During the Qing Dynasty, children addressed their mothers as ‘Erniang.’ The female ghost we had encountered yesterday also wore Manchurian traditional clothes. Could she be this spirit’s mother?

After thinking that Li Mazi was almost killed by the white shadow, my heart sank. Then I remembered it was broad daylight right now!

Since it was able to possess a living man in daylight, it meant that this spirit was even stronger than what Li Mazi had described.

While my head was spinning and thinking, I suddenly heard a horrible scream. I pulled myself together.

However, I was terrified when I recognized that Mr. Jin had escaped the four bodyguards’ suppression. He furiously dashed toward the old woman.

The woman looked petrified. She didn’t blink or move. I knew I couldn’t wait anymore. I bit the tip of my tongue and dashed forward. Immediately, I spat my blood on Mr. Jin’s forehead.

Mr. Jin stiffened. I took this rare chance to slap him abruptly. Mr. Jin shook, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Then, he fainted. At the same time, I saw a white shadow swirl around the group of people. Then, it disappeared.

It seemed the spirit could appear during the day but still needed to borrow a body. I heaved a sigh of relief.

Ye Chen saw that his boss was unconscious and asked hurriedly, “What happened to him?”

“A spirit was borrowing his body. Don’t worry. He’ll wake up after sufficient rest.” I nodded.

There is a saying that goes, “The palm hits the flesh, and the back of the hand hits the soul.” It means that when you palm someone, you just hurt that person’s body. However, if you use the back of your hand to hit someone, it will hurt their soul. It was the reason why people didn’t use the back of their hands to hit others in some regions. I had just tried my luck when I slapped him. To my surprise, it had worked!

Ye Chen asked the bodyguards to carry their boss upstairs to rest. The old woman turned to thank me.

After talking to her, I learned that she was Mr. Jin’s mother and that the other two middle-aged men were his younger brothers. They had come to visit him when they heard that he had a strange disease. They didn’t expect that Mr. Jin would turn crazy in the morning…

There was another odd thing about Mr. Jin. He always acted nice. However, when he saw his friends or relatives, he became fierce. I guessed it had something to do with the spirit’s life.

At around twilight, Mr. Jin’s mother left with his two brothers. Before she left, she asked me to take care of Mr. Jin.

It was nightfall and Mr. Jin hadn’t woken up yet. Ye Chen took me for dinner and asked me where Li Mazi had gone.

“He went home to run some errands. I think he will come back in a few days.” I told Ye Chen a random excuse then asked him to rest tonight. “No matter what you hear, don’t leave your room.”

After listening to me, Ye Chen sternly nodded.

If the two spirits just wanted to torture Mr. Jin, they wouldn’t hurt the other staff in his house. Ye Chen and the guards couldn’t help me. It would be better if they stayed away from the scene. I didn’t want them to be the next host!

At around 11:00 PM, I turned off all the lights in the villa. Then, I got out of the house and climbed a big tree. I smeared ox tears on my eyelids and watched Mr. Jin’s room without blinking.

Soon, a vague figure appeared in my sight. When it came closer, I recognized it was the female ghost I’d encountered last night.

She headed toward Mr. Jin. I didn’t take action but patiently waited to see what she wanted to do. She went to Mr. Jin’s bed. After staring at him for a while, she began to sob.

Her crying was extremely sorrowful. I could feel the anger inside her agony. I couldn’t help but pity her and felt sorry for her.

I was outside and could hear her cries, which meant that Mr. Jin could hear her, too. However, he didn’t react and slept like a dead pig.

The ghost raised her hands and aimed at Mr. Jin. All of a sudden, the bronze bow materialized in her hands! I had taken that bow during the day, so how could she get it so easily?

I didn’t have time to think as the ghost had already shot Mr. Jin. The man immediately whimpered in pain.

It explained the sounds Ye Chen and the others had heard before. After knowing what had happened during the night, I became sterner. I walked around the area outside the villa to check and found nothing.

