I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

Before anyone could even react in shock, Zhao Weilai had already run all the way to the big ghost's elbow.

The big ghost had already reached out with its other hand to grab her, but she crouched down and clung to its forearm like a gecko, then climbed up!

After overcoming numerous obstacles, Zhao Weilai finally reached the back of the neck. The evil spirit's spine was different from a human's; a bluish-black bone spur protruded slightly from the rotten flesh.

She quickly adjusted her posture, raised the butcher knife high, aimed the tip at the lit weak point indicator, and with all her might, plunged it downwards!

The blade pierced the ghost's body, and the great ghost didn't even utter a cry, only letting out a "gurgle" from its throat, as if someone had suddenly flipped a switch—

It was like a machine that had lost power; it stiffened from the shoulders down, its arms still raised in the air, and its body had already lurched forward heavily!

"boom!!"

The corpse collapsed, crashing heavily onto the artificial hill. Dust and orchid petals billowed up simultaneously, gray smoke, white and red orchid fragments all mingling together. Many foxes were jolted and rolled several times, their mouths full of mud when they got up.

Startled by the commotion, Deng Ziwen leaned back, then pounced on the scene like a madman:

"NIO!"

"Zhao Weilai!!"

As he approached, he used all his strength to smash the still convulsing corpse on the ground with the butt of his rifle.

"NIO! Where are you? Answer me!"

"NIO!"

Suya and several bold foxes rushed over to help search for the person.

Suddenly, the giant ghost began to emit smoke. In just a few breaths, the ten-meter-tall evil ghost transformed into a thick, light wisp of blue smoke, which spread in all directions with the night wind.

After the smoke cleared, the ground was empty except for the orchids that had been crushed into mud.

Zhao Weilai was not there.

Everyone was stunned.

Deng Ziwen burst into tears, threw down his rifle butt, and began digging at the ground. Su Ya covered her mouth in shock, unable to believe it.

The foxes dared not cry out, their expressions filled with sorrow.

Moonlight streamed in from outside the garden, illuminating the mess on the ground.

"I'm here."

Just as everyone was grieving, Zhao Weilai's voice suddenly came from above.

"NIO?!"

Deng Ziwen looked up with great joy and saw Zhao Weilai holding a pig-slaughtering knife, his entire body suspended in the air by an extremely thin thread attached to the handle of the knife.

The thread was black, almost invisible in the moonlight, yet incredibly strong.

The crowd looked up along the line and saw two people standing on the ruins of the small building.

A man and a woman, dressed in identical red blouses, were the twins, a boy and a girl.

The man stood with his hands behind his back, while the woman held the silk thread in her hand, her expression a half-smile.

With a gentle flick of her wrist, the silk thread loosened, and Zhao Weilai landed steadily on the bluestone slab. He turned and glanced upstairs.

Thanks.

—Although it's unclear why they offered their help, at least we can be sure they're not enemies.

Otherwise, they could have easily taken advantage of the opportunity to ambush Zhao Weilai and snatch the mission.

"I am Ayan, and this is my elder brother Azhu."

Ah Yan retracted the silk thread, and upon closer inspection, it became clear that it was her hair:

"Has anyone seen our teammate? Short hair, girl, profession: [Spiritualist]."

The group looked at each other and shook their heads.

Deng Ziwen plopped down on a clump of orchids, not caring whether it was dirty or not, looking like he had crawled back from the brink of death.

A few fox cubs ran over, meowed a few times around Zhao Weilai, and then ran away.

Su Ya then thanked A Yan and A Zhu, saying, "Thank you both. If it weren't for you, our captain—"

As soon as she finished speaking, a cold wind suddenly rose from the ground.

Before anyone could react, the wind had already reached Deng Ziwen. He felt his whole body lighten, and before he could even scream, he vanished from the spot.

"Deng Ziwen!!"

Zhao Weilai reached out to grab him, but his fingers only brushed against the hem of his clothes, leaving him with nothing but air.

The wind came and went in an instant, and Deng Ziwen was already gone.

Zhao Weilai's expression changed instantly.

Suya immediately took out the prop phone and tried to contact Deng Ziwen, but there was no response from the other end of the line.

"Keep the change, please."

Suddenly, Ah Yan upstairs spoke up, her tone tinged with amusement: "He's not dead, he was just kidnapped and forced to be a bride."

Zhao Weilai suddenly looked up at her, trying to find the answer.

Ah Yan floated down from the eaves without making a sound:

"Your mission is supposed to be [exorcising evil spirits], but is there a notification that the mission is complete?"

Zhao Weilai shook his head subconsciously.

"That means the mission isn't finished yet."

Ah Yan explained with a grin, "What you just killed wasn't the visible ghost, but the hidden ghost in people's hearts."

"Dark Ghost?" Su Ya was stunned.

Ah Yan shook her head and said:

"But there is a kind of ghost that is not transformed from an inanimate object. There is a saying that you should all have heard—'Suspicion breeds ghosts.'"

This kind of ghost lives in people's hearts. It devours people's negative emotions, such as greed, anger, ignorance, resentment, and fear. The more it devours, the bigger it grows.

Once it grows to a certain size, it will emerge from its own heart and work for its host. Whoever the host hates, it will kill; whoever the host desires, it will abduct.

