Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 584 Practice
"Awoomi oh~ Neto no oh~ Guji gu no ane~ Mara umm hum~"

With strange steps, the gossipy woman, dressed in a wide-sleeved Taoist robe and holding a paper sword, with her small embroidered shoes peeking out from her toes, circled around Lin Ge, muttering things that she herself probably couldn't understand and would forget as soon as she finished.

The room was dimly lit and filled with the smell of cigarette smoke; it was square and didn't even have windows. To be honest, it smelled quite pungent, but Lin Ge still curiously turned his head left and right to watch the gossipy woman's actions, noticing that she had her eyes slightly closed and looked very professional.

The ceremony had been going on for more than ten minutes. To be honest, Lin Ge was getting tired of squatting. The futon under him had been used for too long and was very hard, and it smelled terrible.

But judging from the gossipy woman's demeanor, the ceremony didn't seem to be over yet.

So Lin Ge lazily shifted his gaze to the two people standing in the hallway outside the door.

The only exit from the room was an archway, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, leading to a similar enclosed corridor. The room was dimly lit, with only candlelight, but the corridor was brightly lit.

The walls along the corridor were covered with various red silk scrolls with gold lettering, and cabinets against the wall held numerous gilded sheets of paper. Dozens, nearly a hundred, were densely packed—these were all "proof" of the gossipy woman's hospitality and successful rituals. Upon closer inspection, each document bore the name, identity, and date of the person with whom she had a predestined connection, along with a note indicating the sincerity of her gratitude and the amount of incense money donated to Jingyue Temple. Whether these were genuine or not was unknown, but the amounts were certainly exaggerated. Several silk scrolls displayed prominently under the light contained incense money amounting to tens or hundreds of thousands of taels, seemingly instructing later visitors on what to do.

To be honest, just looking at these things, Li Siyu felt that the old lady performing the ritual in the smoke in the front room must be a truly masterful Taoist practitioner.

She performed a blessing ceremony for a residential community in another city, exorcising evil spirits and protecting the home, charging 180,000 yuan for eighteen gold coins! If it really had no effect at all, they wouldn't have given her that money for nothing, right?

Someone actually renovated her Taoist temple. How much benefit did she receive to be willing to spend so much money?

Even though she didn't believe in superstitions, Li Siyu felt that some of the things in front of her were somewhat believable.

Why are you playing on your phone?

Turning her head, Li Siyu saw Li Yiduo playing a game on his phone and couldn't help but push him with her elbow.

"What are you doing here if you're not playing games? Are you just standing here waiting like an idiot?"

Li Yiduo was a little puzzled. Did he need Mimi's cooperation, and also had to pretend to be honest in order to continue getting information out of the gossipy old woman? There was no need for that, right? This old woman was obviously only after money.

"..."

Li Siyu didn't know what to say. Should she say that she almost believed the nonsense here?
She chuckled twice, then slowly leaned closer and whispered, "Do you think Mimi will be alright? That gossipy old woman wants us to believe Mimi is haunted. Will she do something weird to her, like putting datura on her?"

"It's alright, I believe Mimi can handle it herself. Don't even mention datura, no matter what tricks she uses, they won't escape Mimi's eyes and nose."

Li Yiduo put down his phone, having finished his covert filming of the corridor. He strolled around, admiring the people giving money to the gossipy women, and gradually walked to the corner of the entrance, carefully examining several faded, rough pieces of paper inside the glass cabinet.

Over time, the red paper would turn white, and the original gold lettering would fade and blur under light. Li Yiduo discovered that this Jingyue Nunnery had never lacked customers since it started operating thirty or forty years ago. The earliest faded red paper, with the date still legible, was from the 1970s. It vaguely showed a woman praying for a son, but the amount of money given as a token of gratitude was not written at the end.

Even the red paper for fulfilling a vow has been sent over, so it seems she really did give birth to a son, fulfilling the 50% probability.

Li Yiduo pursed his lips and continued reading, discovering that the first dozen or so pages were almost all about seeking children. However, these 'worthless' items were haphazardly piled together, making it impossible for Li Yiduo to discern how many people had actually been scammed.

