Feng Tian hadn't even pulled out his phone when a chilling hand landed on his shoulder, startling him; the utter lack of warmth immediately brought to mind a cold corpse. The old saying warns against turning back when a hand touches your shoulder, lest the three yang fires on your head and shoulders be extinguished. Instantly, his shoulder dipped, his body lunged forward, and with a powerful push from his feet, he darted ahead before whirling around to spray the "Ghost Repellent Spray" he'd just drawn.

"Damn it, what are you doing?" Kuang Feifan's stunned voice came from behind him.

Only then did Feng Tian realize the person who had reached out to touch his shoulder was none other than Kuang Feifan.

"Why are you here?" Feng Tian was equally surprised.

"I came looking for you, and just as I saw you sneaking over here, I followed. What's going on? Did an alarm go off?" Kuang Feifan wiped the spray droplets from his face and asked.

Feng Tian glanced towards the teaching building some distance away. Seeing a few people already gathered and observing, but no one making a move to rush in, he finally relaxed, then said with a hint of confusion, "Why are there so few people?"

"What?" Kuang Feifan followed his gaze back, a thought stirring in his mind, and couldn't help but ask, "Is the alarm related to you?"

Feng Tian signaled for him to keep walking alongside him, recounting the events he had encountered as they moved.

When he learned that Old Hou could not be saved either, Kuang Feifan’s expression grew somber. Although Feng Tian suspected something had gone wrong on his end, he didn't know the details. He figured it couldn't have been a pleasant experience, but precisely because of that, it was better to speak of it so others could share the burden; bottling it up would likely feel worse.

"How about your side..." Feng Tian asked, staring intently at Kuang Feifan’s face.

Kuang Feifan couldn't help but sigh, recounting his pursuit of Zhao Hongcheng and the incident where he was nearly affected enough to jump from the building.

When he finally regained his breath on the rooftop, he realized he must have been under some influence. He forced himself up, stumbled back into the hospital, and unable to figure out what to do about the situation below, his only thought was to quickly find Feng Tian.

However, his calls wouldn't connect, and after checking every accessible area in the hospital without finding a trace of Feng Tian, he then thought of the nearby teaching building. He hurried downstairs to the courtyard, ready to investigate that area. By then, quite a few people had discovered Zhao Hongcheng's body, and the news of someone jumping from the building had also spread within the hospital.

Clearly, a suicide was more attention-grabbing than a blaring alarm, which explained why only a fraction of people were near the teaching building; most remained clustered around the scene where Zhao Hongcheng’s body was found.

Failing to save either Zhao Hongcheng or Old Hou, both felt a sting of discouragement, a sense of utter defeat welling up. But there was nothing to be done; they hadn't deeply understood the Nine Revolutions Soul Suppressing Formation beforehand.

The two found the hospital's side door, exited back onto the street, and finally breathed freely. Kuang Feifan was somewhat better off, but Feng Tian was covered in dust and grime; anyone seeing him might grow suspicious, and those with sharper instincts might even call the police.

As they walked towards where they had parked, they analyzed the current situation. Old Hou's matter was settled; they could only keep silent with Auntie Hou, and the likely outcome was that he would be listed as missing. As for Zhao Hongcheng, since he was a lone individual, in a way, there were no lingering concerns attached to him.

The more pressing matter was the safety of Wang Hai and his girlfriend. However, Kuang Feifan had called them earlier; the call connected, but no one answered, a situation that made both of them increasingly worried.

"Try calling again," Feng Tian said to Kuang Feifan after they got into the car.

Kuang Feifan pulled out his phone and dialed again. Surprisingly, it connected after just two rings. Wang Hai's slightly drowsy voice answered, "Who is it?"

"Where are you guys?" Kuang Feifan asked directly.

Wang Hai clearly paused, but he quickly recognized Kuang Feifan's voice and casually replied, "At home. Something up?"

Kuang Feifan gasped, "Didn't I tell you two to go to the Taoist temple?"

