Chapter 143: The Impostor

"Ghost Slave? What a strange name."

After exchanging a few more words with Qin Yu, I hung up the phone and walked back into the private dining room. At that moment, the chubby man was bragging to Peng Li and the others about how he had single-handedly dealt with a Zombie King a year ago while subduing demons and vanquishing devils.

Upon hearing the words "Zombie King," I instantly grew interested. Peng Li beside me also wore a startled expression, because the Holy Army we had encountered earlier was none other than a green-eyed zombie.

I walked over, handed the fat man a cigarette, and said, "Brother Wushang, what does that Zombie King look like? Is it powerful?"

The fat man smilingly took the cigarette from my hand, lit it, and said, "Of course it's powerful! Those fangs were over an inch long, it wore a Qing dynasty official's robe, and its eyes glowed with a blue light."

"Blue eyes?" I froze for a moment, and asked, "Aren't Zombie Kings supposed to have red eyes?"

The fat man glared at me and retorted, "Have you ever seen a Zombie King?"

I shook my head and said, "I haven't seen one in person, but I've heard that Zombie Kings are red-eyed zombies. Besides, genuine zombies look no different from ordinary people and certainly don't wear Qing dynasty official robes."

The fat man froze for half a second, a trace of awkwardness flashing across his face. Then, he smiled again and said, "My brother, your Brother Wushang here has seen more zombies than you've seen people. Everything you know is just hearsay; it can't compare to the reality of someone like me who has actually brawled with a Zombie King."

"Is that so? Then did you win against that Zombie King back then, Big Brother Wushang?"

"Needless to say!" The fat man started boasting again, claiming that he had fought a fierce battle with that Zombie King for three days and three nights, blotting out the sun and moon. In the end, risking his life, he narrowly defeated the Zombie King and brought the culprit to justice.

"Where is your bodyguard?" Just as the fat man was boasting with great vigor, I suddenly interjected.

The fat man was stunned, then looked at me with a puzzled expression and asked, "What bodyguard?"

"That bodyguard named Ghost Servant," I said. "Rumor has it that the number one genius of Longhu Mountain, White-Haired Wushang, is inseparable from a bodyguard named Ghost Servant. Why wasn't he fighting the Zombie King alongside you back then? By the way, where is he now?"

"Oh, you mean Little Ghost? His strength is too low, so I made him hide away for fear he might get hurt."

"Didn't he come with you today?"

"He was supposed to, but I sent him on another mission."

"What's his name?"

"Ghost Servant."

"Isn't it Ghost Slave?"

The fat man suddenly stopped talking, and a hint of tension instantly appeared on his face. Peng Li, noticing that the atmosphere felt somewhat off, hurriedly laughed it off and said, "Wu Dao, what are you doing? Conducting a household census? Come on, to welcome Brother Wushang today, let's have a good drink."

Zhang Wushang hurriedly raised his wine glass and smiled, saying, "No worries." Without any hesitation, I also raised my glass and clinked it with theirs. After that, I didn't ask any more questions. For some reason, the fat man gradually became much more reserved, looking as if he was weighed down by worries.

After dinner, Peng Li arranged for Zhang Wushang to rest at a guesthouse, while Emperor and I prepared to head back to school.

As soon as we came out, I called out to Peng Li and asked him again if he was truly certain of Zhang Wushang's identity.

Peng Li gave the same answer as before, saying that Zhang Wushang's identity was currently backed entirely by an official transfer order, and to verify it further, Peng Lei would need to contact his superiors. Peng Li then asked if I suspected this Zhang Wushang of being a fake.

I nodded and said, "I do have that suspicion. If that Zhang Wushang turns out to be a fake, I certainly don't want my brother and you, Brother Peng, to be taken for a ride. This is no joking matter. Dealing with ghosts and spirits without any real skills could cost you your life at any moment."

Peng Li also turned somewhat serious and said, "This guy shouldn't be a fake, right? The identity of a Paranormal Investigation Bureau member is no small matter. Where would he get the audacity to impersonate one?"

