After a moment of silence, the old master suddenly spoke. “You are all wrong. The most terrifying thing is not the darkness, but the moment when the light is extinguished. When you get used to the light, and it suddenly disappears, that is when fear truly takes hold of you.”

If things were truly as she suspected, then hadn’t all her previous deductions been completely wrong? No, when she thought more carefully, there were indeed many flaws and oversights...

Ye Yin gritted her teeth, ultimately abandoning the pursuit and vanishing into the darkness.

At dawn the next day, Ye Yin disguised herself as a nun and quietly slipped into the mayor’s office. She kicked the door open and addressed the trembling group inside: “Hurry and leave, you’re not equipped to handle this.”

You Yu and the others burst into grateful tears. “May we know the name of our benefactor?”

“I am Abbess Zhongtong, disciple of Master Yuantong. There’s no time to lose—go!”

She made it up on the spot, mainly because Master Yuantong was the only person Fu Yunzi truly feared. The two were, at best, half-brothers in the Dao, though why a monk and a Daoist belonged to the same sect was a question for their master... Their relationship was worse than rivals in love, and though they didn’t fight to the death, they generally avoided each other like the plague. Anything even remotely linked to the other was disavowed at once. Using his name would provide some deterrence and cover in the future.

“Thank you, Abbess!” The five, as if reprieved from death, ran for their lives toward the small bridge at the edge of town.

Perhaps still wounded by the Heavenly Fire Wheel, or perhaps fearing a sneak attack from that person’s return, Camellia Granny made no moves for several days. The town fell once again into utter silence at night, with people dying quietly in their homes.

By day, the town was desolate; when no living soul entered, the residents were like NPCs in a ghostly game, endlessly repeating the tasks they’d performed in life.

They did not know they were dead, nor how abnormal their behavior now was. In their minds, perhaps, they were only forced by circumstance into eating rice and meat. Survival was a necessity; chaos raged outside, and with no food in town, there was nothing else to eat but human flesh.

Three days later, Ye Yin returned to the town in the guise of a middle-aged woman with her “son”—a paper puppet. After a hearty meal, she accepted the director’s invitation to stay at their home.

She had noticed from her first visit that the director’s wife was a notorious gossip, privy to every tale and rumor. Sure enough, Ye Yin soon gleaned much useful information, skillfully steering the topic toward Granny Wang.

“That poor Granny Wang,” the director’s wife chattered on. “Widowed young, left with only a daughter named Lingdang. Then, when Lingdang was in her thirties, she disappeared. Folks say she was kidnapped by human traffickers and taken deep into the mountains as a wife. And Granny Wang’s next-door neighbor was a vile old scoundrel who bullied the widow, did all sorts of disgusting things...”

The director’s wife continued, “His wife was no better. Every time her husband sneaked into Granny Wang’s yard, she’d time it just right—when things got noisy, she’d storm in and cause a scene, calling everyone to watch and accusing Granny Wang of stealing her man, demanding the mayor uphold justice. As if that was the real reason—she just wanted those chickens Granny Wang kept.”

“Didn’t anyone speak up for her?”

“There’s always gossip at a widow’s doorstep—who wants to invite trouble? At first, some people tried to help, but after so many incidents, they stopped caring. That scoundrel’s wife became so bold, she even snatched the silver rings and bracelets off Granny Wang’s hands in broad daylight, and later stole Lingdang’s silk pouch. It’s just wicked…”

Ye Yin remained silent, absently patting her “son” as he crawled about. The director’s wife looked on with concern. “Poor child, so thin—must have suffered a lot. Eat and drink your fill these days, and you’ll grow plump and healthy in no time.”

Ye Yin smiled. But what did it matter if he was fattened up? In the end, it was only the difference between the taste of sandpaper and rice paper.

The townsfolk, seeing Ye Yin as merely a woman with a child in tow, assumed they posed no threat and allowed them to move about freely, even supplying them with good food—much like free-range chickens on a farm.

