In the quiet of the night, a fierce sted over Wan'an ty in the Great Han Dynasty.

  *Boom!*

  A deafening thundercp shook the earth, its echoes reverberating through the air.

  Lightning tore through the darkness, illuminating the ty as if it were daytime.

  At the ter of the ty, fag south, a mansion stood with white nterns hanging at its entrahe word "M" was written in bold characters, making it clear that a funeral was being held.

  *Whoosh—*

  The howling wind caused the two white nterns to sway violently, their frames cttering against each other.

  From a distahe nterns flickered with faint, bean-sized fmes, their eerie glow dang in the darkness.

  Uhe pale light, it was evident that the mansion had long fallen into disrepair. Yet, the nterns were braheir delicate pink paper glowing softly, resembling the smooth, fine skin of a young girl.

  In such a fierce storm, the paper c the nterns should have been torn apart, and the fmes inside should have beeinguished long ago.

  But for some reason, no matter how fiercely the wind blew, the fmes ihe nterns flickered wildly but never went out. The nterns themselves remained intact, their bamboo frames cttering but undamaged.

  In the darkness, the nterns became the only source of light for the dipidated mansion. The light illumihe porch, revealing a worn-out pque covered in a yer of bck grime. Through the grime, three faint characters could barely be made out.

  Ihe mansion, two figures stood furtively in the courtyard, hunched over with their hands csped, pag bad forth uneasily.

  They occasionally goward the entrahen turheir fearful gazes toward the main hall.

  The doors of the main hall had been dismantled, and the panels were id out in the ter of the room, each supp a corpse.

  The bodies were covered with white cloths, now stained with blood aing a foul stench.

  *Boom!*

  The thunder tio roar, and the nterns at the entraered loudly. Finally, the taller of the two figures couldn't hold bay longer and asked,

  "Brother, do you think... do you think something will g?"

  From his voice, it was clear that the speaker was quite young, his torembling with ay.

  The other man remained silent for a long time, his hands csped tightly, his lips pressed together.

  Seeing that his brother hadn't respohe younger man grew impatient and was about to speak agaihe older man finally said in a low voice,

  "No."

  His voice was also young but steadier than his brother's.

  "Our pn to divert the disaster was obtai a high price from 'Master Zhang' at the paper figurine shop." Though he appeared calm, his brother could clearly hear the sound of him swallowing hard, a sign that he, too, was terrified, despite his outward posure.

  "Master Zhang said that to pletely resolve the curse pguing the Demon-Suppression Bureau, we must find a leader to take responsibility and draw the attention of the 'thing.' O possesses the leader, the disaster will be diverted. After that, whether the leader lives or dies has nothing to do with the rest of the bureau."

  The man was clearly trying to reassure himself, using his incessant talking to vent his fear:

  "Thanks to Master Zhang's guidance, we've figured out the 'thing's' killing pattern."

  *Gulp.* He swallowed again.

  "'It' feeds on the life force of its host. Ohe life force is draihe host dies a tragic death."

  The younger man was equally terrified and nodded in agreement.

  "That's right. With Master Zhang's help, we checked the ty records and found a suitable didate. We brought her into the Demon-Suppression Bureau to take on this disaster."

  The older man tinued,

  "Exactly. Zhao Fusheng's birth date ainy were perfect. We've already dripped her blood onto the Demon-Suppression Token, and her name has appeared on the bureau's roster. She's now the bureau's leader, and there's n back."

  "With her taking on the disaster, the 'thing' was drawn to her, and Zhao Fushe a tragid. Her parents also died, and the entire family perished." The younger man added,

  "Logically, the disaster should be resolved. But brother, I feel uneasy. It feels like this isn't over."

  "Impossible!" The older man immediately refuted,

  "You know Master Zhang's reputation. It's said he keeps a minor deity, and his methods are highly effective. If he said the disaster would be diverted, then it will be."

  Despite his words, the eerie atmosphere of the night left the man uled. As he spoke, he took a few steps toward the main hall, summoning his ce to peek inside.

  The hall itch bck, with only the faint outlines of the three bodies uhe white cloths visible.

