Chapter 605: Cursed Dolls
She looked at Axel in confusion. Axel merely nodded grimly. Without another word, both of them stepped inside.
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The hospital was eerily quiet. Patients quietly sat along the corridors. Doctors walked around normally. Everything appeared ordinary.
Yet, almost every single person silently turned their heads toward Lana and Axel. Their gazes were strangely hollow.
One doctor suddenly walked over. A broad smile spread across his face.
"Oh my, new patients. Please come this way. I’ll personally examine both of you."
He smiled even wider. "I’ll even give you a free health check."
Lana glanced toward Axel. Axel quietly returned the look. Both of them had already sensed it. The doctor’s body was currently possessed by a seven-hundred-year-old ghost.
Maybe they can gain some clue from him?
After exchanging a brief glance, they silently nodded. They decided to play along.
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The doctor led them into a private examination room. The moment the door closed, the doctor’s smile became increasingly twisted.
His face twitched violently. His shoulders began shaking. It looked as though he was desperately trying to suppress laughter.
Unfortunately, he failed. "Hahahahaha!"
The doctor burst into hysterical laughter. "Finally... I’ve found a pair of fresh hosts!"
The next instant, his body suddenly collapsed onto the floor like an empty puppet. A dense mass of gray-black ghostly mist floated out from the corpse.
Lana looked at it with genuine curiosity. This was her first time seeing a genuine seven-hundred-year-old ghost.
Unlike ordinary ghosts, this one wasn’t completely transparent. Its body consisted of thick gray spiritual mist. Countless ancient black markings covered every part of its body.
The strange symbols twisted across its ghostly form like living tattoos. Noticing those markings, Lana frowned. She looked toward Axel.
"Uncle, I don’t understand. Why do ghosts have these strange markings covering their bodies?"
The ghost immediately became offended. Its entire face twisted in irritation. It pointed a ghostly finger directly at Lana.
"I’m literally standing right in front of you! And instead of fearing me, you’re asking academic questions?"
It glared at her furiously. "Young lady, you seem far too confident."
Lana simply waved her hand casually. Several Exorcism Talismans immediately shot through the air.
At the same time, several condensed spheres of Mystical Energy appeared beside her.
Unlike ordinary spiritual attacks, these spheres possessed a beautiful white-golden glow.
The moment they struck the ghost....
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
A miserable scream echoed throughout the room. Meanwhile, Axel frowned.
He silently joined his index finger and middle finger together while folding the remaining fingers into an ancient hand seal.
He slowly raised his hand before his face. "Seal."
A faint ripple spread through the room. Instantly, the ghost’s screams completely disappeared. The sound itself had been sealed away.
Only then did Axel calmly answer Lana’s earlier question.
"Those ancient markings represent a ghost’s cultivation. The stronger a ghost becomes, the more markings appear across its body."
Lana nodded thoughtfully. Then another question suddenly came to her mind.
"Then, the ten-thousand-year-old ghost that once possessed me looked completely black. There weren’t any visible markings at all. Why?"
Axel chuckled softly.
"That’s because the markings had already increased to such an extent that they completely covered the ghost’s entire body. In other words, the ghost itself had become nothing but markings."
Hearing that explanation, Lana’s beautiful eyes widened in astonishment. "Oh my God..."
She stared blankly at the struggling ghost before her. "I never imagined there was such a story behind those markings."
Soon, both of them noticed that the ghost’s body had completely disintegrated.
Its gray mist rapidly crumbled into black ashes before scattering into the air.
Within a few breaths, nothing remained. Silence filled the examination room.
Lana and Axel stared blankly at the empty floor. Neither of them had expected the ghost to perish so quickly.
After several awkward seconds, Lana slowly turned toward Axel. "Maybe, we should find a much stronger ghost."
Axel could only nod helplessly. "I suppose that’s our only option."
He knew very well that Lana hadn’t intended to kill the ghost.
Their original plan had been to capture and interrogate a powerful ghost in order to learn the whereabouts of the mysterious two-thousand-year-old ghost.
Unfortunately, the ghost had proven far weaker than expected.
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When they walked out of the examination room, they immediately noticed something strange.
All the doctors, nurses, and patients were quietly staring at Lana and Axel.
