Chapter 58.2 Ominous Steps 05
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“Oh.” The owner understood, suddenly recalling the incident in the elevator where the elevator vengeful spirit entangled his neck with intestines. He described it to Chen Yang and said, “Didn’t you say it wouldn’t harm me?”
“Is that so?” Chen Yang tapped the dice with his index finger. “Seems like it can’t stay here for long. It’s temporarily not harming you, not never harming you. Vengeful spirits can retain their rationality before death, but the longer it takes, the more that rationality disappears, losing humanity and retaining only ghostly nature. Especially eartbound spirits, bound to repeat the scene before their death, even a human would go mad over time. Stay a bit longer, and that elevator vengeful spirit will start harming people, turning into a malevolent ghost seeking substitutes.”
Glancing at the owner’s unfavorable expression, Chen Yang gently explained, “I didn’t intentionally leave you in the elevator. It’s just that at that moment, considering the information I had, I suspected there might be two different vengeful spirits. So when I heard the sound, I ran out, leaving you in the elevator mainly because I thought the thing in the elevator hadn’t developed to the point of harming people yet. Plus, you had the Five Thunders talisman I left for you. Stick it on the vengeful spirit in a critical moment, open the elevator door, run out, and that elevator vengeful spirit can’t leave and won’t harm you. Most importantly, I thought you were quite brave.”
The owner’s expression eased considerably, and he chuckled when he heard the last sentence. “I also thought I was brave. Now I know what ‘curiosity kills the cat’ means. I was just curious about those vengeful spirits and ghosts, wanted to brag a bit, who knew I almost got killed.”
Chen Yang: “I’m going to release the staircase vengeful spirit, then go catch the elevator vengeful spirit. Are you still coming along?”
“Where is the safest place?”
Chen Yang: “Go inside a room, but it has to be an occupied one. Outside the room, there’s a door god guarding, so ordinary ghosts won’t dare to enter without an invitation. They can’t forcefully enter unless you open the door yourself. If it’s a place without residents for a long time, there won’t be a door god, so some wandering spirits might enter and stay.”
“I—I have an apartment on the seventh floor.”
“That’s perfect, just one more floor up.” Chen Yang got up and was about to leave.
The owner quickly stopped him and said, “Master, how about giving me a ride? I still feel weak and terrified. It was too frightening.”
Chen Yang: “I also need to guide the staircase vengeful spirit. Can you handle seeing those things again?”
The owner gritted his teeth, “I can!” When Chen Yang was about to release the thing from the dice, he raised his hand and said, “Wait, let me turn around, close my eyes, and cover my ears first.” He looked genuinely frightened.
Chen Yang released the vengeful spirit from the dice. It still had a terrifying appearance. Such vengeful spirits, unjustly killed and filled with hatred, always looked terrifying after death. But once their major grudges were avenged, and their grievances cleared, they would return to their appearance before death.
Chen Yang drew a guiding talisman, but before handing it to the vengeful spirit, he asked again, “Do you really want to seek revenge on your own? I can help you gather evidence and send that couple who killed you to jail.”
“Betrayed and wronged, plotted to end my life. If this revenge is not taken, the resentment will be hard to dispel.”
The vengeful spirit’s voice was like a chilling wind through leaves, eerie and terrifying, making one’s scalp tingle. As it spoke these words, deep resentment filled the air, and the Yin energy surged, lowering the temperature of the entire room by several degrees.
“Since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t dissuade you anymore.” Chen Yang applied the guiding talisman to the vengeful spirit, chanted an incantation, and said, “Go!”
The vengeful spirit bowed in gratitude to Chen Yang, then instantly disappeared, heading towards the direction of her enemies who caused her death. Chen Yang sighed, sent a message to Zhang Qiudao, telling him not to bother about what was going to happen in the hospital. Because ‘an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth,’ and since the Court of Great Yin had judged and allowed the vengeful spirit to come out of Wangsi City for revenge on the seventh day, they didn’t need to intervene.
The owner asked Chen Yang, “Is it true that those who harm others and commit murder will be haunted by malevolent ghosts and face retaliation?”
Chen Yang: “It’s not that simple. If it were, why would there be a need for the mortal realm to combat evil and imprison criminals? Souls that die unnaturally or by murder report to the underworld first, then enter Wangsi City. If they want revenge, they have to petition in Fengdu, where their grievances are judged, and then they are allowed to return on the seventh day to seek revenge. But if the wronged souls cause harm, they turn into malevolent ghosts and go to hell. The underworld and the mortal realm are two distinct worlds, each with its strict laws. Seeking revenge requires petitioning in Fengdu and facing the consequences of going to hell. If they choose not to seek revenge, they only need to wait, and the Court of Great Yin will eventually punish those who caused their death.”
‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ sounded like settling scores, but in reality, it was not that simple. Everything had to follow the laws, and the realms of Yin and Yang did not interfere with each other. If there was a grievance, the Court of Great Yin would not misjudge or overlook it. Wanting to see the miserable fate of those who caused their death just required waiting, waiting for the natural course of life to strip them of their longevity, and eventually, they would be judged and sent to hell by Fengdu.
However, some wronged souls could not wait and would rather go to hell and face punishment than wait for retribution. This was their choice, and others couldn’t dissuade them.
Chen Yang accompanied the owner to the seventh floor, sent him into a room, and then returned to the elevator. Standing in the center of the elevator, he earnestly folded the Five Thunders talisman, paying no attention to the irregularly lit buttons in front of him. The elevator moved erratically, lights flickering on and off. Chen Yang remained unfazed, and the incessant dripping sounds echoed, with the foul-smelling bloodwater splattering in front of him.
Stepping back, Chen Yang avoided letting the bloodwater reach his feet. Continuing to fold the Five Thunders talisman, he heard the sound of dripping water, cold and accompanied by a putrid odor, behind him. Chen Yang glanced upward slightly, observing the reflection of the scene behind him on the elevator door.
A vengeful spirit hung upside down behind him, crawling on the ceiling of the elevator. Staring fixedly at Chen Yang, its intestines dragged on the floor, while brain matter and bloodwater scattered below. Silently, it approached Chen Yang, reaching for the intestines in an attempt to loop them around his neck and strangle him.
Chen Yang remained silent, seemingly unaware of the intestines hanging above him. The entangled intestines suddenly dropped, tightening with the intent to strangle him. Chen Yang pinched a copper coin between two fingers, placed it on top of the intestines, emitting a sizzling sound. The vengeful spirit let out a desperate scream, attempting to escape.
Chen Yang seized the vengeful spirit’s intestines, dragging it closer, and threw the Five Thunders talisman into its abdomen. “Divine soldiers, thunderous soldiers, urgently as the law decrees, heed!”
The vengeful spirit struggled and screamed, but under the erosion of the Five Thunders talisman, it continuously contracted into a ball of blue light, finally being absorbed into Chen Yang’s dice. The elevator doors opened, and Chen Yang glanced at the floor number. It was on the eleventh floor. He stepped out, and at the end of the corridor, he observed the apartment building across, which was being prepared for demolition and reconstruction.
He figured that the elderly man had mistakenly identified the floor. Moreover, Ma Shanfeng’s investigation report didn’t mention any “elevator companion corpse” incident in this building. It indicated that such an incident never occurred here.
The apartment building didn’t seem ready for reconstruction. Rebuilding wouldn’t be easy considering the current layout. The suspicion of two vengeful spirits stemmed from the account of the office lady who described encounters with spirits in both the elevator and staircase. However, the spirit in the elevator was earthbound and could not leave it to harm unless through some means or by possessing someone else.
So, the vengeful spirit that attacked the office lady in the stairwell sought revenge after obtaining permission from the Court of Great Yin. This vengeful spirit had only the seventh day to exact revenge. From midnight last night to this morning, there was only half an hour left. If revenge wasn’t achieved within that time, it would be compelled to return to the underworld. This outcome might enrage the vengeful spirit, turning it into a malevolent ghost, wreaking havoc inside the building.
Even with door gods, it was doubtful if they could restrain a malevolent ghost. Especially when no one in the building had them enshrined, the door gods guarding wouldn’t be powerful enough.
After Chen Yang dealt with the elevator vengeful spirit, he informed the owner and, upon receiving a transfer notification, left the building and returned to the police station. In the station, he coincidentally encountered Zhang Qiudao, who had just returned. Zhang Qiudao, yawning, greeted him, then said, “Two people died in the hospital, heard they went crazy, pushed each other, and committed suicide by jumping off the fifteenth floor. Splattered blood and flesh are stuck in the floor seams.”
Chen Yang: “Vengeful spirit.”
Zhang Qiudao was still unaware of the situation, so he inquired. Chen Yang explained, “The office lady attacked by the vengeful spirit plotted to mjrder her lover’s wife. The lover, tired of his wife but unwilling to divide assets, conspired with the office lady to push his wife off the fifteenth-floor rooftop, killing her.”
Hence, the wife turned into a vengeful spirit, willing to drag this unfaithful couple to hell with her.
Chen Yang tossed the dice to Zhang Qiudao. “Inside, there’s an elevator vengeful spirit and a ghost who died a violent death. When the local officials pardon them, you should send both of them to a Daoist ritual and provide spiritual deliverance. I might not have the time to handle it at that time, so I’ll trouble you with this.”
Zhang Qiudao readily agreed, “No problem.”
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