"Humph...showy and deceptive..." Li Zhiyuan's hand trembled incessantly, cold sweat already running down his temples. "You think you can scare me by getting the handcuffs off and playing some tricks?"

"What? Haven't you realized you're already dead?" Feng Bujue paced back and forth, hands in his pockets, head lowered in thought. "It seems you were a very rational person in life. 'Common sense' is deeply rooted in your consciousness. Even though you're now a wandering ghost, you still..."

"Enough!" Li Zhiyuan interrupted Feng Bujue. "I'm warning you, don't play tricks. This is a police station. You think you can scare me...and get away with it?"

"Police station?" Feng Bujue turned his head and glanced at him. "Are you sure?"

As soon as he said this, Li Zhiyuan's mind buzzed.

The next second, the surrounding scenery changed. The original bright space of a dozen square meters suddenly turned into a vast, dark environment.

"This is no longer a police station." Feng Bujue continued. "It was rebuilt into a warehouse for discarded electrical appliances more than a decade ago." He paused. "Because this building was built in the last century, there are many original design flaws, so many new equipment cannot be connected. Therefore...seventeen years ago, five years after your death...this public security bureau moved elsewhere. The current office is located two kilometers away."

"You..." Li Zhiyuan still didn't believe Jue Ge. "This...this is impossible..."

Just as he was muttering to himself, Feng Bujue walked back to the table. At this time, the "table" had become a horizontally placed refrigerator, and the "chairs" they had just been sitting on were originally an air conditioner and a microwave oven.

"By the way..." Then, Jue Ge pointed to a stack of old newspapers on the refrigerator, which was the "file" that Chief Li had just taken, and said, "The police now no longer use paper files to take notes. They only need to take a tablet, scan the suspect's fingerprints, irises, and recognize the voiceprints, and all the information is available. After doing this, they still use this tablet to conduct inquiries in the form of a 'video' and record them together for future reference."

"Heh...hehe..." Suddenly, Li Zhiyuan laughed, a strange laugh. "I understand...you hypnotized me...everything I see is an illusion you made me see through hypnosis...yes...it must be like this...you were subtly hypnotizing me when you were telling me ghost stories..."

"Stop deceiving yourself." Feng Bujue interrupted him. "I don't have that kind of convenient ability. If I did...ten years ago, I would have already been the protagonist of a two-dimensional harem anime."

His lines were too erratic and had no integrity. Saying them at this moment prevented the other party from responding.

"Your doubts about the strange things in front of you...are actually easy to answer." Feng Bujue cast a sharp gaze at Li Zhiyuan. "Instead of looking for answers in me, why not try it on yourself..." He raised one hand, holding up a finger. "First, please recall the specific date of today."

"To...today is December 5, 2033..." Li Zhiyuan murmured.

"Don't you think it's strange?" Feng Bujue didn't let him finish speaking. "In December, I went out in shorts?"

Before he finished speaking, Li Zhiyuan was stunned...

This was indeed unreasonable, but Li Zhiyuan didn't understand...why had he ignored such an obvious anomaly before the other party mentioned it?

"The date in your mind will forever remain at December 5, 2033." Jue Ge continued, "Because that is the day Liu Xiaoya was murdered."

The three words "Liu Xiaoya" were like a steel nail, piercing straight into Li Zhiyuan's consciousness. The moment he heard this name, he collapsed, holding his head and kneeling on the ground...in extreme pain.

"Hmph..." Feng Bujue looked down at Li Zhiyuan with a condescending gaze. "It seems this name is quite stimulating to you...if I had known this, I wouldn't have had to beat around the bush so much." As he said this, he raised a second finger. "Then...next, please recall how you caught me and brought me to this 'police station'? And where did you see the surveillance footage about me?"

"I...gulp..." Li Zhiyuan's mind was in chaos. The severe headache made it impossible for him to concentrate. A large number of messy images flooded into his mind, flashing before his eyes.

"You can't remember, because those details aren't in your memory at all." Feng Bujue said, "The police station, the case, the video, the arrest...all of them were self-completed brain supplements in your conversation with me after you saw me." He licked his lips. "Think back...from the beginning of the conversation, I was guiding you..."

...

"You're new here, right?"

"I'm the person who reported the case. I'm the one who called 110. You can check the call records if you don't believe me..."

"You can check the road surveillance if you don't believe me..."

...

"...you supplemented your memory based on the information I provided." Feng Bujue continued, "Thus making a 'reasonable' inference."

"No...it's not like this..." Li Zhiyuan held his head in his hands, murmuring with difficulty. "You...nonsense!"

"The only information you know is 'the time, the place, and the dying antique shop owner who was attacked'." Feng Bujue ignored him and continued in a cold tone, "And the conclusion you desperately want to reach is...'who is the murderer'." He paused for two seconds, then said, "I might as well tell you clearly...the murderer is the ghost of Liu Xiaoya."

"Ah—"

Chi—chi—

Screams, a woman in red, a pale face, a hideous face, a painful face, a distorted face, blood, a lot of blood...