A burst of chaotic noise came through the phone—it wasn't clear what Wang Hai was scrambling with. After a while, Wang Hai’s voice came back, laced with panic: "Sorry, I... I got busy and forgot."

Kuang Feifan nearly exploded with frustration, waving the phone meaninglessly, then took a deep breath to suppress his urge to lash out, before grinding his teeth and continuing, "Wait for me. Feng Tian and I will pick you up immediately."

He was about to hang up when Feng Tian, who had been listening closely, quickly interjected, "Wait, ask for the address."

Kuang Feifan had been so agitated he'd been completely flustered. Hearing Feng Tian’s reminder, he realized he didn't even know Wang Hai’s address. He quickly pulled his finger back from the hang-up button, confirmed Wang Hai’s current location, and hung up the phone, feeling utterly exhausted in mind and body.

He had no inclination to ask why Wang Hai hadn't obeyed the instruction to go to the temple. In fact, he was fortunate he didn't inquire, because if he had known the reason, Kuang Feifan might have gone ballistic.

The reason Wang Hai hadn't rushed to the temple was simple: he had been engaged in an intimate moment with his girlfriend, Xiao Zhang, back at their place.

To be fair, Wang Hai couldn't entirely be blamed. When he first discovered Zhao Hongcheng missing at the hospital, he notified Kuang Feifan. After they arrived, and Kuang Feifan instructed him to take his girlfriend to the temple, he intended to comply. But upon returning home, he found his girlfriend sitting on the sofa, wiping away tears. Naturally, his first priority became cheering her up.

Xiao Zhang’s full name was Zhang Xiaohui. The reason she was crying was merely due to the terrifying experiences of the past period; being alone made her emotional state dip, which was compounded by another major factor: she and Wang Hai were planning to get married next month—a decision made some time ago. Furthermore, her greatest desire was to have a baby, so they had been meticulously tracking her cycle, timing things perfectly to fulfill this wish, perfectly happy to be pregnant even before the wedding.

Coincidentally, these few days were the optimal window. But suddenly encountering such bizarre and terrifying events meant neither she nor Wang Hai was in the mood. Yet, being alone today, her already low mood had amplified, making tears inevitable.

Seeing this, Wang Hai naturally sat beside her to comfort her. But whether it was just Zhang Xiaohui or women in general, the more he comforted her, the harder she cried, giving Wang Hai a splitting headache. He couldn't afford to get angry or throw a tantrum. Wang Hai considered himself a mere 'diaosi' (underdog) who had managed to find such a virtuous and gentle girlfriend in his eyes; he cherished her too much to let her feel wronged.

When he heard the muffled reason for her tears, his heart tightened, and his head felt even larger. He hadn't expected that, under the current circumstances, his girlfriend would actually reproach him for not having been more proactive in intimacy lately.

However, it had to be admitted, this reason was quite legitimate. Today happened to be the last day of Zhang Xiaohui's calculated fertile window; if this day passed, the chances of conception would diminish, and that goal was paramount to her.

Looking at his girlfriend's tear-streaked, aggrieved expression, Wang Hai's mind heated up. He completely tossed Kuang Feifan's instructions aside. The only thought in his mind was: he could not disappoint his girlfriend; the most important thing right now was to fulfill her desire.

This thought, once conceived, became unstoppable. Wang Hai stood up, reached out, and lifted Zhang Xiaohui. Amidst her surprised gasp, he carried her straight to the bedroom. Before Zhang Xiaohui could fully process what was happening, he placed her onto the bed. Immediately, he stripped off his own clothes in a flurry of movement, grinned, and pounced onto the bed as well.

Zhang Xiaohui finally understood his intentions, feeling both exasperated and amused. She pounded him twice with all her might, but she didn't actually object. Wang Hai skillfully undid her clothes and pulled the blanket over them, instantly shrouding their boundless intimacy within.

