Chapter 80.4: The Letters on the Sand

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Lu Yi had been wanting to speak but holding back. He didn’t call it out, nor did he start a conversation.

In truth, what happened to Lu Yi last night might have been due to the Dead Sinker he paid tribute to earlier that day. Though Li Zhuiyuan had taught him how to offer gifts, some connection might’ve still lingered.

Not everyone who worshipped at the General’s statue would suffer consequences, but it did lower their luck. And Lu Yi just happened to live in a dorm building haunted by a malevolent spirit.

When Li Zhuiyuan finished washing his face and picked up his basin to leave, Lu Yi reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve.

He was a six-foot-two Northeasterner, yet at this moment, he radiated the shy delicacy of a southern belle.

“It’s just… just… um… Prodigy Bro… is our dorm really haunted?”

“No. I lied to you.”

“Ah!” Lu Yi’s voice cracked into a sob. “Prodigy Bro, please save me, I’m begging you, please!”

Had Li Zhuiyuan replied “yes, it’s haunted,” that would’ve been easier to accept. This flat denial felt like a doctor saying, “Go home and enjoy your last meal.”

“It’s fine now. Really.”

“Prodigy Bro, bro—you’re my real bro.”

Seeing that Lu Yi was still clinging, Li Zhuiyuan said, “Buy a pack of cigarettes. Offer red sausage as tribute. Set it on the balcony for three days. That’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you, thank you, Prodigy Bro—you’re amazing. That ghost really does love red sausage!”

Back in the dorm, Li Zhuiyuan began reading—not something mentally taxing, but flipping back through Wei Zhengdao’s Strange Records of the Jianghu.

He had a faint premonition: the Dead Sinker they encountered this time seemed different. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough information about the one beneath the General’s statue to verify it.

In the afternoon, just as Tan Wenbin got up from his nap, Yin Meng arrived.

Tan Wenbin glanced at her and said coolly, “You finished memorizing everything? We’ve been waiting on you.”

Yin Meng rolled her eyes at him.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “How’s Runsheng doing?”

“He’s recovering well. Didn’t even ask to come along.”

“Mm. Grab the gear. Let’s head out.”

Two large bags, most of it filled with formation flags—these weren’t the small ones used for wards, but full-sized flags.

General Mountain was a scenic place, but since it hadn’t been developed yet, few people came.

Outside the General’s Temple, Li Zhuiyuan picked two spots and had Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng set up formations. The formation diagrams were etched in their minds—now they just had to replicate them.

By the time they finished, night had fallen.

The three of them sat behind the dirt mound in front of the temple gate, munching on bottled water and biscuits to steady themselves.

“I scouted from high ground earlier. The temple’s clear of visitors now. The only people on duty tonight are that master and apprentice.

Ran Qiuping wasn’t around—probably hiding in the office. But she’s not important.

Once we go in, we handle the old man first. Lure him out into the formation.”

From what they knew, it was Mao Zhushan who orchestrated all this. Judging from the subdued, hushed conversation between him and Ran Qiuping that day, he had most likely acted without his master’s knowledge.

But Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t be bothered to go report it or appeal to some moral authority. He wasn’t putting his hope in an old man cleaning house. He chose the safest option: deal with the old man himself.

Just then, a white sedan pulled up to the temple gate. Three people stepped out.

Tan Wenbin said, “Huh? What are they doing here?”

It was Wu Xinhui, Zhu Hongyu, and Liu Xinya—the three witnesses from the Zhao Junfeng case.

They started arguing as soon as they got out of the car, clearly not in agreement about coming here.

Zhu Hongyu slapped Wu Xinhui across the face. He retaliated with a punch that knocked her to the ground.

Liu Xinya just stood there with her arms crossed, making no move to intervene.

Zhu Hongyu scrambled back up and screamed as she lunged at her husband, clawing at his face. The couple fought like animals beside the car.

Yin Meng was about to ask, “What do we do now?” but Tan Wenbin shot her a look, signaling her to shut up and wait for Xiao Yuan’s lead.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t rush. It was still early—plenty of night ahead.

The commotion at the gate finally drew someone out of the temple. It was Ran Qiuping.

She knelt down before the three, pleading desperately.

The trio stopped fighting and began fixing their clothes.

But the tension returned just as fast. As they argued, Wu Xinhui suddenly grabbed Ran Qiuping by the collar and began shouting.

She pleaded and shook her head fiercely, over and over.

By all logic, Ran Qiuping should’ve been on good terms with these three—after all, they had helped her catch the man who killed her daughter, Qiu Minmin.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan’s ears twitched.

He said, “Homecoming Net.”

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng immediately cast the net, covering the three people.

Moments later, the sound of footsteps echoed—crack… crack…

Sun Hongxia emerged slowly from the sloped path below. She didn’t see the three hidden figures behind her.

At first, Tan Wenbin wondered why Sun Hongxia seemed so calm—wasn’t she supposed to be deranged? Then he saw it: her hands, nape, and ankles were all smeared with black, sticky mud.

Once Sun Hongxia walked down, another figure stepped out from behind her—a faceless woman, full of pits and wounds, oozing black blood, radiating a foul stench. It was Qiu Minmin.

Despite the distance, her every move perfectly mirrored Sun Hongxia’s.

A thin wall of mud gradually formed in front of Qiu Minmin, concealing her figure.

Yin Meng suddenly understood: so that’s how she had vanished silently in the dance studio.

From below, all they saw was Sun Hongxia emerging. Once in front of the others, she dropped to her knees with a thud.

“My son has sinned. My son has sinned. I failed to raise him right. I too am guilty. Guilty…”

Now the three witnesses were flanked by two kneeling older women.

Then Mao Zhushan came out of the temple and said something, gesturing for them to enter.

The trio seemed persuaded. They walked inside.

Ran Qiuping kicked the dazed Sun Hongxia, then turned and embraced Qiu Minmin—who shouldn’t have been visible at all.

In the end, they all entered the temple.

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Let’s go in too. Looks like there’s a good show tonight.”

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