Zheng Motian didn't answer right away.
I looked at the female ghost in surprise.
Of course I'd heard of ghosts who needed a substitute to die in their place. People who died unnatural deaths turned into ghosts and went looking for someone to take their place. Once they found a substitute, they could go on to reincarnate. This kind of "rule" probably wasn't uncommon in the paranormal world.
I didn't know whether this kind of "tradition" existed in the actual paranormal world, but there were plenty of folk tales about it.
I'd been dealing with paranormal incidents for a year, but I'd never encountered a single case involving a ghost who needed a substitute. So far, I hadn't seen any such cases among the commissions Greenleaf had received, either.
My original impression was that the ghosts in this world all died with some lingering obsession. Once people died, they could go straight to reincarnate. At worst, they might get lost and become trapped among the living. I'd never heard that they needed to find a substitute to take their place before they could reincarnate.
My surprise gave way to suspicion. I suspected the ghost was lying. Her face was completely ruined, so I couldn't read her expression. Just hearing her voice wasn't enough to determine what she was really thinking. At least, her voice sounded frank and open, as if she wasn't lying.
By now, Zheng Motian had grasped the issue of the "substitute." He asked hesitantly, "You mean... a ghost who needs someone to die in their place? I... I don't know... I was just driving along, then something felt wrong, and I turned the car around..."
Zheng Motian described what had happened to him in great detail. Some parts were disjointed, but as he spoke, he corrected the