Sun Qiaoshan, a 28-year-old married but childless woman, worked as an English tutor at an educational institution. With a gentle, outgoing, and amiable personality, she had harmonious relationships with her colleagues.
This incident began when she took the initiative to report a case to the Action Center. She called their hotline and told the operator that her dog must have been possessed by a spiritual entity because the dog, right in front of her eyes, had bitten her husband to death.
The reason the dog bit him was that Zhang Tian, Sun Qiaoshan's husband, had been physically abusing her.
The dog leapt up and bit Zhang Tian's neck, severing it completely, causing him to die instantly.
Sun Qiaoshan was crying as she made the call, pleading with the operator and her dog, saying the dog was only trying to protect her.
Upon receiving the report, the Special Action Group immediately investigated Sun Qiaoshan and her husband.
They not only uncovered their identities and backgrounds but also found previous police mediation records. Zhang Tian had physically abused Sun Qiaoshan before, and a neighbor had reported it to the police after hearing the violence.
There were several other records of police calls, and a caring female officer had helped Sun Qiaoshan apply for divorce, but Sun Qiaoshan herself was unwilling.
According to the analysis, the couple's financial ties were likely a major factor.
Before marrying Zhang Tian, Sun Qiaoshan's family had accumulated significant debts, which Zhang Tian had helped pay off.
Zhang Tian had a gambling addiction, and although the couple's relationship was relatively good in the first few years of their marriage, as Zhang Tian lost more and more money, arguments between them became more frequent, and Zhang Tian would take out his frustrations on Sun Qiaoshan.
Sun Qiaoshan's dog, a small black puppy brought from her hometown and now seven months old, was suspected of being possessed by a spiritual entity, which is why it was able to bite Zhang Tian to death.
The reason why cultivators were called to assist was that members of the Special Action Group found themselves unable to approach the house.
After an ambulance had taken Zhang Tian away, they could not get close to the area surrounding the house, as if there was an invisible barrier preventing them from approaching. Not only could they not enter, but Sun Qiaoshan could not open the door either.
Suspecting that this was related to spiritual energy, they called in cultivators to break the deadlock.
Song Jixing, recalling the details from the report, entered the house with Sun Qiaoshan.
As the hostess welcoming guests, Sun Qiaoshan boiled water and served tea.
She placed a steaming cup of water in front of Song Jixing. If it weren't for her constant tears, the scene would have been more peaceful.
Song Jixing inhaled the faint lingering scent of blood in the air, heard the scratching of the dog at the door, and sat silently on the sofa.
Seeing Song Jixing staring at her, Sun Qiaoshan's tears flowed even more torrentially. Unfortunately, she did not receive any words of comfort and could only wipe away her tears and chokingly say, "I didn't kill him! I didn't expect Qiuqiu to do that either. Will Qiuqiu be punished?"
Song Jixing replied, "The cause of your husband's death will be examined by a coroner, and after the killer is determined, a judge will preside over the case. For the smooth progress of the case, you and your dog must come with us."
Song Jixing briefly explained the situation.
She was there to resolve the deadlock and take the suspects away. How the case would be tried had nothing to do with her.
Perhaps Song Jixing's indifferent demeanor was too much, as it caused Sun Qiaoshan to shed more tears.
Sun Qiaoshan said through her reddened eyes, "Qiuqiu is my family. It was only trying to protect me..."
Hearing her cries, the dog behind the door scratched more furiously.
With a thud, the door fell to the ground, and a completely black medium-sized dog ran out.
Its eyes glowed red as it rushed to Sun Qiaoshan, guarding her from behind, baring its fangs at Song Jixing.
Unfortunately, its cultivation at the first level of Qi refinement posed no threat to Song Jixing, even with its special abilities.
Sun Qiaoshan quickly bent down to calm the dog, shielding it from Song Jixing. "Qiuqiu, you can't do this! She's here to help us! You need to stay still!"
The dog was clearly intelligent and did not trust Sun Qiaoshan's words.
Even though it could not speak, it barked, expressing its intentions.
Sun Qiaoshan had no choice but to hug and soothe the dog for a while before it finally calmed down a bit. She then looked helplessly at Song Jixing and sadly asked, "Do you have to take me and Qiuqiu away?"
"Yes, your dog will go through an examination in a different place," Song Jixing said impassively but gently.
This was the procedure established by her superiors – those with spiritual energy would be examined in a place for spiritual beings, while those without would go elsewhere.
"I'm afraid Qiuqiu might hurt someone. Can I stay with Qiuqiu to keep it calm?" Sun Qiaoshan pleaded with her eyes.
Song Jixing squatted down and stroked the dog's head. "You don't need to worry. The dog won't pose a threat to us."
After Song Jixing withdrew her hand, the dog let out a few howls and shrank behind its owner, as if it had seen something terribly frightening.
It wasn't anything particularly horrifying, just Song Jixing's slightly higher level of cultivation exerting pressure. Seeking gains and avoiding harm is an animal's instinct.
Seeing this, Sun Qiaoshan understood and shed more tears, giving Song Jixing a somewhat pitiful smile. "Okay, thank you for your help."
In less than ten minutes, Song Jixing emerged with Sun Qiaoshan and the dog.
Sun Qiaoshan was taken away in a black van by members of the Action Center.
The dog was leashed and led to another vehicle by Song Jixing, cowering and trembling along the way.
Song Jixing told the worker taking the dog that she had sealed its cultivation, disrupting the flow of spiritual energy within its body, leaving it in a weakened state, so there was no need to worry about the dog harming anyone.
The worker bowed deeply. "Thank you for your contribution to humanity!"
Contribution to humanity?
Song Jixing was momentarily lost in thought, feeling that this expression of gratitude carried too much weight.
From the beginning, she had cultivated for her own sake. The mention of contributing to humanity was unexpected.
Perhaps it was a psychological tactic devised by someone to strengthen cultivators' sense of belonging to the human community.
Song Jixing pursed her lips, took out her hat and mask from her pocket, put them on, and headed towards the hotel.
The street vendors stationed at the community entrance also received orders to withdraw after the task was completed and immediately began packing up.
A young man in cotton slippers slowly walked over, sniffling in the cold wind. He curiously looked around and at the retreating vendors, muttering, "Strange, no city inspectors!"
Just as Song Jixing returned to the hotel, she ran into Xu Kai in the lobby.
"What a coincidence, you're here too!" Xu Kai exclaimed in surprise, his face flushed and sweating as he hugged a large cardboard box that seemed to weigh him down.
Song Jixing glanced at the box, instinctively feeling it was for her.
"I received a package for you at our company. I messaged you earlier, but you didn't respond, so I figured you were busy and brought it directly to you..." Xu Kai said, catching his breath as his arms ached from the weight, intending to set the box down.
After completing her task, Song Jixing had put her phone on silent mode, so she must have missed the message he sent during that time.
She casually took the box from him, holding it effortlessly.
Xu Kai raised his eyebrows in envy upon witnessing this.
Were all cultivators this strong?
"Do you need help carrying it to your room?" Xu Kai boldly offered.
The box was given to him by their boss to pass on to Song Jixing, so he was a bit curious about its contents, though he didn't feel comfortable asking Song Jixing to open it in front of him.
Song Jixing politely declined, "No need, I can handle it. Thank you."
"Are you going back soon? Do you have a lot of luggage? Need me to help you pack?" Xu Kai spoke again.
"I'm pretty much packed already. I have my car, so I can go back myself," Song Jixing responded flatly, able to handle everything herself.
