Zhou Huan was quite surprised when Gui Tai pierced through his aura; his aura contained esoteric mechanisms. The more forceful the internal energy, the less likely it was to pass through; the weaker the internal energy, the less likely it was to pass through; even moderately strong internal energy found it impossible to traverse. Only by merging with Zhou Huan's own internal energy was there any possibility of breaking in.

It was at this precise moment that Zhou Huan became one hundred percent certain of one thing: the Gui Zi in Gui Tai’s hands must be his child. Otherwise, there was no way it could merge with his aura. This was beyond doubt. Yet, because of this realization, Zhou Huan immediately raised his internal energy by another level. His body began to flush red, and billowing white vapor slowly rose from his back. Zhou Huan stared intently at the approaching Gui Tai, keeping his three apprentices circling him in mid-air. This was akin to Nezha with his three heads and six arms; this was four heads and eight arms, bustling about relentlessly, beating Gui Tai to a point where she only had capacity for defense, no strength to counterattack, forcing her to leap out of the circle.

“Excellent! Today, I must subdue all of you, Zhou Huan and the rest!” After Gui Tai uttered these words, the hanging rope in her hand instantly ensnared Gui Zi. Then, she opened her mouth wide, so wide that she could swallow the child's entire head. One could only watch as she bit by bit swallowed Gui Zi into her stomach, until only one foot remained dangling outside. Then, Gui Tai violently wrenched off Gui Zi's foot and stuffed it roughly into her mouth, the corners of her lips dripping with viscous green and yellow fluids.

Zhou Huan’s heart ached as he watched; that was his child. But he could not leave now; if he departed, all his apprentices would be killed by Gui Tai. Tears welled up in Zhou Huan’s eyes; the taste of sorrow had reached its absolute limit.

“Zhou Huan, there’s no need for you to grieve. Even if your child were still alive, he wouldn't acknowledge you as his father, haha! I, this old hag, have done him a great favor by eating him. How wonderful! He no longer has to suffer, and he can witness his Ghost Grandmother shatter the heartless formation set up by his father.” As Gui Tai spoke, black energy began to condense in her hands. Gradually, the black energy enveloped Gui Tai, binding her tighter and tighter until she coiled into a ball. Then, Gui Tai flew horizontally towards Zhou Huan, scattering the master and his three disciples until only Zhou Huan remained seated steadily in place, letting slow tears trace paths down his eyes.

The three apprentices Zhou Huan had sent flying lay sprawled on the ground, all four limbs pointing skyward, their eyes staring blankly at Zhou Huan, the usual light gone from everyone’s gaze. Bright red blood streamed from their mouths, and their shallow, ragged breaths offered no comfort to Zhou Huan, only profound despair.

“Master, be careful! This Gui Tai is perverse!” Hong Kun sputtered, his body trembling.

Zhou Huan did not reply. He merely shifted the hand seal of his hands, sprang high into the air with his feet, channeling his internal energy to its peak, and slammed his palm squarely into Gui Tai’s chest. Gui Tai then seemed like a bubble blown by the wind, drifting and bobbing in the air. She only managed to regain her footing after being propelled a great distance with her ghostly body. Where Zhou Huan had struck, a round hole was visible on Gui Tai’s chest. Although only black energy seeped from this cavity, as the black energy flowed out, the round hole slowly began to seal itself.

After delivering that strike, Zhou Huan felt the true energy within him in utter chaos, surging erratically up and down. He slumped to the ground without a sound. A moment later, Zhou Huan violently spewed a mouthful of blood a great distance.

“Master!” The apprentices shouted almost simultaneously. They knew that with his foundation, their master should have had no trouble dealing with this Gui Tai. But if the internal energy of that Gui Zi—which was part of Zhou Huan’s own vital essence—was added, the resulting power would be something Zhou Huan could not withstand. This was tantamount to Zhou Huan battling himself, a truly agonizing experience.

“You all heal quickly. You are not needed here for now. If Gui Tai’s ghostly body is to recover, it will take some time.” As he spoke, Zhou Huan surged his internal energy to its apex again. The vital force circulated through his entire body, permeating the marrow and bone. Gradually, his blood circulation returned to normal, and his breathing slowly stabilized. When he looked directly at Gui Tai, he noticed that the large hole on her ghostly form was gradually returning to its original state.

