It was the incantation of a technique called, ‘Soul Gathering Spell.’ Although my grandpa never told me what the Soul Gathering Spell did, I could guess it from the name.

It was a high-level ghost-controlling technique.

The plan was to release Bai Qi and use a special method to trick him into signing a contract with us. With that, even if he managed to get a hold of himself, he wouldn’t be able to break free.

However, using the Soul Gathering Spell was dangerous. We had to find something to attract Bai Qi first. And, if we failed to control him, there would be a lot of trouble; all of us could die.

I had a headache and looked at Senior Shu. “Senior Shu, I have an idea, but we must find something to attract and lure Bai Qi with. What could we use?”

When Senior Shu heard me, he clutched his head. “Do we have to go down this route? Don’t we have another option?”

I sank into my thoughts again, but I couldn’t think of any other solution. “The Soul Gathering Spell is dangerous as well. If I’m careless, the Ghost King will counterattack and kill me.”

While contemplating, Senior Shu said, “Bai Qi likes human hearts. Back then, Zen Master Baimei had used a human heart to lure him. That’s how he was able to imprison him in the pagoda. However, it’s not easy to find a human heart.”

Qin Tiantian said, “Actually, it’s easy to find. I can get it for you.”

She had a point. As long as one had money, buying human organs wasn’t a problem. Even if she couldn’t buy one, there were many homeless people and beggars. They were easy targets.

Senior Shu glared at Qin Tiantian. “You think money can solve anything? Tell me, can money buy love? Can money buy a family? Can money buy friendships?”

Qin Tiantian couldn’t help but cast Senior Shu a sidelong glance. “Cut it out, you old loser.”

Her words left Senior Shu stunned. Eventually, he grunted, “It must be a heart from someone willing to give it away. That’s the kind of fresh heart that can lure Bai Qi.”

Qin Tiantian said, “Would it work if I give them more money?”

Li Mazi was mad. “If money could solve everything, why did you have to find us?”

“We had to pay to bring you here, didn't we? If I gave you ten million renminbi, wouldn’t you be willing to risk your life for me?” Qin Tiantian sounded confident.

She made us speechless, and I was somewhat embarrassed as she was right. After all, we came for the money.

At this moment, someone knocked on the door.

Qin Tiantian couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s there?”

Unexpectedly, Mr. Qin’s voice came from outside. “It’s me!”

I cursed under my breath. We hadn’t solved Qin Minghao’s case yet and now Mr. Qin was here!

I was sure he was back to cause more troubles.

Qin Tiantian turned to us worriedly.

“Go get the door,” I said. “If he dares to cause trouble, I will use the Thunder Sword to kill him.”

Qin Tiantian restlessly ran to open the door.

Outside the door stood Mr. Qin. He looked weak, and his whole body was bandaged. He limped toward us and didn’t look that threatening as he was alone.

I gently exhaled and relaxed my hands that held the Thunder Sword. “Mr. Qin, why didn’t you stay at the hospital to treat your wounds? Why are you back?”

Mr. Qin looked at me, his expression complicated. We couldn’t read what he was thinking. “I’m here to redeem myself!”

“Redeem yourself?” I felt doubtful as I looked at him, trying to read his mind.

Mr. Qin went directly to the bed and got on his knees in front of Qin Minghao. “Brother!”

Unexpectedly, Qin Minghao was conscious. I could see the corner of his mouth move a little. It looked like he wanted to say something.

However, he couldn’t get up. He could only lie on the bed.

“Brother, I deserved to lose this arm.” Mr. Qin’s voice was low. I couldn’t help but feel at a loss.

“Do you know what I remembered? When we were little, our family was poor, and we had to endure hunger. I remember one birthday of mine when we didn’t even have eggs to eat. I convinced you to steal the neighbor’s eggs, but we were discovered. The neighbor said he would break our arms, and we were so scared that we started crying. In the end, you asked him to break your arm instead. You said it so he wouldn’t break mine. We were naive back then, and we really thought that stealing some eggs could cost us an arm. Yet, you were brave enough to stand up for me and bore all the punishment. How strong and brave you were to protect me, your little brother at that time! But now, you’ve seen what I’ve done.” Then, Mr. Qin started to sob again. “I’ve done horrible things to you, brother. I must redeem myself.”

