handle it well. After all, I owe you a lot of favors already, does one more make a difference?" I said to the fat guy.
"The problem is, this matter is very difficult. A woman's Tiankui day is something that even gods and ghosts should fear. Because of this, no one has collected her soul, and her death is also suspicious. I'm currently trying to perform a spiritual rite for her, but I can't send her to the underworld!" the fat guy said.
When the fat guy said he had no way, we really felt at a loss. Black Three couldn't help, he could deal with zombies but was helpless against ghosts. But Police Chief He Lei mentioned that the responsibility for this matter was on us. Adding to this, Black Three just received a call and after hanging up, he said to us with a bitter smile, "The higher-ups are aware of this matter and scolded me, asking me to quickly settle it."
"You guys rely on me for everything. Do you know how much I charge for a single appearance? Tell that police chief, if I handle this matter, it will cost fifty thousand. Not a penny less," the fat guy grumbled.
"Money can solve anything. That's no big deal," Black Three chuckled. The rich really were extraordinary, speaking with extraordinary arrogance.
We went to the hospital to visit Xiaolan. When her family saw us, without hesitation, they knelt down and begged us to save her. The fat guy, seeing this, couldn't bear it. He was a person with a harsh tongue but a soft heart. Watching the two elderly people constantly kowtowing to us, he pretended to be impatient and said, "Get up, if you kneel again, I won't care!"
After hearing the fat guy say this, I felt relieved. If he could say that, it meant he was in charge of this matter. Not kneeling meant no control, and not kneeling meant control.
Due to the sensitive nature of this matter, Xiaolan was in a high-security hospital room, very quiet. Although Xiaolan had regained consciousness, she was still too frightened to speak.
"Hey, fat guy, are you going to perform a ritual? Do you need me to find something for you?" Black Three asked in the hospital room.
"Do you think I'm as useless as you guys who are only good at fighting? The stuff is all complete," the fat guy patted his bag, and I was curious about what was in the bag. He always pulled out various things from it every time.
"Since that female ghost has targeted Xiaolan, and Xiaolan was scared just now, you see, ghosts—if you fear them by three points, they'll bully you by seven. So she will definitely come find Xiaolan tonight," the fat guy furrowed his eyebrows.
With this statement, the expressionless policewoman burst into tears, hiding her head under the covers and refusing to cry. Xiaolan's parents immediately knelt down again, pleading, "Please stop her, save Xiaolan. She's our only daughter."
"Why do we have to stop her? If she doesn't come, I would have to invite her to possess someone," the fat guy said.