This well used to be the temple's water well, but it has long since dried up and become a dry well. The bottom of the well is filled with scattered rocks, overgrown with weeds and moss, and there is a strong musty smell in the air.

I descend into the well, holding a torch, slowly walking through the rough and uneven path at the bottom of the well.

With my left hand holding the torch and my right hand secretly clasping the exorcism talisman, I remain alert and vigilant.

From my brief encounter with the woman in the white dress, I feel that her ghostly power is not particularly strong, so I believe I can handle her.

As I walk, my foot suddenly kicks something, tripping me. That thing also breaks apart.

I quickly raise the torch to shine at my feet and see an overturned broken clay jar. It's pale gray and looks somewhat like the jars used in rural areas for pickling vegetables. The jar is shattered, leaving a large hole, from which gray powder spills out, mixed with many bone fragments.

Curiously, I reach out and touch it, but a chill runs down my spine. I suddenly realize that this jar is not a vegetable pickling jar at all; it's an urn for storing ashes. All this pale gray powder is actually ashes.

A thought strikes me: are these ashes the remains of the woman in the white dress?

After the woman in the white dress somersaulted into the dry well earlier, she probably ran back and hid in this urn of ashes!

Thinking of this, I raise my hand and slap the exorcism talisman on top of the urn.

The exorcism talisman emits a bright light, and a wisp of ghostly energy rises from the urn. At the same time, a shrill ghostly cry is heard, and a white figure rolls out of the urn.

I look up and see that the white figure is none other than the woman in the white dress who jumped into the dry well earlier.

I bend down and insert the torch into a crevice between stones, then take out the "Life-Saving Talisman" hidden close to my body – the Samadhi True Fire Talisman.

The Samadhi True Fire Talisman is a powerful tool I use to save my life. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't easily use this life-saving talisman.

I raise the Samadhi True Fire Talisman, glaring at the woman in the white dress, and sternly shout, "Evil creature, see where you can run!"

I learned this way of speaking from Kubeizi. It feels quite imposing to shout like this.

The woman in the white dress looks up and sees the Samadhi True Fire Talisman in my hand. Immediately giving up on any thoughts of escape, she must realize that once the talisman touches her ghostly form, she will be reduced to ashes.

The woman in the white dress, knowing the situation, kneels directly in front of me and repeatedly knocks her head against the ground with her hands, as if pounding garlic.

I tell her that knocking her head in front of me is useless. She has caused the deaths of three people, and a few knocks won't redeem her actions.

The woman in the white dress says with a sad face, "Actually, I didn't want to do it. I was being controlled by someone!"

I sneer twice and ask her if she can come up with a better excuse. How did she come up with such a lousy excuse?

With her head bowed, constantly wiping away tears, she says that it's not an excuse. She was truly being controlled by someone.

She tells me her name is Wang Xiaoxiao, from the Qing Dynasty. Originally, she was a ** in a wealthy local family. Later, her family was attacked by bandits, and she was kidnapped and taken to the mountains before being cruelly killed. The bandits destroyed her body, placed her ashes in the jar, and abandoned it in the dry well of the dilapidated temple.

Stolen story; please report.

I ask her if she absorbed the yang energy of A Shui and Xiao Yang, turning them into desiccated corpses.

Wang Xiaoxiao nods, admitting that she was responsible for the deaths of A Shui and Xiao Yang. However, she tries to justify herself, saying that she was forced to do it and didn't actually want to harm anyone.

I tell her that regardless of her excuses, she has caused harm. No matter how much she claims to be controlled by someone, who is that person?

Wang Xiaoxiao lets out a sigh and a look of sadness crosses her face. After a long while, she manages to squeeze three words through her teeth, "Bai Niang Niang!"

I find it strange and ask her who Bai Niang Niang is.

Wang Xiaoxiao takes a deep breath. "To be precise, Bai Niang Niang is not a human but a demon! A fox demon!"

A fox demon?!

I am slightly surprised. Fox demons are one of the Five Great Immortals, commonly known as "Fox Fairies" in folklore.

Generally speaking, people refer to benevolent foxes as "spirit foxes" and malevolent ones as "demon foxes" or "fox demons."

Since ancient times, there have been many legends about fox demons in folktales.

For example, in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" by Pu Songling, there is a story about a fox demon seducing a scholar.

I've also heard stories about fox demons from the older generation. They say that a long time ago, a young herb gatherer ventured into the mountains to collect herbs but unfortunately fell off a cliff and broke his leg. He was saved by a wild woman with fair skin and beautiful looks. She took him back to her home, and the herb gatherer was amazed to find such a stunning woman in the wilderness. Before long, he was enchanted by her.

The wild woman was also promiscuous and, seeing the herb gatherer's youth and strength, they soon ** in the wilderness.

The herb gatherer didn't return home for a long time, causing his family to worry about his safety. His brother went into the mountains to search for him.

The brother wandered through the mountains and encountered an old man with white hair collecting herbs. The brother approached and asked about the whereabouts of the herb gatherer, but to his surprise, the old man burst into tears and said that he himself was the missing herb gatherer.

The brother couldn't believe it; it had only been a few days, yet the herb gatherer, once young and handsome, had turned into an old man on the verge of death.

Later, the herb gatherer told his brother about his experience. He mentioned being saved by the wild woman and their intimate encounters. After each encounter, he transformed from a strong and young lad into a frail and decrepit old man.

The brother brought the herb gatherer back home, and someone knowledgeable told them that the herb gatherer had likely encountered a fox demon. Fox demons are adept at ** techniques and enjoy absorbing the yang energy of young men to aid their cultivation. The herb gatherer's appearance clearly indicated that his yang energy had been depleted.

I look at Wang Xiaoxiao and ask, "Are you saying that you were controlled by a fox demon?"

Wang Xiaoxiao nods, "I was just a wandering ghost in Youlan Temple, but I never expected that within this dilapidated temple, there was a thousand-year-old fox demon cultivating here. I am just a lowly ghost with weak ghostly power, nowhere near a match for a thousand-year-old fox demon. So, reluctantly, I became her slave, being controlled by her and forced to harm others. She made me call her Bai Niang Niang!"