My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 551: Blood Curse

Just as Captain Chen finished speaking, Zhou Weiran suddenly asked, "Captain Chen, their deaths were so gruesome. Could it have been done by someone?"

Captain Chen glanced at Zhou Weiran beside him and said calmly, "Miss Zhou, judging from the traces at the scene, their hearts were indeed forcibly ripped out. It may be intentional, but an ordinary person's hand couldn't possibly exert that much force."

Zhou Weiran was shocked: "Could it not have been a deliberate crime?"

Captain Chen chuckled: "The crime was definitely committed by a person, most likely with the help of special tools or mechanical equipment."

At this moment, Zhou Weiran quietly pulled Zhou Zhengxian aside and whispered, "Dad, don't you think this is strange? First, workers died mysteriously at the construction site, and now two homeless people have died inexplicably. It's all eerie. Why don't we invite a feng shui master to come and take a look?"

Zhou Zhengxian thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "That works too. It's worth a try, even if it seems hopeless."

Zhou Weiran's eyes immediately lit up: "Dad, leave this to me, I'll find someone."

Just as Zhou Zhengxian was about to say something more, Zhou Weiran had already turned around and walked away quickly.

Zhou Weiran quickly dialed a private investigator's number: "Find out the exact location of Xuan Guan as quickly as possible. The reward is 20,000."

The only response from the other end of the phone was a simple "Okay".

Ten minutes later, a detailed address was sent to Zhou Weiran's phone. She immediately handed the address to the driver: "Hurry, go to this place."

On the other side, Zhang Lei was lying on a deck chair in the courtyard, flipping through the morning paper. He immediately saw the news about another murder at the Genting Tower, with a particularly glaring headline: "Another murder at the Genting Tower: The victim's heart was ripped out. Was it a human act or the work of ghosts?"

Zhang Lei immediately sat up straight, secretly wondering: Should I go over and take a look?

After a moment's thought, he made up his mind to go to Xuan Yangzi first and ask him to help him figure out the mystery.

He then got up, greeted Ye Shuqin, and drove straight to Qingxuan Temple.

Not long after, Zhang Lei parked his car at the entrance of Qingxuan Temple. Looking at the newly renovated Taoist temple, he stepped inside and bumped into a familiar figure as soon as he entered.

"Zhou Weiran?" Zhang Lei asked, his face full of surprise.

Zhou Weiran's face lit up with joy when she saw Zhang Lei: "Zhang Lei, what brings you here?"

"I just came here to browse around," Zhang Lei nodded in response.

Standing next to Zhou Weiran was Xuan Yangzi, who gave Zhang Lei a Taoist cupped-hand salute, which Zhang Lei politely returned.

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "Did you specially invite Master Xuanyangzi to your Cloud Top Mansion to resolve this matter?"

Zhou Weiran sighed helplessly: "Yes, another person has died on the construction site. There's really no other way but to try anything."

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "That's perfect. I'd like to go and see if it's a human scheme or the work of evil spirits."

The group immediately set off and quickly arrived near the Genting Tower construction site. By then, the crowd had already dispersed, and the deceased's body had been taken back to the police station.

Xuan Yangzi stood alone around the construction site, his fingers forming hand seals, chanting incantations, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings as he slowly paced and investigated.

Zhang Lei stood aside, listening to Zhou Weiran describe in detail the horrific scene he had just witnessed.

A moment later, Xuan Yangzi stopped in front of a pillar.

Zhang Lei quickly stepped forward: "Master, have you discovered anything?"

Xuan Yangzi nodded and said in a deep voice, "This location has been used to plant a live stake."

Upon hearing the term "raw stake," Zhang Lei looked puzzled: "What is a raw stake?"

Xuan Yangzi slowly explained: "In layman's terms, it means that someone has laid a blood curse here, and the object deliberately buried to suppress the evil is called a 'living stake'."

Zhang Lei's expression hardened: "So that's how it is. Miss Zhou, you should quickly send people to dig down here and see what's hidden down there."

Zhou Weiran immediately ordered his entourage to start digging. After digging down about two meters, they unearthed a simple, ancient wooden box. When they opened the box, they found a pair of bloodied human hands inside, exuding a chilling aura.

Zhang Lei remained relatively calm, but Zhou Weiran was terrified and instinctively hid behind Zhang Lei.

Xuan Yangzi stared solemnly at the bloody hand in the box, and murmured, "Amitabha."

Zhang Lei couldn't help but curse angrily: "This is absolutely outrageous and utterly immoral!"

Zhou Weiran quickly had the wooden box closed, and asked timidly, "Master Xuanyangzi, how can we resolve this disaster now?"

