Chapter 28

Zhen Bao circled around the flower beds and trees, heading towards the small building. Even before he got close, he felt an extremely uncomfortable sensation, as if his soul was being pulled and tugged by something. He steadied his mind and approached the window to take a look inside—

What should have been a normal small building turned out to contain a very deep and large pit! The pit was dug along the four walls inside the building, pitch black and bottomless. Only at the entrance was there a square platform about two zhang in size, on which a large jar was buried. A head protruded from the mouth of the jar, motionless, looking like a corpse.

Next to it was a small altar, on which a Buddha statue was placed. From a distance, it was not very clear, but it seemed to have many limbs and a fierce appearance, and it was unclear what kind of deity it was. Beside the Buddha statue were countless ritual objects, beads, dark treasures, blood wine, chicken heads, and other strange things.

Two people were standing by the altar, whispering in low voices— one of them was the middle-aged officer seen on the street.

It was none other than Luo Zihan, also known as Little Donkey, the young master!

The other was a sturdy man with a square face and a full beard, his jaw covered with long whiskers. Although he was not young, his voice was still strong. He whispered angrily, "You, you, you ungrateful son, have you no sense of brotherly and sisterly affection? Do you really want your sister to suffer for a thousand lifetimes before you are satisfied?"

"Dad, why can't you listen to me?" Luo Zihan said urgently, "It's not about whether I want my sister to enter the cycle of rebirth. It's that what you are doing is of no use to her! When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. There's no such thing as rebirth, karma, or the underworld. You said you caught this guy to avenge your sister... Yes, he deserves it! I don't think it's a big deal, but why can't you just kill him and be done with it? Why do you have to make him suffer like this?"

"Do you think I want to? Do you think I want to?!" the bearded man said, exasperated, "If it weren't for the fact that your sister's soul can't be found and needs the blood of her enemy to be summoned, would I allow them to do this in my house?"

"I'm afraid you've been deceived!" Luo Zihan, after much thought, decided to speak frankly, "Several elders in the gang have sent me messages, saying that everyone in the gang thinks you're crazy, and the morale is unstable. I didn't believe it at first, but now I have to. Dad, this time I've brought my troops back not only to help you deal with those ambitious people but also to resolve this matter..."

"Crazy? They're the ones who are crazy, not me!" the bearded man interrupted, "This is clearly a rumor to take my position, trying to rally a few brothers for a vote. To hell with them! I'll go out and take care of them. I don't need your unreliable Western gadgets to maintain order, and I don't need anyone else to interfere... Gang matters are settled by the gang, and you should stop worrying about it!"

"Dad, this isn't about killing or conspiracy!" Luo Zihan countered, "You can kill one, ten... but can you kill a hundred, a thousand? You can't possibly make the entire gang submit by killing them all! To be honest, as long as the 'human sacrifice' is in the house, this matter won't be resolved!" He advised frankly, "You've worked hard to build this empire, and we can't let others meddle. But now, with this situation, it's worrying—"

The bearded man, though rough, had a细腻 side. He knew his son's words made sense and weighed the pros and cons... Once the matter was exposed, it wouldn't be hard to see through. In a moment, he had a clear understanding of the situation.

Once he understood, his anger subsided, and he suddenly slumped to the ground, his face, which had been flushed with anger, now slack and aged as if he had suddenly grown ten years older!

He sighed repeatedly, his old eyes brimming with tears, and said, "But, but Yuhuan..." He stopped, his voice turning into a mournful sigh.

Luo Zihan knew his father's grief over the loss of his wife and daughter. Seeing his father in this state, how could he bear it? He quickly sat beside his father and comforted him softly:

"Dad, don't worry. We can deal with our sister's matter slowly... If you want to summon her soul, we can do it, even if it means spending more gold and silver. We can't let our sister suffer—think about it, did the master say anything else besides the human sacrifice?"

Luo Zihan had only meant to comfort his father, but as soon as he said it, the bearded man looked up, his expression thoughtful. After a moment, the light in his eyes dimmed again... He was convinced that there must be another way and immediately pressed for more information—

The purchase of land on Que'er Mountain was not a secret in the gang. The bearded man had not intended to hide it, so he explained the details to his son, including his inability to pay the chessboard rice and grain... In his view, he had followed the gang's rules, but to Luo Zihan...

This was a golden opportunity sent by heaven!

