The nearest predicted location was north of Jiangcheng.
Half of it belonged to a more remote district of Jiangcheng, while the other half belonged to a neighboring city.
For convenience, Yan He drove them there.
It took them more than two hours to reach the border between the two cities.
Looking at the map, Yan He said, “The predicted area is pretty large. According to what I’ve found out, they’ve already done a preliminary sweep of half the area using equipment. They’re doing a more detailed investigation now, which is taking considerably longer. The research institute has temporarily stationed a team around here. Let’s go ask if they’ve found anything.”
Xu Muchan nodded in agreement, and the two of them went to find the research institute personnel stationed there.
Agreeing to come with Yan He really had been the right choice.
Yan He was outgoing and much better than Xu Muchan at approaching people and gathering information.
Once they arrived, Yan He grabbed the fruit and snacks they’d prepared in the car.
After just a few words, he had already struck up a friendly rapport with the stationed workers and successfully obtained the information they wanted.
After handing out the snacks and fruit, Yan He returned to the car and said to Xu Muchan,
“They’ve been using this place as the center and expanding their investigation outward. They haven’t found anything unusual at all. They haven’t even found a single powerful ghost in the yin energy. They’re working pretty fast.”
Xu Muchan looked around.
“This area really is very clean.”
So clean that it actually felt abnormal to him.
After all, there were more ghosts and supernatural entities in this world than ordinary people could possibly imagine.
Most were earthbound spirits, trapped in the places where they had died because of lingering obsessions, unable to find release day after day.
Xu Muchan had long since become accustomed to ignoring their existence.
Now that he’d arrived somewhere exceptionally clean, he actually found himself uncomfortable.
After hearing this, Yan He thought for a moment.
“This area isn’t as prosperous as the central districts, so it’s normal for there to be fewer ghosts.”
Xu Muchan said, “Let’s check the next location.”
Yan He nodded and got into the car.
Xu Muchan walked around to the passenger side and was just about to get in when he suddenly stopped.
His pupils abruptly turned black-red, the eyes of a ghost.
He looked to the left.
Within his narrowed field of vision, he could vaguely see a thin strand of hair swaying like a snake, sending out a signal.
It was the strand of hair he’d placed on Ouyang Mu.
Ouyang Mu was nearby.
After leaving the ghost domain of Immortal Village, Xu Muchan had realized that he couldn’t use the paper man to block Ouyang Mu’s path and identify him.
So he’d simply backed off and stopped pursuing the matter.
Instead, under the guise of making peace, he’d secretly placed a strand of hair on Ouyang Mu.
This was a special ability he’d gained after becoming the Ghost King.
These strands of hair possessed a certain vitality.
Even after leaving his body, they could still transmit information.
He could use the strand to secretly observe Ouyang Mu’s movements.
And now, he’d suddenly sensed the strand’s presence.
That meant Ouyang Mu was nearby.
What a coincidence…
Xu Muchan looked ahead and narrowed his eyes.
From the driver’s seat, Yan He saw him standing motionless beside the car door.
“Xu Muchan, what’s wrong?”
Xu Muchan came back to himself.
His pupils instantly returned to normal.
He opened the car door and got in.
“Don’t go to Xuancheng yet. Go this way.”
Yan He looked at him strangely.
“Why are we suddenly changing locations?”
“I found something. Let’s follow it first. You’ll understand when we get there.”
Yan He had no choice but to turn off the navigation and drive in the direction Xu Muchan indicated.
But after driving for a while, Yan He suspiciously turned the navigation back on.
“Why does this road look like it’s heading toward Xuancheng?”
He opened the navigation map and glanced sideways at it.
“This direction goes to Xuancheng.”
Xu Muchan frowned as well.
He leaned over and stared at the map.
It really was the direction of Xuancheng.
For the rest of the journey, they left the navigation on.
Xu Muchan followed the signal from the strand of hair as he tracked its location.
Sure enough, their route was taking them toward Xuancheng.
When they were almost at the border of Xuancheng, a black Jeep appeared ahead of them.
Xu Muchan glanced at the Jeep and said to Yan He, “Follow that car. Don’t let them notice us.”
Yan He’s expression grew even stranger.
“Who’s in the car?”
This time, Xu Muchan didn’t beat around the bush.
“Ouyang Mu.”
“Ouyang Mu?” Yan He looked surprised. “Why would he come to Xuancheng?”
He quickly realized something else.
“Wait. How do you know it’s Ouyang Mu in that car? You were following him just now?”
Xu Muchan said, “I met him in Panlin before. I happened to leave a little something on him.”
“You two have a grudge?” Yan He asked inquisitively.
Xu Muchan nodded.