Xuan Yangzi calculated for a moment with his fingertips and then said, "Fortunately, this blood curse has not yet fully formed. If it were delayed for another three days, this place would have become a place of malevolent curse. From then on, whether we start construction or simply stay here, we will attract evil spirits and turn it into a deadly place."

Zhou Weiran turned pale with fright and pleaded, "Master Xuanyangzi, please help our Zhou family! I will immediately have my father donate a large sum of money to Qingxuan Temple afterwards!"

Xuan Yangzi nodded slightly: "Amitabha. Exorcising demons and protecting the righteous path is the duty of cultivators. Miss Zhou, there is no need for such formalities."

Soon, Xuan Yangzi had someone fetch ritual implements from the Taoist temple and arrange them at the construction site according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, then lit incense and candles in sequence.

Zhang Lei stood aside, quietly watching Xuan Yangzi perform the ritual, secretly wishing he could learn this Taoist art. Xuan Yangzi held a peach wood sword with a yellow talisman affixed to its blade, chanted an incantation, and then raised his hand, slashing fiercely at the bloody hand inside the wooden box.

In an instant, the bloody hand in the box hissed and emitted black smoke, then turned into a handful of ashes and vanished without a trace.

Zhang Lei was dumbfounded, never expecting to actually witness such profound Taoist magic with his own eyes.

In a secluded chamber some distance away, the walls were covered with dark red blood-red runes, and a figure sat upright in the center. Suddenly, his blood surged, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His eyes instantly turned into crimson vertical pupils, and he roared angrily, "Who dares to break my Blood Curse!"

Two disciples dressed in Taoist robes rushed in upon hearing the noise and asked with concern, "Master, what's wrong?"

Wang Tianyi suppressed his surging anger and said coldly, "Immediately send people to the Cloud Top Building to investigate who broke my formation and who interfered in my important affairs!"

The two disciples dared not delay, and after responding, they hurriedly turned and left.

At the top of the Cloud Top Building, Xuan Yangzi finished the entire ritual. Zhang Lei pulled Zhou Weiran forward and asked, "Master Xuan Yangzi, is the curse now completely lifted?"

Xuan Yangzi shook his head and said, "This only temporarily resolves the evil energy, but since this curse was set up by someone, I cannot guarantee that the person behind it will not cause trouble in secret again."

"Was this a deliberate setup?" Zhou Weiran was shocked.

Zhang Lei looked at Zhou Weiran and said in a deep voice, "Since the master was able to turn that bloody hand into ashes with his Taoist magic, there's no doubt about it. Think carefully, has your Zhou family ever offended any enemies?"

Zhou Weiran was speechless for a moment and fell silent. The Zhou family's business was huge, and there were already many competitors vying for projects. After years of fighting in the business world, they had made even more rivals and enemies, so how could they possibly list them all?

At this moment, Zhang Lei suggested with a smile, "Zhou Weiran, why don't we just hire Master Xuan Yangzi to oversee the entire construction of the Cloud Top Building, protect the construction site, and ward off evil spirits?"

Zhou Weiran suddenly realized and quickly looked at Xuan Yangzi: "That's right! Master Xuan Yangzi, our Zhou family is willing to offer five million in funding, and earnestly request that you stay here to oversee and protect us. What do you think?"

Xuan Yangzi initially intended to politely decline, but upon hearing the offer of five million, he hesitated slightly. Qingxuan Temple was already struggling financially due to a lack of worshippers; this sum would greatly improve the temple's situation.

Zhang Lei chimed in, "Indeed, Master, cultivation and enlightenment are not confined to one place. Moreover, this place is shrouded in malevolent energy and fraught with danger. Cultivating here will only temper your mind and might even help you advance your cultivation further."

Xuan Yangzi pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "Since Miss Zhou has so kindly invited me, then this humble Taoist will accept the invitation."

Zhou Weiran was overjoyed and immediately took out his phone to call his father, Zhou Zhengxian.

Zhou Zhengxian was currently overwhelmed with the Genting Tower case when he saw his daughter calling. He quickly answered, "Weiran, where are you? Why aren't you home yet?"

Zhou Weiran's tone was filled with excitement: "Dad, you'll never guess, we've uncovered something big at the Cloud Top Building!"

Zhou Zhengxian said helplessly, "Stop beating around the bush and tell me exactly what happened."

Zhou Weiran then recounted in detail how the wooden box was unearthed at the construction site, how Xuan Yangzi broke the Blood Fiend Curse, and how he hired the other party to oversee the construction site.

Zhou Zhengxian was shocked upon hearing this, secretly marveling at how bizarre and dangerous the matter was. He then sincerely praised her, "Daughter, you handled this beautifully! I agree to all the arrangements you made."