The stitches were rough, and the fabric had a musty, old smell, as if it had been dug out of an old grave.

I frowned as I picked up the clothes and put them back in their place. Suddenly, a very low female voice sounded behind me, as soft as cotton soaked in water.

"Thanks……"

I turned my head sharply, but the bamboo curtain was not moved at all, and the courtyard was empty.

Are you hallucinating?

Just as I was listening carefully, I heard Yuan Ying urging me from outside.

It must be an auditory hallucination.

Without thinking much, I quickly scooped up some well water to wash my hands.

After washing my hands, I dried them with a red cloth.

When I went outside, Yuan Ying had already placed three incense sticks in front of the shrine and handed one to me.

Hold the incense sticks in your hands, raise them above your forehead, bow three times, and clear your mind of all other thoughts.

I followed her movements and bowed as well.

After offering incense, Yuan Ying took out a small celadon bottle from the shrine drawer, poured out half a cup of amber liquid, and handed it to me.

"Drink it. This is talisman water made with cinnabar and mugwort. It will calm your soul."

I tilted my head back and gulped it down, a bitter taste on my tongue, and a burning sensation in my throat.

"Yingniang, did Baldy the Third fail?" I asked softly, staring at the ancestral master's peach wood sword on the shrine.

Yuan Ying touched the edge of the incense burner and hummed in agreement.

"Old Baldy kept the fetal soul in the memorial tablet, but he didn't foresee Ji Yunfei's resentment. When the offerings were burned tonight, the three characters 'Ji Yunfei' on the wooden plaque were bleeding, weren't they?"

"That's the birth mother's spirit tearing at the unborn child's spirit."

“The ghost baby should have gone with its mother, but he insisted on separating them, like cutting off the roots of a tree and still expecting it to bear fruit.”

"This is going against the will of Heaven! People will die!"