The Mystery of K Newspaper

Chapter 22

"What else can it be but a summoning of the spirit!"

Mo Han gave a bitter smile, her eyes filled with helplessness!

Zheng Qi knew in his heart that his senior brother would not use this method until the very last moment. It seemed that in order to prevent more innocent people from suffering at the hands of that vengeful spirit and to find the location of that vengeful spirit as soon as possible, he had no choice but to resort to this last resort.

At midnight on the second night, after Zheng Qi and Mo Han had finished all the preparations, they began to summon Meng Ping's spirit for questioning.

Mo Han initially insisted that he perform the summoning himself, but Zheng Qi said that he was more familiar with Meng Ping and that it would be easier for him to summon Meng Ping's soul for questioning. Mo Han thought this made sense, and in the end, he couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he had no choice but to agree.

However, Zheng Qi's attempt to summon the soul failed this time.

The hour of midnight, when the yin energy was at its strongest, had passed, but Zheng Qi still couldn't summon Meng Ping's soul. The soul-summoning bell by the window remained completely silent throughout the entire process. The bowl of water on the table also remained perfectly still.

Seeing this, Mo Han frowned and pondered the reason for the failure, while Zheng Qi stared blankly at the bowl of water, dejected.

For a moment, the two remained silent. Finally, Mo Han spoke softly.

"Go take a break, don't be discouraged. We'll try again tomorrow!"

At midnight on the third night, everything was ready again.

Tonight, Mo Han will preside over the summoning of Meng Ping's soul. Zheng Qi raised no objections.

Time ticked by, and Mo Han's expression grew increasingly grave and grim. Finally, he became somewhat impatient. The clock struck twelve, and just like the previous night, Mo Han had failed to summon Meng Ping's spirit.

In the end, Mo Han and Zheng Qi, utterly disheartened and exhausted, collapsed onto the sofa in silence.

"Senior brother, what's wrong with Meng Ping's soul? Is it being controlled by that vengeful spirit? Is that why we can't summon him?"

Mo Han didn't answer; he was pondering a question. Just moments ago, a question had flashed through his mind, but it vanished without a trace. Now, he was deep in thought, hoping to find that question. He felt that if he could solve it, all his problems would be resolved. But in an instant, he suddenly felt lost and helpless again.

As dawn broke, Mo Han suddenly said to Zheng Qi:

“Starting today, we will provide 24-hour protection for Sister Zheng. You will watch over her at your workplace during the day, and I will keep an eye on her at home at night.”

"Why would you do this? Do you think the vengeful spirit's next target will be Sister Zheng?"

Zheng Qi found Mo Han's suggestion strange.

"Yes, I think the vengeful spirit's next target is most likely her. Think about it, from Wang Hai's sudden death to Meng Ping being killed by someone else, there's a common thread: they all knew about the existence of a monster, and this monster was related to Luo Min's appearance. Before Wang Hai died, he said that Luo Min was a monster; the night Shi Feng died, Sister Zheng saw the vengeful spirit moving around in Luo Min's seat, and before that, Shi Feng had been working with Luo Min; and when Chen Gang died, only he and Luo Min remained in the office, everyone else had gone to lunch; as for Meng Ping's death, I suspect the reason might be that he told you everything. Analyzing it this way, the next person most likely to be killed is Sister Zheng. Because she saw the vengeful spirit!"

"Senior brother, according to what you're saying, it seems like anyone who's alone with Luo Min, or who knows about those things, will die? But why hasn't that vengeful spirit killed Sister Zheng yet?"

"Well, judging from how things have unfolded, it seems that's indeed the case. Everyone who had connections with Luo Min, everyone who saw the vengeful spirit, or everyone who talked about the vengeful spirit all died in the end, including Director Wang who was possessed by the vengeful spirit. Now, it doesn't matter why Sister Zheng saw the vengeful spirit but didn't kill her, because that's no longer important. What's important is that now Sister Zheng is the only one left who had contact with Luo Min and the vengeful spirit. In any case, we have no other options right now, so we can only do this for now, as a precaution!"

Zheng Qi nodded. Although he didn't entirely agree with the method, he couldn't think of any other way, so he had no choice but to do as his senior brother instructed. True to his nature, he preferred to take the initiative, while his senior brother Mo Han was more conservative, preferring to remain still and observe.

