I chuckled and said, "That's right, you're not wrong, but come on—you didn't really think that was my only trick to deal with you, did you?"

　　The red-dressed ghost's expression darkened, and she snapped, "You must have a death wish!"

　　In an instant, she lunged at me. Trusting in my Bagua Palm skills, I charged forward to meet her head-on! We collided fiercely, and with just one exchange, she was knocked backward, rolling away. I, on the other hand, barely held my ground, taking just a step back, though my right hand was trembling uncontrollably!

　　I quickly hid my right hand behind my back to keep her from noticing. The situation was clear—I couldn’t let her see even the slightest sign of weakness!

　　"I'm taking him with me now. Got a problem with that?" I said, pointing at Ma Xiaodong's spirit.

　　She glared at me, her face twisted with cold rage. "I really underestimated you!"

　　Ignoring her, I turned to Ma Xiaodong and said, "Come on. With me here, you don't have to be afraid of her anymore!"

　　As I spoke, I pulled out the jade once again.

　　This time, Ma Xiaodong's spirit didn’t hesitate. He nodded at me and shot straight into the jade.

　　I put the jade away, shot a quick glance at the group of ghosts, then turned to leave.

　　On the surface, I seemed calm and composed, but deep down, I was scared out of my mind, dreading that she’d catch on and come after me! If all those ghosts rushed at me, who knew if I could handle them, especially that red-dressed ghost—I hadn’t even figured out how strong she really was.

　　"Mister! Mister!"I hadn’t gone far when Ma Daqiang came sprinting over, clutching several bottles of liquor in his arms.

　　“I brought all the baijiu from home!” he shouted, hurriedly weaving his way through the rows of graves to reach me.

　　Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Ma Daqiang showing up right now was the best idea. After all, that female ghost had a bone to pick with him. Whatever grudge she had, one thing was for sure—when enemies cross paths, sparks fly. Who knew if she’d just go straight for his throat?

　　But at least he brought the liquor I’d asked for, and that stuff would definitely come in handy against vengeful spirits.

　　I grabbed the bottles from him and was just about to tell him I’d found Ma Xiaodong’s spirit, but before I could get a word out, he blurted, “What’s wrong with your hand?”

　　My heart sank, and I quickly shook my head at him, hoping he'd take the hint. Idiot! Why would you bring that up now?!

　　“I knew it! You were just bluffing!” The female ghost’s voice suddenly echoed from behind.

　　“Ah!” Ma Daqiang’s knees gave out when he saw the ghosts, and he collapsed onto the ground, trembling. Pointing at them, he stammered, “G-Ghosts!” Without another word, he scrambled to his feet and took off running.

　　“Stop him!” the female ghost ordered. Two fierce spirits instantly lunged out, blocking Ma Daqiang’s path, while several more rushed in, closing the circle around us.

　　“H-How... how are we gonna handle this?” Ma Daqiang’s voice was shaking as he hid behind me.

　　“How? We fight! What else can we do?” I snapped back.

　　The female ghost smirked, her eyes glinting with cruel amusement. “Ma Daqiang, you just handed yourself over on a silver platter. All set to die, are you?”

　　I glanced at him, still completely in the dark about the bad blood between him and this ghost. Whatever it was, it was enough to make her zero in on him like a predator on its prey.

　　“Who the hell are you? I don’t even know you!” he shouted, his voice laced with confusion and fear.

　　The female ghost burst into a bitter, spiteful laugh. "You don’t know me, but I sure as hell know you!" She locked her furious gaze on Ma Daqiang. "And that bastard of a father you’ve got—this cursed Dead Man's Gulch is all his doing!"

　　"You... you're talking nonsense!" Ma Daqiang shouted loudly.

　　I was taken aback. What exactly did the female ghost mean by "all his doing"?

　　"Old Zhang, get over here!" the female ghost commanded.

　　Suddenly, an old ghost floated over—a frail, skeletal old man, probably in his seventies, dressed in rough, tattered clothes. His eyes were pure black, without a trace of white, making it impossible to look at him directly.

　　"You don’t recognize me, but you should know him!" the female ghost sneered, looking at Ma Daqiang.

　　Ma Daqiang stared at the old man for a moment, then stammered, "Zhang... Zhang Baosheng?"

　　"So, you do remember this old man, huh? You heartless scumbag! I hope you die a miserable death, you bastard!" The old man started hurling curses at Ma Daqiang the moment he arrived.

　　"What did you do? Confess to him right now!" I shouted at Ma Daqiang.

　　"I... I didn’t do anything!"

　　"Are you sure about that?"

　　Ma Daqiang shook his head vigorously. At this point, I couldn't tell if he was scared or deliberately hiding something.I turned to Old Zhang, trying to keep my voice steady. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. You’re not one of the living anymore. Whatever grudges you hold, let Heaven take care of it. Why put yourself through this pain?”

　　“Impossible! You think I could forget what you did to us? It’s only been a few years, you heartless bastard!” Old Zhang shot back, his voice dripping with rage. As he spoke, a group of vengeful spirits started to close in on us, their intent clear.

　　Ma Daqiang and I took a few cautious steps back, but with the ghosts surrounding us, there was nowhere to escape.

　　“Ma Daqiang, what the hell did you do? You need to spill it!” I demanded, frustration boiling over.

　　He stood frozen, his expression blank for a moment. Then, trembling, he took a few shaky steps forward and suddenly dropped to his knees in front of the spirits. “I was wrong, terribly wrong. I shouldn’t have treated you like that back then. Please, just let me go!” He begged, his forehead pressed against the ground.

　　But the spirits didn’t show any signs of mercy; they kept advancing, a dark cloud of vengeance closing in.

　　I moved closer to him and said, “He’s on his knees, admitting his mistakes. Are you really not going to let him go? Don’t you fear the punishment that awaits you in the underworld?”

　　I wasn’t bluffing. They were spirits, after all, and they knew better than I did the consequences that awaited them—lingering too long or causing harm would earn them severe retribution. When a person dies, their light goes out. Regardless of what they did in life, they must go to the underworld to face judgment before being reincarnated. If they linger too long or do evil while alive, they would face punishment.

　　At my words, the ghosts hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances with one another.

　　“Sir! Sir!” Just then, Ma Daqiang’s wife rushed in, struggling under the weight of a large sack on her back. “I’ve brought all the spirit money from the funeral shop!”I ripped open the sack and found gold ingots, paper money, and stacks of joss paper—easily weighing a few pounds.

　　Without thinking twice, I grabbed a handful of joss paper and shouted at the vengeful spirits, “You’ve been wandering around as lonely spirits for years. You must be desperate for cash, right?”

　　Their tattered clothes were a clear sign that no one had honored them in ages. They exchanged glances, and I could see some of them zeroing in on the money, their eyes practically sparkling with greed!

　　I couldn’t help but smirk and said, “Let us go, and all this cash is yours!”

　　As soon as the words left my mouth, every ghost turned their attention to the red-dressed spirit.

　　She hesitated for a moment, clearly tempted by the offer.

　　“What’s there to think about?” I pressed, not giving her a second to consider.

　　She fixed her gaze on me and suddenly erupted into laughter. “Are you trying to threaten me?”

　　“No, I’m just making a deal!”

　　The red-dressed spirit stepped closer, her voice dripping with menace. “Why shouldn’t I just kill you and take the money for myself?”

　　I flashed a grin, pulled out a box of matches from my pocket, lit one, and shot back, “Go ahead and try. Let’s see who’s quicker—your knife or my hand!”