Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Yi Zhonghai has stopped struggling.

He lay on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling slightly, but slower and slower.

He was waiting to die.

Wait until this long and painful death process is over.

No one spoke in the room.

The Third Master was chanting incantations in front of the altar, shaking a bell in his hand.

Yan Bugui stood to the side, his eyes fixed on the ever-growing pool of blood in the copper basin.

Sha Zhu squatted down next to Yi Zhonghai, looking at this once imposing old man now lying on the ground like a dead dog, feeling a mix of emotions.

Time passed second by second.

The copper basin gradually filled with blood.

The dark red liquid reflected an eerie luster under the candlelight, and a strong stench of blood filled the air.

Yi Zhonghai's breathing had become so weak that it was almost imperceptible.

His face turned from pale to ashen, his lips turned purple, his eyes were half-open, and his pupils began to dilate.

Third Master glanced at the sky, then at the copper basin, and nodded: "It's about time."

He picked up the blood-soaked clothes, which were soaked in his heart's blood, and carefully placed them into the copper basin.

The blood-stained clothes absorbed the blood quickly, changing color from dark red to bright red, as if they had just been dyed.

"Now, only the final step remains."

Third Master took a deep breath, picked up the peach wood sword, and began chanting incantations towards the altar.

"What?" Yan Bugui asked.

"We need someone to lure the evil spirits over." Third Master looked at Sha Zhu. "You go?"

Sha Zhu's face turned pale: "Why...why me?"

"Because you're a virgin, you have a lot of yang energy," Third Master said.

Sha Zhu fell silent.

What kind of ridiculous logic is this?

Just because he's a virgin?

I didn't want to either, but Sister Qin wouldn't let me.

Over the years, he has helped the Jia family so much, yet he has never even properly held their hands more than a few times.

Finally, Sha Zhu gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! I'll go!"

"Wait a minute," Third Master suddenly said, "Do you know how to lure him?"

Sha Zhu was stunned. He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

He really didn't know.

Seeing his foolish look, Third Master sighed: "If you don't know, why don't you go set up the big iron pot and heat up the oil?"

"Deep-frying pan?"

Sha Zhu was even more confused. "Why are you heating the oil in the pan?"

Third Master lit an incense stick and placed it on the altar before slowly explaining: "To suppress the great evil spirit, we must use the blood of our closest relatives to perform a ritual to attract the evil spirit, offer sacrifices to quell the evil spirit's anger, and use the bones of our enemies to release the evil spirit's hatred."

He pointed at Sha Zhu: "You're a virgin with plenty of yang energy, and the oil pot you're burning is blazing with yang fire. Just put Yi Zhonghai in there as a sacrifice."

"After quelling the fury and enraging anger, the enemy's bones are burned in flames, and hatred is used to transcend hatred; the task is essentially complete."

"So cruel?" Yan Bugui and Sha Zhu were both stunned.

This is meant to ensure Yi Zhonghai's utter demise.

They were deep-fried alive, and even their bodies weren't preserved intact after death.

Sha Zhu, puzzled, asked, "Third Master, why do we need an oil pan? Can't we use something else?"

Third Master glanced at him, his eyes looking at him like he was an idiot: "Haven't you heard of deep-fried ghosts?"

No matter how fierce an omen is, can it be fiercer than raging oil or a raging fire?

This is an extremely yang substance, specifically designed to counteract yin and evil. As long as the oil in the pot is heated sufficiently, any evil thing that gets close will be refined.

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a glance, both seeing hope in each other's eyes.

That's it!

No wonder Third Master went to such great lengths.

Your third master will always be your third master.

Yan Bugui's face lit up with joy: "So, as long as we do as Third Master says, the evil spirit is doomed?"

"Nine times out of ten, it's almost certainly true."

Third Master stroked his beard. "But the prerequisite is that the oil in the pan must be heated enough and the heat must be sufficient."

"Silly Zhu, this is up to you. You're a virgin and a cook, you should at least know how to start a fire, right?"

Sha Zhu patted his chest and said, "Absolutely. I may not be able to say anything else, but I'm an expert at controlling the temperature and the fire. I'm in charge of the kitchen in the factory canteen."

