Chapter 51: Three Souls United into One, Cat Corpse Escapes

Hu Tiangang, who had been sitting at the desk waiting for the phone call, felt extremely anxious in his heart. He thought to himself why his second brother's competence was getting worse and worse—it had taken him so long just to find the three-sided wealth positions.

He felt a deep sense of frustration that his second brother failed to live up to expectations. Had the Hu family's background not been so profound, the man probably wouldn't have even managed to join the Mystic Arts Association, let alone become the president of the Qingzhou Mystic Arts Association.

After a long wait, the phone finally rang, and he hurriedly picked it up.

Upon learning that the exact spots where the three animal carcasses were hung were indeed the three-sided wealth positions, Hu Tiangang's expression suddenly turned grave, and he said in an extremely solemn tone, "Second brother, if I am not mistaken, this should be the forbidden folk mystic art known as the 'Three Corpses Blocking Wealth'."

"What?!"

"You—you're saying this is the long-lost forbidden folk mystic art, the Three Corpses Blocking Wealth?!"

"Exactly!"

Hu Tianzheng was utterly shocked. He had once read an ancient book titled *A Collection of Tang Dynasty Forbidden Mystic Arts*, which cataloged the names of many folk forbidden arts, though it lacked the methods for setting them up.

Many ancient folk forbidden arts had long been lost to time; to have even a single name preserved was already quite a stroke of fortune.

Now, seeing the long-lost folk forbidden art of the Three Corpses Blocking Wealth with his own eyes, one could easily imagine the magnitude of shock in his heart.

To think that there was still someone in this world proficient in ancient folk forbidden arts, and audacious enough to use them to harm people—it was simply lawless.

At the same time, a strong sense of curiosity arose within him: what kind of person could possibly be behind the setup of the Three Corpses Blocking Wealth mystic art at the entrance of the Shenghai Gold Shop?

Holding the phone with a furious expression, Hu Tiangang spoke in a stern tone, "Second brother, take down the three animal carcasses and burn them using peach wood fire or cinnabar fire. You must not let them escape, understand?"

"Alright!"

Hu Tianzheng agreed verbally, but thought to himself: *These three carcasses have already turned into mummies; how on earth could they possibly escape? What's the point of bothering with cinnabar fire or peach wood fire? Such a nuisance—I'll just set a casual fire and burn them.*

Had Hu Tiangang known what Hu Tianzheng was thinking, he undoubtedly would have been furious. He continued, "Also, find out the bastard who used the Three Corpses Blocking Wealth mystic art to harm others. Our Huaxia mystic arts community will never tolerate such scum."

"Alright, I understand."

Hu Tianzheng gave a perfunctory reply and hung up the phone. Deng Sihai, who had been standing nearby, walked over at that moment and asked with a hint of anger, "President Hu, what on earth is going on here?"

Hu Tianzheng took a deep breath, explained the matter of the folk forbidden art to him, and then asked with a solemn face, "Mr. Deng, there is something I would like to ask. Have you offended some formidable expert?"

"President Hu, this is a question I am not at liberty to answer."

Deng Sihai fell into deep contemplation. His enemies were numerous, and there were no lack of people who wished to bring down the Shenghai Group and drive him to his death. Such matters were not something he could casually disclose.

Yet deep down, he harbored a fierce, silent resolve: he must track this person down, tear them limb from limb, and smash their corpse to pieces.

They truly had the audacity of a bear and the ambition of a leopard to dare set up a folk forbidden art right on his, Deng Sihai's, turf.

Seeing a flash of murderous intent pass across Deng Sihai's face, Hu Tianzheng realized he had asked a question he shouldn't have, and hurriedly changed the subject. "Mr. Deng, please have your bodyguards take down those three animal carcasses and burn them with fire."

"Alright!"

Deng Sihai casually acknowledged the order and instructed the bodyguards still on the terrace to take down the three animal carcasses.

Everyone's attention was entirely focused on the three animal carcasses; no one noticed that a large, dark cloud in the sky at that moment was slowly moving to block the sun.

Li Chengfeng, standing not far away, suddenly noticed a large shadow moving across the ground. He raised his head to look at the sky and saw that half of the sun had already been obscured by the dark cloud, filling his heart with a sudden sense of foreboding.

Meanwhile, a bodyguard had already unhooked the carcass of the sick cat, tossing it onto the terrace behind him, and then prepared to untie the hemp rope binding the raven's carcass.

The moment the bodyguard's hand touched the hemp rope, the dark cloud in the sky completely blocked the sun. The raven's carcass suddenly moved and let out a harsh caw.

Startled out of his wits, the bodyguard stumbled backward several steps and sat down hard on the terrace, right beside the carcass of the sick cat. As he stared in horror at the raven and the bat...

The carcass of the sick cat also suddenly moved, rising in a robotic, mechanical posture. The bodyguard was struck dumb with astonishment, his lips trembling incessantly as he found it impossible to believe that the mummified corpse of a dead cat could actually move.

The sick cat did not attack the bodyguard; instead, it began to yowl at the bat and the raven, as if communicating with them.

Because the carcasses of the bat and the raven were still bound tightly by hemp rope, they were completely unable to fly.

Hu Tianzheng, Hu Yansong, Deng Sihai, and the others were left utterly dumbstruck and terrified by such a bizarre and eerie spectacle.

Although Hu Tianzheng was the president of the Mystic Arts Association, this was his first time witnessing such an event, and he had no idea what course of action to take.

Han Lili and the timid female clerks turned and fled in panic. It was simply too terrifying; they never wanted to set foot in this place again.

Deng Sihai managed to compose himself and asked with a grave expression, "President Hu, how can the raven and bat, which have already turned into mummies, still move?"

"Th—they must have gained sentience!"

Hu Tianzheng had no idea what to do either. Although he held the title of president of the Qingzhou Mystic Arts Association, it was merely an empty moniker. He was only proficient in some superficial mystic arts—just enough to put on airs and pose as a grandmaster, but completely helpless when confronted with a genuine crisis.

True masters with genuine capability and skill had either joined the nation's mysterious organizations like the Dragon Gate Eight Bureaus and the Dragon-Guarding Guards, or had retired into seclusion in remote mountains and markets, ignoring secular affairs.

The members of the Mystic Arts Association were nothing more than a bunch of fame-seeking frauds.

Amidst the continuous, haunting yowls of the dead cat's carcass, the soul forms of the bat and the raven fluttered out from their respective carcasses and merged into the body of the sick cat.

Li Chengfeng, watching this entire scene from not far away, wore a bewildered and astonished expression as he muttered, "Three souls fused into one—we're in trouble now!"

As the soul forms of the raven and the bat settled into the cat's carcass, the cat's body let out a sharp cry toward the direction where Li Chengfeng stood, then leaped directly off the terrace and burrowed into a nearby drainage pipe.

Wang Bin watched this unfold, his voice trembling with terror as he stammered, "Th—that dead cat got away!"