A stiff smile slowly spread across Gui Tai’s green face. That smile involuntarily evoked a sense of strenuous disappointment; it was an effort even for her to look disappointed. A smile like that could not be found anywhere else in the world.

Then, Gui Tai fixed her gaze intently on Zhou Huan, her hands already prepared with black energy. Before Zhou Huan could fully recover his composure, this mass of black energy hurtled towards Zhou Huan’s Yintang (the spot between the eyebrows) and Tianmen (the top of the head). Just as Zhou Huan was about to rise and dodge, at this critical juncture, a figure darted out from behind him. This figure held a bronze mirror, intercepting the incoming black energy. However, the force of the black energy pushed this person, forcing Zhou Huan back nearly ten meters.

“Tian Xiong, are you alright!” Zhou Huan called out to Tian Xiong, who had rushed to help. Tian Xiong held the mirror obtained from Zhou Huan’s old friend, successfully blocking the black energy. The black energy was precisely reflected by the bronze mirror, bouncing back towards Gui Tai and knocking her far away. Yet, despite being injured, Gui Tai displayed no pain on her face; instead, a triumphant sneer emerged, a laugh so bizarrely malicious.

Seeing this, Zhou Huan immediately became suspicious. What was going on? Why did Gui Tai wear such a smile that was so difficult for others to accept? Had she succeeded in something?

The smile on Gui Tai’s face finally lost its rigidity. She spoke clearly, “Master Zhou, take a good look into that mirror. After you look, you will know who fathered your child, and you will know who your sweet darling, Xiao He, is.” After saying this, Gui Tai floated into the air, attending to her internal injuries.

Zhou Huan took the bronze mirror from Tian Xiong. At first, he completely refused to believe Gui Tai’s words, but now he had no choice but to believe. Because what the mirror displayed were scenes of Zhou Huan roaming the world during the Qing Dynasty. He felt that the man in the mirror appeared quite old, with a head full of white hair, carrying what looked like the very tool bag he was using now, walking towards a dense forest. Emerging from the woods, he saw a large contingent of imperial soldiers, all armed with weapons. Upon seeing Zhou Huan, some soldiers stopped him and went inside to report. Soon, a person emerged. This person was familiar, looking remarkably like Heshen.

“Master Zhou, the location for your late father’s tomb is just ahead!” The person then guided Zhou Huan towards the passage guarded by soldiers.

The mirror flashed. Suddenly, Zhou Huan’s shadow vanished, replaced by an exceptionally grand stone sarcophagus tomb, engraved with exquisite carvings. Every scene depicted was vividly alive. The elderly Zhou Huan was then being ushered into the tomb’s interior by others.

Inside the tomb, this version of Zhou Huan asked the man who resembled Heshen, “Why are you killing us?”

“The family of Lord He is of noble birth. Allowing people like you to be buried as offerings is elevating your status. Stop the nonsense. With Young Master He here, you should cease with these futile efforts; consider it a service to Young Master He, helping him secure a son.” Zhou Huan’s familiar head steward suddenly appeared here. Wasn’t this someone from Heshen’s manor? Could it be...? Zhou Huan held the bronze mirror, watching helplessly as the people inside forcibly restrained him, while another individual offered him a cup of wine.

“It is your honor to be buried with Lord He. As a farewell gift, here is this cup of wine!” The Zhou Huan in the mirror was forced to drink, and shortly after, he lost consciousness, slumping to the ground, only to be pulled aside. A short while later, the colors in the bronze mirror in Zhou Huan’s hands gradually faded, the image shifting to the yellowed look of an old movie.

Inside was Heshen; Zhou Huan recognized him instantly. Behind Heshen was Zhou Huan himself, being pushed towards the Bridge of Helplessness after drinking the Forgetfulness Potion by the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced guards. Zhou Huan was dragged to another side. A blinding cloud of mist swept across his eyes, and he found a family giving birth. The child was a girl, and as the girl slowly grew, she actually became a police officer. When Zhou Huan saw this in the mirror, he instantly recoiled in shock, cold sweat dripping from numerous places. He immediately threw down the mirror he was holding, staring tensely at Gui Tai before him.

