Chapter 60

There is one thing that cannot be denied: Boss Chen's house is indeed very large, with an internal structure forming a U-shape, giving Xia Tianqi the feeling of entering a siheyuan (traditional Chinese courtyard house).

However, while he was marveling at this, what truly caught his attention was the coffin placed in the center of the courtyard, with raindrops continuously making a "plop plop" sound as they fell on it.

"Has someone in the family passed away?"

Leng Yue clearly saw the coffin as well, but he didn't say it outright. Instead, he asked Boss Chen tentatively.

"No, not exactly, but someone in the family is indeed gone."

Boss Chen's response to this question was somewhat hesitant, giving them the impression that he didn't want to admit it but had to.

After hearing this, Xia Tianqi's eyes flickered, and he roughly guessed Boss Chen's concerns. He then casually said:

"We respect local customs, but is it common to place a coffin in the open when someone passes away?"

"The weather has been quite abnormal recently, raining every day, and there's no place to put it inside the house, so it can only be placed outside. There's a saying here that the deceased must rest at home for seven days before being buried."

At this moment, Boss Chen was very uneasy. If it weren't so late, he wouldn't have insisted that Xia Tianqi and Leng Yue stay, especially since there was a coffin in his house, and the person who died had committed suicide.

Of course, what he feared most was the fact that Xiaoli was bought from a human trafficker.

Fortunately, Xia Tianqi and Leng Yue didn't ask any more questions, seemingly uninterested in his family affairs.

"The village was supposed to have electricity three or four years ago, but it still hasn't come through. So, the village still relies on oil lamps and candles, and not many households have flashlights."

While explaining, Boss Chen lit a candle and placed it on the table in the living room. Although it wasn't very bright, it was enough to prevent the room from being pitch black.

"The quilts and pillows are in the cabinet. It has been raining a lot recently, so they haven't been aired out, and they might be a bit damp."

Due to Leng Yue and Xia Tianqi's "status," Boss Chen was very attentive.

"This place is fine; we're not that picky."

After saying this, Leng Yue deliberately glanced at his honor badge and then said tactfully:

"It's getting late, you should go back to rest. It's already quite embarrassing for us to disturb you so late. We can talk about anything tomorrow; we're quite tired from the journey."

Although Leng Yue spoke tactfully, Boss Chen understood his meaning and nodded in agreement:

"Alright, you rest early, and I'll go to bed too. We can talk about everything tomorrow."

After reminding them of the toilet's location, Boss Chen returned to his room.

The rain continued to drizzle.

Closing the door, Xia Tianqi's face instantly turned serious, and under the candlelight, he looked even more cold and stern. He said to Leng Yue, who was sitting at the table:

"Give me a reasonable explanation."

After saying this coldly, Xia Tianqi sat down on a chair.

Although his tone was heavy, Leng Yue didn't argue with him. Instead, he explained calmly:

"That was a lost vengeful spirit. When we see it, we must help it fulfill its wish, or it will take revenge on us."

"Explain what you mean by a lost vengeful spirit."

Seeing that Xia Tianqi didn't fully understand, Leng Yue rubbed his forehead and explained further:

"To put it simply, the vengeful spirit can't find its way home due to some reason, so it wants us to help it. If we refuse, it will vent its resentment on us and kill us.

You should be familiar with the 'Seventh Day Soul Return,' which refers to the deceased returning on the seventh day after death to see important people one last time. While a vengeful spirit also returns on the seventh day, it's not to see important people but to take revenge on those it resents.

To put it more clearly, it comes back to kill."

At this point, Leng Yue couldn't help but look at Xia Tianqi, who had a look of realization. Seeing that he understood, Leng Yue continued:

"I don't have the confidence to eliminate it, so I didn't act just now. I hope you can understand this."

Hearing Leng Yue's explanation, Xia Tianqi felt somewhat relieved, but he still replied coldly:

"No matter how well you explain it, you can't make up for the fact that you made me carry a ghost, which made me break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.

But I'm not that petty. Let's not let it happen again, and we'll let this go."

Xia Tianqi naturally knew why Leng Yue didn't tell him the woman was a ghost beforehand, because if he had, he wouldn't have been able to carry her. But no matter what, he was the one who carried the ghost, not Leng Yue, so he had to remember this.

After resolving the potential internal conflict, the two began to discuss the next steps.

Although Xia Tianqi wasn't very familiar with dealing with ghosts, he had a certain talent for making plans and conducting small analyses.

Based on his guess, the female ghost was most likely the relative of Boss Chen who had passed away. By following this lead, it wouldn't be difficult to investigate the cause of the woman's death and her connection to the Chen family and the entire Hulu Village.

As the primary suspect, it would be difficult to get the truth from Boss Chen right away, so they should start by gathering information from other villagers and then confront Boss Chen with evidence.

After all, only by understanding the entire incident, including its causes and consequences, could they find a way to stop the female ghost and resolve the issue.

Of course, this was just one approach, a "cultural battle." The second approach was a "military battle," to see if Leng Yue could single-handedly defeat the vengeful spirit and eliminate the female ghost.

However, he didn't have much hope, as Leng Yue had already said he wasn't confident. Otherwise, he would have taken action when they first encountered the female ghost at the village edge.

So, Leng Yue could only act as a bodyguard, not a fighter.

After hearing Xia Tianqi's analysis, Leng Yue agreed:

"If we can find a way to resolve its resentment, we can easily deal with it. But if we can't, we'll have to fight it head-on, which will be very difficult."

"There's no such word as 'difficult' in a genius's dictionary. As long as you protect me well, I will definitely find a way to resolve its resentment."

Xia Tianqi's promise was full of confidence, not because he was really sure, but because he had to believe in himself.

After setting the direction for resolving the incident, Xia Tianqi didn't even take off his shoes and fell into a deep sleep on the bed.

The flickering candlelight was eventually blown out, leaving the room pitch black, with only the sound of the drizzling rain filling the air.

"Hey, wake up."

"Quick, wake up."

Xia Tianqi was sleeping soundly when he felt someone shaking him and heard Leng Yue's annoying voice.

Opening his eyes, Xia Tianqi asked groggily:

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're afraid to go to the bathroom."

"No, the coffin is moving."

Hearing this, Xia Tianqi felt as if he had been doused with cold water and immediately sat up, wide awake.

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