What should I do? Should I go find a master to resolve this disaster? But where can I find such a master?

Fear, panic, unease...

For a moment, I was completely out of sorts. I had never been so scared before—it felt as if a shadow of death was looming over my head, and the feeling that the Grim Reaper was about to arrive was utterly terrifying.

I don’t want to die. I’m afraid of dying. I only graduated half a year ago and just started working. There are still so many things I haven’t done, especially since I haven’t had the chance to repay my parents for raising me. If I were to die just like this, how heartbroken would my parents be?

The more I thought about it, the more frightened I became. The more I thought, the more I couldn’t bear to just die like this. But if this really is a sign of impending death, how could I possibly escape it?

I just stood there, frozen in fear, doing nothing, completely stunned. I must have stood there for three or four minutes until I was startled awake by the sound of police sirens. When I turned around, I saw that the police had arrived.

The officers entered the room and first examined the crime scene. The forensic doctor also conducted a preliminary examination of Old Smith’s body, while I was called over by a police officer for questioning.

The officer who questioned us claimed his surname was Smith, around forty years old, and was the captain of the criminal police team.

Along with me, the landlady was also questioned by Captain Smith. Captain Smith didn’t ask much, just briefly inquired about how we discovered the deceased’s body.

After the landlady and I briefly recounted what had happened, a forensic doctor in a white coat came over and whispered a few words to Captain Smith. Then Captain Smith told us that the preliminary forensic assessment was that the deceased did not die by homicide, but by suicide, and that the time of death should have been last night. He also asked if we knew whether the deceased had been troubled by anything recently.

I thought about it and shook my head. Old Smith wouldn’t have had anything to be troubled about—he was skilled in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, living like a god, with nothing to be upset about.

Seeing that we didn’t know why Old Smith would commit suicide, Captain Smith didn’t ask any further. He just thanked us for our cooperation and prepared to end the questioning.

Seeing that the police were about to leave, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted. I wondered whether I should tell them about picking up the money last night. If I did, it would definitely hurt my reputation, since not turning in found money is a shameless act. But if I didn’t say anything, then no one could help me.

Although I didn’t know whether telling the police would actually help, after a struggle in my mind, I still called out to Captain Smith and told him that last night, Old Smith, Little Clark, and I had found some money.

As soon as Captain Smith heard this, he asked, “Where’s the money?”

I pointed to the spirit money on the floor of Old Smith’s room and said, “Over there—it’s all turned into spirit money.”

As I said this, I felt anxious and uneasy, worried that he wouldn’t believe me. After all, this was such a bizarre event. Honestly, if I hadn’t experienced it myself, I might not have believed it either.

But to my surprise, as soon as I said this, Captain Smith was stunned, frowned, and then hurriedly asked me where we had found the money.

Seeing that Captain Smith didn’t doubt my words, I told him everything about picking up the money, and also told him that I suspected Old Smith’s death was related to the spirit money we found.

After listening, Captain Smith seemed deep in thought, then said something that nearly scared me to death. He said, “This is really bizarre. A month ago, a few people also picked up spirit money at that intersection, and later died.”

“What? Other people also picked up spirit money at that intersection and then died?” When I heard this, I was completely stunned and quickly asked, “Are you serious?”

Captain Smith nodded and said, “A month ago, four people died one after another. Although they all died in accidents, since they were all good friends who usually hung out together, it was a bit unusual. So we investigated, but found nothing. However, we did discover something unbelievable: these people had picked up some money before, and the next day found out it was spirit money. The place where they found the money was exactly the intersection you mentioned. Honestly, we’ve always thought these things were very strange. I never expected you’d encounter the same thing.”

I tried to keep calm and asked, “How did those four die?”

Captain Smith thought for a moment and then said, “One hanged himself, just like your friend Old Smith; one died in a car accident; and two died suddenly. Although the deaths were strange, the autopsies showed none of them were homicides.”

“Suicide, car accident, sudden death?” Hearing this, I felt a chill all over and took a sharp breath, panic spreading in my heart. If Old Smith’s death had nothing to do with the spirit money and was just a coincidence, then with the four people who died half a month ago, could this still be just a coincidence? Could it really have nothing to do with the spirit money?

I’m not an idiot. Even if you beat me to death, I wouldn’t believe this was just an accident. Although they all died from accidents or suicide, this only further proves that picking up spirit money is a sign of death. Anyone who picks up spirit money is doomed to die—including me.