The sky had already darkened, and the last trace of twilight was swallowed by darkness.

It was chilly by the reservoir, and as the mountain wind blew, I let out a loud sneeze.

"Sure enough, it's here!" Lame Ku took out a match, struck it, and his face lit up with excitement.

By the dim light of the match, I immediately saw a human skeleton imprisoned inside the wooden cage.

No need for further explanation, this whitish skeleton frame must be the remains of Yin Hongyi.

The beauty reduced to bones!

Yin Hongyi, once beautiful as a flower in life, now reduced to nothing but a set of white bones.

It's fortunate that Yin Hongyi drowned inside the pig cage. Her remains have been kept inside the cage all this time, preserving them so well. If she had been thrown directly into the water back then, her bones would probably have been scattered long ago, making it impossible to recover them.

Looking at the white skeleton inside the pig cage, I felt frightened and kept my distance.

Lame Ku took out a piece of red cloth that he had prepared long ago, carefully wrapped the skeleton in it, and then kicked the pig cage back into the reservoir.

Lame Ku said, "There's no time to lose. Let's go back and perform the ritual tonight to completely resolve this matter!"

I followed Lame Ku, hurrying back home in the dark. We traversed mountains and valleys until midnight when we finally returned to Hongqi Village.

"Do we need to call anyone?" I asked Lame Ku.

Lame Ku shook his head. "Do you think anyone would help you now?"

I scratched my head. Indeed, the villagers wouldn't help me. Calling someone wouldn't be of any use.

Lame Ku led me, an old man and a young man, straight to the ancestral hall.

Lame Ku lit three sticks of incense, and after I paid respects to our ancestors, he mysteriously produced a bowl-shaped object.

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The object was dark green, with an ancient design, like it was made of bronze, and carved with many patterns on the surface.

Those patterns weren't ordinary; they looked like talismanic patterns, densely packed, giving off a mysterious vibe.

"Great deity, your urinal looks quite unique!" I pointed at the bowl-shaped object in front of Lame Ku.

"Urinal?!" Lame Ku chuckled. "Kid, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. This thing isn't a urinal, it's a Soul-Sealing Altar!"

A Soul-Sealing Altar?!

The name sounded pretty cool.

Lame Ku paid no attention to my astonished expression. Instead, he opened the red cloth and carefully took out Yin Hongyi's remains, placing them inside the Soul-Sealing Altar. Finally, he placed the skull on top.

The candle flame flickered, casting a chilling light on the whitish bones, sending shivers down my spine.

Lame Ku said, "When I lure Yin Hongyi out later, you hold the lid nearby and be ready to obey my command!"

With that, Lame Ku handed me the lid.

I held the lid, nervously standing by the side.

At this moment, I saw Lame Ku light three sticks of incense again, inserting them upside down into the altar. Then, he placed a white candle on each side of the altar on the ground.

Lame Ku took out joss paper and began burning it inside the altar.

Soon, we heard the wind howling outside, making the trees near the temple entrance rustle loudly.

The temperature inside the temple suddenly dropped, turning the whole place into a giant freezer, making me shiver uncontrollably.

Lame Ku glanced at me, conveying with his eyes, "She's here!"

I nodded, too nervous to even breathe.

At that moment, there was a loud bang, and the temple door was suddenly blown open by the wind, extinguishing the white candles on both sides of the Soul-Sealing Altar.

An invisible chill enveloped us. Though I couldn't see Yin Hongyi's ghost, I knew she had entered the temple.

Seemingly unaware of Yin Hongyi's arrival, Lame Ku continued to burn the paper inside the altar.

While burning the paper, Lame Ku muttered dreamily, "Humans have their paths, and so do ghosts. You don't belong here. Go back where you came from!"

Lame Ku suddenly stuffed a bundle of joss paper into the altar, causing flames to leap up, making the skeleton crackle and emit wisps of smoke.

Though I couldn't see where Yin Hongyi was, I could hear her voice, sharp and angry: "Old man, you're impressive, finding my remains!"

Hearing Yin Hongyi's voice so close, I couldn't help but feel my scalp tingle, my knees almost giving way.

But I desperately urged myself to persevere: "Hold on, Yang Cheng. You can't collapse. As long as you get through tonight, this ordeal will be over!"

Lame Ku kept his head down, silent, completely unaware of my emotional turmoil.

Suddenly, a cold wind arose from the ground for no apparent reason, swirling around the Soul-Sealing Altar. The ashes inside the altar were blown out, swirling around me and Lame Ku haphazardly.

The flames inside the altar were pressed low by the chilly wind, on the verge of being extinguished.

Lame Ku suddenly bit his right index finger hard, causing it to bleed. He then dripped the blood into the altar, one drop at a time.

Strangely, Lame Ku's blood seemed like fuel. Each drop ignited the flames inside the altar even more.

After a few drops, the flames in the altar were burning fiercely.

Lame Ku said slowly, "As long as I burn your remains, you'll be scattered!"

Clearly addressing Yin Hongyi, Lame Ku said, "Do you think that's possible?"

The flames inside the altar were pulled and swirled by the cold wind, forming a ghostly figure.

The ghostly figure danced around, gradually revealing the silhouette of Yin Hongyi.

To be honest, she was indeed a graceful and beautiful woman, especially in her bright red cheongsam, which stood out prominently.

As the flames spun, Yin Hongyi's shadow quickly became blurry again.

Lame Ku flipped his palm and pulled out a pair of golden earrings from somewhere, throwing them into the altar.

In the flames, Yin Hongyi's ghost followed suit, diving into the altar.

At that moment, Lame Ku suddenly yelled at me, who was standing by dumbfounded, "Yang Cheng, now!"

Lame Ku's shout exploded in my ears like thunder.

I trembled all over, suddenly realizing what was happening. Without hesitation, I rushed forward, unafraid of the burning flames, and slammed the lid onto the Soul-Sealing Altar.

The flames were extinguished in an instant, and all that could be heard from inside the altar was Yin Hongyi's shrill and resentful cry: "Wuwa—"

The Soul-Sealing Altar trembled violently. Once the lid was sealed, it was as if it had been glued shut, tight and seamless, never to be opened again.