Chapter 35 - Ghost Month

Chen Zhen said, “Do you think that the jixian has predicted that we’ll be discussing its matters here?” 

Neither Xiang Cheng nor Chi Xiaoduo said anything. Chi Xiaoduo glanced at his surroundings, as if there was an invisible force surrounding them.

“Don’t be nervous,” Chen Zhen said. “Chi Xiaoduo, what do you think?”

“I don’t know.” Chi Xiaoduo’s voice trembled slightly, and Xiang Cheng’s eyes narrowed as he said, “The meaning of closing the case that day was to divert the jixian’s attention away from us?”

“No.” Chen Zhen spat out that word.

“The committee did have that intention,” Chen Zhen continued. “They gave the order via Yan Fei, but as to whose idea that was, they didn’t say.”

Xiang Cheng’s expression changed a little.

Chi Xiaoduo thought for a moment, before saying, “According to the books I’ve read recently, a yaoguai’s power is not limitless. It cannot predict things too far in the future.”

“Any power is limited,” Chen Zhen said. “The key point is whether, counting twenty days after that day, the jixian’s attention is still on us, and whether its predictions and probing, from when Yan Fei said ‘close the case’ to twenty days later, is still useful.”

This was a very strange problem, and after Chi Xiaoduo hesitated for a while, he said, “But if from that day on, it had already predicted that on this day, August 17th, you would come here and tell us this, it would have already sensed our movements, isn’t that right?”

Chen Zhen nodded and said, “So we can only take a gamble and bet that after that day, they thought that the investigation had already finished, and they turned their attention towards other things.”

Xiang Cheng: “Why did Yan Fei issue this order?”

“This has nothing to do with you guys.” Chen Zhen drank a mouthful of Tang, his eyes looking elsewhere.

“If you want us to investigate further,” Xiang Cheng replied, “then you must explain it to us.”

Chen Zhen took a breath, as if he was about to start arguing with Xiang Cheng, but when their eyes met, Chen Zhen seemed to give up on that. He said helplessly, “Alright then, let me tell you, Yan Fei is one of the supervisors of affairs. I don’t know why he would do this, but perhaps it was the intention of those above him.”

“Who?” Xiang Cheng asked.

“Yan Fei is the great-great-grandson of Director Lin, Lin Yurou,” Chen Zhen said. “Keda and them call her ‘old buddha’, do you remember her from the day when you listened to the report? She had a string of golden pearls around her neck, and a pair of yin-yang eyes.”

“Ah!” Chi Xiaoduo said. “I remember now. Is she that old?”

“She’s a hundred and fifteen,” Chen Zhen replied. “Before the Minguo era, she had already entered the Exorcism Committee, and she’s a senior to all of us.”

“For people in the Exorcism Department to have dealings with yaoguai,” Xiang Cheng chuckled in disbelief, “interesting.”

“Not necessarily,” Chen Zhen said. “Don’t jump to conclusions. I need your help.”

Xiang Cheng said solemnly, “This is very dangerous. What if the jixian predicts our current plans?”

Chen Zhen replied, “We’ll take that gamble.”

Xiang Cheng: “If we lose?”

Chen Zhen said in reply, “Then activate Plan B.”

“Let’s assume that the jixian knows that we’re currently discussing it here. Then, everything that happens after will be within its control, and even if we go through countless plans to try and capture it, it will definitely have the appropriate method to counter us,” Chen Zhen said.

“So from this moment on, until the 14th of the seventh month, we’ll simply give it the ability to make that choice, until the very last day, the night of the Ghost Festival. That time is our chance to strike back and win. Because, to them, our ‘future’ has already become ‘the past’, and the only point where they cross, which we can truly hold in our grasp, is the ‘present’.

“As for the so-called ‘present’.” Chen Zhen pulled out a little notebook, flipped past the empty pages of monthly calendars, and drew a circle on the day of the Ghost Festival. “That is the Ghost Festival, the night that the ghost market descends. No matter what the jixian predicts, there is no way for it to break through the powerful ghost energy of that night, to see everything that happens in the ghost market.”

