Auntie was bewitched by the ghost and mistakenly took the paper effigy home, thinking it was me.

After Daoist Wang died, the spell vanished, and everything returned to normal.

The next morning, when she saw the paper effigy in opera costume sitting at the dining table, she was terrified. She frantically threw the dirty thing outside and started looking for me everywhere.

After hearing my recount of the whole event, she cursed Daoist Wang vehemently.

"When your grandmother was alive, she had warned Bai Yulan to be wary of that demonic Daoist. Unfortunately, she still fell into his trap!"

It turned out even Auntie didn't know grandmother's identity, which instantly made me feel a lot better.

Probably no one else in this world knew about it except Bai Yushu and my grandfather. Back then, the private lives of opera singers were heavily criticized, and grandmother did this to protect her marriage.

Auntie suddenly remembered something and offered three sticks of incense to the Family Guardian Spirit, even bowing several times.

I silently looked at the deity register, feeling a sense of awe.

A fire broke out at the eastern end of the village, burning for a whole day and night.

According to nearby villagers, Zhang the paper effigy accidentally knocked over a candle, igniting a house full of paper items.

Unfortunately, he perished in the sea of flames, just like Bai Yushu...

Some people said the fire was eerie, as it burned down everything in the house except a paper effigy dressed in opera costume...

Maybe even he felt that this superficial affection, drenched in blood, was unworthy of the kind and pure-hearted Bai sisters.

So, he died, leaving his past longings behind.

Returning her peace and tranquility.

Before heading back to the city, I went to Sun Xue's grave and bought her favorite flower pastries.

Thinking about how she was possessed by the substitute, controlled by Daoist Wang to do many things against her will.

With her consciousness returning, and remembering how she shielded me, my nose turned sour.

Finally, I arrived at the museum.

Bai Yushu's opera costume still lay quietly in the showcase. For a moment, I was dazed, as if seeing her standing on stage in that costume, smiling gently at me.