Chapter 246: 246 If You Had That Time, You'd Be Better Off Reciting the Socialist Core Values Twice

The ghost power gathered at the snake spirit's vital point, little by little prying open the entanglement of Maomao's ghost‑beating whip, gave it enough time to catch its breath.

Seeing this, Maomao flung out an exorcism talisman to disperse its ghost power.

Xiang Yichu controlled the corpse‑raising bell and attacked the snake spirit with it.

The snake spirit's reaction wasn't slow either; it curled and coiled its tail, then gathered strength and swung it at the corpse‑raising bell.

But it focused on defending its head, not its rear, dealing with Xiang Yichu's corpse‑raising bell, while the talisman Maomao had thrown had already reached it—it couldn't dodge even if it wanted to.

The snake spirit, which had been half‑afloat, plopped down and obeyed the law of gravity.

It twisted its body and shouted, "What right do you have to catch me! The ghosts I devour are souls that can't find the gate to the underworld; since they can't find their way to the Underworld, why shouldn't I devour them? You humans always talk about the survival of the fittest—if they're weaker than me, they deserve to be devoured by me!"

Tushan Jiu hadn't lifted a finger the whole time, but she still wanted to feel involved; she walked over slowly, squatted down, and slapped a talisman onto its head, saying, "If you're going to say that, then I can only answer you: since your strength isn't a match for ours, you can only honestly wait to have your ghost power drained."

After speaking, she stood up, looked down at it with a flash of coldness in her eyes, and said, "You don't need to feel aggrieved or wronged; you've been blinded by power and have long strayed from your original intention."

She made a hand seal with both hands, and the ghost power of the snake spirit on the ground was completely drawn out.

Tushan Jiu collected that ghost power into a talisman and turned it in.

The ghost power in the case must be turned in for calculation, counted as their team's performance, settled monthly and paid out together with their salary.

Of course, the private jobs they take on themselves can also make use of this convenience to directly draw out ghost power, without going through the office—this is a perk of being civil servants.

Otherwise, why would all mystics bother to take the exam for Underworld civil servants? It's just for that little bit of convenience and benefit.

Otherwise, catching a single ghost would require filing a report with the office each time, and opening a ghost gate would likewise need reporting—claimed to be unified management, but in reality it's restrictions everywhere, which is extremely troublesome.

After the ghost power was drained, the snake spirit's cultivation naturally vanished, and it lay curled up on the ground.

It wasn't that it was in great pain; it was just instinct.

Because it was no longer a snake spirit, but just an ordinary, ordinary cabbage‑flower snake.

Suddenly, there was another ripping sound.

Everyone heard the sound and looked over.

All they saw was the wooden doll sprite slowly opening its mouth wide.

Tushan Jiu quickly covered Maomao's ears, and at the same time she used her Qi to seal her own five senses.

Xiang Yichu was even faster than Tushan Jiu, because he knew the wooden doll sprite too well.

Only Wang Dongqing remained immersed in the fear from just seeing the snake, completely unaware.

While covering his own ears, Xiang Yichu shouted Wang Dongqing's name—he had only gotten out the syllable "Wang" when a earth‑shattering, ghost‑wailing scream erupted, ringing through the heavens.

Wang Dongqing's reflex kicked in—he was so startled he let go of the wooden doll sprite and then clapped his hands over his own ears.

As a result, the wooden doll sprite fell and smashed his toes; he also yelled in pain, then covered his sore toes and hopped on one foot.

In the courtyard, Bao Yanli was so frightened her heart felt like it would jump out; she also pressed her hands hard over her ears, then inched along the eaves toward the courtyard gate.

Outside, many people hadn't left; they were lined up at the door, ears pressed to it, listening to the commotion inside, but they could hardly make out anything.

As a result, hearing those two sudden screams startled them badly, and they hurriedly stepped back several paces.

With a creak, the gate opened and Bao Yanli ran out from inside.

Only then did the crowd clearly see the scene inside: the few people who claimed to be from the office were standing in the courtyard, with a several‑meter‑long cabbage‑flower snake at their feet.

Maomao bent over, grabbed the snake at its vital point, and then held it up for the people outside to see, saying, "This is your so‑called 'god'; spending that time reciting the socialist core values twice would clear your heads better than anything."

The people outside were instantly speechless: "You've come to collect the 'god,' yet you tell them to trust science—do you really think they'll believe you?"

But many people instantly realized they had been deceived by Bao Yanli.

Moreover, their physical discomfort or the strange, uncanny things happening at home due to bad luck were all her doing behind the scenes!

Among them were a few with connections in the city, who would naturally not let her off so easily—she could outrun a monk but not the temple.

Tushan Jiu and her companions no longer bothered with it; the prison‑calamity awaiting Bao Yanli was already obvious to them the moment they saw her.

So she couldn't escape.

But that was no longer their responsibility; this was the territory of the neighboring city, they had no contact channels, they would soon report to Lin Xiu'er, who now oversees their four and would naturally handle the external liaison.

After Maomao finished speaking, she glanced at the wooden doll sprite and Wang Dongqing, clicked her tongue impatiently, and said, "Looks like my silencing technique still needs more practice— the time was too short."

Tushan Jiu clapped her hands, nodded in agreement, and said, "Yeah, it would be best if it could also be used on people."

"Mm, that's right!" Maomao replied.

Xiang Yichu stood aside, pressing his lips together as he struggled to control his expression.

Wang Dongqing and the wooden doll sprite exchanged a glance, then simultaneously began to explain in a rapid, chattering way.

"It's because he pinched the doll that the doll cried out!"

"It's because it hit my foot!"

"It's because you struck first!"

"If you had fallen, you wouldn't have been able to flip over, you blockhead!"

"You let go so fast—how could the doll have reacted?" It closed its eyes, stomped its feet, sealed its hearing with demonic power, and pointed at Wang Dongqing shouting, "I won't listen, I won't listen, you you you—it's all your fault!"

Tushan Jiu, Maomao, and Xiang Yichu exchanged a look, all helplessly shaking their heads at the noisy quarrel.

Turning their heads, they walked out together, no longer wanting to listen to the two argue.

Wang Dongqing caught sight of them in his peripheral vision and hurriedly chased after them, saying, "Hey hey hey, you guys dislike me, I'm going to kick up a fuss! Wait for me!"

The wooden doll sprite opened its eyes, dazed, and asked, "Where are the people?"

Turning its head, it saw that several people had already reached the gate, so it hurriedly chased after them.

While chasing, it kept shouting, "Ou, ou, you left me behind!"

By the time they drove back to Nan Cheng, the sky had already turned dark.

The few of them ate together, then returned to the office, directly wrote up the case summary, and submitted the mission.

That snake, having suffered a backlash, could no longer regain its spiritual awareness, so they simply tossed it, before coming back, onto the rear hill of the neighboring city to release it.

They worked until past nine at night, and the case was closed right then.

Mainly, the four of them aren't the type to procrastinate; today they submitted it, so tonight they can sleep well, and tomorrow they'll do whatever needs to be done.

As soon as Tushan Jiu stepped out of the back alley, she saw Xie Shiyu's car waiting at the mouth of the lane.

Her boyfriend came to pick her up after work.