I blinked, momentarily unable to process how Old Man Xiang, clearly already in his coffin, could possibly be staring fixedly at Man Niao Niao.

Man Niao Niao pointed at the portrait of Old Man Xiang, tugged me left and right as we paced a couple of turns, and whispered, his voice trembling, "You... look, no matter where I walk, his eyes follow me. It’s creeping me out... I never offended the old man..." I instantly understood, then burst into laughter, giving his backside a frustrated kick, and snapping, "That old rogue, that’s just a feature of the photograph. Don't you remember the portrait of Chairman Mao that used to hang in your main hall? Didn't he seem to watch you from every corner too? Your nerve... sigh, you even scared me for a second." After scolding him, I felt a pang of self-reproach; the events of late had frayed my mental defenses, causing me to jump toward the bizarre whenever I saw or heard something unexplained. However, I still recalled Old Man Xiang moving his lips when the coffin was closed; was that just my eyes playing tricks, or...?

Old Man Chen hurried out of the wake hall, his face etched with anxiety, and whispered to me, "Where is Ji Ye? I have an urgent matter that requires his help, and as the Steward now, I can't leave..." I knew that Old Man Chen was indeed listed as the "Steward" on the registry, but I couldn't fathom why he needed Ji Ye so urgently. I glanced around and saw Ji Ye helping to arrange the Nine Lotus Platform. "Look, there he is!" Old Man Chen abandoned me and rushed over to Ji Ye, gesturing and talking animatedly. I watched Ji Ye’s expression grow increasingly grave and startled, and curiosity compelled me to approach them. "What happened?" I asked.

Ji Ye glanced at me and murmured, "Old Man Chen wants me to deliver a baby!"

Deliver a baby? A distinguished, grown man going to deliver a baby? Why not send her to the hospital? Even if there wasn't time for the hospital, Tang Ya had plenty of local midwives, perhaps even professional ones. Why insist on a man delivering the child? — The sheer surprise of it made the world seem dark to me.

Qin Ping'er and Man Niao Niao, who followed close behind, must have heard Ji Ye’s words too; they stood frozen, looking at Ji Ye and Old Man Chen as if they were witnessing aliens.

"Here's the situation," Old Man Chen explained. "Near the Marquis Huan Temple, there is a woman named Qiao Ge's wife; she's seven months pregnant, two months shy of term, but somehow, she went into labor suddenly this noon. She still hasn't delivered, the ambulance hasn't arrived, and we’ve called every local midwife, but none can help her give birth. Qiao Ge's wife is near death, and Qiao Ge came to me for help. That's when I thought of your Ji Ye. Oh, and this is Qiao Ge." Old Man Chen pointed to a simple, earnest young man whose face was full of worry.

"What good would it do to ask Ji Ye for this matter...?" I still couldn't grasp Old Man Chen’s meaning.

"I suspect... Qiao Ge's wife is carrying a... ghost fetus!" Old Man Chen glanced at us younger ones, then swept his gaze across the bustling crowd, and said mysteriously.

"A ghost fetus?" Before I could process the shock, I felt two bodies, one thick and one slender, press close to me, and two breaths, one rough and one light, sounded near my ears. The movements of Man Niao Niao and Qin Ping'er drew the attention of the busy workers, who began to stare curiously at the three of us in our strange positions. Before Man Niao Niao could wrap his arms around my neck, I shoved his hand away hard, my face burning red, glaring at him crossly, and wickedly thinking: If you were just a little shorter, people might mistake us for a family of three!

"Sir, please, I beg you to save my wife and child. I heard from Master Bei that your family possesses profound magic. I also overheard what happened upstairs just now. I beg your family to have mercy and save us!" Qiao Ge poured out in a rush, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Let’s go!" Ji Ye declared decisively, waving his hand at Qiao Ge. "Lead the way!" Qiao Ge was overjoyed, wiped his tears, and grabbed Ji Ye’s arm to leave. I hurried to follow, but Man Niao Niao yanked me backward, nearly wrenching my back out. I was so furious I was about to explode and turned to give Man Niao Niao a sound thrashing. Man Niao Niao held me back and said, "Ying... Brother Ying, what are you going to do? I want to go too..." I glared at him fiercely. "Then let's go, lives are at stake. Ping'er, come on, let's see." Without sparing a glance for the curious crowd, we scurried after Ji Ye.

