{After gathering the items Grandma needed, Mom rushed back up the mountain. On the way, she called Dad and told him roughly where they were.}
{The mountain path was rough, just going back and forth took over an hour. By the time Mom arrived, it was already past five in the morning and the sky was beginning to lighten.}
{Grandma was still watching over you and your sister. Mom handed the items to her, but Grandma didn't take them. Confused, Mom looked up and saw a terrifying sight.}
{Grandma was bleeding from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, her face twisted in agony. Her breathing was faint, more exhale than inhale.}
{Only breathing out and not in, she was clearly dying!}
{Mom panicked, wanting to check where Grandma was hurt but didn't dare touch her. She was beyond anxious.}
{Then she looked at you and your sister. Your bodies were cold. She didn't even know whether your lost souls had been retrieved.}
{At a complete loss, Mom tried calling Dad, only to discover there was no cell signal.}
{Just then, Mom suddenly heard the sound of suona horns and gongs and drums.}
{Who gets married at five in the morning?}
{But there was no time to dwell on that. Mom desperately needed help and immediately prepared to find the wedding procession.}
{At that moment, Grandma suddenly awoke—no one knew when—and grabbed Mom's arm, stopping her from going.}
{Seeing Grandma awake, Mom was overjoyed and asked what had happened.}
{Grandma didn't answer. She gestured for Mom to carry you and your sister home while she stayed behind to deal with the wedding procession herself.}
{Mom didn't understand but saw Grandma's insistence and had no choice but to comply.}
{But alone, she couldn't carry both of you. She had to drag and pull you and your sister toward Grandma's house.}
{Just then, Dad finally arrived.}
{There was no time to explain. Mom urged him to carry you, while she picked up your sister, and together they headed back to Grandma's.}
{Mom could feel it. If they stayed, they'd only be a burden to Grandma. On the other hand, getting home even a minute earlier might give Grandma a better chance to escape.}
{And so, Dad and Mom carried you and your sister back to Grandma's house.}
{They had just laid you both down and were about to look for Grandma when she suddenly appeared in the courtyard. It was abrupt, as if she'd appeared out of thin air.}
{Grandma took out talisman paper, hemp rope, duct tape, towels, cinnabar, black dog's blood, a Peach Wood Sword, and other tools from her toolbox, placing them around the house.}
{Then she collapsed with a thud, completely unconscious.}
{When Grandma next awoke, it was already noon. Her face looked terrible. Just hours ago, she'd been lively and strong, but now she couldn't even get out of bed.}
{Grandma asked whether the items she'd set up before passing out had been moved.}
{Dad said they hadn't been touched, but the black dog's blood and other items had become unbelievably foul-smelling.}
{Hearing this, Grandma relaxed slightly and said, "As long as nothing's been moved, it's fine."}
{Mom then asked what exactly had happened.}
{Grandma sighed deeply and explained everything.}
{Yellow Village was the poorest in the region, a place of generational poverty and low status. Forget the current money-worshipping era—even in the past, no one was willing to marry into Yellow Village.}
{So what did they do when no one would marry in? They resorted to lies and buying brides.}
{They used various tricks to lure girls who were working far from home into the village, then trapped them there.}
{If a girl was pretty, she was simply sold off. Where she ended up, they didn't care. All they wanted was the money.}
{Those who weren't as attractive, or weren't worth much, were kept to bear children.}
{Though this was done secretly, secrets never stay hidden forever.}
{The authorities had raided several times, arrested plenty, but after a while the village would start trafficking people again.}
{This path seemed etched into the bones of the village; no matter how the authorities cracked down, it didn't change.}
{The real trouble started not long ago.}
{Brandon of Yellow Village lured a girl who was selling flowers to pay for her mother's medical treatment, into the village.}
{She was nineteen, tall and graceful, strikingly beautiful, which meant to be sold for a high price.}
{It had been a long time since they'd gotten a girl of such "quality." Everyone in the village was excited. And when they were excited, they drank. And when they drank, they drank too much.}
{To fetch a better price, they even hired someone to dress her up. Once she was done up… her beauty outshone even the most famous actresses.}
{The villagers' eyes nearly popped out. Fueled by alcohol, they didn't care about selling her anymore. A mob stormed the room where she was held.}
{The girl fought desperately, but it was useless.}
{Afterward, she couldn't bear the humiliation and killed herself by ramming her head into the doorframe.}
{Such things, while not unprecedented in the village, were still rare.}
{After all, in today's society, many young women were more open-minded than men and lived wild lifestyles.}
{Someone like her, who couldn't let go, was a rarity.}
{But dead girls don't bring money and might bring legal trouble. So, the villagers decided to dump her body deep in the mountains where wild animals roamed. If no one talked, the animals would destroy the evidence.}
{Unfortunately, they dumped her in a location steeped in Yin energy—a place of extreme evil. Combined with her tragic, hate-filled death, she transformed into a Malevolent Ghost seeking revenge.}
{The villagers had concealed the truth and didn't tell Grandma. By the time Grandma tried to walk away from this dirty business, it was already too late.}
{The girl-turned-Malevolent Ghost was filled with rage and saw Grandma as one of their accomplices, so she resented Grandma too.}
{Coincidentally, this was when you and your sister came to Yellow Village looking for Grandma.}
{The Female Ghost trapped you both using a ghostly maze, then stole your souls, planning to use you as leverage against Grandma.}
{After that, Grandma and Mom found you and your sister. While Mom went back to fetch supplies, Grandma stayed to guard your bodies.}
{If the bodies were destroyed, you and your sister would be lost forever!}
{Of course, the Female Ghost wouldn't just sit around. She used your and your sister's Spirits to force Grandma into an out-of-body fight.}
{It was during that battle that Grandma finally discovered the full truth.}
{Still, truth is one thing, sympathy another. There was no way Grandma would allow the Female Ghost to take your lives.}
{In the end, Grandma burned up her remaining powers, grievously wounding the Female Ghost and recovering your Soul and Spirit.}
{But in doing so, Grandma also exhausted herself completely, like a dying flame.}
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。