I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

Lin Ye sat on the edge of the bed, his last bit of sleepiness completely gone.

Lu Zhixia also propped herself up and sat up.

The blanket slipped down her shoulders a little, and she casually pulled it up a bit.

"People from the Candle Shadow Society?"

"Um."

The sound from Cheng Fang's side was very mixed.

They are obviously already on the scene.

"His identity has been basically confirmed. He is Zhou Su, an operative from the outer perimeter of the capital branch."

"How long have you been dead?"

"The forensic doctor initially estimated it to be around three hours."

"Where is the soul?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Just like Zhang Dong."

Lin Ye got out of bed.

Send me the address.

"It's already been sent."

Cheng Fang paused for a moment.

"Do it yourself."

Lin Ye stopped moving.

She glanced back at Lu Zhixia.

"Know."

Lu Zhixia had already understood.

"I'm not going."

She threw back the covers and got out of bed.

Lin Ye looked at her.

"So self-aware?"

"I don't know how to identify corpses."

Lu Zhixia straightened her bathrobe and walked towards the bathroom.

He took two steps and then stopped.

"But if Han Jingchuan is really involved with the Candle Shadow Society, tell me everything you can."

"Um."

"besides."

"What?"

"Buy your own breakfast."

The bathroom door was closed.

Lin Ye glanced down at the time.

10:13 AM.

I was up until the wee hours last night.

He had only slept for a few hours.

"How heartless."

A voice came from the bathroom.

"I heard you."

"..."

Forty minutes later.

The northern suburbs of the capital.

An unassuming short-term rental apartment has been sealed off in seven places.

When Lin Ye entered, Tang Zhi was putting on gloves.

Upon seeing him, the first thing I said was:

"Didn't you reply last night?"

Lin Ye didn't stop walking.

"What's it to you?"

"Your dark circles are quite noticeable."

"You have one too."

"I'm on duty."

"I'm working overtime."

Tang Zhi gave a meaningful "Oh".

Cheng Fang came out from inside.

"Could you two please stop talking for a bit?"

"The body was in the bedroom."

Zhou Su was lying on the edge of the bed.

Thirty-four years old.

He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, and his right hand was resting on the floor.

There were no obvious external injuries.

There were no signs of a struggle in the room.

The most noticeable feature is the inside of his left wrist.

A faded black candle pattern.

The Seven Offices and the Candle Yin Society have been fighting for so long.

It's unlikely they'll admit their mistake.

Lin Ye squatted down.

"know?"

Cheng Fang shook his head.

"We've never had any direct contact."

"It's in the database."

"I've appeared twice before at an outer liaison point of the Candle Shadow Society."

Lin Ye activated his spiritual hearing.

The result was as expected.

A person has only been dead for a few hours.

The voice of the soul, however, was frighteningly clean.

Lin Ye listened to it again.

Finally, he got up.

"It's been eaten up."

Tang Zhi crossed her arms.

"Is it Han Jingchuan again?"

"It's more like it than I can say."

Lin Ye looked at her.

"We can't blame it all on him just because we've only met one person recently who eats souls."

Cheng Fang nodded.

That's why I called you here.

He led Lin Ye to the desk.

There weren't many things on the table.

Laptop computer.

smoke.

A mobile phone with the SIM card removed.

There was also an ordinary softcover notebook.

Cheng Fang turned to one of the pages.

There are only a few hastily written keywords above.

Jingchuan Antiques

Han Jingchuan

Old objects have no spirit.

【swallow?】

There's one more line at the very bottom.

[Not a person of the Candle Shadows.]

Lin Ye stared for two seconds.

"So you mean Han Jingchuan's name was left at the scene?"

"Um."

"Isn't it written on the wall?"

Cheng Fang looked at him.

"You think this is a movie shoot?"

"What they said on the phone sounded quite convincing."

"I was busy at the time."

Tang Zhi peeked out from behind.

"So, it seems the Candle Shadow Society has also set its sights on him?"

"Eighty percent."

Cheng Fang handed over another item.

"The computer hard drive has been cleaned once."

"The technical team has just recovered some of the browsing history."

The past three days.

Zhou Su's most frequent search term was not Han Jingchuan himself.

Rather, it was the antique artifacts he had recently purchased.

Broken bell.

God Card.

An ancient mirror.

There are also several forums and private chat groups for private collectors.

One of the keywords appeared a total of seventeen times.

[Spirit Weapon]

Lin Ye's eyes flickered.

"Did he know that Han Jingchuan was eating the artifact spirit?"

"It might just be a suspicion."

Cheng Fangdao:

"Last viewed at 1:48 AM".

"The computer hasn't been touched since."

Lin Ye looked at the corpse.

Han Jingchuan was still at Yunqi Villa at 1:28 last night.

Even if I rushed here immediately after leaving, time would be very tight.

"What about the surveillance footage?"

"Zhou Su was photographed downstairs."

"Han Jingchuan wasn't photographed."

"Others?"

"Four people entered and exited this building after 2 a.m.

"Two residents, one food delivery driver, and one drunkard."

"They're investigating."

Lin Ye didn't say anything.

If it really is Han Jingchuan.

That guy might not need to come in through the main entrance.

What's more troublesome is...

No one knows exactly how much he has swallowed.

What abilities does it have?

"What about this one?"

Tang Zhi took out a folded sheet of printing paper from the drawer.

The above is a list of ancient artifacts.

A dozen or so names.

Most of them have been crossed out.

Lin Ye looked down.

He had seen some of them before.