Resolving the 'human sacrifice' issue, comforting his father, and even finding a feng shui treasure spot for his sister if she were in heaven... All of this could be solved by buying this piece of land!

...

Hearing this, Zhen Bao finally understood the whole story. It was all related to the land on Que'er Mountain—this was clearly the first-ranked brother of the gang, Luo Dahu, and his son, the brother of the deceased female ghost!

Suddenly...

"Bang!"

The sound was sudden and loud, startling Zhen Bao. Before he could react, a group of soldiers rushed in, weapons drawn, as if charging into battle!

As soon as they reached the door, they heard a stern command: "Stop! I just killed a beast inside, nothing to be alarmed about!"

It was Luo Zihan's voice!

Hearing the general's voice, the adjutant immediately stopped and saluted:

"Yes, General!"

Without waiting for further orders, he led the others out of the courtyard.

They came and went quickly, leaving Zhen Bao bewildered...

He then decided to take a closer look—

Luo Zihan, with a fierce expression, poked the limp head hanging from the jar with his gun barrel, "You scum, you dared to deceive Yuhuan and abandon her. You must be tired of living! I'm giving you a quick death, which is a favor. If you can become a vengeful ghost, come after me— I can kill you once, I can kill you ten times, and I won't let you become a ghost!"

The gun barrel poked a few times, and the head let out a low moan!

It turned out the man was not dead!

The man, weak and feeble, said, "I, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong... Sir, please spare me? As long as you don't kill me, I can... I can wear mourning clothes for Yuhuan, I can be your son, I can..."

The more "I can" he said, the angrier Luo Dahu became. He grabbed the man's hair and dragged him out, roaring:

"Can your balls! Can your balls!! I don't want it!! I only want my daughter!! Do you understand? Do you understand??"

The man was dragged out and dangled in the air. Zhen Bao almost vomited at the sight!

The man was filthy, his limbs limp and broken, a bloody hole in his chest oozing blood, and maggots crawling all over his body. A mass of sticky, black substance dripped from his body like mud.

He was no longer human, just a half-rotten corpse!

With only half a life left, he had taken a bullet and was now barely breathing. The shaking was too much for him. His face turned purple and black, and he vomited black and green liquid, his head drooping...

He died instantly!

But Luo Dahu was not satisfied. He dragged the man out of the jar and threw him to the ground, then grabbed a nearby stool and started smashing, the stench and filth spreading everywhere, blood, bones, and brain matter splattering on the ground!

He roared and cursed, "Smash you, beast! Smash you, beast..." His eyes bloodshot, his mouth foaming, a mad look on his face, as if he had gone insane!

Luo Zihan quickly rushed over and hugged his father, pleading, "Stop! Stop! Dad, he's already dead, already dead!" He locked the bearded man in an iron grip.

Even so, Luo Dahu struggled and raged, and it took great effort to calm him down.

Zhen Bao wanted to see more, but suddenly felt something behind him— he turned and saw a sinister shadow standing beside him!

The shadow had a handsome face, but his whole body exuded an indescribable chill. As soon as he appeared, a bone-chilling cold wind enveloped Zhen Bao!

"Who, who are you?"

The shadow's mouth twisted, and he spoke in a voice like the cawing of a night crow, "Who am I? I'm a ghost who was murdered, a ghost who was murdered," he suddenly burst into a mad laugh:

"Ha, ha, ha, I just died! I was tortured to death, didn't you see?"

"Ah? You're the one inside?" Zhen Bao looked inside and pointed, suddenly understanding, "You are already..." As he spoke, a black light flashed inside!

He immediately fell silent.

When people are gone, ghosts can discern, and the dust of the netherworld can be seen in the three heavens!

Suddenly, black light and red flames appeared on the Buddha statue, surging out of the room like a tidal wave, forming a bell-shaped enclosure around the ghost and Zhen Bao, burning fiercely— he immediately felt an intense pain deep in his soul, as if he were being roasted alive!

It happened so quickly!

The ghost was even more pitiful, immediately falling to the ground and being consumed by the flames, crackling and popping, unable to struggle, his body turning to ashes in the fire!

His screams and cries were burned away!

What to do?

As soon as the flames appeared, Zhen Bao tried to escape. His mind raced, but he had no idea what to do. Just as he was panicking, he heard—

Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!

The rooster's crow!