"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."

Hearing the elder claim to have seen it firsthand, Xie Xiaofeng did not believe him and mockingly said, "Old man, could it be that your eyes are blurred from age and you saw it wrong?"

Suddenly, several more wrinkles creased the old man's face, which seemed a bit annoyed, and with flushed face and ears, he retorted, "Although I am indeed old, I absolutely did not see it wrong that night. I truly saw a living ghost. Moreover, it wasn't just me who saw the ghost; many people in the village saw it too."

"Oh? Many people saw it," Xie Xiaofeng showed surprise on his face, "So where did you see the ghost?"

"It was by that ancient well on the east side of our village, everyone saw the ghost next to that ancient well!" the elder immediately said with a trembling voice, his eyes still holding a trace of fear.

After pausing for a moment, the elder walked over and sat beside a banyan tree, with a pained expression he started to recount the origin of the ghost haunting their village: About a month ago, one morning, a woman from the village went to draw water from the well. Because the well was located inside a bamboo grove, at the time, sunlight still reached inside the well, making the interior very dark, and only faint, twinkling reflections on the water could be seen.

Just as the woman was hauling up a bucket filled with water, suddenly, a light appeared in the well, and a pretty girl's face surfaced on the water. After seeing this face, the woman, who had just woken up and was still somewhat groggy, screamed loudly in fright and abandoned the water bucket to run back to the village.

Hearing the woman say there was a female ghost in the ancient well, most of the villagers did not believe her, claiming she had experienced a hallucination from not waking up fully. Afterwards, several men from the village went to the well in groups but saw no ghost, so they all thought the woman had been mistaken;

It wasn't until a week later, one afternoon, when a man from the village returned from working in the fields and went to wash the mud off his body near the well. Suddenly, a light emerged in the well. Finding it odd, the man looked towards the well and also saw a woman's face appear on the water.

The man was so frightened he fainted on the spot, later two villagers happened to pass by the well and carried him back home. When he awakened, the man shared what he had seen in the well. However, since he had a habit of excessive drinking and sometimes spoke nonsensically, even his family didn't believe his words, let alone the other villagers;

In the following days, several other villagers claimed to have seen the female ghost in the well, and only then did the incident catch the attention of the villagers. Consequently, the village chief led an investigation at the well. After watching over the well for three days and nights without seeing the so-called female ghost, they had no choice but to give up.

Although the female ghost wasn't found this time, for several days after, the villagers dared not go to the well to fetch water or wash clothes and vegetables. Instead, they went to a river far away from the village.

As a respected elder in the village, the old man didn't believe in such superstitions and kept going to the well to draw water three times a day, morning, noon, and evening. Everything was fine for the first few days, until the fifth day, which was a week ago in the evening. The old man was washing clothes by the well and as he prepared to leave, suddenly, a sound came from inside the well.

At first, the elder didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just a hallucination due to his age. However, after he had walked a few steps away, the sound came again from the well.

The old man stopped in his tracks. Seconds later, the sound echoed once more. This time, the elder was certain he hadn't misheard; the voice was light and melodious, like heavenly music, and it seemed to be asking him if he knew someone.

At that moment, the elder was petrified and his heart pounded erratically. The setting sun had by then reached the same level as the well, casting shadows and silence all around.

After a long while, the old man came back to his senses, his heart still pounding vigorously, which was a bit too much for his old body to handle. After pausing, when he turned his head back to the well, he saw a young girl's face resting on the edge of the well, with large, bright eyes and wet, black hair.

Upon seeing this face, the elder fainted right away.

When he woke up, the elder found himself lying in his own bed with not only his son and daughter-in-law beside him but also surrounded by many villagers.

Seeing the elder awake, the villagers were all very excited and asked him a series of caring questions before beginning to inquire about the reason he fainted by the well.

Afterwards, when the elder shared that he had both heard and seen the living female ghost, the villagers were all shocked and became very afraid. After discussing, they decided to ask the village chief to bring an Onmyoji from the town to exorcise the female ghost from the well.

The next morning, the village chief set out for the town. By noontime, he returned with Wu Sanfeng, an Onmyoji well-known in the nearby area. After briefly examining the well, Wu Sanfeng revealed that a female vengeful ghost had been sealed within it. Over time, the seal had gradually been broken by rising water, causing the resentful energy of the vengeful ghost to seep out, which was why the villagers had seen the soul of the vengeful ghost multiple times.

