Chapter Seventy-Nine: Peng Li

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief, my body suddenly drained of strength, and I collapsed limply to the floor.

Bai Rushuang walked over to me, studying me with a strange expression before finally asking if I was alright.

I shook my head and said I was fine, then glanced at the Emperor and Wang Dan. Although a dark aura still clung to Wang Dan, it was much weaker than before, and the blackness at her brow was now gradually brightening.

Wang Dan was still in a daze, clutching that pile of bones on the ground and crying, “My child,” over and over, while the Emperor stared at her, completely at a loss. Who knows what was running through his mind.

Just then, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open. The hotel owner barged in with a group of police officers.

We barely had time to react before one of the officers barked at us to squat down with our hands on our heads.

I frowned and instinctively looked at the hotel owner. He ignored me, instead turning to the officers with a sycophantic smile. “Officers, these are the ones. I suspect they’re doing drugs in my hotel. Please take them all to the station!”

I hadn’t expected the hotel owner to call the police, and Bai Rushuang was instantly displeased. She confronted the officers, saying, “This might sound unbelievable, but it’s the truth. Do you believe in ghosts?”

She hadn’t even finished her sentence when one officer scowled. I could only feel helpless. Bai Rushuang was truly naïve—how could she say something like that to the police? Of course they’d think she was crazy.

At that moment, Wang Dan, who’d been sitting on the floor in a stupor, suddenly lunged at the hotel owner. He staggered back in fright, and one of the officers instinctively reached for his gun.

Startled, I quickly pulled Wang Dan back and hurried to explain, “Officer, my friend is a bit mentally unstable.”

The hotel owner pointed at us and said, “See, officers, I wasn’t lying! They’re so high they’re hallucinating. Look how cooperative I am now that I’m out of jail—I called you as soon as I found out about this!”

The officer shot the hotel owner an angry glare, then signaled his subordinates to cuff us, clearly intending to take us all in for questioning.

Panic welled up in me. If we went to the station, I truly didn’t know how to explain any of this. Bai Rushuang was indignant, protesting, “We were exorcising demons! If you won’t give us a commendation, fine, but why arrest us?”

The officers all looked at her with a mix of confusion and pity, as if wondering why such a pretty girl would say such absurd things.

Bai Rushuang even seemed ready to pull out her white whip—clearly determined to resist arrest. That scared me half to death. If I let her go on, this situation that still had a chance of being explained would spiral completely out of control.

Just as I was about to stop her, a disheveled, bearded middle-aged man in a leather jacket walked in. The moment he entered, he said, “Xiao Chen, this is a supernatural case. You can all go.”

I had no idea who he was, but the police instinctively stepped back when they saw him. The officer called Xiao Chen looked as if he wanted to say something, but at a single glare from the man, all of them obediently left.

As they walked out, I could clearly hear their muttering from the hallway.

“Why is it always this lunatic? Why does he have to poke his nose into every case? Does he think he’s head of the Criminal Investigation Division?”

“He’s calling it another supernatural case—he’s nuts!”

“Shh, keep your voice down. Don’t let him hear.”

“So what if he does? Useless. If his uncle weren’t the bureau chief, who’d give a damn about him? Never mind, let him be crazy; let’s go drink.”

The man showed no sign of annoyance at their words. He surveyed the room, then walked over to Wang Dan and glanced at her. Finally, he stopped before the charred remains of the stillborn child, frowning.

He began to mutter to himself, “Stillborn, seven months along, hidden under the bed for a month, the baby’s spirit remains. Must have been burned with Daoist ritual—flesh gone, spirit exorcised.”

Hearing his murmurs, I was astonished. Who would have thought this disheveled man was so perceptive? From the few clues left at the scene, he’d deduced everything that had happened.

Bai Rushuang was also visibly surprised, evidently impressed by his abilities.

Then the man took out a bottle of cheap liquor, took a swig, and said to us, “Others laugh at me for being mad; I laugh at them for not seeing through. Those guys are short-sighted—they don’t believe you, but I do.”

I nodded instinctively and asked, “Big brother, what’s your name?”

“Peng Li,” he replied. Then he told us we could leave, that he’d handle the rest.

“We don’t have to go to the police station?” I asked, surprised.

“No need.” Peng Li took another swig of liquor and waved us off. “But this girl can’t go. She must go to the hospital right now!”

It was only then that we noticed Wang Dan. She was still murmuring “my child” over and over, and at some point she had picked up a pillow, caressing it gently.

Suddenly, I saw a bloody gash on her wrist, and a blood-stained fruit knife lay beside her on the floor.

I jumped in fright. “She’s slit her wrist! Quick, get her to the hospital!”

Even the Emperor, who’d been standing aside, hadn’t noticed when Wang Dan had done it. He became extremely agitated, scooping her up and dashing outside.

“Hey, big guy!” Peng Li called after him. “There’s a police car outside—let the officers drive you!”

The Emperor didn’t answer, hurrying out with Wang Dan. I wanted to follow, but by the time I got downstairs, they were already gone.

Peng Li had already taken charge of the situation. Perhaps he’d drunk too much, for his eyes were bloodshot. He turned to Bai Rushuang and me. “Are you from the world of Yin and Yang?”

Bai Rushuang and I exchanged glances but didn’t reply. Peng Li gave a self-deprecating chuckle, then, still drinking, climbed into his dented BYD SUV, weaving off into the night. His voice echoed as he left, “Others laugh at me for being mad; I laugh at them for not seeing through!”

Only when his voice had faded completely did Bai Rushuang and I return to her Golf. She sighed, saying that Peng Li was truly an odd character, but she felt he must have a story.

I chuckled. Countless memories flooded my mind. “In this world, who doesn’t have a story?”

Afterward, Bai Rushuang drove me back to school. On the way, we got to know each other again. I didn’t tell her everything that had happened. I simply said I’d learned my Daoist arts from an old priest who had given me a Maoshan secret manual and sent me down the mountain to exorcise demons.

I didn’t lie to her—every word was true. As for Bai Rushuang’s background, she didn’t tell me either, only that she too had learned her skills from an old priest who had given her a Maoshan manual.

In the end, we both laughed knowingly. Truly, who in this world doesn’t have a story?

Finally, we exchanged phone numbers and I returned to school. The Emperor didn’t return to the dorm until the next morning. He looked terrible, his eyes red as if he’d been crying.

The first thing I asked was how Wang Dan was doing.

The Emperor replied, spirits low, “She lost her mind this morning. Her family already sent her to a mental hospital.”