A large segment of sounds and fragments surged like a tsunami, sweeping through Li Zhiyuan's sea of consciousness, causing him to prostrate on the ground in pain once again.

"The case twenty-two years ago wasn't that complicated." Feng Bujue didn't stop narrating because of the other party's reaction. "An antique shop owner fell in love with the woman in the flower shop next door, but that woman didn't fall for him.

So, one winter night, the owner killed the woman who rejected him.

That night...the police officer who heard the screams and was the first to arrive at the scene was a chief named Li. He was a very outstanding detective who saw on the spot that this was a murder rather than an accident and arrested the antique shop owner.

However...that owner immediately made threats. He claimed that he knew some big shots who could guarantee that he wouldn't go to prison and could even make Chief Li lose his job and even his ability to stand in society.

Chief Li listened for a while and realized that the owner wasn't bluffing. He realized that what the other party said was very likely to become reality.

He wavered...

He realized that even if he did the right thing, the other party might not be punished as he should be, and his own future and even his life would be lost on this case.

Just as he was wavering, the owner launched a benefit-inducing attack on him.

Chief Li had just been married for a short time, and the woman's income was higher than his, making him unable to hold his head up in front of her family...

Under many inducements...he compromised.

He helped the owner re-handle the scene, made false evidence collection, and even taught the other party what to say during the transcript.

A murder case thus became a traffic accident."

Feng Bujue narrated this past event with an almost indifferent expression, but Li Zhiyuan, as the listener, was trembling with excitement, his emotions on the verge of losing control and collapsing.

"Seven days later..." Jue Ge paused for a few seconds, then said, "Liu Xiaoya took revenge for herself..." He smiled strangely again. "Heh...it's also a coincidence that day...happened to be the day you went to the antique shop owner to get 'reward'. That vengeful ghost tormented the murderer who killed her to death in front of your eyes...the reason why she didn't kill you as well was because you had already gone crazy before that owner died."

At this point, Li Zhiyuan suddenly stopped trembling.

"What? Remember?" Feng Bujue looked at him.

"Yes..." Li Zhiyuan stood up from the ground. "Two days later...I committed suicide in the hospital..." At this moment, his face was ashen, and his entire figure became translucent. "And the memories after that...were a mess..."

"Very normal." Feng Bujue said, "Didn't I already tell you, most of the time, ghosts like you are in a state of 'unconsciousness and incorporeality'. Without the premise of being able to maintain your own 'existence', there won't be any memories."

"Have I harmed anyone these years?" Li Zhiyuan's tone had become relatively calm.

"It's okay..." Jue Ge replied, "You're not a fierce ghost, just a *dib缚ling* (earthbound spirit), and only during the four major Ghost Festivals do you have the ability to interfere with living people a little bit."

"Then today is..." Li Zhiyuan asked tentatively.

"Ghost Festival." Feng Bujue replied.

"I see..." Li Zhiyuan nodded.

"There have always been similar rumors circulating around here..." Feng Bujue continued, "Saying that...every Ghost Festival, some young punks or drunks walking alone at night are taken by a 'police officer' who appears out of nowhere to a 'non-existent police station' for interrogation. The next day, they wake up in an abandoned warehouse, most likely scared half to death. Then they go around telling people...but the credibility of what these people say is relatively low. Even if they call the police, the police can't file a case for investigation."

"I see..." Chief Li said thoughtfully, "Maybe it's because I...still want to fulfill my duties as a police officer after death..."

"Heh...don't try to gild your own face." Feng Bujue poured cold water on him. "Twenty-two years ago, you suffered a mental breakdown because you witnessed a vengeful ghost killing someone with your own eyes. So your reason and memory...all remained at that point. As I said just now, you only remember three pieces of information...the time, December 5, 2033; the place, the antique shop in the DF Road Flower and Bird Market; the event...the antique shop owner lying dying in a pool of blood." He shrugged. "Your spirit cannot accept or bear the fact that a vengeful ghost killed someone, so you shielded this part of the content. This has led to...all these years, you have been trying to 'solve the case' in order to untie your own knot." He pointed to his face. "Tonight, this conversation between you and me is the best proof. If I were replaced by someone else...presumably a passerby scared half to death would be lying here tomorrow morning."

Li Zhiyuan couldn't refute him. He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Then what do you want now?"

"What do I want?" Feng Bujue smiled. "Heh heh...what can I do to you? I'm just bait."

"What are you talking about?" Li Zhiyuan looked puzzled.

"Xiao Dong~" Suddenly, Feng Bujue turned his head and shouted to his left.

His voice echoed in the empty warehouse, bringing out bursts of echoes.

"Xiao Dong?" Li Zhiyuan became even more confused. He couldn't help but realize another problem...since he was a ghost, who exactly was the "Xiao Dong" who had brought Feng Bujue's wallet in just now? If that "Xiao Dong" was just his own fantasy, then why...would Feng Bujue be calling this name now?

"What Xiao Dong...stop making noise."

