Had he forgotten that Xiao Shu had spent a small fortune just to ransom him back? Did he remember nothing of what had happened along the way? Did he have no recollection of giving Hua Gu the evil eye last night? Countless questions swam before my eyes—what on earth was going on?

"What in the world is going on? You need to give me an explanation—why is Li Xiaohao in my house?" Wang Jue demanded, his voice bristling with anger.

Good heavens, his temper hadn't cooled one bit! It seemed his mind was still stuck in some forgotten corner of history. Still, this demeanor—fierce, uncompromising—was exactly like the old Wang Jue, utterly unlike a woman.

"You don't remember anything that happened on the journey back?" I countered.

"The journey back?" Wang Jue reached up to touch the back of his head, utterly bewildered. "What about the journey back? How did we get home? And why is he here?"

I stepped inside, smoothly pulled over a stool, sat down backward, and stared at him blankly, unsure where to even begin. Seeing me sit, Wang Jue settled onto the sofa, glancing up at Xiao Shu, then at me, a cloud of confusion enveloping him.

"Hello, Wang Jue, I am Li Xiaoshu. We haven't properly met; the person you encountered before was my elder brother, Li Xiaohao," Xiao Shu said, sitting beside him, introducing herself while extending her right hand for a handshake.

Wang Jue seemed skeptical of the person before him, but seeing me sitting safely beside him, he extended his hand and shook hers.

"What is the last memory you can recall?" I steered the conversation back to the main point.

Wang Jue paused in thought, then replied, "The two of us went to Jingyin Mountain. We saw a group of zombies standing near the banyan tree, and you urgently insisted on moving forward, so I pulled you back to hide in the bushes."

"After that, we both fell victim to Bai Huaqian's Corpse Control technique. I was taken away by Bai Huaqian, and you were kept at the banyan tree as a hostage. Do you have any recollection of that?"

Wang Jue shook his head, closing his eyes in concentration, but still shook it.

"After that, Old He and Xiao Shu devised a plan to rescue me from Bai Huaqian's clutches and captured her. We used Bai Huaqian to trade for Li Xiaohao, to get you back from him—do you remember that part?"

Wang Jue looked genuinely astonished. "So much happened? How did we get back afterwards?"

"Later, Xiao Shu gave the album to Li Xiaohao. Before handing it over, you and my elder sister fled Jingyin Mountain together and ran back to Jingyin Village. By the time we reached Gui Fang's house, you two were already there. My sister didn't know the way; only you did, and you guided her to Gui Fang's place."

Wang Jue covered his face with his hands, a look of pain crossing his features. "I don't remember any of it! What happened after that?"

I sighed, detailing the events with a sense of futility. "The rest was all about you. First, the young girl Gui Zhi brought out a plate of flatbread for everyone to eat, and you just tossed the bread back onto the plate, saying it tasted bad. Then, since you didn't know how to drive, Old He had to take your car to drive us back to Xiangcheng. Following that, you upset Hua Gu, gave her the evil eye, which angered her so much that she took the two children and went back to Miao Village early this morning. You’ve been acting completely unlike yourself these last two days—your behavior is very strange."

Hearing that Hua Gu was angry, Wang Jue seemed genuinely shocked, repeatedly questioning, "I met Hua Gu? What happened? Why did I give her the evil eye? I truly don't remember anything you've said!"

Wang Jue's relentless questioning left both Xiao Shu and me somewhat at a loss; if we had known what had truly transpired, we wouldn't have spent the last half-hour analyzing the situation.