“Shifu?” I suddenly remembered my master—the one I had officially taken as my teacher but hadn’t even met in person yet.

Brother Xiang nodded, pulled a book out of his bag, and handed it to me. I took it and glanced at the cover—it was a thin book titled Liu He Command Talisman. The book looked rather worn out, with only six pages inside. As I flipped it open, the first thing I saw was the Liuding Liujia Exorcism Talisman.

“Is this Liu He Command Talisman any good?” I asked as I skimmed through the rest of the pages. They featured a series of talismans: Daluo Jinshen Unbreakable Talisaman, Wanji Cuishen Descend Talisman, Jiuku Wangsheng Pudu Talisman, Pomo Qusha Protection Talisaman, and Taishang Jingshen Clarity Talisman.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Han Sifan turned his head toward me and said, “If the Fire Talisman you drew earlier was kindergarten-level, then this Liu He Command Talisman is like a university-level. Plus, it’s a rare ‘combo talisman’—it’s both offensive and defensive. The Liuding Liujia Exorcism Talisman, Daluo Jinshen Unbreakable Talisaman, and Wanji Cuishen Descend Talisman are used in combat. Meanwhile, the Jiuku Wangsheng Pudu Talisman, Pomo Qusha Protection Talisaman, and Taishang Jingshen Clarity Talisman are for dispelling evil, exorcising spirits, and saving lives. Their applications are endless.”

“Yeah, that’s about the gist of it,” Brother Xiang said with a sly grin. “Anyway, it’s a fantastic piece of work. I had to beg my Shifu—yeah, that old turtle—to get this for you. So, how are you planning to thank me?”

“Get lost,” I scoffed. “That old geezer took me as a disciple but hasn’t taught me squat. Giving me this book is the least he could do. Why should I thank him for something that’s a matter of principle?” I shoved the Liu He Command Talisman into my pocket, knowing full well this thing was a treasure without needing to think too hard.

Jin Xishan, who had been quietly listening to us talk about talismans, seemed completely lost. She decided not to join the conversation and just stayed silent. Around 10:30, we arrived at the outskirts of Chongqing, in a villa district. This area was adjacent to a park, spacious and luxurious. Most of the residents here were people of prominence and wealth in Chongqing. Judging by the luxury cars parked outside—BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes, and some sports cars I couldn’t even recognize—it was clear that living here wasn’t cheap.

Jin Xishan drove us up to one of the villas. It was three stories tall and looked massive. Uncle Jin was already waiting for us at the entrance, smiling warmly as we got out of the car.

“Xiao Hui, Xiao Xiang, come on in and have a seat!” Uncle Jin greeted us enthusiastically, throwing an arm around both mine and Brother Xiang’s shoulders as he ushered us inside. His friendliness was infectious. Honestly, I couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy—after all, Uncle Jin was a deputy district chief! Back in the day, whenever I saw news about some mayor meeting with students and the students tearing up in gratitude, I thought it was all staged. But now, imagining a mayor meeting me, I’d probably have to squeeze out a few tears myself for effect. Ahem.

We followed Uncle Jin inside. The villa was incredibly spacious but surprisingly empty. The ground floor only had a sofa, a coffee table, and a TV in the center. Not much else.

“Come, have a seat.” Uncle Jin gestured toward the sofa. After we sat down, he turned to Jin Xishan and said, “Girl, go make some tea for Xiao Hui and Xiao Xiang.”

“Okay.” Jin Xishan nodded and headed off, probably to boil water. As soon as she left, Uncle Jin’s expression became more serious. “I’m sorry to trouble you three again this time,” he said with a sigh.

“Uncle Jin, no need to be so formal with us. What’s the situation?” I asked, shaking my head. Honestly, Uncle Jin had pulled me out of a police station once before. If it weren’t for him, I might’ve been stuck in there getting beaten up for days.

“Ah, I’d better start from the beginning,” Uncle Jin said with another sigh and began explaining.

It all started with that widely publicized case of the little girl’s suicide a year ago—the Menma Suicide Case. That incident was so bizarre that, despite the government’s usual hands-off approach to such matters, the case caused such a stir that they had to act. Due to immense pressure from all sides, they brought in a paranormal investigation team from Chengdu.

The investigation revealed that it wasn’t the work of malevolent or vengeful spirits, as the government initially suspected. Instead, it turned out to be a ghost-refinement experiment by a cult called the Bai Lian Cult.

The Bai Lian Cult first appeared five years ago. According to Uncle Jin, China’s two largest evil cults used to be the Miao Wu Cult and Tian Li Cult. They were wiped out by some group of people, leaving remnants that eventually formed the Bai Lian Cult.

At first, no one paid much attention to this new cult. But soon, the Bai Lian Cult began using vengeful spirits to attack government, military, and police personnel, as well as civilians. Though the government kept it under wraps, over the past few years, over 500 people had died because of the Bai Lian Cult. What’s more, the cult used forbidden magic to turn children into vengeful spirits to aid them in harming others.

Zhao Chenyang, who used to be Uncle Jin’s trusted subordinate, had been tasked with investigating the Bai Lian Cult. However, after taking on the assignment, he vanished—only to resurface four months ago in Changshou, where he killed an elderly man, two men, two women, and two children using dark magic.

An entire family of seven was wiped out. That’s when Uncle Jin realized Zhao Chenyang had joined the Bai Lian Cult. He sent people everywhere to hunt him down but found nothing.

After hearing this, I couldn’t help but click my tongue in disbelief. The Bai Lian Cult was terrifying—killing over 500 people in five years! What the heck?! Still, it seemed I’d found the ones responsible for avenging Menma. But wait, the Menma case happened a year ago, while Zhao Chenyang only started killing four months ago. That meant someone else must’ve been behind Menma’s death.

“I never expected Zhao Chenyang to join the Bai Lian Cult. Lao Li Tou thought he only wanted revenge and would repent after getting it. If we’d known, we would never have let him go back then,” Brother Xiang said with a sigh, shaking his head.

“Uncle Jin, does this mean you’ve found leads on the Bai Lian Cult? Is that why you called us here?” I asked.

“Not exactly. We’re not sure if it’s the Bai Lian Cult’s doing, but we do have an unsolvable case,” Uncle Jin said as he pulled two photos from his bag and handed them over. “These two victims died about a week ago. Take a look.”

Brother Xiang and I studied the photos. The victims were a man and a woman. Brother Xiang asked, “Do these two have anything special about them?”

“Not outwardly, no. But their throat organs were completely destroyed, and their hearts were missing,” Uncle Jin said, shaking his head. “I’m no detective, but you two might figure it out.”

He then handed us an X-ray. Brother Xiang and I examined it, but we couldn’t discern much. However, Han Sifan glanced at it and immediately said, “These victims opened their mouths, reached into their throats with their hands, and pulled out their own hearts.”