Todesanzeige 2 Schicksal

Kapitel 7

For a moment, no one said a word; the air seemed to freeze.

"Ahem, ahem. Time to go home!"

Old Dong seemed to be the first to come to his senses. He adjusted his reading glasses and hurriedly began tidying up the things on the table.

"Oh dear, look at my memory! I almost forgot, I have to pick up the kids today!"

Sister Zheng grabbed her bag and, before anyone could respond, strode towards the office door.

In an instant, Meng Ping and Chen Qing concealed their fear and unease, quickly made up an excuse, and left with the tidying-up Old Dong. Suddenly, the entire office seemed dark and empty, leaving only Zheng Qi standing in the middle, deep in thought, pondering what the group's panicked actions just now truly meant.

As Zheng Qi walked out of the newspaper building, he suddenly felt someone following him.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly turned into a narrow alley, walking quickly along the wall while wondering who might be following him. Lost in thought, he ran a few steps, then abruptly stopped, turning 180 degrees. In an instant, a pair of dark eyes stared directly into his, accompanied by a heavy breathing sound.

A few seconds of standing still,

"That's wonderful! It's so great that you could come!"

Unable to contain his excitement, Zheng Qi hugged the person who came to him.

"Stop being so mushy, okay? Otherwise, if others see us, they'll think we're... you know... "

Mo Han blushed and struggled to break free from Zheng Qi's overly affectionate embrace.

Zheng Qisong blushed, scratched his head sheepishly, and smiled.

Back at Zheng Qi's rented apartment, after dinner, Mo Han and Zheng Qi chatted:

"Senior brother, did our martial uncle send you?"

"Yes, after listening to your words, my master believes that this demon should not be underestimated, so he sent me down the mountain to help you!"

"That's great! I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to do it all by myself!"

Zheng Qi said excitedly, and Mo Han nodded and smiled.

"By the way, two more people died last night. According to the police investigation, the cause of death was also sudden death due to unexpected shock!"

At this point, Zheng Qi recalled the last scene of Sister Zheng and the others, their faces filled with panic and unease.

"Isn't this the same conclusion as the death of my master's friend's son?"

"Yes! It's the same conclusion. Hey, senior brother, what do you think they saw? Something that could scare them to death?"

Zheng Qi asked Mo Han with a puzzled look. He had been thinking about this question ever since he got off work.

"I can't figure out what could have caused them such a shock that they suddenly died?"

Mo Han frowned, squinted at the ground, bit her lip tightly, and pondered solemnly.

After a long pause, Mo Han said as if waking from a dream:

"Tonight, we'll summon Chen Gang's spirit to ask him a question!"

"Tonight? But we..."

Zheng Qi hesitated, just about to say something,

Suddenly, Mo Han took out a piece of yellow paper from his pocket. On the paper, a person's birth date and time were written in cinnabar.

Zheng Qi and Mo Han exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly. This was the birth date and time of Chen Gang, the deceased son of Mo Han's master's friend. This was precisely what Zheng Qi had hesitated about earlier.

"Today is the forty-ninth day since his death. If we do not summon his spirit tonight, he will be reincarnated after midnight, and we will no longer be able to find his spirit."

Mo Han said solemnly, and Zheng Qi, who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement.

It was almost midnight. The two agreed that Zheng Qi would perform the soul-summoning ritual, while Mo Han would oversee the procession.

Mo Han hung a soul-summoning bell in the center of the north-facing window. Zheng Qi drew a Yin-Yang Bagua diagram in cinnabar in the center of the octagonal table below the window, and placed a porcelain bowl filled with water in the center of the diagram. Then he arranged for the moon in the sky outside the window to be reflected in the water in the bowl.

The moon in the bowl appeared exceptionally bright and clear.

Zheng Qi then lit four candles around the table.

At that moment, Zheng Qi bathed and changed his clothes, putting on a Taoist robe. Everything was ready.

It was almost midnight, the time of day when yin energy was at its strongest.

Zheng Qi took a deep breath, lit the yellow talisman paper with Chen Gang's birth date and time written on it, and slowly placed it into the bowl of water as it gradually turned to ashes. Immediately afterwards, he raised his hand, bit his middle finger, squeezed out a drop of blood, and dripped it into the bowl. Instantly, a wisp of red smoke, along with a few unburnt ashes, floated and danced lightly in the water.

Zheng Qi lowered his head, frowned, closed his eyes, and muttered something under his breath.

In an instant, the "ring-ring" bell hanging in the window rang rapidly, followed by gusts of cold wind blowing in from the window, causing the four candles on the four corners of the table to flicker rapidly up and down.

Suddenly, a beam of cold light shot out from the center of the moon reflected in the porcelain bowl, followed by a wisp of purple smoke rising gently.

"Is the visitor Chen Gang, the Yin Man?"

Zheng Qi demanded in a stern voice.

"Yes!" A deep, sinister, and chilling voice echoed above Zheng Qi and Mo Han's heads.

How did you die?

Zheng Qi pressed him for an answer.

Silence reigned all around, and Chen Gang's spirit offered no reply.

The air inside grew increasingly cold and eerie. Tiny beads of sweat began to appear on Zheng Qi's forehead, and his face grew paler and paler.

Seeing this, Mo Han couldn't help but feel anxious. Normally, a soul summoning only lasts a minute; after that, Chen Gang's soul would disappear. Now that Chen Gang's soul had suddenly stopped speaking, how could Mo Han not be worried? Moreover, tonight was the last day Chen Gang's soul would remain in the world; after tonight, he would be reincarnated, and even if she wanted to summon him again, she would never find him again. Thinking of this, Mo Han began to lose her composure.

What did you see before you died?

Zheng Qi frowned even more, gritted his teeth, and asked again in a desperate voice.

Suddenly, a terrifying, oppressive, and rapid panting sound filled the air, sounding exceptionally hollow and low in the room.

Suddenly, a painful, struggling scream, as if desperately emanating from the depths of the throat, rang out from nowhere.

Immediately afterward, the clear water in the bowl began to shake violently, spilling a little. The round, bright moon reflected in the water slowly became grotesque. The wisp of purple smoke on the water's surface drifted around in fear and unease.

Upon seeing this, Mo Han thought to himself, "This is bad!"

"Transparent...monster...newspaper!"

After Chen Gang's soul uttered those few mournful, low, and eerie words with difficulty, his voice gradually faded and finally disappeared without a trace. Then, the wisp of purple smoke also slowly dissipated, leaving nothing behind, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye. The bowl of water on the table had returned to its original calm, with only a few undissolved ashes at the bottom still faintly swaying. The moon reflected in the water remained as round and bright as ever.

Zheng Qi's face was ashen, but he forced himself to endure it and silently recited a spell. Then he slowly opened his eyes and wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Mo Han stepped forward with concern and asked:

"How are you? Do you want to take a break?"

Zheng Qi smiled wearily and weakly at him, then shook his head and said...

"It's alright. He's gone, right?"