“I’m so impressed with you, Xiaofeng! You’re amazing!” Liu Hui exclaimed.

　　“It’s not me; it’s the power of traditional Chinese medicine handed down from our ancestors,” I said with a smile, carefully packing up the silver needles. “Liu, let’s get going!”

　　“Alright, alright!” Liu Dazhuang responded eagerly.

　　After leaving the police station, I sat in the car, watching the dreary rain drizzle down. In the distance, I could faintly see the outline of some mountains—branches of the Qiyun Mountain range.

　　Suddenly, I thought of my master. Before I left the mountain, he had specifically reminded me to attend the Feng Shui conference in two years.

　　Hearing that, I felt a spark of excitement, even a bit of eagerness. After all, this was a Feng Shui gathering that only happened once a decade, and anyone who showed up would definitely be the cream of the crop in our field.

　　But for some reason, when my master brought up the conference, he didn’t seem all that happy about it.

　　“Xiaofeng?” Liu Dazhuang called out, snapping me from my thoughts.

　　“Yeah? What’s up, Dazhuang?” I responded.

　　“When you mentioned that the Bagua stone carving was suppressing some spirits… are you really sure about that?” Liu Dazhuang’s voice had a hint of hesitation.

　　I paused, considering my words. “From what I’ve seen so far, it’s definitely keeping some spirits in check. But whether it’s holding all three of their souls, that’s still up in the air.”

　　The reason I wasn’t entirely sure was because of Liu Jian. Until I could get to the bottom of the Bagua stone’s mystery, I couldn’t confidently say his spirit was under its control.

　　“You’re not planning to mess with that thing and break it, are you?” Liu Dazhuang asked, his tone filled with concern.

　　“No, that’s not the plan,” I replied calmly. "Good, you scared me half to death!" Liu Dazhuang breathed a sigh of relief.

　　"But just because we won't do it this time doesn't mean we won't in the future," I added.

　　“Huh?” Liu Dazhuang’s face paled a bit. “Are you really planning to take it away? Won’t the spirits being suppressed by it get loose?”

　　“Oh, they definitely will,” I said.

　　"This... I...," Liu Dazhuang's hands tightened around the steering wheel, clearly rattled by what I said. He was struggling to find the right words in his panic.

　　I glanced over at him and quickly reassured, "Don’t worry, Dazhuang, leave the spirits to me. I’ll take care of them—there won't be any trouble." Then I turned my gaze forward, my expression turning serious. "If we don’t deal with that thing, it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens."

　　Liu Dazhuang shot me a nervous glance but stayed silent.

　　Before long, we arrived at Huayuan Community. After parking, we headed straight to the property management office.

　　“Hello!”

　　Behind the desk was the same woman as before, just like last time, playing idly with her hair.

　　“Oh, it’s you again. The manager isn’t here,” she said with a glance, her tone indifferent.

　　Liu Dazhuang and I exchanged a look. His temper flared at her attitude, and he snapped, “What kind of attitude is that?”

　　The woman gave him a disdainful smirk. “What attitude do you want? I’m answering your questions. Isn’t that enough?”

　　“As a service worker, is this how you treat the public?” Liu Dazhuang shot back.

　　“Oh, listen to you! Talking like some big-shot official. Who do you think you are?” She stood up, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “This is my attitude, so what are you going to do about it?”

　　“Is that guy from last time here? Get him out here,” I said.

　　“You mean Manager Huang? He’s not here!” She didn’t even bother to look at us, her demeanor still annoyingly arrogant.

　　Liu Dazhuang couldn’t hold back anymore and slammed his hand on the table. “How can the property management only have you here?”

　　“It’s a rainy day, no one else came in. What’s the big deal?” the woman shot back.

　　“What’s all this noise? What’s going on?” Manager Huang came out, and when he saw me, he said, “Oh, it’s you again. Have you moved into the community now?”

　　“No, I haven’t,” I replied.

　　“Then what brings you here today?”

　　“I’m here to ask about the Bagua stone carving,” I said calmly.

　　The man froze, his expression suddenly becoming cautious. “Why are you so fixated on a stone? Just leave already, I don’t know anything!”

　　“Don’t know?” Liu Dazhuang pulled out his police badge from his pocket and said, “I’m Liu Dazhuang, Captain of the Second Criminal Investigation Division, Shanshi Police Department!”

　　Manager Huang took a closer look at the badge in Liu Dazhuang’s hand and immediately changed his attitude. He quickly bowed and scraped, saying, “Ah, Officer Liu, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was you. My apologies!”

　　Then he turned to the woman and barked, “Go get Officer Liu some water, right now!”

　　The woman stood there stunned for a moment before quickly snapping back to reality and rushing off to get the water. Liu Dazhuang put away his badge and demanded, “What are your names?”

　　The man responded nervously, “Huang Yang, and this is Zhang Lili.”

　　“Huang Yang, right? Now, can you tell us about the Bagua stone disc?” Liu Dazhuang asked.

　　“Well…” Huang Yang hesitated, clearly hiding something.

　　“Speak!” Liu Dazhuang shouted, making Huang Yang jump in fright.

　　“The stone disc was placed there a few months ago,” Huang Yang finally said.

　　“Are you sure it was just a few months ago?” I asked.

　　“Positive!” Huang Yang answered without hesitation.

　　Liu Dazhuang glanced at me and asked, “What is it, Xiaofeng? Is there a problem?”

　　“Didn’t you say that thing has been there for years?” I replied.

　　“Yeah!” Liu Dazhuang suddenly realized the inconsistency. He turned back to Huang Yang and said, “Tell me the truth. When was it actually put there?”

　　“I am telling the truth, Officer Liu. The disc was indeed placed there just a few months ago,” Huang Yang insisted.

　　“Nonsense! I’ve been to Huayuan Community a few times, and that disc has definitely been there for several years!” Liu Dazhuang retorted.

　　“Officer Liu, I swear, it was only put there a few months back. I remember it clearly because I had just started working here,” Zhang Lili interjected, setting down two glasses of water in front of me and Liu Dazhuang.

　　Liu Dazhuang and I exchanged a glance; neither of them seemed to be lying.

　　“I think I’ve got it!” Huang Yang suddenly exclaimed. He rushed to the back, returning with a file folder in hand. He tore it open and flipped through the documents, finally pulling out a sheet and laying it in front of us.

　　“The current stone disc was indeed placed a few months ago,” he explained. “But before that, there was an older one in the same spot. It had been there for years, but it was worn out, so they replaced it with a new one.”Liu Dazhuang and I scrutinized the document. It was the purchase contract for the Bagua stone carving, and it clearly stated that it had been bought just a few months ago. This confirmed that Huang Yang and the security guard weren't lying after all.

　　“How long was it between the two stone discs?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

　　“About three months, but I can't remember the exact timing,” Huang Yang replied, a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice.

　　“Was it before or after Liu Jian died?” I pressed, feeling the weight of the question.

　　“After!” Huang Yang asserted, his voice steady this time.

　　“Just as I suspected.” I mulled over this new information. It seemed the Bagua stone carving might indeed be involved in suppressing Liu Jian's spirit. More importantly, it suggested that Liu Jian might not have been killed by Zhang Ming after all!

　　I glanced back at the contract, noticing the company seal for “Panshi Carvings.” Pointing to it, I said to Liu Dazhuang, “I need to dig deeper into that company!”

　　“Absolutely!” Liu Dazhuang replied enthusiastically. “Let’s head to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. I’ve got a buddy there who can help us out!”