Those emotionless gazes carried obvious suspicion now. ’They’re unharmed, how did they survive?’
That was clearly the question filling everyone’s minds.
The possessed residents couldn’t understand how two ordinary humans had entered that room yet emerged completely safe.
As a result, everyone became noticeably more cautious around them.
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Lana and Axel continued searching throughout the hospital.
Using her Third Eye, Lana carefully scanned every corridor, every operating room, every storage area, and every basement.
However, she couldn’t detect another powerful ghost. The seven-hundred-year-old ghost had apparently been the strongest one residing there.
With no other clues available, they finally decided to leave.
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As they stepped outside the hospital, Lana suddenly noticed something lying in the middle of the road.
Several strange dolls. They were old and dirty. Their stitched smiles looked unnaturally twisted.
Black threads wrapped around their tiny bodies, while crimson symbols had been crudely carved into their foreheads.
An unpleasant Yin aura quietly leaked from them. Curious, Lana instinctively took a step forward.
Just as she was about to crouch down, Axel suddenly grabbed her arm and sharply pulled her backward.
His expression became unusually serious. "Stay away from those dolls. They’re cursed."
The warning immediately made Lana retreat several more steps. Her gaze became cautious.
Axel looked at the dolls before calmly explaining.
"Objects like these are commonly used for black magic. So never touch them. And don’t even get too close."
Lana’s heart trembled slightly. She looked around the village before speaking.
"How is that possible? I thought this entire village had already fallen under the control of ghosts. So how does someone still have the time, or the freedom, to perform black magic?"
Axel sighed softly. "Lana. Think about it logically."
He looked toward the gloomy streets stretching into the distance.
"Why do you think ghosts appeared here in the first place? There wasn’t any Ghost Portal opening anywhere near this village."
He slowly continued.
"A place is only officially classified as a Ghost Zone after a Ghost Portal appears. But this village is completely different. The ghosts simply appeared one day. There was never a portal."
He turned toward Lana. "Do you understand what that means?"
Lana’s pupils suddenly contracted. Realization flashed across her face. "Someone summoned them?"
Axel nodded. "Exactly."
Lana slowly took a deep breath. "Does that mean the two-thousand-year-old ghost might be cooperating with whoever is placing these cursed dolls?"
Axel gently shook his head. "Not necessarily. In fact, there’s another possibility."
He folded his arms thoughtfully.
"The owner of these cursed dolls, and the two-thousand-year-old ghost, they might actually be two completely different forces. They could both be trying to seize control of this Ghost Zone. And while doing so, they may secretly be competing against one another."
Hearing that possibility, Lana blinked several times. "Oh, I never considered that."
Axel smiled faintly. "Sometimes, the simplest-looking situations are actually the most complicated."
He then pointed toward the dolls lying on the road.
"As for dealing with cursed dolls, the safest method is simply to avoid them. Don’t cross over them. Don’t touch them. And keep your distance."
Lana tilted her head. "What if I want to completely destroy them? Can I just burn them?"
Axel immediately shook his head. "No. That isn’t enough."
He crouched beside one of the dolls without touching it.
"These dolls are overflowing with cursed energy. So before burning them, you must first completely exorcise the curse. Only afterward should you set them on fire."
He continued patiently. "And after they’re reduced to ashes, don’t scatter those ashes into the wind. Instead, mix them into water that has already been purified, filled with Exorcism Talismans. Then throw the water on a plant. Only after completing every one of those steps will the curse disappear completely."
Lana listened attentively. Then another thought crossed her mind. "What if someone has already been cursed because of one of these dolls?"
Axel smiled.
"Fortunately, the solution is almost identical. You still need to exorcise the doll. Then burn it. And finally mix the ashes into purified water. The only difference is that this time, you don’t throw the water away. You make the cursed person drink it. Once they do, the curse will gradually disappear."
Lana nodded thoughtfully. "I understand."
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The two of them quietly continued walking through the village.
Neither of them noticed... that the cursed dolls they had just passed suddenly began burning on their own.
Dark flames silently consumed them. Within moments, every doll had turned into black ash.
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Far away, deep within a remote mountain, a hidden cave remained shrouded in darkness. Inside sat a middle-aged woman dressed entirely in black robes.
She was cultivating quietly with her eyes closed.
Suddenly... Pfft!