After Descending the Mountain, Seven Big Brothers Spoil Me

Upon hearing Zhouzhou's words, the man lifted his head and said, "No one taught me, I learned it by myself!"

"You're lying," Zhouzhou said, her face stern. Over the years, she had dealt with the most vicious criminals on various missions, which had sharpened her demeanor and presence.

The cold aura around her instantly spread out, causing the man to turn pale in fear.

He swallowed hard, forcing himself to say, "I... I really learned it myself."

Still refusing to tell the truth.

Zhouzhou's eyes turned cold as she let out a heavy snort. "Nonsense. This formation is one that I personally created. Where did you learn it from? I don't remember teaching anyone this."

"What? You created it?"

The man was stunned.

Qin Xu and Qin Xi both looked at Zhouzhou with surprise.

Zhouzhou didn't explain further, but simply stared at the man and said, "Since you used my formation, you must know my skills. This is the most ordinary formation I have. If you still won't tell the truth, I'll let you experience something else."

With that, she took out a talisman. "How about trying my Torture from Hell Talisman? Would you prefer to climb the Mountain of Knives first, or dive into the Sea of Flames? Or maybe you want to try having your skin flayed and muscles pulled first?"

She spoke each word clearly, her tone soft yet carrying a chilling threat. Despite her gentle appearance, the words she spoke sent a shiver down the man's spine. "You... you're bluffing!"

It was just a piece of paper. There's no way it could have such powers. She was only trying to scare him, and he wasn't going to fall for it.

Qin Xu and Qin Xi glanced at each other, pitying the man. They knew Zhouzhou wasn't the type to bluff.

She was, after all, a person of action.

Seeing that the man still didn't believe her, Zhouzhou lost her patience. She reached out and extracted his soul, trapping it within the talisman.

The man felt a sharp pain, and when he looked around, his body seemed to collapse in a daze, falling silently to the ground. His eyes widened in shock.

Before he could process what was happening, he felt an intense heat rising around him. Looking down, he saw a sea of fire below him. The blood drained from his face, and his voice cracked with terror.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Zhouzhou didn't bother responding. She stuffed the talisman back into her bag.

Hmph. He hadn't said anything when she asked earlier, so now she didn't want to listen!

Qin Xu looked at her and couldn't help but ask, "Zhouzhou, what's going on here? How did your formation end up here?"

Zhouzhou shook her head. "I don't know."

She thought for a moment, then suddenly frowned. "Could it be him?"

"Who?"

Zhouzhou continued, "A while ago, during a mission..."

She didn't finish the sentence, as she glanced at Qin Xi, remembering that he didn't know about her involvement with the Fourth Bureau. She quickly corrected herself, "When I was out earning Merits, I encountered a few bad guys. After dealing with them, I forced their souls to kneel and apologize."

That formation was used only once.

The formation's sole purpose was to suppress those bad people, and it didn't affect the living.

If this man could replicate the formation and knew how to use it, then he must have understood what the formation was for.

However, Zhouzhou was certain no one had seen her use it.

Could it be that someone from the Mystery Sect passed by, saw it, and then learned the formation?

Zhouzhou rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

Qin Xi noticed and reminded her, "Cough, Zhouzhou, we could also ask that person directly."

Why waste time guessing when they could just ask?

The man was already caught, and after dealing with him, they could make him talk.

He had a simple face, full of sincerity, and suggested, "We can ask him first and then deal with him afterward."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xu looked at him, silent for a moment.

Very good. The word "sincere" had now been totally misinterpreted by Zhouzhou.

Qin Xu couldn't bear to look at him, so he shifted his gaze away.

Right, he almost forgot.

Zhouzhou slapped her forehead, pulling out another talisman. She waited for the man to experience the Sea of Flames before pulling his soul back out. "Now, tell me, what happened?"

The man, trembling in fear, immediately dropped to his knees. He was frustrated, but also felt wronged.

He had been wanting to talk for a while!

What kind of person was she? Asked him questions and wouldn't even wait for an answer before acting. Who interrogated like this?

But that was how Zhouzhou operated. She glared at him with immense pressure, narrowing her eyes, "Speak quickly. If not, I'll throw you back in."

As she spoke, she shook the talisman in her hand, looking like an unreasonable bandit.

The man had already experienced her methods and knew she could really carry out what she threatened. His anxiety grew, and he hurriedly said, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything!"

"I don't know who it is either."

Hearing this, Zhouzhou furrowed her brows and grabbed the talisman, ready to send him back in.

The man, terrified, took a half step back, frantically continuing, "But they contact me with a message about how to do it!"

He pointed to his body and said, "Someone threw a map at my door. The map had instructions for how to set up this formation."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xi stepped forward and quickly searched the man's pockets. Sure enough, he found a piece of paper in the man's jacket pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to Zhouzhou.

Zhouzhou glanced at it, her frown deepening.

The man was telling the truth. The paper was indeed a diagram of the formation, with detailed instructions on how to set it up. It even explained its purpose clearly.

This confirmed Zhouzhou's suspicions. Whoever was behind this knew about metaphysics, or at least knew someone who did.

The use of her formation... could it really be just a coincidence?

Zhouzhou thought hard but couldn't make sense of it. She asked the man a few more questions, but when she found no other information, she simply grabbed him and stuffed him back into the talisman.

The man, feeling betrayed, yelled, "Didn't you say you'd let me go?!"

"Who said that?" Zhouzhou replied assertively. "You tell me, who said it? Call that person out and have them save you."

The man was speechless.

She hadn't actually said she'd let him go, but he had already confessed everything, so why keep going with the punishment?

Who was the real villain here?

Seeing him silent, Zhouzhou snorted, "You wanted to blame me, but I'm an honest person. I would never go back on my word."

"Exactly," Qin Xi chimed in with a firm nod.

He, too, was an honest person. He'd said he would continue punishing the man, and he would follow through.

Qin Xu watched them both, a smile flickering in his eyes.

When his gaze fell on the souls of the family, he sighed deeply.

How pitiful.

What did they have to do with the original natural disaster? Now they were paying such a heavy price because of someone else's wrongdoing.

Why?

Zhouzhou also sighed and walked over to the elderly man. She said, "Grandpa, don't worry. The bad guys will be punished."

The elderly man looked at her with sorrowful eyes, which made anyone who saw it feel heartbroken.

Zhouzhou turned away, unable to bear it. "I'll help you all move on to the next life."