Chapter Sixty-Nine: Inquiry, as if Confirming the Arrival

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The coffin had already been moved far too many times today. Through the intercom, Zheng Guoqiang’s voice sounded extremely anxious, laced with bitterness.

A man of such high rank had been driven to this point.

Although the Talented Scholars’ Garden villa compound was home to many powerful people and the friends and relatives of the deceased wielded considerable influence, today’s incident was entirely different—there were supernatural forces at play, monsters and demons at work. This had become a matter beyond the ordinary.

Beside the three middle-aged men stood Yang Wanshun’s elderly mother, her hair silvered with age, wailing uncontrollably. She beat upon her son’s coffin, sobbing, “Wanshun, even in death you cannot find peace. I’m so sorry, my son…”

The heart-wrenching scene moved everyone, filling them with sorrow, but there was nothing they could do.

How could Zheng Guoqiang, the head of Talented Scholars’ Garden, possibly lie? Clearly, word had leaked, prompting the higher-ups to issue orders.

This was a clear slight to Lin Yi.

It seemed a new approach to the situation had been decided.

Regardless, with orders from above, everyone had to act. For a while, the air was filled with the sound of weeping. Throughout the villas of Talented Scholars’ Garden, an atmosphere of fear and grief prevailed.

Lin Yi had already emerged from the spirit well.

He could feel that tempering his body with the spirit water was indeed effective—every pore, every cell, rejoiced.

However, Lin Yi also noticed that as he used the spirit water, it gradually absorbed spiritual energy, its power slowly diminishing. This meant the spirit water was not inexhaustible; it could be depleted.

So Lin Yi stopped while ahead.

Judging that he had absorbed enough energy to reach saturation, he stepped out.

He changed into clean clothes and exited the mysterious space of the “Godslayer Sutra.”

The longer he stayed inside, even with spirit water refining his body, Lin Yi still felt a constant pressure bearing down on him, making it hard to remain long in that mysterious space.

Once he left, he felt much lighter.

No sooner had he emerged than he heard Zheng Guoqiang’s voice coming through the intercom. Lin Yi frowned slightly.

After a moment’s thought, he took out his work phone.

The work phone had been issued today along with his suitcase and bag of essentials.

He opened the communication app. After verifying his identity, he found himself added to two groups.

One was the Field Operations Team, the other an official group for the Demon Prison.

Both official groups updated constantly with news and work matters related to the Shengjing City Paranormal Investigation Bureau branch.

Adjusting his phone’s interface quickly, Lin Yi found no record of any deployments.

Unless the “higher-ups” Zheng Guoqiang referred to were from some other administrative unit.

But with supernatural incidents growing ever more frequent, most matters required specialists—and only the Paranormal Investigation Bureau was truly qualified.

Yet the Shengjing branch had issued no outside assignments connected to Talented Scholars’ Garden at all!

It was highly likely Zheng Guoqiang was lying!

But why?

Lin Yi’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Smiling faintly, he picked up his intercom and walked out of Villa 17.

As Lin Yi left Villa 17, he happened to see, across the street at Villa 16, the three middle-aged men and Yang Wanshun’s mother, still sobbing, pushing the black coffin onto a pickup truck.

Earlier, thanks to Lin Yi’s speed, no one had noticed him return to Villa 17.

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Only now, as Lin Yi emerged from Villa 17, did everyone realize he was back.

At once, the three middle-aged men surrounded him.

The others followed suit, all questioning anxiously why Zheng Guoqiang wanted the coffin relocated, and whether it truly needed to be moved.

Lin Yi waved a hand, signaling everyone to heed Zheng Guoqiang’s instructions and move the coffin to the main gate of the Talented Scholars’ Garden compound.

Lin Yi was the backbone of the group, and now everyone looked to him for guidance. With his assurance, they hesitated no longer, but joined him and moved toward the gate.

With Lin Yi present, their fear subsided.

A gentle evening breeze blew; the malignant energy in the air was steadily dissipating.

Taking out his energy meter, Lin Yi saw that the residual malevolent energy around them had dropped to just over ten units.

For ordinary people, as long as they were healthy and free from chronic illness, there was little to fear.

The three middle-aged men eyed Lin Yi with admiration, marveling at how he looked increasingly extraordinary, almost ethereal—his skin had even grown noticeably paler.

Lin Yi knew well that his power had reached a new level; his physical strength had undergone a fundamental transformation.

The spirit water’s refinement had brought his body to an extraordinary state.