"By the way, senior brother, since that's the case, I think we should split up and monitor Sister Zheng and Luo Min separately. I think the key is still with Luo Min; maybe we'll find some clues there!"

Suddenly, Zheng Qi had a sudden thought: Could it be that Luo Min was the real key figure? She was always entangled with the vengeful spirit; no matter what, they should try to find a breakthrough by focusing on her!

“I don’t think there’s anything suspicious about Luo Min. In my opinion, she doesn’t need us to monitor her for now.”

Mo Han said with a solemn expression, and Zheng Qi didn't know what to say. He respected his senior brother's opinion.

So, during the day at work, Zheng Qi secretly observed the area around Sister Zheng, while at night, Mo Han quietly lurked around her house, watching for any suspicious activity. After a week of this, both Zheng Qi and Mo Han felt utterly miserable.

"Senior brother, protecting her like this isn't a solution. Who knows when that vengeful spirit will come to kill her? If Sister Zheng isn't one of the spirit's many victims, then all our efforts will have been wasted. It would be like trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice instead!"

After listening to Zheng Qi's explanation, Mo Han felt that what he said made sense. The two of them had been exhausted these past few days. If they continued to fight this protracted battle, they would not only be unable to fight the vengeful spirits to the end, but they might also lose their own lives.

"Alright, let's play it by ear and see what tricks that vengeful spirit will pull in the end!"

That very night, the two of them slept soundly!

One day, near the end of the workday, Luo Min suddenly pulled Zheng Qi aside and whispered something to him.

"Hey, Zheng Qi, I've been having this feeling lately that someone is trying to kill me."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qi secretly found it amusing, thinking, "Ha, it's good enough that you don't harm anyone, who would want to harm you?" Although he thought this way, he comforted her aloud...

"Luo Min, the atmosphere in the newspaper office has been so gloomy and oppressive these past few days. Meng Ping's death a few days ago was heartbreaking for all of us. Stop overthinking things. No one wants to kill you. If you have time, go on a trip and relax."

"No, no, Xiao Zheng, someone really wants to kill me!"

Luo Min grabbed Zheng Qi's arm, her eyes flashing with panic, and hurriedly said to him. Then, she glanced around to make sure everyone was gone, and suddenly leaned close to Zheng Qi's ear and whispered:

"The person who wants to kill me is someone from our newspaper!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qi was startled. Then he thought, "Hmm, is she just trying to be mysterious?" "Alright, I'll test her by asking who wants to kill her."

Thinking of this, Zheng Qi feigned surprise and asked:

"Who, who wants to kill you?"

Luo Min hesitated, her face turning pale, and she lowered her head, remaining silent.

Zheng Qi glanced at her contemptuously, thinking to himself, "Can't say anything now, huh? Besides you, who else would be so bold as to want to kill you?"

"Okay, stop overthinking. You're too stressed. You should see a psychologist when you have time!"

Zheng Qi said coldly, then turned to leave.

"It's Chen Qing!"

Luo Min suddenly raised her head and shouted at Zheng Qi in a hoarse voice.

Zheng Qi was stunned. A jolt went through him. Chen Qing? How could it be her? Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Zheng Qi stared intently into Luo Min's eyes, wanting to see even the slightest hint of deception to convince him that she was lying and deceiving him. But Luo Min's eyes were filled with despairing terror and helpless desolation.

Zheng Qi returned home and collapsed onto the sofa. Mo Han found it strange, as this junior brother rarely behaved like this.

"What's wrong, junior brother? Has someone from your newspaper died again?"

Zheng Qi slowly sat up from the sofa, staring at Mo Han with a serious expression for a full three minutes, until Mo Han felt uneasy under his gaze. Only then did he tell him everything Luo Min had told him.

Finally, Zheng Qi asked Mo Han what her opinion was on the matter.

Mo Han listened without saying a word, then lowered his head and fiddled with the lighter in his hand, lost in thought.

It was completely dark by then.

Suddenly, Mo Han jolted awake and jumped up from the sofa. She quickly walked towards the door, turning to Zheng Qi without turning back.

"Quickly, let's go to Chen Qing's house now!"