Good. Seeing Master Gu's imposing presence, honed from years in the corporate world, easily subdue the ghost doll, Haoyun knew that the operation to capture Liu Erwa had been successfully completed. Now, the task was to understand why Liu Erwa had come here and how to extract the mold spirit energy from him and bring him to justice.

"Liu Erwa, this is Master Gu, the Chief Executor of the Land Yin Spirit Realm. We've all come here specifically for your case. But rest assured, as long as you cooperate with our investigation, Master Gu won't actually harm you. If you behave well, maybe I'll even intercede for you with Master Gu to go easy on you. Do you understand?" Haoyun asked the ghost doll, Liu Erwa.

Liu Erwa now resembled a child being scolded by an adult, occasionally glancing fearfully at the stern-faced Master Gu, while nodding repeatedly to indicate his understanding of Haoyun's words.

"Erwa understands. Erwa is willing to tell the three adults everything he knows. Erwa only hopes that the adults won't let me lose my soul. I still want to find my mom and dad. Erwa knows he's wrong," Liu Erwa said pitifully, pointing in the direction of the bedroom.

"Don't worry, I promise you in the name of the Land Yin Messenger that as long as you cooperate with our work, we will absolutely not let you lose your soul," Haoyun gestured for Liu Erwa to shift his gaze back from the bedroom where Xiao Yong and Xu Fang were, while speaking slowly and emphatically.

Seemingly believing Haoyun's words, Liu Erwa reluctantly redirected his gaze to the three officials from the Land Yin Spirit Realm, speaking respectfully, "Yes, sir. Please go ahead. Erwa will definitely report everything he knows truthfully to the three adults and won't dare to conceal anything."

"First of all, they are not your mom and dad," Dao Lao pointed towards the direction of the bedroom, getting straight to the point, "You should be well aware that you are a soul from another world, and both your real parents have already died in that world. I know the people in the bedroom resemble your deceased parents greatly. However, you should understand that in this world, there are many different timelines. In these timelines, it's not uncommon to find living beings who look similar. So, you shouldn't blindly assume that the two people in the bedroom are your parents reincarnated."

Though Haoyun wasn't sure if Liu Erwa understood Dao Lao's explanation, given that he was only a year and a half old as a ghost soul, from Liu Erwa's slightly disappointed expression, it seemed that he was aware that Xiao Yong and Xu Fang weren't his parents reincarnated.

In a saddened tone, Liu Erwa said, "Actually, Erwa also knows that the possibility of them being the reincarnation of my biological parents is very small. But, unfortunately, Erwa was accidentally killed by the enemy's stray bullets, and my parents sacrificed themselves to fight the invaders. This made me feel both helpless and angry."

"Then, when the Soul Guides extradited our souls, I was told that because I was still a young soul, I had to be extradited separately from my parents' souls. At that time, I felt extremely helpless and frightened because I knew that after this separation, I might never see my parents again. And then, I felt very unlucky, as if I were the unluckiest child in the world."

"My father said he would take me fishing by the creek on my second birthday. My mother said she would make a birthday cake for me herself. But, one misfortune after another happened around us. We died just like that. I still remember the scene of my father dying in battle. I still remember the scene of my despairing mother hugging my lifeless body and throwing us both into the well. I'm scared. I don't want to be separated from my parents. I want to lie in my parents' arms, play, and listen to them sing and tell stories to me. My request is so simple. Can't even this little request be fulfilled?"

Liu Erwa spoke with a desolate and helpless expression on his lifeless face.

Listening to Liu Erwa's story, Haoyun's heart was filled with mixed emotions. However, at the same time, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Because, as he had guessed, Liu Erwa had not come here to cause trouble. With this realization, Master Gu and the others had no reason to solve the problem of Liu Erwa by directly resorting to killing him.

Dao Lao was also pleased that Haoyun had correctly guessed Liu Erwa's situation. However, in the system chat, he kept praising Haoyun's calm analytical ability in handling the task for the first time while urging Master Gu to transfer money to him.

"Transfer money? What money?" Haoyun asked in the system channel, puzzled.

"Oh, that's right. Judge Yan, Old Dao, and I had a bet before." Master Gu replied wearily.

"A bet? What bet?" Haoyun asked again.

"The three of us bet on whether your judgment and analysis of Liu Erwa's situation were correct. We bet on how long you could hold out when facing Liu Erwa alone in this operation before we had to step in to help. Ah! As a result, that Old Dao guy had such good luck! He actually won all the bets!" Master Gu said somewhat irritably.

"That's just useless talk! It's my skill! I have a keen eye for talent, and I know my recruits the best! Hey! Let's get one thing straight! You can't back out of this!" Dao Lao retorted angrily.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"No! I'm applying for a reconsideration of this competition! I need to find out first whether you two colluded before the match. Are you cheating?" Master Gu said indignantly.

Haoyun looked at the two old men with a black line on his face, his mouth twitching a few times. So, while he was risking his life to carry out the mission alone, these three old guys were actually betting on his life behind the scenes? So, the real reason behind their agreement to let him make initial contact with Liu Erwa was to place bets?

Facing Master Gu's questioning, Dao Lao protested and even countered. Seeing this, Haoyun slapped Dao Lao on the back of his head and said, "Enough! I'm telling you both to stop it! We're here doing serious business!"

