Kewen awkwardly said, "I also have professional confidentiality requirements, Chen buddy, please understand! Those things have nothing to do with me, and I don't want to know about them! Once those issues are resolved, your problem will be resolved too." Zhang Zhili pointed to the oiled paper bundle.
Still somewhat incredulous, Xiaoling had shot dead no fewer than twenty fugitives over the years. If there were any evil spirits involved, he would have been killed by them long ago. "What nonsense about corpse oil and charms! Isn't it just someone causing trouble? Maybe it's Zhang Zhili himself stirring things up? In the realm of quackery, concocting divine methods to deceive is all too common."
"So what do we do?" Xiaoling asked.
"First, burn the corpse oil paper and ghost money together!" Zhang Zhili said. Xiaoling immediately took out his lighter and tried to ignite the oiled paper, but no matter how long the flame lingered, it refused to catch fire. Even with Kewen's lighter, they couldn't get it to burn.
Zhang Zhili smiled and, using his left fingernail, cut his right index finger, wrote a series of characters with his own blood on Kewen's body, and then lit the lighter. This time, the oiled paper ignited with a greenish flame, quickly turning to ash along with the ghost money.
"Roll the bone in the ashes three times, covering it completely, then find any crossroads and burn it. You two need to go together, and no one else. Don't panic, just burn it at the intersection," Zhang Zhili instructed. Kewen immediately found a plastic bag in the car, wrapped the bone photo, and took his wife to the intersection to burn it. Xiaoling and Zhang Zhili stood outside the restaurant waiting. Xiaoling lit a cigarette, took a drag, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and squinted at Zhang Zhili.
Zhang Zhili chuckled, "You're quite clever! Seeing is not believing, so you had to come up with a conspiracy theory. Haven't you falsified many cases over the years?"
Xiaoling's eyes glinted, "What you see with your own eyes may not be true! I've lived for over thirty years, and I don't believe in these feudal superstitions! What about you?" Zhang Zhili asked.
Xiaoling patted his waist where his gun was holstered, "Absolute power."
"Are you sure this is absolute power?" Zhang Zhili spoke as his hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Xiaoling's gun. In the blink of an eye, the gun was in Zhang Zhili's hand, the bullet loaded, and aimed back at his own head, all in a split second.
"Such speed!" Xiaoling barely had time to think before a gunshot rang out. "Ah!" Xiaoling cursed involuntarily as he saw Zhang Zhili's right hand casually stop at his own temple.
"Is this guy crazy?" Xiaoling was petrified, his expression frozen, forgetting to even take the cigarette out of his mouth.
The next moment, Zhang Zhili slowly extended his right hand, and there, in the palm of his hand, was the bullet. "It seems that even your idea of absolute power is not so absolute! Do you think I need to fear a mere gang leader?" Zhang Zhili tossed the bullet and gun back into Xiaoling's arms.
Xiaoling hurriedly caught them, trembling slightly with the bullet in his hand, unable to move for a moment.
Xiaoling didn't know when Zhang Zhili had returned to the private room. Until Kewen and his wife returned from burning the corpse oil, Xiaoling stood trembling outside the restaurant, still trapped in the fear of ghostly oil, severed bones, and mysterious oiled paper bundles.
Kewen took the severed bone to the crossroads, thinking it would take some effort to burn it, but to his surprise, it ignited with just a flick of the lighter. While the paper burned quickly, the bone burned even faster. After it was burned, the couple felt a sudden sense of relief, and Kewen's mood improved considerably. He slapped Xiaoling on the shoulder, "Hey, I didn't realize you were such a coward!"
Xiaoling snapped out of it, only to realize that the cigarette in his mouth had burned down and he hastily spat out the butt, trembling as he took out the bullet and showed it to Kewen.
"Bro, do you know this guy? He's not human!" Kewen looked at the bullet puzzled, "What nonsense are you talking about? Have you been possessed too?" Kewen patted Xiaoling's head.
"It's true! He's even more impressive than the instructor we met in the special training battalion back then!"
The awe and admiration in Xiaoling's eyes finally convinced Kewen. He picked up the still slightly warm bullet and, after a moment's hesitation, said, "Report to the special forces. This man is untouchable. Don't offend him, and try to make friends! Li Baofeng is finished!"
