Spirit Trap

　　Worried that Uncle Huzi, who had been controlled by that vengeful ghost, might return, I hurriedly set up a trap for spirits. 

　　Just as I finished, a beam of light suddenly shone towards me, startling me.

　　I looked closely and saw that it was Zhang Yunyao driving back to the Zhang family's ancestral grave.

　　Feeling relieved, I let out a sigh.

　　Before long, Zhang Yunyao, carrying a bag, quickly walked over, waving at me from a distance.

　　I hurried to meet her and asked, "Did you bring everything I asked for?"

　　"Yes, I found everything you asked for. I found two bottles of vinegar in the kitchen and brought them both. I'm not sure if it's enough. As for the stove ashes, I could only gather a small amount; that's all we had at home," Zhang Yunyao replied apologetically.

　　At that moment, I took a closer look at her and noticed that her pretty face was smudged with some stove ashes, probably from when she had collected them.

　　However, the smudges on her face gave her a playful and cute appearance, which made me smile slightly.

　　Zhang Yunyao seemed confused by my smile and looked at me with a puzzled expression.

　　"Come closer," I said to her.

　　Zhang Yunyao blushed slightly, not knowing what I was going to do, but obediently leaned her head closer to me, even closing her eyes.

　　I reached out and wiped some of the stove ashes from her face.

　　Her skin was incredibly smooth and delicate, like a peeled boiled egg, with a wonderful elasticity.

　　"All done," I said, wiping the ashes from my hand onto my clothes.

　　"What's wrong?" Zhang Yunyao asked nervously.

　　"Nothing, I just noticed you had some ashes on your face, so I wiped them off. How did you end up looking like a little kitten?" I replied.

　　"Huh?" Hearing this, Zhang Yunyao quickly wiped her face, trying to clean off the ashes, but she only ended up smearing more ashes on her face, making it even more colorful.

　　"I was in a hurry earlier. After gathering the stove ashes, I didn't have time to clean up," Zhang Yunyao explained as she took out the items I had requested from her bag.

　　She handed me the two bottles of old vinegar and a small paper packet of stove ashes.

　　I examined them closely and said, "Not bad, this should be enough."

　　Zhang Yunyao smiled happily, her sweet smile making my heart skip a beat.

　　"Master Wu , does your wound still hurt? I also found some iodine and anti-inflammatory medicine at home. Do you want to use them?" Zhang Yunyao asked as she started rummaging through her bag again.

　　"We can worry about that later; there's no time for that now. We need to save these people first," I said, looking at the workers lying on the ground.

　　"But your injury is serious. What if it gets infected? Let me help you treat it," Zhang Yunyao said worriedly.

　　"No need, the corpse poison has already been removed, so I'm not in any immediate danger. Let's focus on saving them first," I replied.

　　Just as the two of us were about to help the workers lying on the ground, a sudden sound of footsteps came from a distance, growing closer. 

　　Zhang Yunyao and I immediately stopped what we were doing and looked in the direction of the approaching footsteps.

　　As I had expected, Uncle Huzi had returned.

　　The first time, he was scared off by the sound of a rooster crowing from my phone's ringtone. 

　　The second time, he took Zhang Yunliang's doppelgänger with him.

　　After being tricked multiple times by the ghost possessing Uncle Huzi, it was now truly enraged. 

　　Uncle Huzi continued walking with that eerie gait, his toes barely touching the ground and his body leaning forward as he moved quickly toward us.

　　From the blood-red eyes of Uncle Huzi, I could tell that the ghost was beyond furious.

　　This time, it wasn't just after Zhang Yunliang; it also wanted to deal with me for tricking it several times.

　　The ghost sniffed the air a few times and suddenly quickened its pace towards Zhang Yunyao and me.

　　Unaware of what had happened earlier, Zhang Yunyao exclaimed, "Uncle Huzi, he's back!"

　　As she spoke, she suddenly reached out to greet Uncle Huzi.

　　 I quickly covered her mouth and pulled her behind a coffin, squatting down. 

　　Zhang Yunyao looked at me in shock, not understanding what I was doing.

　　I first took out a yellow talisman from my pocket and stuck it on Zhang Yunyao's back.

　　This talisman could conceal the life energy of living people, preventing the ghost from sensing Zhang Yunyao's presence.

　　The vengeful ghost possessing Uncle Huzi had initially come towards us because it sensed Zhang Yunyao's life energy.

　　As long as she didn't make any noise, the ghost possessing Uncle Huzi wouldn't be able to detect her.

　　So, I kept my hand over Zhang Yunyao's mouth, not daring to let go.

　　At first, Zhang Yunyao seemed uneasy, perhaps thinking I was about to do something inappropriate, but seeing that I made no further moves, she calmed down, closed her mouth, and remained silent.

　　Soon, Uncle Huzi, controlled by the vengeful ghost, reached the coffin where Zhang Yunyao and I were hiding. 

　　He kept sniffing the air, trying to find us, but since both of us had the talisman to conceal our life energy, the ghost couldn't sense any living presence.

　　Uncle Huzi circled the coffin, his nose twitching constantly. 

　　Perhaps unable to find us, he turned and walked toward the spirit trap I had set earlier.

　　As soon as Uncle Huzi stepped into the trap, a white mist rose within a radius of about six or seven meters, enveloping him completely.

　　Seeing Uncle Huzi trapped in the array, I finally let out a sigh of relief and released Zhang Yunyao from my embrace.

　　Zhang Yunyao didn't move but turned to look at me and asked, "Master Wu, is there something wrong with Uncle Huzi? Why is he walking so strangely?"

　　"He's possessed by a vengeful ghost. Earlier, it was about to harm your brother, but I used a spell to lure it away. This is the third time it's come back," I said, looking in Uncle Huzi's direction.

　　"A vengeful ghost?" Zhang Yunyao asked in horror, inching closer to me.

　　"Will Uncle Huzi be in danger?" she asked worriedly.

　　"Don't worry, he won't be. Uncle Huzi's fate is naturally aligned with pure yang energy, and he carries a strong aura. So the ghost's influence on him is minimal," I explained.

　　"Look at Uncle Huzi. What's he doing? Why is he just walking in circles?" Zhang Yunyao asked again.

　　"That's the spirit trap I deliberately set up to deal with the vengeful ghost inside him. It's trapped in the array now and won't be able to get out for a while. We just need to wait until dawn," I said seriously.