Shekh grabbed her fingertips and finally understood that the one who attracted the red power was not Pu Kui, but these red blood shadows. They were the accomplices who fueled the flames, evil to the extreme of ignorance.

This is a different kind of evil from Sun Ao and others. They are a collective embodiment of evil. If they were convicted, each of their crimes would be frighteningly light. But it is precisely this frighteningly lightness of watching the spectacle, the experience of those who have been there, the sayings of "who doesn't live like this?" and "I've heard this" that have accumulated to drive Pu Kui crazy over the past ten years.

She previously said that Wang Zao, Zhuo Jiajia, and Yu Fu formed the group Pu, and that Gu Li, Xue Ge, and Xiao Yun, among others, represented this type of person. However, she was only partially correct. What she didn't guess was that there was only one Pu who needed saving, Pu Kui, while there were many who killed Pu. These were the people who shared commonalities and were the same kind of people.

Shehra, amidst the blood, flesh, and rotting mud, said to Shi Jinzhe, "I've found the root of the red forces: these women who unknowingly sell themselves into sham marriages and even aid and abet the evildoers."

“Since they are red, the reason why they attracted the black mist is clear.” Shi Jinzhe stared at the Pu Kui in the healing formation and said, “The direct murderers who killed her, the Sun family, attracted the black mist with their inner evil.”

Shekh: "None of them are good people."

"If none of them are good people... who gave out the mission to save Apu?" Shi Jinzhe realized the problem: the instance wasn't opened by the system; it was a fake instance. Since it was fake, how did this positive mission come about?

Before I could think it through, a massive black fog suddenly appeared.

"careful!"

As time passed, the array expanded its range. Within the minimalist golden ring, complex and difficult-to-discern special symbols appeared. The shimmering light faded, and the platinum-gold [Shape-Adapting] array seized control of the Blood Shadow, taking the lead in gaining control of it and turning it against itself for its own use.

The blood-red shadows, beginning to take on human form, emitted golden light and rushed into the black mist, looking from a distance like searchlights flickering in the fog.

This was the largest area covered by the black mist. Sheh found an opportunity and turned into mist on the spot when Shi Jinzhe was changing the formation.

Countless golden-purple stars appeared in the thick black fog, resembling a starlight galaxy, only revealing intermittent golden-purple arcs when the shadows surged.

The blood-red shadows in the mist formed a fixed purification lock, connecting from points to lines to surfaces, each one linked together, effectively assisting in the search for the source of the red and black forces. The black mist dodged in several directions, while Shi Jinzhe controlled everything in the distance, pinning the black mist down, the purification power relentlessly biting and holding on.

"Have you found anything?" he asked the air.

“Yes, but this world will be affected.” Shekh’s voice came from within the mist. “There are several places like Puxian. Fortunately, the anomalies haven’t spread. It’s just that the black mist in different areas is connected. The more serious problem is the red flesh and blood; its invasion of this world is far more severe than that of the black mist…”

"Because of deception..."

Shi Jinzhe followed the sound and saw Pu Kui, who was standing up while leaning against the wall, speaking.

The red lines on her face disappeared, revealing her original appearance. The indiscriminate resentment in her eyes, which she had developed, was restored along with her rationality during the healing process, and she was now able to communicate normally.

Pu Kui said, "This thing first found me because I harbored a lot of resentment. I had three ghost marriages that brought ruin to three families. The Sun family dared not touch me anymore, so I took the opportunity to kill Sun Ao."

Her son and husband were dead, and Sun Ao's mother harbored resentment. She became the one who initially attracted this thing. Flesh and blood needed a vessel, so she dug me out and sewed me up with red thread so that I would be controlled by the flesh and blood. But she couldn't control the red flesh and blood at all. It kept expanding, taking away people's souls and leaving only a shell.

Until one day, Sun Ao's soul heard another voice, very old and hoarse, asking Sun Ao if he wanted revenge. Then he gained the ability to take revenge on me. I never imagined he could generate a hatred even more ferocious than mine.

“You’re talking about the black mist,” Shekh confirmed.

This makes sense. Pu Kui isn't truly evil, so the source of those two forces isn't her. She and Shi Jinzhe almost went astray, focusing solely on Pu Kui and misjudging their true target.

Pu Kui: "Yes, it also asked me. I said I wanted it, and so I gained some ability to break free from flesh and blood. That's why you can sometimes see me. All of this happened in the Heart Heart Hotel. Sun Ao's mother is buried under that building. If you want to remove flesh and blood, you have to take her away. She is the source."

Shi Jinzhe took out a paper airplane and stepped onto it, saying, "Come on up too, I have something to ask you."

Pu Kui sat at the tail of the paper airplane, her blood-stained red wedding dress staining the white paper. Seeing this, she moved her body further away, sitting only on the edge, making sure she wouldn't fall off.

She recognized the blood-covered Boss Sun from the air and said, "She's not afraid of Sun Ao's mother, but she's afraid of me. To slow down the mutation of Xinxin Hotel, she has to trick living people into coming in every day to switch between real and fake people. This is why she's willing to pay off debts with goods and even attract customers at low prices or for free. The souls of the living die here, and the mutated locals use the bodies of the living to leave Puxian. Among these people, she likes truck drivers the most because they can travel far and are not easily discovered when they are away from home for many years. After these drivers are replaced, they leave and then infect people outside, which is why the red flesh and blood spread so quickly."

As Pu Kui spoke, she spotted a glimpse of purple in the thick black fog. She rubbed her fingertips together, as if embarrassed.

"Thank you."

It was a heartwarming scene, but Shekh, completely oblivious to the romance, asked her, "Did you cut off Sun Ao's head yourself?"

“…Yes,” Pu Kui explained, “There’s not much I can do. Most of the time I’m being controlled. If you… if you see me… and do something bad…”

Sheh didn't let her continue. She knew what Pu Kui was going to say. She asked, "Next question, is Sun Ao's mother very traditional and obedient to her husband?"

Sun Ao's mother had very little screen time in the whole affair. She was mentioned only briefly in Sun's words as his parent, and she didn't have a single story of her own.

But Shekh had this question when he heard that Sun Ao’s father wanted to violate Pu Kui: Did this mother not stop him?