Zhao Weilai and Su Ya exchanged a glance, and at the same time, one person came to mind:

Qian Zifu.

—He once proposed to Miss Hu but was rejected. Later, he tried to climb over the wall and give the yellow talisman to Hu San Niang.

The evil spirit only abducted Deng Ziwen, who was holding the talisman.

……

"Do you know who the host is?"

Ayan's eyes lit up, while Zhao Weilai readily nodded. Since the other woman had just saved her life, she had no reason to hide it.

"The talisman was obtained from a scholar named Qian Zifu, who lived next to Lanyuan. It wasn't a protective talisman, but a ghost-attracting talisman."

He gave her the talisman to send the evil spirit into the orchid garden. If Miss Hu really believed him and put the talisman under her pillow, they would be the ones captured tonight.

Ayan and Azhu exchanged a glance.

The young ladies of the Hu family all looked relieved to have escaped a disaster.

"Therefore, our mission objective lies with him."

After saying this, Azhu, who hadn't spoken a word, melted into the shadows and disappeared from the spot.

"Where will Deng Ziwen be taken? How can I save him?" Zhao Weilai asked anxiously, while Ayan replied nonchalantly:

"It must be in a dream."

Ayan picked up an orchid and tucked it behind her ear:

"The Dark Ghost isn't completely dead. It's still looking for an opportunity. It will drag the marked person into the scholar's dream—what does a scholar want to do by kidnapping someone's young lady?"

If you go too late, your boyfriend might already be married to someone else.

Zhao Weilai turned and left, and Su Ya hurriedly followed, saying, "Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and get Qian Zifu over here!"

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone felt a blur before their eyes, and when they looked up again, A'Zhu was already standing in front of them.

He was carrying a person whose hair was tied up, whose mouth was stuffed with a rag, and whose eyes were wide open—as if he hadn't woken up from a dream.

It was Qian Zifu.

A'Zhu threw the man to the ground. Qian Zifu grunted, as if waking from a dream. He looked around, spat out the cloth from his mouth, and screamed.

"Where is this?! Who are you, and why have you kidnapped me and brought me here?!"

He saw Zhao Weilai, Su Ya, and a whole garden full of foxes of different colors. His eyes widened in terror, and he swarmed frantically towards Zhao Weilai's feet like a maggot.

"Immortal Master, save me! Immortal Master, save me! A villain is trying to kill me!"

Zhao Weilai didn't move.

Suya stepped back.

All the foxes in the garden bared their teeth at Qian Zifu, as if they wanted to tear him to pieces. Among them, the red-haired fox that Hu Sanniang had transformed into cursed the loudest:

"Bullshit! You heartless bookworm! We, the Hu family, respect you as a scholar. Seeing that you were starving, we even brought you rice and noodles."

"And you, repaying kindness with enmity! Do you know how many of our people that evil spirit has killed! My second brother was dragged out and eaten by it! And you dare to stuff talismans into our house! You call yourself a scholar? Bah!"

Qian Zifu's face turned pale and then red after being scolded, but he didn't dare to talk back. He just kept nudging Zhao Weilai.

"Where is Deng Ziwen? Where is that evil spirit who only listens to you?"

Zhao Weilai bent down, placing the butcher knife horizontally against Qian Zifu's neck:

"Where did you put my men? And that talisman—if you dare say you don't know about it, I'll kill you right now!"

"A demon?"

Qian Zifu stared wide-eyed, as if he had heard something completely incomprehensible:

"I am innocent! I was just sleeping at home when I was suddenly captured. I have no idea what you are saying!"

"That talisman was truly given to me by my ancestors in a dream! They said I was all alone and had failed the imperial examinations time and time again, so they took pity on me and told me to use this talisman to act as matchmaker for Miss Hu, guaranteeing I would pass the exams. That's all I know!"

"Protect the media?"

Hu Sanniang laughed in anger:

"You're acting as a matchmaker behind someone's back wall? Who do you think you are? Climbing walls in the middle of the night, delivering talismans for secret meetings, and even having your ancestors appear in your dreams? Why don't you dream that you're the top scholar in the imperial examinations?"

Qian Zifu looked aggrieved, and then started spouting the same old "arranged marriage" platitudes.

The foxes grew increasingly enraged as they listened, and several of them rushed over to bite people.

Zhao Weilai didn't have time to argue with him. She grabbed Qian Zifu and turned to ask Ayan:

"Deng Ziwen was in his dream?"

Ayan touched the orchid by her ear, watching the show with amusement:

"He was dragged into his dream, and if he didn't sleep, Deng Ziwen couldn't get out."

Zhao Weilai turned to the red fox and said, "Third Sister, I'd like to borrow some of your face powder so he can fall into a deep sleep."

"no problem!"

The red fox responded, flicked its tail, and sprinkled a handful of fragrant powder onto Qian Zifu's face.

Qian Zifu looked terrified, sneezed twice, and tried to struggle, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

He actually fell asleep on the spot.

The very next second after he started snoring, a huge bubble slowly rose above Qian Zifu's head.

The bubble was twice the size of a human head. Inside it were light, shadows of people, houses, and trees. The shadows of people were small, but as clear as those in an animated film.

Everyone in the courtyard craned their necks to see the scholar's dream.

……

……