  The bodies showed no signs of movement, and the hall was eerily silent.

  *Whoosh—* The wind howled through the hall, swirling around aing a low moan, as if someone were softly weeping. The sou shivers down the man's spine.

  *Crack!*

  Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the night and revealing the faces of the two brothers.

  They were aroueen or een years old, with identical features. When they faced each other, it was like looking into a mirror.

  "Wujiu, go take a look," the older brother said, uo tain his ay.

  "L-look at what?" the man named Wujiu stammered.

  "You—" Before the older brother could finish, the wind picked up again, smming the doors shut with a loud *bang*.

  The courtyard, which had been dimly lit by the nterns outside, was now plunged into plete darkness.

  The hall, with its three corpses, y directly ahead.

  Most importantly, a ghostly presence was hidden near one of the bodies. As darkness fell, the brothers' hearts raced, pounding in their chests.

  The older brother was shtened he could barely breathe, raising his voice:

  "Quick, open the doors ahe light in!"

  As he spoke, both brothers recalled the same se: sitting in Master Zhang's shop, the pale and eerie Master Zhang hahem two nterns and instructed them,

  "These nterns are made of human skin, and the oil inside is rendered from human fat. As long as the nterns are lit, the ghost will think you're already dead and won't notice you. It won't trigger its killing rules. Once dawn breaks and the ghost has fulfilled its purpose, it will leave on its own."

  Now, with the doors closed and the light blocked, the brothers were thrown into plete darkness. Already on edge, they were terrified out of their wits.

  Wujiu's legs gave way, and he nearly colpsed to his khe older brother, trying to maintain his posure, barked,

  "Hurry up!"

  "O-okay—" Wujiu stammered, scrambling toward the doors. Just as he was about to pull them open—

  *Crack!* Thunder rumbled, and lightning gathered in the sky.

  The lightning seemed to pause above the mansion, and the brothers could evehe acrid st of burniricity. The lightning lingered for a moment before striking the roof with a deafening crash.

  The roof tiles shattered, and debris scattered everywhere.

  The residual lightning surged downward, aiming for one of the bodies in the ter of the hall.

  But as the lightning struck the corpse, a soul from another world ehe body.

  Zhao Fusheng's memories were still stu her overtime work. On this stormy night, she had wao finish her tasks and go to bed early when she caught a faint, pu smell—like a gas leak.

  She lived in a subdivided rental apartment, where the ndlord had partitiohe space to rent to differes. Her neighbors were a middle-aged couple who often fought, and she could sometimes hear the woman's screams te at night.

  The walls were thin and offered little soundproofing, so the sounds of their arguments and the woman's cries often disturbed the neighbors.

  But everyone was too busy with their own lives to intervene.

  When Zhao Fusheng smelled the gas, she frowned and pressed her ear against the wall.

  The woma door wasn't g tonight. Had something happened?

  She hesitated, sidering calling the property ma to check, when she suddenly heard the woman's low ughter:

  "Let's die together—"

  Then, with a *click*, the sound of a lighter ignited, and fmes erupted instantly.

  The powerful bst tore through the wall, engulfing Zhao Fusheng's body in fmes. Her sciousness floated upward, and before she bcked out, she thought she heard the sound of thunder and lightning.

  A *buzz* of electricity surged through her body, and another voice echoed in her mind: *Restart the Divier of Hell.*

  *The Divier has been activated!*

  *The eighteen yers of hell are sealed. Divine positions remain unsealed.*

  *Unsealing divine positions... requires merit...*

  What did that mean?

  What Divier? What eighteen yers of hell?

  As she was still reeling from the shock, the lightning struck her body, sending jolts through her. She found herself in an unfamiliar m hall, with corpses oher side and an open door in the distance...

  Zhao Fusheng wondered if she had been struck by lightning, causio halluate. Then, a flood of unfamiliar memories rushed into her mind like a whirlwind.

  The onsught of memories overwhelmed her, and her visio dark.

  Before she lost sciousness, she heard a man's panicked voice:

  "This is bad!"

