Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

Listen to Zeng Xiao recount to her sister what she had experienced in Tujia Village during that year.

The other three people in the room also listened with complicated expressions.

Town official Li Chengben felt ashamed, and the pressure increased dramatically as Ge Chuan and Ren Fengjue kept casting glances at him.

But now everyone in Tujia Village is dead, and even if he wanted to overturn Zeng Xiao's case and atone for his sins, it's too late.

Zeng Qiao cried with tears streaming down her face.

Xia Ximo, who was possessed by Zeng Qiao's ghost, reached out to wipe away her tears, but showed no disgust on his face.

"At that time, I had just died, and my yin energy was still weak, so I couldn't leave Tujia Village for a while and could only continue to wander within the village..."

"No one else can see me, but strangely enough, that Taoist priest can..."

When the Taoist entered the village, he mingled with the crowd, his eyes scanning the surroundings before finally settling on Zeng Xiao's corpse.

At that moment, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, making Zeng Xiao's ghost feel fear.

Sure enough, after passing through the crowd, he walked straight over and suddenly raised his hand, striking out a black talisman.

Zeng Xiao's soul was instantly frozen in place, unable to move.

The Taoist priest gave a cold laugh, then casually made a hand seal, which directly split her soul into three parts and quickly extracted one of the souls, the purpose of which was unknown.

After the three souls were separated, Zeng Xiao's consciousness fell into a brief state of chaos.

When she regained consciousness, the first thing she heard was her sister crying.

It turned out that her body had been buried by the Tu family on the back mountain, while her younger sister was kneeling in the torrential rain, erecting a tombstone for herself.

The inscription on the tombstone is hand-carved: "Tomb of Sister Zeng Xiaozhi".

The rain was heavy, but Zeng Qiao knelt in the rain for a long time, her hands clenched into fists, her body motionless.

Zeng Xiao could sense that she was suppressing her emotions, with hatred filling her entire chest.

However, it was at this moment that Zeng Xiao saw the Taoist priest again.

He held up an umbrella, walked up to Zeng Qiao, and deliberately said something seductive first.

Upon hearing his words, Zeng Qiao was immediately shaken.

She clearly believed him and was even wavering.

Zeng Xiao was filled with fear of this Taoist priest, knowing that he must have ill intentions, but she could not stop him, and her younger sister was also blinded by hatred.

Under these circumstances, Zeng Xiao's wisp of soul could only rely on her obsession to stay by her younger sister Zeng Qiao's side.

Watching her, she was concocting Gu poison to seek revenge.

Watch as she manipulated the Gu worms and slaughtered everyone in the entire Tu Family Village.

He also watched as she drank human blood to feed the Gu worms, ultimately suffering a backlash and transforming into the inhuman and ghostly creature she is today.

Zeng Xiao felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

There was nothing she could do until the night before, when Zeng Qiao took her body and left Yunxia Town.

Her soul drifted aimlessly, yet she sensed a strange guidance.

In a daze, she saw a woman with a unique temperament. She had a black lotus lantern on her body, and a wisp of soul was hidden inside the lantern.

Zeng Xiao's intuition told her that only she and that lamp could help her.

At this moment, everyone in the room finally understood the whole story.

But they never expected that the instigator was that mysterious Taoist priest.

So what was his purpose in using Zeng Qiao to create "corpse gu" and bewitch her to take revenge?

And is his identity related to Yunhe Mountain?

Was the corpse worm in the Cloud Inn secretly put there by him?

While pondering these questions, Ren Fengjue asked Zeng Qiao, "Where was the last time you saw that Taoist priest?"

Zeng Qiao replied, "It's inside this cave."

As soon as she finished speaking, a series of screams came from outside the cave.

Ge Chuan's expression changed: "Something has happened outside."

Ren Fengjue quickly glanced at Zeng Qiao.

The latter immediately explained, "I did not manipulate the corpse worms..."

Ge Chuan felt a chill run down his spine and asked suspiciously, "Is it that Taoist priest?"

Ren Fengjue decided to go out and investigate, so he said to Ge Chuan and Li Cheng, "You two stay in the cave for now, I'll go out and take a look."

Ge Chuan volunteered, "Sir, I'll go with you."

"Need not."

Ren Fengjue couldn't help but glance at Xia Ximo, knowing that Zeng Xiao's ghost hadn't left her body yet, and said, "Magistrate Ge, you stay here and keep watch."

Ge Chuan could tell at a glance that he cared more about the safety of the "Young Lady Marquis," and immediately said, "This humble official will certainly not fail in his duty."

Ren Fengjue nodded and immediately walked out of the cave.

Outside the cave, a group of yamen runners lay on the ground, their bodies crawling with maggots, their flesh gnawed away, and in the blink of an eye, they had become human skeletons.

What's even more surprising is that the insect repellent bags that Yan Zhengchu prepared for them were no longer working.

Ren Fengjue looked around and saw a figure flash through the woods, running quickly down the mountain.

He gripped his sword tightly and, without hesitation, immediately gave chase.

But strangely, the figure ran extremely fast, as if riding the wind.

Ren Fengjue tried his best to catch up, but he was always a little behind him.

Just as he began to sense something was amiss, the figure vanished right before his eyes, transforming into a black talisman that fell to the ground.

Ren Fengjue paused, realizing it was a trick.

Realizing this might be a diversionary tactic, he was about to turn back when someone behind him shouted, "Young Master!"

The voice sounds like Yan Zhengchu.

Ren Fengjue turned around and indeed saw Yan Zhengchu rushing towards him.

He frowned, fearing a trap, and immediately drew his longsword, pointing it at the other party.

Yan Zhengchu was so frightened that his breath caught in his throat, but fortunately he managed to brake in time and stop the car.

"What does the young marquis mean by this?"

Ren Fengjue looked him over, then asked, "Where did we first meet?"

"..."

Although Yan Zhengchu was puzzled, he still honestly replied, "At the Yuwang Mansion, have you forgotten?"

Ren Fengjue then sheathed his longsword. "No time for nonsense, we need to hurry back to the cave."

Yan Zhengchu knew the situation was urgent, but when he caught sight of the black talisman on the ground, his expression immediately hardened: "It's a black talisman again."

Ren Fengjue, who was walking ahead, paused and asked, "Where have you seen the black talisman before?"

Yan Zhengchu truthfully replied, "In Lingjia Village, what was used to suppress Lingling's ghost was a black talisman."

"But is it the same person?"

Yan Zhengchu nodded. "Judging from the technique used to draw the talismans, it should be the same person."

Ren Fengjue understood and said no more, quickening his pace as he hurried toward the cave.

As they approached the cave entrance, they remembered what the Crown Prince had said that day: he had seen in Murong Chen's memories that the person who broke the seal on Fu Lou Yin Tomb was a Taoist priest.

Are the two related?

He stopped and turned back again, his expression solemn as he asked Yan Zhengchu, "Master Yan, tell me the truth, is the matter of the corpse-curing Gu in Yunxia Town related to Yunhe Mountain?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhengchu's expression stiffened slightly, but he still nodded and replied, "Yes."