For ten years I practiced Gu poison in Southeast Asia; all living beings revered me as a deity.

After learning about the strangulation clan, Luo Feng had a plan in mind.

"Wuchai, I have something to tell you. In the bag you're carrying, there should be two straw dolls with hair wrapped around them. Someone has cast a curse on them..."

"What did you say?"

Wuchai looked suspicious. He stopped and checked his bag—naturally, he found the two strange straw figures, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Panupong, why... how do you know about this!?"

Wuchai stared at him with a tense expression. He took out a revolver from his bag, raised the gun, and pointed it at him.

"Tell me quickly, why did you do this?"

He is extremely nervous and, holding a gun, suspects that Panupon was responsible.

"Calm down."

Luo Feng remained calm.

"I don't know any black magic, you know that. Also, one of these two puppets is targeting me. My name and birth date should be on it... If you don't believe me, you can check it yourself."

He had noticed this when he burned the dolls before; the text on them contained the two people's surnames and birth dates.

Wuchai initially didn't believe it, until he tore off the hair on the dolls with some skepticism, and then he saw that his and Panupong's surnames and birth dates were written on the two dolls.

"This...this is my uncle's handwriting, but why?"

He recognized the handwriting at first glance.

"So it's your uncle."

Luo Feng continued to coax, "I remember you were taught some witchcraft by him, weren't you?"

"That's right."

Wuchai sighed: "Besides, I lied to you before. The so-called Ajarn master in Lampang Province is a fraud. My uncle sent me here to get corpse oil. I've done similar things before, providing my uncle with materials for dark magic."

"So, that Ajarn master from Lampang province doesn't exist?"

"Ah, yes."

Wuchai nodded expressionlessly.

"My uncle is a sorcerer, and he does this kind of business. Although he occasionally helps the temple take care of the cemetery here, he also charges money to perform sorcery or undo sorcery."

Luo Feng understood when he heard this; for Wu Cai's uncle, the job of looking after the cemetery was just a cover.

Wuchai confirmed his suspicions: his uncle was a well-known sorcerer in Lampang Province, and Wuchai acted as his liaison for clients in Lampang, frequently traveling between the two places.

"He's getting old and has trouble walking, so he needs someone to run errands for him."

Wuchai said in confusion, "So, I don't understand why he turned against me. My uncle has no other relatives, nor any disciples willing to serve him. If I die, he will be all alone. What is his purpose in doing this?"

He lost both his parents and lived with his uncle since childhood. His uncle was aloof and didn't treat him very well, but the years of kindness in raising him made it difficult for Wuchai to guess his uncle's motives.

"I don't know either."

Luo Feng said unhurriedly, "However, I think we should go to the cemetery, because your uncle should be there, and we can ask him in person."

"That's true."

Wu Cai answered without hesitation.

However, after pausing for a moment, he asked Luo Feng another question.

"But how do you know these things?"

"I saw your uncle stuff those two puppets into your bag."

Luo Feng made up a random excuse.

"Yeah?"

Wu Cai looked at him with a face full of doubt. He didn't believe Luo Feng's nonsense.

However, he found it even harder to understand why his uncle had cast a spell on him.

Therefore, Wuchai did not intend to dwell on this matter and hurriedly headed towards the cemetery.

Wu Cai was in a hurry, but Luo Feng was not. He quickly asked Wu Cai for advice.

"If your uncle really has malicious intentions, wouldn't you be throwing your life away by rushing there like this?"

"What you said makes sense."

Wuchai's pace slowed.

"Those two puppets were his black magic, which we destroyed. He should have sensed it. Moreover, my uncle has been immersed in practicing witchcraft for many years and is very powerful. Even if we confront him head-on, the chances of winning are not high... However, we should be able to outsmart him."

"Outsmarting them?"

Luo Feng quickly asked, "How exactly do you plan to outsmart them?"

"When you mentioned that banyan tree earlier, was it thinking of something?"

Wu Cai countered with a question.

"The Hanged Head Clan."

Luo Feng shared his guess.

"Since he's a sorcerer, he could kill us anytime he wanted, so why did he lure us to the graveyard...? I suspect it might all be related to that banyan tree..."

Wuchai remained silent for a moment.

After a moment, he slowly spoke.

"I've heard of an ancient witchcraft called 'Binding,' which can bind oneself to an external object. This method can prolong one's life or allow one to borrow the power of the other party... Perhaps my uncle is trying to do this. If so, he may have a weakness."

"What weakness?"

"A curse requires an object to bind the spirit, which should be an item, most likely something like a Buddhist amulet."

Wu Cai said in a deep voice, "According to custom, my uncle might hide the talisman in that banyan tree."

"Phanupong, we'll split up in a bit. I'll distract Uncle, and you go around to the back, try to climb up the banyan tree, find the amulet hidden there, and destroy it."

At this point, he handed the Demon-Slaying Blade to Luo Feng.

"That banyan tree is very strange, but it also has some weaknesses. If the banyan tree acts up against you while you are climbing it, you can use this knife to stab it and weaken its power, and even seriously injure my uncle."

At this point, Wuchai's face revealed a hint of ruthlessness.

He originally had some affection for his uncle, but after learning that the uncle planned to demote him, even that affection vanished.

"no problem."

Luo Feng gripped the Demon-Slaying Blade in his hand.

He said that, but deep down he didn't completely believe Wuchai.

His talent for "crisis insight," along with his intuition, made him realize that Wuchai was hiding something.

However, it doesn't matter, Luo Feng is only trying to extract information.

Let's go!

Wuchai turned around and strode forward.

Luo Feng followed behind him, and the two, each with their own ulterior motives, arrived at the graveyard once again.

Finally, we arrived at the cemetery directly opposite the entrance. We could see lights flickering in the open space behind the banyan tree, with candles lit beside the mounds of earth.

In such a dark night, dozens of flickering lights looked very eerie.

"Wuchai, you've come after all."

The old man appeared under the banyan tree and sighed deeply.

The sigh was heavy, as if something incredibly profound was stuck in his chest. So profound, in fact, that it seemed almost affected.

"I didn't expect you to be able to see through that curse... But if you try to run away, I might consider letting you go."

"There's no escaping it."

Wuchai calmly said, "Uncle, your curse is very powerful. I think even if we escape from the village, we will be cursed to death by you tomorrow... Coming here is the only way to fight back. Running away is just a dead end."

The old man immediately smiled.

"You're not stupid, but unfortunately, those who are too smart only die sooner."

The thin old man, who was also Wuchai's uncle, clasped his hands together and chanted incantations in a very smooth voice.

At the same time, as if the air itself were being vibrated and broken down, the surrounding atmosphere began to change.

The air beside the banyan tree was swept away, and the aura emanating from a completely different entity began to seep out from the void in mid-air.

On the ground, the shadow of the banyan tree, reflected by the waning moon, was growing larger and expanding. The branches made creaking and swaying sounds, and in the shadows cast on the ground, one could see the phantom images of people hanging from the trees.