Chapter 65 – Bone Formation

Director Sun had indeed not left the city. Given the complexity of the case and his forced involvement, there was still a lot of work to wrap up. Moreover, he was waiting for Master Wei’s call, so he couldn’t leave early. However, the call from the hospital came as a shock. Master Wei wasn’t calling to retrieve the “ritual instrument” but to continue the exorcism, and he had even brought Monk Chizhi with him.

Director Sun personally went to the entrance to greet them, his usually stern and official poker face showing a hint of worry. He quickly approached Wei Yang and asked, “Master Wei, what’s going on? Wasn’t the evil spirit already dealt with? Why has Monk Chizhi come in person…”

The case, while significant, hadn’t had a particularly negative impact. After all, no innocent lives had been harmed, and a large criminal gang had been successfully eradicated, with many nationally protected cultural relics recovered. Even high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Public Security had praised the operation, making it a clear opportunity to accumulate merit. The eerie aspects of the case had been suppressed, and no rumors had leaked. However, if something went wrong now, and a few police officers died mysteriously, this good thing could quickly turn into a disaster. Seeing Wei Yang and Monk Chizhi, Director Sun couldn’t help but feel uneasy, his forehead breaking out in a sweat.

Understanding Director Sun’s concerns, Wei Yang said hoarsely, “Last night, both my senior brother and I were injured. We can’t be sure if the evil spirit has been completely eradicated. That’s why we’ve asked Monk Chizhi to come today to take a look and also to chant sutras to guide the souls of the deceased to the afterlife, ensuring everything is safe and sound.”

Hearing this, Director Sun felt relieved. Privately, he had already discussed this with his subordinates. Those who knew the details understood how sinister this case was. It was only natural to have a high monk perform a ritual to dispel the evil. Since Master Wei was being so cooperative, it made things much easier for him. “That’s great! Where would the two masters like to start? The scene has already been preliminarily processed, and the bodies have been moved to the morgue. However, following Master Wei’s instructions, we haven’t started the autopsies yet.”

Monk Chizhi nodded. “That’s good. Let’s take a look at the Corpse Puppet first.”

“The Corpse Puppet?” Director Sun was momentarily confused.

Wei Yang quickly explained, “It’s the man who was possessed by the evil entity. Where is his body now?”

“It’s in the morgue at the funeral home,” Director Sun replied promptly, then added, “But the body is already badly decomposed. Several experienced forensic doctors have examined it and said it doesn’t look like he died yesterday. It’s more like he’s been buried for months.”

“When a ghost fetus possesses a body, the corpse naturally decays as if it’s been immersed in a yin energy and evil aura. The man was already dead; he was only moving because he was being controlled by a malevolent entity.” Monk Chizhi spoke without any concern for how shocking his words might be. He simply nodded to Director Sun and said, “Please lead the way, Benefactor Sun.”

With the two masters by his side, Director Sun felt much more confident. He called over the city bureau’s Director Wang and a few trusted subordinates and quietly led them to the morgue at the funeral home. Since no autopsies had been conducted, the bodies hadn’t been taken to the hospital but were instead stored directly in the cold storage unit at the funeral home. The cold storage door was tightly shut, and despite it being daytime, a chill seeped out. The empty hallway and flickering fluorescent lights gave the place an eerie, horror-movie vibe. Fortunately, everyone in the group was a professional, accustomed to bizarre cases, so no one made a scene.

Upon arriving, Monk Chizhi didn’t allow the others to enter the room, taking only Wei Yang with him into the morgue. The bodies of Wang Tang and Wang Wei were stored in the freezer. Wei Yang had mentally prepared himself to move the bodies, but Monk Chizhi had no such intention. Instead, the monk let out a puzzled sound. “Strange, are the bodies of these two in this room?”

“They shouldn’t be wrong. The police have to verify identities when handling cases. Not just the Wang father and son, but also the other deceased tomb raiders are here.” Seeing the old monk’s serious expression, Wei Yang’s heart skipped a beat. Was something wrong?

“There’s no evil aura,” Monk Chizhi muttered thoughtfully, then instructed, “Open the freezer and check the bodies.”

Wei Yang took a deep breath and stepped forward to the freezer, first opening the drawer labeled “Wang Tang.” As soon as he pulled it halfway open, the stench of decay hit him, forcing him to take a step back. When he saw the condition of the body, his stomach churned.

Director Sun hadn’t been lying. If the Corpse Puppet they saw last night still had some semblance of a human form, the corpse before them now was completely unrecognizable. The face was mottled with decay, the skull partially visible, and the once-swollen belly had completely deflated, looking like a skin bag draped over a skeleton.