In short, the only thing we know is that this Jingyue Nunnery is indeed very popular and has some tricks up its sleeve. The fact that it has been able to deceive people for three or four decades without being reported shows that the gossipy old woman is quite capable.

"Hey?"

Suddenly seeing a somewhat familiar name, Li Yiduo paused for a moment.

"what happened?"

Li Siyu turned her gaze away from Lin Ge and curiously approached Li Yiduo.

"This guy... if I remember correctly, he was a big corrupt official in Yunnan Province, right? He was only caught a few years ago, and the official report said he embezzled over a billion yuan. He even built a statue of himself in a village, thinking that mythologizing himself would help him evade investigation by anti-corruption agencies. It's said that when he was caught, he was so superstitious that he believed he was a god. Tsk! I didn't expect he had been here before and even offered incense money to the gossipy old woman!"

Li Yiduo clicked his tongue in amazement. Seeing the words "Pray for wealth and official career" written on the red silk cloth, and the 500,000 yuan in incense money at the end, he had to admit that these corrupt officials really deserved to die.

"Maybe he was tricked by the gossipy old woman, which is why he became superstitious and thought he could turn himself into a god."

Li Siyu thought of another possibility.

"..."

Li Yiduo was stunned for a moment, then thought about it and realized that there really was such a possibility.

Looking at the date on the red silk, he hadn't fallen from power yet, so perhaps Li Siyu's guess was correct.

"This old woman is too formidable! We can't let her continue to exist. Regardless of whether she's related to this case or not, we need to remind Baiyan City or Officer Liu to clean up this situation here!"

Li Yiduo made up his mind.

"it is good!"

Inside, the gossipy old woman suddenly let out a cry that sounded like a myna bird's screeching, and she stopped in her tracks, startling Lin Ge.

Li Siyu and Li Yiduo turned their heads and were astonished to see a black shadow 'flowing' from beneath the futon beneath Mimi, slowly moving towards the gossipy old woman who was pointing a sword directly in front of her. The tip of the white paper sword in the old woman's hand was also slowly turning black, as if the black shadow was being absorbed by the paper sword. As the shadow on the ground diminished, the black marks on the paper sword accumulated more and more; finally, when the black shadow 'flowing' from the futon vanished as a thin line, the black on the paper sword in the old woman's hand gradually solidified into the outline of a menacing black cat, as if a real black cat demon had been sealed inside.

Lin Ge stared wide-eyed as the dark figure beneath him vanished without a trace, yet he found no mechanism on the ground. The stone floor was completely seamless, as if a black cat demon had truly appeared out of thin air.

Li Siyu was dumbfounded.

Li Yiduo raised an eyebrow, his mind racing as he considered the specifics of this trick. He had to admit it was quite interesting; it would be excellent for scaring Ye Ming and the other two when they got back.

"call……"

The gossipy woman pretended to be very tired, withdrew her sword-pointing posture, and came to Li Yiduo with both hands holding the sword.

"I am fortunate to have fulfilled my mission; the evil spirits have been subdued."

"seriously?"

Li Siyu took the paper sword from the gossipy old woman. Turning it around, she had to admit that it was just an ordinary sword made of cardboard.

Then, in front of the two of them, the gossipy woman unfolded the paper sword into a plain piece of paper with only creases, showing no trace of any mechanism. Moreover, after unfolding it, the shadow of the black cat was right in the center of the paper, so lifelike that it seemed to be about to jump out of the paper.

Touching the shadowy figure slightly, it felt strangely warm, as if it were still alive.

The gossipy woman handed the paper to Li Siyu and then left her to discuss with Li Yiduo what kind of trick it was. After waiting for two minutes and seeing that the two were still talking, she bowed.

"Do you two believe in my abilities now? Since you've come to my Jingyue Nunnery, it's fate! And to say something you two may not like to hear, even if someone without problems came to the foot of Jingyue Mountain, they would never be able to enter my Jingyue Nunnery. I could tell from the first glance that you two are afflicted with misfortune! Is there some problem you can't find a solution to? I'll be frank here; it's not something ordinary people can solve!"