Chen Zhen raised his head to look at Xiang Cheng, saying, “Do everything that you’re supposed to do, and everyone will walk into the jixian’s trap together.”

Chi Xiaoduo furrowed his brow, but Xiang Cheng said, “I have no interest in helping you. Leave ba, I don’t wish to get wrapped up in your lousy matters.”

“Alright,” Chen Zhen said. “I’m leaving.”

Chi Xiaoduo: “...”

Chi Xiaoduo recalled that glance that Tonggu had shot at Xiang Cheng when she was divining, but Xiang Cheng pretended that he did not see. Chen Zhen nodded towards Chi Xiaoduo, before opening the door and leaving.

After Chen Zhen left, Xiang Cheng was silent for a moment, before he raised his gaze to look at Chi Xiaoduo.

“We’re not going to help him?” Chi Xiaoduo asked.

“Why would we help?” Xiang Cheng asked in response.

Chi Xiaoduo pondered over it. He knew that Xiang Cheng didn’t like the Exorcism Committee, perhaps because they had some grudges and bad blood between them, but this was not something that he could involve himself in. He wasn’t Xiang Cheng, and he was completely unfamiliar with his past, nor did he dare to ask. This caused Chi Xiaoduo to feel a little sad.

But he guessed that deep down in his heart, Xiang Cheng did want to lend a hand, otherwise he wouldn’t have agreed to Zhou Wanyuan’s request last time. Doing this thing had nothing to do with the attitude he had towards the Exorcism Committee and was only related to the principles he held as a person.

Chi Xiaoduo said tentatively, “For world peace.”

Xiang Cheng stopped talking.

Chi Xiaoduo didn’t say anything either, flipping through a book on his own. Finally, Xiang Cheng sighed, nodded, and said, “You’re right.”

Chi Xiaoduo began to smile, and Xiang Cheng added, “Let’s go ba. Let’s go find Keda first and ask about the situation.”

The night had grown late, and Xiang Cheng changed his clothes, making sure that Chi Xiaoduo had brought his belongings, before pulling open the door and walking out, only to see that in the pitch-black hallway, Chen Zhen was sitting there quietly, looking at his phone.

Xiang Cheng: “...”

“You’ve changed your mind?” Chen Zhen asked mildly.

“It’s so hot,” Chi Xiaoduo said. “You… Chen Zhen.”

“It’s not hot, it’s just that there’s a lot of mosquitoes.” Chen Zhen rose, but the back of his dress shirt had already been soaked through by his sweat, revealing his back. Chi Xiaoduo thought, Chen Zhen also has it pretty hard.

Xiang Cheng: “Let’s take a trip to Keda’s house.”

Chen Zhen went down the stairs and started his car. In the car, Xiang Cheng said, “You were so sure that I would agree?”

“Sometimes, persisting in your ideals and accepting reality are not at odds,” Chen Zhen said easily as he turned the steering wheel. “All that is needed is a little bit of time. Time is the candy that can cure everything, and it’s also the remedy that can resolve conflicts.”

Chi Xiaoduo: “???”

Xiang Cheng said quietly, “If it wasn’t for my dad’s orders before he passed away, we wouldn’t be colleagues now, but enemies.”

Chen Zhen replied warmly, “That’s why I believe that there are many things in this world that override and give more benefit than even a person’s emotions.”

Chi Xiaoduo: “...”

At one o’clock at night, Keda, his eyes bleary with sleep, came to open the door for them.

Keda was wearing a set of cotton pajamas and had a tiger nightcap on. He leaned against the door, watching them dumbly.

“Air conditioning –” Chi Xiaoduo rejoiced wildly.

“Shh,” Keda clicked his tongue dully. “Aunty has gone to sleep.”

As soon as Chi Xiaoduo came in, he began to chug water wildly, before slumping onto the table. Chen Zhen pulled out a stack of papers from within his bag and placed them on the table, while Keda yawned and said, “Chen Zhen, why can’t you change our working hours to the daytime?”

“I also want to,” Chen Zhen said absentmindedly, studying the files. “Unless you want me to discuss the matter of the jixian collaborating with the organization under the light of the day?”