Qiao Ge’s house was a handsome two-story brick building, constructed in the stilt-house style, though its layout retained little resemblance to traditional stilt architecture. It was nestled among several lush, dark green pines and cypresses, about two or three hundred meters from the Marquis Huan Temple. I only caught a hurried glimpse before following Ji Ye and Qiao Ge upstairs. Just as we were about to enter a room from which faint moans could be heard, Ji Ye turned and stopped me and Man Niao Niao. "Miss Qin, you come in. You two cowards and Qiao Ge wait outside." Qin Ping'er looked stunned, followed Ji Ye into the room, and closed the door behind her. It was a wooden door with intricately carved lattice windows, very classical in style. Unfortunately, I had no mood to admire it at the moment; my mind was consumed by curiosity. I pressed myself against the lattice window to peer inside. However, the window was covered with a layer of paper, thin as a cicada's wing, yet not entirely transparent, making everything vague. I couldn't see anything inside the room clearly.

Man Niao Niao pulled me aside and quietly pointed at Qiao Ge, who was pacing nervously in the corridor, whispering, "You... you really should watch your image. That’s someone’s wife... Are you trying to peek?" I stiffened, cursing Man Niao Niao internally for thinking about such things at a time like this. Annoyed but helpless, I paced back and forth behind Qiao Ge, scratching my head in agitation.

To be honest, I didn't have a voyeuristic impulse like Man Niao Niao suggested. I was simply overwhelmingly curious about the "ghost fetus" Old Man Chen mentioned, and I wanted to see how this grizzled old man, Ji Ye, would deliver a baby for a young woman. Could he really pull off this noble task with his 'dog-foot chicken' techniques? What would the infant look like? Would it truly be a case of spirit possession? — Having found no success in the search for Tan Cheng, we were now drawn into two mysterious incidents involving life and death. Were these our fortuitous encounters, or our destined trials?

The wooden door creaked open, and a middle-aged woman rushed out. Without a glance at the three men, she hurried down the stilt-house steps, stumbling and falling repeatedly, disappearing in just a few strides. Her frantic exit left the three men dumbfounded, unable to understand why the woman had fled as if chased by a ghost, without offering a single word of explanation. I felt both alarmed and anxious, sensing trouble. I cursed the ambulance again for not arriving sooner; this involved two lives, and delaying a trip to the hospital would be disastrous.

"Ying Ying, Ying Ying..." Qin Ping'er suddenly called from behind the door. I was more agitated than Qiao Ge, darting to the door and pressing my nose to the lattice window, exclaiming in relief, "Is it born? Is it..." I had almost said the words "ghost fetus," but remembering Qiao Ge was right behind me, I swallowed them quickly to spare him embarrassment.

"Not yet. I’m a little scared..." Qin Ping'er's voice trembled.

"What are you scared of? Isn't Ji Ye in there?"

"I’m just scared of Uncle An..." Judging by her voice, Qin Ping'er was close to tears.

My heart pounded with urgency. What fresh trouble had Ji Ye run into now? I couldn't hear the woman’s groans or cries. Had Ji Ye’s clumsy handling caused a fatality? I rammed my shoulder against the door, intending to rush in and see for myself. Qin Ping'er shrieked from behind the door and urgently said, "Don't come in, don't come in, it's not convenient for you..." She braced the door tightly. "Qiao Ge's wife is fine, don't worry..."

Hearing that Qiao Ge’s wife was safe eased my mind slightly. "Since she’s fine, what are you afraid of Ji Ye for?"

Qin Ping'er murmured behind the door for a long moment, then poked a small hole in the window paper with her finger. She then brought her slightly pale, small mouth close to the opening and said, "I don't know why he wants to do that..."

"Do what?" A terrible scenario suddenly flashed through my mind. Could Ji Ye... be overcome by lust? That would truly be... when the husband is standing right outside, isn't that asking for death? "Why didn't you stop him?" I shouted anxiously, trying to smash the door open again, but it didn't budge an inch.