Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 108 - 108 One hundred and eight

108: One hundred and eight.

Disappear 108: One hundred and eight.

Disappear The ancient compass in his palm spun wildly, until the needle finally stopped, motionless, pointing towards the high wall on the left.

“The Soul Gathering Array is right next door!”

The old Taoist paced a few steps on the spot and, seeing that the needle was firmly pointing toward the neighboring residence, he declared.

He stowed away the compass, grabbed the Peach Wood Sword with his right hand, and displayed an agility that belied his age as he ran out the door.

Seeing the old Taoist looking as if something terrible had happened, Lu Li at first didn’t intend to follow.

However, since Song Hu was related to the clues and even the slightest hope was something Lu Li did not want to give up on.

After a brief contemplation, Lu Li followed him.

The old Taoist, who had dashed out onto the street first, reached the iron gate next door and clanged it several times, but finding it locked and unable to be opened, he turned to scale the wall.

His cloth shoes found several protrusions in the wall, and the old Taoist managed to climb up with some agility, leaping over into the yard behind the wall.

His age showed after all, as he gasped slightly after climbing over.

However, seeing that no lights were on inside the window, he let out a small sigh of relief.

“Good, no one’s living here, or this could have been a major disaster.”

People living inside the Soul Gathering Array…

The old Taoist didn’t even dare to imagine what could happen inside.

“Trouble has already started.” Lu Li, following closely behind, pushed open the iron gate and walked into the courtyard, his brows furrowed and his eyes as still as an ancient well.

“I saw a family move in during the day, and they haven’t come out since.”

In Lu Li’s view, the entire house was shrouded in a fog-like yin energy.

It was unclear if it was from the Soul Attracting Formation mentioned by the old Taoist or the ghostly yin energy.

So flustered that he didn’t even ask how Lu Li opened the iron gate, Old Taoist Lu’s expression changed abruptly, “This is bad!”

He tried to push the door open, but to no avail, as the door was bolted tight from the inside, immovable.

Before he could consider breaking through the window, Lu Li called out Yang Chunxue.

Without time for explanations, he asked her to go inside and open the door.

Yang Chunxue complied, her figure disappearing into the house.

The old Taoist shuddered, looking at Lu Li with astonishment, “You’re keeping a ghost!?”

“She’s of age,” Lu Li replied.

The old Taoist showed a hint of unease and advised, “Quick, put her away, don’t let the Soul Attracting Formation drag away your ghost.”

“Old ghost, who are you calling a little ghost!?”

As the door suddenly swung open, Yang Chunxue drifted out from the dark inside, her tone unfriendly.

Equally misplaced focus.

“So, does the Soul Attracting Formation affect you?” Lu Li inquired with furrowed brows.

Yang Chunxue tilted her head, feeling the sensation, “This old man has got me thinking that there’s indeed something wrong with this house, but I’m okay…”

Perhaps with strength much greater than Song Hu, who had just undergone the first seven days after his death ritual, Yang Chunxue didn’t feel a significant pull, only a subtle discomfort in this place.

“If there’s an issue, go back.”

“Understood.”

Old Taoist Lu didn’t concern himself with Yang Chunxue’s identity for the moment and took out several Array Breaking Charms to wrap around the Peach Wood Sword, took out the compass again, and led the way into the darkness without paying attention to the person and ghost behind him.

“Anyone there!”

The beam of the flashlight wavered as the old Taoist, holding the Peach Wood Sword, moved forward with his body lowered slowly.

Behind him, Lu Li stood straight, Yang Chunxue wore a curious expression, the two strolling as if they were on the streets rather than exploring a haunted house filled with peril.

As Yang Chunxue ventured deeper into the residence, the influence of the Soul Attracting Formation gradually intensified.

She could distinctly feel the constant pulling force emanating from the house, but she was still holding up.

No matter how strong the Soul Attracting Formation might be, it can’t snatch a ghost from the Ghost Envoy Manual.

Journeying down the dark corridor, an open doorway appeared in their line of sight after several meters.

