The furnace lid closed.
Everything fell quiet again.
Only a faint burnt stench lingered in the cab, as though something had been scorched.
Long Ya slumped in the driver's seat, gasping for breath.
Her neck burned with pain.
Five bluish-purple fingerprints stood out clearly, and several thin cuts remained on her skin, oozing black blood.
"M-Master..."
Her voice was hoarse, and speaking felt as though she had swallowed a handful of sand.
"Could you... do it a little earlier... next time?"
"Would you remember the lesson if I did it earlier?"
Yang Yong said coldly, "With a Rule-Type Eerie, I can only drag it out of its rules at the moment it fully manifests."
"A moment earlier, and it escapes."
"A moment later, and you die."
"The timing was just right."
Long Ya rolled her eyes.
But she knew he was telling the truth.
This master she had picked up seemed... never to do anything he wasn't sure of.
She pushed herself upright on weak limbs and glanced at her neck in the rearview mirror.
The five fingerprints were blue and purple, an alarming sight.
Fortunately, the wounds weren't deep. A little basic treatment would do.
"What... exactly was that thing?" she asked.
"An Answering Ghost."
Yang Yong said, "This kind of Eerie secretly memorizes voices you're familiar with, then imitates them to lure you."
"Once you turn around, it can slip its body into your shadow and slowly replace you."
"Replace me?" Long Ya's pupils contracted.
"Yes."
"Once you fully believe it's that person, it devours your memories and your body, one piece at a time."
"Then it becomes you."
Cold sweat covered Long Ya's back.
She didn't dare imagine what would have happened if she had really answered with "Granny" just now.
"Learn your lesson."
Yang Yong said,