“Do you remember Cui Tong? Ouyang Mu also knows the paper-puppet secret art that Cui Tong used. Back in the ghost domain of Immortal Village, he used a paper puppet to ambush me. But I didn’t have any evidence at the time, so I kept a backup plan.”
“Ouyang Mu is connected to Cui Tong?”
Yan He’s brows immediately drew tightly together. He had an extremely poor impression of Cui Tong.
“Yeah.”
Xu Muchan dropped another bombshell.
“Not only that. I also suspect Immortal Village is connected to the Ouyang family. The Ouyang family wants to ascend to immortality.”
Yan He took a moment to process this.
“The Ouyang family switched to politics a long time ago, and their reputation is pretty good right now. Do you have any evidence?”
Xu Muchan shook his head, then said with certainty,
“Follow that car. We might have evidence very soon.”
Hearing this, Yan He immediately became serious and focused on following the car ahead.
Strangely, however, after the Jeep entered the predicted area, it didn’t stop.
Instead, it began driving around in circles as though it couldn’t find its way.
Worried that they might be discovered, Yan He didn’t dare follow too closely and could only slow down and observe from a distance.
After circling the area twice, the Jeep drove away.
“Something’s not right. Should we keep following?”
“No need.”
Xu Muchan gestured for Yan He to stop the car.
“He used a paper puppet.”
Yan He pulled over and took out a Blindness Concealment Talisman, handing one to Xu Muchan.
The two got out and carefully searched for the faint trace of energy.
Sure enough, they found a paper puppet hidden in the grass.
The paper puppet was no larger than a fingernail. It had drifted lightly out through the gap between the car door and the frame.
If not for Xu Muchan’s extraordinary eyesight, they would never have noticed it.
“What could be special about this place…?”
After searching the area, the paper puppet’s exquisitely crafted hands transformed into the shape of a knife.
It began slicing through the air.
A moment later, it cut open a narrow slit.
A faint trace of yin energy leaked out.
The paper puppet slipped inside.
“A ghost domain!”
Yan He was startled at first, then his brows immediately knitted together.
Xu Muchan had just mentioned that there were some special ghost domains that couldn’t be detected.
And now one had appeared right in front of them.
The two exchanged a glance.
Yan He went first, leading the way.
Following the opening created by the paper puppet, he tore open the passage that had yet to close completely, and the two slipped inside without making a sound.
The instant they stepped through, the surrounding environment changed completely.
Dense yin energy rushed toward them.
Rotting corpses hung from the gnarled branches around them, and flocks of crows flew overhead.
Farther away, a paper puppet nearly three meters tall was fighting a monster covered entirely in human faces.
The monster was bulky and moved slowly.
It was clearly no match for the paper puppet.
Before long, it was already on the verge of death.
Xu Muchan and Yan He hid in the shadows, both already taking out their phones to record.
Yan He gave him a complicated look and whispered,
“Wait until they’ve finished fighting, then we move?”
Xu Muchan nodded.
“I’ll do it. You stay nearby and keep watch so it doesn’t escape.”
This paper puppet was extremely cunning.
The last time, Xu Muchan had been caught off guard and hadn’t managed to capture it.
This time, he was determined to catch it red-handed.
The battle between the paper puppet and the monster quickly came to an end.
After skillfully killing the monster, the paper puppet took out a talisman and tossed it onto the corpse.
Roaring flames instantly engulfed the monster.
Afterward, the paper puppet began moving around the small ghost domain again, continuously scattering talismans from its hand.
Once the sea of flames finished burning, this ghost domain would collapse as well, leaving behind not even the slightest trace.
Xu Muchan recorded the entire scene.
Only after putting his phone away did he attack while the paper puppet wasn’t paying attention.
The moment he pounced, he completely transformed into a ghost.
His sharp claws went straight for the paper puppet’s head.
The paper puppet, still basking in its triumph, was completely unprepared.
Its thin head was twisted off.
Its eyes widened in terror.
“Who are you?!”
But Xu Muchan crushed its head into a ball before it could see him.
Without a word, he pursued the fleeing body.
The remaining body happened to run straight into Yan He.
With the two of them working together, the paper puppet was captured with almost no resistance.
Only after Yan He took out a small pouch and stuffed the paper puppet inside did either of them speak.
Xu Muchan spoke first.
“I’ll keep it.”
Yan He raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t trust me?”
Xu Muchan shook his head.
“I’ll feel safer keeping it myself. If my guess is right, there might also be people from the Ouyang family inside the research institute.”
Yan He didn’t say anything more.
He tossed the small pouch to Xu Muchan.
“What are you planning to do next? I definitely need to report this as soon as possible. Judging from how skillfully that paper puppet handled everything, this clearly isn’t the first time they’ve dealt with a ghost domain like this… If a ghost domain with such heavy yin energy really appeared at one of the predicted locations, then causing a tide isn’t impossible…”
At this point, Yan He’s voice became somewhat strained.
