I discovered a world bug.

Chapter 42 The Same Way of Dying

"...Is that the point?"

Lin Shu sounded helpless, but Xie Yuchi on the other end persisted, asking:

Who are you with?

"I told you not to get involved in Xu Changshun's matter anymore; it's not that simple!"

After she finished speaking, Lin Shu didn't react in any particular way, but Lu Ran, who was standing to the side, narrowed her eyes slightly.

The girl on the other end of the phone was very excited...

Oh, she must be Lin Shu's friend, the one who works at the Second Hospital.

She could tell that Xu Changshun's death was not simple, so it was normal for Lin Shuqian to stay away from him.

However, the fact that one could deduce that Lin Shu was still involved in this matter simply because of a talisman and the "stranger" beside her is itself an extremely keen intuition.

With such keen insight, could she possibly have any clues?

If possible, we need to find a way to spare some manpower to go and check things out with her again...

"It's hard for me to explain to you right now..."

Lin Shu hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Lu Ran.

The latter shook his head at him, indicating that he should not reveal the truth for the time being.

"That talisman is for protection; you can use it for now..."

Lu Ran mouthed "stay".

"Stay here for now."

"I have to go on a business trip in the next couple of days. I'll explain when I get back."

You had better explain yourself clearly.

Xie Yuchi said in a deep voice:

"Otherwise, I'll have to go find your mother."

"How old are you to still be telling your parents??"

"This isn't about telling your parents, Lin Shu! This is dangerous! I don't want you to get into trouble because of something so trivial!"

"...Okay, okay."

Lin Shu gave a perfunctory response, and Xie Yuchi hung up the phone immediately.

"She cares about you a lot."

Lu Ran asked in a teasing tone:

"Your little girlfriend?"

"My childhood friend... what's the deal with the 'evil-repelling talisman'?"

Lu Ran looked at the pictures on the phone Lin Shu handed her and explained:

"This is the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady's Talisman for Dispelling Evil. According to the lineage, it was a silent declaration of victory personally given to Sun Simiao by the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady when he ascended to the throne to pay homage to the Emperor. It is recorded in the Daoist Canon."

"This talisman is used to ward off misfortune and cure illness, but its function is rather narrow, and the truly effective ritual has long been lost."

"We've never used this ritual before, so we don't know if it's effective or not—but that doesn't matter."

"The key point is that someone put this in your car without your knowledge."

"He probably meant well, right?"

"But I don't understand why he doesn't do it openly and honestly?"

"...I don't understand it either."

Lin Shu shrugged.

"But all you have to do is find him."

"I'll provide you with the car's route. There are surveillance cameras everywhere now. Go check the footage, and you'll be able to find that person."

"Perhaps he has some new leads?"

"great!"

Lu Ran gave a thumbs up.

"You've started to think the way we do, which is a great step forward!"

"...Do you always talk like this?"

"Obviously not."

Lu Ran laughed and said:

"But this is indeed progress—actually, to become a qualified member of a research team, you must first become a qualified civil servant."

...A qualified civil servant?

Lin Shu shook her head with amusement, and just then, there was a knock on the door.

It wasn't an uninvited guest, just the takeout that arrived.

It was indeed almost time. Just as Lin Shu and Lu Ran finished their meal, Qin Lang arrived with Jin Yue.

"I've arranged for the others to be sent out. Old He needs to be taken care of, and we also need to hand over things here with the local authorities. Tomorrow, it'll just be the four of us going; that should be enough... How's it going on your end?"

"I've finished learning."

Lu Ran put down her chopsticks.

"She learns very quickly."

"good!"

Qin Lang glanced at Lin Shu approvingly and asked:

"Should we start the divination now?"

"Can we watch?"

"No."

Lin Shu shook her head.

Qin Lang's expression showed a hint of disappointment, but he did not try to persuade or persuade him.

"Then we'll retreat first..."

"no."

Lin Shu raised her hand to interrupt.

"What I mean is, you not only have to watch, you have to try it with me."

"I have two sets of materials left. I need to send at least one person to work with me on them."

The three people present looked at Lin Shu at the same time, their faces showing surprise.

But Lin Shu was very certain.

At this point in time, we cannot keep anything to ourselves.

According to Lu Ran, the ritual of "divination by yarrow stalks and tortoise shells" is asymmetrical, which has built a moat around her, so she doesn't have to worry about being discarded after she has served her purpose.

If you have no concerns, then you should do it boldly.

Because it is very difficult to reconstruct the complete ritual from the vast sea of ancient texts and fragmented traditions on one's own.

To obtain more powerful rituals, one must rely on the power of the authorities.

To leverage their strength, we must involve them.

It's impossible to keep secrets like that—even if they don't tell us, they'll always find a way to get what they want.

Since that's the case, we might as well make a show of it first.

Of course, win-win cooperation does not mean that you have to be completely transparent with them.

Once you gradually gain control of the situation, you should start to truly keep your trump cards hidden.

The time is not yet ripe...

"bring it on."

Lin Shu continued:

"Who's coming?"

Qin Lang paused and looked at Lu Ran.

"Lu Ran, come here!"

......

The smoke from the rhinoceros horn incense rose, and the flames of the burning yarrow flickered.

The tortoise shell was scorched in the flames, making a crisp "pop" sound.

Qin Lang stood behind Lin Shu and Lu Ran, listening to the ancient and desolate words they uttered.

At that moment, he had a vague feeling.

It felt as if I wasn't in an ordinary, even somewhat shabby, rented room.

It was thousands of years ago, in the city of Chaoge, on an altar built by King Zhou with bricks and stones and decorated with bronze.

The sky above my head is not a roof, but the oldest star.

The ground beneath my feet is not a floor, but real soil connected to the earth.

Although the ritual is not yet complete, the outcome is still unknown.

However, Qin Lang clearly realized that this set of "yarrow stalk and tortoise shell divination" rituals was completely different from the set of rituals that the team had previously restored!

Their processes are, of course, similar.

However, there are significant differences in the details.

These differences, when accumulated, produced diametrically opposed results.

Therefore, the success or failure of a ritual is not solely determined by its so-called "asymmetry"; the details during the ritual's execution are also crucial...

He was slightly lost in thought, and after a brief moment of daze, a sharp, shattering sound suddenly snapped him back to reality.

In front of them, Lin Shu and Lu Ran had already opened their eyes and turned around.

"Did you see that?"

Qin Lang asked impatiently:

"Lu Ran, what's going on?"

Lu Ran slowly turned around.

"I saw it..."

Her voice was a little hoarse.

"Very blurry, extremely blurry."

"Even just some lines and blocks of color."

"But I can definitely see it..."

"I think I saw...I died somewhere."