The gluttonous little boy is four and a half years old, and even the wealthy family kneels down and

"W-what's wrong, little aunt?" Yun Zi'ang's eyes were still dazed.

"Something big is happening." Xiao Jin's face was tense, and her voice was very low. "Grand-nephew, something big is about to happen."

Yun Ziang's heart skipped a beat at her expression, and he squatted down to ask her more questions.

Xiao Jin didn't answer, turned around and ran to her room, her feet pattering on the floor.

Yun Ziang quickly followed, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw Xiao Jin dump all the contents of her bag onto the bed—yellow talisman paper, a cinnabar jar, a fine brush, and a few small pieces of peach wood.

"Grand-nephew, help Xiaojin cut the paper." She sat cross-legged on the carpet, her little hands already dipped in cinnabar. The tip of the brush landed on the talisman paper, and she drew each stroke very slowly and carefully. "You have to be fast, but you can't make mistakes. If you make a mistake, it won't be able to stop it."

Yun Zi'ang could not draw talismans, but he was adept at cutting paper, passing cinnabar, and changing brushes.

The two of them drew one and passed it to the other, leaving only the scratching sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper in the room.

Xiao Jin drew seven talismans, cut seven small pieces of peach wood, folded the talisman paper, sandwiched it between the pieces of wood, and then tied it tightly with red string.

After wrapping the last one, her little hands were trembling a little, her eyelids were starting to droop, and her head was nodding little by little, like a chick pecking at rice.

"Grand-nephew," she mumbled, clutching Yun Ziang's sleeve, "Xiao Jin is going to catch bad guys tomorrow. You'll go with her."

"Okay, okay, I'll go with you." Yun Ziang picked her up from the ground and put her on the bed.

Xiao Jin was still clutching his clothes, muttering "Grandpa Six Fingers," when she tilted her head and finally fell asleep.

The first thing Xiao Jin did after waking up the next morning was to pull Yun Ziang out the door.

She was in such a hurry that he only managed to stuff two steamed buns into his mouth for breakfast.

When she arrived at the hospital, she went to the door of the single room on the east side of the third floor, and when she opened the door, she saw that the bed was empty, the quilt was neatly folded, and the green ivy on the windowsill was gone.

A nurse was tidying up the bedside table when she saw them and asked who they were looking for.

"Where is the patient in this ward?" Yun Zi'ang asked as he stepped forward.

The nurse flipped through the record board in her hand and said, "He stopped breathing yesterday afternoon. His family completed the discharge procedures and took him away."

Yun Ziang was stunned for a moment.

Xiao Jin stood at the door, her brows furrowed.

She took three copper coins out of her pocket, squatted down, shook the coins in her palm, and then threw them to the ground.

The copper coin spun around on the ground a few times before settling down.

Two are facing up, and one is facing down.

Xiao Jin looked down for a while, then her face fell.

"Mountain-shaped coins." She pointed to the copper coins, one by one, "Five yin suppress one yang. The yin energy is too heavy, squeezing out the yang energy to only a little bit."

"This is a very bad omen!"

She raised her wrist and sent a voice message to Kong Zheng: "Kong Kong, Xiao Jin has found that six-fingered grandpa. He's going to do something really, really bad. Come quickly."

Yun Zi'ang asked from the side, "What was the name of the patient who was discharged?"

Qu Wanqing.

The nurse responded.

Yun Ziang took out his phone and called Yun Ziqian.

The phone rang once and was answered. Yun Ziqian's voice came through: "What is it?"

"Brother, can you help me investigate someone? A patient from the hospital, a woman named Qu Wanqing, was picked up yesterday afternoon. Quickly, find out about her husband—"

"Zhuang Huai-ren," Yun Ziqian interrupted him.

Yun Zi'ang was stunned: "How did you know?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Yun Ziqian said, "I checked Zhou Kun's financial transactions and found several private remittances, consistently deposited into Zhuang Huai Ren's account every month. The amounts are substantial and have been going on for over a decade. I just confirmed it this morning."

Yun Ziang held his phone, standing still with a dazed look in his eyes.

How did that six-fingered old man get involved with Zhou Kun?

He thought about what Kong Zheng had said about how evil the six-fingered mastermind was.

Is it really this kind of person who has been targeting the Yun family?

All these things, after going around in circles, turned out to be part of the same whole cycle from the very beginning.

He suddenly felt a chill down his back.

"Zi'ang?" Yun Ziqian called him on the phone.

"Okay, brother," Yun Ziang said. "Keep investigating, I'll let you know when I have any news."

After hanging up the phone, he looked down at Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin was looking up at him, her little hand still clutching the three copper coins.

Yun Ziang paused for a moment, then told Kong Zheng about Zhuang Huai Ren's matter, and Kong Zheng immediately began to investigate.

In two hours, Zhuang Huai-ren's entire life was thoroughly investigated.

Kong Zheng found Zhuang Huai Ren's address and invited Xiao Jin to go with him.

Half an hour later, Yun Ziang brought Xiao Jin to the warehouse that Kong Zheng had mentioned.

Kong Zheng and his two junior brothers have arrived.

Inside that abandoned warehouse, old machines and cardboard boxes were piled up.

A metal-framed bed stood against the wall, and on the bedside table were several boxes of unfinished medicine and an old enamel mug.

The most eye-catching thing is a long table by the window, which is covered with papers—some are half-drawn talismans, some are notebooks filled with dense writing, and some are hand-drawn array diagrams.