Notably, this time Ye Yin had made herself appear emaciated, and her paper son was also scrawny, to buy more time for her next move.

Sometimes, when Granny Wang came to town for oil or salt and crossed paths with Ye Yin, Ye Yin would ignore her, carrying her “son” with pride and brushing past without a glance. On those occasions, Granny Wang would sometimes look gently at the child in Ye Yin’s arms, before quickly lowering her gaze, her eyes turning cold again as she hobbled away.

“I don’t really know who the Immortal Lady is,” Da Tou replied cheerfully as he gnawed on a chicken wing, words muffled. “She lives at Granny Wang’s house and rarely comes out, but she does know magic.”

Da Tou had been considered mentally challenged in life, and such souls were scrambled and confused, so their deaths were never quite complete; some sensation and new thoughts remained.

Ye Yin handed him another chicken wing. “What kind of magic? Tell me—I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Da Tou hesitated, but the chicken wing defeated his loyalty to the Immortal Lady. “Alright, I’ll tell you, but you have to keep your word.”

Ye Yin nodded and offered him a cigarette.

Upon seeing the cigarette, Da Tou was overjoyed, tucking it behind his ear as he whispered, “She can make fire appear in her palm—it’s real, I’ve tried, and it’s hot!”

“Heh, who would believe that?”

“I’m not lying!” Da Tou was anxious. “The Immortal Lady can make fire with her hands, bring dead chickens back to life with water, and heal the sick! Granny Wang had arthritis—used to be hunched over in rainy weather, but after seeing the Immortal Lady, she was cured. She walks upright now and, when things get urgent, moves especially fast. Once, I saw her trip over a stone—she fell hard, but got right up and walked on as if nothing happened. Any other old woman would’ve been bedridden for half a month!”

“When did you first meet the Immortal Lady?”

Da Tou looked confused. “When…? Right, when was that…?”

Ye Yin shook her head and walked away. The residents’ lives had already frozen in time; they’d lost all sense of chronology. Even if Da Tou’s mind had been whole, he likely wouldn’t remember.

Several days of rain finally gave way to clear skies.

At noon, the sun burned bright—a time when evil was weakest and action was most suitable.

Ye Yin pushed open Granny Wang’s courtyard gate. Granny Wang was just emerging from the cellar, scolding in panic, “How can you barge into someone’s house? Get out!” She hurried to shut the cellar door.

Ye Yin ignored her, walked straight up, and fixed her gaze on Granny Wang’s eyes. “Who’s in the cellar?”

“There’s no one. Get out, you’re not welcome here!”

“The townspeople wronged you and your daughter, but they’ve paid for it already. Why keep hurting other innocents? You have food and drink—why eat human flesh?”

The basket in Granny Wang’s hands fell to the ground. Her hands trembled as she looked away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“You know everything. You know why everyone’s not themselves. Who turned the townsfolk into flesh-eating fiends? If your daughter continues like this, one day she’ll anger someone powerful and her soul will never be freed!”

Granny Wang covered her face with her hands, her whole body shaking.

“I know you’re a kind person. You’ve suffered greatly inside, haven’t you? Open the cellar. I know only you can. Let me take your daughter in hand before she’s past saving. Otherwise, you’ll lose even the chance to be mother and daughter in the next life.”

“You can’t defeat her…” Granny Wang squatted down, sobbing, her posture like that of someone retching. “She’s too strong—no one can stop her… I’ve tried to make her stop, but she won’t listen…”

“When children don’t listen, they need a beating,” Ye Yin said gently, patting Granny Wang’s back, a smile on her lips. “Parents who spoil their children are the worst. A mother like you might as well be dead.”

Granny Wang shuddered. Ye Yin could feel a cold current shooting up from the cellar—someone was angry. She continued her verbal assault: “Look at you, too weak to avenge yourself without your daughter’s help. Revenge taken, but you can’t control the monster you’ve raised, harming others and yourself. Every day you live, more people die. So why not die? If you die, your daughter is freed, and so is everyone else.”

