False evidence

Chapter 433 Rekindling the Bond (18)

Following Bian Yaoshuang, we arrived behind a row of tombstones.

Sure enough, there was a person with his two thumbs and little toes tied behind his back with shoelaces, and his feet were bound with leather straps, lying there crookedly.

The man was short in stature, with a shifty face and a rat-like appearance. When he saw us, he was both panicked and dejected.

Looking further a distance, the stone slab sealing the ashes of a grave had been pried open.

Gao He reacted instantly and grabbed the guy:

"Were you the ones responsible for the recent cases of stealing ashes and extorting money from the families?"

This man was probably a repeat offender; just by looking at the way Bian Yao had tied him up, one could roughly guess his identity. And judging from Gao He's tone now, wouldn't he obediently confess?

"Damn it, stealing someone's ashes is no different from digging up their ancestral grave. I..."

Before Chen Zudao could even begin to curse, Jiao Tong had already stepped in front of him.

That's precisely why he was able to stop him from slapping the filthy, despicable thief to death.

Under Gao He's interrogation, the thief who dug up human ashes revealed his name and nickname, and admitted that he and another man were responsible for the recent cases. However, he then mentioned a strange incident that had just occurred.

Not long ago, the thief nicknamed Soft Leather and his accomplice named Abang had just pried open the stone slab when they suddenly heard someone sigh behind them.

The fact that the two of them dared to do this shows not only that they were despicable, but also that they had considerable courage.

He turned around but saw no one, so he didn't think much of it and assumed he had misheard.

But when they turned their heads and saw each other's reactions, they both realized something was wrong.

It's understandable if one person misunderstands, but how could two people misunderstand at the same time?
The more you think about these things, the more scared the two of them became.

Abang was a bit timid, and immediately said that he couldn't do this "job" today.

The two left without a second thought, ignoring the pried-open stone slabs, and wanted to leave the cemetery.

But just as they returned to the main road, Abang suddenly turned around and headed up the mountain.

Softie was about to call out to him, but quickly realized something was wrong.

Who walks with their legs straight?!
Judging from Abang's appearance, he might be possessed by a ghost!
"You caught Abang too? Is he alright now?" Softie asked with a mournful face.

According to his confession, the main reason he didn't escape alone was because he and Abang were brothers-in-law and relatives.

After leaving the cemetery, Gao He immediately called his team.

I was afraid of getting into trouble, so with his permission, I left with the others first.

Once I got in the car, Tong Xiangnan reminded me that I didn't know where Erpang was.

The worst part is that he also drove off with one of the cars!

When I called him, he said he was out of service area.

I had no choice but to take Xiao Shensan and Bian Yaoshuang to the store first, and then take the others home.

Recalling the events of that night, no one could sleep.

Chen Zudao even insisted on drinking.

Gu Haitao didn't say a word, took the leftovers from the kitchen, and started drinking with him.

I was too lazy to persuade him, so I asked Wei Lan if she wanted to drink some more.

Wei Lan gently shook her head, "I can drink, but I don't usually drink alcohol."

After tonight's events, I have a completely different opinion of her.

From what I knew before, she was born in Sichuan and Yunnan, and only came into contact with witchcraft after being abducted.

She probably couldn't be considered an expert in witchcraft or sorcery.

I had no choice but to ask her for help; I didn't know anyone else who knew Gu magic. I never expected she would actually come in so handy.

Wei Lan seemed to sense my question and said softly:

“I was indeed not proficient in Gu magic before, which harmed your lover. Fortunately, Liu Hong’s family has many ancient books on this subject. I wanted to make up for it, so I began to study and research them.”

I suddenly realized, "Thank you so much for tonight. What exactly were those insect fogs?"

When I went down the mountain, I made a point of looking around and found that there were no flying insects or anything like that on the ground in the area where the insect fog appeared.

"It is a kind of Gu worm, which is born as an insect and turns into ash after death."

Wei Lan frowned slightly and said, "Actually, these Gu worms look scary, but in actual contact, they don't cause much harm to people."

"What is the purpose of the person who released this Gu worm?" Besides psychology, Tong Xiangnan was also full of curiosity about other new things.

“Soul-stealing!” Wei Lan said slowly. “This kind of Gu worm called Po Niro is also known as Meng Po Yin. It can pull a person’s soul out of their body.”

As she said this, she glanced at Gu Haitao, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.

Tong Xiangnan and I both noticed that look in her eyes.

Tong Xiangnan tried asking, "Did Gu Haitao and Luo Yinsheng switch identities because of Vajra?"

Wei Lan pursed her lips and shook her head slightly: "I've only read about this method in books, which can transfer souls to other places. I haven't actually seen it, so I can't say for sure. But from what you've said about Gu Haitao's situation, it doesn't seem entirely like it's caused by Gu magic. There should be other evil arts mixed in as well."

Jiao Tong, who had been listening in, gestured to me and asked: Who released the Gu worms? Who were they targeting?
Tong Xiangnan and Wei Lan both know sign language.

Tong Xiangnan pondered for a moment and said, "I remember Bian Yaoshuang saying that some people want to come back, and others want to take people away. If the other party has a clear goal, then we can use the process of elimination. We are all people who have gathered temporarily, and most of us only found out where we are going and what we are going to do in the afternoon. So even if we have enemies, it is unlikely that they would make such arrangements in such a short period of time."

Seeing him looking at me, I shrugged. "It shouldn't be directed at me."

Jiao Tong also used sign language: "My godfather's enemies are all dead."

As a result, everyone's eyes fell on Gu Haitao.

Tong Xiangnan slowly moved his eyes and said:
"If the other party's target is him, is it him personally, or Luo Yinsheng?"

"Is that even a question?" I know Gu Haitao quite well.

He deserves a beating, but he doesn't deserve to die.

Tong Xiangnan looked at Wei Lan: "Do you know the specific methods used by the Venerable One to take a soul?"

Wei Lan nodded: "Startle, release the poison, collect the soul."

“It’s not hard to understand from the literal meaning,” Tong Xiangnan nodded. “Releasing such a hungry wolf at the beginning would terrify anyone who saw it; that’s the first step—startling the soul. Releasing the monstrous one is the second step. Now I want to know, how do we collect the soul?”

“Abang!” Wei Lan said, “Once a person’s soul is taken, the soul cannot leave the body for too long. The most important step in using the Venerable One to take a soul is to find a temporary body for the soul that has been taken.”

"Is that thief named Abang the vessel?"

Tong Xiangnan and I looked at each other, and at the same time we thought of the same thing.

According to Ruanpi's confession, he and Abang decided to pull off another heist on a whim after drinking in the evening.

In other words, Abang was not a pre-selected 'vessel', but was used temporarily.

And the wolf that Jiao Tong killed.

Wolves are not dogs, after all. Even if they are domesticated, they will not obey commands or lurk like dogs. Their nature also prevents them from attacking groups of people.

That can only mean that someone brought wolves and arrived at the cemetery after us, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Tong Xiangnan directly voiced his idea.

Wei Lan said, "I don't think Abang was chosen as a vessel temporarily. Because if it's about using Bhanero to exchange a man's soul, a necessary condition is that the vessel must also be a man, and his yang energy must be severely depleted. To put it bluntly, the vessel must have had sexual intercourse with a woman before that."

(End of this chapter)