Thirteen thousand thirteen

It was eleven o’clock at night.

Outside the small courtyard, police lights flashed. The door to Yu Xia’s room was wide open, finally allowing the gathered crowd to catch a glimpse of what lay inside.

But the sight chilled everyone to the bone.

“Ugh!”

Even the police officers gasped sharply at the horrifying scene before them.

Not long ago, Yu Xia and her assistant Zhu Fang had been filming a program together. Now, both had been brutally murdered in an unimaginably cruel manner. Their bodies were folded and stuffed into two crude iron cages.

It was evident to all that the bodies had been forcibly crammed in—the cages were clearly too small. Even though Yu Xia and Zhu Fang were slender, their flesh showed deep marks from being squeezed.

After preliminary investigation, the police found no sign of a fifth person aside from the three disciples of Miao Guangming, who were now trapped inside the room. As a result, they became the prime suspects.

“Sorry, may I make a call first?” Miao Guangming refused to say a word during interrogation but requested this instead.

Normally, suspects only hand over their belongings when taken to the investigative facility. Since they were still at the crime scene and there was no direct evidence, the police had no grounds to confiscate anything.

Captain Xu sternly reminded them, “Citizens are obligated to cooperate with investigations.”

Miao Guangming persisted, “I will fully cooperate once I finish this call.”

After a moment’s thought, Captain Xu said, “Please make it quick.”

Miao Guangming didn’t delay deliberately; in fact, he dialed and completed the call in little over a minute.

Just as the police prepared to resume questioning, Captain Xu’s phone suddenly rang.

The next moment, Captain Xu looked toward Miao Guangming and his disciples in astonishment.

Everyone saw that once the call ended, Miao Guangming showed Captain Xu an identification card and then asked the police to cooperate with his subsequent actions.

“The monster has left. Yu Xia and Zhu Fang’s bodies are no longer of any use to me,” he said, instructing the police to have the bodies removed immediately.

He then asked the police to comfort the witnesses present and instruct them on maintaining confidentiality.

However, when the police intended to take Shen Xiaotang away as well, Miao Guangming repeatedly said, “No! She need not come.”

Then, maintaining his composed demeanor throughout the night, Miao Guangming turned to Shen Xiaotang respectfully, “Fellow Daoist Shen, may I speak with you privately?”

The police and the onlookers were puzzled, exchanging bewildered glances.

Shen Xiaotang nodded, “Yes.”

Clearly relieved, Miao Guangming stepped aside, gesturing for Shen Xiaotang to enter the crime scene room.

Surprisingly, Shen Xiaotang showed no fear.

As the crowd craned their necks, eager to catch more details, Miao Jie, the last to enter, slammed the door shut with a bang.

The closed door blocked their view, intensifying their curiosity.

When the police requested everyone strictly keep tonight’s events confidential, Sun Qiang exhaled in relief.

The filming accident had already happened, and the program’s production would be suspended—there was no undoing that. But with official involvement, he no longer worried about further negative impacts on the production team.

Thinking this, Sun Qiang whispered to his assistant, “Do you think tonight’s events might really be... you know... that?”

It was midnight, and such a horrifying, bloody murder had just occurred. The word “ghost” was too frightening to say aloud.

The assistant looked tense, “I think so too! Didn’t Yu... say she saw something earlier today?”

Unfortunately, no one believed her at the time.

Sun Qiang nodded deeply and asked again, “Then why do you think they left Shen Xiaotang behind?”

“I don’t know.” The assistant recalled Miao Guangming’s attitude toward Shen Xiaotang and guessed, “Could it be that she knows something?”

The assistant’s words matched exactly what Sun Qiang had suspected. He slapped his thigh excitedly, “Right? You think so too, don’t you?”

Upon mentioning this, Sun Qiang suddenly thought of someone else, “What about Teacher Shen? Do you think he knows something as well?”

“Uh... maybe, possibly?”

“See!” Sun Qiang grew even more excited and asked, “By the way, did you see Teacher Shen tonight?”

The assistant drew a blank, thinking hard before shaking her head, “No.”

“A master!” Sun Qiang concluded in his mind, “Teacher Shen must have everything under control. Calm as a mountain.”

The assistant wavered, “Y-yeah, maybe?”

Recalling a recent incident, Sun Qiang was now unable to contain his excitement. “Come on, let’s find Teacher Shen!”

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the room.

As soon as the door closed, Miao Guangming solemnly bowed to Shen Xiaotang and sincerely said, “Fellow Daoist Shen, it’s truly unavoidable. May I borrow a blade and request a divination from you? Will you grant me this?”

This time, Shen Xiaotang nodded, “Yes.”

So far, the creature had brutally killed five people.

Since the three disciples were cultivators, Shen Xiaotang did not need to be as mysterious as when dealing with ordinary people.

When Miao Guangming respectfully accepted a delicate small pair of scissors from Shen Xiaotang, she began explaining the origin of the monster’s rampage.