These are the very things that Han Jingchuan recently acquired at a high price over the past month.

"Zhuyin will be with his delivery line."

Cheng Fangdao.

"And earlier than us."

Tang Zhi clicked her tongue.

"They're quick with their news."

"They're reaching out to far more people now than before."

Cheng Fang took the paper back.

"It's not hard to infiltrate antique markets, flea markets, and underground trading circles with a few people."

Lin Ye looked at the last part of the list.

There are still three items that haven't been marked.

One of them only has a vague description.

[An ancient bronze mirror, suspected to contain a remnant spirit that has awakened itself.]

No photos were taken.

No address.

Lin Ye glanced at it again.

Cheng Fang noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"fine."

Lin Ye looked away.

It's not necessarily a mirror reflecting one's own heart.

There are so many ancient mirrors across the country.

There's no need to scare yourself unnecessarily.

But just then...

My phone vibrated.

Lu Zhixia.

Lin Ye walked to the window and answered the call.

"What's wrong?"

"Is it a convenient time for you to talk now?"

Her tone was a little off.

"convenient."

"Three colleagues just asked me the same question."

"What?"

"Ancient mirror".

Lin Ye's eyes darkened.

Explain yourself.

"Someone in the industry has been buying mirrors at high prices these past few days."

The sound of keyboards clicking could be heard from Lu Zhixia's side.

"No age or condition restrictions."

"You can even check if it's real or fake first."

"There is only one requirement."

"What?"

Strange things have happened.

Lin Ye didn't say anything.

Lu Zhixia continued:

"Looking in the mirror, I saw a dead person."

"The reflection moves on its own."

"There are sounds at night."

"The more bizarre the story, the higher the price."

Tang Zhi was close enough to hear a little of it.

His expression changed too.

Lin Ye asked:

"Who's collecting them?"

"Not registered under my real name."

"Several middlemen were involved."

Lu Zhixia paused.

"But I just asked someone I know."

He said the first person to leak the information was someone surnamed Zhou.

Lin Ye turned back.

He looked at the corpse on the ground.

"What's your name?"

"All I know is that his surname is Zhou."

Lu Zhixia quickly added another sentence.

"Wait, I'll send you a screenshot of the chat."

My phone vibrated.

The pictures have arrived.

Forwarded messages are displayed at the very top.

A WeChat nickname.

[Old Zhou's Miscellaneous Items]

The profile picture is very ordinary.

A bronze incense burner.

Cheng Fang picked up the phone and glanced at it.

Then I brought up Zhou Su's profile page.

Register your profile picture.

The same bronze incense burner.

Right.

Tang Zhi whispered:

"This dead man was looking for a mirror last night."

Lin Ye stared at the screen.

Things suddenly connected.

Zhuyin discovered that Han Jingchuan was acquiring a large number of unusual old artifacts.

Zhou Su was dispatched to investigate.

Zhou Su's search for the "mirror with strange occurrences" by going against the grain of the antique circle is likely an attempt to figure out what Han Jingchuan truly needs.

As a result, the person died last night.

His soul was gone.

Lu Zhixia asked on the phone:

"Has something happened?"

Lin Ye did not hide it from her.

"That guy surnamed Zhou is dead."

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

"Did Han Jingchuan do it?"

"It's not certain yet."

"it is good."

Lu Zhixia didn't press for an answer.

Instead, he said:

"Then I'll continue to check on the person who took the mirror."

"no."

Lin Ye refused quickly.

Lu Zhixia was quick as well.

Why?

"Zhou Su had just investigated when the person died."

"So I can't pretend I didn't see it."

"Lu Zhixia".

"Don't be angry yet."

Her voice was very flat.

"I won't touch Han Jingchuan, nor will I meet strangers on my own."

"I only get information from acquaintances."

Lin Ye didn't say anything.

"Besides, you can't investigate this as quickly as I can."

"..."

The most annoying thing about this sentence is that...

it is true.

Lu Zhixia continued:

"I know my limits."

"If there's anything wrong, I'll tell you first."

Lin Ye remained silent for a few seconds.

"Don't mention the mirror in your hand."

"I'm not stupid."

"Don't let the woman in crimson robes show herself."

"You can tell her that yourself when you get back."

The phone hangs up.

Lin Ye put his phone away.

He turned around.

Tang Zhi was looking at him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Your expression looks like you want to lock your girlfriend at home."

"If she were willing, I would have locked it up long ago."

Tang Zhi chuckled.

Cheng Fang wasn't joking.

He stared at the list left behind by Zhou Su.

"The Candlelight Society will investigate Han Jingchuan."

"Han Jingchuan is suspected of killing their people."

"Both sides are now searching for ancient mirrors imbued with spirits."

He looked up.

"This won't stop."

Lin Ye looked at the corpse again.

Zhou Su had no soul.

Zhang Dong didn't have it either.

If it was all done by the same person.

What Han Jingchuan is now swallowing is no longer just the remnant spirit within the ancient artifact.

He started eating people.

Just then.

The technical team members hurried in from outside.

"Team Leader Cheng."

"Zhou Su's phone recovered a voice message that had not been sent."

When was it recorded?

"2:07 AM".

"put."

The technician pressed play.

First came a burst of rapid breathing.

Then came Zhou Su's extremely low voice.

"Not just one person..."

"Inside Han Jingchuan's body..."

sizzle.

The noise suddenly drowned out the noise.

then.

Everyone heard Zhou Su's last sentence.

The voice was already trembling.

"The one inside is awake."