Covering his nose and taking a few steps back, Wei Yang swallowed hard before forcing himself to speak. “It’s definitely Wang Tang, but the body is completely different from what we saw yesterday…”

“Without the yin energy to stabilize it, the corpse naturally decays faster,” Monk Chizhi said calmly, as if he couldn’t smell the overwhelming stench. He took two steps forward to the freezer and waved his hand over the decaying body. “It’s indeed a Corpse Puppet, but the ghost fetus inside has been completely destroyed, and even the soul of the deceased has vanished.”

Wei Yang was stunned. Was Brother Qi really that powerful? Did he manage to destroy both the ghost fetus and the vengeful spirit with just his fists? Monk Chizhi seemed to be thinking the same thing and shook his head. “What about the other body?”

Curiosity now overpowered his nausea, and Wei Yang opened the other freezer. Compared to Wang Tang’s ghastly appearance, Wang Wei’s body looked relatively normal, though his face was deathly pale, and dark blood stains trailed from his seven orifices. There was no trace of the ferocity they had seen when he was possessed.

Monk Chizhi also walked over and, after a moment, pointed to Wang Wei’s nose. “Can you see the remains of the Corpse Worm?”

Wei Yang focused his gaze and immediately felt goosebumps rise on his back. Just as Monk Chizhi had said, a small black thread was barely visible in the corpse’s nostril—it was the Middle Corpse Peng Zhi they had seen yesterday. However, the thread no longer exuded the sinister aura it had before. It simply lay there like a tiny piece of string, motionless inside Wang Wei’s body.

“Is this thing… dead?” Wei Yang swallowed hard and asked cautiously.

“They’ve all been eradicated,” the old monk said, though his frown deepened. He examined the other bodies one by one before finally concluding, “The ghost fetus and the Corpse Worms have indeed been completely destroyed, but it’s unlikely that Master Zhang could have achieved this alone. Did you use any other ritual instruments last night?”

Wei Yang thought for a long time before finally giving a bitter smile. “No, we didn’t. At most, we had some cinnabar, chicken blood, and glutinous rice. These things aren’t as effective as the Hongwu Coins or Red Nitre, right? Oh, the tomb raiders did have a few Killing Blades, but mine broke before it could do much. I’m not sure if the tomb raiders downstairs had any extras.”

Hearing this, Monk Chizhi’s brow relaxed slightly. “Where are those Killing Blades? It would be best if I could take a look at them.”

“That’s easy.” After closing the freezer doors, Wei Yang walked straight to the entrance. “Director Sun, are the items found at the scene still there? Especially the swords and other ritual instruments.”

Having been on edge for so long and hearing no signs of exorcism, Director Sun felt a weight lift off his shoulders when he saw Wei Yang emerge calmly. He quickly replied, “Yes, they’re all stored in the evidence room. You can take a look now if you’d like. But what about the bodies…”

“There’s no more evil lingering,” Wei Yang reassured him. “Later, the master will perform some rituals at the scene to ensure there are no lingering dangers.”

That was exactly what Director Sun wanted to hear! He immediately perked up and, without another word, led the two of them to the city bureau. From the scene, they had confiscated three swords of varying lengths, all burial artifacts. One of them was broken, but the other two were intact. In addition to the weapons, Director Sun had also arranged for some of the more artistically valuable burial items to be displayed, as he hadn’t forgotten about compensating the two masters. It was a gesture that cost him nothing but would leave a good impression.

“These are the items found at the scene. The larger pieces need to be handed over, but the smaller ones are evidence. Please take a look, Master Wei, and see if any of your ritual instruments are missing.” Director Sun’s smile was warm, showing no hint of bribery.

Wei Yang let out a surprised sound. “How could I have forgotten about this?”

Ignoring the other items on the table, he walked straight to the side and picked up a small plastic bag. Inside was a slender bone segment—the Bone Formation he had carried with him earlier. Last night had been too chaotic, and he had completely forgotten about it. Fortunately, the police had been thorough in their investigation, or this small item might have been lost.

Seeing Wei Yang’s actions, Director Wang, who was standing nearby, quickly chimed in with a smile, “This was found near the corpse upstairs. It had some bloodstains on it, but we cleaned it during the evidence collection. Is it something you lost, Master Wei?”

His words were clearly meant to be accommodating. If Wei Yang wanted anything in the room, it could easily be labeled as a lost item. However, Wei Yang didn’t take the bait. Instead, he frowned as he examined the Bone Formation. Although it wasn’t damaged, there was a small red mark on it, as if it had been stained with blood. He wasn’t sure when that had happened or if it could be cleaned off.

Meanwhile, Monk Chizhi, guided by Director Sun, examined the swords one by one before shaking his head. “These are just ordinary items. Aside from the broken one, which could be considered a Killing Blade, none of the others are suitable for use as ritual instruments.”

