"Ah Li..." Wang Jue called out from behind me. Neither of us had expected Ah Li to be here, and the surprise brought a jolt of both shock and delight.

Ah Li wasn't alone. Standing behind her was a young woman, clad in an apron, a rolling pin in hand, her hair tied back with a handkerchief—none other than Hua Gu, the very woman Wang Jue had been dreaming of.

"How did the two of you end up at my place?" Wang Jue was so ecstatic he forgot the ghost infant he held, striding straight toward Hua Gu.

The moment the door opened, Hua Gu had been equally delighted. However, upon seeing the infant in Wang Jue's arms, her brow furrowed, and the smile blooming at the corners of her mouth vanished instantly. Wang Jue moved toward her with eager steps, anticipating an embrace, but she took two deliberate steps back instead.

Witnessing this, Wang Jue was utterly lost. Holding the ghost infant, he stood before her, caught between advancing and retreating, his expression one of pure awkwardness.

It seemed I needed to step in and help him navigate this predicament. I moved closer to Hua Gu and said with gravity, "The infant Wang Jue is holding has a complicated history; we will explain it later. But how did you two get here?"

At my question, Hua Gu seemed to shake off the look of resentment, letting her smile reappear, and she replied mysteriously, "I have a unique secret technique that allows me to enter anyone's home!"

Sigh. Well, I nodded, conceding defeat. Women are masters at answering questions with something entirely beside the point. Still, how they managed to unlock the door and enter was certainly a curiosity. Though, what concerned us more was the reason for their sudden visit.

Wang Jue remained somewhat flustered, keeping his head lowered, staring at his feet as if two giant roses had suddenly sprouted from them.

"Granny said if you didn't return within three days, something must have happened. Hua Gu was worried, so I came with her," it was Ah Li, bless her sharp mind, answering the crucial questions with flawless accuracy.

Come to think of it, had we really been gone that long? It felt like only a few hours in the Sea of Lost Souls! We found the Kinship Compass, confirmed my sister's location, and then we were out! Despite the many detours, surely it couldn't have been days!

"What's the date today?" Before I could speak, Wang Jue beat me to it.

"September 14th. You have been gone from Miao Village for 14 days. Granny told you to be back within three days after finishing your business. Instead, you were silent for a week, and Granny declared something must have gone wrong. So, Hua Gu and I packed and came over. We've actually been staying at your place for two or three days now. That kindly old gatekeeper lent me five hundred yuan to buy groceries; he said you could settle up when you returned," Hua Gu spoke like a machine gun, rat-a-tat-tat... pouring out every answer we hadn't even managed to ask yet. It was clear she was still bothered by the issue of the infant; otherwise, her tone wouldn't have been so sharp.

I privately mused on how formidable these two were, essentially moving into Wang Jue's home unannounced! To get in without a key, and even borrow five hundred yuan from the guard! Wang Jue was in for it now! I pursed my lips, struggling to maintain a serious demeanor so Wang Jue wouldn't see me stifling a laugh at his expense.

"Wang Jue, what's the story with this little babe?" Ah Li, ever the empathetic girl, knew Hua Gu wanted to ask but was too embarrassed, so she leveraged her innocent childlike candor to bring up the subject casually.

Wang Jue sighed, sinking onto a sofa in the living room, and proceeded to recount every detail of their journey, from Miao Village all the way to the Sea of Lost Souls, to Hua Gu.

By the end, the shadow of displeasure slowly lifted from Hua Gu's face. She walked over to Wang Jue, playfully teased the little murderer, clapped her hands at him, and said gently, "Daddy is tired. Let Mama hold you."

To everyone's astonishment, the ghost infant actually stretched out its tiny hands happily, signaling for Hua Gu to take him!