But he still spoke each word clearly.
“It’s very possible that the prediction wasn’t completely wrong…”
Even more frightening was the possibility that the prediction had never been wrong at all.
The two fell silent.
As they watched the ghost domain completely collapse, Xu Muchan said,
“I’ll call Sister He first. Don’t say anything when she answers.”
Back in the car, Xu Muchan made a video call to He Yunyi and explained that they had discovered a ghost domain in Xuancheng.
He Yunyi’s expression visibly turned solemn.
“Are you sure? Do you have evidence?”
Xu Muchan angled the phone camera slightly toward Yan He.
“I handled it together with Daoist Priest Yan He.”
Although he’d recorded the entire thing, Xu Muchan didn’t immediately mention the video.
Instead, he brought up the previous tide prediction.
“I don’t think the previous tide prediction was necessarily a mistake. The prediction may have been accurate. It’s just that some abnormal conditions were deliberately concealed.”
He Yunyi looked troubled.
“At the moment, all we have is a ghost domain of relatively low danger appearing in Xuancheng. Last time, we mobilized an enormous number of people, only to discover in the end that the system’s prediction had been wrong. It will be difficult to convince everyone again without stronger evidence.”
Xu Muchan casually changed the subject.
“Sister He, aren’t you on good terms with Mr. Ouyang’s father? Wouldn’t it work if you asked them to speak on our behalf? Although Xuancheng is the only place where we’ve found anything unusual so far, Daoist Priest Yan He and I both feel that things aren’t that simple. It would be best to send more people to investigate again.”
There was clearly a probing undertone to his words.
Yan He raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.
He hadn’t expected this seemingly innocent model student to even be suspicious of He Yunyi.
But He Yunyi really did have a close relationship with the Ouyang family and held an important position within the research institute…
So Yan He remained silent.
He Yunyi, however, shook her head.
“Private relationships are private relationships, and public affairs are public affairs. Without sufficient evidence, I can’t possibly use my personal relationship to approach Mr. Ouyang. And when the previous prediction turned out to be wrong, Mr. Ouyang wasn’t involved either. He maintained a neutral position throughout. Even if I approached him, it wouldn’t change anything.”
She then changed the subject.
“However, I do think what you’re saying makes sense. I’ll try talking to the people above me again. But the chances of them agreeing aren’t very high. At most, they’ll send some additional personnel. There’s no way they’ll mobilize everyone like last time.”
Hearing this, Xu Muchan finally lowered his guard slightly.
If He Yunyi were working together with the Ouyang family, she wouldn’t have agreed with their concerns.
“I also have a video here. It concerns Ouyang Mu. It might serve as evidence to persuade them.”
Xu Muchan sent the video over.
He Yunyi opened it.
After watching the entire thing, her expression became even more grim.
“You caught that paper puppet?”
Xu Muchan hummed in confirmation.
“I’m keeping it with me. I already suspected that Immortal Village existed because someone wanted to create gods and ascend to immortality. I still think that’s what’s happening, and I believe Immortal Village has a close connection with the Ouyang family—that someone from the Ouyang family wants to ascend.”
He Yunyi pondered for a moment.
“Understood. The video and the paper puppet you’ve sent me are enough to arrest Ouyang Mu. I’ll submit the application first. We’ll restrain Ouyang Mu and go from there.”
“As for everything else, we’ll have to see whether we can get more clues out of Ouyang Mu.”
Xu Muchan indicated that he understood.
After ending the call, He Yunyi immediately submitted the application and then took two people with her to the Ouyang family’s home.
According to what she knew, Ouyang Mu’s publicly announced whereabouts had recently all placed him at the family’s home in the capital.
It was probably an attempt to conceal his movements behind the scenes.
This sudden visit to the Ouyang family wasn’t primarily intended to capture Ouyang Mu.
She wanted to test Ouyang Mu’s father.
There might be some unexpected discoveries.
However, when she arrived at the Ouyang family’s villa with the others, she found the entire villa eerily silent.
After they rang the doorbell, no one answered or came to open the door.
Realizing something was wrong, He Yunyi and the people she’d brought immediately broke in.
But they discovered that the Ouyang family had already disappeared without a trace.
“They ran?”
He Yunyi found it difficult to believe.
She could understand if Ouyang Mu had fled because he was afraid of being arrested.
But Ouyang Mu’s father held an important position.
As the saying went, a monk might escape, but his temple would remain.
Ouyang Mu’s father was that temple.
Yet now, the very person least likely to run had vanished.
The entire Ouyang family had disappeared.
They had clearly left some time ago.
He Yunyi took a deep breath, first sending the news back to headquarters.
Only then did she give the order.
“Issue an internal wanted notice. Search for the whereabouts of the entire Ouyang family.”