Due to the rural background of the story, Xiaohu had already imagined the scene.

He began to listen carefully, not daring to make a sound, for fear of interrupting the story.

Yu Xing's voice was low, leading Xiaohu's imagination. He said, "After giving directions, the woman went home and soon forgot about the old Granny. The next day, the woman walked home very late again, and this time, she saw the old Granny in black standing on the grave. The Granny asked her how to get to the village."

"Although the woman felt strange, she still pointed the way again. After returning home this time, she kept this matter in her heart."

"On the third day, the woman was still working until the moon rose. It was pitch black, and she was walking alone on the path. When she passed the grave, she indeed saw the Granny in black. The Granny walked up to her and asked the same question. How to get to the village? At this point, the woman was already very scared. She didn't answer, but asked, 'What are you going to do in the village?'"

Yu Xing paused here, creating suspense.

The effect was obvious. Xiaohu, who had only heard half of the story, was anxious and scratched his head, repeatedly asking, "And then? What did the Granny do in the village?"

"The Granny didn't answer the woman, just repeated the question. How to get to the village?" Yu Xing narrowed his eyes. "The woman was afraid that she had seen something unclean, so she didn't answer and hurried home. As she walked, she kept looking back and saw the Granny standing on the grave, still staring at her. When the woman returned home, she told her husband, who was lying in bed. His face changed and he asked what the Granny looked like, then said..."

He held out his hands and gestured in front of Xiaohu. "If you see her again tomorrow and she asks you anything, don't answer. Ask her to show you her hands. If she has hands, she's human. If she doesn't, she's a ghost."

"Then..." Xiaohu listened nervously, waiting for Yu Xing to reveal the ending.

"On the fourth day, the woman saw the Granny at the grave again. The Granny walked up to her and asked the same question. How to get to the village? The woman didn't answer, but asked the Granny to show her hands. The Granny slowly reached out her hand and said..."

Yu Xing's voice grew softer, building up the suspense. He leaned in closer to Xiaohu, who was listening intently. Suddenly, his voice rose, and he quickly gestured toward Xiaohu's neck, imitating the Granny's voice, "I'll strangle you!"

"Ah!!"

Yu Xing's deliberate scare came too suddenly, and at such a close distance, the shock was real. Xiaohu screamed in terror, sat down on the ground, and looked at Yu Xing in horror.

After a two-second pause, seeing the smile on Yu Xing's face, Xiaohu realized he had been tricked. Feeling wronged and embarrassed, he got up, shouted at Yu Xing, "Big liar! I hate you!"

Then he ran off without looking back, seeming like he never wanted to see Yu Xing again.

Yu Xing stood up and watched the child's retreating figure, chuckling softly.

"This is your reward, little brat... Hating me is the best reward. Stay away from me, don't come near. Otherwise, when I can't control myself, I might do something scarier than your mother or your peers."

After wasting time on the story, Yu Xing picked up the medical kit and headed toward the river.

He wanted to see how the shaman planned to give his "skin" to the real Shi Wei in the water.

The most likely scenario was that the shaman wouldn't directly act by the river, because sending him back to the village to get the medical kit was just a way to keep him occupied, allowing Shi Wei to confirm if his skin was satisfactory.

It probably wasn't easy for the water ghost to change skin. It would require a lot of preparation, perhaps even a certain sacrificial ritual, otherwise Shi Wei wouldn't still be in the water.

After treating the shaman's wound, she would probably use this to bring them closer, laying the foundation for later coaxing him into cooperating with the ritual.

After passing through the woods, Yu Xing returned to the lakeside.

The shaman was no longer there. Although he wasn't in a hurry, he hadn't taken a detour in the woods, so he was probably still within the time frame calculated by the shaman. Therefore, the shaman with the "injured leg that couldn't walk" must not be far from here.

He thought of the cause of the water ghost Shi Wei's anger at that time, deliberately looking at his reflection in the lake and sighed almost imperceptibly, "So handsome... How could the shaman, who is so familiar with the riverside environment, come here in a qipao without protective fabric and get injured by the sawgrass? Is she trying to get closer to me?"

"In fact, she looks pretty good, even though she's a little older than me. As long as she's good to me, I can accept it. Well, if she says she can't walk on the way back, I'll carry her. No loss."

Ripples faintly appeared in the silent lake.

Yu Xing was sure that the water ghost could hear him. Call him dark-hearted or sinister, but he felt happy when the water ghost was angry.

Because whether it was the water ghost or any other ghost, their personalities would become much more negative after becoming ghosts - irritable, cruel, suspicious, possessive... It was all common.

He could tell that the shaman genuinely liked Shi Wei.

Although he didn't understand the reason for this intense emotion, compared to the single-minded shaman, the water ghost Shi Wei was clearly uneasy and full of doubt.

Despite Shi Wei's cold and cruel appearance towards the shaman, in reality, Yu Xing keenly sensed Shi Wei's fear of the shaman leaving. So, he used forceful means to make the shaman not dare to leave, just like a yandere who breaks the legs of the person they love and keeps them imprisoned in order to keep their loved one by their side.

Even if the shaman didn't mind, Shi Wei himself would still be concerned, magnifying his own shortcomings and unable to give the shaman an ounce of trust.The water ghost was self-conscious about its rotten, waterlogged face being scorned by the witch, and it envied Yu Xing for having such a handsome face by the witch's side.

Suspicion and jealousy, a natural pair, are always the easiest aspects of human nature to exploit.

Thus, if the witch and the water ghost intended to harm him, Yu Xing would not show them mercy. One lured villagers to cut off their flesh as offerings, providing food, and the other devoured living people—both were unforgivable sins.

Yu Xing was more than willing to kill and punish the wicked, to create some trouble for these two bad elements before they could lay a finger on him.

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He ignored the ripples in the lake and walked upstream as if he saw nothing.

The river water became clearer the further upstream he went, as if everything returned to normal once he moved away from the lake's end.

After walking another hundred meters or so, Yu Xing saw the witch's figure with her back turned to him.