Chapter 158

Everyone was quite impressed by Charles; after all, stubborn old fogies like him are rare.

These days the internet has been buzzing about it, and nearly everyone in the audience knew, but when the news of his death came, many people and the person in charge were equally shocked.

Dead? How could someone just die like that?

The faint rustling of discussion below reached her ears; Ling Yue furrowed her brows, recalling the female ghost she had seen earlier—she was dazed, consciousness unclear, clinging to Charles.

This made it hard for her not to think further.

Suddenly, Xuanmao Nüwang let out a soft call, stepped lightly up to her, tilted her head, and asked, "Do you think it's that female ghost?"

"I think there's an eighty percent chance," the Queen said, crouching on the ground, her gaze falling on the judges.

Its tone was so certain that it made Ling Yue curious too.

She followed the gaze, her eyes flickering, and instantly understood the Queen's meaning—these people all had varying amounts of lingering yin energy.

Ling Yue immediately realized that, as an organization team, they all stayed in the same hotel; Charles's mishap, and the sudden increase of yin energy on these people, already proved something.

Moreover, this was already the result after the Black Cat Queen expelled them.

At this point, the person in charge of the venue was completely flustered—a life, the competition he was hosting actually resulted in a death!

Moreover, Charles was a gentleman holding an earl's title; such a major incident, he truly couldn't bear the responsibility.

In a moment, the person in charge's back was soaked with cold sweat, his face deathly pale; voices kept coming from the other end of the phone, which he heard muffled, as if through a thick layer of frosted glass.

The only consolation was that the results had now been announced, so he didn't delay—while holding the phone, he asked the other end for specifics.

On the other side, the judges' faces were just as grim.

This was probably the earliest the competition had wrapped up; its hasty ending directly ignored Zhao Yan, who had just been shouting.

The man's eyebrows were about to stand on end from anger as he demanded, "Didn't you hear what I said?"

The person in charge felt like he'd been screwed over; his face darkened instantly as he coldly stared at him: "What talk? This is the result agreed upon by all eight judges after discussion, the total points accumulated from each match—what do you have to complain about?"

"Or do you not read the room, not know what we're trying to do? Or do you think your so-called justice is more important than a human life?"

Even the neighboring judges were warning him, perhaps to let him vent his panic and anxiety; after all, the sudden homicide left them unprepared.

He shouted sternly: "Enough! I know your Queen has been champion for two seasons, but that doesn't mean it's always number one!"

"Zhao, please move aside!"

Zhao Yan's face looked as if a paint palette had been overturned, weird colors mixed together, leaving him unable to utter a word.

Ling Yue gazed solemnly at the crowd coming and going in haste; her phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated—she looked down: Special Safety Bureau.

Ten-odd minutes later.

The person in charge wiped the sweat from his forehead; behind him stood a group of nervous judges and colleagues—this was already their fastest speed.

Even before reaching the hotel, one could already see the conspicuous bright yellow cordon; centered on the hotel entrance, within fifty meters ahead, no one else could be seen.

Even passersby were detouring.

You should know, Fengjiang Hotel is a famous five-star hotel in Jing Shi; though the flow of people isn't bursting at the seams, it can still be described as incessant.

In the crowd, someone nervously gulped; the gilded revolving door, to their eyes, resembled a yawning abyss, sending chills down their spines.

The person in charge steeled himself and pulled the others along: "What are you standing around for? Come on, the police are waiting inside for us!"

"Ah, okay, don't pull"

"I, I'll walk myself..."

Not long after they entered, a footsteps sounded before the magnificent hotel—sure enough, it was Ling Yue.

She hung up the phone and softly exhaled.

How to put it? Receiving a call from the Special Safety Bureau was entirely expected.

Ling Yue had a black cat perched on her shoulder; before she even stepped inside, she already furrowed her brows and slightly lifted her eyes—

The hotel loomed ahead, its triangular shape ridged and angular, like a blade shooting straight into the clouds; its unique design made it stand out even more among the surrounding high-rises.

Its aura was likewise splendid and impossible to stare at directly.

Actually, in Ling Yue's eyes, it was already wrapped in layers of yin energy, resentment and killing intent surging skyward.

"She definitely killed someone."

Ling Yue heard the Black Cat Queen's solemn voice: "Moreover, I think this building has terrible feng shui, especially ominous—if you humans are doing business, shouldn't you pick an auspicious spot?"

