In the wilderness, Song Laosan looked at the broken branch in his hand, then at Xiao Zhou who showed no reaction, and irritably took out his cigarette case: "Looks like my method won't work either."

"Don't smoke, we can't be exposed to the light."

I stopped Song Laosan from doing so, and then took out my phone: "I'll call Wei Shengnan and ask her and Miao Xiaoxian. They should know more about these strange things on the ground than we do."

Just as I was about to make a call, a member of the Wei family said in a deep voice, "Someone is coming from the mountain."

After what happened with the fake Xiao Zhou, we were all on edge. Upon hearing that someone was coming, we all stood up.

The figure in the distance drew closer, and Xu Le soon arrived with Uncle Kang and Sister Hua.

When I saw the three of them, it was like seeing my saviors: "You've finally come!"

Seeing my nervous expression, Xu Le asked, "Didn't I tell Xiao Zhou to wait for you here? Where is he?"

I stepped aside to let Xiao Zhou out: "When we found him, he was unconscious. We tried many methods, but he didn't wake up."

"Even someone as cautious as Xiao Zhou fell for it?"

When Sister Hua saw that Xiao Zhou's eyes were closed, she asked me, "When you found him, besides being unconscious, was there anything else unusual about him?"

"After I got here, I saw another Xiao Zhou, who looked like a water ghost, completely soaked. That Xiao Zhou attacked us, and we only found him after we finished dealing with that incident..."

When I heard Sister Hua ask her a question, I recounted the whole story of how we met the fake Xiao Zhou on the mountain, and how Song Laosan chased after him and found a paper figure.

After listening to my words, Xu Le said, "It seems that Xiao Zhou has been targeted by the Huang family. The thing you encountered before should be a wandering water ghost, and that paper figure was used to possess the water ghost."

After listening to Xu Le's words, the monkey looked at the unconscious Xiao Zhou and asked, "The fake Xiao Zhou we met before was obviously a water ghost, but what's going on with him? What kind of ghost is he possessing?"

"It wasn't a ghost that haunted him, but something from these mountains."

Uncle Kang pried open Xiao Zhou's eyelids, shone a flashlight on them, and turned to look at Xu Le: "Xiao Zhou's eyes are strange. Do you think he bumped into a weasel spirit?"

"It couldn't be a weasel spirit. That thing has too much spiritual energy; if it possesses a person, it will kill them. The Huang family wouldn't be so ruthless. I feel it's probably something like a rabbit that they bumped into."

As Xu Le spoke, he took out a sandalwood incense box from his backpack, pulled out three incense sticks, stuck them in the ground, and lit them.

She then opened the kettle, took a sip of what was inside, and sprayed it on Xiao Zhou's face. Judging from the taste, she must have drunk baijiu (Chinese liquor).

"Uncle Kang, Sister Hua, burn paper money."

After spitting out a mouthful of wine, Xu Le gave instructions to Uncle Kang and the others, then said to me, "Don't just stand there, hold Xiao Zhou down, pull off his clothes, and don't let him move around."

Upon hearing Xu Le's instructions, we all sprang into action, stripping Xiao Zhou naked and then holding down his limbs and body.

Once we were all in position, Xu Le, amidst the flames lit by Uncle Kang and Sister Hua, held a sword to his forehead and chanted incantations.

"call!"

A moment later, a whirlwind suddenly swept up beside us, swirling up the still-burning paper and illuminating our surroundings with its light.

"ha!"

Xu Le yawned, his expression immediately becoming lazy, his body slumping down, hunching over like an old man.

Xu Le stared at the unconscious Xiao Zhou for a moment, then asked, "Which immortal are you? State your name."

When I heard Xu Le's voice, I was startled. Her voice had become very deep and sounded like an old man's, definitely not something a young girl could produce.

When Song Laosan heard Xu Le's voice, he exchanged a glance with me, and then we both nodded at the same time.

It seems Xu Le has been possessed by a deity.

After Xu Le finished speaking, Xiao Zhou remained unchanged, still lying on the ground without moving.

"You ungrateful wretch! Calling you a deity is already an understatement! I'm speaking to you personally, and you still dare to cause trouble here!"

Xu Le's expression suddenly turned ferocious, and his pupils shrank to a point, making him look more like a fox.

It curled its fingers and forcefully tapped Xiao Zhou's forehead with its knuckles: "You wretched creature, show yourself!"

"hiss!"

Xiao Zhou gasped after being hit, then suddenly opened his eyes.

I was originally pressing down on one of Xiao Zhou's legs, but my attention was entirely focused on Xu Le.

The moment Xiao Zhou woke up, she struggled violently, almost throwing me off.

I was pulled back to my senses by Xiao Zhou's actions, and I pressed all my weight onto his legs, holding him down with all my might.

"Ah! Ah!!!"

We held Xiao Zhou down together, and as he was unable to escape, he kept yelling.

"It's too late to leave now!"

Seeing Xiao Zhou's actions, Xu Le placed his palm directly on Xiao Zhou's forehead.

Although the blow landed on Xiao Zhou's forehead, it seemed to shut him up, silencing his roar instantly.

Then I saw Xiao Zhou hold his breath, and then his throat bulged out. It looked like there was an egg under his skin, and it started rolling around.

At this moment, Xu Le looked at me and said, "You blind fool, what are you standing there for? Grab it!"

I was inexplicably insulted and speechless, but I still reached out and grabbed the big bag on Xiao Zhou's body.

I originally thought that as long as I held onto it, I would be fine, but I didn't expect it to be so strong. After I grabbed it with one hand, it slipped out between my fingers.

Seeing how strong this thing was, I quickly grabbed it with both hands, squeezing it so tightly that my fingernails dug into Xiao Zhou's skin.

"Ouch! Ouch!"

After I grabbed the big bag on Xiao Zhou's body, he finally made a sound, but it was a very sharp sound, like a eunuch in a TV drama: "Grandpa, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong, please have mercy on me!"

"Instead of cultivating properly in the mountains, you bully my Hu family's disciples and grand-disciples. How can I forgive you!"

Xu Le glared at Xiao Zhou: "Where are you hiding?"

“Old Immortal, I had no choice. You are all orthodox immortals, and we mountain spirits and monsters cannot afford to offend any of you. I did not bully your junior; I just let him take a nap.”

Xiao Zhou's eyes darted around, his expression full of fear: "Please, sir, have mercy, I'll leave right now, okay?"