Chai Ergou obviously had his reservations about us. "We’ve already agreed to take your money and let you go,” I said. “Why are you still threatening the girl?"

"No, you have to show for it!" insisted Chai Ergou.

“Oi, Fatso, you think you can step all over us huh?” Xiaotao arched an eyebrow.

Seeing Xiaotao step towards him, Chai Ergou pointed the broken bottle at her. "Back off! Back off I tell you!” he shouted. “I’m paying you so much money. It’s not a small sum at all! Just because it’s dirty money doesn’t mean it falls from the sky! First, I’ll need you to do three things."

"Speak then!" Xiaotao impatiently snapped.

"First of all, get the police outside to retreat,” he stated. “Secondly, leave all your bullets and handcuffs behind. And lastly, let me call my men. When they come to pick me up, you must let me go!"

"How can we trust you if you don't trust us?" I scoffed.

He tightened his arm around the woman and haughtily snorted, "I have always kept my word. As long as you do these three things, I’ll definitely give you the money! You can bet that on my reputation!"

The fatso was on the qui vive, but that was to be expected after spending twenty years in prison.

In an attempt to buy us some time, I pointed to the woman, "What about her? She’s heard everything. Will you go against your word and kill her so none of this gets out?"

The woman was scared silly, mind and body sluggish with fear. My words seemed to jolt her from her state of stupefaction. "I didn't hear anything,” she insisted, frenziedly waving her hands. “I won't speak a word about this! Please do as the officer says, I’m begging you!"

"If we suddenly ask them to retreat, it will arouse suspicion,” Xiaotao explained. “It’s better if the three of us leave the place and tell them we didn’t find Long Bangguo. Isn't that more believable?"

"No, no!” Chai Ergou vehemently shook his head. “You police are all deceitful rats! Back then, those officers lied to me, saying I would be shown leniency if I confessed. I gave up more than twenty of my brothers but in the end, I still got life imprisonment!"

While Chai Ergou was distracted, Zhang Jiulin patted me on the shoulder and lowered his voice, "What a whole lot of trouble! Go close the curtains. I have my means of dealing with him!"

I immediately did as Zhang Jiulin asked, drawing vigilance from Chai Ergou. "What are you doing?"

"I’m making sure no one sees what we’re doing in here," I replied.

"My good man! It looks like you’re really going to help me,” Chai Ergou narrowed his eyes in a pleased smile. “Now all that’s left is you two."

As soon as the curtains were drawn, Zhang Jiulin muttered a spell under his breath. Suddenly, a strong gale swept through the room as the temperature dropped sharply. “What’s going on?!” Chai Ergou’s eyes widened in shock.

And with that, the man froze like a clay sculpture. Zhang Jiulin walked over and removed the broken bottle from his hand. Then, picking up the clothes strewn on the bed, he threw them to the woman and barked, "Put them on!"

Xiaotao and I stood transfixed. Was it hypnosis?

"Aren’t you going to cuff him?" Zhang Jiulin turned to Xiaotao.

Still astonished, Xiaotao mumbled a blank "oh" and marched over to cuff Chai Ergou, afterwhich she informed Wang Yuanchao of the arrest.

"What did you do to him?" I asked Zhang Jiulin.

"A man died in this room," he smiled mysteriously.

"How do you know?" I retorted.

He avoided the question, moving over to slap Chai Ergou on the back of the head instead. The fat man woke up from his trancelike state and found himself handcuffed. "What did you do to me? You tricked me!" he yelled like a dying pig.

"Tricked you?” sneered Xiaotao. “We’re clearly doing you a favor. If you had your way earlier, you would’ve been charged with another crime and be sentenced to the death penalty!"

Right then, the other officers charged into the room and escorted Chai Ergou out. As for the young lady, she was temporarily detained for prostitution in order to prevent her from spreading word about the matter. Only when the case was closed would she be released.

When he was taken away, Chai Ergou roared as he struggled, hitting his head against the ground. "You cops are all fucking bastards! You’re all liars, cheats and liars!"

Zhang Jiulin stayed in the room, taking out a yellow talisman as he spoke to the air, "Thank you. When I get back, I’ll perform a ceremony so you can cross over."

Perhaps it was my illusion, but I could almost make out a transparent, humanoid figure in the air entering the talisman. Zhang Jiulin put away the talisman and left the villa with us. "Xiao Song Yang, your process of deduction was amazing,” he praised. “You've really opened my eyes."

"I'm flattered," I modestly replied.

"But there’s one thing you got wrong,” he added. “The pop rocks and fruit jelly aren’t for eating."

"What else would he do with them?" I asked, puzzled.

He laughed and patted me on the shoulder, "You'll know when you’ve grown up."

Hmph, just because you’re older, you act all wise!

The case had just reached an important turning point but it was more complicated and confusing than previously assumed. I asked Zhang Jiulin for his professional advice, to which he replied after a moment’s contemplation. "Someone’s intentionally fostering the creation of this device."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He explained that when Long Bangguo fell from a police officer to a convict and then exchanged identities with a triad leader, his resentment was most likely at its peak! The mysterious man sent the Yin object to him with the purpose of nourishing the Yin energy in the object with Long Bangguo’s resentment. Hence, draining the life from Long Bangguo until he eventually died.

Long Bangguo died with the Yin object in his possession so it was very likely that his resentful soul was lodged within. Accumulating that much Yin energy was perhaps the leading cause to the series of revenge murders afterwards. In all likelihood, the murderer was just a puppet controlled by the Yin object.

His statement was almost outrageous for a man of my beliefs. Out of courtesy, I didn’t immediately refute him but asked a logical question in turn. "Since Long Bangguo had the Heartbroken Xun, why didn't he use it to escape from prison?"

Zhang Jiulin raised two fingers and said, "There are two possibilities. Chai Ergou mentioned earlier that the holes on the skull were sealed so I think there might be a restriction acting on the Yin object that prevented Long Bangguo from using it. As for the second possibility..."

Zhang Jiulin hummed a mournful tune which I found rather familiar. Wasn’t this the murderous tune?

I grew nervous but Zhang Jiulin stopped humming after a brief passage. "I wasn’t idle after you left last night,” he began. “I asked an experienced grave robber named Si Guniang. This piece of music actually has a great origin. Its name is Qin Jue, and it’s a musical score found in an ancient tomb from the Qin Dynasty. At the time, the archaeological team planned to recover it, but they never expected the consequences that came after hearing it; they either jumped off a building or slit their wrists, all committing bizarre suicides. Later, through textual research, they discovered that when Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, the people missed their homeland very much and often sang songs from their hometown despite the unification of language and measurements. Fearing they would revolt, Qin Shihuang instructed musicians to create the Qin Jue. After listening to it, people were depressed and had no fighting spirit to resist. However, this piece of music gradually transformed in the process of singing, gaining the strange influence to cause depression and even suicide, so no one dared play thereafter..."

Although Zhang Jiulin had a lot to say, I remained skeptical. "Who did you hear this from? Is that person reliable?" I asked.

"The Qin Jue alone only causes severe depression. Its effect is equivalent to that of Gloomy Sunday, but it’s not enough to push the listeners to suicide. But once played with the Heartbroken Xun brimming with resentment, it will transform into a demonic tune capable of killing!"

"So you mean to say that the Heartbroken Xun cannot kill on its own only by playing the Qin Jue.” I summarized. “And Long Bangguo didn’t know how to play the tune at the time?"

Zhang Jiulin nodded, "That’s exactly what I mean!"