Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

The Yi family's house was packed with people.

Yan Bugui was stunned as soon as he pushed the door open.

Besides Yi Zhonghai and Wang Cuilan, there are also Sha Zhu, the deaf old lady, Xu Damao, and Qin Huairu.

"Old Yan is here, come in quickly."

Yi Zhonghai sat in the main seat, his face pale, but his eyes remained relatively calm.

Yan Bugui walked into the house, closed the door behind him, and asked in a low voice, "Old Yi, what's going on here...?"

"Please sit down."

Yi Zhonghai pointed to the empty bench, "Two people died in the hospital today. I'm sure everyone is on tenterhooks."

Yan Bugui sat down and adjusted his glasses: "Yes... Jie Cheng is too scared to go out now..."

"Zhu Zi is right," Yi Zhonghai continued, "There's probably something dirty in the yard."

He spoke in a very low voice, as if afraid of being overheard.

The deaf old woman sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), leaning on her cane, her eyes sinister: "Little Yi, this matter... is probably not simple."

She paused, then looked around at everyone: "If it's really as you all say, that thing has come back to take lives... then that's going to be troublesome."

Yan Bugui grew anxious: "Grandma, you're so knowledgeable, do you know any masters? This matter must be resolved!"

He looked at everyone and added, "We can perform the exorcism behind closed doors and keep it a secret from outsiders."

The deaf old woman was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The master does have one... he used to be a guest of honor at Prince Gong's Mansion. But now..."

"What's wrong now?"

Yan Bugui asked impatiently, "Grandma, where is the master? Can we invite him to exorcise the evil spirit tonight? My son Jiecheng is the next target."

Sha Zhu, arms crossed, said nonchalantly, "Third Uncle, how did you know Yan Jiecheng was next?"

Yan Bugui glared at him irritably: "Zhuzi, don't you understand yet? Jia Dongxu, Liu Guangtian, and my son Jiecheng were the ones who killed Lin Tian. Now that the first two are dead, isn't it Jiecheng's turn?"

His words silenced everyone in the room.

Qin Huairu's face turned deathly pale, and she whispered, "So...it really was an evil spirit that killed them...to avenge their son?"

"It's pretty close to the truth," Yi Zhonghai said in a deep voice.

Sha Zhu scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, grandpa, didn't Lin Tian die yesterday? How come you brought back a living one?"

He looked at everyone and lowered his voice, "What do you think... is this Lin Tian a human or a ghost?"

That question made the temperature in the room drop a few degrees.

Xu Damao shivered and shrank back.

Yi Zhonghai's face was grim: "I don't know the specifics of this matter either. The crematorium worker said that just as they were about to cremate him, he suddenly came back to life... and then I brought him back."

He paused, then added, "I also found it strange at the time, but the person was still alive; they couldn't have really been burned, could they?"

"Now is not the time to dwell on this."

Yan Bugui wrung his hands anxiously, "What do you suggest we do? We can't just stand by and watch it turn out like this..."

The deaf old woman spoke up at this moment: "Little Yan, don't be in a hurry."

She looked at Sha Zhu: "Zhu Zi, go to the back alley of Ruifuxiang Silk Shop on Qianmen Street and find a man called 'Third Master.' Just tell him... just tell him that the deaf old lady has invited you."

Sha Zhu was taken aback: "Grandma, I'll go right now."

The deaf old woman said, "Go quickly, and tell them it's a matter of life and death!"

Sha Zhu quickly stood up: "Okay, okay, I'll go right now."

"etc."

The deaf old woman called out to him, "Don't disturb anyone, go quietly and come back quietly."

"knew!"

Sha Zhu pushed open the door and went out.

Yan Bugui finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Xu Damao then spoke up sarcastically: "Hey, I told you before, don't be so immoral."

"So what if you're going to take advantage of someone's childless family? You even beat their child to death! Now look what you've done, karma's finally caught up with you!"

Although Sha Zhu had left, his words still made many people in the room look unpleasant.

Yi Zhonghai glared at Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, shut up. You weren't exactly a saint yourself."

"What did I do?" Xu Damao retorted, "I didn't hit anyone."

"You didn't do anything?"

Yi Zhonghai sneered, "If you hadn't insisted that Lin Tian stole your chicken, would Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian have made a move?"

These words struck a nerve with Xu Damao, whose expression changed and he fell silent.

That happened yesterday at noon.

Xu Damao's two old hens went missing. He searched the whole yard and finally found Lin Tian and his sister gnawing on a chicken leg.

Xu Damao insisted that Lin Tian had stolen the chicken.

Lin Tian countered that it was given by Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian.

Xu Damao didn't believe it—the Yan family was notoriously stingy, even distributing kimchi by the piece, how could they possibly give Lin Tian a chicken leg?

