Chapter 419: Puzzle
He paused briefly before adding,
"Not to mention, Tracy lives in a suburban area, only a few kilometers away from the border of the ghost zone and Xila City. Doesn’t that feel strange?"
Lana’s eyes flickered. His words made sense... and yet, something still didn’t align.
She took a deep breath, her voice thoughtful.
"The problem is... it doesn’t fully fit either. What if Tracy married that soldier out of her own choice, out of goodwill?"
She fell silent for a moment before murmuring, "It seems I need to investigate more deeply." ..."
And just like that, a day passed.
Until that night at exactly three o’clock, when the world was wrapped in an eerie stillness, Lana sat cultivating.
The air around her was calm when suddenly her phone rang, the sharp sound slicing through the silence.
She picked it up immediately.
From the other end came Tracy’s trembling voice, filled with fear, "Those thugs... they’re here again." ..."
Lana’s eyes narrowed instantly. ’Three o’clock... exactly the same time ...’
She replied without hesitation, her voice firm. "Don’t worry. I’m coming."
The next second, she tore a teleportation talisman.
She had already marked the coordinates before and made a teleportation talisman after arriving at the mansion, preparing for this very possibility.
In an instant, she vanished.
And just as quickly, she reappeared at Tracy’s location.
Even though intermediate teleportation talismans were incredibly difficult to create, their usefulness was undeniable; it was almost like bending time itself.
Lana stepped forward and knocked on Tracy’s door in a specific pattern.
The door flew open almost immediately.
The moment Tracy saw her, she rushed forward and hugged her tightly, her body trembling, her clothes slightly disheveled, as if she had been pacing in panic for a long time.
Lana gently patted her back, her touch steady and warm, and murmured softly, "It’s alright... nothing will happen now that I’m here."
Tracy pulled back slightly, her eyes darting around nervously as she whispered, "Those thugs were just here..."
Then suddenly... she froze.
Her face went pale as she quickly hid behind Lana, her fingers clutching onto Lana’s sleeve as she pointed toward a corner of the room, her voice shaking, "L- look... there’s a thug right there..."
Lana turned her head slowly and looked in that direction.
There was nothing. The air remained still, empty... silent.
Her suspicion deepened. ’So it’s most like Tracy who is hallucinating?’
Then, in the next second, she noticed Tracy suddenly waving the exorcism talisman in panic.
The talisman fluttered weakly in the air, as if it might simply fall to the ground at any moment.
’If there was truly something there... the talisman should have reacted ...’
Lana’s gaze darkened slightly.
’Which means... Tracy is seeing something that doesn’t exist.’
But to her surprise, the exorcism talisman did not behave as expected.
Instead of flying toward the empty space where Tracy pointed, it drifted awkwardly through the air, and then, slap, it stuck directly onto Tracy’s shoulder.
It didn’t burn. It didn’t glow. It didn’t react in the slightest. It simply... clung to her.
For a moment, the room fell into a suffocating silence.
Then Tracy let out a startled cry, her voice sharp with panic. "It’s stuck to me! You said it would work, but it’s not working at all!"
Lana froze for a fraction of a second, her pupils shrinking as she stared at the talisman attached to Tracy.
A cold realization crept into her mind, sending a faint chill down her spine. ’This... isn’t right... something is deeply wrong ...’
Suppressing the unease rising within her, she quickly stepped forward and spoke in a steady, soothing tone, "Calm down, Tracy. Close your eyes."
Her voice carried a quiet authority, like a hand gently pressing down on rising chaos.
"I’ll make sure everything is gone in the next moment."
Tracy hesitated. Her breathing was uneven, her fingers trembling slightly as she looked at Lana.
But when she met Lana’s calm, unwavering gaze, something inside her steadied. ’... I should trust her ...’
Slowly, she nodded and closed her eyes. The moment her lashes fell shut, Lana’s expression changed.
Her calm smile faded into sharp focus.
She reached into her sleeve and took out a sleeping talisman, one she often used on herself during long cultivation sessions.
Without hesitation, she flicked it. The talisman glided through the air and landed gently on Tracy.
For a second, Tracy swayed slightly, her body resisting the effect.
Then her strength gave way, and she collapsed softly into Lana’s arms, her breathing evening out as she fell into a deep sleep.
Lana exhaled quietly, a faint, satisfied smile appearing on her lips. "Good... now I can finally take a proper look ..."
Carefully, she carried Tracy inside and laid her on the bed, adjusting the blanket so it rested comfortably over her.
Then she turned around. The moment she faced the house again...she frowned.
A strange smell filled the air.
It was faint at first, almost unnoticeable, but the longer she stood there, the stronger it became.
Like something had died... long ago... and never truly left.
Lana instinctively raised her hand and waved it in front of her nose, her brows knitting together. "What is this smell...?"
But no matter how much she tried to ignore it, the odor clung stubbornly to the air, thick and oppressive, as if it seeped out from the very walls.
Taking a slow, controlled breath, she began to search.
She checked the corners, the furniture, and even beneath the floorboards where she could sense slight irregularities.
But...Nothing. No source. No trace.
Just that lingering, suffocating stench.
At that moment, Mr. Crow, who had remained unusually quiet, suddenly spoke, his tone sharp and alert: "Someone is using black magic on Tracy."
The words struck like lightning. Lana’s eyes widened slightly.
’Black magic ...’
Everything clicked. Every inconsistency. Every strange detail.
"Yes..." she murmured under her breath, her voice turning cold as understanding dawned upon her. "That’s the only explanation..."
Her gaze darkened as she looked toward the sleeping Tracy.
"The exorcism talisman didn’t react to any ’thugs’... because there were none."