Chapter 144

After more than half an hour, the bloody handprint left on the door frame faded away.

Qin Menglan and the others returned and recounted the entire incident.

Huang Gaoyi's clarity did not last long, but fortunately it was enough to uncover the truth of the matter.

After speaking intermittently, Huang Gaoyi again moved toward the direction of the vengeful spirit, completely losing his rationality and recklessly attempting to attack Qin Menglan and the others, only to be counterattacked and destroyed by the three of them.

This could be considered the fulfillment of his historical mission.

"So, the whole incident was the doing of a pervert," Atuo summarized. "Zhang Caiyi killed Huang Gaoyi, and the next day someone came asking. Others didn't know, but Zhang Ze certainly became suspicious, discovered something, or perhaps wanted to report it. Zhang Caiyi feared exposure, so he killed Zhang Ze."

"Then, that night, without hesitation, he killed Mao Haixiang as well."

"The day after Zhang Ze died, when others asked, Zhang Caiyi saying he had no such son also made sense."

Atuo had no doubt that a twisted madman would commit such an act of killing his own kin.

Perhaps it was on the first night that he killed Huang Gaoyi, causing Zhang Caiyi to "awaken" and truly embark on the path of evil.

Once the first act was done, the following events would become much simpler.

"How did Zhang Caiyi die?" Qin Menglan asked. Atuo's reasoning had some merit.

But how should Zhang Caiyi's death be explained?

"This is simple," Atuo said, embodying the grim reaper as an elementary school student. "Just think—Huang Gaoyi became a ghost seeking vengeance, so why couldn't Zhang Ze?"

He believed that after Zhang Ze was killed by his father, he became a vengeful ghost and killed Zhang Caiyi.

As a result, Zhang Caiyi also became a ghost!

Thus, Zhang Ze's ghost was no match for Zhang Caiyi's ghost, was beaten to near death, and fled to Master Wang's house to hide.

Atuo said: "Didn't the master say Zhang Ze's head basically wouldn't resist? It must be because he was severely wounded."

As for Mao Haixiang's ghost, it can be disregarded.

According to the obtained data, Mao Haixiang, due to growing up in a family with extremely strong patriarchal bias, had a timid personality from childhood.

Even as a ghost, she hid in a pressure cooker to escape, dared not wander around, and certainly did not dare to seek revenge against Zhang Caiyi's ghost.

If Tang Luo hadn't found her, she might have remained hidden for a while longer, until her instinct to kill the living consumed her.

"I once heard a joke: when you encounter a ghost, don't worry, because ghosts won't kill you—if they do, you become a ghost too, and then it gets awkward," Atuo said, lightening the tense atmosphere in the room. "This is probably what happened in the Zhang family."

"That actually makes some sense," the cinematography uncle said.

The young man can drive, can't fight, but his mind is sharp.

"What do you think?" Qin Menglan asked Tang Luo.

Based on Huang Gaoyi's account, Atuo's speculation basically holds together.

Most importantly, all four missing persons have now been "found," and the true nature of the situation is clear.

As ghosts, they have all been eliminated, ensuring the safety of nearby villagers.

For the purpose of approaching science, the goal has actually already been achieved—stopping here is sufficient.

"Let's first find Huang Gaoyi's corpse," Tang Luo said.

The bodies of the Zhang family trio were eaten by themselves—possibly even mutual consumption.

Huang Gaoyi's body, however, might still be in the mountains and forests.

When the Heavenly Dog discovered Huang Gaoyi, he had just awakened as a ghost and hadn't been like that for long.

Even without the Heavenly Dog, a search nearby should still be able to find him.

With the Heavenly Dog, it would be even easier.

After one hour, the members of Approaching Science dug up the buried soil and stones, and indeed found Huang Gaoyi's body.

"The case can be closed now," Qin Menglan said.

The existence of the corpse and the wounds on it prove Huang Gaoyi's words were not false.

After all, "ghosts spouting nonsense," Qin Menglan and the others couldn't have believed just one side of the story—they definitely needed to find some evidence first.

"Not yet," Tang Luo said.

"Are there still ghosts?" Atuo asked, quite eager to try, lacking the caution he had when he first arrived that day, following the master without fear.

"I don't know," Tang Luo said frankly. "But do you think ghosts are that easy to appear?"

Qin Menglan and the three others froze for a moment, then immediately understood.

If we set aside the appearance of ghosts, the whole incident is actually just a murder case.

It's precisely because all three became ghosts that the situation turned into a "locked-room disappearance," which was reported to Approaching Science.

But how could ghosts appear so easily?

If an ordinary person's death could produce a dangerous ghost like Zhang Caiyi, social order would have collapsed long ago.

Not to mention the current reality of sparse spiritual energy—even in a world rich with spiritual energy, the probability of an ordinary person becoming a ghost after death is very low.

Even with overwhelming resentment, it remains so.

The appearance of four ghosts is highly abnormal.

"Is someone behind the scenes pulling strings?" Qin Menglan asked.

"I don't know," Tang Luo shook his head again.

Qin Menglan felt helpless, and since Tang Luo couldn't explain further, they had even less chance of knowing anything.

"So, let's just wait and see—things should become clearer later," Tang Luo said.

"Clearer?"

"Come on, it's already late at night, which is more convenient," Tang Luo said, turning and walking away.

Leaving some members of Approaching Science behind, the rest followed Tang Luo in full.