“This is the Avenging Hairy Ghost.”

Miao Jie and Miao Ke’s expressions suddenly changed.

Miao Guangming, who had already guessed some of it, was surprised but not shocked. He sighed, “All things have spirits; one must not deceive life recklessly.”

The Hairy Ghost was named for its strange appearance—hair standing on end like needles covering its head.

It possessed self-healing abilities and favored brightly colored clothing. It was one of the few ghosts that could appear and move freely under the sun during the day.

Few knew it also had another name—Protector of Animals.

This was because the Hairy Ghost was born where many animal carcasses gathered. It was spawned from the resentment of these animals, and to dispel it, one must properly dispose of the bodies that gave rise to it.

Shen Xiaotang then directly named the location where it was born: the northern foothills of Xiuluo Peak in Li County, Y City.

Miao Jie couldn’t wait. “Master, let’s set off for Y City immediately.”

Miao Ke said, “I’ll book the tickets right away.”

Miao Guangming bowed gratefully to Shen Xiaotang. “Thank you, Fellow Daoist Shen.”

But Shen Xiaotang shook her head, “That alone isn’t enough.”

The three disciples’ expressions changed. Miao Guangming hurriedly asked, “Please enlighten me further.”

Shen Xiaotang pointed to the window stripped of its security bars. “When I first encountered the Hairy Ghost at the airport, its targets hadn’t included these two people yet.”

Miao Guangming was stunned. “How could that be?”

Ordinarily, few ghosts were called “gods,” but the Hairy Ghost was known as the protector of animals because it only sought revenge and never harmed the innocent.

Therefore, the appearance of the Hairy Ghost always meant there was a prior sin.

The first man Shen Xiaotang encountered at the airport was a poacher who hunted and slaughtered wild animals. The Hairy Ghost avenged itself by turning him upside down and draining his blood.

The second victim was Chen Taojin, owner of a street food stall, who earned money by cooking various animals. The Hairy Ghost dismembered and cooked him in revenge.

The third victim was Zhong, a picky eater who preferred fresh, live creatures. He was devoured alive by the Hairy Ghost.

Normally, once the revenge was complete, the Hairy Ghost would vanish.

“Do you know what the second victim’s specialty dish was?” Shen Xiaotang asked without hesitation, then answered herself: “Dragon Tiger Fight.”

As expected, there was no real dragon in the dish—it used snake meat.

The tiger wasn’t a real tiger, but cat meat resembling a tiger.

Of course, if this were just the natural law of the jungle, it wouldn’t have provoked the Hairy Ghost’s wrath. But since cats were among the most beloved pets of humans, many despised and rejected eating cat meat.

Chen Taojin couldn’t openly buy cats for slaughter. He resorted to illegal means—buying cats secretly, luring and capturing stray cat groups, or deceiving people by pretending to adopt them.

By fate’s design, on that very early morning, the second victim had just finished processing a batch of cats bought illicitly for cooking. Their bones had not yet been disposed of.

Born from the resentment of animal carcasses, the Hairy Ghost was further fueled by the lingering hatred on those abused cat bones, prompting tonight’s vengeance on Yu Xia and Zhu Fang.

The biggest problem now was that the cat carcasses cruelly killed by Yu Xia and Zhu Fang’s team over the years had been scattered and abandoned in unknown places.

This was an urgent matter.

No one could guarantee whether the Hairy Ghost would again be enraged by some animal bone’s resentment and repeatedly commit revenge killings.

Though born of past sins, its actions would terrify innocent people, disrupting social order. As the underworld’s enforcer on earth, Miao Guangming and his disciples had to stop it.

However, this was not Shen Xiaotang’s responsibility. She had done her part with the divination; the rest was for Miao Guangming and his disciples to handle.

As for her payment, there was no rush.

Following the rules of the “Blade Borrower” sect, she would collect it personally once the matter was resolved.

Before leaving, Miao Guangming, Miao Ke, and Miao Jie bowed in thanks to Shen Xiaotang.

With the air of a transcendent master, Shen Xiaotang waved them off, saying it wasn’t worth mentioning. Suddenly, her ears twitched, and she jumped up in alarm.

“Oh no!”

The three disciples were startled, standing alert.

“What’s wrong?” they asked.

Shen Xiaotang wailed, “My uncle!”

* * *

Downstairs.

A large group of people summoned by Sun Qiang crowded before the door to Shen Xingyan’s room, pushing hard, but the door did not budge.

Sun Qiang shouted inside, “Teacher Shen, don’t worry! I’ve sent for more people to come…”

Seeing this, Shen Xiaotang felt a chill run down her spine.

“Uncle!”

Shen Xiaotang shuddered and ran over, crying out, “Let me explain—”

Having been awakened early by the commotion and trapped inside the room, Shen Xingyan was initially stunned. Then, realizing the situation, he roared loudly,

“Shen Xiaotang, you little brat! What have you done?”