Chapter 117: A Vicious Cycle

“Then can I handle this piece of human flesh?” Bai Yue looked at me, her calm and cute little face looking as if she were just saying, “Please give me the candy to eat,” not at all like she was talking about human flesh.

“You can.”
“If you can help handle it, that would be a great help,” I said, feeling a wave of nausea.
Luckily, the Golden Bee Gu had eaten it for me last time, otherwise, I would have unknowingly eaten my own kind.

Bai Yue showed a slight smile.
She covered the human flesh with her sleeve, and a swarm of black Gu insects flew out, looking like a black mist.
In an instant, they had devoured the piece of human flesh, leaving not even a crumb behind.

Ou Zhiqin asked worriedly, “What should we do now?”
“That stall owner selling human flesh is very suspicious.”
“Should we go to the police?”

“Don’t go looking for trouble.”
“You don’t want the police to find out that Xia Yubing is raising ghosts when they come to investigate, do you?”
“Besides, that meat seller is so blatant, it’s hard to guarantee that there isn’t some terrifying background behind him.”
“If we provoke them, we might face retaliation,” Mo Qingyan said.

These few sentences hit Ou Zhiqin’s weak spot.
She quickly asked, “Then should we just watch?”
“We can’t just let Sister Xia live near a murderer, can we?”

Xiao Qing’s words also made me feel scared.
The vendors in this community’s wet market were most likely residents of Willow Cypress Garden.
Combined with the body buried in the rose bushes, that old man was most likely a resident of this community.
Living next to a murderer…

“What’s there to be afraid of?”
“It’s just a murderer.”
“Can he be more terrifying than the Painted Skin Ghost?”
“The plainclothes police are already investigating Willow Cypress Garden.”
“He won’t be rampant for long.”
“As long as he’s caught, we’ll be safe,” Mo Qingyan said.

“If you’re still not at ease, I can help you modify that vanquishing object to make it more aggressive.”
“Even if that murderer breaks into your house, the Pixiu will tear him to shreds.”

“Can you really do that?” I looked at Mo Qingyan in surprise.
If the vanquishing object could be made stronger, perhaps it could protect me better.

“I’m not that powerful either, but I happen to have something on hand that might be useful.”
“However, I still need to study that vanquishing object with Yue’er.”
“But before that, we still need to investigate the situation with the ghost-raising technique first,” Mo Qingyan said.

And so, it was happily decided again.
Xiao Qing and I would go and cook, while Mo Qingyan pulled Bai Yue into the master bedroom to continue studying the two paper figures.

Actually, I also really wanted to see what they were studying and learn a thing or two.
But to leave Xiao Qing here to cook alone while I, the host, went to watch them study, didn’t feel right.

Although I could only wash and cut vegetables, I still stayed to help Xiao Qing cook.
Xiao Qing was very happy and even said that if she were to stay for dinner again in the future, I could buy a special apron for her.

Just like that, the two of us slowly fiddled around for half an hour before the dinner was ready and served on the table.
Mo Qingyan also happened to pull Bai Yue out of the master bedroom.
Bai Yue was fine, but Mo Qingyan’s eyes were already bloodshot.

“Senior Sister Mo, what happened to you guys?”
“Did you find anything?” Xiao Qing asked with concern.

“It’s alright, after asking Senior Brother Liang for help, we’ve roughly figured out the reason.”
“Senior Brother Liang even helped us design a ritual that should be able to help Yubing solve the problem with her parents.”
“We’ll try it after dinner,” Mo Qingyan said.

So we set the table and sat around in the living room.
It was rare to have so many people eating at home, and the empty, spacious living room finally had a bit of life.

Because she knew I had a penchant for blood products, Xiao Qing had ladled a bowl of blood soup for me in advance, and it was filled with chicken, duck, and pig’s blood, with only a little bit of soup.
I chugged down a few bowls of blood soup before even starting to eat, and felt much better.

After eating a little something to line my stomach, Mo Qingyan took the initiative to speak, “We’ve roughly figured out why those two paper figures were able to take form so quickly.”
“It’s determined by multiple factors.”

“On one hand, it’s the environmental factor.”
“This place leans towards yin, and that incense holder was made by a master, so its yin-gathering effect is excellent.”
“With a large amount of yin energy to nurture them, if I had known that the yin energy would gather so quickly, I shouldn’t have given you the soul-pacifying incense.”
“This was my miscalculation.”

“And the blood light,” Bai Yue said while chewing slowly and delicately, only saying one sentence.

“Right, as Yue’er reminded me, those two paper figures were stained with blood light.”
“It’s because when I asked you to attract the souls into the paper figures, I had you pour your blood on the rice.”
“This was originally the most normal medium taught in the book, but I didn’t expect…”

Before Mo Qingyan could finish, Bai Yue continued, “I didn’t expect Sister Xia to have a Hidden Yin Physique, and her blood is special, which accelerated the speed of their soul condensation.”

“Right.”
“It’s a good thing we came to take a look today.”
“Otherwise, with the growth speed of these two ghosts, if they exceed Xia Yubing’s ability to control them, they might even attack you despite the blood relationship,” Mo Qingyan said.

“Simply put, it’s a case of following the book without considering the variables.”
“It was the same situation when Bai Yue had me use a drop of blood for the Golden Bee Gu to acknowledge me as its master.”
“After eating the drop of blood, the Golden Bee Gu evolved.”
“Bai Yue had encountered this situation before, so she figured out the reason faster.”

“The last reason is the numerous tragic residual souls in this residential complex.”
“Their fear has accelerated the condensation of the yin souls.”
“And the second point is that you used the life-buying money to plot against Cao Bao yesterday, buying some years of life for your parents.”
“With yin and yang combined, they gained the ability to take form and move freely,” Mo Qingyan summarized.

“The root of the problem has been found, but what’s the solution?”
“Senior Sister Mo just said that if those two break through the restrictions, they might harm Sister Xia, right?”
Xiao Qing’s focus was still on me, as if she were even more anxious than I was.

“That’s easy to handle.”
“As I said just now, Senior Brother Liang has already given a perfect solution, which is for the four of us to hold a ritual later, at exactly midnight,” Mo Qingyan said.

“Doesn’t that mean we have to stay the night?” Xiao Qing asked.
Mo Qingyan nodded.
Bai Yue said casually, “I have no problem.”

“Then I’ll send a text to my family,” Ou Zhiqin said, taking out her phone to send a text.
Then her phone rang quickly.
Xiao Qing picked it up and said, “Yes, that’s right, I’m working on a project with my classmates.”
“It’s too late, so I’m staying over at a classmate’s house for the night.”

Ou Zhiqin’s family said a few more words to her before hanging up.
Xiao Qing turned her head and said, “My parents want me to take a few photos with you as proof.”

“No problem,” we huddled together and let Xiao Qing hold up her phone and take a picture of the four of us.
We were all wearing our school uniforms, looking just like a group of high school girls preparing for a study session.

After getting her family’s permission, there were still a few hours before the ritual.
Mo Qingyan said again, “I’ll go and study the Pixiu.”
“Xiao Qing, you take Xia Yubing to buy some ritual supplies.”