Tears streamed down Granny Wang’s face. “Then kill me… There’s no point in living…”

“Open the cellar. I’ll end your suffering.” Ye Yin was cold. “Otherwise, your death will be in vain. Your daughter will be trapped here, doing more evil. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her.”

Granny Wang knelt, hands like withered branches, and slowly pushed open the cellar door.

A wave of icy air rushed out, forcing Ye Yin several steps back. She dashed to the doorway, steadied herself, and quickly pulled out a thunder talisman. Just as she was about to bite her tongue to activate it, her movements suddenly froze.

Blood slowly spread across her chest, blossoming into a bright red flower.

Ye Yin turned her head in disbelief, only to see Granny Wang’s tear-stained face. She gripped a sharp knife in her hand. “I can’t… I can’t let you take my daughter…”

It happened in an instant. The sorrowful face twisted into something ferocious and terrifying, the voice changing too: “A mere amateur dares ruin my plans and tells my mother to die? How bold! Simply taking your soul would be too merciful—I’ll slice you into a thousand pieces!”

Ye Yin gave a strange smile.

Before Granny Wang realized what had happened, a thunderbolt as thick as a tree trunk crashed down. She screamed, dropped the knife, and her whole body was scorched and smoking as she collapsed, barely alive.

The “Ye Yin” who had been stabbed turned into a paper doll, fluttering to the ground, a hole right through its middle.

“I rarely use talismans to attack—they’re too much trouble,” the real Ye Yin said as she entered from outside, looking down at the utterly defeated Camellia Granny. “You’re not the only one who knows how to use puppets.”

“You… how did you know I’d possess my mother’s body…” Camellia Granny’s voice was barely a whisper.

Ye Yin squatted down, eyes tinged with pity. “You never possessed her. This is your original body. Your mother died long ago. You are Lingdang.”

At first, Ye Yin had thought Camellia Granny was the mysterious figure hiding in the cellar, but then she recalled something odd—the manner of death.

The townspeople had all died horribly, but Granny Wang’s face was peaceful—she had committed suicide. A corpse-linking array, being an evil formation, required bodies dead with fierce grievances and violent deaths. Since the formation was Camellia Granny’s doing, the deaths must be closely linked to her.

In other words, Granny Wang’s body did not meet the two basic requirements for the corpse-linking array: violent death and grievance. She was truly dead and could not have returned during the day. So, who was the Granny Wang everyone saw in daylight? And who was the scorched middle-aged woman?

Ye Yin had wondered why, if Granny Wang was a suicide, she also reappeared at night. Only after learning her life story did she begin to understand.

“My mother’s not dead… I’ve been protecting her…” Camellia Granny muttered over and over, unconcerned that this hastened her end. Her body convulsed, legs stretching out from the thick cotton coat, the human skin mask on her face losing its magic and peeling away... Gradually, the small, stooped old woman disappeared, replaced by a tall, middle-aged woman, half her body blackened by burns.

Ye Yin closed her eyes. “Yes, she isn’t dead. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

Camellia Granny kept repeating herself until her breath finally stopped, her eyes still wide open. A strong wind swept dust and sand through Zaoji Town. The once peaceful, tidy place became a ruin of broken walls and cobwebs, bleak and desolate.

Ye Yin placed her hand on Camellia Granny’s forehead, extracting her soul to read it, searching for information about the hidden treasures.

At last, she learned all she needed—and some things she’d rather not have known. She picked up the knife, chopped off Camellia Granny’s right pinky, and used it to open the hidden door in the cellar, collecting all the contents into her dimensional pouch for later inspection.

Ye Yin left Zaoji Town one final gift: a great fire. Broken houses and corpses burned to ash, smoke soaring to the sky as if the town’s souls were finally freed. She watched the flames for a while, then swung onto her little motorcycle and sped cheerfully toward the farm.

Author’s note: Next chapter will explain everything—Camellia Granny was truly a pitiful soul.

Sorry for the late update—a super long chapter as an apology!