Mr. Qin was crying and looked heartbroken. I didn’t know if he was just acting again, but his cries seemed real this time. I kinda believe him.

“All right, all right.” Senior Shu couldn’t bear it anymore. “If you want to redeem yourself, you should do something useful instead of just crying!”

Mr. Qin stopped crying and turned to Senior Shu. “Tell me! As long as I can save my brother, I’m willing to give my life. I’ve done filthy things that even animals don’t do. I’m afraid that even the heavens will disdain me and use lightning to strike me dead. I will eventually die, but I would rather use my death to redeem my sins. Even if I could only help my brother a little bit, that would ease my conscience.”

Mr. Qin lit a cigarette and sat on the sofa, slowly closing his eyes. He looked very weak.

He puffed the cigarette as he faced the ceiling.

“Uncle, you’re willing to save my father?” Qin Tiantian was elated. “Now, there’s a good chance for you to redeem yourself. Do you want to do that?”

I looked at Qin Tiantian and was at a loss for words.

That man was her Second Uncle! Although he did terrible things, she shouldn’t just tell him to go die.

Moreover, several hours ago, Qin Tiantian and her uncle were on the same side!

Sure enough, birds of the same feather flock together. Mr. Qin was willing to keep Qin Tiantian hostage to achieve his plan, and Qin Tiantian didn’t have any remorse about sacrificing Mr. Qin to protect her position in the Qin family.

Mr. Qin’s facial expression looked complicated. I guessed he felt desperate at this time.

Eventually, he laughed. “Tiantian, I’ll help you guys even if it costs my life. It’s my atonement to your father and you as well. After you followed me, your worldview was twisted. It’s my fault. However, you’re still young. After this matter is over, I will give you all of my savings to help you with your education.”

“All right, I agree.” Qin Tiantian agreed readily. “As long as you risk your life for my father, I don’t have a problem attending university.”

University?

I sneered. I knew that the ‘education’ Mr. Qin was talking about wasn't that simple. For a girl like Qin Tiantian, if they didn’t keep her on the right track, she would become a horrible person in the future.

Mr. Qin’s ‘education’ was bound to make her suffer a bit. For example, she would have to work at their company and start from the lowest position, which would kill her pride and arrogance. It would enable her to taste the bittersweet struggles of life.

We were surprised, though. It didn’t look like Mr. Qin was playing around. He seemed prepared to use his life to atone for his sin.

Senior Shu looked at Mr. Qin, “Are you sure?”

Mr. Qin nodded. “I am.”

“Once the arrow leaves the bow, it cannot return. Once you’re involved in our plan, you might even die…”

Qin Tiantian sounded impatient. “What are you still wasting time? My uncle agreed with this plan. Just do what you have to do. Hurry up!”

Mr. Qin sighed deeply.

Since Mr. Qin had agreed, we were saved from a headache. We couldn’t delay things any longer. We had to prepare the next step.

Senior Shu immediately left for Dabei Temple to borrow the pagoda that imprisoned Bai Qi. He’d also bring Zen Master Baimei here to protect us.

As for me, I had to prepare the Soul Gathering Spell.

The Soul Gathering Spell would work by reading the incantation and using a set of footwork. There was no requirement to draw a formation. That’s why I didn’t need to prepare anything.

The only thing was to make sure that Mr. Qin’s body was healthy. Tomorrow night, the Soul Gathering Spell would be performed directly on his body. If Mr. Qin couldn’t put up with it, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to perform the spell smoothly.

Since Mr. Qin had lost a lot of blood, his heart might not be ‘delicious’ enough to lure Bai Qi. As such, we had to feed him so that he could recover from his blood loss.

For the whole day, Mr. Qin had to eat pig liver and donkey-hide gelatin. He ate the food until he almost puked.

Before the night came, I reviewed the Soul Gathering Spell to ensure that everything would go smoothly.

When the night came, Senior Shu returned with Zen Master Baimei, who held a small pagoda made of brass in his hand. It had speckles of rust and patina, and it looked really old.

I was elated. “Senior Shu, Zen Master Baimei, you’re here!”

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