It was already evening when they returned to the hospital.
Tang Hao briefly explained his findings to Captain Zhou.
Captain Zhou’s face turned pale again when he heard that. “You… You mean, the… the ghost will appear again?” He stammered.
Tang Hao nodded.
“In… In this hospital?” Captain Zhou’s face was already deathly pale.
“That’s right! The ghost should be seeking revenge. It tried to attack Qian Yifei last night, but she was protected by her Buddhist prayer beads. This proves that Qian Yifei is the ghost’s next target, and it’ll come for her tonight.”
“How… How do you know? What if it doesn’t come?”
“A vengeful ghost won’t rest in peace if it did not carry out its revenge,” Tang Hao said.
The other police officers also showed worried faces when they heard that.
“What do we do?”
“Don’t worry, I’m here! I’ll deal with the ghost!” Tang Hao said.
Captain Zhou instantly sighed with relief. He grabbed Tang Hao’s hand and shook it hard. “Thank you so much, Brother Tang! I’ll be going back to the police station.”
“Hey! Why are you leaving? You’re the captain!” Tang Hao held him back.
“Furthermore, this is a vengeful ghost. It must have been wronged before it died. Knowing Sun Yu’s personality, there might be a reopening of a cold case that awaits your investigation!”
“I…” Captain Zhou pulled a long face. He was about to cry.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Take this!” Tang Hao grabbed a handful of jade talismans and handed two to each police officer.
“This is for your protection. If a ghost attacks you, just throw this at them with all your might.”
“Alright, that settles it!” Tang Hao clapped his hands and said satisfactorily.
Then, he gave a call informing Sis Xiangyi that he might not be home that night.
The night arrived soon.
The bustling hospital eventually became deserted. The empty corridors and the chilly atmosphere made the place look like a scene from a horror movie.
A group of police officers sat on chairs in front of Room Number 509. They all looked nervous.
Tang Hao was sitting beside them while pounding some medicinal herbs in a medicinal bowl next to them.
He had promised his future brother-in-law that he would concoct a potion for him. There was no time to spare.
A while later, the room door was opened. Captain Zhou and Zhao Qingxue came out.
Captain Zhou shook his head. “She’s a tough one to crack. She refuses to say anything, but from my experience, I can see that she’s hiding something that might be the key to solving this case.”
“It’s fine,” Tang Hao said, “We’ll see if she wants to talk when the ghost comes for her.” He continued his pounding.
Captain Zhao walked next to Tang Hao and sat down, then he turned to speak to Zhao Qingxue. “Go in, Lil Zhao. Wait in the room and keep an eye on her.”
“Me again, Captain?” Zhao Qingxue said, frustrated.
“Hah! You’re the only female here. Who else other than you?” Captain Zhou said matter-of-factly.
Tang Hao lifted his head and glanced at her. Then, he removed the string of jade beads from his hand and tossed it at her. “Wear this. You won’t get hurt even if ten vengeful ghosts attack you!”
“Really?” Zhao Qingxue asked doubtfully when she looked at the string of jade beads.
Her eyes sparkled. “How beautiful!” She exclaimed.
“Of course! This is my Artifact of protection!” Tang Hao replied.
“Whatever. I’ll believe you just this once.” Zhao Qingxue put on the string of beads and entered the hospital room.
Time passed by very fast, and soon it was eight o’clock.
Tang Hao was done with the potion. Currently, he was taking a short rest with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and said, “It’s here!”
Captain Zhou was nodding off. He jerked awake and exclaimed, “It’s here? What’s here?”
The next moment, they heard a high-pitched scream from the room.
Tang Hao stood up first, then barged into the room. Before he could see clearly what was going on, someone ran toward him and hugged him tightly.
A warm fragrance soon filled his nose. The soft and bouncy breasts that pressed against his chest caused his focus to waver.
Zhao Qingxue’s body was abnormally sexy. Even Qin Xiangyi was no comparison. No man could withstand such an intense hug from her.
Tang Hao coughed awkwardly. He lifted his head and saw that the window was already open. A red figure appeared at the window, accompanied by gusts of chilly wind.
He took a closer look and saw that it was a young girl in her late teens. Her face might be pale and her expression ghastly, but one could see that she was a very beautiful girl when she was alive.
The dress that she wore was as red as blood. It was a terrifying sight.
Her gaze was terrible, and negative qi gushed from her body. She lifted a hand and the woman on the hospital bed was lifted by an invisible force.
Qian Yifei struggled with all her might and she screamed frantically. “Don’t… Don’t kill me! This has nothing to do with me!”
“You deserve to die! All of you deserve to die!” The female ghost whispered. Her voice was seeping with hatred.
Crack!
The sound of a bone breaking was heard. One of Qian Yifei’s arms was suddenly fractured.
Another sound was heard. The other arm was fractured as well.
Tang Hao’s face darkened. “Stop!” He roared. Then, he shoved Zhao Qingxue aside and walked toward the ghost in big strides.
“You dare stop me? You deserve to die too!” The female ghost roared. She lifted a hand, and an invisible force flew toward Tang Hao.
“You’re just a mere vengeful ghost. You dare flaunt your power in front of me?” Tang Hao roared and his eyes glowed. An intimidating aura burst from his body.
The invisible force dissipated when it came near him.
The female ghost was shocked. She knew that she had met a master cultivator and tried to escape.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Tang Hao flicked his wrist, and a bottle gourd appeared in his hand. Summoning the power of the winds, he dragged the female ghost toward him and drew it into the gourd.
