The Monk and the Taoist

With Hongxing Mansion sealed off, the happiest ones were, of course, the working stiffs.

A week of paid leave, plus the ability to shamelessly eat melon in the company group chat—

They wouldn't have dared to dream of something so outrageous in the past.

The official announcement claimed that Hongxing Mansion had a suspected gas leak and the building had to be sealed off for pipeline repairs.

Yet the enthusiasm of the melon-eating onlookers was boundless.

Throughout the entire morning, people continuously posted live text updates about the lockdown in the group chat, with messages scrolling past faster than the eye could follow.

Some even attempted to use drones to scout the situation inside the building.

Unfortunately, in broad daylight, they captured nothing of value.

All they managed to film was some apparent official activity on the twenty-seventh floor of the building.

Messages refreshed rapidly in the chat, filled with people urging for more updates.

“Bro, I remember I didn’t close my window before leaving work yesterday. If push comes to shove, just fly inside and snap a few more pictures. Who knows, maybe you’ll catch some paranormal photos and blow up online!”

“Isn’t that an illegal flight? Friendly reminder: if your drone isn’t registered, you could easily end up at the station.”

“Real criminal of you! The authorities already sealed the building, and you guys are still scheming to take pictures.”

“Reported! Don't thank me, I'm just Lei Feng.”

The guy operating the drone immediately panicked and typed back furiously:

“Come on, don't mess with me! Aren’t I just doing this for everyone’s benefit? Do you guys actually believe there’s a gas leak nearby? Wait, wait, wait, I think I caught something! Isn't that the master who held the ritual on the seventeenth floor before?”

He sent several screenshots taken from the drone's perspective.

A perimeter of blue sheet metal was erected around Hongxing Mansion, and more than a dozen identical-looking black business vans lined the road at the entrance.

Numerous officers in police uniforms were carrying various equipment in and out, their expressions grave.

A spirited old man in a Tang suit entered the building alongside the main group.

Though his figure flashed past only briefly and the image was somewhat blurry, the sharp-eyed group members still recognized him at a glance.

“Isn’t that the old guy who checked the feng shui on the seventeenth floor? What’s he doing in there?”

“What does this mean? Are the authorities admitting Hongxing Mansion is haunted?”

“Holy crap! Holy crap! Oh boy, I gotta say, the paranormal event is officially confirmed, isn’t it?!”

The old man was indeed Master He, who had previously performed the ritual.

Nan Zhi, who had been lurking silently in the chat, was slightly surprised.

She hadn't expected the authorities to invite him back.

But before she could take a closer look, the images vanished, replaced only by the 【404】 symbol indicating they had been censored.

Clearly, the cyber police were remarkably quick to respond.

“Why did that bro go quiet? Did he get arrested?”

“For real? Invited for tea? Don’t play dead, come back and livestream!”

“Hahahahaha! I'm right next to him! This guy was flying illegally, and an electromagnetic jammer shot his drone down. Just now, two cops very politely invited him to take a seat at the station! Seriously! I’m not making this up!”

“He really went to the station?”

“Oof, that’s purely asking for trouble.”

“Oh man, oh man, I really want to see what's happening inside the building! (crying-laughing emoji)”

After gloating over the drone guy for well over four hundred messages, the onlookers managed to steer the topic back:

“Wait, am I the only one who wants to know why the authorities brought that old man in?”

“To catch ghosts, what else? They can’t possibly have a sixty-something-year-old repairing pipes, right? (funny emoji)”

“No way. That day he muttered and danced around for ages, failed to exorcise the ghost, and even brought back a female ghost from the Song Dynasty! You call that effective?!”

“Pretty effective, right? That's why the ghost ran over to the gaming company!”

“Being able to summon a real ghost means, in a sense, the old guy actually has some real skills. (doge emoji)”

...

“I really don’t know how to summon ghosts. Bringing me here won’t do any good.”

He Xiaoyi lost count of how many times he had repeated those words.

“Truly, Comrade Police Officer, I'm not lying to you. The method passed down by our He family ancestors—Scattering Rice to Question Spirits—merely uses the essence of the five grains to communicate with ghosts and spirits. Furthermore, this method has flaws. If you encounter a ghost that is exceptionally manic, completely unreasonable, or has an incomplete soul, the method won't work.”

Standing before him was Qin Yue, dressed in a black police uniform.

Her brows and eyes were relaxed, her short hair crisp and neat. Her features were not dazzlingly striking, yet they gave off a comfortable presence that readily invited a sense of warmth and trust.

Qin Yue had just turned twenty-eight this year, not very old at all.

Yet among peers of her rank, she was remarkably young.

The youngest captain of the criminal investigation detachment in Qianli City—that title carried immense weight.

Joining the police force at twenty-two, Qin Yue had served in narcotics and worked undercover; she took first place in grappling and combat, riot control and emergency response, and crisis negotiation alike.

Likewise, she had pursued advanced studies across numerous specialized skill sets.

Straight A’s in criminal investigation, psychology, and criminology, fully proficient in forensic science and criminal procedure—she was a true all-around powerhouse.

It wasn’t that no one had ever questioned the speed of Qin Yue’s promotions.

But she had refuted every doubt with decisive actions, slapping them down hard with undeniable results.

The reason Ma Mingyuan felt so at ease entrusting such a critical mission to her was precisely because she was exceptionally capable.

“I believe you wouldn’t deceive the police regarding these matters. Likewise, I sincerely hope you can cooperate with our work to the fullest extent.”

With a faint smile on her lips, Qin Yue made an inviting gesture with her hand.

“In fact, Old Mr. He, we didn't just invite you today. We also invited Master Guangliang from Guangfu Temple and Taoist Master Dingyi from Taisu Monastery.”

As her words fell, two more people walked in through the door.

One was a chubby monk clad in a bright yellow kasaya, with nine ring scars branded on his head.

The other was a gaunt, gray-bearded Taoist dressed in a gray Daoist robe.

Looking at each other, both wore identical expressions of bewilderment.

They couldn't fathom in the slightest why they had been flown in overnight just to...

...look at a dilapidated office?

The police had not disturbed the scene, so the massive gaming company remained in its wrecked state, looking as if it had undergone a violent demolition.

Building upon this, Qin Yue had led her team to construct a temporary operations room out of blast-resistant materials by the front desk.

The operations room wasn't small, but having to squeeze in numerous testing instruments, display screens, and experts dispatched from various departments made it feel rather cramped.

In the hundred-square-meter office area, nearly two hundred new cameras had been installed, providing 360-degree coverage without blind spots, aimed into every corner of the company.

—They had stopped just short of jamming one into the cracks along the floorboards.

Everything used was state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line equipment.

Ensuring they could capture any subtle movement at the very first instant.

The monk and the Taoist looked at each other.

Out of caution, neither said much, each merely chanting a phrase:

“Namo Amitabha.”

“Mercy, mercy.”

Having already learned the general gist of the matter on the way here, Taoist Master Dingyi cut straight to the chase:

“I hear an extraordinarily ferocious vengeful ghost has appeared here—not only seething with sky-high grievance, but also capable of manifesting before living people?”