Liu Erwa looked at Haoyun in confusion, not understanding what the three adults were doing. However, seeing the other two adults retreat under Haoyun's momentum, Liu Erwa couldn't help but doubt Haoyun's true identity. Could it be that this young big brother, with his commanding presence, was an even bigger leader than that terrifying Chief Executor and the other adult?

Watching as the three adults left him aside, with no response to his story, Liu Erwa believed that what he had revealed was not enough to move them to show mercy. Moreover, mentioning the invaders who killed his parents filled him with a inexplicable anger. Thus, Liu Erwa spoke again, his tone becoming more urgent, "Three esteemed adults, Erwa knows I was wrong! Can you spare my life? I don't want to die, I want to find my parents! Waaah...Damn it! It's all those despicable invaders! They killed my parents! I, I will never forgive them! I must avenge them!"

As Liu Erwa spoke, his emotions began to escalate hysterically. And in his empty eye sockets, flames of anger ignited once again.

"Liu Erwa! Calm down! Otherwise, we'll really have to seal you up forcibly and take you back for eternal confinement!" Seeing Liu Erwa's sudden emotional outburst, Haoyun quickly intervened with a loud voice.

Having experienced Haoyun's prowess just now, and seeing Master Gu, the Chief Executor of the Land Yin Spirit Realm, staring at him with a stern gaze, Liu Erwa, upon hearing Haoyun's warning, struggled to suppress the anger in his heart. He then bowed repeatedly, apologizing, "Yes, I'm sorry. It's just that talking about my parents being killed earlier made Erwa lose control of my emotions for a moment. Please spare my life, esteemed adults, please don't kill me."

Haoyun waved his hand, signaling Liu Erwa to calm down, then asked, "How come you summoned the malevolent energy within you while you were speaking?"

"Reporting to the esteemed adult, Erwa is also not sure. Erwa just feels that there is a powerful force within my body. Although Erwa can freely control this force, when Erwa's emotions are unstable, this force will burst out uncontrollably on its own." Liu Erwa answered carefully.

"Are you saying that you can control the malevolent energy within you?" Haoyun asked in surprise.

"Oh, so this force is called malevolent energy." Liu Erwa said with realization, "Actually, I can't completely control this power. It's just that when I'm very angry, or feel very unlucky and wronged, I can inexplicably sense a very powerful force within me that I can wield."

"Like the demonic form you showed just now?" Haoyun asked.

"Yes, that's right. I was suddenly imprisoned here, unable to go anywhere, and even more unable to return to my parents' side. I was angry and anxious, so I had the idea of eliminating you, esteemed adult. Because as long as I eliminate you, I can escape this imprisonment and return to my parents' side." Liu Erwa looked embarrassedly at Haoyun, then glanced back at the bedroom behind him.

Although Liu Erwa admitted that the probability of Xiao Yong and Xu Fang being his parents reincarnated was extremely low, Haoyun could still feel that Liu Erwa had formed an attachment to Xiao Yong and Xu Fang that was hard to let go of.

"So, what is the relationship between you and the malevolent energy within you now? Have you merged with it?" Dao Lao asked a crucial question at this point.

"Merged?" Liu Erwa scratched his head, pondering. He seemed to not quite understand the meaning of "merged."

"This power resides in my body like a parasite. It feels somewhat weak and always maintains a certain distance from me." Liu Erwa tried to feel the power within his body and then continued uncertainly.

"Are you saying that you haven't completely fused with the malevolent energy within you?" Haoyun asked again.

"Oh, I see. Actually, I can't completely control this power. It's just that when I'm very angry, or feel very unlucky and wronged, I can inexplicably sense a very powerful force within me that I can wield."

"If the malevolent energy and Liu Erwa were to merge, what would happen then? Does that mean they can never be separated again?" Haoyun asked.

"Yes, that's right. Once merged, they would become a complete entity. Liu Erwa is just a little demon transformed from a young soul. Even if the malevolent energy is weak now, it doesn't fancy merging with such a weak entity. Moreover, if they were truly merged, then our only option would be to capture the malevolent energy by killing Liu Erwa." Dao Lao replied.

Hearing Dao Lao's words, Haoyun couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: fortunately, they hadn't merged.

"By the way, Old Dao, didn't you say that malevolent energy is usually very powerful? Then why did Liu Erwa say that the malevolent energy within him is very weak?" Haoyun asked.

"Perhaps it's because the malevolent energy had just exerted itself in a battle before invading Liu Erwa. Perhaps it escaped from the hands of another Soul Hunter priest. Anyway, once we capture it and bring it to justice, we can naturally find out why it's so weak." Dao Lao explained to Haoyun in the system channel.

Haoyun nodded, then spoke again, "Liu Erwa, do you remember how you ended up like this?"

"Um..." After pondering for a moment, Erwa earnestly replied, "I remember, it was because my parents disguised themselves as a group of refugees to gather intelligence on the enemy's whereabouts, which got exposed. That's what led to us being pursued by the enemy. With the help of a squad rushing to our aid, we fled all the way, but the enemy's pursuit was too swift. We hadn't gone far when we were trapped in an abandoned small village."

"Both sides then engaged in a fierce battle. Our squad tried to stop the enemy's advance as much as possible while waiting for reinforcements from the rear. Because of the immense value of the intelligence my parents intercepted, the enemy also deployed a large number of troops in the pursuit. The enemy quickly surrounded the village, and under their intense attack, our squad suffered heavy casualties, making it difficult for us to hold on."