"That's good."

Third Master nodded and dragged a large iron pot out from the corner of the wall.

The pot was enormous, at least 2.5 meters in diameter and more than half a meter deep, big enough to fit three people inside.

I don't know where Third Master got it from, or where he usually hides it.

Yan Bugui looked at the pot and wondered to himself.

But he didn't dare ask any more questions—the ruthless methods Third Master had used against Yi Zhonghai had already intimidated him.

Some things are better left unsaid; pressing for answers only brings no benefit.

Sha Zhu didn't think much of it and quickly set up three large stones in the yard and placed the iron pot on them.

Then they brought over a pile of firewood and put it at the bottom of the pot.

"Where's the oil?" he asked.

Third Master pointed to the room where Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang's bodies were kept: "There are ten barrels of cooking oil in there, that's enough."

Sha Zhu and Yan Bugui went to carry oil and, sure enough, found ten large oil drums in the corner of the woodshed, each weighing fifty jin.

The two men carried out eight buckets and laboriously poured them into the iron pot.

The clear vegetable oil had accumulated to a depth of half a foot in the pot, reflecting a golden luster in the sunlight.

"Is that enough?" Yan Bugui wiped his sweat.

That's enough.

Third Master looked at it and said, "You don't need too much oil, just enough to submerge it. The key is to make sure the fire is strong and the oil is boiling."

Sha Zhu had already lit the firewood.

Dry firewood crackled and popped as it met the fire.

Flames licked the bottom of the pot, and the oil inside began to heat up slowly.

Third Master and Yan Bugui returned to the house and dragged Yi Zhonghai out.

Yi Zhonghai was already on the verge of death.

Although the bleeding from the severed wrist and Achilles tendon had stopped, the excessive blood loss left him feeling cold all over, and his face was pale with a bluish tinge.

His eyelids were too heavy to open, and only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive.

Yan Bugui placed him on a straw mat in the center of the courtyard. Looking at this old man who used to be the undisputed boss in the courtyard, now lying on the ground like a dead dog, he was filled with mixed emotions.

"Old Yi, you often teach the young people in the institute to be generous and to have a spirit of dedication to the collective. Now, we have secured this opportunity for you."

Yi Zhonghai's eyelids twitched slightly.

"Sacrificing one person for the happiness of you, me, and everyone else."

Yan Bugui continued, his tone so sincere as if he genuinely cared about the other person, "I think you're very touched right now, aren't you?"

Moving?

I dare not move!

Yi Zhonghai wanted to curse, to scream, to strangle these hypocrites one by one.

But he didn't even have the strength to open his eyes.

He cried out in his heart.

The boomerang ultimately struck itself.

He regretted it, he really regretted it.

It wasn't that he regretted his evil deeds, but rather that he hadn't gone far enough to leave Lin Tian as a source of trouble.

He doesn't want to die.

He still has so much money left to spend, and he hasn't even retired yet.

But he was going to die.

And in the most painful way.

The oil in the pan started to smoke.

Sha Zhu squatted in front of the stove, carefully adding firewood and controlling the fire.

He's a chef, so he knows how important it is to control the oil temperature.

The oil can't be too hot, and it can't be too hot either—it's easy for it to catch fire.

Third Master walked over and looked at it: "Add more fire, heat it until the oil noodles ripple."

Sha Zhu nodded and added a few more pieces of thick firewood.

The fire blazed up, the iron at the bottom of the pot turned red, and sure enough, fine ripples appeared on the oil noodles, like the surface of a lake rippled by a gentle breeze.

Yan Bugui looked up at the sky.

The sun was high in the sky, its rays shining directly down, making the courtyard feel like a sauna.

"Third Master, isn't it about time?" he asked.

Third Master pretended to do some calculations with his fingers, then looked at the sun: "It's noon, the auspicious time has arrived."

The hot oil in the large iron pot sizzled and bubbled.

Wisps of smoke rose from the oil noodles, and the air was filled with the aroma of heated vegetable oil.

If you don't consider what this oil is going to be used for, the smell is actually quite tempting.

……