"..."

Li Siyu and Li Yiduo exchanged a glance, knowing that the real show was about to begin.

But the gossipy woman stopped there. It seemed she needed to see the visitor's sincerity first before considering how to obtain it.

"Ahem! To be honest, I met an older woman while I was traveling here. She noticed my troubles, which is why she directed me to your temple." Li Yiduo coughed and quickly came up with an explanation.

"I'm the only son in my family, so I hope that after I marry my girlfriend, we'll have a son! Don't even mention having a second child; legality aside, it'll only cause trouble over inheritance. I heard from that auntie that gossipy women have such methods, so I came here specifically to ask for a solution. Of course, I understand all the reasons, but as long as you can grant my wish, you'll be generous with the incense money. Just name your price, and I'll even recast the shrine to the spirit!"

"..."

Listening to Li Yiduo's nonsense, Li Siyu's face turned bright red; Lin Ge, who walked over from the prayer mat, also showed a speechless expression.

This guy... might not be making excuses!
"To have a son?"

After a moment's thought, the gossipy woman nodded and walked out first.

"Then come with me first. This is exactly what I, Jingyue'an, am good at."

"Does she need to come along too?"

As he reached the door, Li Yiduo looked at Li Siyu.

"That's natural."

"Oh!"

Li Yiduo nodded, then turned back and winked at Lin Ge. The rest depended on the cat. With the gossipy old woman tied up, it remained to be seen whether Mimi could uncover some special secrets from this Jingyue Nunnery.

"..."

Lin Ge squatted in the garden, quietly watching the gossipy old woman lead Li Yiduo and Li Siyu into the Three Emperors Hall at the back.

Having walked all the way from the temple to this place, Lin Ge was certain that there was no one else in the Jingyue Temple, or rather, that there was no one else hiding there at the moment.

The scent of medicine lingered in Jingyue Nunnery. Even with the incense smoke masking it, Lin Ge could tell that four or five people had recently visited, or rather, requested the gossipy nun to perform rituals for them. The woman he had met on the bus was one of them; the medicinal smell emanating from her was quite noticeable here. Lin Ge also caught a whiff of what might be the scent of a serial killer in the secret room where the rituals were performed, but he couldn't be sure.

To be honest, due to the time constraints, neither the murder scene nor the body disposal site left many odor traces. As for the bodies themselves, needless to say, once placed in the ice coffin, any remaining scents were already mixed together.

Furthermore, Ringo had no interest in smelling corpses; the sight was too shocking to his brain.

So after smelling a similar, but not necessarily conclusive, odor in the secret room, Lin Ge didn't act impulsively. Now that the gossipy old woman had been taken away, he could patiently continue his investigation to see if he could find concrete evidence.

"Speaking of that magic trick, how exactly was it done? Was it a visual illusion? Or some kind of weird chemical method?"

This was the first time Lin Ge had discovered something that could deceive his eyes, and since he hadn't dared to act rashly at the time, he truly couldn't guess how the gossipy old woman had managed it. It was definitely an illusion, certainly not some evil spirit being pulled out of her body. And the gossipy old woman certainly hadn't expected a cat to be so perceptive; she clearly saw the shadow flowing out from under the prayer mat, thus exposing the so-called evil spirit.

Li Siyu, Li Yiduo, and the gossipy old woman went to the Emperor's Palace, and Lin Ge didn't want to waste his time joining in the fun.

He strolled through the deserted Heavenly Emperor's Hall and Earthly Emperor's Hall, sniffing lightly as he went. He quickly discovered that these two places weren't frequented by many gossipy women; it seemed they only came here to discuss matters on occasions requiring rituals. Just as one would go to the Human Emperor's Hall to pray for a child, the Heavenly Emperor's Hall to pray for an official position, and the Earthly Emperor's Hall to pray for wealth—it was all logically predictable. As for whether they were actually related to the Heavenly Emperor and Earthly Emperor, superstition and history were two different things.

Lost in his thoughts, Lin Ge didn't notice anything unusual nearby. He then sneaked into the other courtyard through a side door and discovered that this was probably the gossipy woman's residence, as her scent was very strong inside.

