Song Xiangyu, fearing a recurrence of the hallucination where a child in a red cotton-padded jacket jumped off the balcony, instinctively retreated into Chen Xiao's embrace, her short skirt brushing against his front.
Chen Xiao found it a bit overwhelming and quickly released his grip on her slender waist, saying with a playful smirk, "An old aunt with endocrine imbalance actually believes in groundless, supernatural superstitions?"
"I... I believe... I believe it!"
Song Xiangyu seemed not to hear Chen Xiao's mockery and paid no mind to his address. As soon as she finished speaking, she nervously retreated into Chen Xiao's arms again. "Chen... Chen Xiao, please... please hurry and remove the unclean things underground. I... I know I was wrong, truly... truly know I was wrong, *wu*..."
Qin Hantang, seeing the usually imperious and aloof Song Xiangyu clinging to Chen Xiao like a wronged young wife and weeping, felt both shocked and vindicated. He picked up the impact drill, ready to start digging, and offered obsequiously, "Director Song, let me do it. You step aside. Dr. Chen said that once the corpse buried beneath is dug up and handed over to the police, the Yin Sha formation will collapse on its own. This way, I'm sure to finish on schedule."
"Th... thank you."
Song Xiangyu felt as if she had been granted a great pardon. She turned and scurried into the midst of her bodyguards and assistants.
However, Chen Xiao had no intention of letting her off so easily. He unceremoniously snatched the impact drill from Qin Hantang and handed it to her, sneering, "Mr. Qin, perhaps Director Song should do it!"
"I..."
Song Xiangyu was instantly dumbfounded. After a brief hesitation, she simply turned and fled, saying without looking back, "I... I don't know how to use an impact drill. Please... please let Mr. Qin do it..."
Her bodyguards and assistants, seeing this, all chased after her.
Chen Xiao chuckled, his tone even more teasing, "Director Song, you do it. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that the little child in the red cotton-padded jacket you saw earlier won't come home with you!"
"You... *wu wa*..."
Song Xiangyu, who had already stepped out the door, froze for a moment. Then, she turned back, weeping loudly, took the impact drill, and began to dig, looking even more like a wronged young wife.
Despite her exquisite attire, long manicured nails, and inconveniently short skirt and high heels, she was, after all, a martial arts expert who had cultivated "inch force." When using the impact drill, she was no less capable than a man. In just a few minutes, she had dug a pit about three centimeters deep within the oval marked by Chen Xiao with lime powder. Lying within was the corpse of a three or four-year-old boy in a red cotton-padded jacket.
The body had clearly been chemically preserved and showed no signs of decay. Apart from being covered in talismans and having a pale complexion, its appearance was exactly as Song Xiangyu had seen in her hallucination.
"Ah—"
Although Song Xiangyu had been mentally prepared, the sudden sight still terrified her. She dropped the impact drill, cried out, and fled screaming. At the same time, her bodyguards and assistants also scattered in panic.
Qin Hantang was, of course, also frightened, but he felt more pity and anger. He couldn't help but jump up and curse, "There's actually a corpse buried here, and it's a three or four-year-old child! Is this meant to harm me or the Song family? This is inhumane and utterly cruel! If I can find that beast with a human face and animal heart, I'll risk my life to tear him to shreds!"
Chen Xiao was also filled with grief and indignation, but he knew that shouting wouldn't solve anything. He quickly took off his white coat, covered the body, and then said in a deep voice, urging Qin Hantang, "Mr. Qin, call the police quickly! Through the police, we might not be able to find the beast who set up the formation with the corpse, but we can definitely catch the murderer."
"Right! Right! Yes, yes, yes! Call the police first!"
Qin Hantang wholeheartedly agreed and quickly took out his phone to call the police.
At the same time, Chen Xiao suddenly received a call from Chen Qing.
"Chen Xiao, aren't you off work yet? Your second aunt's brother, Wang Hailong's banquet is almost over. Your first and second uncles have sent people. No matter how late it is, you can't miss it, or people will gossip about us again."
Wang Hailong was hosting a banquet for friends and relatives to celebrate his new home today. Chen Qing had told Chen Xiao about it last night and, fearing he might forget, had called again to remind him.
Chen Xiao recalled the conflict he had with Wang Hailong and his son Wang Dong at Zijing Middle School yesterday over Xu Jingyin's brother, Xu Jingwen. He was reluctant to go. However, unable to disregard Chen Qing's wishes, he said with a mix of truth and falsehood, "Mom, send me the address. I'll come right over after work. I promise not to be rude."