It wasn’t hard to deal with that female ghost now that we were alone, so I wouldn’t let such a good chance slip away. I took out a Yang Concealing Talisman to conceal my Yang energy. While creeping in the corridor, I bit my finger and drew a simple Five Elements Formation there.

The Five Elements Formation focused on mutually attracting and repelling the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth elements. Those who understood the rules could escape the formation easily. However, if they didn’t know the rules, they would never escape and could only wait for death.

The bow that the ghost used naturally belonged to the Fire attribute. Water puts out fire, so I placed a water gate right at the entrance to the room. It would make the ghost inadvertently enter the formation.

Then, I returned to my room to grab the Yin and Yang Umbrella. From the balcony of my room, I climbed into Mr. Jin’s room. The ghost didn’t notice my presence. I used this chance and opened the Yin and Yang Umbrella. Then, I threw it toward her.

Unexpectedly, although the female ghost didn’t see me, her bow did. It jumped up and parried with the Yin and Yang Umbrella. After a clear crackle, the bow broke into two pieces.

The female ghost saw the Yin and Yang Umbrella and shrieked. She didn’t turn her head back and rushed toward the corridor.

I knew she would step into the formation. I didn’t need to chase after her. I flinched and picked up the two halves of the bronze bow. At the moment it had clashed with the Yin and Yang Umbrella on its own, I knew it had a spirit. However, it was now broken. What a waste!

The female ghost screamed and cursed outside. I smiled and walked out of the room. Indeed, she was trapped inside the Five Elements Formation!

Although my Five Elements formation wasn’t bigger than her three-inch-golden-lotus-feet, she couldn’t escape. No matter where she ran, she would be sucked back into the formation, which made her look like a roly-poly toy.

Gradually, the female ghost was worn out. She began to whine. I couldn’t stand it when women cried. My heart softened and was about to release her. She wasn’t my equal opponent, after all.

Before I could dismiss my formation, her crying turned into sharp laughter.

“Your Majesty, open your eyes and see how good your sons are! Haha!” The ghost’s laughter subsided. “Pity me. I, Abahai, have been a good mother my whole life. However, my sons strangled me to death. My God! Why did you do that to me? Where’s the justice for me…”

Then, her eyes turned red. She gazed at me as though she wanted to tear me into pieces! She hurled herself toward the water gate.

All of this happened in just a glimpse of time. When I pulled myself together, the female ghost had already vanished into thin air.

I looked at the water gate and felt helpless. I slumped onto the ground.

The female ghost’s last words had shown her identity. She was the woman Emperor Nurhaci, the Qing Dynasty’s founder, loved the most. She was Lady Abahai.

Lady Abahai was a smart, kind, and beautiful woman. She had strong support for Nurhaci when he struck to claim the nation.

At the same time, she was a good mother who had taken care of her three sons pretty well.

However, after Nurhaci got sick and died, her three sons, under Hong Taiji’s pressure, forced her to commit suicide by strangling herself with a bowstring. They did it to save themselves.

I guessed that when Abahai died, she had a thousand questions in her mind. That’s why she didn’t believe in the existence of love and familial affection. She hated both her family members and friends.

If this spirit was Lady Abahai, the white shadow was undoubtedly her son, Dorgon. Dorgon was the leader of one of the great Eight Banners. It explained why he always wore white clothes. Dorgon often blamed himself for the death of his mother. When he started his regency, the first thing he did was confer the posthumous title, Empress, to his late mother.

I guessed that Dorgon’s spirit had followed his mother to repay the love she had always carried for him.

I felt guilty. It was exactly as the saying, “I didn’t kill Boren, but Boren died because of me.” I had never thought of destroying Abahai, but I had indirectly forced her to kill herself one more time…

Ever since I had started working in this otherworldly item business, I had never encountered such an emotional situation. I felt a little shaken.