Wu Sanfeng also said that stopping the resentful energy of the female vengeful ghost from flowing out was simple; simply add another seal on top of the original one. Thus, later that noon, after everything was arranged, Wu Sanfeng began to perform a ritual by the well, attracting many villagers to watch.

Twenty minutes later, just as Wu Sanfeng was closing his eyes and muttering spells, a dark cloud suddenly gathered overhead in the sky above the village, and a sudden gust of wind arose, flipping over the altar in front of Wu Sanfeng, scattering the food and wine cups prepared for the deities all over the ground.

Just then, something terrible happened: A series of high-pitched and piercing female ghostly laughter echoed around them.

As the laughter of the female ghost continued to grow louder, the wind became more ferocious, blowing many of the elderly, women, and children off balance, just like the bamboo around them. At that moment, many children and women cried out in fear, and the men, too preoccupied with their own safety, could only place their hopes on Wu Sanfeng.

But Wu Sanfeng was struggling to save himself, his body inching closer and closer to the well as if an invisible hand was pushing him from behind.

Just as Wu Sanfeng was blown to the edge of the well, suddenly, a blue light shot out from the bottom of the well, followed by a woman's sharp, piercing scream. When the blue light faded, the fierce wind around them suddenly ceased, and the dark clouds that had been looming over the village dispersed.

"What happened just now?" the village head asked Wu Sanfeng in a rage as he climbed up from the ground, his face filled with anger.

Wu Sanfeng immediately stood up, calmly brushing the dirt off his body and saying, "That ghost's resentment was too strong; she broke through the seal and escaped. But she's been taken care of with a spell now; everyone can confidently come to the well for water from now on."

"Is that true?" The village head was somewhat skeptical, but as he carefully recalled everything that had happened, it all seemed to be indeed as Wu Sanfeng said.

Wu Sanfeng's face darkened, and he snorted indignantly, "Don't you believe what I say?"

Remembering that Wu Sanfeng was a well-known Onmyoji in the nearby area and even the whole town, the village head quickly shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Not at all, we certainly believe what the master says."

After collecting the money, Wu Sanfeng left. Since everyone believed him, by evening, villagers began to fetch water from the well one after another.

In the following three days, all was quiet, and just when everyone thought the ghost in the well had been cleared by Master Wu, a child suddenly fell into the well and died. At that time, everyone treated it as an accident and didn't dare suspect Wu Sanfeng.

It wasn't until the next morning, when a village woman almost drowned after falling into the well, that the village head had no choice but to call Wu Sanfeng back to the village.

After arriving at the village, Wu Sanfeng didn't go to the well; he just glanced at it from outside the bamboo forest and claimed that although the female ghost's spirit had been shattered by him, the resentment had not dispersed. That was why villagers had been pushed into the well by the physical manifestation of her lingering resentment. To dispel her resentment completely, he told them to avoid the ancient well for forty-nine days in a row, and every night, every household in the village should keep their lights on and try not to make any noise at all.

As long as the ghost's resentful soul thought there was no one in the village, her resentment would naturally fade away.

The villagers did as Wu Sanfeng said on the night of his departure.

And tonight was the second night of the forty-nine days. Unexpectedly for the villagers, Chen Hao and his group arrived at the village.

"And that's how everything happened!" the old man said with a mournful voice.

Xie Xiaofeng, sitting next to the old man, let out a scornful chuckle, then patted the old man on the shoulder and said, "Old man, you've been duped by that half-baked Onmyoji!"

"Ah!" the old man's eyes suddenly sparked with light, "But Mister Wu is the most famous Onmyoji in our town."

"If such a screw-up is considered the best in your town, no wonder there are so many ghosts around here."

Just then, Chen Hao let go of Ye Yuqiao's hand and sat on the other side of the old man, saying, "Old timer, take us to have a look at the well."

When the old man heard these young kids wanted to go to the well, he immediately shook his head in fright and quickly said, "No, no, you are too young and not from our village; just listen to this old man and be on your way, don't meddle in our affairs!"

"Old timer, take a look at the words on our car," Chen Hao turned on his phone's flashlight and shone it on the van, "We came here to catch ghosts. We won't leave until that female specter in the well is dealt with. We may not be as famous as that half-baked Wu, but we're much more capable. Rest assured, we'll be fine and we promise to resolve the villagers' troubles in two days, without charging a penny."

Seeing the words "Exorcism Special Vehicle" prominently displayed on the van, the old man wavered. After pondering for a while, he suddenly patted his knees, slowly stood up, and said, "Alright then, since you young whippersnappers aren't afraid of dying, this old timer will accompany you to the well."

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