I murmured in agreement and said, "Although it sounds incredible, we must keep our guard up." Then I asked Peng Li if the paranormal investigation team had received any supernatural cases recently.

Peng Li thought for a moment and replied, "There is one, but this case hasn't resulted in any casualties, so we haven't paid too much attention to it."

I instantly grew interested and said, "What kind of case? Tell me about it."

Peng Li answered, "Just a week ago, the police received a call from the crematorium saying that every night at midnight, the night-shift workers would hear the screams of someone suffering agony coming from inside the cremation furnace, along with sounds of explosion. However, when the night-shift workers went to check, there was nothing inside the furnace. Because of this, no one has dared to take the night shift at the crematorium for several consecutive days."

"I see," I nodded, and then said, "Brother Peng, make arrangements for me. Tonight, Emperor and I will go check out that crematorium. Invite Zhang Wushang over, and tell him there is a fierce ghost at the crematorium that we'd like to follow him to witness."

Peng Li immediately agreed and said he would call me once everything was arranged.

Thus, Emperor and I headed back to school first. Emperor was also harboring doubts about the chubby man's identity. That afternoon, I drew a few sets of Six Ding and Six Jia Exorcism Talismans in the dormitory. Around ten o'clock in the evening, Peng Li called me to say that everything was set and asked Emperor and me to head directly to the crematorium, where Zhang Wushang would be waiting for us at the entrance.

I acknowledged it, and Emperor and I took a cab to the crematorium. As soon as I got out of the car, I saw the fat man standing at the entrance, picking his nose.

Seeing Emperor and me approach, he immediately pulled his finger out of his nose, wiped it a couple of times on his yellow Taoist robe, and ran over to shake our hands.

Feeling deeply disgusted, I quickly dodged away and said, "When did Big Brother Wushang arrive? I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."

The fat man withdrew his hand rather awkwardly, smiled, and said, "It's nothing," before leading us into the crematorium grounds.

Because Peng Li had notified the place in advance, as soon as the three of us stepped inside, a staff member on duty came out to welcome us.

The staff member was an elderly man named Lao Yang, in his sixties. He used to be a cremation technician at the crematorium, but after reaching retirement age, he found staying idle at home boring, so he took a job here as a security guard.

Originally, Lao Yang was supposed to work the day shift this month, but because the other security guards were too terrified of the eerie sounds coming from the cremation furnace at midnight and refused to work nights, Lao Yang was asked to fill in.

Seeing us, Lao Yang warmly handed each of us a cigarette and led us into the security guard room.

There were many monitor screens inside the security room, displaying live feeds from every corner of the crematorium. I lit the cigarette in my hand and asked Lao Yang about the specifics of the situation.

Lao Yang pointed to one of the monitor screens and said, "It's this cremation furnace right here. Every night at twelve o'clock, you hear human screams coming from inside, along with popping explosion sounds. But when we go over to check, the furnace door is shut, and there's nothing inside at all."

I looked at the cremation furnace shown on the screen. In this particular environment, it genuinely gave one a creepy feeling. I turned my head to look at the fat man beside me and asked, "Big Brother Wushang, what do you make of this?"

The fat man put on a contemplative expression and said, "I think that cremation furnace is haunted!"

After saying this, the fat man stopped talking. Staring at him in utter bewilderment, I asked, "Is that it?"

"What else could it be?" The fat man strained to open his eyes, which were narrowed into slits, and retorted, "Little brother Wu Dao, Team Leader Peng said you also possess some genuine skills. What's your take on this? If this kind of situation isn't haunting, then ghosts truly don't exist."

"I didn't say it isn't haunted. This is definitely a supernatural event!"

After pondering for a moment and observing the cremation furnace on the screen a little longer, I said, "We won't know the specifics until midnight strikes. But based on my deduction, this cremation furnace must have burned a living person in the past!"