Keda wasn’t surprised at all. Clearly, he had long since known of this matter.

“You’re taking too big of a risk, Chen Zhen,” Keda said. “Right now is not yet the time.”

Chen Zhen didn’t say anything, while Keda, looking like a big dog that hadn’t fully woken up , stared foolishly at the files for a while, before his entire body finally slumped sleepily to the side, squashing onto Chi Xiaoduo’s shoulder. Chi Xiaoduo wiped Keda’s drool for him, before pushing him onto the dining table to slump there.

The files that Chen Zhen had passed out had been organized from the contents that Chi Xiaoduo had investigated last time. A moment later, someone else rang the doorbell, and the person who came in was Zhou Wanyuan.

“I just took off my makeup,” Zhou Wanyuan said with an expression of exhaustion. “Director Chen, can you stop gathering the group for a meeting in the middle of the night? If you keep doing this, you’ll make people think that I’m a female ghost, and I’ll get taken away when I’m crossing the street.”

Everyone began to laugh at that, and Chen Zhen said, “Let’s look at the files first, and we’ll discuss things in ten minutes.”

They had all seen it before, but Chi Xiaoduo studied it once more in detail. The four students’ deaths, the jixian showing itself in the middle of Beijing City, predicting the future, luring the investigators into a trap...

“Speak ba,” Zhou Wanyuan said, bored. “Are you joking with us? You had us close the case twenty days ago, but now you’re telling Laoniang to keep investigating. What were you even doing earlier?”

“Twenty days, that’s the key point to new developments in this case,” Chen Zhen said. “I’ll assign a leader ba. Xiang Cheng, in this group, you’re in charge of handing over a team report.”

“I don’t like working in a group,” Xiang Cheng said coldly.

“Then Chi Xiaoduo, you do it.” Chen Zhen rose to pour some water.

“Never mind,” Xiang Cheng said. “I’ll do it.”

Chi Xiaoduo laughed, haha, while Xiang Cheng put the files down and leaned back in his chair. He thought deeply for a moment, before saying, “There were two reasons for closing the case twenty days ago. One, to bet that the jixian’s predictions only lasted until the day the investigation ended…”

“It could also have continued after that for a few days,” Chen Zhen added. “Now, after midnight, it will be August 8th, and in this period, from July 28th until early August, let’s assume that the jixian can use its power to gather information, but after that, from August 15th onwards, perhaps they will no longer be able to observe anything that happens.”

“Why do you guess so?” Zhou Wanyuan raised her head and looked at Chen Zhen, then at Xiang Cheng.

Chen Zhen didn’t respond. Chi Xiaoduo asked, “Are there other things that are diverting their attention?”

“Perhaps,” Chen Zhen replied.

Xiang Cheng shook out his fingers, speaking as if he was musing things over. “The second reason is because now we can work around the leader of the implementation division, Yan Fei.”

Chen Zhen: “En.”

Xiang Cheng: “What about you all? Say something.”

Keda shrugged, staring at them innocently. Zhou Wanyuan said, “From the very beginning, this case caught the attention of Director Chen, which was not normal. Can I ask why?”

“Intuition,” Chen Zhen replied.

Everyone watched Chen Zhen. After Xiang Cheng thought for a moment, he said, “Sure. Let’s decide right now to keep investigating. Are there any objections?”

No one had any objections, and they all had an expression of “if we had objections, we wouldn’t have come, aren’t you just saying nonsense?”. Xiang Cheng continued, “The day that we closed the case, Chi Xiaoduo and Tonggu chatted for a bit.”

“Tonggu?” Chen Zhen asked, furrowing his brows slightly.

Xiang Cheng nodded and said, “The one who offers divinations in the shopping street…”

“I know her,” Chen Zhen said. “She doesn’t easily let people into her shop, and the specific details are unknown. What did she talk about?”

“The jixian case,” Xiang Cheng said. “We must find where the jixian hid itself.”

“But as soon as we began to dig out the jixian, trouble started to occur,” Xiang Cheng said after a moment of thought. “What I’m guessing is that the amount of time the jixian can predict the future is half a month at most , and one day at least.

