PD -Chapter 3 Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

From a physics perspective, every object has its own unique bioelectromagnetic field. As for supernatural entities, many of them possess powerful bioelectric currents that generate strong electromagnetic wave reactions, which can be easily detected by an EMF meter.

That’s why this kind of detector is excellent at locating or tracking malevolent entities and is considered essential equipment in our line of work.

In fact, its function is similar to the compass often carried by ghost-hunting Taoist priests in Hong Kong movies.

The needle inside a feng shui compass is made from magnetized material. Besides identifying auspicious and inauspicious directions based on trigrams and constellations, it can also detect changes in magnetic fields through abnormal movements of the needle, as well as the frequency and intensity of those movements.

With a sigh, I switched off the detector and scanned the room. Then I gave Tang Shanshan a meaningful look, and we left the bedroom for the living room, where I called Liu Xiaopeng over.

Once the three of us were standing together, I lowered my voice and said to Tang Shanshan, “The detector picked up an extremely strong magnetic field in your bedroom. It looks like the shadow you saw is still hiding somewhere in there.”

Tang Shanshan’s face immediately turned pale.

“What do we do then? Hurry up and find it!”

I shook my head slightly and revealed a mysterious smile.

“We’re not going to look for it. We’re going to make it come looking for us.”

Tang Shanshan clearly didn’t understand what I meant and was about to ask when Liu Xiaopeng explained beside her:

“What the boss means is that we’re setting a trap—drawing the snake out of its hole.”

Tang Shanshan still had no idea what kind of trap we were talking about and looked at us suspiciously.

I walked straight into her kitchen, found an unopened bag of salt in one of the cabinets, filled a small basin with tap water, and dissolved the salt into it. Carrying the basin of saltwater, I returned to the bedroom and placed it beneath Tang Shanshan’s bed.

I pulled the curtains shut so tightly that not a single ray of light could enter the room. Then I draped her blanket over the window for extra coverage, turned on the air conditioner, set it to the lowest possible temperature, and finally closed the bedroom door.

Afterward, I signaled to Tang Shanshan and Liu Xiaopeng that we should continue the discussion outside.

Together, Liu Xiaopeng and I set up three cameras—one in the living room, one in the bedroom, and one in the kitchen—before pressing the record buttons.

During the process, I instructed Tang Shanshan to return to her room and bring out the cosmetics, perfume, and a set of clothes she normally used.

Although she didn’t understand why, my serious expression convinced her that I wasn’t joking around, so she complied.

Once everything was prepared, the three of us returned to the Spirit Communication Design Agency.

After closing the door, I took the clothes and perfume from Tang Shanshan’s hands and passed them to Liu Xiaopeng.

“Little Liu, whether this succeeds or fails depends entirely on you. Hurry up and get changed.”

As I spoke, I shoved the outfit into his hands.

It was a pink dress.

Holding the dress and a bottle of perfume, Liu Xiaopeng wore a pained expression.

“Boss, I understand that you want me to be the bait, and I’ve accepted that. But this dress… isn’t that asking a little too much?”

I frowned and shot him a glare.

“Why are you talking so much nonsense? Didn’t you say you could summon the Nine Sons of the Dragon? If you really could do that, you’d have already wiped out whatever’s in Miss Tang’s apartment. Would we need to go through all this trouble?”

Seeing that I had once again grabbed hold of his favorite boast, Liu Xiaopeng’s attitude immediately softened.

Without giving him time to think, I continued:

“You’ve got two choices. Either put on the dress and be a good bait…”

“Or summon one of the Dragon’s Nine Sons and have it destroy that thing for me.”

Faced with my unwavering attitude, Liu Xiaopeng could only sigh and head inside to change.

Throughout the entire exchange, Tang Shanshan watched us in complete confusion. She had no idea what sort of trap we were plotting and finally couldn’t hold back her curiosity.

“You’ve been messing around in my house doing who-knows-what, and now you’re making Liu Xiaopeng wear my clothes. What exactly are you trying to do?”

I smiled mysteriously.

“Since that shadow refuses to leave your home, regardless of what it is or what its purpose may be, its target is obviously you. So I had Xiao Liu put on your clothes and disguise himself as you. The idea is to lure the shadow out. That way, we won’t need to search for it—it’ll reveal itself on its own.”

After listening, Tang Shanshan seemed unconvinced.

Frowning, she said, “With the way Liu Xiaopeng looks, how could he possibly pass for me? Besides, don’t ghosts only come out at night? How could it appear in broad daylight?”

I shook my head and explained further.

“Yin entities—the things you call ghosts—can’t actually distinguish between day and night. What they sense is the balance of yin and yang energy around them.

During the day, there are many people around, and yang energy is strong, so they naturally don’t dare act recklessly. At night, darkness falls, temperatures drop, yin energy becomes abundant, and they can move about freely.

So even during the daytime, if we can artificially create an environment where yin energy gathers within a confined space, these entities will assume that night has arrived and come out on their own.”

“And unlike us, they’re not visual creatures. They don’t identify people by appearance but by scent.”

I paused before adding:

“In that regard, they’re actually a bit like dogs. That’s why I had Xiao Liu wear your clothes and spray on your perfume. The shadow will mistake him for you and proceed with whatever it intended to do next.”

“As for the basin of saltwater…”

I thought for a moment before continuing.

“Put simply, salt is considered an extremely pure yang substance. Sea salt is formed when seawater crystallizes under prolonged exposure to sunlight.

And even well salt is a highly pure crystal created through long-term natural mineral processes.

Those malevolent entities don’t truly belong to this world. Their very existence runs contrary to the laws and order of nature.

So these pure natural crystals are a common weakness among them. Once that thing shows itself, Xiao Liu’s first job is to drench it with the basin of saltwater.”

After some thought, I gave Tang Shanshan a general explanation of my plan.

As for the key details and theories regarding salt, they all came from records contained within the Records of Heavenly Mysteries Revealed. I had simplified the methods of exorcism described there and combined them with my own understanding, presenting them in terms she could understand.

The actual principles recorded in the book were far more complicated than my explanation. Even if I explained them in full, she probably wouldn’t understand anyway.

As we were talking, Liu Xiaopeng finally emerged.

The pink dress looked especially ridiculous on a man nearly six feet tall. The fabric clung tightly to his body, making his broad shoulders and sturdy frame appear even more exaggerated. The sight was absolutely comical.

Tang Shanshan and I exchanged a glance, both struggling to suppress our laughter.

Then I found a scarf, draped it over Liu Xiaopeng’s head, waved my hand, and said:

“Operation begins. Let’s move out!”