Chapter 10 Death's Autograph — When Skin Tells Postmortem Tales

Since someone had kindly reminded him, Xie Yizhi couldn't just ignore it. So he opened the ticket purchasing app, intending to check if there were still any tickets available at the East Station. But the time was too tight now, and the tickets for the last bus had already been sold out.

"What should I do now?" Xie Yizhi scratched his head. Xiefeng Village was located in a very remote area, deep in the mountains. Even taxi drivers didn't want to take orders to go there because it would definitely be a one-way trip, and they wouldn't be able to pick up any passengers on the way back. Therefore, he could only take the bus.

After thinking for a while, Xie Yizhi still decided to pack his things and head to the station. No matter what, he had to go back and celebrate his father's birthday. He had already prepared everything. He simply carried a backpack, bringing along two sets of clothes and his live streaming equipment. Just in case, he also took Xiaobai with him. If he really encountered any trouble, he could release Xiaobai.

...

At the same time, in the Rong City Police Station.

The door of the conference room opened, and the police officers of the Third Detachment, including Tan Yuxi, came out after just finishing a meeting. Tan Yuxi was holding a notebook in her hand, with dense notes recording the key points of the meeting. Some of the key information on it, such as "South Station" and "License Plate Number LC1675", were circled by Tan Yuxi with a red pen.

When she returned to her seat, Tan Yuxi opened the chat window with Xie Yizhi again. Seeing that the other party hadn't sent any more messages, she closed her phone and turned off the screen. She let out a long sigh.

At this moment, Zhang Qi, the captain of the Third Detachment, patted her on the shoulder and comforted her, "Don't be nervous. Adjust your state."

"It's normal to be a bit flustered when we go on our first mission. You'll get used to it gradually. Have a cup of coffee."

"However, don't be too relaxed either. The task you're responsible for today is of great importance. Whether we can investigate the case clearly depends on your performance."

Tan Yuxi nodded to show that she understood.

Then, a middle-aged man who looked about forty years old, dressed in casual clothes and with a full beard, came over. He handed a round jade tablet to Tan Yuxi.

Tan Yuxi was taken aback for a moment and took the jade tablet. There was a crooked character carved on it, and she couldn't understand what it was.

"Remember to always carry this protective amulet with you and don't lose it," the man instructed.

Tan Yuxi examined the jade tablet carefully. It turned out that the character on it was "Hu" (protection in Chinese). It looked quite old, but the quality was still very good. So, she couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Hehe... Consultant Yan, is this for me?"

"What are you talking about? This is a family heirloom protective amulet. You must return it to me after the mission is over!" The man, known as Consultant Yan, quickly waved his hand.

It was impossible for someone to just give away such a big jade tablet so easily.

Tan Yuxi: "..."

She was happy for nothing. She had thought that since her task today was so arduous, she might be able to get some benefits.

Both Captain Zhang Qi and Consultant Yan had come over specifically after the meeting to give her more details about the task. As for why Consultant Yan was in the police station wearing casual clothes, it was because he was a specially hired paranormal consultant. The police station received many reports every day, and among them, there were some non-natural cases that the police officers couldn't handle. At such times, the intervention of paranormal consultants was needed.

Of course, those who could be specially hired as paranormal consultants must have achieved a certain level of accomplishment in the special field. For example, Yan Xu was a genuine Taoist priest. He converted to Taoism when he was a teenager, practiced Taoism for seven years, and then came down from the mountain. He had the relevant certificates. Now, in his forties, he had been practicing Taoism for nearly thirty years. Everyone would call him a master when they saw him.

There were a total of three paranormal consultants in Rong City, and Yan Xu was the most authoritative among them. Most of the non-natural cases were handled by him. The Third Detachment that Tan Yuxi belonged to was specifically responsible for coordinating and assisting paranormal consultants in handling cases.

"After my contact with several of the victims."

"I can conclude that it's highly unlikely that the strange cases that have occurred on the buses recently were caused by human actions."

"After getting on the bus, you must be careful."

"Try your best to find a way to make the bus stop at Xiufeng Slope and get off the bus immediately. We will be there to meet you." Yan Xu instructed.

In the past two weeks or so, many passengers who took the bus with the license plate number LC1675 from the South Station had experienced mental problems after returning. They became mentally deranged, lost their senses, and would make some strange movements without warning, even self-harming behaviors. And there were dark red, purple, and brown spots of different sizes on their bodies. After being sent to the hospital, no major abnormalities were found in their physical indicators. The doctors said that the patients were likely to have been frightened and suffered from stress disorder and mental derangement. The spots that appeared on their bodies inexplicably might be the marks left by congestion caused by self-harm and bruises after the patients became mentally deranged.

After receiving the entrustment and going to the hospital to check, Yan Xu found that what the doctors said wasn't entirely wrong, but it wasn't that simple. The patients had indeed been frightened and had lost what was commonly referred to as one of the three souls and seven spirits. The three souls were Taiguang, Shuangling, and Youjing. And the seven spirits were Shigou, Fushi, Queyin, Tunzei, Feidu, Chuhui, and Choufei. In the case of such mental derangement, it was likely that they had lost "Shuangling", the main soul among the three souls. That is to say, although the person seemed to be fine, just with a messed-up mind. In fact, the person was no longer complete, which was no different from losing one of the internal organs. To put it more bluntly, although they seemed to be alive, they were actually already dead. The spots on their bodies were actually livor mortis. As time passed, if the lost soul couldn't be retrieved in time, the livor mortis would gradually cover the whole body.

No matter how you looked at it, there was definitely something on the bus. It was unknown whether the passengers' lost souls had been eaten or where they had gone. In short, as long as they caught it, the case would be solved.

Of course, it couldn't be 100% certain that it was the work of evil spirits. There were righteous cultivators in the world, and there must also be those who practiced the dark arts. It wasn't impossible for them to do some underhanded things for the sake of profit or other purposes. Therefore, before the real culprit was caught, it was all confidential information and couldn't be spread outside.

Tan Yuxi and another female police officer were arranged to take the bus as passengers in this mission. As for why they were chosen... There was no other reason. Because they had just started their internships, their eyes were still very innocent and naive, and it was not easy for them to be discovered as police officers. If Yan Xu went, it would easily alert the suspect. So, the task of Tan Yuxi and the other officer was to find a way to make the bus stop when it passed by Xiufeng Slope. Yan Xu and the others would lie in ambush there in advance. Once the bus stopped, they could trap that "thing" immediately. At the same time, there were very few people around Xiufeng Slope, and it was very desolate, so it was not easy to scare or accidentally injure others.

"Understood." Tan Yuxi nodded heavily.

After giving the instructions, Yan Xu turned around and was about to leave, but was stopped by Tan Yuxi, "Wait a moment, Consultant Yan."

"I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Yan Xu stopped in his tracks and turned around. Tan Yuxi took out her phone and asked, "Can you tell if there are ghosts in the video just by looking at it?"

On the screen was clearly the recorded live stream footage of Xie Yizhi from last night.

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