The ink had dried, but some of the paper edges were still damp.

"He hasn't come back since he left the hospital last night." Kong Zheng flipped through the papers on the table, his tone heavy.

Xiao Jin climbed onto the chair and leaned over the edge of the table to look at the blueprints.

She couldn't read words, but she could understand pictures—the direction of the symbols and the structure of the formations were clearer to her than words.

She looked at each one, her brows furrowing more and more tightly.

Kong Zheng said from the side, "Zhuang Huai-ren's wife, Qu Wan-qing, was injured in an argument ten years ago and became a vegetable. Zhuang Huai-ren took care of her for the past ten years. She suddenly passed away last night."

Yun Zi'ang stood at the door, arms crossed, his face grim: "I guessed right. Something happened to his wife, so he went mad."

Xiao Jin slid off the chair, walked to the table, and picked up the paper with the most drawings on it.

She spread the paper on the ground, squatted down and looked at it for a while, then suddenly said, "He wants his wife to come back to life."

Kong Zheng frowned deeply: "Resurrected from the dead? A brain-dead patient's soul has long since dissipated. How could that be possible?"

"First, refine the soul back, then refine the corpse into a weapon." Xiao Jin's voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself.

She pointed to the runes on the paper, marking them one by one, "First, refine the soul, using yin energy to bring back the scattered soul. Then refine the corpse, turning the body into a vessel that can hold the soul. And then—"

She pointed to the densely packed small characters at the bottom: "Seven-day return of the soul. Within the first seven days, the soul is forcibly pieced back together using the lifespan and yin energy of another person."

Kong Zheng's expression grew increasingly grim.

He was flipping through Zhuang Huai-ren's notebook when he suddenly stopped on a page.

The page listed a long string of names, each followed by an age, address, and "available Yin energy."

More than a dozen names were crossed out, with "used" or "failed" written next to them.

"He's been running a cult for years," Kong Zheng said, closing his notebook. "They brainwash people who have lost loved ones. He tells them that if they follow him, he can bring the dead back. These people collect corpses and souls for him, and help him set up formations. If what Xiao Jin said is true, there will definitely be something big tonight. The seventh day after death is approaching, and he can't wait any longer."

Xiao Jin stood up, folded the array diagram, stuffed it into the little fox's pouch, and dusted off her hands. "Tonight."

She said, "He'll definitely make his move tonight. Kongkong, where's your master?"

"It's already on its way." Kong Zheng took out his phone. "I'll send him my location first."

Half an hour later, Kong Ji arrived at the warehouse with more than a dozen disciples.

He looked at the blueprints and notebook on the table, and sighed solemnly.

Then he glanced at Xiao Jin and asked, "Where do you think he'll make his move?"

Xiao Jin closed her eyes, counted on her fingers, and after a moment, said aloud:

"North."

She opened her eyes. "A very dark, very old place. Many people have died there."

Kong Ji nodded slightly. "Indeed. The north, an extremely yin place."

Kong Zheng pulled out a map on his phone and pointed to a few points to the north.

Kong Ji looked at each one, and finally his finger stopped at one spot.

"A tenement building in the north of the city," Kong Zheng said. "Twenty years ago, a family of five was murdered inside, and the killer has never been caught. After that, the building was haunted, and the residents moved out one after another. Now the whole building is empty, and it's the only one in the demolition area that hasn't been demolished yet."

"That's where it is," Xiao Jin said. "That's where the yin energy is heaviest. He wants to raise the corpse there, gather yin energy, and bring the soul back."

Kong Ji leaned down slightly, looked at Xiao Jin, and said gently, "Something big is likely to happen tonight."

Are you scared? Do you dare to go?

"Xiao Jin isn't afraid! Xiao Jin wants to go!" Xiao Jin answered crisply, reaching out to touch the longevity jade around her neck.

This is a great act of merit, and she must seize it!

Kong Ji immediately decided, "Alright, let's meet tonight!"

"Only a puppy wouldn't go!"

Kongji extended his little finger, Xiaojin hooked it, and nodded vigorously, "It's my little puppy's fault for not going!"

Late at night, in front of the tenement building.

Kongji brought many disciples with him, and the number of them was large.

Xiao Jin pulled Yun Ziang over quickly. Yun Ziang looked reluctant, with two peach wood swords and countless talismans tied to his body.

Kong Ji saw Xiao Jin and a smile flashed in his eyes. He then gave instructions: "Split into three groups. One group will follow me into the building to break the formation, another will set up an array around the perimeter to block the way, and the third will wait behind the building. Xiao Jin, stay close to me. I'll lead the way."

Xiao Jin nodded and took Yun Ziang's hand.

Yun Ziang looked down at her and found that although her face was tense, there was no fear in her eyes, only a familiar, shining seriousness.

"Let's go," Xiao Jin said. "Xiao Jin is all ready!"

In the dead of night, the tenement buildings in the north of the city resemble a severed finger stuck in the ruins, with dark windows one after another, none of them emitting light.

The open space in front of the building was filled with people. Kongji's disciples spread out according to their positions, some guarding the intersections, and others setting up formations outside the building. A circle of red thread and copper bells jingled softly in the night breeze.

Xiao Jin stood at the entrance of the building and looked up.

The entire building was shrouded in a thick layer of black mist, which climbed from the bottom to the top, gathering into a cluster at the highest point, resembling a crouching figure.

"There are living people on the first floor." Xiao Jin sniffed. "Many people, all awake, but their breath is gray."