Chapter 48 : Things Are Starting to Get Weird

“Wei, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“Is there really a Guairen here?”

Wen Ling nervously clung to Jiang Yin’s sleeve, shrinking back and looking around anxiously, as if afraid a Guairen might suddenly jump out from behind her.

“It shouldn’t be.”

Jiang Yin shook his head.

“But I’m not sure yet. You should go back first. The rest…”

“Hmm?”

“I’m afraid if you see it, you’ll be traumatized.”

“Oh…”

Scared by her words and persuaded by the Agent, Wen Ling obediently left first.

Only Zhang Feng and Jiang Yin were left in the courtyard.

He took out an ultra-high-power disposable Aluminothermic Rod from the tool kit, stabbed it into the ground, and ignited it.

Then he lit a cigarette for himself.

Just as he was about to put away the cigarette box, a small white hand reached out.

Zhang Feng was stunned, looking at the girl’s youthful face.

“…You smoke too?”

“Sometimes. I think I need to calm my nerves.”

“Are you an adult?”

“I am.”

“Alright then.”

Zhang Feng didn’t bother checking Jiang Yin’s ID.

He pulled out a cigarette from the box and handed it to Jiang Yin, watching her skillfully light it and take a puff.

He shook his head without saying anything.

He wasn’t a tobacco seller, so there was no need to be so strict.

From Jiang Yin’s behavior, even if she wasn’t of age, her mental maturity was enough to be responsible for her own choices.

“You’re not an ordinary person, are you?”

Instead, Zhang Feng became curious about the girl’s background.

To notice something unusual before a level-two Investigator like him wasn’t normal.

It wasn’t some special skill that needed training.

It was just that the domestic environment was so safe that most people wouldn’t consider the worst possibility at first.

Like when people abroad hear a ‘bang’—their first reaction is to run and find cover, but domestically…

The first reaction is to look around and see where the fireworks are.

They simply don’t have the awareness.

“Yes and no.”

Jiang Yin shrugged, not in a hurry to reveal her identity and instead changed the topic.

“What do you think is buried under this tree?”

“If we’re lucky, it’s just some fertilizer. Maybe some villager made up a ‘haunted house’ rumor to scare others and occupy this yard and these two Jujube Trees alone, planning to sell the fruits for profit later.”

“If we’re unlucky…”

Zhang Feng snorted.

“Anything’s possible. I wouldn’t even be surprised to dig up a few skulls.”

“What about you?”

“I think it’s strange.”

Jiang Yin frowned through the smoke.

“If this is related to a Guairen, then the Resentment traces here are too faint. If it’s not, then the growth of these two Jujube Trees is really suspicious.”

Relying on her small and agile figure and childhood experience climbing trees, she quickly scampered up the Jujube Tree, picked two handfuls of dates, and spread them in her palm to examine each one.

“Look, not a single wormhole.”

“That’s almost impossible, right?”

“Definitely impossible. My family grew this kind of Jujube Tree when I was little, and even spraying pesticide every three days couldn’t stop pests completely. It was just a bit less likely.”

“Unless…”

“Unless what?”

Seeing the old Investigator Zhang Feng seemed to have an idea, Jiang Yin immediately asked curiously.

“Have you ever heard of the Yuan Ming Cult?”

“Wasn’t that thing already wiped out as a cult long ago?!”

Yuan Ming Cult—a cult that flourished in the north in the early 2000s, mixing local ghost legends and creating its own ‘Yuan Sheng Tian Xia’ theory.

Basically, it was a group of swindlers exploiting superstitious minds.

This was what Jiang Yin had learned before, but it was clear from Zhang Feng’s words that things weren’t so simple.

“It wasn’t completely wiped out. Some escaped to Southeast Asia.”

“And what the Guairen Bar said is true. These guys actually had some real skills. Their so-called ‘Grudge Cultivation Method’ was genuinely effective.”

After speaking, Zhang Feng realized he might have said too much, but under Jiang Yin’s serious gaze, he decided to continue.

——This wasn’t exactly a top secret in the circle.

After all, the Yuan Ming Cult was already eradicated domestically, and many veteran Investigators shared those old stories with juniors. Zhang Feng himself had heard it from his senior.

“It’s about using Resentment to achieve your goals, like boosting crop yields, bringing luck to gamblers, or even beauty for women.”

“What’s the principle behind that?”

Jiang Yin was shocked.

She’d never heard Resentment could be used that way—of course, it wasn’t common knowledge.

Just think about it.

What would happen if ordinary people knew about this?

Wouldn’t crimes committed to foster Resentment become rampant, and Guairen incidents spike?

“They say Resentment is a kind of spiritual energy, so it can resonate with strong human desires… Like how magic responds to miracles, Resentment has similar effects but is more sinister.”

“I heard from seniors that some people who overdid Grudge Cultivation became chronically ill or even turned into Guairen themselves.”

At this, Zhang Feng looked at Jiang Yin seriously.

“Don’t mess with this stuff. You have a bright future ahead.”

“Impossible.”

Jiang Yin rolled her eyes.

“I’m not stupid. Do I look like someone lacking anything?”

Zhang Feng only dared to talk because Jiang Yin didn’t seem like the type to do such foolish things.

Besides, if Jiang Yin stayed in this field, she’d learn these things eventually.

After all, those events were only scrubbed from the internet, but people from that era were still alive.

And… in foreign lands rife with cults, this wasn’t a secret, just forbidden from public dissemination.

“No wonder I always felt the rate of Guairen incidents abroad was abnormally high.”

“Domestic control in this area is really good.”

The two sighed together, ending this brief chat.

Just then, the Investigator team from the Bureau’s night shift arrived.

Zhang Feng, as the support, and Jiang Yin, hiding her identity as the first on-site discoverer, explained what had happened to the arriving colleagues.

Everyone looked at the two Jujube Trees with troubled faces.

“Where do we start…?”

Zhang Feng scanned the area with the Resentment Detector, seeing only a faint layer of Resentment on the Jujube Tree, with no clear source.

“So the origin of Resentment isn’t in this courtyard?”

“Not necessarily.”

Zhang Feng shook his head.

“Sealed soil blocks detection well, so…”

Everyone looked at the roots of the Jujube Tree.

“Shall we dig it up?”

One Investigator hesitantly asked.

“Let’s dig.”

Zhang Feng stubbed out his cigarette, rolled up his sleeves, and got ready to work.

“I’ll help too.”

Jiang Yin stepped forward.

These Jujube Trees were tall and sturdy, and digging them out would be a big job.

“Can you handle it?”

“Don’t underestimate me, okay?”

Jiang Yin assembled the Field Shovel and joined in.

Seven people began digging together.

Just as Jiang Yin was starting to think there might be nothing under the tree, her shovel struck something.

She pried it up with force.

It was half a leg bone, already crumbling and fragile from microbial decay.

“Tch.”

The worst guess had come true.

Zhang Feng’s face instantly darkened.