In a flash, the old lady with the fox face was already engaged in a fierce fight with the Daoist priest Wang.

I watched as the old lady with the fox face gradually fell into a disadvantage, wanting to help but not knowing what I could do.

At this moment, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the gourd emitting black smoke was not far away.

I thought that the female ghost in red had come out of that gourd, and perhaps the gourd was the key to defeating that guy!

So, I picked up the knife and stabbed the gourd with all my might.

With a crisp "poof," the gourd cracked under my thrust. In an instant, it shattered into eight pieces.

Daoist priest Wang was shocked, screaming as he rushed toward me.

However, it was too late.

The black smoke from the gourd dispersed instantly, then converged into a black sword that pierced through Wang's chest with a "swish!"

Wang looked down in disbelief, staring at the black smoke in his chest, then spat out a mouthful of black blood, collapsing motionless on the ground.

I stood there in a daze, watching as the black smoke turned into dozens of human faces after killing Wang.

There were men and women, old and young.

They all crowded together, glaring at Wang on the ground, either moaning or screaming, laughing and crying.

"These are all the wrongful souls who died unjustly at the theater back then."

The old lady with the fox face came over and said, "Wang turned them into vengeful spirits to aid in his cultivation. They had been trapped in the magical instrument, unable to reincarnate."

In the end, he was killed by his own sins, a true retribution in this world!

Listening to the old lady’s explanation, I saw an extraordinarily gentle and beautiful face among the pile of human faces.

It was Bai Yulan!

She saw me and smiled gently at me.

"Lan'er..."

At this moment, Paper Man Zhang woke up, running foolishly toward the illusory face of Bai Yulan.

"Lan'er?"

The old lady with the fox face showed a mocking expression again: "Hah~ You don't even recognize Bai Yulan's true form, yet you're still acting infatuated!"

Paper Man Zhang turned his head: "What are you talking about?"

"The huadan who died in the fire back then was not Bai Yulan at all!"

As soon as she finished speaking, I was also shocked.

If not Bai Yulan, then who?

"There were two huadan in the theater; they were sisters. The elder sister was named Bai Yulan. She retired backstage after a secret marriage. The huadan you knew was her younger sister, Bai Yushu!"

The old lady with the fox face looked at me with an implied intention and continued: "The elder sister Bai Yulan married the famous squire in the village, Su Huo."

Su Huo? Is that not... my grandfather's name?

My grandmother is Bai Yulan... My grandmother turned out to be Bai Yulan?!

It felt like a thunderbolt; my grandmother was already ill when I started having memories. I knew nothing of her past.

I only knew she had a good friendship with the theater's huadan and had no idea they were sisters!

"It can't be... you're lying!"

Paper Man Zhang held his head, unwilling to believe it.

"The play you loved to listen to, The Locking Linn Pouch, was Bai Yulan's specialty. Bai Yushu trained hard in The Locking Linn Pouch to help her sister conceal her identity. Few could tell the difference."

"You ordinary mortals, the looks you see daily are what they wear after putting on makeup. Not to mention you, even I sometimes get confused!"

"I became friends with Bai Yulan because of the plays. After she passed away, I often sat at the theater's entrance. Unfortunately, no one could sing like her anymore... A year later, her sister was also killed."

The old lady with the fox face looked desolated, then suddenly laughed sharply: "The so-called infatuation of the world is so ridiculous! You claim to love her play, but you can't tell the difference; you claim to love her, but can't distinguish between the sisters! In the end, you just love the image of her standing on stage!"

Paper Man Zhang went completely mad, waving his hand to erase Bai Yushu's face, then laughed to the sky.

"Hahaha, what do you know?! Only I love her the most in this world! ... What do you people understand?! I've done so much for her! Killed so many... killed so many... killed..."

The laughter gradually turned to sobbing, and Paper Man Zhang knelt on the ground, like a statue drained of life.

Suddenly he chuckled, climbed up from the ground, singing his favorite "The Locking Linn Pouch" as he stumbled out the door.

Daoist priest Wang was dead, and the wronged souls he imprisoned were freed.

The old lady with the fox face retrieved the Bagua mirror, slowly turning it into a golden pill, and gently placed it into my chest.

Her magic power exhausted, she turned back into a ragged fox.

"Your grandmother used her ancestral Bagua mirror to block a heavenly tribulation for me, creating my cultivation. I was meant to protect you. You've helped so many wronged souls find peace; your blessings will come later. Girl, as long as the incense for your family's guardian spirits continues, we will have more fateful encounters!"

The ragged fox saluted me, then disappeared in a flash.