Pablo, who had been squatting cross-legged behind the back of the car, remained speechless. He had not intended to accompany them on this journey but had ended up here coincidentally.

To his surprise, Drake had been misleading his young apprentice in his absence.

Pablo lightly tapped at the imaginary snowflakes that drifted outside the window.

When Lilly caught sight of her master, her eyes sparkled, and she immediately began, “Master, I…”

Pablo swiftly interjected, “No, you don’t.”

Lilly’s expression turned puzzled, wondering why her master would preemptively reject her request.

She had simply wanted to ask her master to accompany her in investigating why Aunt Lisa hadn’t come down from the mountain for such a long time!

“That’s alright…” Lilly propped her soft-gloved hand under her chin and anxiously peered out of the car window.

Pablo hesitated for a moment before finally uttering, “Yes.”

Lilly was perplexed and asked, “What?”

Pablo acknowledged his failure. Alas, in the face of this young apprentice, he could not adhere to his principles at all.

“There is a third option,” he said.

Lilly’s eyes sparkled with hope, and she eagerly inquired, “What is it?”

Pablo replied, “Exile,”

Lilly’s confusion deepened.

What is that?

Pablo explained, “It means letting her wander the world endlessly, never stopping, with her soul always on the move.”

“Helping those who can be helped, accumulating the virtues until you can be pardoned…”

Lilly fell silent, her mind filled with questions. Wasn’t this just another form of sending her aunt away?

She gazed at the snow outside the car window, her voice trailing off, and the flicker of hope that had momentarily brightened in her eyes faded away.

Pablo was about to speak, but his attention was caught by Lisa descending from the barren hill.

Lilly immediately waved at her, rolled down the car window, and shouted, “Aunt Lisa, over here!”

Lisa hurriedly made her way toward them.

However, in an unfortunate turn of events, she slipped and fell with a loud thud, tumbling down the rugged path of the mountain.

“Ugh…” Lilly and Josh rushed to open the car door.

Anthony held Lilly back and said, “Don’t go down, it’s cold outside. Let me do it,”

He opened the car door, and snow landed on his face, leaving tiny dots on his black cashmere coat.

Anthony trudged through the thick snow, reaching Lisa’s side. Despite her lack of agility, she was still struggling in the snow.

“Come on, get up,” he said, extending his hand.

Lisa was momentarily taken aback. Her face and hair were covered in snowflakes, and her complexion was pale.

Lisa was clad in a caramel-colored overcoat, and as she couldn’t perceive the cold, she remained unfazed by the snow finding its way down her neck.

She gazed at Anthony’s outstretched hand for a prolonged moment, as if trying to comprehend, before finally extending her hand.

Anthony took hold of her hand and helped her to her feet.

Observing that her hair was blanketed in snow, he gently brushed it off, finding it oddly stiff…

“Let’s go,” he said softly, “Let’s head home.”

Lisa stood motionless, prompting Anthony to look at her curiously. “What’s the matter?”

Lisa’s lips twitched, and it required considerable effort to form a single word, “Wash…”

Anthony was perplexed, unsure of what Lisa meant by “wash.” He glanced at her hair and then at the dirt on her trouser legs, suggesting, “Go back and wash up,”

Lisa remained silent.

Anthony took a step forward, and after a moment of hesitation, she followed quietly and got into the car.

The car began to move, leaving the vicinity of the barren mountain behind. Darkness once again enveloped the area, as if the surrounding lights were incapable of penetrating through, intensifying the sense of desolation and lifelessness.

Time passed, and suddenly there was a faint click on the mountain, causing the snow on the branches to cascade down to the ground.

A woman dressed in black descended, and upon closer inspection, it became apparent that her feet did not touch the ground.

She fled from the mountain in dismay, flying a great distance before coming to a halt, her face filled with shock.

“I can’t believe I witnessed that!” the woman muttered, her voice trembling. “I was scared out of my wits, but luckily I can run fast.”

This woman was none other than the crying spirit.

In the past, she wanted to possess Hannah, but before she could make her move, Lilly’s strength terrified her, causing her to flee in fear.

Just now, she had been wandering by the roadside, hoping to encounter someone walking alone on such a cold night.

And then, she spotted Anthony’s car!

As soon as the car door opened, Lilly jumped out!

Where else could she go?

The crying spirit instinctively ran towards the hill, but it turned out to be a grave mistake. The barren hill had an appetite for ghosts, and its malevolent aura swirled, attempting to suck her into the ground!

The crying spirit wailed in distress, realizing that ghosts were forbidden from approaching the mountain. With wolves in front and tigers at the back, she dared not descend while Lilly was ahead.

Therefore, she decided to try going around the other side of the mountain.

As she continued to move deeper into the mountains, the crying spirit felt her aura draining from her body. It seemed to be dissipating, leaving her weaker with each step.

She gritted her teeth and persevered, pushing forward. Just as she was about to reach her limit, she saw a white-robed judge approaching as Lisa descended from the mountain.

The crying spirit thought her end had come, but to her surprise, they simply left without noticing her presence.

Seizing the opportunity, she hurriedly descended from the mountain.

Lilly and Pablo were unaware that the crying spirit they had been searching for was hiding on the hills all along. The mountain had a peculiar quality—when ghosts approached, they would be absorbed by the good veins, so they did not consider the possibility of her being here.

The crying spirit floated in the opposite direction of where Lilly and the others had gone, growing increasingly transparent with each passing moment.

This mountain is so dreadful!

Initially, she had thought she could hold on for a while longer, but now, she had to find a host quickly.

The crying spirit drifted into a residential building near the mountain, but it hesitated to enter as the building was warm and did not dare to do so.

She decided to wait and see if anyone would pass by on the road.

As she was contemplating, a woman in high heels approached. She was dressed in a formal suit with a thick down jacket layered over it. Despite her young age, her arms were folded, and her eyes were red, indicating she had been crying.

The crying spirit’s eyes sparkled with a sudden realization and excitement.

“Finders keepers!” The Crying Spirit lunged towards her.

The woman walked on the snow, her steps heavy and her face filled with sorrow. She sniffled and muttered, “Why am I always the one who has to do everything? Don’t interns have rights?”

Unbeknownst to her, the crying spirit saw an opportunity and seized it, ready to find a new host.

If she had not refrained from crying due to the fear of her tears freezing and hurting her face, she would have cried throughout her entire journey back.

At that moment, a gust of wind breezed through and she felt a sudden stillness in her surroundings.

Having walked along this road countless times before, it was the first instance where she experienced an eerie sensation. The snow-covered bushes in the green area suddenly snapped, startling the girl.

Instinctively, she turned her gaze, sensing something drifting by.

Immediately, a wave of unease washed over the girl, and a peculiar phrase emerged in her mind, “If you walk at night, you’ll see a ghost”

Terrified, she exclaimed, “Oh my god!” and hurriedly ran back home. However, upon scanning her face to enter the house, the system did not recognize her.

Staring at herself in the mirror, the girl felt an inexplicable sense of strangeness and took a step back in fear.

“Hey…” Tears streamed down her face as she cried out, “Open the door, open the door!”

She used a lock that needed facial recognition, so she did not have a key!

She lived alone and had no one to help her get inside her house…

Unbeknownst to her, the glass door of another unit behind her reflected her image, revealing a woman in black perched upon her head…