Upon returning to Xu Hui's villa, the group managed to place He Shaoqing onto a ** in the guest room. Kuang Feifan then noticed that besides the talisman stuck to his forehead, He Shaoqing was also pierced with numerous acupuncture needles; aside from the joints of his limbs, Kuang Feifan surmised the rest were likely pressure points.

After laying him down flat, Gu Yi looked up at the others and said, "Bai Ru, you stay. The two of you wait outside."

"Uh... this is still classified?" Xu Hui asked with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Gu Yi shook his head, "Of course not. I'll need to temporarily lift his seals for a few minutes. You two have very strong yang energy, and lingering in the room could easily provoke a backlash from him, so you need to leave."

Kuang Feifan pondered for a moment, guessing that He Shaoqing might react violently upon sensing yang energy, so he pulled Xu Hui, and they exited the guest room.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Kuang Feifan and Xu Hui stared at the guest room door with undiminished anxiety, waiting silently for the events inside to conclude.

After waiting patiently for about an hour, the door finally opened, and Gu Yi and Bai Ru emerged, looking exhausted, soaked in sweat as if they had just been pulled from water.

"How is it?" Xu Hui stood up and asked.

Kuang Feifan instinctively supported Bai Ru, frantically searching for a towel to wipe their sweat.

"I can only say it's temporarily stabilized, but recovering fully will require further measures," Gu Yi spoke first.

His words did nothing to ease the spirits of Kuang Feifan and Xu Hui, but seeing how tired they looked, he suggested they take a shower, change into clean clothes, and then sit down to discuss matters.

Once Gu Yi and Bai Ru were cleaned up, everyone settled onto the sofas in the living room. Xu Hui brought out some food and drinks, and after they had eaten a little, Kuang Feifan finally asked, "You mentioned earlier what other measures are needed to save He Shaoqing?"

Gu Yi replied, "This matter is rather complicated. Unless the evil spirits within that building we just left are completely eradicated, we can't fully resolve the issue with He Shaoqing's shade-clone possession, as it has almost fused with his very soul. If we had delayed much longer, He Shaoqing as a person would have completely vanished."

Kuang Feifan and Xu Hui were both visibly shocked.

However, Gu Yi's words brought a question to Kuang Feifan's mind, and he asked, "What exactly is this shade-clone possession? How did it end up on He Shaoqing?"

Bai Ru took up the conversation to explain, "Actually, there are no strictly defined terms currently regarding souls or ghosts, so everyone tends to use their own preferred vocabulary. Terms like wang hun (shade-soul), gui hun (ghost-soul), or e ling (evil spirit) all mean essentially the same thing; there’s no need to dwell on semantics. The main issue right now isn't identifying which ghost in that small building managed to attach a strand of its essence to He Shaoqing and take control of his actual soul—which is why he was exhibiting so many inexplicable actions."

"Possession?" Kuang Feifan thought of a term from supernatural lore.

Gu Yi shrugged, "Something like that, but far more potent than a standard haunting. This situation is clearly much graver than a typical ghost attaching itself to a person. It can control every action of the entire person, and can even use this body to cast illusions. I have seen ghosts control corpses before, but I never expected that a mere shade-clone of a ghost could integrate so perfectly with the soul of a living person. It’s astonishing."

Xu Hui pursed his lips, "Hey, can you stop praising that damned ghost for a moment? How could it control He Shaoqing?"

Hearing this question, Bai Ru’s expression darkened. "Actually, this is my fault. When Kuang Feifan and He Shaoqing encountered the ghost in the small building earlier, wasn't He Shaoqing bitten by that monstrous infant? At the time, I only assumed he had contracted corpse poison, so I focused only on removing the toxins and healing the worsening bite wound, failing to realize that an evil spirit had split off a thread of its soul and used He Shaoqing's wound as an entry point into his body. I estimate that the shade-clone might have even left He Shaoqing’s body while he was in the hospital. Feifan, do you remember the nightmare you had at the hospital?"

At her mention, Kuang Feifan recalled the dream he had while hospitalized and nodded involuntarily, "I remember."

