These past three months have been the most leisurely.
It wasn't by choice, but rather because there were no troublesome entities to deal with.
After all, my life depends on those spirits for sustenance!
The more ghosts I kill, the longer I live.
Currently, apart from the Human Yuan Longevity Pill, which primarily adds three years to my lifespan,
red-skinned fire ghosts, Qing Dynasty ghosts, and yellow-clothed vengeful spirits, and others, roughly add another year by fueling the lamp oil.
In the short term, there shouldn't be any major issues.
However, it's still far too little.
It's a shame that the malevolent and vengeful spirits surrounding Qingcheng City have essentially been cleared out, and there haven't been any unusual occurrences reported anywhere, making them impossible to find.
Occasionally, I browse the Taoist community forums, hoping to find any useful information.
But on the forums, it's all just arguments and a bunch of female Taoists posting selfies.
And a horde of simps showering them with praise.
It seems that regardless of the industry, you always have all sorts of people.
Just a few days ago, while I was contemplating whether to proactively go out and hunt for ghosts myself,
my phone rang.
I glanced at it; there was no caller ID.
"Hello!"
"May I ask if this is Qin Ze?"
A somewhat familiar, low male voice responded.
Hearing the other party directly speak my name and that the voice sounded familiar, I thought it might be an acquaintance.
I simply replied, "Mm,"
"Yes, I am Qin Ze. May I ask who this is?"
"I am Li Wanquan. We met during the Old Grave Mound incident."
As soon as I heard "Li Wanquan" and "Old Grave Mound,"
I immediately recalled the old police officer who had questioned us at the Old Grave Mound.
"Mm! Captain Li, may I know what you need me for?"
I was a bit puzzled, wondering why he was calling me.
"Little Qin, do you happen to be free at the moment? I'd like to speak with you privately!"
Captain Li's tone was polite, a probing inquiry.
Upon hearing this, I was slightly taken aback.
Privately, he wanted to speak with me?
About what? It certainly wouldn't be about solving a case.
Most likely, Li Wanquan had encountered something he couldn't handle.
I didn't refuse and immediately agreed,
"Yes, I'm free now, and it's convenient to talk."
Upon hearing my agreement, Li Wanquan took a deep breath.
Then he said to me,
"Regarding Zhao Xiaolin's case, we are very grateful for your help.
Otherwise, the perpetrator might still be at large.
When your master was alive, we met a few times.
We had some acquaintance, it's just a pity he passed away so early..."
Seeing Li Wanquan rambling, I interrupted him directly over the phone,
"Captain Li, please get to the point.
I'm just in the funeral business.
If I can help, I will certainly help. For the people, after all!"
The fact that he suddenly called me clearly meant something was up.
These pleasantries were rather uninformative and a waste of everyone's time.
Captain Li heard my straightforwardness and responded with an "Mm" on the phone,
"Alright.
Here's the situation: we've received a case recently.
In the Shanglin District, there was a death caused by assault.
Yesterday afternoon, a villager who had finished harvesting was attacked and bitten by a madman, eventually succumbing to his injuries at the hospital.
We responded to the scene and went into the woods.
We also found the madman.
The madman even attacked us.
He was eventually shot and killed by us.
However, the autopsy report revealed that the madman had been dead for more than three days.
Some parts of his body had already begun to decompose.
We also investigated the mountain, but found nothing.
After a meeting, the authorities have decided to close the case.
Furthermore, there have been several missing person cases in that area, but they weren't consolidated.
So..."
At this point, Li Wanquan paused on the phone, not continuing further.
But I understood his meaning.
A person dead for over three days, under normal circumstances, could not possibly attack and bite someone.
Yet, what they encountered defied logic.
In simpler terms, the matter was too bizarre for them to handle.
The decision to close the case was final, as they had found the madman who committed the assault.
However, based on what Li Wanquan said, the missing person cases might be related to this incident.
There were clearly more developments to this story.
He still wanted me to step in and investigate the area using our methods.
They had reached a dead end in their investigation, yielding no results.
These were things he, as an official law enforcer, could not, or found it difficult to, explicitly state.
I could understand that.
After listening, I immediately agreed,
"Captain Li, I'll head over this afternoon to take a look.
After I'm done, I'll call you back."
Hearing my agreement, Li Wanquan's tone became a little more animated,
"That's wonderful.
But, but I'm afraid I won't be able to offer much in terms of payment.
I can only treat you to a meal later."
This phone call alone revealed Captain Li's character.
The case could have been closed,
yet he chose to go against the grain and contact me, which sufficiently demonstrated his attitude towards this matter.
At the very least, he genuinely wished for the residents' peace and to be free from persecution.
It's just that his capabilities were limited, and he couldn't handle this kind of situation.
"It's alright, Captain Li.
This is what I do. Just tell me the detailed information and the location, so I can prepare."
I didn't engage in excessive pleasantries with Li Wanquan, and went straight to the point.
Li Wanquan didn't hesitate and quickly relayed all the information and intelligence he had.
It was only twenty minutes later that I hung up the phone.
Based on the information, it felt highly probable that this was a case of a corpse spirit or a corpse monster, like those from zombies.
This type of entity is a lower-level form of zombie.
Having rested for three months, I was eager to stretch my muscles.
Checking the time, it was 3:30 PM.
The timing was ample, so I headed into the inner room.
As soon as I entered, I saw Xiao Mei leaning on the sofa, her long legs on display.
She was watching "Animal World" while crunching on a raw duck neck, making "gaba gaba" sounds.
I changed my shoes and said to Xiao Mei,
"Xiao Mei, we're going out to catch a zombie in a bit. Get ready."
Xiao Mei had become quite human-like now.
Not only in her speech but also in her ability to maintain human form, and even her movements.
Hearing me speak, Xiao Mei spat out a bone and lazily replied,
"Got it, little brother!"
I ignored her and turned to head towards Wanshou Hall...