Hearing the term “ritual instrument,” Wei Yang’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Holding the Bone Formation, he walked over and said, “Monk Chizhi, I’ve actually found something here. It’s a Bone Formation I retrieved from a graveyard earlier. It has Extinction Script carved on it. I had it with me yesterday. Could you take a look and see if this thing might have caused any issues?”

Monk Chizhi, being an expert in “Burial Curses,” was the perfect person to ask, and Wei Yang didn’t want to miss the opportunity. The old monk didn’t refuse and took the bone segment. However, as soon as he held it, a look of confusion crossed his face. He turned it over in his fingers, examining it thoroughly, before calmly replying, “Master Wei, are you mistaken? This bone segment only has patterns on it; there’s no Extinction Script.”

What? Wei Yang was startled. He had been carrying this Bone Formation for a while now, and even if it had been stained with blood, it was still the same object. How could the Extinction Script have suddenly disappeared? He reached out to take it back, but as soon as his fingers touched the bone, Monk Chizhi’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait! Don’t let go!”

Wei Yang froze, instinctively applying a bit of pressure as he and Monk Chizhi both held the bone segment. In that brief moment of contact, the Bone Formation emitted a faint glow, as if the patterns on it had changed. The monk’s expression shifted, and he muttered, “Strange,” twice before snatching the Bone Formation back and examining it more carefully.

After a long while, he handed it back. “It seems the strangeness last night was caused by this Bone Formation. When I hold it, it’s just an ordinary bone segment with no special properties, and even my spiritual vision can’t detect anything unusual. But when you hold it, Master Wei, it reacts in a peculiar way. However, true Extinction Script has always been a technique of the Wu Family. Whether it’s Buddhism or Taoism, we only know a little about it. To unravel the mystery of this Bone Formation, you’ll likely need to seek out the Wu Family.”

“And the Corpse Puppet from last night…” Wei Yang held the Bone Formation, his mind in turmoil. This was already the third time something strange had happened because of this small bone segment.

“Extinction Script formations are inherently mysterious and difficult to decipher, and they are particularly effective against yin and malevolent entities. If the Bone Formation was activated, it’s entirely possible that it affected the Corpse Puppet. Combined with Master Zhang’s Seven Passes Technique, it’s not impossible for the ghost fetus to have been destroyed. As for the Three Corpses, they were likely tied to the ghost fetus, which is why they perished together.”

All of this… because of this small bone segment? Wei Yang was silent for a long time before finally saying quietly, “I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Monk Chizhi. As for the Wu Family… I’ll try to find them.”

If it were any other expert, Wei Yang wouldn’t be confident, but when it came to “witches,” wasn’t the local shamaness the most typical representative of the Wu Family tradition? And he happened to know a shamaness who was famous far and wide. Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Wei Yang didn’t linger any longer. He bid Monk Chizhi farewell and politely declined Director Sun’s offer to “find lost items” before taking a car back to the hospital.

At this moment, Zhang Xiuqi was still asleep, lying quietly in the hospital bed. Sun the Otaku was dutifully sitting by his side, taking care of him. When he saw Wei Yang return, he perked up like a duckling finding its mother and quickly approached. “Brother Yang, you’re back! Brother Qi hasn’t woken up at all, and I haven’t left the room for a second…”

Wei Yang waved his hand lightly, cutting off the chatter. “For the next few days, don’t go back to Jieshui Studio. Stay at my new place for a while. Lay low and help me feed the turtle.”

Sun Muhua immediately looked as if he had been granted a great mercy. Although staying in a high-end hospital room was quite comfortable, the constant presence of police and doctors had been overwhelming. This “exorcism” had greatly dampened his enthusiasm for supernatural events, and he longed to immerse himself in the online world and become a quiet, harmless computer otaku.

“What about you, Brother Yang?” Suppressing his joy, Sun the Otaku dutifully asked.

“Your Brother Qi and I will recover from our injuries first. Once we’re better, we’ll go back to our hometown for a bit. Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon.” Wei Yang smiled and walked to the bedside, placing the bone segment next to the broken Talisman Jade. He had thought about going home before, but he had never planned to return to “that home.” Now, it seemed, he had no choice.

Not quite understanding what Wei Yang meant, but seeing him standing by the bed, gazing down at the sleeping Little Celestial Master, Sun the Otaku suddenly felt inexplicably awkward and quickly turned away. “Then you two rest well, Brother Yang. I’ll bring dinner later…”

“Don’t be too late.” Wei Yang didn’t say much else and simply waved Sun the Otaku off.

After standing by the bed for a while, he hesitated for a moment before gently lying down on the other side of the bed. Although it was a VIP luxury hospital room, the bed was only slightly wider than a single bed, and it was still a bit cramped for two grown men. However, Wei Yang didn’t show any resistance. He quietly moved closer to the sleeping figure, closed his eyes, and drifted off.