"You're still alive," Shen Xingyue sneered, not delving deeper. She dispatched two subordinates to capture the demon.
Not long after, the two returned. One of them held a glowing, emerald "goose egg" with a bewildered expression.
Was the green aura Yao Yao had mentioned emanating from this?
I also activated my energy-sensing technique, but I couldn't perceive any aura from the egg, perhaps due to insufficient power.
"Just this?" Shen Xingyue asked Yao Yao, who nodded.
Shen Xingyue waved her hand, and the two subordinates produced an evidence bag. They carefully wrapped the egg and took it away.
"No! Captain Shen!" the homeowner pleaded urgently, "This is the Child of Tai Sui. The master said not to move it!"
"What Child of Tai Sui, it's just an egg," Shen Xingyue dismissed. "Take it away!"
"Congratulations on solving a major case, Captain Shen," Yao Yao said with a smile. "You can stand down."
"What about the unconscious people?" I asked softly. That was the primary reason we came.
"Once the egg is gone, they will naturally wake up," Yao Yao stated confidently. Then, she glanced at the sky. "Captain Shen, it's getting late. You should head back."
Shen Xingyue narrowed her eyes, giving Yao Yao a playful look for a moment before nodding. "Stand down!"
With a flurry of activity, the Shabiya personnel quickly withdrew from the villa. The homeowner remained kneeling by the drain, continuously kowtowing. He was indeed peculiar; even after his master said it was the Child of Tai Sui, he dared to build a rock garden on top of it. Others might "disturb the earth above Tai Sui's head," but he had completely covered Tai Sui's head.
"Your master and the others are in the back," Yao Yao said to Li Jingxiang after everyone left. Li Jingxiang immediately ran over.
I intended to follow, but Yao Yao stopped me. "You go outside and send these people away to prevent them from getting hurt."
"Huh? Isn't it all over?" I asked, confused.
Yao Yao leaned close to my ear and whispered, "What they caught was just a young one. The bigger demon hasn't returned yet."
So that's why. No wonder Yao Yao urged Shen Xingyue and her team to leave quickly; she likely didn't want to involve too many people, especially the less capable, ordinary Shabiya members.
I went outside the main gate and, posing as Shabiya, instructed the Daoist priests and sorcerers to leave, stating that the main culprit had been apprehended by Captain Shen and was being interrogated. Everyone was dismissed.
Someone quietly mentioned that the homeowner hadn't paid them yet for their services.
"How much?" I asked.
"Twenty thousand!"
Was a ritual so cheap?
I didn't have that much cash on me. I returned to the courtyard, pulled up the portly middle-aged homeowner, and had him pay the ritualists and then disperse them.
Just then, Li Jingxiang returned, supporting the elderly Daoist priest Sun. Although awake, Daoist Priest Sun was still very weak, leaning heavily on Li Jingxiang, his eyelids drooping. The other Daoist priests and monks were in better condition, at least able to walk on their own, but they all swayed their heads and bodies as if suffering from a severe hangover.
The homeowner, mustering his strength, had his driver retrieve a box of money from the car. It was distributed among everyone, including the monks and Daoist priests who had been unconscious in the villa.
Five minutes later, everyone had been dispersed. Only our four-person team remained at the scene, along with Daoist Priest Sun resting by the rock garden, the homeowner, and Shen Xingyue, who had returned.
"What exactly is going on?" Shen Xingyue asked Yao Yao, hands on her hips. The two had clearly coordinated a play to get rid of all unnecessary personnel.
"Quickly have your subordinates find a secluded place and throw that egg away, so the great demon doesn't get hurt when it returns," Yao Yao said.
"I've already had them do that," Shen Xingyue replied, having considered this. "What kind of demon is it? A snake?"
Yao Yao shook her head. "No, it's a four-legged... well, I don't know what kind of animal it is. Perhaps a creature unique to your southern regions."
"Four-legged, a lizard?" I asked. "Or a gecko?"
"I know those two, they look similar, but it's not," Yao Yao said.
At that moment, Daoist Priest Sun by the rock garden suddenly spoke weakly, "It... it's a Tǔlóng, a Yangtze alligator."