Bai Ru raised a hand to rub her cheek, her voice somewhat subdued, "I didn't notice it then, but that nightmare was actually caused by an invasion from that shade-clone. I didn't think to investigate further at the time, nor did I expect that the clone’s power would be so great as to breach the protective formation I had set up. That's why He Shaoqing is in this condition now."

Kuang Feifan looked at her self-reproachful expression and felt a pang of heartache. He took her hand and comforted her, "You can’t blame yourself for this. The situation was so critical then; just managing to purge the corpse poison from He Shaoqing’s body and save his life was a huge success. Besides, I was also laid up in the hospital then, which probably distracted you too. Please stop blaming yourself, okay?"

Xu Hui chimed in casually, "Yeah, it’s all because the enemy was too cunning. Uh... never mind that, what do we do now? How do we eliminate the ghosts trapped in that small building?"

Gu Yi's expression was strange at this moment. He vaguely felt that there was some crucial element he hadn't grasped, yet he couldn't connect the dots immediately. He thought for a moment and slowly analyzed, "Given the current circumstances, I have a nagging feeling that this small building isn't merely afflicted by stray wang hun..."

Xu Hui raised a hand to interrupt him, cautiously suggesting, "Uh... could you perhaps use language that's easier to understand? Just say it’s haunted."

Gu Yi rubbed his nose, realizing his attempt to sound more literary was in vain. He chuckled a few times, "Alright. This haunted building doesn't seem as ordinary as it appears on the surface. I suspect there is some unknown external force amplifying the capabilities of the ghosts inside. When I entered earlier looking for He Shaoqing, I was first met with a series of illusion attacks. Thankfully, my 'Wisdom Eye' was unaffected. Unexpectedly, as soon as they realized I wasn't falling for the illusions, their methods immediately changed: first, they started controlling objects for physical attacks, then came paper effigies formed by spirit fragments to attack me. It wasn't until I forced them to make He Shaoqing appear that I managed to pull him out of the building. This was lucky because I didn't reveal that my primary target was He Shaoqing all along; otherwise, I honestly wonder if He Shaoqing would have ever shown up in the end."

Bai Ru frowned slightly, "I considered this as well. The spirits in this building seem to possess their own independent consciousness. Moreover, from the experiences Kuang Feifan and the others recounted, I sense their illusory techniques are extremely potent, easily finding the deepest fears within a person's heart and manifesting them."

Kuang Feifan didn't feel much upon hearing this, but Xu Hui immediately recalled the various sights he had witnessed inside the small building. His expression shifted, and he nodded in agreement reflexively.

Seeing him nod, Kuang Feifan asked in confusion, "What did you think of?"

Xu Hui forced a wry smile, gritted his teeth, and proceeded to detail his experiences in the small building. Their previous discussions had not delved into specifics, so no one had fully grasped what each person had truly endured.

After listening to Xu Hui's account, Gu Yi nodded thoughtfully, "I feel I was right. These ghosts in the building are utilizing a medium to probe the deepest fears lurking in a person's subconscious—fears that perhaps even the individual themselves isn't fully aware of."

Xu Hui sighed, looking down at his hands, and muttered, "It's true. I was terrified then, even firing my weapon uncontrollably. Thinking back now, I feel ashamed of this uniform."

Kuang Feifan shook his head and advised, "Don't dwell on it too much. The situation was extraordinary; any abnormal reaction would not have been out of place."

Gu Yi, seated close to Xu Hui, patted his shoulder, "You did remarkably well. Most people facing that kind of situation would have gone mad or been scared to death outright. The fact that you faced it head-on and endured proves your mental fortitude is quite strong."

These words seemed to have some effect, as Xu Hui immediately rallied, asking, "So, after all this, what should we do?"

Gu Yi continued the line of thought he had started, "I said, it's highly likely there is an external force helping the ghosts grow stronger. So, next, we need to try to figure out what that external force might be."

Kuang Feifan couldn't help but sigh in slight discouragement, "That won't be easy. We don't even know how many ghosts are in there yet, so how can we investigate any external force?"

Bai Ru had been frowning, sitting silently in deep thought. Suddenly, she spoke up, "Gu Yi, considering all the preceding circumstances, do you think this is related to Black Sorcery?"

PS: This is to make up for yesterday; there will be another chapter before midnight.