Seconds later, accompanied by the sound of talking, a man wearing a police uniform walked over. He was clearly the "Xiao Dong" who had just come in to deliver Chief Li's wallet, but now when Li Zhiyuan took a closer look at that person's face, he found that...he didn't know this person at all.

"Hello." The man walked up to Li Zhiyuan and took off the police hat on his head. "I'm not Xiao Dong. My name is Bao Qing."

"Who are you..." Li Zhiyuan asked suspiciously.

"I'm someone who specializes in dealing with situations like yours. Don't worry, I'll be responsible for sending you to the afterlife." Bao Qing continued. "As for him..." He rolled his eyes at Jue Ge. "...he's a friend of mine. He heard that I had a mission tonight, so he insisted on coming out to 'see the world' and volunteered to be my 'bait'." He shook his head and looked at Li Zhiyuan again. "Actually, your situation...isn't that complicated to deal with. I don't need anyone to be 'bait'. Look...I even borrowed the costume to attract you out, but it's like I wore it for nothing."

Li Zhiyuan was stunned. He looked at Bao Qing, then at Jue Ge. "Then how did he..."

"Oh, he read my investigation report and related information, so he grasped information about you." Bao Qing responded, spreading his hands and sighing. "Sigh...I put in so much effort to investigate...peeling back the layers, following the clues...and that's how I overturned the case from decades ago. This kid's good...80% of the content was already sorted out by me in advance. He only deduced about 20% himself, and he's still showing off..."

"What are you saying?" Feng Bujue stood there and flicked his hair, looking like he deserved a beating. "I'm so enthusiastic about helping you catch ghosts, and I even broke the 'Ghost Realm' for you, and you're still complaining and tearing me down. Is that appropriate?"

Hearing this, Bao Qing put on a serious face and silently gave Feng Bujue the middle finger.

Seeing this, Feng Bujue also used both hands to offer the middle finger in retaliation.

That's how male friendship is. Two people who frequently insult, ridicule, and even have physical conflicts...are either mortal enemies or best friends.

"Don't pay attention to him. I can break your Ghost Realm in minutes with spiritual power. It's not like him...who can only rely on his mouth." Seconds later, Bao Qing put away his middle finger and said to Li Zhiyuan.

"Hey...why are you telling me this in a comforting tone..." Li Zhiyuan's mouth twitched. "It's like I'd be very pleased if you said I was weak..."

"Tsk!" On the other side, Feng Bujue was unconvinced again. "This approach of yours that purely relies on power to exorcise ghosts is obviously second-rate...no! Third-rate." He said seriously, "First-class exorcists are the ones who try to find ways to untie the knots in the hearts of wronged souls and vengeful ghosts...so that they can fulfill their wishes and be naturally reincarnated."

"Alright, alright...stop trying to force yourself to act cool..." Bao Qing squinted and said, "What do you think I'm trying to do by investigating so much information? Am I just full and have nothing better to do? If I wanted to use power to solve it, I could just blast him into scum with spiritual power, right? Why bother with those things?" He gave Jue Ge a contemptuous look. "What I said earlier...was about forcibly breaking the Ghost Realm with spiritual power, not forcibly exorcising ghosts with spiritual power. Don't change the concept on me by talking to yourself. And..." He looked Feng Bujue up and down. "When did you become an exorcist master? First-class? There's a limit to bragging, okay? You can't use any spiritual power at all right now. You're completely just an ordinary person except for being able to see and touch spirits. At most, you can be considered a congenital *yin yang yan* (spiritual eye)..." He raised his hand and gestured. "Don't even talk about being an exorcist master, even compared to ordinary ghost hunters...you're still far from it."

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Feng Bujue shook his head and quibbled, "It's really..."

"If we set aside spiritual ability...then you're just left with bullshitting ability, right..." Bao Qing interrupted. "What's so great about that? I can come up with the same kind of nonsense you just said to fool old Li."

"You even called him 'old Li'..." Li Zhiyuan, who couldn't get a word in, muttered. "These two guys suddenly started chatting on their own and even changed the way they addressed me...what's going on?"

"Okay, come on." Feng Bujue said, "First, let's hear you recite some of the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention."

"You think that's reciting the names of dishes!" Bao Qing shouted.

"I said..." Li Zhiyuan couldn't help but try to stop the two of them. "You two..."

But those two guys still didn't seem to want to pay attention to him and were still trading insults with each other.

"Obey orders in all actions, and victory will be achieved with unified steps. Don't take a single thread from the masses, and the masses will support and rejoice..."

"Steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roast duck, roast baby chicken, roast goose..."

"I said..."

"Don't harass the women, get rid of hooligan habits, don't abuse prisoners of war, don't beat, scold or search the pockets..."

"Red meatballs, white meatballs, braised meatballs, fried meatballs, three-ingredient meatballs, four-joy meatballs..."

"You two give me a break, you bastards!" Finally, Li Zhiyuan couldn't bear it anymore and roared loudly, "I'm in a hurry to reincarnate, you bastards! Kill me, skin me, save me, destroy me, just hurry up, you bastards!"