  It really was bad.

  Zhao Fusheng thought to herself. She lived alone, and her neighbors were indifferent. If something had happeo her tonight, would anyone even notid call an ambunce?

  With that thought, her sciousness faded into darkness.

  Meanwhile, ihe mansion, the twin brothers were in a state of panibsp;

  The divine lightning had pierced through the roof of the main hall.

  As they cried out in fear, the lightning struck the body in the ter of the room. The corpse jerked violently uhe force of the lightning, and the dead girl sat up.

  Wujiu, who was about to open the door, froze at the sound and instinctively turned around, just in time to withe se.

  In the light of the lightning, his eyes met the pale face of the girl.

  The white cloth c her body had been pushed aside, and Zhao Fusheng's corpse sat upright, her eyes wide open, staring directly at him.

  "Ah!!!"

  The ma out a blood-curdling scream, his legs giving way as he colpsed to the ground, shouting,

  "Brother—brhost! She's turned into a ghost!"

  Tonight was already fraught with dahe Demon-Suppression Bureau had been pgued by a curse for the past two years, and most of its members had died. The situation was dire, and the mansion likely still harbored a ghostly presence.

  The brothers were already on edge, and any sudden movemehem into a panibsp;

  Now, hearing his brother scream about a ghost, the older brother nearly colpsed in fear.

  But he forced himself to stay calm and turo look ihe hall—

  At the momeurhe girl who had sat up slowly y back down on the pnk, falling bato a deep sleep.

  The older brother didn't see Zhao Fusheng sitting up and breathed a sigh of relief. He gred at his hysterical brother and scolded,

  "What ghost? Ghosts don't just appear out of nowhere. It was just a thundercp. How could you be so scared?"

  "But I really saw her sit up and stare at me..." Wujiu, who had been g, looked up at the hall again.

  The room was quiet, and the occasional fshes of lightning revealed the three corpses lying in the hall. The image of Zhao Fusheng sitting up seemed like a halluation.

  He rubbed his eyes, still uneasy, when his brother tio berate him:

  "She's already dead! After the i, her eyes were wide open, and we were the ones who closed them. Don't you remember?"

  Wujiu didn't dare argue. The older brother ched his fists and said,

  "Hurry up and open the door. Master Zhang said the light from the human-skin nterns is special. Only within its glow are we safe. If we leave the 'death zone,' we might trigger the 'thing's' rules and die without knowing how."

  Feeling increasingly agitated, the older brritted his teeth and said,

  "I'll go inside and see if Zhao Fusheng is really dead—" Before he could finish, he mustered his ce and rushed into the hall.

  The roof had a rge hole, and the cold wind howled through the room. The three corpses y quietly on the pnks.

  Perhaps because the three had died tragic deaths, the temperature inside was freezing. It was unclear whether the malevolent presence had left.

  The man's heart pounded as he forced himself to look at Zhao Fusheng.

  The girl y motionless.

  Perhaps because of the strong wind and the lightning strike that had shattered the roof tiles, the white cloth c her body had been pushed aside, revealing her pale, lifeless face.

  She had died a gruesome death, her life force drained, leaving her with a ghastly appearahe man, feeling guilty, didn't dare look at her face for too long and quickly g her eyes.

  Her eyes were closed, and he sighed in relief, muttering to himself,

  "Wujiu must have been scared out of his mind. Her eyes are clearly closed."

  Since he didn't dare touch Zhao Fusheng's body or lift the cloth, he didn't notice that the deep wound from her throat to her chest was rapidly healing.

  Her chest rose and fell slightly, and her hands a gradually warmed. Faint breaths escaped her nostrils.

  The man gingerly lifted the cloth and draped it over the girl's face, then quickly retreated from the freezing hall as if fleeing from a pgue.

  Behind him, a shadowy figure lurking in the darkness hesitated for a moment before retreating bato the shadows.

  "It's fihe man said, relieved, as he stepped out.

  He had entered aed safely, which gave Wujiu the ce to pull the doors open.

  But the moment the doors opened, something ued happened!

  Thank you for reading! ??

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