Were the strange markings on the wall hiding a map?
Upon hearing this news, it wasn't just Xia Zhi who couldn't remain composed; even the senior disciples standing outside rushed in, surrounding Yan Shouyi.
"What map? How did you find it? Show us quickly!"
Yan Shouyi did not trust these strangers, but he couldn't state it directly. He could only say, "After the 'little girl' finishes her soul summoning, I'll tell you all at once."
Everyone didn't believe in soul summoning, but since Yan Shouyi had a map, which was important evidence for the case, they all suppressed their curiosity and quietly waited for Lin Zhitong to summon the soul.
Lin Zhitong's soul summoning this time took a bit longer than before, indicating how peculiar the matter was.
However, after a few minutes, Lin Zhitong finally opened her eyes. The first thing she said was, "Brother Wei's soul has been taken away; I can't bring it back. But strangely, I can trace its whereabouts."
Saying this, Lin Zhitong took out her phone, opened a map, and began searching for Brother Wei's soul's location on it.
Meanwhile, Xia Zhi's colleagues delivered the map of Rongcheng. The map, which was two meters wide, was spread out on the floor, awaiting Yan Shouyi's answer.
Yan Shouyi placed his manuscript next to the map.
Everyone leaned in closer and discovered that Yan Shouyi's manuscript seemed to have completed the missing parts of all the runes on the wall, and these missing parts, when connected, corresponded exactly to the map of Rongcheng!
The positions marked with "Water" were precisely the West Lake, Dengyun Lake, Min River, Wulong River, and other locations in Rongcheng.
The positions marked with "Earth" corresponded to the locations of Guling, Qishan, Feifeng Mountain, Jinji Mountain, Pingshan, Wushan, and other places in Rongcheng.
The positions marked with "Metal" were currently some well-known tall buildings and department stores in Rongcheng!
By correlating these locations with the Five Elements, Yan Shouyi's manuscript and the map of Rongcheng matched perfectly.
At this moment, everyone realized how capable Yan Shouyi was. To achieve this level, one must be extremely familiar with runes and possess immense imagination and reasoning abilities.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to deduce that the runes on the wall contained a map just by looking at them.
Even if this kid was a fraud, he was a folklorist whose knowledge reserve was no less than that of some doctoral professors studying folklore!
For a moment, everyone felt a degree of admiration for him.
Xia Zhi asked, "Why did the killer draw a map of Rongcheng?"
"The map of Rongcheng is just the base; what's more important is what's hidden within the Rongcheng map... a formation!" Yan Shouyi replied.
"A formation? Another formation!" Long Feicheng exclaimed. "Could that guy be trying to set up a formation all over Rongcheng?"
This time, Yan Shouyi did not rush to answer but stared intently at the map.
Knowing a formation, inferring its layout is a simple matter.
However, inferring a formation based solely on its layout is extremely difficult!
Yan Shouyi had a few potential formations in mind, but because the map provided too little information, he couldn't jump to conclusions.
Just then, Lin Zhitong suddenly shouted while holding her phone, "Big dummy, I've found where Brother Wei's soul is!"
"Where?"
Yan Shouyi reacted strongly, as he vaguely felt that the location of Brother Wei's soul was related to the map left by the killer.
Lin Zhitong replied, "Ping'an Building."
"Ping'an Building...?"
As soon as this was uttered, Xia Zhi and her colleagues couldn't help but look at each other, exchanging knowing glances.
From their reactions, it was evident that this building held some special significance.
Lu Caiwei said angrily, "Why does it have to be Ping'an Building! That killer is too despicable!"
"What's wrong with Ping'an Building?" Yan Shouyi asked, confused.
Long Feicheng, being an old hand in Rongcheng, naturally knew about Ping'an Building. He explained:
"Brother Yan, you're new to Rongcheng, so you might not know. Ping'an Building is actually our city's famous haunted building! Anyone who has stayed in Rongcheng for a year would know about this."
Yan Shouyi frowned, "Is it genuinely haunted, or just a rumor?"
"That... I can't say for sure, as I haven't been there myself," Long Feicheng scratched his head. "However, my master once warned me not to go to Ping'an Building unless it was necessary. If even he said so, it's likely Ping'an Building truly has problems."
"It's true."
The last person to speak was Lin Zhitong. She said with a solemn expression, "Ping'an Building is genuinely haunted, and very violently so. Besides Shanghang Art School, it's the most haunted place in Rongcheng, and even our Lushanshan Sect can't do anything about the building."
"Even the sect leader of Lushanshan can't do anything?"
This time, Yan Shouyi was truly surprised.
In this day and age, it was almost impossible for a haunted building to remain standing for so long and possess such a deterrent force.
Yet, the eeriness of Ping'an Building made even the Lushanshan Sect keep their distance. It was so notorious throughout Rongcheng, yet it still stood.
If the haunting wasn't so severe, the municipal government would have long ago demolished it.
This showed how terrifying Ping'an Building was.
Xia Zhi's colleagues also exchanged glances, "If this involves Ping'an Building, this case will likely be even harder to handle. We can't conveniently search Ping'an Building under strange pretenses and can only proceed from other clues. Therefore, Ping'an Building... we'll leave it to you."
Long Feicheng chuckled upon hearing this, "You're clearly scared and are passing this important clue to us, aren't you?"
The crowd offered awkward yet polite smiles.
Yan Shouyi comforted them, "This matter is beyond their capabilities; it's better they don't get involved."
Yan Shouyi completely understood the thoughts of Xia Zhi's colleagues. After all, they couldn't apply for a search warrant to investigate Ping'an Building based on a "groundless" map.
Moreover, even if they went to investigate and encountered something unclean, they wouldn't have the ability to deal with it.
Therefore, handing this clue over to Yan Shouyi and his group was the best option. Yan Shouyi was happy with this, at least it meant he wouldn't have to carry extra burdens.
Xia Zhi immediately stated, "Then we'll leave the investigation of Ping'an Building to you. We can grant you some authority. As long as you don't cause too much of a scene, we'll help you clean up the aftermath."
"That's for the best," Yan Shouyi said with a smile.
The current society is different from the past; there are rules and restrictions everywhere. Sometimes, under the watchful eyes of surveillance cameras, Yan Shouyi dared not act rashly.
His reason for befriending Xia Zhi was precisely to gain some leeway in his future affairs in Rongcheng.
With Xia Zhi's assurance, he wouldn't have to be hesitant or overthink when acting.
However, before heading to Ping'an Building, Yan Shouyi needed to gather more information about the events that had transpired there.
Additionally.
He looked down at the map on the floor.
If one of the important locations in the formation hidden within the map was Ping'an Building, then some of the formations Yan Shouyi had been undecided about could be ruled out.
But even with the narrowed-down scope, Yan Shouyi still found it difficult to definitively ascertain what formation the killer intended to convey based on the existing clues.
However, there was one particular formation that made Yan Shouyi feel deeply uneasy.
Because—
That formation had a total of four formation eyes. According to the formation's design, besides Ping'an Building, two of the other three formation eyes were Shanghang Art School, and the other was...
Guling.
The Liu family's ancestral home.