The old-fashioned wooden door was closed but not locked. Lin Ge easily squeezed into the rightmost room and found it to be a storage room.

Inside, there were many incense sticks of various thicknesses and colors, each inscribed with different blessings. Next to them, a cardboard box contained various paper money, paper offerings, and similar items; the shipping labels on the box were still attached, indicating they were purchased wholesale in Urumqi. On another table, there were folded and unfolded gold and silver ingots, as well as paper figures and paper houses. Overall, it's clear that this gossipy woman is quite capable. Even without deceiving people, she could earn a living through various means; a single day of Qingming Festival might be worth a year's work for an average person.

Lin Ge found nothing suspicious in the room. The only thing he could smell was rats; he wondered how many scoundrels this Jingyue Nunnery had kept alive.

So he stepped out and carefully closed the door, then went to the middle room.

Upon entering, Lin Ge discovered it was the gossipy woman's bedroom, its luxurious decor a stark contrast to the Taoist temple. He even saw a massage chair, a bathtub, and an air conditioner, television, and refrigerator. On the bedside table, dozens of stacked gift boxes astonished him. The ginseng root on top was not only outrageously large, but also as thick as Lin Ge's hand—a rare find of unknown age. The other boxes contained similar precious medicinal herbs, and Lin Ge could even smell the strong, pungent aroma. Under the table, piled high were countless boxes of various health supplements, some even in gold packaging.

In addition, under the bed, Lin Ge also saw several boxes of aphrodisiacs, as well as several bottles and jars that had rolled to the very back.

"Did they really give all the money they swindled from those people to these fraudulent health products? Even the swindlers believe in health products, so who's really swindling whom? And... what's the deal with the aphrodisiacs? Who are they for?"

Lin Ge was both puzzled and speechless.

So far, he has only been able to confirm that the gossipy woman is a fraud, but he has not found any clear connection between her and the case he is currently handling.

Even the scent he had just caught wasn't very reliable for Lin Ge, so he could only hope to find something different in the room on the far right.

'beep……'

The phone on the collar connected and immediately hung up, clearly Li Siyu was secretly warning him.

It seems the gossipy woman didn't chatter with the two for too long. I wonder if she could convince them with just a few words that she had the means to make women give birth to sons 100% of the time.

Lin Ge didn't dare waste any time and quickly squeezed into the third room.

"!!!"

After entering, Lin Ge stood at the door, stunned and speechless.

In the center of the room stood a large, maroon altar, with a fierce ghost image hanging directly in front of it. The red candles on the altar were still burning, and the shadow of the image swayed in the gentle breeze from the slightly ajar door, making it seem as if it were about to come to life.

This sight startled Lin Ge, who never expected that the gossipy old woman would be worshipping such a terrifying thing behind her back.

The ghost in the portrait was emaciated, but its face was ferocious and it had six hands that were so thin they looked like only bones. Each hand was clutching a tiny person, and the portrait even depicted the person's screaming face, which sent chills down Lin Ge's spine.

Seeing this, the temperature in the room seemed to drop by more than ten degrees.

"Holy crap, what's going on?!"

Lin Ge shuddered, then turned to look around, faintly smelling a bloody odor. But upon closer inspection, he couldn't see anything bloody; the room contained only an altar and a portrait, the rest of it empty.

From this perspective, could it be that this is just a peculiar hobby of the gossipy woman herself?

Ringo pointed the constantly operating collar camera around the entire room before turning his attention back to the portrait.

This time, he finally realized something was wrong.

The ferocious ghost was standing in what appeared to be a cliff, its body suspended in mid-air, with a hand vaguely visible behind its head gripping the edge, making it seem as if it were flying in mid-air.

Of course this is not the point!
The key point is that this 'ghost' has a male organ that every man in the world envies, which looks like a python hanging from his crotch.

Lin Ge initially thought it was a snake because its mouth was open and facing upwards, as if it were about to devour something falling from the cliff. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was actually an organ, something even more incredible than Lao Ai.

(End of this chapter)