The Flaw

Looking at the wooden box, everyone felt an indescribable sense of unease.

In the end, Gongsun Zhiruo stepped forward and carefully lifted the lid.

When they saw what was inside, everyone let out a long breath in unison.

It was a prayer wheel, nowhere near as ornate as the one Jiang Cheng had seen on the bus. Both its craftsmanship and materials were quite ordinary.

"Why put a prayer wheel here?" Huai Yi asked, puzzled.

"I once heard that places like crossroads and lakesides can attract bad things," Jiang Cheng said thoughtfully, staring at the prayer wheel inside the box.

Han Juanjuan froze for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "What kind of things?"

Jiang Cheng glanced at him and answered succinctly, "Ghosts."

"Ghosts?"

"Yes. Supposedly, a ghost can disguise itself as a person, or simply kill someone and control the corpse to take part in a ritual like this. If it goes undetected throughout the entire event, it's considered to have earned this opportunity, and can continue living as that person from then on." Jiang Cheng explained in some detail.

Zhou Yuxuan looked thoughtful. After a moment, he said, "That sounds a bit like the stories from my hometown about weasels asking people to grant them human form."

"But Mister Jiang, what does any of that have to do with the prayer wheel?" Bai Xi asked. He rarely spoke, but every time he did, he got right to the point.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Cheng looked around and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the prayer wheel is here to keep ghosts from sneaking in."

"Before each event begins, everyone taking part has to come up to this wooden box one by one and turn the prayer wheel while everyone watches."

"If they're human, there's no problem. But if they're