Kuang Feifan knocked down a paper figure with a single punch, and upon turning back, he realized that Feng Tian was pulling out a fire-resistant blanket from the car trunk. He truly hadn't expected Feng Tian's car to be so inexplicably well-equipped.

The two collaborated to unfurl the fire-resistant blanket. Kuang Feifan saw Feng Tian preparing to light something and suddenly had an idea, shouting out, "Wait."

Feng Tian paused, lighter poised, as Kuang Feifan quickly said, "The car exploding, the blanket won't stop that."

As he spoke, he meticulously observed their surroundings. Several paper figures nearby were dispatched by him in quick succession, while the ones closing in from all directions were still some distance from the car. Rather than meeting them head-on, it was better to seize this chance to find a way out.

The greatest advantage of Feng Tian's car was its dilapidated state; dismantling anything was conveniently easy. At least the rear seats required no great effort for Kuang Feifan to wrench out alone.

While Kuang Feifan dismantled the car seats, Feng Tian made a discovery—a long-unseen slingshot and a bag of ammunition tucked beneath the front seat. Because of this find, he took on the responsibility of protecting Kuang Feifan. The slingshot, capable of striking targets both near and far, successfully neutralized several drifting paper figures. During this respite, Kuang Feifan managed to tear out the two front single seats as well.

Thus, Kuang Feifan fashioned a crude barrier using the inverted car seats and the fire-resistant blanket. He snatched the lighter from Feng Tian's hand and darted to the rear of the car, igniting the rag already soaked in gasoline.

Feng Tian clearly remembered that his car had just been refueled recently and felt a fleeting sense of fortune. Furthermore, his trunk actually held quite a few flammable and explosive items, though he certainly hadn't shared that detail with Kuang Feifan.

What happened next was, frankly, quite simple. Not long after the flames caught hold, the car detonated. The explosion felt like an earthquake, causing the ground to shake violently. The towering inferno resembled a pair of massive red hands tearing the curtain-like darkness in two. Immediately following, as if black glass had been shattered, fissures cracked open, appearing in pieces and fragments—not falling, but dissipating into the air.

The "Corner" collapsed utterly at that moment. This spatial disintegration induced a profound, indescribable dizziness in Feng Tian and Kuang Feifan, an unbearable sensation that rendered them momentarily unconscious. When they regained clarity, they surveyed the area only to realize they hadn't actually left the original road; after all that peril, they had seemingly gone nowhere.

There was no alternative. Kuang Feifan then made the most momentous decision of his life: he "stole" a mountain bike from beneath a residential complex and sped off toward the Taoist temple with Feng Tian riding pillion.

However, it was precisely this decision that allowed them to arrive at a critical juncture just in time, disrupting Ji Ping's long-laid scheme.

After Kuang Feifan recounted his experiences with Feng Tian, a rare flicker of astonishment crossed Ji Ping’s face. Though momentary, it did not escape Kuang Feifan's sharp eyes.

In truth, the escape from the "Corner" hadn't been as straightforward as Kuang Feifan had described. He knew that the explosive force of a single car detonation could never account for the massive destruction they witnessed. Yet, after escaping the "Corner," he hadn't pressed Feng Tian for details. Having luckily fled that hellish place was fortune enough; seeking further explanation simply wasn't Kuang Feifan's nature.

The reason he hadn't disclosed much to Ji Ping was purely a psychological maneuver, designed to create a specific illusion, perhaps even psychological pressure, on Ji Ping.

Seeing the expression on Ji Ping’s face, Kuang Feifan knew his tactic seemed to have worked.

Although Ji Ping still seemed to harbor doubts about Kuang Feifan’s account, recalling their ragged appearance upon reaching the temple’s rear courtyard at the time, even if Kuang Feifan’s words weren't entirely credible, they likely held seven or eight-tenths truth.

After a long silence, Ji Ping suddenly let out a deep breath, a wry smile playing on his lips. He shook his head faintly and mumbled, "I truly don't know if you were lucky, or if I was simply unlucky."

