"It all means the same thing!" Captain Li said dismissively.
He nodded at the officer beside him. "Xiao Chen!"
Officer Chen immediately got to work lighting the paper money and incense sticks.
At first, E Hongjuan was thrilled—kneeling by the burning basin, rubbing her ghostly hands in anticipation. "Real old-style yellow paper! Not handmade, but way better than those gaudy hell notes. Police really think of everything..."
But just as she was reaching to scoop up the paper money, the incense was lit. E Hongjuan recoiled, clutching her nose and drifting several meters away. "Cough cough cough! What is this? Smells like death! Can't stomach it!"
Officer Chen, having just finished lighting it, turned to Song Miaozhu expectantly. "Master Song, does Student E like it? The incense and paper money were prepared by our team."
"Maybe blow out the incense," Song Miaozhu replied, watching E Hongjuan trying to escape the interrogation room. "She nearly fled the room because of the smell—but she did like the paper money."
"Reeks?" Officer Chen extinguished the incense, puzzled. "It smells pretty nice to me!"
"There might be something off in the ingredients," Song Miaozhu said. "Ghosts smell things differently than the living. Rather than incense, it'd be better to offer snacks that humans can eat too—she'd still be able to sense the aroma."
"Snacks? I can offer those!" Officer Chen said quickly.
"Yes, yes! Thank you, Officer Chen!" E Hongjuan floated back eagerly. "Master Song, please tell him for me!"
"She says thank you," Song Miaozhu relayed.
"No need for thanks!" Officer Chen grinned and stepped out of the interrogation room, heading straight for his colleagues. "Quick, anybody got snacks?"
"How about the incense and paper money I bought?" one officer asked. "I use that stuff when honoring my ancestors. Should be fine, right?"
Officer Chen made a face. "Old Wang, please stop buying that brand of incense—don't go knocking out your ancestors with the smell. The paper money's alright though."
"What? That brand's been around forever!" Officer Wang looked utterly betrayed.
"The ghost said it herself, what more proof do you need?" Officer Chen said. "Master Song said if we can't tell good incense from bad, might as well go with food. At least ghosts can pick up on the scent!"
Armed with snacks, Officer Chen returned to the room. Officer Wang, still shaken by the idea of gassing out his ancestors, lit one of the incense sticks and offered it around for his colleagues to sniff. "Smells fine to me though!"
With E Hongjuan happily munching spectral snacks and hoarding paper money, the interrogation proceeded smoothly. Two hours later, Captain Li concluded:
"That's it for today," Captain Li said, setting down his pen and speaking to the empty chair.
"Student E, once Jia Daqiang's verdict is in, the civil compensation will be honored as per your request. The money will be converted into hell coins by Master Song's workshop and burned for you by Jia Daqiang's family."
"Your grave has also been arranged. Lingcheng University purchased a permanent plot for you at Dongshan Cemetery. You don't need to worry about your ashes being lost."
"Ashes? You mean I'm getting cremated again?" E Hongjuan looked alarmed. "Doesn't that hurt? I've seen ghosts who died in fires—they look miserable!"
"It doesn't hurt," Song Miaozhu reassured her. "The body is just your link to the living world. Once you die, your senses disconnect from it. The ones in pain were probably burned alive. Cremation actually spares the body from bugs and rot."
"Oh, that's a relief." E Hongjuan sighed. "But Master Song, how come you, a living person, know more about being dead than I do, a ghost?"
"Family heritage," Song Miaozhu replied.
Most of it came from offhand remarks left by ancestors in the Secret Art of Paper Crafting.
"You even have that kind of heritage? Your family must have great connections in the underworld!" E Hongjuan said enviously. "Too bad I was an orphan in life, and now I have no idea where my family is in death. I just hope I'm not alone in the next life…"
She paused, then added brightly, "Master Song, tell everyone I said thank you. They worked really hard! When you all get to the underworld, I'll treat you to incense and snacks!"
"Uh… let's not wish for that," Song Miaozhu replied dryly.
Now that spiritual energy had begun to reawaken in the living world, cultivators could prolong their lives and strengthen their bodies.
For them, going to the underworld wasn't exactly a blessing.
"Oh come on! I insist!" E Hongjuan declared.
So Song Miaozhu faithfully relayed her message, leaving the officers rather touched.
"That's the first time a deceased victim has ever thanked us," Captain Li said. "Student E, may your next life be peaceful."
After sending off E Hongjuan, Song Miaozhu and her group returned to the hotel.
Zhao Huoyan drove them. On the way, Song Miaozhu finally asked him:
"I thought you were staying at the Summer Villa this whole time?"
"I was!" Zhao Huoyan said. "Why do you ask?"
"That's strange. You don't have any yin energy on you," Song Miaozhu said, frowning.
"Seriously? Maybe it's because I went to the old mountain town to find you before?" Zhao Huoyan asked.
"You didn't have any yin energy back then either," Song Miaozhu said. "And today, when E Hongjuan was around, I kept an eye on you. The bits of yin energy drifting off her never got close to you. Something on you must be repelling it."
"There's something like that?" Zhao Huoyan was genuinely confused. He couldn't recall carrying anything special.
When they got back to the hotel, he pulled out everything on him—except his clothes and pants—for Song Miaozhu to inspect.
"I change clothes every day. These are the only items I carry all the time."
One by one, Song Miaozhu checked them.
Belt—not it.
Watch—not it.
Bullet pendant—not it.
…
Finally, her gaze settled on the wallet. A faint, soft golden light shimmered from it.
Song Miaozhu picked it up and opened it. In one of the wallet's compartments, she found a folded paper talisman glowing with that same faint gold light. Inside, nestled behind a faded photo, was a folded paper talisman. The characters "平安" (Peace) slanted childishly across its surface.
"What's this?" she asked.
Ever since opening her spirit sight, she'd never seen spiritual energy this color. It gave off a warm, gentle feeling.
"Oh, that. Five years ago, I was in Ancheng doing disaster relief. I rescued a little girl—she gave me that. I stuck it in my wallet and just couldn't bring myself to throw it out."
Zhao Huoyan looked a little embarrassed. "It probably isn't that, right? She was only seven at the time, and she tore that paper out of a ruined exercise book. Wrote the characters herself."
Song Miaozhu also found it odd. "Five years ago, spiritual energy hadn't even started to recover yet. There shouldn't be anything this visibly infused with spiritual power."
"But this definitely is," she added. "And it's a golden light I've never seen before. Faint, but real. It probably wouldn't hold up against strong yin energy, but it's clearly protecting you."
She handed the talisman back to him. "Take good care of it. Now that spiritual energy is returning, the rules of cultivation are shifting. Who knows what other changes we'll discover?"