"Why don't you just die!" The woman grabbed Cui Shitou's clothes and started hitting him relentlessly. Cui Shitou hung his head without saying a word. She was furious; her eldest son was gone, and her youngest was soon to follow. She had nothing left.

Her nails scratched Cui Shitou's face, drawing blood. He whispered, "Stop hitting me." The woman slapped his face, "I want to beat you to death! You owe me my son's life!"

She cried hysterically, and Cui Shitou suddenly pushed her away. "I said stop hitting me! I was trying to save Pengpeng too! I did it for Pengpeng!"

The woman suddenly stopped her actions and collapsed onto the floor, wailing. The police came in and took her away. Qin Feng pulled out a chair and sat across from Cui Shitou, whose face was bleeding and looked dazed. "My Pengpeng is dying. Leukemia is incurable. He's leaving us. I had no other choice. My Pengpeng..."

"You killed Cui Yang to prolong your younger son's life? This is ignorant and feudal superstition. Killing Cui Yang won't change your younger son's fate."

"It's not superstition!" Cui Shitou looked up, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Qin Feng. "If you hadn't dug up Cui Yang, my child would have been saved. You don't understand anything! You killed my child!"

As he spoke, he lunged at Qin Feng. Given the limited conditions, he was only handcuffed. Qin Feng suddenly stood up and pinned the old man down on the table. He signaled the officers behind him to leave, disregarding proper procedure.

Cui Shitou screamed and struggled, but Qin Feng held him down with one hand.

"Chief?"

"He won't cause any trouble," Qin Feng said. "I need to ask him some things alone."

"Alright then."

Once the door was closed, Qin Feng walked around the table, lifted Cui Shitou, and pressed him into a chair. He placed his hand on Cui Shitou's shoulder, staring into his eyes. "Who told you about the life extension ritual

"I want to go back to my hometown," Lin Fan said, putting down her chopsticks and looking out at the bustling crowd outside the window. After a moment, she looked back at Qin Feng. "I'll wait here for the road to open; it shouldn't take long."

Qin Feng frowned, "There's no one left in your family. What's the point of going back? Are you looking for the ghost-repelling talisman?"

Qin Feng thought he might already understand the function of the ghost-repelling talisman. The serial heart-extraction case in Jiangcheng had given him some clues, and now this case had another label: life extension.

Lin Fan nodded.

"I think I already know the function of the ghost-repelling talisman. There's no need to look for it."

Lin Fan bit her lip for a moment, then suddenly reached out and touched Qin Feng's hand. She suppressed her trembling and stared at Qin Feng's face. "Do you believe me?"

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Her bright, clear eyes shone. Qin Feng wrapped her hand in his palm. "Don't go to Shiliang Village again; it's not good for you."

"Why?"

Qin Feng released Lin Fan's hand, paid the bill, and walked out of the small restaurant. Lin Fan followed him. Qin Feng put his hands in his pockets and walked ahead, his gaze distant. "You've been possessed by a ghost."

Lin Fan was shocked and stopped in her tracks.

The small town's streets were desolate, leaves trembling in the wind, making rustling sounds.

From a distance, Qin Feng looked into Lin Fan's eyes. "Your body might have—some issues."

Lin Fan swallowed, her teeth chattering.

"I don't know what's in your hometown, but if there's something affecting your body..." He frowned, his face looking grim. "What will you do? Can you survive?"

Lin Fan pressed her lips tightly together, her face pale. The wind blew her hair across her face.

After a long stare, Lin Fan spoke, "Do you believe in life extension?"

Qin Feng remained silent, his dark eyes heavy.

Lin Fan walked up to Qin Feng. "I didn't believe it at first either, but someone told me my life was extended. Do you think I should believe it?"

Qin Feng frowned.

"I want to go home and figure it out, then I'll come find you."

Cui Shitou extended his life by killing someone, so how did Lin Fan's life get extended? If life extension was real, what did that make her?

"Brother Qin." Lin Fan smiled. "It's nice to meet you. I don't have many friends."

Qin Feng remained silent. A farm vehicle drove by, kicking up dust. Lin Fan coughed as she spoke, "If it's my fault, I'll repay—"

Qin Feng pulled Lin Fan close and brushed her lips with his, making her eyes widen. He quickly released her, his hand gripping her arm. His voice lowered, "Don't!"

Lin Fan's mind went blank. She stared at him, her heart pounding.

"I'm not just a friend." Qin Feng pulled the dazed Lin Fan into his arms and smoothed her hair. "Listen to my arrangements."

Lin Fan's face was burning. She opened her mouth, "Qin Feng?"

"Not calling me Brother Qin anymore?" Qin Feng's voice was low, with a hint of a smile.

Lin Fan made a sound and grabbed his clothes, lowering her head without speaking. Qin Feng said, "Whatever you need to investigate, I'll accompany you."

No matter what she was, since Qin Feng had promised to protect her, he would do so until the end.

Lin Fan looked up at him. Qin Feng's chin had grown stubble, the lines of his jaw were hard. He wasn't a particularly gentle person. When they first met, he had been cold and stern, but he was the only one who believed Lin Fan and didn't think she was talking nonsense.

At four in the afternoon, the county police took Cui Shitou and his wife back to the county. The road was cleared, and Qin Feng and Lin Fan drove to their destination. By the time they reached the town, it was dark. Lin Fan looked out the window, her gaze deepening.

"Should we stay in town or head straight to your house?"

"It's a two-hour drive."

"Then let's go."

In the deep mountain forest, there were no lights, and the night was pitch black. The car's headlights illuminated the endless road ahead.

"I went to middle school in the town and had to run over ten miles through the mountains."

As the car rounded a bend, Qin Feng glanced at Lin Fan. "Did you go to high school in the county?"

"Yes."

"Your father had money. Why didn't he take you to Jiangcheng?"

Lin Fan smiled and opened the window, letting the cool wind blow in. She looked into the endless darkness. "He had a wife and never raised me. My grandmother brought me up."

"Your grandmother—" Qin Feng paused, then asked, "How did she pass away?"

"Esophageal cancer." Lin Fan rested her arm on the window, the wind blowing her hair back, revealing her smooth forehead. "My grandmother was my mother's mother. My father was adopted by my grandmother. After my mother died, he rarely came back."

Qin Feng also opened his window. He took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep breath. Holding the steering wheel, he made a wide turn, the car's headlights lighting up the opposite mountain.

"Who told you your life was extended?"

Lin Fan bit her lip. "Ouyang Yu."

"Ouyang Yu?" Qin Feng nearly drove the car into a ditch. He quickly corrected the direction and glanced back at her. "When did you get involved with Ouyang Yu? How did he know to tell you these things?"