The name of the gourd was the Gourd of Soul Purification. It was a present from Shabby Taoist Master. Like the peach wood sword, it was a rare item for exorcism.
A ghost captured within could be purified of its grudges and negative qi.
Once the gourd was capped, the negative qi in the room dissipated.
The police officers breathed a sigh of relief. They regarded Tang Hao with respectful gazes.
Zhao Qingxue’s face was bright red. In a panic, she had hugged that guy.
“Oh? Where’s the captain? Where did he go?” The police officers shouted as they searched all over.
A long while later, Captain Zhou appeared from under a long bench along the corridor. “Ahem! I accidentally tripped and fell earlier. It was a bad fall, and I rolled under the bench,” he said as he came near.
“Haha, Brother Tang! You’re too amazing! The case is closed now!”
Captain Zhou squeezed past the crowd. He stood in front of Tang Hao and smiled heartily.
Tang Hao did not know how to react to that.
“The case isn’t solved yet! You can ask her what’s going on.” As he spoke, he turned around and looked at the woman on the hospital bed.
Qian Yifei’s arms were broken. Her face was pale and her whole body trembled.
She heard Tang Hao speaking and she screamed maniacally. “Quick, go get the doctor! Why are you all standing there? I’ll ask my dad to file a complaint and you all will lose your jobs.”
Tang Hao smirked. “Save the trouble! If you don’t speak soon, I’ll release the ghost again and get her to deal with you. The police can’t do anything about a murder committed by a ghost anyway.” As he spoke, he pretended to pull the cork out of the gourd.
“Don’t! Don’t…” Qian Yifei said in a panic. “I’ll speak. I’ll tell you everything.
“The ghost’s name… is Zhou Lingxue.”
“Zhou Lingxue? Where have I heard that name before?” Captain Zhou was clueless. He thought about it for a while more, then his expression changed drastically. “It’s her!”
“Someone you know, Captain Zhou?” Tang Hao was surprised.
Captain Zhou smiled drily. “Why wouldn’t I? The case of the missing young girl shook the entire district five years ago. I was also involved with the investigation back then.
“We found some leads, but the investigation was called off by my superior not too long after. After that, the case went cold.”
“It’s her!” Some of the more experienced police officers had expressions of realization on their faces.
Captain Zhou smiled bitterly. “She’s a ghost now. As expected, she’s met with a sad fate.”
After that, his face darkened as he asked Qian Yifei sternly, “Did you kill her?”
“No, no, no… It’s not me. Sun Yu killed her, and Cheng Zhijie and the other guys. I was the one who brought Zhou Lingxue to them. They didn’t want to kill her, but she resisted with all her might and wanted to escape. One of their hands slipped and accidentally killed her.
“Then, we buried her!”
“Cheng Zhijie?” Captain Zhou’s expression turned ghastly. The other police officers also looked shocked.
“How could it be him? This isn’t looking good!”
“Who is this… Cheng Zhijie?” Tang Hao asked.
“He’s the son of the district mayor. No wonder the investigation was called off when we’ve finally found a lead! His father wasn’t the district mayor five years ago, but the Cheng family wielded a lot of authority in the district. His uncle also holds a position of leadership in the city.”
“That’s quite troublesome!” Tang Hao mumbled.
“Dammit, this animal! I’ll bring the police to arrest him now,” Captain Zhou said indignantly as he prepared to rush out of the room.
“Wait! What grounds do you have to arrest him? There’s no evidence. How about taking a statement from her so that we find out where they hid the body? I’ll ask Secretary Lin about what to do,” Tang Hao said as he pulled Captain Zhou back.
Captain Zhou sighed again. “It’s one of my biggest regrets that the case is still unsolved. I’ll have to catch that animal this time and bring him to justice, no matter what it takes.
“You, quickly go inform the forensics department. We’ll immediately head for the location of the corpse once we get the information,” Captain Zhou ordered as he pointed at a police officer.
“You, go get the doctor. She only gets treatment after she tells us where the body is.”
Seeing that Captain Zhou had calmed down, Tang Hao left the room and gave Secretary Lin a call. He briefly described the sequence of events to Secretary Lin.
Secretary Lin was silent for a long while.
“This case… is indeed quite troublesome. You’re right in looking for me first. The Cheng family wields a lot of authority, and they might suppress the investigation if news got out.
“I might be helpless before this, but now that you’ve saved Old Master He’s life, we have the support of the He family, so we don’t have to yield to the Cheng family.
“We’ll crack the case this time. Tell Captain Zhou to not worry. I’ll inform the superintendent now. If the case is solved, even the Cheng family might fall from power. The gag order from before must have been approved by the one in the city. It’s a serious crime to cover up a murder. Justice will prevail.”
Secretary Lin’s tone of voice was cold and harsh.
After the call ended, Tang Hao relayed the Secretary’s message to Captain Zhou.
Captain Zhou was ecstatic.
Meanwhile, Qian Yifei had confessed the location of the body. Captain Zhou brought a squad of police officers and hurried there.
He also got people to track down Cheng Zhiwei. He was in a karaoke establishment near First High.
Tang Hao and Captain Zhou, along with several police officers, headed there.
They obtained the room information from the reception, then rushed toward the private room Cheng Zhijie was in.
Just as they arrived at the door, they heard a woman calling for help from within.
