"Heh, my disobedient daughter, her name is Hua Jinlan."

Hearing the name Hua Jinlan, my heart jumped. Wasn't she the prime suspect in Wang Jue’s possession case?

The old woman led me forward, saying, "My daughter, from a young age, was idle and interested only in the dark arts of gu poison and witchcraft. Later, she married a man with ill intentions, and they argued constantly. In a fit of anger, she left Miao Village and moved to Wu Zhuang to live alone. Outside the village, without the protection of her ancestors, the sorcery she wielded quickly attracted ill-intentioned people who constantly schemed against her. One time, a female wraith visited her home and offered a secret manual of witchcraft, promising it to Jinlan if she would only place a curse on a female reporter. Jinlan was obsessed with such books. A few days later, a female reporter did indeed come to interview Jinlan. Jinlan followed the wraith's instructions and cursed her. Afterward, the wraith appeared, tossing the manual aside as payment. The moment Jinlan opened the book, the unexpected happened. Using the book as a conduit, the wraith siphoned away Jinlan’s own witchcraft energy, rendering her unable to perform spells or nurture gu."

"In despair, Jinlan fled back to Miao Village and hid in the mountains seeking help. Not long after, you and Doctor Wang arrived in Miao Village, claiming to search for Jinlan to cure your sister's affliction. I was the hunchbacked old woman who opened the door for you back then.

"The female wraith also arrived with you. The moment she appeared, she killed Jinlan's husband, let a black cat leap over the corpse to turn him into a zombie, and planned to assemble the village's young men into a zombie army. However, this plan fell through due to the village chief's obstruction.

"The night you captured the zombies, Jinlan was hiding nearby and witnessed everything. As the wraith left you, she encountered Jinlan. Because her plan failed, the wraith became enraged and attacked with a knife. Jinlan knew she couldn't escape this fate. Utilizing the possession technique she had learned previously, at the very last second before her soul departed her body, she quickly entered the body of Doctor Wang lying nearby. Afterward, she appeared to me several times in dreams, asking me to help her return to the mortal realm. But in truth, she was already dead, and I was willing but powerless to help."

Listening to her story, I pondered in secret the profound reasons behind the events Wang Jue and I experienced in Miao Village. The female wraith was naturally Bai Huaqian. That scar-faced man’s inexplicable hanging in the bedroom was her doing. How powerful could a wraith be to make someone hang themselves from a distance without even approaching the victim! I shuddered at the thought that if Li Xiaohao managed to get the photo album, he would surely raise a legion of wraiths, leading to a world overrun by zombies and rampant spirits.

However, the immediate problem was helping Wang Jue. Since this old woman was Hua Jinlan’s mother, she was the most likely person to know how to make Hua Jinlan leave Wang Jue’s body. I might as well ask her now.

"Mother-in-law, what must we do to make Hua Jinlan leave Wang Jue’s body? Would reciting the Sutra of the Original Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva seventy-seven times for forty-nine days work? Xiao Shu once used this method to help a wandering soul possessing someone cross over."

She smiled and shook her head, telling me, "If that worked, Xiao Shu wouldn't have brought you here looking for books. He must have already tried that method privately. My daughter is not easily provoked; she knows a great deal about unorthodox paths and certainly won't leave Doctor Wang willingly. As a mother, on one hand, I thank Doctor Wang for providing Jinlan with such a place to reside; on the other hand, I must apologize for the trouble my daughter has caused him." As she spoke, she handed me a branch bearing peach blossoms. "Next time she acts up, quietly place this peach branch on Doctor Wang. She will quickly fall asleep, allowing Doctor Wang’s soul to emerge. The peach branch's effect lasts only for one night. By the time the rooster crows the next morning, regardless of whether the peach branch is still on Doctor Wang, Jinlan will wake up and regain control of his body. But you must never let her know about the peach branch. Once she is forewarned, it will be difficult to use this method against her again."

I took the peach branch, but before I could thank her, I suddenly felt someone pounding frantically on my back, hitting me so hard I could barely breathe.