I pointed at Lao Du and said to Xunhua, "This Mr. Du is my employer and the original owner of that house. He hired me to find out the cause of his wife's death."
Xunhua's eyes lit up: "So my friend is the owner of this house. Tell me, what happened?"
Xunhua was definitely not a monk, and his habits were exposed in just a few words. However, he didn't seem to have any intention of hiding it, which made me confused.
I said in a deep voice: "Now, should we go into Lao Du's house to check?"
"Actually, there's no need..." Xunhua said 'no need' but walked outside and very skillfully poked open the door of Lao Du's house with a piece of wire. "I have checked this house several times. Although I didn't dig three feet into the ground, I have already searched all the places that can be checked. There is no sign of any wronged ghost staying. I can only say that the wronged ghost only appeared eight years ago, and now it is back again."
While Xunhua was talking, I had already looked around the house. Although Lao Du hadn't been home for eight years, the furnishings in his house had not changed at all except for a thick layer of dust. Moreover, there was no sign of a ghost in the house.
I couldn't help but frown: "Could it be that the ghost has turned back? That shouldn't be the case!"
If a ghost stays in a place for a long time, it will definitely leave a negative energy there, and even ordinary people can sense it. However, if Xie Wanqiao is a returning soul, why did she appear eight years later? Where did she go during these eight years? Was she really saved by that monk
I looked at Xunhua and said, "Excuse me..."
I was just thinking about how to express my meaning tactfully, but Xunhua said, "I know what you want to say. Although my uncle is very good at Buddhism, he is no better than an ordinary sorcerer when it comes to subduing demons and monsters."
"When he takes action, he just chants sutras, prays for the dead, and uses Buddhist teachings to influence the dead. He never thinks about whether the wronged souls are willing to listen to him."
Xunhua was right. Buddhism can indeed eliminate the evil spirits of wronged souls and lead them to paradise, but the prerequisite is that the souls must first have a desire for paradise. If the souls cannot let go of their grudges and hatred in their lives, the monks cannot force them to be liberated. Moreover, the practice of most monks is not mainly to slay demons and monsters.
Xunhua didn't know what I was thinking, and continued, "Eight years ago, he came here to pray for the souls of the dead. Although he felt that the souls had left, he felt something was wrong after he returned. He always felt that the souls would come back, so he came back and left his contact information."
"After I came here, my first reaction was that the dead were not in this house. But I did hear the ghost's laughter inside. I checked several times in a row without any results, and then I thought that the ghost in the house was not reluctant to stay in this house, but was waiting for someone to come back."
Xunhua glanced at Lao Du and said, "I simply sealed the door and waited at the neighbor's house for someone to show up. But you guys came. I knew it when you kicked the door during the day, but I didn't show up because I wanted to see what you were going to do."
I looked at Xunhua and said, "You didn't put a soul-sealing ban on the door, but only left a warning spell?"
"Yes!" Xunhua nodded, "The ghost is not in the house, so it's useless to ban it."
"Not in the house?" I asked. "Didn't the neighbors here say that they heard the ghost laughing?"
Xunhua said: "I used my wisdom eyes to scan the door, but I really didn't see any evil spirit inside the door. Even when you encountered a ghost at the door just now, I didn't find any evil spirit in this room."
Xunhua took me to the next room, where he placed a vajra hanging with a red rope: "Look, the vajra was always pointing to the door, but it didn't have any reaction to the next door, which means there is no ghost next door. And..."
Xunhua changed the subject and said, "I have been watching the corridor through the door mirror. At that time, the ghost that could kill people was on the stairs, and the other one should be behind you. The one in the Du family's house was at best a deliberate attempt to confuse people. Don't you think it's strange?"
"It's someone's doing!" I squinted my eyes and said, "Someone is plotting against us."
"That's right!" Xunhua nodded, "Take the ghost outside the window for example. If I'm not mistaken, he came when you were burning paper. At that time, he should have been hiding outside the window, knocking on the glass of that house, and when the man stuck his head out, he cut his neck with a knife, and then killed the old lady before ambushing you."
Xunhua’s speculation is similar to what I thought.
I thought about it for a moment before I bowed and said, "Thank you for clearing up my doubts. We'll take our leave now."
Before I could turn around, Xunhua said, "Goodbye, my friend. Although we are not commissioned by the same employer, our purpose is the same. How about we join forces? I am afraid I can't handle this business alone."