Thinking about today's events, Kewen shook his head. He thought of Shen Hong and couldn't help feeling a little envious. The old guy was really lucky to have made friends with such a character! Medical skills? Occultism? Martial arts? Such a genius, if he doesn't commit ten unforgivable crimes, he's destined to be a figure who soars to the clouds at the first sign of a storm! Even if the dragon is in shallow water, it can still form friendships! But when the dragon soars nine days, he'll be a figure they can't reach! Kewen began to scheme in his heart!
After dinner with Kewen, Zhang Zhili leisurely returned home to Tang. As he walked to the door, Zhang Zhili chuckled to himself, fearing that his mother-in-law would explode with anger at home again, but he could understand. However, his conflicts with Chen Yaoyang and Li Baofeng were irreconcilable, and he was confident in resolving them. But Zhang Yuehong was another matter; he didn't have the same confidence in dealing with her.
The Tang family were all in the living room.
As soon as Zhang Zhili entered, Zhang Yuehong jumped up, "Zhang Zhili, are you trying to get our whole family killed? You've offended Brother Bao again, and even let them attack the Tang family's plantation! You..."
Just as Tang Dapeng was about to speak up for Zhang Zhili, Zhang Yuehong pointed at him angrily, "Don't cover up for him. Tang Xinghuai called me and told me everything!"
Zhang Zhili furrowed his brows slightly, "I'll move out today. I'll resolve the issue myself and won't drag you all into it."
"What?" Zhang Yuehong was stunned.
She had prepared a whole string of accusations, but they all choked back at Zhang Zhili's words.
Tang Dapeng glared at Zhang Yuehong, "Zhili, she didn't mean it like that! Don't be impulsive!"
Zhang Zhili shook his head, "Mother-in-law is right. I've caused trouble for you all, it's my fault. I'll resolve it as soon as possible."
"Oh!" Zhang Yuehong came to her senses, getting angrier, "You... you think you can just leave like that?!"
Not wanting to argue, Zhang Zhili went straight to his room.
Tang Dapeng gave Tang Yanran a meaningful look.
Tang Yanran quickly followed him into the room, only to see Zhang Zhili really packing his things.
"My mom was just scared, so she said those things!" Tang Yanran explained.
"I know, I'm not blaming her. But living together is indeed not convenient," Zhang Zhili paused and looked at Tang Yanran, "If you're willing, we can move out together."
Tang Yanran instinctively took a step back, with a hint of irritation in her helplessness, "Do you have to be so stubborn? Where can we even move to? Rent a house?"
"My mom just talks a lot, what malicious intent could she have? Back then, Uncle Tang only agreed to protect you if we paid him two million! My mom was willing to take it out!"
"You can only see her faults, can't you see her good intentions? I've checked, my senior sister is responsible for reviewing the exam materials for the Traditional Chinese Medicine Specialty Exam at the Municipal Health Commission. It's not easy to offend her, and dealing with the exam is also very difficult. What's the point of being mad at my mom? Offending Chen Yaoyang plus Brother Bao, I think it's better to listen to Dad and go out to hide for a while!"
"I've said it before, I'm not blaming her! You don't need to worry about the exam, Ding Lan can't stop my plans!"
Zhang Zhili chuckled self-deprecatingly. In these past few days after recovering from his illness, his relationship with Tang Yanran still hadn't thawed, perhaps because of the continuous stream of incidents. And also because Tang Yanran always held a bias against him. A real man should repay kindness and retaliate against enmity!
From the bottom of his heart, Zhang Zhili acknowledged the kindness of the Tang family towards him, but he was a little tired of Zhang Yuehong's nagging. As for Tang Yanran, he was willing to leave a line of opportunity. But if Tang Yanran continued to behave this way, he didn't mind cutting off their relationship and compensating the Tang family in other ways.
Zhang Zhili casually packed up his clothes and walked out of the bedroom.
Tang Dapeng and Zhang Yuehong were still in the living room, both wearing expressions of disbelief as they watched Zhang Zhili really leave.
"You... you're really leaving?"