“Whatever happens within one day, they must be able to predict. Which is to say, from now on, if we follow the vine to reach the melon, from the moment that we get close until the moment it’s captured, it will definitely be able to predict that in advance.

“So no matter how we investigate, or how we search,” Xiang Cheng said, “on that last day, it will be able to escape.”

Chen Zhen said, “This is the most difficult point. Even if it can’t predict that we’re currently discussing them here, the day before they fall into the net, it will be on guard.”

“Is there anything that can interfere with its ability of prediction?” Chi Xiaoduo asked. “It only needs to be on the last day.”

Xiang Cheng was silent, while Zhou Wanyuan said, “Compared to finding a method now, it’d be better to find out where it’s hiding instead.”

“Finding where it’s hiding isn’t hard,” Xiang Cheng replied. “Go fishing. Prepare to use hunpo as the bait, then use your own hunpo to give chase.”

“Wait,” Chen Zhen said, his expression changing. “You already have a plan?”

Xiang Cheng replied, “The day that we closed the case, I already came up with a plan. It’s just that you didn’t let me keep investigating.”

“How do you give chase?” Zhou Wanyuan asked.

“Summon the diexian,” Xiang Cheng said. “Just like they did. Use the fact that the diexian collects ghost hun, and use your own hunpo to exchange for that.”

Everyone was stunned.

Keda watched Xiang Cheng, saying, “Has it been proven to work?”

“There’s no need to prove it,” Xiang Cheng said coldly and calmly. “What is there to prove? It’s clear that one person uses their hunpo in exchange to summon the diexian, and draws blood as the oath. Once the oath is created, the diexian will take away a little bit of your soul. This is a transaction. Think of the power of the ghostly hun as money. It takes away one dollar from you and spends fifty cents of that to help you predict the future, then stuffs the other fifty cents into its back to strengthen its own cultivation. Those four students that died in vain only died because the diexian took too much.”

Zhou Wanyuan was also taken aback, and she asked, “How do you know?”

“Why are you asking this question?” Xiang Cheng asked in response, feeling that this was an odd question. “We investigated for so long before this, and things were just like that.”

Chen Zhen also felt this was a little unimaginable, but when he thought about it, things did seem to follow the logic that Xiang Cheng had laid out.

“If you don’t believe it, then whatever,” Xiang Cheng said.

“I believe it,” Chen Zhen said. “Why didn’t you put that in the report?”

Xiang Cheng replied, “I didn’t know how to express things. It’s basically like that.”

“So, invite the diexian once,” Zhou Wanyuan said, “and offer a bit of your own hunpo to it, then go find where it’s hiding by tracing down your hunpo?”

Xiang Cheng was silent, and he raised an eyebrow to indicate the response, of course.

Chi Xiaoduo had a feeling that he didn’t really understand, but it was amazing. How had Xiang Cheng thought of this? He’s so smart!

Chen Zhen said, “This is a risky yet possible method. Splitting your hun and tracking it down can lead us to the diexian. But who will go invite it? The power of exorcists’ hunpo aren’t the same as mortals. Our souls are very powerful, so we can only find a mortal who hasn’t invited the diexian before…”

When he got to this point, Chen Zhen, Keda, and Zhou Wanyuan all looked towards Chi Xiaoduo.

Chi Xiaoduo thought, it’s finally here. Speaking of which, it’s always like this in movies. They’ve talked for this long, are they going to use me as bait?

“Alright!” Chi Xiaoduo said happily. “Then I’ll go ba!”

“Hell no!” Xiang Cheng roared, scaring all of them.

Keda: “...”

Zhou Wanyuan: “Don’t be so impulsive, it’s not like anyone said anything.”

“That’s right.” Chen Zhen wiped away some sweat.

Xiang Cheng’s expression was unpleasant, and he pointed a finger at Chen Zhen, saying, “I’m warning you, don’t get any funny ideas about him.”

“Chen Zhen didn’t mean that.” Keda hurried to mediate, pulling the tiger cap off his head and putting it on Chi Xiaoduo’s head. “He just remembered that in the movies, they always act it out like that.”

Chi Xiaoduo: “...”