A group of people followed Tang Luo back to the dormitory building in the town, where there was still a large hole on the roof.

Ghosts are not merely "intangible" entities that cannot touch physical objects; abilities like phasing through walls, ghostly vision obstruction, and disappearing are innate talents of ghosts.

Tang Luo kicked out with one foot, nearly turning Zhang Caiyi's flying head barbarian into direct liberation—where could he still "etherealize" to avoid harm?

At the same time, such battle damage was caused.

"Check what that Zhang family clinic was used for before," Tang Luo said.

"Master, do you think the feng shui there is bad?" A Tuo asked.

"I'm not a feng shui master, I just feel that place has been producing ghosts repeatedly—what could be wrong?" Tang Luo said. "It might also be that the whole town or village has a problem."

"Probably not." A Tuo immediately felt a bit like withdrawing.

Not to mention the whole town—if even this village has bad feng shui, with one death bringing forth one ghost, how many ghosts would appear?

Soon, Tang Luo and them found out.

The Zhang family's house and clinic was built twenty years ago.

When it was built, it was just an ordinary plot of land, not counting as farmland, nor as a road—just an empty lot.

As for before that, what buildings stood on the empty lot, or what events occurred there, could not be found.

"As expected, it still has to be this way—roundabout methods won't do." Tang Luo stood up.

"Wait, are you planning to demolish the house?" Qin Menglan asked, recalling a passage she had read.

It was said that some barracks soldiers, on night watch several times, saw ghostly shadows thick on the opposite wasteland and reported to their superiors.

The superiors thought for a moment, waved their hand grandly, and decided on artillery bombardment.

Although the cannon model changed over time, the final result remained the same: after the bombardment, no more ghostly shadows appeared.

Divine powers cannot match science!

Now Tang Luo estimates he is about to do the same thing.

"Exactly." Qin Menglan's guess was completely correct. "I plan to demolish that house, then dig three feet deep, to see if there's anything to find."

"Want me to get you an excavator?" Qin Menglan asked half-jokingly.

For Tang Luo, demolishing the house is certainly no problem—she has seen his power when he strikes down with one palm.

But digging three feet deep is not so simple.

"Just a shovel will do..." Tang Luo mused.

"How?"

"Nothing, just remembered this—I've done it before." Tang Luo recalled his first mission, when he dug up someone else's grave.

This time, will he also dig up a grave?

The shovel arrived sure enough, faster than an excavator, without letting the remaining members of Walk Near Science come along—just the four of them came to Zhang's clinic.

The cordon line was still there, and the door originally opened by Tang Luo and them had been closed again.

The roadside lights had been turned off; the house in the darkness looked like some kind of crouching giant beast, waiting for prey to arrive.

"Looking at it like this really does seem a bit strange," A Tuo said.

During the day there was no feeling, but going to look in the middle of the night, plus what happened and Tang Luo's speculation,

made this originally ordinary house suddenly shroud itself in a layer of mysterious shadow.

If the next second the house suddenly stood up and lunged at them, A Tuo would not feel surprised—of course, he would not be afraid either.

The thigh was beside him, just so composed "he trusts."

"Won't the commotion be too loud?" Qin Menglan said. Demolishing a house in the middle of the night is indeed a major disturbance.

"No, I'm prepared." Tang Luo said, then leapt up, struck the house with one palm, while the hanging Merit Jade Lotus flashed a faint light—at the moment the invisible force struck the house, it appeared on the top floor.

The Merit Jade Lotus is naturally not just for healing wounds—it can also "become invisible," achieving invisibility, inaudibility, and intangibility.

Now Tang Luo deployed "inaudibility," enveloping the entire house.

Not to mention the sound of the house collapsing—even if a cloud-burst bomb exploded, it would be utterly silent.

In just an instant, the Merit Jade Lotus returned, and the house, at that very moment, silently turned into ruins, raising a cloud of dust.

Qin Menglan and them instinctively stepped back two paces.

"Even if there really is a problem, there's no problem now," A Tuo said. "Master, do we still need to dig?"

"Dig, I didn't feel anything abnormal just now." Tang Luo landed, took the shovel from A Tuo's hand.

"Then let's go." A Tuo rolled up his sleeves—each of them had one.

"Give them all to me." Tang Luo reached out and said, taking the remaining three shovels, one in each hand, holding two in one hand—looking somewhat strange.

"Do we not need to do this?" A Tuo asked.

"Yeah, I'll do it myself—faster, confirm there's nothing wrong early, then go back to sleep." Tang Luo said.

After all, it's late at night—though not tired, he also kind of wants to go to sleep.

If working during the day, there are many people and much noise.

Arriving beside the ruins, Tang Luo respectively held the two shovels in an X shape, then—Thousand Hands Cannot Block!

With tools, excavation efficiency +1000%!

"... Blue Sister."

Looking at the continuously piling "earth mounds" beside him, A Tuo asked, "Master, is there anything you can't do?"

"Anything related to destruction—he probably can do it all." Qin Menglan said.

"Blue Sister, actually I feel the master can fight, can heal, can grant BUFFs—so versatile, not a reckless man." A Tuo said.

One sentence awakens the dreamer.

Qin Menglan couldn't help but fall into deep thought—can fight, can endure, can grant BUFFs, even has a dog for tracking, Tang Luo, who has always been reckless, after all this effort turns out to truly be an all-profession master?