Lu Yao was stunned by Ye Huohuo’s question, “What’s not normal about it?” This time, she lacked confidence, her voice meek, as if she were talking to herself. She hadn’t noticed before, but after Ye Huohuo’s question, she vaguely felt something was off, though she couldn’t pinpoint what.
“Think about it, when Elder Brother Qin Hao’s soul was restrained, my second senior brother had already left. Could he have abandoned Elder Brother and left the Qin family?”
“He shouldn’t have. I heard your second senior brother and his elder brother had a very good relationship.”
“Exactly. While Junior Uncle was treating Elder Brother Qin Hao, my second senior brother must have been there, even if he couldn’t help, he would have been there to guard. When Junior Uncle left, whether out of respect or for other reasons, the Qin family should have at least sent a Qin family member to see him off. I guess Uncle Qin is old, and Aunt Qin hasn’t been well for years, so it’s most likely my second senior brother who escorted him. Therefore, my second senior brother should have been in the car with Junior Uncle.”
“I told you, it’s possible that when you heard them, your second senior brother wasn’t speaking, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.”
“Alright, then tell me, what kind of car did Junior Uncle leave in?”
“Um… it was a sedan.” Lu Yao’s eyes suddenly widened. “Are you trying to say that Junior Uncle wasn’t in that car?”
Ye Huohuo nodded with a hint of satisfaction, thinking Lu Yao wasn’t completely clueless. “Exactly. Think about it, under normal circumstances, a sedan can carry three people besides the driver. That’s the three people you heard speaking – Junior Uncle, his attendant, and a butler from the Qin family. This means my second senior brother couldn’t have been in the car. And given my second senior brother’s personality, he wouldn’t have stayed silent in the car while the butler spoke with Junior Uncle. Besides, in what situation would Junior Uncle mention a dark shadow? How could he say such a thing in front of a Qin family butler, an outsider?”
Lu Yao pondered for a long time, “It was the butler who brought it up then, saying that this detention center often had strange occurrences, people falling ill inexplicably and never recovering, some even nearing death. Then Junior Uncle said he had observed the qi there and found a dark shadow, and those people were all influenced by it.”
“Junior Uncle has lived in the depths of the Maoshan Sect for years. When did he have the chance to observe the qi here? You…” Ye Huohuo trailed off, swallowing the rest of her words.
By now, the situation seemed quite clear. Someone must have misled Lu Yao, setting a trap to lure her to the detention center. This person was too cunning, spending so much effort, but was it really just for her? Ye Huohuo had always known she was unlucky, but she never thought she was important enough for someone to go to such lengths to target her. An intuition told her she was only a small part of the target; the perpetrator’s goal was far beyond just her. Qin Hao was the second senior brother’s elder brother, so targeting the Qin family was akin to targeting the second senior brother. And now they were targeting her, could the target be the Wuji Temple? The more Ye Huohuo thought about it, the colder her back became, a chilling sensation creeping into her heart.
“Lu Yao, don’t you find it strange? My second senior brother and I are from the Wuji Temple. Although you’ve been expelled from the Maoshan Sect, you still have Junior Uncle, who is a genuine Maoshan Sect disciple. In less than a month, both the Wuji Temple and the Maoshan Sect have been drawn in. Do you really think this is just a coincidence?”
Lu Yao remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, “If that’s the case, it’s too terrifying. I’ve always considered myself smart, yet I was schemed against like this and even enjoyed it. Hah! Am I really that foolish?”
“Not necessarily! Perhaps your line of work has yielded some gains,” Ye Huohuo said. “Haven’t you noticed that there’s actually a ghost in this detention center since you arrived?”
“What? Impossible! With my ghost-controlling skills, how could I possibly not sense a ghost here? Besides, I’ve been here for days, there’s no reason you’d know after only one day and I wouldn’t notice anything.” Lu Yao didn’t believe it.
“Your focus since arriving here has been on finding the dark shadow, your mind has been on that, and the methods you’ve used were aimed at the dark shadow. You’ve ignored other ghosts. Now, clear your mind, expand your senses, and feel again.” Ye Huohuo’s voice seemed to take on a magnetic quality, deep and resonant, with a hint of seduction, making it irresistible to follow her instructions.
Listening to Ye Huohuo, Lu Yao slowly closed her eyes, truly emptying her divine sense, as if she were in a vast wilderness. Her perception continuously expanded, stretching outward from this small dark room. Suddenly, a pair of blood-red eyes opened in the darkness. The overwhelming malevolence startled Lu Yao, and she snapped her eyes open. She then realized her clothes were soaked in cold sweat, large beads of sweat dripping down her cheeks, her throat so dry it felt parched.
“How long was I out?” Lu Yao asked, gasping for breath, looking at Ye Huohuo who was leisurely reclining beside her.
Ye Huohuo pointed to the light filtering through the skylight, “The moon has already risen. How long do you think you slept?”
“I fell asleep?” Lu Yao couldn’t believe it. “I felt like only a few minutes had passed. You… you didn’t use a soul-guiding technique on me, did you!”
“You’re an amateur. There’s a scientific term for it now – hypnosis!” Ye Huohuo rubbed the large bump on her forehead, bruised by the police baton. It must be bleeding internally.
“What hypnosis? Don’t think I don’t know. You just drew my soul consciousness out of my body. Hypnosis makes you see things you’ve experienced. Mine was soul departure. I saw something that hasn’t happened yet. That’s not important. What I saw was a… vengeful spirit? Could there really be a vengeful spirit in this detention center?” Lu Yao wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
“You should thank me. Without my help, would you have seen it? But it is strange, why would there be a vengeful spirit here?” Ye Huohuo also began to feel puzzled.
“How did you discover it? Why didn’t I notice it for so long? Has your spiritual power surpassed mine so much?” Although Lu Yao had been suppressed by Ye Huohuo in the past few encounters, she always felt it was due to the life-saving talismans given by Xuanji Zi. Deep down, she refused to admit defeat, but now she suddenly felt the gap between her and Ye Huohuo was considerable. Despite her words of defiance, her heart had to acknowledge it.
“You don’t need to think I’m better than you. Actually, I discovered it by chance. You know my constitution, and coupled with my injury, I sensed a bone-chilling Yin energy last night, the kind that belongs to a vengeful spirit. However, I only sensed its existence and couldn’t pinpoint its location. Did you see where it was just now?”
“That wasn’t an ordinary vengeful spirit. Although I only saw it for a moment, the overwhelming malevolence was beyond my control. We shouldn’t provoke it. If we can’t capture it, our lives will be in danger.” Lu Yao’s voice still carried the lingering fear.
“I’ll help you!” Ye Huohuo, however, found herself intrigued by the vengeful spirit.
“You? With half your life left, if you really confront that vengeful spirit, it would be good if you didn’t drag me down. Forget it, my life is more important.” Lu Yao was pragmatic and knew her own capabilities well, usually not attempting things beyond her scope.
“I’m afraid whether we capture that vengeful spirit or not is no longer up to us!” Ye Huohuo raised her hand and pointed in a direction. “Look over there…”