The woman before Qi Mai wore a mask, preventing him from immediately recognizing her. Moreover, the current situation left no room for contemplation—a thunderous "bang" erupted from inside the house as Yu Wenlin was violently slammed against the wall by an invisible force, crushing the already rickety wooden chair beneath him.
Dust swirled through the increasingly chaotic room, punctuated by occasional coughs. "Cough... Ouch." Yu Wenlin grimaced in pain, rubbing his sore shoulder.
A tall, dark male silhouette abruptly materialized in the center of the room. The shadowy figure strode directly toward Yu Wenlin, who instinctively clutched the pouch in his hand, silently repeating Wei Yangbing's name like a mantra. Within seconds, the pouch grew scalding hot in his palm.
The male ghost seemed to sense something—his footsteps faltered, accompanied by a faint, muffled grunt in the air. Moments later, he vanished completely, though not before turning his head slightly as if glancing toward Yu Li's direction.
As the ghost disappeared, the tightly shut door slowly creaked open as though drained of all energy, the white mist inside dissipating. "It actually worked..." Yu Wenlin's eyes widened in astonishment, but his joy was short-lived—the pouch in his hand suddenly burst into flames, forcing him to fling it away in alarm.
Yun Xialan, observing from the shadows, felt her tension gradually ease. Had she narrowly escaped disaster? Her relief was interrupted when the masked woman abruptly exited through the door. Yun Xialan instinctively moved to follow, only to freeze when the woman glanced back with a cold warning: "Don't follow me." The command left Yun Xialan rooted in place, watching helplessly as the woman departed.
The Taoist priest surnamed Chen began packing his belongings, murmuring before leaving, "Remember to clean up the corpses." The reminder about the bodies made Yun Xialan's expression darken—while the ghost was gone, the gruesome aftermath remained.
Outside, Qi Mai found himself in an awkward predicament. Their original plan had been to film when Bo Jingmo performed his "surgery" on Yu Wenlin, but Yu Wenlin's unexpected preparations and powerful talisman had even repelled Bo Jingmo. He turned to Zhang Can with a hushed question: "What now? Do we keep filming?"
Zhang Can barely glanced at him—his mind was already on going solo. Goodbye, partner! Making up a quick excuse, he said, "Let's pause for now. You stay and monitor Yu Wenlin—I'll tail that woman." Qi Mai nodded in agreement, though his expression turned grave the moment Zhang Can left. Something about both departures felt... off.
Yu Wenlin, brushing dust off his clothes, snorted coldly: "Why do you care?" Pocketing the memory card from his shattered camera, he frowned at Yun Xialan's fixation on the corpses. "Stop staring. Go monitor that woman and priest—don't let them notice you." With no engine sounds outside, they couldn't have gone far. This surveillance was precisely why he'd kept Yun Xialan around—why he'd chosen Wei Yangbing as the sacrifice earlier.
Yun Xialan pressed her lips together before nodding. Then, her body gradually turned translucent, fading from view entirely.
The wilderness was overgrown with weeds tall enough to conceal a person. The previously silenced rustling noises resumed, as if nocturnal creatures lurked in the pitch-black night. When Taoist Chen expected Yu Li to drive back, she instead tossed him the car keys. "Rest in the car—there's water in the seat."
"And you?" he asked instinctively.
Yu Li simply waved him off, walking wordlessly toward a specific area. Remembering something, Taoist Chen opened his mouth but ultimately sighed, clutching his aching chest as he retreated to the vehicle.
The camera followed Yu Li's back as she parted the tall grass, revealing an ancient tree with a massive trunk. Moonlight cast swaying shadows through the leaves as she switched off her flashlight, addressing the empty space before her: "Bo Jingmo, I know you're here."
Seconds later, a man's figure gradually materialized beneath the tree, his dark silhouette shrouded in deeper shadows. Slowly lifting his head, his sharp jawline and high nose bridge were partially obscured by shifting foliage, exuding an austere allure. His lips parted slightly: "Who are you?"
At his question, Yu Li's eyes curved like crescents. "You don't remember me?" Closing the distance with his silent permission, she knelt down and whispered, "Then do you remember Yu Li?"
His body tensed visibly. "...Yu Li?"
"Yes." Her smile deepened. "Your girlfriend."
This movement fully exposed his striking features under the moonlight—handsome yet bewildered. His unblinking gaze tracked her as his Adam's apple bobbed: "You're Yu Li?"
"Very clever." Her sigh carried affection as her fingertips gently traced his brow. "I've searched so long for you."
Bo Jingmo's eyes darkened suddenly as he turned away from her touch, his voice crystalline like mountain springwater: "Prove it."
"Prove? That I'm Yu Li, or..." Her eyebrow arched. "...that I'm your girlfriend?"
His gaze snapped back, inscrutable. "The latter."
Yu Li tilted her head before abruptly gripping his shoulders and settling onto his lap. Under the sheltering shadows, she leaned in and kissed him. His lips were icy, his entire body radiating cold like something just removed from a freezer—rigid and chilling. Undeterred, Yu Li kissed him repeatedly, their mingled breath turning heated and indistinguishable in its origin.
When his hands locked around her waist to deepen the kiss, she suddenly bit his lip without warning. Under the silver moonlight, her glistening red lips parted in silent temptation as she smiled:
The barrage of live-stream comments exploded instantly.