Chen Zhen said, “Then, I’ll procure a suitable person whose divine soul is naturally weak, and has also never seen the jixian.”

“You have someone in mind?” Xiang Cheng asked. “A mortal?”

Chen Zhen thought deeply for a moment, before nodding.

“I’ll go,” Xiang Cheng said lightly.

“Don’t ba,” Chi Xiaoduo said. “It’s too dangerous. Plus, aren’t you an exorcist?”

Xiang Cheng said, “Use the Luohun Bell. I know that the Exorcism Committee has it.”

Chen Zhen: “...”

Chen Zhen looked at Xiang Cheng, saying, “My request for it won’t go through.”

“Use the Heart Lamp in exchange,” Xiang Cheng said. “Put the Heart Lamp there as a guarantee and bring the Luohun Bell out, just for one night.”

Chen Zhen thought for a bit, before saying, “Putting this aside for now, how will you give chase? On your intuition alone? What happens after you find it? The jixian won’t escape from you?”

Xiang Cheng said, “What the jixian uses is the power of ghosts. Ghostly power is connected to time, isn’t that the saying.”

Xiang Cheng swept his gaze over Keda, Chen Zhen, and Zhou Wanyuan, before continuing, “To disrupt the ghost power that it depends on to live, we must choose the night when the influence of ghost power is the strongest. Chen Zhen, haven’t you planned for this long in advance?”

Chen Zhen began to smile.

Keda: “Oh.”

Chi Xiaoduo: “Oh!”

Zhou Wanyuan: “Oh.”

Chi Xiaoduo: “...”

“What in the devil are you ‘oh’-ing for?!” Zhou Wanyuan said. “Can’t you explain it a little more clearly?”

Chi Xiaoduo: “Why are you ‘oh’-ing for, if you don’t know what other people are talking about.”

“I see that Keda understands,” Zhou Wanyuan replied.

“But I don’t know,” Keda replied, his face set in an expression of confusion. “I only felt that that was the moment where I should say ‘oh’.”

Chen Zhen pressed one hand to his forehead.

“After you finish your test, are you interested in coming to work for Headquarters?” Chen Zhen asked. “We can make an exception for your education and your past cases.”

“I’m not interested,” Xiang Cheng said coldly.

“Explain things to me clearly first!” Zhou Wanyuan said. “What kind of nonsense is this?!”

“Oh!” Keda said. “I understand!

“This month is the ghost month!” Keda continued. “The gates to the ghost realm open on the first of the seventh month which is why that would disrupt the jixian’s ability to make predictions! What Xiang-xiongdi is saying is that on the night of the fifteenth day of the seventh month, we can catch the jixian! Since the jixian derives its power to predict the future from ghostly souls, as soon as the ghost month arrives, the power of those ghostly souls will be disrupted…”

“Ah!” Chi Xiaoduo said. “I understand.”

“You’re very smart,” Xiang Cheng praised Chi Xiaoduo.

Chi Xiaoduo said humbly, “I’m not, I’m not.”

Zhou Wanyuan: “What does that have to do with him! Clearly the big guy was the one to answer! Stop pasting gold onto your own people’s faces all day, okay?!”

Chi Xiaoduo: “...”

Zhou Wanyuan then looked back at Chen Zhen. “So, Director Chen, you’ve actually already long since done the calculations, and now you’re just coming here in the middle of the night to give us all IQ training questions?”

Chen Zhen replied, “That wasn’t my intention. This is merely a guess of mine, and since Xiang-xiong is someone from Fengdu, only if he nods can I confirm that as the 15th of the seventh month slowly draws closer, the power of the jixian, who uses ghost power, will slowly wane.”

“It will be disrupted,” Xiang Cheng corrected. “Not wane.”

Chen Zhen nodded. Chi Xiaoduo asked, “But I still don’t understand. Why is it that a higher up in the organization needs to have dealings with a devil that can predict the future?”

“We will soon know the answer,” Chen Zhen replied.

“Is it so that they can guess the test questions for the first-class exam? Hahaha,” Chi Xiaoduo said.

Everyone: “...”

No one laughed, least of all Chen Zhen.