Ling Yue laughed upon hearing that, she walked in calmly: "Doing business? Queen, what you see isn't necessarily real."

The Black Cat Queen tilted her head: "Just like the human heart?"

It had wandered these years, seeing plenty of things worse than pigs and dogs, yet its appearance remained rather refined. The Black Cat Queen instantly grasped Ling Yue's meaning, silently stretching.

Ling Yue gave a light smile, watching it constantly shift its paws on her shoulder, and asked: "How about I hold you?"

The Black Cat Queen stalled in her movements; Ling Yue had already held her in her arms, the cat's body stiff, Ling Yue unhurriedly employed her killing technique—soft fingertips scratched its jaw, and a purring sound rang out.

This is far too spoiled.

The Black Cat Queen's voice halted for a moment—was that the sound it made? Absolutely not!

A flicker of smile crossed Ling Yue's eyes as she feigned ignorance and continued forward; the revolving door had stopped, she pushed it, and the next moment she heard a voice.

The attendant guarding the inner door blinked slightly, assuming she was an uninformed guest, quickly reached out to block her, and explained: "This guest, the place is sealed off, temporarily not accepting—"

Ling Yue pulled out her identification from her pocket: "I am Ling Yue, a member of the Special Safety Bureau, assisting the police with the case."

The other person startled, then a hurried footsteps sounded; Ling Yue followed the sound to look and saw the man's appearance: "Ling Yue?"

Ling Yue lifted her gaze; Jiang Ye quickened his steps, his expression suddenly relaxing—just his presence was enough.

Ling Yue nodded at him, her fingertips stroking the cat's soft fur, then nodded again: "Captain Jiang."

After entering smoothly, she didn't rush to inspect the crime scene; instead, she surveyed the lobby, while Jiang Ye beside her blinked, saying nothing at all.

He trusted Ling Yue.

The earlier mother-child gu incident had made all members of the Special Safety Bureau wholeheartedly convinced of Ling Yue; although the follow-up investigation was handed to him and Zhou Ziyan, but with the clues Ling Yue had previously provided, the backlash after the mother gu was consumed made the culprit extremely easy to find.

A rat hiding overseas, sneaking around!

They actually still wanted to use such sinister methods to control that chief; if they succeeded, wouldn't they be stepping on the Special Safety Bureau's heads to move forward!

Now, although Ling Yue isn't the nominal captain, everyone in the bureau tacitly acknowledges her as the true ceiling of combat power.

So, when he checked and found the situation complicated, he directly summoned Ling Yue, briefly informing her of some details over the phone.

I don't know what she can see.

Jiang Ye pressed his lips, feeling a bit uneasy.

At the same time, Ling Yue was carefully observing the surroundings; the lobby's décor was beautiful and unique, but some spots made her frown slightly.

She suddenly walked a few steps quickly to the front desk; one side's fish tank was set up grandiosely, the fish inside seeming motionless, suspended in the water, only occasional tail movements proving they were still alive.

In short,

One sentence, very lazy.

The bottom of the fish tank was paved with a dense layer of colorful pebbles; as the fish swam gently, ripples spread across the surface. These ornamental fish were vivid and gorgeous, most of them valuable dragon fish brimming with vitality.

One could say the total value of the fish in this tank had already reached several hundred thousand.

Ling Yue smirked faintly; the person behind this was really thoughtful.

The Mysterious Cat Queen in her arms stared fixedly at the tank, then stretched its body, pressing its paws against the glass, its round pupils locked on the fish.

Jiang Ye couldn't help but ask: "Is this cat craving the fish in the water?"

He didn't expect Ling Yue to shake her head and say: "No, there's something in the fish tank."

The Mysterious Cat Queen isn't an ordinary cat; it's never just greedy for food—only certain dark things can make it show this expression.

After all, its talent is to exorcise evil.

Hearing this, Jiang Ye froze, staring at the utterly ordinary fish tank, unable to believe his eyes since he felt nothing unusual.

Ling Yue didn't explain; instead she communicated directly with the fish in the tank, seeing in her eyes that fine yin energy clung to the ornamental fish, continually sapping their vitality.

A goldfish with its tail fanned out like blooming petals swayed gently; its ethereal appearance belied its foul‑mouthed remark: "Holy crap, this water must be toxic—why was I fine before I came here, but now I'm completely wrecked?"

