Chapter 135: Cooperation Without Choice

The incantation was the simplest form of warding against baleful influences, and I slapped the paper talisman directly onto Wang Lei’s forehead. His eyes had already been clouded by incense ash, and as the warding spell transformed into talismanic fire, it burrowed straight into the center of his brow.

Wang Lei lay supine on the sofa, convulsing uncontrollably. The clear fluid trickling from his mouth mixed with the incense ash on his face, creating a truly repulsive sight. Just then, the shop door opened. I looked up to see Song Zhong.

"Perfect timing. You take over; I need to wash my hands and face. What a mess—incense ash everywhere."

Song Zhong quickly caught sight of Wang Lei, who was still twitching on the sofa. Having just arrived, he had no idea what was going on. I didn't intend to explain, though; I simply told him that this was his chance to test how much he had learned. I instructed him to use the exorcism technique to draw the baleful yin energy out of Wang Lei and seal it into a bottle.

By now, Wang Lei was struggling to his feet. Song Zhong didn’t hesitate; he dropped his bag and bounded over to Wang Lei in a few strides. After shifting his hand seals, he pressed his fingers firmly against Wang Lei’s brow, causing the man to let out a strange, shrill cry.

Seeing how he handled it, he seemed to have learned well. I stopped watching and headed to the restroom to wash up. But when I looked up into the mirror, I suddenly caught sight of a dark shadow standing right behind me.

Yu Nie!

A jolt of shock went through me. I whirled around, but there wasn't a trace of any shadow to be seen. Had I been seeing things? Impossible—I had just washed my face, not gotten water in my eyes. I hurried back to the living room, only to find that Song Zhong had already finished; Wang Lei was now lying unconscious on the sofa.

"Hand it over."

Song Zhong was holding a glass wine bottle, a talisman sealed across the top. He handed it to me without hesitation. "Jiang Huai, what on earth is going on? My performance wasn't bad, right? And why is Wang Lei here in the shop?"

His questions were a jumble, but I had no intention of answering him. I gave him a quick instruction to look after the shop and let Wang Lei sleep it off, then I took the glass bottle containing the karmic bane and rode off on my bike.

"How is it? Did you get a lead so quickly? Was it Wang Lei’s doing?" I contacted Wang Zihao as soon as I left the shop.

Ever since I saw the remnant shadow in the mirror, a bold idea had taken shape in my mind.

"It was Wang Lei, and yet it wasn't. You could say he jumped into it himself." I swallowed hard and continued, "That’s a minor detail. Did you manage to get anything out of Brother Qi?"

Wang Zihao shook his head, but I just grinned. "I have a way to find out every secret hidden in his head."

"Really?" Wang Zihao looked at me with a strange expression. I nodded and held up the glass bottle. "The thing inside can help us."

Wang Zihao couldn't see what was in the bottle, but he chose to trust me unconditionally. "Alright, I'll take you to see Brother Qi."

My plan was simple: this karmic bane could peer through a person’s karma, control their body, and even manipulate their thoughts and read their memories. If the bane was willing to help, it could extract the memories from Brother Qi’s mind. With any luck, we might finally find information about the Corpse Pool.

I didn't meet Brother Qi directly; it would take some time to bring him in.

I was in Wang Zihao’s office, the bottle sitting on his desk. "I need you to make a sacrifice." I pointed to the glass bottle. "I need to let the thing inside possess you so it can talk. Don't worry, it won't cause your body any harm."

Wang Zihao didn't overthink it; he nodded in agreement. When I asked him if he wasn't worried, he said that if I had wanted to harm him, he would have died countless times over by now.

With his consent, I didn't waste any more words. I drew the curtains, stuck talismans on them, and locked the office door, sealing it with another charm. I opened the bottle, and the wisp of black mist proved quite cooperative, drifting straight into Wang Zihao.

Wang Zihao’s eyes widened sharply. After a moment of shivering, his entire body went still. Then, he thrust his head forward, his eyes burning with unnatural intensity, and looked at me in disbelief. "What exactly are you trying to do!"

I laughed. "I just want you to know that if I can catch you once, I can catch you twice. And right now, there’s an opportunity that’s not half bad for you."

"What is that supposed to mean? Are you threatening me?"

I shrugged and nodded, unable to deny it. "That depends on how you look at it. I’m just offering you a very good suggestion; the choice is yours."

I already held a warding talisman in my hand. "But you’d better be quick. If you’ll cooperate, nod. If not, then back to where you belong you go."