It's even less likely that Liu Guangtian would give anything good to the Lin siblings, since he gets beaten up by Liu Haizhong every day.

He became increasingly angry as he spoke, insisting that Lin Tian had stolen it.

Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangtian pretended to be falsely accused, and in a fit of anger, they hit Lin Tian.

Jia Dongxu also got involved.

Lin Tian was beaten to death afterwards.

But Xu Damao later discovered that the chicken was stolen by Banggeng and roasted outside by Shazhu.

The two chicken drumsticks were given to Lin Tian and his sister by Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiecheng respectively, in order to frame Lin Tian.

As for Xu Damao's two old hens, the rest of the meat was divided and eaten by Banggeng, Shazhu, Jia Dongxu, Liu Guangtian, and Yan Jiecheng.

Xu Damao was so angry that he cursed loudly. In the end, Yi Zhonghai stepped in to mediate and got the five of them to chip in and pay him for the two chickens.

Yi Zhonghai took Lin Tian's body to the crematorium...

Looking back now, it all seems like some kind of divine retribution.

Yi Zhonghai snapped out of his thoughts and looked at everyone: "Now, let's discuss what to do about the Lin siblings."

Qin Huairu whispered, "If...if the dirty stuff really is on them, and we go to cause trouble for them, will we...get killed on the spot?"

She remembered that Liu Guangtian had died in her room during the day, and his death was so suspicious.

"This concern is not unfounded."

Yi Zhonghai nodded, "Liu Guangtian was murdered in his house in broad daylight... That thing probably isn't afraid of daytime."

Silence fell over the room once more.

a long time,

Yi Zhonghai slowly spoke: "In my opinion, we should leave them alone for now."

He paused, then continued, "We'll talk about it after the master returns and exorcises the evil spirit. Until then, we shouldn't give the Lin siblings any food."

Even if two children are possessed by evil spirits, they still need to eat, right?

If they don't get any food and just starve to death... then it's none of our business.

These words were spoken lightly, but their meaning was chilling. They were all in the same boat, and no one could say a word.

Yan Bugui hesitated for a moment: "This...wouldn't this be too..."

"Too much?"

Yi Zhonghai interrupted him, "Old Yan, think it through. Is your son's life more important, or the two children who 'might' be possessed?"

Yan Bugui remained silent.

Qin Huairu lowered her head, not daring to look at Yi Zhonghai.

Although she felt the idea was too cruel, she thought of her mother-in-law Jia Zhangshi's words, and the deceased Dongxu...

She didn't object.

The deaf old woman spoke up at this moment: "Xiao Yi is right. Let's cut off their food supply first and see their reaction. If it really is an evil spirit, they won't just sit and wait to die."

She paused, then said, "If not... that would make things even easier."

Everyone understood the meaning behind those words.

If it weren't for evil spirits, an eight-year-old child would naturally behave after a few days of hunger.

Xu Damao pursed his lips and didn't say anything.

He was actually a little uneasy. The more this matter escalated, the more he feared he might get caught up in the consequences.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.

Sha Zhu returned, followed by a disheveled old man.

The old man was in his sixties, tall and thin, with a white beard, narrow eyes, and a gaze as sharp as a knife.

"Grandma, Third Master is here," Sha Zhu said in a low voice.

The deaf old lady quickly stood up: "Third Master, thank you for making this trip."

Xu Damao asked in surprise, "Third Master? Aren't you Li Sanque, the manure cart puller?"

Third Master said, "It's me. I know Young Friend Yan."

Xu Damao glanced at Yan Bugui and said, "I understand, I understand. Even if a manure cart passes by, one should still taste the saltiness."

Yan Bugui angrily said, "Xu Damao, you've gone too far!"

Which bastard spread this rumor?

Don't let me catch you.

He was just chatting with Li Sanque for a bit; his grandson needed to go to school, and he was just asking him about it.

Third Master waved his hand, his gaze sweeping around the room before finally settling on Yi Zhonghai: "The old lady said there was an emergency, so I came. What is it? Speak."

Yi Zhonghai quickly gave a brief explanation of the matter.

Upon hearing this, Third Master frowned deeply: "Two deaths in one day? And the manner of their deaths is suspicious?"

He calculated with his fingers, his expression growing increasingly serious: "Your courtyard is rather complicated."

Everyone in the room felt a chill run down their spines.

"Third Master, what... what should we do?" Yan Bugui asked anxiously.

After a moment of silence, Third Master slowly said, "I'll go check on the Lin family and those two children first. If they are possessed by evil spirits... I have a way."

However, this matter cannot be publicized. This is a new society; doing these things will get you shot.

"Third Master is right."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Each had their own thoughts.

……