Soon, they reached the entrance of the villa compound.

Zheng Guoqiang was pacing anxiously.

When he saw Lin Yi approaching, he immediately put on a pained expression and said, “Master Lin Yi, it really isn’t my choice—I received a notice from above, things have changed, so I had to inform the residents to bring the coffins here.”

“Everyone, the higher-ups have determined that the deaths of your loved ones were caused by the haunting at Talented Scholars’ Garden. This ghost is extremely cunning and feeds on corpses. Therefore, all the bodies must be gathered together.”

“If the ghost gets desperate, it may act unpredictably. Soon, professionals will arrive to guard the compound. You needn’t worry—especially with Master Lin Yi here, what is there to fear? First, we’ll move the bodies, then bring in more personnel. Please, don’t be afraid!”

Zheng Guoqiang was sweating profusely; beads of sweat fell like a waterfall.

His anxious manner and comforting words reassured many of the residents.

With Lin Yi here, everyone already felt safe. But one man couldn’t protect everyone—now that the government was sending more professionals, and perhaps even experts like Master Jin Huishan of the Star Sect, they felt even more at ease.

A few, however, couldn’t help but tease Zheng Guoqiang as they watched sweat pouring down his face.

“President Zheng, this is good news, isn’t it? We can finally relax. With Master Lin Yi and a few professionals, killing that demon should be child’s play! Why are you sweating so much?”

A tall, thin man with a sharp face took out a tissue to wipe Zheng Guoqiang’s brow.

Flattery was to be expected.

Normally, Zheng Guoqiang would have taken the tissue and wiped his face.

But as the man handed over the tissue, Zheng Guoqiang’s expression suddenly changed. With a slap, he knocked the tissue to the ground.

As everyone stared in surprise, Zheng Guoqiang forced a smile and quickly apologized, “Sorry, sorry—too many strange things today, I’m just nervous. My hands are shaking.”

Then he stooped down to pick up the tissue.

As he bent, sweat dripped steadily to the ground.

Many people found this odd, but most thought little of it.

After all, even Zheng Guoqiang wasn’t immune to the day’s stress.

What was a little extra sweat?

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But while others heard nothing, Lin Yi caught a faint “tear” sound, as if something were ripping.

The sound came from Zheng Guoqiang himself!

Lin Yi’s smile deepened.

Earlier, Zheng Guoqiang had spoken to him up close, but had quickly distanced himself, moving to the far side of the crowd—as if deliberately keeping away.

Still smiling, Lin Yi began to approach Zheng Guoqiang step by step.

“President Zheng, your complexion doesn’t look right. Would you like me to help you adjust your condition?”

At Lin Yi’s words, Zheng Guoqiang flinched and quickly backed away, forcing a bitter smile. “Master Lin Yi, please don’t joke with me. I’m just scared, that’s all. I’ll be fine once I get home and calm down.”

“Is that so?”

Lin Yi’s smile never faltered. “President Zheng, perhaps you don’t realize—I’m with the official forces. Do you know what that means? I belong to an organization. You said you received orders from above. May I ask which authority, exactly?”

More sweat beaded on Zheng Guoqiang’s face, which he dabbed at with a tissue.

Lin Yi noticed keenly that while Zheng Guoqiang wiped his face, the tissue barely touched his skin.

Glancing at his energy meter, Lin Yi’s smile grew.

How interesting—truly interesting!

The device still showed the malignant energy hovering just above ten units.

Lin Yi’s thoughts flashed back to his first use of the Water-Repelling Pellet.

Back then, he had chased a deformed demon fox into the Qing River, where it had skinned a fish and disguised itself as one.

The fish looked perfectly normal, except for a slightly higher malice energy reading, which had aroused Lin Yi’s suspicion.

In the end, Lin Yi had determined that the demon fox could suppress its energy signature.

But now, the energy meter’s reading hadn’t changed at all. Had he guessed wrong?

Was the ghost not Zheng Guoqiang?

Was the Skin-Stealing Ghost someone else?

At that moment, Zheng Guoqiang said, timidly, “I truly didn’t realize, Master Lin Yi, that you were an official. That’s wonderful news—what is there for Talented Scholars’ Garden to fear with you here?”

“But, Master Lin Yi, you really wrong me. Would I dare to lie? Please don’t joke with me…”

Just then, the sound of car horns blared at the villa gate.

It was 10:50 at night.

Deep into the night, vehicles had arrived.

Not just one, but two.