"If you’re scared, you don’t have to ."
Scarlett Jennings was uncharacteristically "considerate," which made Ashton Todd widen his eyes immediately,
"Who said I’m scared?! It’s locked in the Ghost Bottle, why would I be scared of it?"
After a pause, he added,
"The academy competition prize is three million, don’t think you can leave me behind and take my share!"
Stella Gibson couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing that.
Meanwhile, the audience watching the live broadcast were speechless.
Although Sea City currently seems to have the best chance to win, can’t you not talk like the prize money is already yours?
We’re still watching!
The six people were talking while walking towards the building and reached the room where the resentful aura was the strongest. They pressed the doorbell, and shortly, hurried footsteps could be heard from inside the door.
The door opened to reveal a middle-aged man looking a bit haggard.
The middle-aged man was stunned when he saw the six of them, then quickly understood when he saw their school uniforms.
"Are you... Benson’s classmates?"
Gregory Xander immediately knew he was mistaken and started to explain, "We are not..."
"Yes, uncle, we’re all Benson’s classmates."
Ashton Todd stepped forward quickly, interrupting Gregory Xander, with a solemn and sad expression as he looked at the middle-aged man in front of him,
"We heard about him... We wanted to visit, is that okay?"
Ashton Todd deliberately spoke ambiguously, as they were still learning about the life of the ghostly youth, and had just found out his name.
The middle-aged man saw Ashton’s expression and did not doubt it.
Though some of the kids seemed a bit old to be his son’s classmates, he couldn’t care to investigate further.
It no longer mattered.
He let them in, and the six people changed their shoes at the entrance, only to find a ceremony arranged in the living room.
A middle-aged man in a yellow Taoist robe and two young disciples were setting up the altar table, clearly not having started the ritual yet.
The six people had slightly complex expressions upon entering.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man explained,
"I have someone here to perform a ritual today, if you’re uncomfortable..."
"We don’t mind, we really don’t mind."
A joke, this was their area of expertise.
The middle-aged man said, disheartened,
"Benson passed away suddenly, and the family hopes to help him find peace in the afterlife so he can pass on more comfortably. He would be happy that you came to see him off."
Scarlett and the others remained silent, subconsciously glancing at the Ghost Bottle held by Nathan White.
From the middle-aged man’s perspective, it was just an ordinary glass bottle.
But to Scarlett and the others, the resenting energy from the youth within the Ghost Bottle was overwhelming, hardly showing any sign of being "happy."
Ashton seized the opportunity to inquire about the cause of the youth’s death.
Knowing the cause would reveal why the youth harbored such heavy resentment after death.
The middle-aged man heard their question, and a hint of hatred flashed in his eyes.
"Benson was murdered by the property manager of this building! We previously thought he was missing. Who would have thought he was killed right outside his own door!...
I don’t even know why he would harm my son... My son, he was only sixteen..."
The man spoke painfully and couldn’t help but cry in front of the kids.
Ashton patted the man’s back, comforting him for a while, and upon seeing his emotions settle, started asking indirectly about the property manager.
They heard the man say,
"He’s dead! Perhaps it was karma, but recently he was found dead in his own home."
It was only because he died that the police, while investigating his cause of death, accidentally discovered Benson’s body.
Having obtained critical information, Scarlett easily found the news report.
The report stated that while investigating the cause of death, the police accidentally found dismembered body parts hidden in a fridge.
Benson Woods’ body was cut into several bags; some were stored in the fridge, while others were taken away and dumped at a landfill.
No wonder the middle-aged man spoke with such hatred about his son’s death.
Not only was his son murdered, but he was also dismembered. Which parent wouldn’t break down over that?
Unfortunately, the police only discovered that the child was killed by the property manager, but they still don’t know why the manager killed the boy.
Scarlett and the others exchanged a glance, basically confirming that the property manager was Benson’s first target for revenge.
By killing the manager and devouring his soul, he turned into an Evil Ghost.
But apart from one being a property manager and the other a tenant’s son, what could the connection be?
Admittedly, being dismembered can ignite extreme resentment in a ghost, but Scarlett felt something else was at play.
Just as she was pondering, they heard the Taoist call Benson’s father over, saying the ritual was about to start.
Since Scarlett and the others had come under the guise of Benson’s name, they naturally couldn’t just leave now, so they decided to stay and see.
The Taoist seemed to be someone who had seen large crowds before, and didn’t care about their presence. With a serious expression, he shook his bell, and then, with two young disciples, started to move around the altar chanting incantations.
At this point, viewers from the Mystical Sect watching the broadcast clearly hadn’t expected to see a ritual scene.
Students majoring in Taoist rituals immediately perked up upon seeing their field of study, offering critiques from a professional standpoint,
"The altar table arrangement is quite shoddy."
"The way he’s holding the Peach Wood Sword isn’t authentic."
"Looks like a self-taught rural Taoist."
But gradually, as their critiques continued, they noticed something amiss.
Not only them, but Scarlett and her friends on the scene also noticed something wrong.
Gregory Xander stepped forward and interrupted the ritual,
"This isn’t a transcending ritual!"
He pointed at the Taoist and shouted sternly, "You’re clearly reciting the Ghost Killing Spell!"
Benson’s father, hearing "Ghost Killing Spell," was momentarily stunned. Then seeing the flash of shock on the Taoist’s face, his expression darkened, and he grabbed the Taoist,
"Are you trying to kill my son?!"
While he didn’t know what the Ghost Killing Spell was, it clearly had nothing to do with transcending, just based on its name.
The Taoist hadn’t expected to be exposed and looked panicked for a moment but quickly regained composure.
"My expertise is executing Evil Spirits. You hired me specifically for this; I was just fulfilling my duty!"
"Nonsense! We obviously hired you to transcend my son!"
Listening to their exchange, Scarlett quickly caught onto something suspicious.
"Uncle Lin, who invited this Taoist?"
Clearly, Benson’s father was unaware of this so-called Evil Spirit executioner Taoist’s expertise.
The issue probably lay with the person who invited him.
Someone seemed to be missing from this household.
Benson’s father, upon hearing Scarlett’s question, instinctively replied,
He said, pausing mid-sentence as a thought occurred to him, his expression full of disbelief,
"But my wife would never do such a thing!"
"Where’s your wife?" Gregory Xander asked.
She was the one who invited the Taoist for the ritual, so why wasn’t she present?
Benson’s father showed a momentary pause at the question, muttering, "She said she couldn’t bear to watch, so she stayed away..."
He hadn’t thought there was anything strange about it before, but now that he considered it, it didn’t quite add up.
Benson was her biological child, so why would she deliberately avoid the ceremony meant to peacefully send him off?
Scarlett listened to Benson’s father and looked at the "executioner of ghosts" Taoist in front of her.
She thought they had probably touched on a crucial point.
... The boy’s mother was suspect.