Seeing my father, my mouth fell open in astonishment, unable to believe my own eyes—was that man huddled in the corner truly him? At first glance, I could only perceive a stranger. Father had always been a robust man, but the figure sitting on the floor before me was alarmingly frail. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, sinking deep into massive sockets, his cheekbones jutting sharply. He was so thin he barely resembled a human being. The undershirt he wore on his torso was ripped into tatters, hanging off him like rags, revealing every one of his protruding ribs.

If it weren't for the occasional flicker of white visible in his eye sockets, I wouldn't have been certain he was still alive.

I lunged forward, intending to throw myself toward him, but he seemed to sense my presence. Suddenly, his entire body convulsed, springing up as if struck by lightning, darting with incredible speed to the opposite corner of the room, murmuring, "Don't come near, don't come near..."

"Dad..." I rushed over, reaching out to embrace him, but he appeared terrified of me, recoiling again as I neared.

I noticed he wouldn't look at me at all, clutching his own shoulders, incessantly mumbling like a sleepwalker, "Don't come near... She's here... She's come... Don't come near..."

Seeing him repeatedly evade me, I involuntarily stopped, hesitating to advance further.

As I stood there uncertainly, Father suddenly pointed at me, his face contorted in terror, shouting hoarsely, "You... It's you... You want to kill me..."

I gasped, instinctively retreating two steps, having never witnessed such an expression on his face.

I desperately turned my head to seek help from Uncle Guang and his son standing by the doorway. They both shook their heads at me with expressions of deep confusion. Uncle Guang whispered, "It has never been this severe before..."

Why?

After everything I had experienced with Pi Hou, I felt I had gained the ability to think consciously when faced with trouble. Instantly, an idea surfaced in my mind while staring at my father.

"A mirror, get me a mirror quickly..." I yelled.

Uncle Guang clearly didn't understand what I meant until I confirmed I wanted an ordinary mirror. He then retrieved a palm-sized, round vanity mirror used by Aunt Guang.

I nearly snatched the mirror from his hand, holding it carefully, raising it to examine the room from various angles.

My thoughts were chaotic during this time. The main issue was the timeline: I had encountered the ghost with Pi Hou and Uncle Ye inside the temple, so how could the ghost have traveled to my parents' home to harm them? I remembered Uncle Ye saying the old abbot had wounded that ghost, so why could it still hurt my parents?

Though I couldn't find a definitive answer, I did see something in the mirror.

At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but as I delicately adjusted the mirror's angle, I definitely saw something shadow-like there.

I slowly shifted my gaze; the room itself was empty, yet I could feel something else present besides my father and me.

Uncle Guang and his son remained outside the door, seemingly startled by my actions and confused by what I was doing. I suspected they might soon decide to lock me in with my father.

But I couldn't afford to worry about that. My focus was entirely on the shadow reflected in the mirror. The closer I looked, the clearer it became: it was a vaguely humanoid shadow, but small, about the size of a child's toy, indistinct and grayish, hovering directly behind my father.

Every time I tried to approach my father, the tiny shadow seemed to reach out, pulling an invisible thread, controlling my father to evade me. Only then did I understand why, despite his swift movements, his actions seemed somewhat stiff and unnatural.

But even knowing this, what could I do?

Fortunately, a thought of the Sarira in my possession suddenly struck me.

Biting my lip, I turned and shouted to Uncle Guang and his son, "Come help me!"

They entered, looking at me with puzzled eyes.

"Hold my father down," I commanded.

They struggled for quite some time before finally pinning my father to the floor. I hadn't expected the man, who was nearly reduced to a skeleton, to possess such immense strength.

I took out the Sarira and pressed it firmly onto my father while chanting the Heart Sutra repeatedly.

Initially, I kept glancing at the mirror, which distracted me, and the Sarira seemed ineffective. My father struggled increasingly violently under the grasp of Uncle Guang and his son; it looked likely he would break free.

I finally forced myself to ignore whatever the mirror reflected, concentrating solely on calming my mind and continuing the chant.

Gradually, my father's struggling force lessened. Finally, his taut body completely relaxed, becoming utterly still. I could sense that the entity controlling him had vanished.

It seemed simple, but when I pulled my hand away, an unprecedented wave of weakness washed over me, and I instantly blacked out.

When I awoke, I found myself lying in bed, my head throbbing with pain, every joint feeling rusted solid.

I saw Aunt Guang sitting by my bedside and struggled to sit up, urgently asking about my father's condition.

Aunt Guang gently restrained me, smiling comfortingly. "He's alright now; he's lucid, though very weak. He needs time and careful nurturing."

Hearing my father was safe made me ecstatic. I forgot all about the Sarira. As my mind relaxed, I drifted off again, sinking into a deep, hazy sleep that lasted a long time.

During that period, I thought I saw a Taoist priest appear by my bed, but I couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality; I simply lacked the strength to fully awaken.

Of course, when I finally regained full consciousness, a week had passed. Opening my eyes, I found Aunt Guang by my bedside, and surprisingly, a Taoist priest was indeed there as well.

Seeing me awake, Aunt Guang beamed, stood up, and left, saying she was going to pray at the temple.

Only the Taoist remained in the room.

I had thought the vision was a dream, so seeing an actual Taoist nearby left me quite perplexed.

But when the priest pulled out my Sarira from his robes, I jumped in fright. That object was priceless; after using it to save my father, I hadn't even thought to secure it. Seeing it now in the hands of this priest made me genuinely anxious. What if this Taoist intended to keep it?

I reached out, wanting desperately to snatch it back, but hesitated as I raised my hand. Surely, I shouldn't be so disrespectful to a monastic, should I?

Fortunately, the priest looked quite distinguished, radiating a serene, almost mystical air. He smiled faintly and handed the Sarira to me, saying, "You must keep this safe."

I managed an awkward chuckle, my expression undoubtedly embarrassed, but I took it and placed it in my inner pocket.

"Master... uh... Daoist Priest, you are..." I stammered, unsure how to address him or what his purpose was.

To my utter surprise, the Taoist Priest grinned widely and replied, "I am a charlatan."