Chapter 1 The First Pull

The first tug didn't budge it. Yu Chengmu didn't let go, just looked at him, a battle of wills in their eyes.

It wasn't until he secretly pinched Yu Chengmu's hand that Yu Chengmu released his grip.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Chen Hao carefully picked up the Soul Suppressing Bell, cupped his fist at Yu Chengmu, considering it a thank you.

Seeing the Soul Suppressing Bell in hand, Lei Mingyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and Fatty couldn't help but feel excited, but Jiang Cheng's expression became even more solemn. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Losing the Soul Suppressing Bell, the expressions of Jia Jinliang and A Biao became strange, but within a few breaths, the two regained their composure, and the tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.

As if the previous unpleasantness was just everyone's illusion.

Jiang Cheng noticed that Chen Hao had put the hand holding the Soul Suppressing Bell behind his back, and at the same time, that hand was trembling slightly. It seemed that Chen Hao was not as calm as he appeared.

Now that the treasure had been found, there was no need for everyone to stay any longer, and they returned to their rooms.

"Doctor," Fatty leaned in and asked suspiciously, "Did this old guy Yu Chengmu really hand over the item?"

Jiang Cheng frowned tightly. "I can't figure it out either."

"Could there be a trick? Or...did the old thing want to play a psychological game with Chen Hao, betting that he wouldn't dare to take the Soul Suppressing Bell, but he didn't expect Chen Hao to actually take it?" Fatty analyzed.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Cheng turned his head and stared at Fatty's face, making the latter feel uneasy. Fatty swallowed and said nervously, "Doctor, if you have something to say, just say it."

"Fatty, did you really see that Soul Suppressing Bell being found by Yu Chengmu?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Of course! Not just me, but also Lei Mingyu. We were watching him like hawks!" Fatty nodded affirmatively.

"That's not what I meant. What I want to say is...during the process of finding this Soul Suppressing Bell, did anything happen, or...at the place where the Soul Suppressing Bell was found, were there any other things?" Jiang Cheng carefully organized his words.

"Other things..." Fatty thought for a while, then shook his head. "No, at that time, Yu Chengmu squatted down and found a hollow space in the bricks under the sculpture. After taking out that stone, there was a small space inside. He reached in and took out a small cloth bag. After opening it, it was this Soul Suppressing Bell."

"Then I called you guys over," Fatty continued.

Jiang Cheng frowned even more tightly when he heard this. "How could it be a bell? It shouldn't be."

Fatty blinked. "What are you talking about? What shouldn't be?"

"According to the village chief, the treasure we found should be related to the Dahe Niangniang (Great River Goddess), something she used during her lifetime, and more likely something related to the paper figurine Lu Jianli, but this Soul Suppressing Bell..." Jiang Cheng paused, "I don't see what relationship it has with the Dahe Niangniang. It's just a prop that needs to be used tonight, nothing more."

"Isn't that enough?" Fatty asked, puzzled.

"It's enough and not enough. I just find it very strange," Jiang Cheng said truthfully.

Fatty was made to feel uneasy by Jiang Cheng's words. After a long while, he tentatively asked, "Doctor, since that's the case, should we...should we give Chen Hao and the others a reminder?"

Shaking his head, Jiang Cheng sighed. "No need. What we thought of, Chen Hao also thought of."

"If he thought of it, he still took the bell. If it's really a big pit like you said, what do we do?" Fatty asked.

"What if he doesn't take it?" Jiang Cheng asked rhetorically, his tone suddenly becoming heavier. Fatty rarely saw the doctor like this. "Fatty, you need to know that the initiative in this mission is not in Chen Hao's hands, nor in our hands. Yu Chengmu and the others have too much of an advantage. Chen Hao has no choice. He doesn't dare to gamble."

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath. "If...I mean if, this Soul Suppressing Bell is really the key to breaking the situation tonight, and it falls into Yu Chengmu's hands, do you know what the result will be?"

"We might all die, and it's highly likely that we'll die without even knowing why. That's why Chen Hao and the others are risking being shameless, or even fighting, to get this Soul Suppressing Bell."

"If he takes the wrong one, Chen Hao dies alone, but if we don't fight for it, and this treasure is real, and it falls into the hands of someone like Yu Chengmu who knows what he's doing, who knows how many people will die."

Fatty was stunned. "Ruthless enough."

"Also righteous enough." Jiang Cheng leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping out the door. "He's not doing it for us, he's doing it for his two brothers. But this guy is not bad, I'll help him if I get the chance."

"Then...Doctor, do you think this Soul Suppressing Bell is real or fake?" Fatty couldn't help but ask, after all, this was a major matter concerning whether they could survive tonight.

Jiang Cheng smiled bitterly. "Fatty, why don't you understand? This Soul Suppressing Bell must be real, after all, Yu Chengmu can't conjure it out of thin air, but as for whether it's the so-called treasure, we don't know."

"I'm worried that he may have hidden other things and didn't take them out," Jiang Cheng said worriedly.

...

In another room.

Chen Hao sat quietly at the table, staring intently at the Soul Suppressing Bell placed in the middle of the table. Jiang Cheng was right, he was also gambling, gambling that there was nothing wrong with this bell.

Lei Mingyu looked annoyed and couldn't help but reach out to grab the bell to take a closer look, but Chen Hao stopped him. "Don't touch it." Chen Hao said coldly, "No one is allowed to touch it except me."

Du Moyu stared warily at the bell, then looked at Lei Mingyu angrily, complaining, "Lei Mingyu, I'm asking you, did you see clearly? Is this the only treasure? Was it not swapped?"

Lei Mingyu was already annoyed, and hearing this only added fuel to the fire. "Bullshit, I'm not blind. I was watching the old thing closely, there's definitely no problem. This is the only one, and...it's impossible for him to prepare one in advance to swap it."

Chen Hao's brain was rapidly thinking about the subtle changes in Yu Chengmu's expression. After all, he was from a professional background, and his teacher had taught them how to judge whether someone was lying from their micro-expressions.

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, but he couldn't find out where the flaw was.

Lei Mingyu had already told him the process of Yu Chengmu discovering the treasure three times according to his request. The one thing that made him suspicious was that Yu Chengmu, such a cautious person, would actually drop the Soul Suppressing Bell on the ground.

It was Fatty who was quick-witted and picked up the bell, preventing a disaster.

Taking out the cloth bag, opening it, inside was the Soul Suppressing Bell, and then he accidentally dropped the bell, Fatty was quick-witted, and then they arrived...

It was only a short 10 seconds or so, what could have happened?

This process was repeatedly screened in Chen Hao's mind. Through Lei Mingyu's description, he pieced together various details, until...an inconspicuous scene suddenly popped into his mind.

Chen Hao suddenly stood up and grabbed Lei Mingyu's arm. "I'm asking you, where did the cloth...the cloth that wrapped the Soul Suppressing Bell go?"