Gui Tai let out a burst of hearty, wild laughter, not knowing how it was produced: “Zhou Huan, did you see your beloved Little He? Haha! Since I see you in such pain, I will perform a good deed today and send you off, sparing you further suffering. Seeing you like this truly makes my heart uneasy.”

Zhou Huan felt a lingering fear looking at Gui Tai’s rampant demeanor. He did indeed question whether what Gui Tai had just said was true, but what he saw in the mirror was something he had genuinely experienced. The people in the mirror seemed familiar to Zhou Huan. For Zhou Huan, regardless of whether these events were real or fabricated, the current Xiao He was with him. Whatever the past held, it was over. Zhou Huan’s goal was simply to live peacefully with Xiao He, Xiaoling, and his apprentices in the end.

A slight smile touched the corner of Zhou Huan’s mouth, and then he struck out with a talisman: “This talisman is called the Charm of Oblivion—it makes one forget the past, the previous life. I do not wish to dwell on those things. Even if I knew them, so what? Come, let us settle what needs to be done tonight!” The true energy within Zhou Huan surged to the Baihui point above and the Yongquan point below. His entire body felt as light as a swallow in flight. His palms clenched a handful of talismans, which Zhou Huan had prepared before his arrival.

Gui Tai laughed, floating in mid-air. It seemed she had not fully recovered; the impact from that earlier repulsion had injured her severely. Zhou Huan could clearly see her current state: the old hag was losing her edge; even the ghostly yin energy surrounding her seemed diminished.

Zhou Huan casually flung the talismans in his hand. Swish, swish—like falling raindrops, they rained down upon Gui Tai. Looking at Gui Tai, she bounced back and forth, leaping up and down, dodging every talisman Zhou Huan threw.

Zhou Huan followed immediately, soaring into the air, striking out with his hands. In that very instant, a ghost and a human, one a miracle of the ghost realm, the other a myth of the mortal world. The clash between two souls, fighting to conclude the tangled affairs of recent days—fighting for love, which belongs to the mortal world; the human-ghost romance could never be. Fighting to consume the vital essence of a child—that was mere gluttony, or perhaps not just for that small gain. Ultimately, it was fate that had entangled these two unrelated beings, leading to a confrontation of such unbelievable intensity.

Zhou Huan and Gui Tai fought with every ounce of their strength. Black and white energies whipped around them in mid-air. The apprentices sitting on the ground were dizzy watching; they had no idea how to assist Zhou Huan, as they couldn't intervene at all. What were they to do?

“Tian Xiong, does your Buddhist school have any methods? Can you try to step in?” Shi Bingyuan felt extremely uneasy.

But what Shi Bingyuan and Hong Kun never expected was that Tian Xiong, as a man who had taken holy orders, could only shake his head and offer a faint smile upon witnessing the situation.

Tian Xiong began turning the prayer beads in his hand, murmuring scriptures. Halfway through, he said, “All things are created by karma and fate. This is what Master taught me. But why does he continue to be entangled with this Gui Tai? I once asked Master why. Master said that since one is a mortal being, one must act like a mortal being; only then can one dissolve all past, present, and future karmic ties and truly have a chance to attain final enlightenment.”

Tian Xiong’s words stunned Shi Bingyuan and Hong Kun. They were astonished that Tian Xiong had grasped such profound understanding in such a short time. These were words Zhou Huan had only spoken before, but they could never recall them clearly, always forgetting them entirely afterward.

While they were discussing this, they saw Zhou Huan struck by a palm from Gui Tai and plummet from the sky. Simultaneously, Dong Zi, for some unknown reason, sprinted out of the house, seemingly wrapped in a great coil of talismans. The paper talismans entangled him so thickly that running was difficult. Panting heavily, he kept shouting, “Brother Huan, I’m done writing! Do you think this is enough?” Hearing this, he saw Zhou Huan falling from the sky and sped up. Already clumsy, his running turned into staggering, and he tumbled directly under Zhou Huan, spinning neatly to catch him.

“Brother, you looked so magnificent floating up there! Teach me someday.” Dong Zi was oblivious to the casual chatter Zhou Huan was making. But Zhou Huan was badly wounded now; he leaned sideways and sat on the ground, his eyes bulging.

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