"Cough cough cough! I feel so heavy I can barely swim."

Ling Yue looked away; another voice came from an extremely beautiful dragon fish, its scarlet scales glittering, it clung near the bottom, stuck to the pebbles, weakly wagging its tail like a feeble old man.

Ling Yue looked at it—how could it not be difficult? It had the strongest vitality, yet it was the one from which the most had been drained, a thick ring of fine lines wrapped around its back, weighing it down heavily.

And in this tank, the fish could barely move at all.

Thus they looked utterly lifeless.

Ling Yue tapped the tank; the complaining fish jumped in fright, tried to flee but found they had no strength, so they gave up, staring at her with dead‑fish eyes.

"What… what are you doing?"

"How strange—what does this human want to do?"

Ling Yue smiled faintly: "You feel heavy because something buried under the pebbles is harming your bodies."

"You're talking nonsense!"

"Wait, is this human actually talking to us? Haha, am I just tired and hallucinating?"

The speaking dragon fish looked at its companions, seeing genuine fear in their dead‑fish eyes, and froze instantly.

"Holy crap, it's actually real!"

"Human, how can you suddenly say that? I don't believe it! It must be fake!"

A few minutes later, the onlooker Jiang Ye couldn't help rubbing his eyes, letting out a soft hiss; now it was his turn to doubt his vision as the whole school of fish gathered underwater, relentlessly using their mouths to drag and push stones.

They worked with fiery enthusiasm, a stark contrast to their earlier listless state—it was a complete transformation.

In fact, Ling Yue directly drew a seal that dispelled or cut off the yin energy siphoning vitality; though the taken vitality couldn't return, at least the fish could return to normal.

"Heave‑ho! Heave‑ho! Everyone, cheer up—we must dig this out!" Some fish chanted a work song to cheer their companions.

"Damn! Humans are despicable, even trying to harm fish!" A fish spat out the stone in its mouth and said resentfully.

All the fish pitched in, pushing and pulling, yet Ling Yue suddenly relaxed, lifting her gaze to the lobby ceiling; the other party had really put thought into it, using the five phases and eight trigrams—but

its orientations were all reversed.

Furthermore, on the eight directions, fine strokes traced a golden pattern; to laymen it looked gorgeous and intricate, but Ling Yue could tell at a glance that it was a formation—a suppressive array for ghosts and gods, meant to keep them bound forever.

As she pondered, Ling Yue suddenly heard Jiang Ye's shout: "Ling Yue, come quick—there really seems to be something under the pebbles!"

Jiang Ye was greatly surprised, looking at the unearthed wooden box, its deep reddish hue like oxidized blood, making him feel uneasy; instinctively he knew it wasn't anything good.

The specific reaction was that the feng shui fish all kept their distance, unwilling to approach.

The more sensitive fish were practically agitated, darting to the tank's surface to gulp fresh air.

"Stink! It reeks!"

"Yue! What is this? Hurry and take it out!"

Moreover, ordinary fish couldn't smell it; only the dragon fish—i. e., the feng shui fish—could sense it, and in the end Ling Yue obtained the wooden box.

In an instant she could confirm—

"This is a locust wood box."

Anyone who's studied feng shui knows that locust trees serve as a medium for ghosts, usually used to nurture spectral beings, which can be somewhat sinister; I just don't know why this object is red—could it be coated in red lacquer?

Getting back to the point, opening this palm‑sized box was simple for Ling Yue's methods; even though a thick layer of yin energy clung to it, she merely flicked her wrist and the box emitted a "crack".

After it was opened, both of their faces changed.

"A ghost fetus?!"

Jiang Ye couldn't help blurting out, nausea rising in his chest; he had no idea how to describe his feeling, as if his blood were about to clot.

Inside the box was a pool of blood‑red liquid, half‑congealed, half‑flowing; anyone who knows fetal size would realize this palm‑sized box couldn't possibly hold it, yet someone had folded a child over and forced it in.

As Ling Yue saw, it had at least been folded three times.

The red box wasn't painted; rather, prolonged soaking had let the blood seep into the wood, and oxidation gave the exterior its dark red hue.

How utterly infuriating and nauseating this is.

In an instant, the infant spirit's voice rang in her ears: "Hehehe, have you seen my mom?"

"Sister, why aren't you speaking?"