Wang Hai exerted himself for a good while, breaking into a sweat. Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohui was no longer in the mood to cry. This reassured him. After some affectionate murmuring, he drifted into a daze and fell asleep.

It was Zhang Xiaohui who heard the phone ringing first when Kuang Feifan called. They hadn't heard the previous calls.

Upon hearing Kuang Feifan mention going to the Taoist temple on the phone, Wang Hai suddenly remembered and scrambled to find his clothes. Zhang Xiaohui blinked in surprise.

After he hung up, Zhang Xiaohui asked, "What was that?"

Wang Hai dressed quickly, saying, "I forgot about the main business. Hurry up, you too, get up, get dressed, and come with me to the temple."

Zhang Xiaohui frowned, not quite grasping the true meaning of his urgency.

After Wang Hai hastily explained what had happened at the hospital, Zhang Xiaohui was startled as well. She quickly got up to dress and tidy the bed, which was her habit.

They were almost done tidying up when Wang Hai returned to the living room with her. He said with some concern, "When they come to pick us up, don't mention why we couldn't get there in time."

Zhang Xiaohui couldn't help but give him a sidelong glance and retorted irritably, "It’s all your fault."

Wang Hai felt a sudden surge of resentment, but after calming down, he pouted, "Not sure who started it first."

"You..." Zhang Xiaohui glared at him fiercely, but Wang Hai quickly pasted on a smile and apologized profusely.

Zhang Xiaohui shot him a disgruntled look and turned to leave. Wang Hai quickly asked, "They'll be here soon, where are you going?"

"To the restroom, can’t I?" Zhang Xiaohui said stubbornly.

Wang Hai could only offer a dry laugh and wisely kept quiet.

Zhang Xiaohui didn't go to the restroom for its usual purpose; her aim was to check if their recent bout of passion had yielded results. But upon entering, she realized she had used up all the testing tools and hadn't bought new ones, which brought a slight disappointment. She casually walked over to the sink, intending just to wash her hands before leaving.

Just then, the light bulb overhead in the bathroom flickered once, then several times in quick succession, though it didn't go out.

The building was old, so unstable voltage or current was possible; she didn't pay much mind, merely raising her voice toward the door, "Hai, when you have time, can you check our appliances?"

"Okay..." Wang Hai outside had clearly noticed the flickering light as well and agreed.

Zhang Xiaohui turned back and turned on the faucet. Unexpectedly, water didn't flow as expected. She only heard a few gurgling sounds from the pipes, similar to the noise of a water supply stopping. Then, drops of black water began dripping from the faucet into the basin below, accompanied by a distinctly foul, musty odor.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohui couldn't help but frown. She looked up, about to call out to Wang Hai again to come in and look at the pipes, when suddenly, in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall—at the precise moment she looked up—she saw reflected behind her, not far away, a woman in white with wild, disheveled hair standing there.

Zhang Xiaohui couldn't help but scream in terror and instinctively whipped her head around, only to find no one behind her.

But this didn't reassure her; instead, she froze in her turned posture, unable to move, because just as she had turned, her peripheral vision caught sight of what seemed to be a figure standing in the corner of the bathroom, facing the wall. However, she couldn't be certain it wasn't an illusion, and because of that, her instinct was not to look back again.

Involuntarily, Zhang Xiaohui's tension mounted to an extreme. She could hear her own heart pounding like a drum—thump-thump, thump-thump. The dreadful uncertainty made her feel suffocated, so tense that she was on the verge of fainting.

Simultaneously, Wang Hai in the living room heard her scream and was instantly startled. Without thinking, he rushed toward the bathroom and yanked the door open.

Unexpectedly, the moment he opened the door, he saw Zhang Xiaohui just walking out, looking as if nothing had happened at all.

"What's wrong? Why did you scream?" Wang Hai asked urgently.

Zhang Xiaohui looked at him, then suddenly broke into a bright smile. "What's wrong? I'm fine, aren't I?"