Her speed was very fast, and when she was only ten centimeters away from me, I had already closed my eyes in despair.
Based on all the signs, Grandpa was simply no match for this recently deceased female ghost. As it stood, it was impossible for him to rescue me from the clutches of the female ghost, as we were the only two present.
At this moment, however, I also feel some joy. Grandfather is the person I am closest to. In my heart, his position has far surpassed that of my biological parents. And by dying before him, at least I won't see him die a miserable death in front of me.
Just as I was waiting for Zhao Xiaocui's sharp claws to pierce my head, a long sigh sounded in my ears, followed by a tender shout from behind: "Stop!"
I suddenly opened my eyes, and Zhao Xiaocui had actually stopped moving. At this moment, her claws had already touched my hair.
Cold sweat instantly soaked my clothes. I turned my head abruptly and saw Du Xiaolan had appeared next to my grandfather.
"Why are you here? Looking for death? Go back now!" I shouted loudly, still tightly embracing Zhao Xiaocui.
"Mingyang, I never expected you to care for her so much." A voice came from Du Xiaolan's mouth. I shuddered. Although it was Du Xiaolan's appearance and voice, this person was not her.
"Daughter-in-law of a ghost?" I asked in confusion, nervously saying, "What are you doing here? Hurry and leave with my grandfather!"
"Is this your way of showing concern for me?" the ghost daughter-in-law said faintly, taking a step forward.
Zhao Xiaocui shouted sharply, "Stop!"
"Let him go!" The ghost daughter-in-law's voice was unusually calm. Suddenly, I had a feeling. In the eyes of the ghost daughter-in-law, Zhao Xiaocui seemed like a newborn baby.
"No!" Zhao Xiaocui shouted, "I can't let him go. Her grandfather killed my child, and I want him to taste the pain of losing a loved one."
The ghost daughter-in-law didn't even give her a second glance. "Even if he killed your child, it won't come back to life. However, if I don't kill him, I'll consider helping you get rid of the pain of being scattered."
"Do you really think you have the ability?" After Zhao Xiaocui finished speaking, she raised her sharp claws again and quickly stabbed towards my head.
"Hmph!" In an instant, the ghost daughter-in-law sneered, and abruptly disappeared from my sight.
Before I could react, Zhao Xiaocui suddenly let out a scream and flew backward. Because I had been holding onto her tightly, I was also dragged backward with great force.
With a "bang," Zhao Xiaocui fell onto the grave, and my head hit the tombstone heavily.
The pain in my head filled my whole body, and on top of that, my arm, which had been pierced by Zhao Xiaocui before, was agonizing.
"Mingyang, get away!" The figure of the ghost daughter-in-law had already appeared and was standing by my side.
Although she had transformed into Du Xiaolan, from my perspective, she was quite different.
"Get away!" The ghost daughter-in-law's voice came again, and I came to my senses, scrambling to get to my grandfather's side.
I wiped the blood from my forehead with my hand and anxiously said to my grandfather, "Hurry and help her get rid of Zhao Xiaocui."
Grandfather shook his head, squinting his eyes, and said, "Don't worry, Zhao Xiaocui is no match for her at all. It seems that I was right. Someone with great abilities has come to help us lift this calamity."
I disregarded grandfather's emotion. Although I felt fear of the ghost daughter-in-law in my heart, at this moment, I cared about her very much. I didn't know if it was because of Du Xiaolan's relationship.
Zhao Xiaocui had already stood up from the ground and, instead of showing any fear towards the ghost daughter-in-law, raised her claws and rushed over.
"Meaningless trickery!" The ghost daughter-in-law snorted coldly. As she waved her hand, a cold wind swept in from all directions, trapping Zhao Xiaocui tightly within it.
Zhao Xiaocui's originally pale face turned even paler, and she looked at the ghostly daughter-in-law in shock, calling out, "Who are you exactly?"
"You still don't have the qualifications to know!" The ghostly daughter-in-law sneered and raised her hand, making a slashing motion. Suddenly, a chilling wind, Zhao Xiaocui let out a scream as nine pieces of peach wood flew out from her body.
"This!" I also turned pale. The ghostly daughter-in-law was so powerful that she could pull out the peach wood that Zhao Xiaocui had already refined.
Without the support of the peach wood, Zhao Xiaocui fell to the ground like a pile of mud.
The ghostly daughter-in-law turned to me, sighed, and then looked at grandpa, pointing at Zhao Xiaocui and said, "She has no ability now. Whether to kill or spare her is up to you."
Without waiting for grandpa's response, she quickly came to my side, looked at me quietly for a long time before saying, "I didn't want to scare you, so I took on this appearance. I will appear in front of you without this appearance when you're no longer scared."
Before I could fully understand this statement, the ghostly daughter-in-law sighed and disappeared from my sight.
Zhao Xiaocui, who was lying on the ground, cried weakly. I followed grandpa to her side, and she looked at us teary-eyed, saying, "Uncle Yin, just kill me."
"I won't kill you," grandpa said, with a kind heart. "I know you are desperate. Any mother in the world would do anything for her child."
"Uncle Yin," Zhao Xiaocui looked at him pitifully.
I sighed. Grandpa was indeed softhearted. Just now, Zhao Xiaocui had brazenly wanted to kill him, and now he readily let her go.
Grandpa remained silent, and picked up the scattered peach wood from the ground. After putting them in his pocket, only then did he ask me to follow him back.
I asked him to wait for a moment, and then looked at Zhao Xiaocui, asking, "Did the young man who released you say anything to you?"
Zhao Xiaocui shook her head, "No, he was very mysterious. After releasing me, he just told me the method of swallowing the peach wood and then left."
I nodded, and under grandpa's urging, I turned and followed him back.
Throughout the journey, I kept asking grandpa about the remarkable aspects of the nine pieces of peach wood. At first, grandpa did not tell me, but after my repeated questioning, he handed me a piece of peach wood.
The peach wood had many protrusions when held. I quickly used a flashlight to look at it and found that it was covered with scriptures as thick as a thumb.
Grandpa said as he walked that each villager had written a word on the nine pieces of peach wood. They were similar to the ones I had cut down.
They could suppress spirits, and if a powerful spirit swallowed them, their abilities would soar.
Swallowing peach wood is a kind of witchcraft, a spell specially used for refining ghosts. I never expected someone would use this kind of witchcraft on Zhao Xiaocui.