Worried that Uncle Huzi, possessed by the vengeful spirit, might return, I hastily set up a Spirit Entrapment Formation. Just as I finished, a beam of light suddenly swept over me, startling me.
Looking closely, I saw it was Zhang Yunyao driving back toward the Zhang family's ancestral tomb, and I finally relaxed.
Moments later, Zhang Yunyao came briskly toward me, carrying a bag and waving from afar.
I quickly met her halfway. "Did you bring everything I asked for?"
"Yes," she nodded. "I found two bottles of aged vinegar in the kitchen, not sure if it's enough. As for the soot from the bottom of the pot, I scraped together what I could—there wasn't much at home," she added a little apologetically.
I glanced at her face and noticed streaks of soot smudged across her pretty features—likely from when she collected it. Yet oddly enough, the smudges gave her a cute, mischievous look. I couldn't help but smile.
Zhang Yunyao blinked in confusion at my reaction.
"Come closer," I said gently.
Blushing slightly, unsure of what I meant, she obediently leaned in and even closed her eyes.
I reached out and wiped the soot off her cheek. Her skin was astonishingly smooth—like a freshly peeled boiled egg, soft and elastic to the touch.
"All done," I said, brushing the soot from my hand onto my clothes.
"What was that?" she asked, clearly flustered.
"You had soot on your face. I just wiped it off for you. How did you end up looking like a little soot cat?" I teased.
"Ah?" She instinctively reached up to wipe her face, but with even dirtier hands, only made the smudges worse.
"I was in such a hurry I didn't clean up after getting the soot," she explained sheepishly while digging into her bag for the supplies.
She handed me two bottles of aged vinegar and a small paper packet containing the soot.
"Not bad. This should be enough," I said after examining the items.
Her face lit up with a bright, sweet smile, which made my heart flutter unexpectedly.
"Young Master Wu, does your wound still hurt? I brought some iodine and antibiotics from home. Do you want me to help clean it?" she offered while rummaging through her bag again.
"We can deal with that later. There's no time. Saving lives is more important now," I replied, looking toward the workers lying on the ground.
"But your injuries are serious. What if it gets infected? Let me treat it—just a little?" she said with concern.
"No need. The corpse poison's already been purged. I'll be fine for now. We need to focus on saving them," I said firmly.
Just as we were about to help the unconscious workers, we heard footsteps approaching fast. Both of us stopped and turned toward the sound.
As I feared, Uncle Huzi had returned.
The first time, my phone's rooster crow ringtone had scared him off. The second time, he took Zhang Yunliang's substitute away. This would be the third time he was disturbed—surely enough to enrage the spirit inside him.
Uncle Huzi approached quickly, walking with that same strange gait—tiptoeing with his body hunched forward.
From the blood-red glow in his eyes, I could tell the spirit possessing him was furious.
This time, it wasn't just after Zhang Yunliang—it was coming for me, too.
The spirit flared its nostrils and suddenly charged toward us at high speed.
Zhang Yunyao, unaware of the earlier events, exclaimed, "Uncle Huzi is back!"
As she raised her hand to greet him, I quickly covered her mouth and dragged her behind a coffin, motioning for her to stay down. She looked at me in shock, not understanding what I was doing.
I pulled a yellow talisman from my pocket and stuck it to her back.
This particular talisman masked the life force of the living. Without it, the spirit would sense her immediately.
The spirit was heading our way not because of me, but because it sensed Zhang Yunyao's living aura.
If she made the slightest sound, the ghost would detect her instantly.
So I kept my hand firmly over her mouth.
At first, she was tense—perhaps fearing I was trying something inappropriate. But when I made no further move, she calmed down and stayed still.
Soon, Uncle Huzi, still possessed, arrived near the coffin we were hiding behind. He sniffed the air repeatedly, trying to detect our presence. But with both of us cloaked by the talisman, he sensed nothing.
Failing to find us, he turned and headed straight toward the Spirit Entrapment Formation I had set up earlier.
The moment he stepped inside the formation, a white mist rose up in a six-to-seven-meter radius, surrounding him completely.
I finally exhaled in relief and released Zhang Yunyao from my arms.
She didn't move right away. Instead, she looked up at me and asked, "Young Master Wu, what's wrong with Uncle Huzi? Why is he walking so weird?"
"He's possessed by a vengeful spirit. It already tried to harm your brother earlier. I used a spell to lure it away. This is the third time it's come back," I explained.
"A… a ghost?" she gasped, scooting closer to me in fear.
"Will Uncle Huzi be okay?" she asked, worried.
"Don't worry. His fate is pure Yang—strong and filled with fierce energy. He probably had a violent past, which makes the ghost's influence less dangerous to him," I reassured her.
"Look at him. Why is he just walking in circles?" she asked again.
"He's trapped in the Spirit Entrapment Formation I set up. It's specifically designed to hold the ghost inside him. He won't be getting out anytime soon. We just have to hold out until sunrise," I said seriously.