The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 57 The Haunted Upstairs
Zhong Kui said this and pointed to the corner.

The ashes and the water used to put out the fire were mixed together in a mess. You could vaguely see some unburned wooden signs and the like lying here and there in the mud and water.

"These are the unburned spirit tablets, right? Judging by what's left, there are at least six, not counting the ones that were completely burned. You said you were saving the souls of the deceased in this apartment. Besides Yue Fengsheng and Chen Liangdi, who else died?"

Zhao Xiaozhen glanced at Qi Fei hesitantly, as if afraid he wouldn't believe her. She didn't dare to answer Zhong Kui directly, but just muttered, "Really? I've had enough of this shabby place! Something was wrong when the house was built. I shouldn't have wanted this house if I had known!"

"Is there a ghost upstairs in your house?" Zhong Kui said.

When Zhao Xiaozhen heard this, she immediately became excited: "Yes, yes, you already know, right?"

Qi Fei looked at Zhong Kui speechlessly. She was clearly just guessing, deliberately trying to please Zhao Xiaozhen, and she was calmly pretending to know everything. If it weren't for the possibility of getting her to tell him something, he would have wanted to expose her right away.

"The fire got out of control as soon as you burned paper money. It seems that those dead ghosts are still holding a grudge!" Zhong Kui deliberately frightened Zhao Xiaozhen. She was born charming and now she really looked like a fox fairy.

"Then, what should we do?" Zhao Xiaozhen had completely developed trust in Zhong Kui and immediately asked for advice.

"For someone like you, I think we need to set up a copper coin formation. Why don't you tell me about this haunted situation first, and I'll see how I can help you?" Zhong Kui showed the familiar look of lying with open eyes that Qi Fei was familiar with.

He knew something was wrong and quickly said to Zhao Xiaozhen, "Don't worry, it's free! We are all serving the people!"

After hearing this, Zhong Kui glared at Qi Fei fiercely.

This time it was Qi Fei's turn to have a triumphant smirk on his face.

Zhong Kui suppressed his unhappiness and gave Zhao Xiaozhen a professional smile: "We can talk about the money later. Let me help you solve this ghost problem first. Tell me."

Zhao Xiaozhen said mysteriously, "Room 302 upstairs has been empty for ten years. A family of four died of gas poisoning during the Chinese New Year. They have no relatives in Nancheng, and we, their old colleagues, had to help with their funeral. It was really a sin! Since then, we have often heard strange noises upstairs. It always feels like someone is sweeping the floor, or painting the walls, anyway, it's like someone is always doing housework. We dare not think too much about it, and comfort ourselves that it is just a mouse or something, and we can't scare ourselves, but the noises have been getting louder in the past two days. It used to be when it was just getting dark, but now we can hear the noises in broad daylight!"

Zhao Xiaozhen was terrified when she heard this. She looked at them nervously and asked, "What's going on in our apartment?"

"Why don't we go to your house and see if there are any ghosts haunting the house?" Zhong Kui said.

After hearing this, Zhao Xiaozhen immediately took them upstairs actively.

As soon as the door opened, a middle-aged man angrily scolded Zhao Xiaozhen, "I told you not to get involved in this superstitious stuff. You almost burned the building down. If you're not embarrassed, I'm embarrassed too!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw two people following Zhao Xiaozhen and suddenly lost his temper.

These days, Qi Fei and Zhong Kui Yingwen often appear in Guiyue Apartment and have become familiar faces in the building.

Qi Fei also got to know every resident.

He knew the man before him was Zhao Xiaozhen's husband, Wang Dakang, the man who lived in Room 201. Like the other residents, the decor was a testament to their former wealth. Each room had the intricate ceilings popular in the s and s, featuring wooden plywood panels with various decorative shapes woven into the corners. Wang Dakang's piece seemed of excellent quality; after all these years, it still held its edges and showed no signs of wear.

When Wang Dakang saw the police coming, he thought they were here to hold someone responsible, so he started to plead for Zhao Xiaozhen: "Comrade police, my wife is not well-educated. She was scared by the recent accidents in the building. She didn't mean to burn anything. We will pay the compensation, and there's no need to arrest anyone..."

"Don't worry, because the fire was put out in time, there were no serious consequences. I heard from your wife that there was a ghost upstairs?"

Hearing Qi Fei say this, Wang Dakang was unexpectedly speechless for a moment. He looked at Qi Fei and then at Zhong Kui and said, "You, are you here to investigate the haunting? They say that the Nancheng Police Department even arrests ghosts. It seems to be true?"

"They are right." Zhong Kui admitted it before Qi Fei, leaving Qi Fei so angry that he could only stare blankly.

Zhong Kui raised an eyebrow and whispered, "I told you not to interfere with my making money."

Qi Fei was angry but knew this was not the point at the moment. He said to Wang Dakang, "Zhao Xiaozhen said she often heard noises coming from the empty room upstairs. Did you hear them too?"

Wang Dakang said, "This is real. It's that kind of rustling sound. I don't know what's rubbing against it. If it's a mouse, the rhythm is too fixed. Do you know what it looks like?"

"Your wife said it sounded like sweeping the floor."

Wang Dakang shook his head and glanced at Zhao Xiaozhen. "I haven't told her this because I'm afraid she won't be able to sleep at night. I've had this idea for a long time. Master Lin upstairs and I both work in the leather factory. That sound is very similar to the sound we used to make when we worked in the factory, polishing leather with a brush. It was like that, swish, swish, swish..."

Wang Dakang gestured with his hands and imitated the sound, as if he was possessed.

As expected, Zhao Xiaozhen was trembling with fear after hearing this: "So, it's really Lao Lin who's back? Is he blaming us for not calling the police..."

"Why didn't you call the police?" Qi Fei asked immediately.

Wang Dakang sighed and said, "At that time, all the residents in the building went to rescue people. Everyone knows that when the door was opened, the whole family was out of gas. It was a gas leak. They called the police, and that's it. What can be done?"

Zhong Kui looked at Wang Dakang's evasive eyes after he finished speaking, and immediately threatened: "That's not what Lao He said."

Wang Dakang felt guilty when he heard her say that. He leaned on the back of the chair with one hand, as if he was unsteady. "This matter was agreed upon by everyone. He shouldn't have singled me out for this!"

"Huh? Why do we need to discuss this?" Qi Fei felt something was wrong when he heard this.

Wang Dakang and Zhao Xiaozhen looked at each other, as if hesitating whether to speak.

"Old Lin said that his little daughter was still breathing at that time. If you had called for help, she might have been saved." Zhong Kui's words were eerie, as if they came from the underworld.

Wang Dakang and Zhao Xiaozhen were so frightened that they hugged each other, looking around at the empty space. Wang Dakang said tremblingly, "Where is he? He, he should know that we have our reasons!"

(End of this chapter)