The old Taoist glanced at the compass, ignored the pitch-black rooms beside him, and continued straight past them.

As Lu Li passed by, he shone his flashlight inside, revealing the silhouette of a piano.

“Light.”

The old Taoist, who did not carry any lighting, grumbled.

After observing the outside of the door, Lu Li swung his flashlight back and followed Old Taoist Lu forward.

Past another open door, again he directed his flashlight inside.

“Light!”

Old Taoist Lu could do nothing but exclaim in frustration, feeling a headache coming on.

The flashlight swept back to the front, and a brief glimpse was enough for Lu Li to clearly see what was inside.

The bed was empty, the quilt thrown off, and the sheets in disarray.

Not long ago, that couple might have been lying there, but now there was a good chance they had already passed on.

Continuing forward and after walking a few meters, Old Taoist Lu, who was staring intently at the compass, suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression grave.

In his palm, the compass that was originally pointing forward started spinning wildly, as if influenced by something.

“This is…” Old Taoist Lu looked around in bewilderment, not understanding the situation.

“Yang Chunxue, tear off the wallpaper.”

Out of the blue, Lu Li spoke.

He had seen the tear on the wallpaper and also noticed that the Yin energy was seeping out from behind it.

“Understood.”

Yang Chunxue got the message, and suddenly, a wild wind surged around her, spreading along the entire corridor.

Amid the gusts of wind, numerous sharp blades were swirling, targeting the wallpaper.

Fragments of torn paper fluttered in the air, drifting down from overhead.

“This…” Old Taoist Lu, seeing everything behind the fluttering scraps of paper, turned pale with shock.

Thick black and red lines, as thick as an arm, haphazardly spread across the wall.

The ceiling, the walls—everywhere was covered in them.

A black silhouette appeared at the location of the previous hole.

The shapes of a family of three holding hands, seemingly enjoying a happy moment, appeared on the wall in such an unsettling way.

Old Taoist Lu said coldly, “These three are all ghosts.

Someone etched the Soul-Calming Array onto the walls of the house, then trapped the spirits inside this room.”

“The attraction has increased…”

Yang Chunxue ceased her actions and floated down, furrowing her brows slightly.

Lu Li gave a slight nod, “You go back first, I’ll call you if I run into trouble.”

“Okay.”

Yang Chunxue knew this wasn’t the time to dawdle, so without saying much more, she slipped into the Ghost Envoy Manual.

With a solemn expression, Old Taoist Lu bit the tip of his finger, letting the blood drip into the compass, and began to chant a few incantations while making hand signals.

The blood dripped into the compass and disappeared in an instant.

The wildly spinning compass needle suddenly stopped and pointed in the direction they had come from.

The old Daoist backed up the entire way, retreating to the piano room they had passed earlier, and the needle pointed inside.

Staring intently at the needle, he entered the piano room and stopped when it suddenly pointed behind him.

Looking up, he said to Lu Li, “The fate of the residents here is unknown.

I must break the formation as quickly as possible to send these ghosts away!

You’d better escape; I might not be able to protect you while breaking the formation.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Lu Li’s voice remained calm as he casually swept the flashlight across the ceiling.

The wallpaper concealed the reality, and nothing could be seen.

Old Taoist Lu took several looks at Lu Li and felt a growing fondness for the young man, “If you’re still alive after this ordeal, our past grudges will be forgiven!”

“Really?”

“Truly!”

“Give me your cell number first; I’ll take it down.”

Lu Li opened his phone contacts, openly distrusting Old Taoist Lu.

“You’re a crafty one, aren’t you?

Fine, remember my number well,” said Old Taoist Lu with a mixture of laughter and helplessness, telling his phone number to Lu Li, “Are we good now?”

“Yeah.”

Lu Li committed the number to memory without intending to try it and turned to leave the room.

Standing in the hallway, Lu Li looked back and asked, “Should I close the door?”

The pitch-black piano room came into view, devoid of light and any human figure.

Old Taoist Lu was gone.