I was really tempted by Xunhua's proposal. I have only taken on two business deals since my debut, but each time I felt a little overwhelmed. It's not that I'm incapable, but that I can't do it in two different places.
Just like the situation just now where I couldn't take care of both Lao Du and Xie Wanhua at the same time, if Xunhua hadn't appeared, I would have to choose to give up one of them. But they are both my employers, so who should I give up
The most important thing in a warlock's fight with ghosts is to stay focused. A slight distraction could mean life or death. I really need a helper.
I looked at Xunhua: "Are you really a monk?"
Xunhua touched his bald head and said, "It's fake! I am just a sorcerer. I have to pretend to be a monk for some reason. If you believe me, we can cooperate. If you have concerns, forget it!"
The inheritance of sorcerers comes from Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. It is not strange to know magic but not be a member of a religion. This is the same as "not all people who have practiced Shaolin boxing are Shaolin disciples".
Those who practiced only one sect must have some connection with a religious sect. There were also many sorcerers who couldn't even tell what sect they came from.
My grandfather told me that Northeastern masters are regarded as inferior in the art of Taoism. In fact, it is not without reason, because most masters do not have a clear master and are only practical in their work. It is not uncommon to see a Northeastern master carrying the Diamond Sutra and holding a compass to check Feng Shui positioning.
It is because Mr. Dongbei is too complicated, has no clear master, and no profound inheritance, that he is regarded as the inferior. However, if someone underestimates Mr. Dongbei, he will definitely suffer a great loss. Because Mr. Dongbei has no master, but has the unique courage and loyalty of the people of the Northeast. Just relying on the four words "fearless of life and death" is enough to gain a foothold in the art.
Therefore, I don’t attach much importance to the sect of my teacher.
When I looked at Xunhua, he was looking at me calmly, as if waiting for my answer.
I hesitated for only a moment before raising my right hand. Xunhua smiled and clapped his hands with me three times in a row: "Happy cooperation! My real name is Shi Bucong, which means I would rather die than obey. You can call me Xunhua or Shi Monk, but just don't call me Shi Bucong."
"Okay!" I was not familiar with the monk, so I couldn't ask him why he came up with such a lame name. I could only cough twice and tell the other party about Lao Du's request. After listening to it, the monk couldn't help but frowned: "This is weird! Lao Du, tell me the situation at that time."
Old Du, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "At that time, I had just returned home when I smelled blood in the house. Half of the house was covered in blood. Wan Qiao was gone, and the child was gone too..."
The monk asked carefully, "So you know they are dead?"
Lao Du pointed at the bedroom and said, "The forensic examination showed that the blood on the bed was from Wanqiao, and the blood on the floor was from Tongtong. Based on the amount of blood loss, they couldn't have survived. Moreover, there was internal organ tissue in the blood. They..."
I turned around and asked, "Apart from these places, there is no blood anywhere else?"
Lao Du shook his head and said, "No."
I picked up Tongtong's painting and said, "It seems that this painting is real. Tongtong must have seen the person outside..."
I was talking when I suddenly remembered something and turned around and ran downstairs. I didn't stop until I reached the window of Old Lady Liu. That was where the ghost I had defeated had fallen. There lay a rotten shroud, and the sharp knife that the ghost had used to attack me had fallen not far away.
I picked up the knife and looked at it several times before I said to Lao Du, "Did you take the toy knife that came with the diary?"
"Here!" After Lao Du handed me the knife, I realized that the two knives were identical in appearance except for the different materials. "Someone is playing tricks! The person who ambushed us this time is a master of witchcraft."
"Impossible!" Xie Wanhua said, "Tom doesn't understand things like witchcraft, it can't be him."
I shook my head and said, "He wouldn't, but others might. Think about it yourself. When we were video chatting with Tom, did you feel it was a little strange?"
Xie Wanhua said blankly: "I don't think there is anything strange..."
"It's the light!" Lao Du suddenly realized, "Although Tom closed the curtains, the light in the room was not like that in the dark. Even if the curtains are closed in the daytime, the light in the room will be different from that at night. It's just that no one noticed this at the time."
I said in a deep voice, "If it was daytime, it means Tom was not in Europe. Judging from this shroud, the spells on it should have come from a school in East Asia, or even from a Chinese master. Dr. Xie, please call someone and ask where Tom is."
Xie Wanhua took out her phone and quickly dialed. Not long after, Xie Wanhua said with a pale face: "Tom has already gone abroad." (To be continued)