"Creak!" The door eased open slowly, and amidst the shadows, a faint candlelight gradually pushed back the darkness within the room. Light steps moved toward the room's lamp stand. If this person were to light the lamp, everyone around Zhou Huan would be fully exposed, creating an intensely tense situation, as they truly had no idea who had entered.

Amidst everyone's worry, the room was indeed illuminated by this person. In that instant, Dong Zi’s hand shot out, drawing his shovel. When he saw that the person entering was merely an elderly woman, his hand froze. Zhou Huan’s heart rate quickened—not from the fear of being discovered, but from the sudden realization that he was engaged in something clandestine, making him feel awkward and wanting to offer an explanation.

Billy had crept up beside Zhou Huan at some point. He reached out and covered Zhou Huan’s mouth, signaling silence and stillness. Billy then stealthily moved closer to the old woman, positioning himself behind her. He waved his hand gently in front of her face. The old woman appeared completely unfazed. Billy finally gestured to Zhou Huan: this person was blind.

After wiping down various spots in the room, the old woman murmured, "The light tonight must burn long, until the oil in the lamp is entirely consumed." Having muttered her fill, she carefully left the upstairs room and descended the stairs with ease. On the ground floor, she found a picture frame near a large table. Wiping it gently, her lips trembled slightly as she whispered, "My dear, I’ve come to see you again today. Today is our wedding anniversary. I baked a cake at home, but it’s all because I’m old and useless now; I can’t even lift the cake. I only came to tidy up the house and recall our past."

Shimmering tears seemed to pool in the old woman's eyes. She clutched the frame tightly against her chest, reliving—relishing—those beautiful memories, those golden times of love.

"Shh! Master Zhou, we absolutely must keep tabs on this person. She is the key to this entire matter. Without her, our plan could easily fall apart. We must discover this woman’s *." Billy whispered very cautiously, then quietly went downstairs, gently opened the door, slipped out of the house, and hid under the moonlight on the farm.

Following the light, Zhou Huan searched through the room again, gathering another pile of photographs which he stuffed into Dong Zi’s bag. Then, he guided the group quietly out of the house, finding a relatively concealed spot to hide within the night.

"Detective Billy, we must follow her. Here’s the plan: we have too many people, making her a large target if we all follow. We should leave some people to guard this location, just in case anyone else arrives, and to handle any potential pursuit." Zhou Huan’s thinking was sound; he was prioritizing security.

Billy nodded. He and two detectives remained behind, while Zhou Huan, Dong Zi, and the others waited for the old woman to reappear.

Moments later, the old woman emerged, shone a flashlight briefly to the left and right, and then set off with surprising vigor toward the edge of the farm.

"Brother Huan, this is seriously eerie. Isn’t she blind? What’s the use of shining a flashlight?" Dong Zi was predictably impatient.

Zhou Huan waved him off. "Ignore it. Pretend she can’t see. Follow!" These few people trailed the old woman from a distance. And truth be told, the old woman was walking quite fast, quickly putting considerable distance between herself and those ostensibly skilled in stealth.

"Hurry up, this old woman walks fast! It’s damn frustrating," Zhou Huan admitted, his own pace quickening. The people behind him either ran or walked quickly.

The old woman led them for several miles before finally turning. She left the main road for a narrow, winding path. At the end of this path sat a small house with a light burning inside. Zhou Huan and his companions followed the old woman right up to this spot.

As soon as she reached the gate, the old woman began ringing the doorbell. After a moment, a young woman emerged from the house—a foreign woman, beautiful even in her youth, possessing that unique aura and magnetic field only women have, one that drew a man’s gaze even in the deep night.

"Mother, you’re finally back! I’ve poured the orange juice waiting for you!" the girl said as she spoke, and the old woman opened the door and followed her daughter inside.

Zhou Huan was just about to follow them in for a look when a single sentence from the old woman completely deflated him.

"Daughter, there seems to be something unclean behind me. Ask God to take them away shortly!" The old woman’s words were delivered with absolute conviction.

Zhou Huan immediately felt a sense of dread. First, this statement wasn't a bluff; it was delivered too frankly. Second, the old woman was clearly blind moments ago; how could she see them now? Zhou Huan’s first instinct was for everyone to immediately retreat a dozen meters.

Yet, even at that distance, they could still hear the old woman’s words.

"Alright, the tails have been cleaned up!" the old woman stated.

The other woman then replied, "Mother, I prepared a pair of clean rags by the door. Next time you return, just use the one on the door. Don't always go wiping things down after entering. Besides, when you returned just now, I didn't see any tails following you. Don't mention it again in the future."

"I won't mention it anymore. After today passes, I won't say another word." The old woman’s reply was equally definitive.

Zhou Huan concluded that even if the old woman couldn't see them visually, she knew of their presence purely through her intuition.

"Be careful. Let's go around to the back window and listen from there. If we truly managed to enter the house with permission, we’d have a chance to question her about that cameraman from the farm."

"Hey, people outside the door, just come in. Don’t go around the back. I know you’re all here. I knew where you were in my husband’s room earlier." Had the old woman spotted the shadows of Zhou Huan and his group by the doorway?

Zhou Huan led his people inside, then said, "Madam, we are truly sorry. We mean no harm; we just wanted to inquire about the journalist who was in that house earlier."

"Heh heh, after so many years, someone has finally come looking. All of you come in. My daughter has already squeezed fresh orange juice; let’s have some first," the old woman said, instructing her daughter to invite Zhou Huan and the others inside.

Zhou Huan tried waving his hand in front of the old woman’s eyes again. Her eyes still showed no reaction. The old woman then spoke, "You don't need to test me. American laws are very comprehensive. If you violate the laws here, it will be very troublesome, or you will be deported back home."

"We apologize, we were just anxious a moment ago, but Madam, I have always wanted to ask you about your eyes…" Zhou Huan’s curiosity finally got the better of him.

The old woman replied, "I cannot see out of either eye, so everything relies on my feeling and hearing. You don’t even need to make a sound; if there are too many things moving in the room, I will definitely be able to locate them."

In truth, the old woman knew those two rooms too intimately. No one could truly grasp her mindset: a blind person moving back and forth with such familiar ease, remaining perfectly composed in a room despite their presence. This greatly reduced the perceived threat she posed. If these people had panicked, they might have harmed the elder, so the old woman understood the situation well. She likely knew about the matter concerning the thing in the cemetery as well.

"Madam, we wanted to ask…" Zhou Huan’s question was cut short as the elder took over.

"This is what happened. My husband, Mrs. Pierce—the cameraman you are looking for—you see how old I am now? We were the ones who went to China back then. I accompanied my husband, so I should know everything he ever did. Furthermore, my husband had the habit of keeping a diary. So, you must take good care of that diary. I will return it to you once the matter is concluded; I just want a small keepsake." The old woman’s words were simple, but the female ghost, Xiao Shan, inside the Purple Jade Gourd seemed restless, causing the gourd to swing back and forth, bumping against Zhou Huan repeatedly.

Zhou Huan gently steadied the Purple Jade Gourd at his waist with his hand, calming the ghost, Xiao Shan.