"Sister, did you put the baby inside? The baby is so cold, so cold."

"Sister, the baby is so bored being alone, come keep it company."

Sensing the opponent's hostility, Ling Yue swiftly closed the box and, with a light flick of her fingertip, said: "Seal!"

Afterwards, she again followed the Eight Trigrams directions and, in each of the eight large vases, found some skeletal remains.

At this point, Jiang Ye's complexion was terrible to the extreme; he wasn't stupid, the details were laid out nakedly on the surface—someone was using a formation to harm people.

If he wasn't mistaken, this should be part of the victim's remains.

Ling Yue nodded, looking at him and said: "Half right, it's not just harming people; there's also—suppressing ghosts."

Ling Yue explained patiently: "After death, becoming a vengeful ghost also has conditions; most ordinary people directly enter reincarnation, only those who die with overwhelming resentment or have a special physique become vengeful ghosts. They are powerful and usually seek revenge against those who harmed them in life; perhaps that is why the other party suppressed her."

Ling Yue said, yet she herself began to wonder: why not just kill her, but instead deliberately build a building to suppress the vengeful ghost?

Perhaps the Taoist hired by that person had limited power, but the very existence of this suppressing artifact already shows the opponent's strength.

At this moment, Ling Yue suddenly recalled the female ghost she had seen earlier at the arena; no wonder her yin energy was so weak—it turned out she had been suppressed, her yin energy dissipated, which is why she initially thought she was just an ordinary shade and didn't take it to heart.

She sighed

let out a sigh: "Let's first go to the crime scene; there should still be another ghost."

Jiang Ye nodded upon hearing this, as expected; an infant spirit sealed away knows nothing, so the case absolutely couldn't have been done by it.

But Jiang Ye, recalling this case, couldn't help but grimace: "The deceased, Charles, you should know, his death state was gruesome."

Ling Yue: "How gruesome?"

She had only heard a few brief words on the way, and the phone call wasn't clear either; thus, when she entered the elevator and finally reached the top-floor suite, she truly felt how suffocating it was.

Although the room had been cleaned, a strong, pungent odor still lingered in the room, refusing to dissipate.

Ugh, what is this smell? Did someone's pork get cooked? It's so fishy and foul!

Ling Yue glanced over and saw the person in charge with a face full of disgust; he seemed not yet to realize what had happened, having already stood outside the door for several minutes, too afraid to enter.

Only now, upon entering, did he discover this strange smell, and he couldn't help but retch dryly.

Before Ling Yue could speak, the earliest witness, a hotel attendant, pallid-faced, said: "It's right here, right here! I've been knocking on the door outside for a long time, but Mr. Charles never responded, officers—you know we must ensure guests' safety."

So I used the hotel's master key to open the room; as soon as I entered, I saw the room full of steam, all of it this smell—yue!

It was obvious he had vomited everything he could; his eyes were red, his face as pale as snow, his calves trembling, and he continued speaking: "Then I called out to Mr. Charles, but he didn't answer me."

The panicked attendant immediately searched the whole place—lobby, bedroom, washroom—until he saw the tightly shut bathroom door, heard the splashing water, and white steam puffed out from the gaps; he tried calling out: "Mr. Charles, are you in there?"

As he spoke, that foul, stifling hot air rushed to his face, and he quickly flushed red, becoming even more suspicious that the guest might be conducting some prohibited experiment in the room.

Moments later, he shoved the bathroom door open, and scalding hot water jetted out from the gap, the searing heat reddening his face, making him cough repeatedly and even vomit reflexively.

He walked in, eyes red.

The faucet kept rushing with a splashing sound, the bathtub filled with scalding hot water, and he saw his guest—

The attendant said, clutching his hair in despair, nearly going mad; with his eyes closed, that scene kept flashing before him: "Do you know what I saw?"

His eyes fixed unblinkingly on the vomiting attendant: "A basin of meat soup!"

The attendant blinked, confused: "What do you mean?"

The next moment, he heard the attendant's voice: "The cooked Mr. Charles is soaked in the hot water—his flesh and skin are completely done! Deathly pale, deathly pale, the swollen corpse floats on the surface, and the whole room reeks of meat."

"This is the smell you're noticing now."Recently, the encoding has been garbled severely, which has given us more motivation to update faster; please trouble yourself to exit the mode with a small gesture. Thanks,:,,