Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 457 Ghost Catcher 18

Yun Chu didn't make any unnecessary movements. Her eyes, in the dim light, became even sharper, like a blade tempered by ice.

The nearly extinguished silver bracelet on her wrist suddenly trembled slightly. She took a deep breath, ignoring the dark red oil stain on the floor and the faint scraping sounds outside the door. Instead, she took a step forward and stood half a step in front of Liu Huajun.

"It hunts by 'echo,'" Yun Chu's voice was low and steady, as if stating a simple physical theorem. "The smoke is just a veneer; it's using its lingering 'hunger' to weave a trap. The real core lies deep within the furnace."

Yun Chu raised his left hand, and the silver bracelet on his wrist began to emit a faint ice-blue light again, but the light no longer flowed. Instead, it stretched out like a living vine, reaching out to the enamel incense burner on the stainless steel table.

This time, the light thread did not touch the furnace body, but hovered above the gap, slowly rotating like a radar scan.

At the same time, the condensation dew spray bottle in Yun Chu's right hand did not spray. She just pointed the bottle mouth at the furnace cover, as if holding an invisible key.

In the air, faint gray smoke rose again, trying to escape from the gap in the furnace cover, but was silently intercepted by the ice-blue light threads - they were no longer in the previous attack form, but were pulled and torn by the light threads, turning into finer energy fragments and dissipating.

Yun Chu's face turned slightly pale, obviously under tremendous pressure, but she moved without hesitation.

Suddenly, the silver bracelet shone brightly!

A muffled, inhuman roar came from within the furnace, as if being pulled by invisible chains.

The dark red stains on the ground began to fluctuate violently, and actually crawled towards Liu Huajun's feet like a living thing!

Yun Chu moved almost at the same time - she no longer saved the condensed dew, and a thick white mist accurately covered the stains on the ground.

A violent "sizzling" sound came from the mist, and the oily gloss was instantly frozen and cracked. But this was not enough.

"Captain Liu!" Yun Chu shouted, his eyes blazing. "Now is the time! Use your 'Qi' to lure it—don't be afraid! It wants you, so give it a false impression!"

Liu Huajun understood what he meant.

He gritted his teeth, no longer suppressing his fear and anger, but took a step towards the stove.

That step on the frozen stain actually stirred up an invisible energy ripple.

In an instant, all the escaping gray smoke rushed towards Liu Huajun like a magnet—but a second before it touched his police uniform, Yun Chu suddenly turned the bottle mouth towards the gap in the furnace lid! She poured all the remaining condensate into the furnace.

"Seal!" Yun Chu shouted, and the blue light of the silver bracelet exploded like a star, pouring into the gap together with the gushing cold mist!

The furnace vibrated violently, and a sharp scream exploded from the depths before stopping abruptly.

The stains on the floor dried and crumbled, turning to ash. The last wisp of twisted smoke around the stove dissipated, leaving only an empty coldness.

Yun Chu staggered a step, and the silver bracelet dimmed completely.

Sweat soaked her hair, but her eyes remained clear. She looked at Liu Huajun and shook her head gently, "It's been suppressed for now. But this isn't the end... The furnace is its cage, but also its lair. To fully capture this 'beast,' we need to know who forged this cage and who opened the breach."

Of course, for Yun Chu, killing this "beast" is very easy, but she wants to know who is the mastermind behind it!

So Yun Chu spared the life of this little thing for the time being.

In the corridor, the sound of nails scraping against metal seemed to fade away. In the dim light, the incense burner stood quietly, like an ancient tombstone.

The air in the analysis room seemed to freeze, leaving only the heavy breathing of everyone. And a bigger hunt had just begun...

Yun Chu's suggestion passed through the analysis room like a cold electric current.

Liu Huajun immediately picked up the intercom, his voice hoarse from tension, "Physical Evidence Department! Immediately check all recent logistics receipt records and visitor registrations for the home of Zhao Qiming, the victim of the Jinxiu Huating massacre, especially those related to antiques!"

"Focus on investigating the source of this... copper-based cloisonné enamel incense burner, roughly the size of a human head! Report any unusual activity to me immediately!"

After the order was given, the room fell into a ready silence.

The incense burner was as quiet as a dead object on the operating table, and the charred stain on the floor emitted a faint fishy smell.

The technicians found a spare emergency light, and the dim light barely dispelled the absolute darkness, but it cast longer shadows in the corners and behind objects.

Yun Chu leaned against the cold wall, closed his eyes slightly and regulated his breathing (pretending to be very strenuous).

Liu Huajun stared at the door sharply, his gun always in his hand.

Zhang Qiang seemed a little anxious. He paced in the corner of the room and occasionally stole glances at the strange incense burner.

Time flowed by in a state of repression. After an unknown amount of time, the internal phone suddenly rang, breaking the silence. Everyone was startled.

"Captain Liu! We've found it!" The technician's voice was filled with incredible excitement. "Three days ago... just two days before the incident, Zhao Qiming's wife signed for an anonymous package. There was no sender information, and the signature record was 'furnace'."

"The security camera captured the package box, and it matched the exact size! The deliveryman said it was a young man wearing a hood and a mask, and he paid in cash!"

"Anonymous package..." Liu Huajun chewed over these words, his eyes as cold as ice. "Investigate! Draw me a portrait of this person! Check all nearby surveillance cameras! No..."

Before he finished speaking, Yun Chu suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze darting towards the incense burner. "It's reviving!" she said in a steady voice.

As if to confirm her words, a barely perceptible wisp of gray smoke, lighter than before, emerged from the gap in the stove cover, trembling like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue.

Then, the entire furnace vibrated extremely slightly, making a teeth-grinding metallic humming sound that only those with extremely keen senses could detect.

The stains on the ground seemed to have become a little darker.

"Damn it!" Zhang Qiang cursed and subconsciously wanted to draw his gun.

"Don't panic!" Liu Huajun held him down, forcibly suppressing the uneasiness in his heart. "Its power is far less than before. Yun Gong, how long do we have left?"

"The 'ice' that's suppressing it is melting," Yun Chu said. "It's more cunning and more eager than expected. We must find out who pried open its cage!"

Yun Chu quickly pulled out a palm-sized dark wooden box from the heavy tool kit. The box itself was engraved with fine runes.

She then took out several hair-thin metal threads that shone faintly with silver light, and a small magnet that was slightly larger than a needle tip and completely black. Finally, she carefully took out a small bottle of dark yellow powder.

"Officer Zhang!" Yun Chu looked at Zhang Qiang. "I need you to find something right away. The more the better, fresh, unused incense ash! Anything from ordinary temples, Taoist temples, or even funeral homes will do!"