My involuntary cry of alarm stemmed entirely from the sudden realization that I still carried the Sheli Zi (relic bead) Great Uncle Ye had given me before his passing. Past experience taught me that anything possessing such an object had a negligible, almost zero, chance of manifesting near me.

Standing up, I was already contemplating whether to first remove the Sheli Zi and place it elsewhere, or simply leave Pi Hou’er's home and return another day. Had the old man’s earlier comment—that he heard no crying sounds in the house for a while after I arrived—anything to do with me constantly carrying the relic?

With this thought, I rushed toward the doorway, grabbed the handle, and pulled the door open.

Suddenly, a tremendous force seemed to surge from behind me, slamming the door shut once more with violent intent.

I gasped in surprise and spun around, seeing nothing behind me.

“Pi Hou’er, is that you?” I asked tentatively.

The room offered no reply.

I turned back quickly, re-entering the house, continuing to call out softly while scanning every corner for anything unusual.

Other than a distinct chill permeating the air, I saw no shadows or figures anywhere.

“Pi Hou’er, if you’re here, show yourself…” I couldn’t help but raise my voice slightly.

“Wuu… wuu…”

A faint sound, like muffled sobbing, drifted into my ears, its direction impossibly vague. I looked everywhere.

Finally, near the door leading further into the inner rooms, I saw a face materialize on the wall.

I recoiled instinctively, shocked. It was a man’s face; its ashen complexion nearly blended with the wall, the hair the color of mildew hanging in lank strands. The entire face was beginning to rot, appearing uneven and pitted, the eyes bulging almost out of their sockets, completely white, devoid of pupils.

After careful scrutiny, I finally recognized the face: it was Pi Hou’er.

He was truly dead! A surge of shock and anger overwhelmed me, and I blurted out, “Pi Hou’er, who did this to you?”

As I spoke, I moved to step closer.

But the instant I took a step forward, the bas-relief face immediately receded into the wall, visibly thinning until it vanished completely, as if it had never been there.

“Pi Hou’er…” I nearly lunged, pounding on the plaster.

Abruptly, an indescribable sigh sounded from behind me.

I whipped around again. On the wall beside the window, Pi Hou’er’s face reappeared. Just as I started to approach, his eyes suddenly rolled wildly, instantly turning the color of ink, and almost simultaneously, I heard a voice.

“Don’t…”

My expression changed, and I halted instinctively, staring fixedly at Pi Hou’er’s barely recognizable visage.

“…What happened?” After a beat of silence, I finally couldn’t stop myself from asking.

I watched his face seem to contort, and a chilling voice rasped out.

“He’s coming… He’ll be here any moment…”

I frowned. “Who’s coming?”

At that moment, I suddenly wished Pi Hou’er could speak English; at least then I could differentiate if ‘he’ meant the ghost of the woman in red.

Just then, an expression of profound agony swept across Pi Hou’er’s face, twisting his features severely. Even the bloodless, decaying flesh on his cheeks shuddered. Then I heard him let out something between a scream and a gasp: “Yi… Ah…”

Instantly, the look of agonizing suffering transformed into an expression of indescribable malevolence. Alarmed, I couldn't fathom the sudden change.

With a violent jerk, Pi Hou’er’s eyes snapped wide open, and his mouth parted with a sound like “Hsss… Ha…” Immediately, the lifeless, straw-like hair on his head whipped up without any breeze, twisting into thick cords that thrashed and elongated like octopus tentacles, lunging toward me.

Before I could react, several rope-like strands of black hair coiled around me, instantly binding one of my arms against my body. Before I could even struggle, the hair wrapped around me began to writhe. I felt as though I were entwined by countless slick, long snakes, constricting tightly, draining my strength, the wriggling sensation inducing a dizzying, tingling softness throughout my limbs.

Though one arm remained free, I hadn't devised a plan before the serpentine locks tightened even further. The ends of the hair felt barbed, piercing through my clothing and digging into my skin. In that instant, I felt as if countless insects were biting me—a sensation beyond any description.

“Pi Hou’er…” I roared, nearly in despair.

Yet, Pi Hou’er no longer seemed like the one I knew. Though his features were recognizable, he appeared a stranger to me now—or perhaps he was merely a malevolent spirit, a Li Gui focused solely on murder.

I tried to pull against the bonds with my free hand, but the hair’s strength increased with resistance, constricting painfully, causing sweat to pour down me as I cried out.

My cries were loud enough to scream, yet I couldn’t speak, and astonishingly, the sheer noise didn't rouse the neighbors next door. Perhaps they assumed the house was empty, meaning no human voice could be issuing such sounds.

If this continued, the locks would soon pull me in two. Then, the thought of the Sheli Zi in my shirt pocket struck me. Why wasn't the hair afraid of it?

At that moment, several more strands of hair sprang from Pi Hou’er’s head, reaching for my remaining free arm, clearly intending to secure that as well.

I was certain that being caught again meant certain death. Remembering the relic was in the pocket above my heart, I fumbled for it.

As my fingers brushed against the fabric, I noticed that the hair binding me seemed to deliberately avoid the pocket on my shirt. Enduring the agonizing torment that threatened to make me vomit blood, I shakily pulled out the Sheli Zi.

The moment the relic rested in my palm, I saw with astonishment that the strands reaching for me froze mid-air, writhing and twisting, but daring not approach further.

There was hope. Gathering all my remaining strength, I began chanting the Heart Sutra in a trembling voice. Whether it was the scripture or the relic, the encroaching hair recoiled as if struck by electricity, rapidly snapping backward. Even the hair binding my body seemed to loosen slightly.

In moments, the Sheli Zi in my hand began to emit a soft, scarlet glow. Without hesitation, I slapped the relic against the hair still wrapped around me.

The strands, which moments before felt like constricting serpents, immediately scattered as if meeting their nemesis, rapidly slithering away from my body. However, I managed to strike one lock of hair directly.

With a sound like a sharp hiss—a ghostly shriek—that lock fell from me onto the floor like a dead snake. Furthermore, where the hair had been struck, a patch of deep, cerulean flame erupted, extending like a fiery thread directly toward Pi Hou’er’s head.

My face changed instantly. If this continued, wouldn't the fire consume Pi Hou’er entirely?

But before I could worry further, an acrid, foul stench forced me to raise my hand to cover my mouth and nose. Looking up, I saw a look of sheer terror flash across Pi Hou’er’s face before he vanished near the window. The blue serpent of fire followed closely, slamming against the wall.