Kuang Feifan did not take the bait. Fortunately, Ji Ping wasn't asking a question either. But, just as he had promised, after a brief pause, he revealed everything he knew.

Ji Ping looked up, meeting Kuang Feifan’s gaze, and slowly asked, "Do you two want to hear the rest of that story?"

Kuang Feifan and Feng Tian exchanged a look. Clearly, the "story" Ji Ping mentioned was highly likely the incident the old Daoist priest had spoken of in the past.

But what they never anticipated was Ji Ping’s true identity.

The old Daoist priest had once mentioned a maid from the Luo family who, late one night, had carried a child to his master. Ji Ping was, astonishingly, the descendant of that very child.

"This is my fate, and a curse," Ji Ping stated in a low voice, his eyes nevertheless filled with venom.

According to Ji Ping, since he could remember, he only knew he was an orphan who had to rely entirely on his own efforts. Perhaps due to this, he exerted himself to the utmost in everything he did, sometimes resorting to covert methods. In short, relying on this tenacity, he managed to infiltrate the police force. He masked his true nature so well that almost no one perceived his other side. But on his twenty-fifth birthday, while walking home after dinner, he inexplicably entered what he called the "Ghost Realm."

Unlike Kuang Feifan and Feng Tian, he was nearly driven to collapse by the specters and monsters he encountered upon entry. It thoroughly shattered all his previous perceptions.

He hadn't even seen other terrifying things; the paper figures alone pushed him to the brink of madness. It was then that a person appeared, claiming to be his father—the child born from the Luo family servant and the young mistress. He told Ji Ping that he had entered this Ghost Realm at the age of forty, shortly after Ji Ping was born, but had never managed to leave. Once he revealed everything to Ji Ping, he would vanish completely from the Ghost Realm. If Ji Ping agreed to certain conditions, he could exit; otherwise, he would be trapped there forever, just like him, until he too faded away.

Only then did Ji Ping learn the convoluted history of his father’s father. Just as the old Daoist priest predicted, that ancestor—the Luo family servant—was originally surnamed Ji. After the Luo family murdered the servant, he truly transformed into a Jiangshi (vampire/zombie), one retaining all his prior memories. It was worth noting that he had indeed sought out the Luo family mistress, but the fire in her house wasn't due to her agreeing to die with him in love. Rather, the servant had unilaterally decided they should commit joint suicide. By then, the mistress had secretly given birth to his child. Initially, the servant planned to burn the child too, but the mistress pleaded desperately, convincing the servant to spare the child as a remnant of himself. Yet, the servant already had his own plans in motion.

The servant never told Ji Ping’s father how he acquired his powers, but Ji Ping learned from his father that the "Ghost Realm" was one of his abilities and part of his design. However, when the servant discovered his child had descendants, he summoned his son into the "Ghost Realm." At that time, he intended for his son to perform certain tasks, but to his surprise, Ji Ping’s father refused, instead choosing to remain voluntarily within the Ghost Realm. This set the stage for Ji Ping’s own entry into the Ghost Realm at age twenty-five.

"Why?" Ji Ping couldn't help asking his father.

It turned out the servant's ultimate goal was to arrange for the reincarnation of himself and the Luo family mistress many years later. Everything he did was to ensure his soul’s eternal preservation. But rebirth required assistance; thus, he preserved his lineage and summoned his descendants at the opportune moment to aid in their resurrection.

But Ji Ping’s father refused. Even if forced to remain in the Ghost Realm eternally, he would not leave to help the servant and the mistress achieve rebirth.

"Is it that difficult?" Ji Ping couldn't comprehend why his father would choose to stay in that terrible place.

It was neither particularly difficult nor easy, his father explained. To facilitate the rebirth of the servant and the Luo mistress, they would need to find nine people.

Of course, these nine individuals were not chosen at random; they were specifically selected.

Ji Ping still didn't understand, but that question was soon answered: ultimately, these nine people had to die as sacrifices, and two among them—one male and one female—would become the vessels for the servant and the Luo family mistress.