"Where, oh where?"
A little girl shouted.
"No, where is it? I clearly saw three ghosts, but you're saying it's a rabbit. You're lying!" A slightly older boy said.
Upon hearing this, the headless corpse exclaimed, "They saw all three of us, but not a rabbit! Why don't I transform into a rabbit and quietly approach the old woman's room!"
With that thought, it quickly transformed into a rabbit and hopped towards the small courtyard.
Seeing the headless corpse act, the two ghosts, stout and thin, quickly followed suit, transforming into a stout and a thin rabbit.
Liu Sandao, watching from the rooftop, indeed saw three more rabbits below.
"I'm not lying. Anyone who lies will have their spit fly back into their own faces. If you don't believe me, let's all spit right now!"
"You're on! You say I'm lying but you don't believe me. Do you have to have spit in your face to believe it!" the little girl retorted, unwilling to be outdone.
And so, the three children stood on the rooftop, having a spitting contest!
The headless corpse wondered to itself, "These little brats, not sleeping in the middle of the night and doing such absurd things. Who ever heard of spit flying back into one's own face? Especially spitting from a rooftop."
It couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
The moment the three children spat, Liu Sandao flicked his wrist and accurately shot the spit onto the three rabbits.
There was an old legend in the human world that ghosts feared human saliva. If touched by saliva, ghosts could no longer transform.
As the three globs of spit landed on the three rabbits, the headless corpse realized something was wrong. It had intended to transform right under the window, but it was utterly unable to change.
"Hahaha, this is interesting!"
"Xue" Shen roared with laughter and transformed back.
Seeing him, the headless corpse realized it had been tricked.
But it was too late. Bai Suxiang quickly closed the courtyard gate, preparing to catch the rabbits.
"Big brother, what do we do now? It looks like we can't escape!"
"It's all over. Are we going to be slaughtered?"
"All of you, shut up!" the headless corpse roared, extremely annoyed.
Liu Sandao didn't bother with pleasantries. He found a discarded iron cage from the backyard and, with a few swift moves, stuffed them inside.
Once everything was settled, he greeted "Xue" Shen, and along with Bai Suxiang, returned to their room to rest.
It was the dead of night, the time when ghosts had the strongest magical powers. If they couldn't break free now, they would never be able to transform again once they encountered the sunlight in the morning.
The headless corpse's mind was in turmoil, desperately seeking a solution.
"What can we do? Wuwuwu~~"
The stout and thin ghosts, surprisingly, began to cry sadly.
They had considered reincarnation, but never had they imagined becoming rabbits.
"Stop crying, you just cry and cry! You only know how to cry!"
The headless corpse was already agitated, and their crying only made it more so, leading it to curse.
"Hey? Big brother, I suddenly remembered. When we were alive, didn't ghosts send dreams? Why don't we send a dream to that old woman and see if she can let us out?"
The thin ghost thought of a solution and voiced it according to its own logic, but it needed the big brother's approval.
The headless corpse didn't commit, but with no other options, they had to try.
"Alright, let's give it a try. The three of us together, our powers will be stronger."
Taking advantage of the heavy yin energy of the night, the three ghosts combined their efforts and quickly formed a specter.
"Help! Help! Save me! Save me!"
These voices knocked on Xue Guilan's door.
Xue Guilan sat up, but showed no panic. As the saying goes, those who do nothing wrong have nothing to fear from ghosts knocking.
Xue Guilan knew she had offended no one, so even ghosts wouldn't trouble her. Moreover, they were shouting for help, perhaps they were in some dire situation.
In a daze, she found herself before a dirt mound.
A figure stood up.
"Help! Help, save me!"
"But how can I save you? Look, I'm already so old, I can't lift anything, and I can't carry anything!"
Xue Guilan said, attributing her inability to her age and physical condition.
If she were young, she would have definitely agreed.
"You don't need to carry me, you don't need to lift me. You just need to reach out and touch it!" the ghost said.
"But, where should I touch?" Xue Guilan asked softly.
Having spent her life helping others, she never considered refusing. Although the person's appearance was unclear, it didn't matter. Even if it were a ghost, it was fine, perhaps a wronged spirit seeking reincarnation?
If she could help, she would, it wasn't like it would cost her life.
Following the shadow's direction, Xue Guilan saw a red handkerchief not far away, remarkably red.
It seemed to be covering something beneath it, which was too indistinct to see from a distance.
"Touch that handkerchief, then lift it, and you'll be done!" the shadow told her.
As Xue Guilan was about to walk over, a voice interrupted her.
"Wait, don't go! It's a ghost, you can't trust it, it will harm you!"
The speaker was "Xue" Shen. He had inadvertently sensed something unusual about Xue Guilan and entered her dream.
"It's alright, what harm can it do to me? I'm just an old woman, what is there for me to worry about?"
Xue Guilan said dismissively, showing no fear that the handkerchief might harm her.
"Xue" Shen fell silent. He had experienced such situations many times.
In many dreams, she would extend a hand to save people, animals, even a small blade of grass.
Although this time it was the headless corpse's doing, their magic was weak, and it was unlikely they could harm Xue Guilan.
He had only advised her for safety. Given Xue Guilan's disposition, she might not have stopped.
Although he was her guardian spirit, he couldn't prevent her actions; otherwise, there would be no talk of heavenly destiny.
Xue Guilan walked towards the handkerchief, gently touched it, and with a slight exertion, lifted it.
Beneath it was a face she recognized, and upon closer inspection, it seemed to be the face of her deceased old husband.
"How could it be you?"
Xue Guilan asked, but the face offered no reply and quickly vanished.
Xue Guilan awoke with a start, finding herself sitting upright in bed.
"Ah, so it was a dream!"
Xue Guilan felt a little sleepy and lay down again to sleep.
Because of the dream, the headless corpse and its brothers were finally saved.
Xue Guilan's touch had exactly wiped away the saliva. Sudan Novel Network
This allowed them to regain their forms and freely pass through the iron cage.
"Big brother, I say, this old woman is truly a good person. Should we continue to scare her to death?"
The stout ghost tentatively asked.
"Tsk! How could we do such a thing? She saved us, we must remember this kindness. If it weren't for her kindness, we would have met our end here! We can't do this, we'll find someone else!" the headless corpse replied.