The witch nodded faintly but, in the end, he still spoke up. Who knew what it was? Maybe after staying silent for so long and always being alone, it was actually quite nice to have somebody to talk to, even if it was only to rehash this kind of old story.

"We witches aren’t human. Not entirely at least. Neither are we of the spirit world, at least not completely. We are somewhere in between. Half-human, half-spirit. Hence, we are able to communicate with the other side. It gives us the possibility to help the humans but they do not like seeing us for the most part. I guess I can’t fault them for that. It is true that our … talents could also be used the other way."

Zhan Cheng nodded, feeling that he at least half understood. "You are different so they don’t like you. They are afraid."

Gongliang Ye gave a nod. "That about sums it up." He kept quiet for a moment and then couldn’t help but switch to the topic they would have to deal with today. "Regarding using powers for bad things or good things … the same can be said for spirits."

Zhan Cheng nodded along even though he had to admit that he didn’t quite understand what the witch was getting at.

Gongliang Ye give him a scrutinizing look and then sighed. "Let me say it like this: Most of the time, what humans really get in trouble with are ghosts. Now, ghosts are just what is left from a human after their death. There is nothing more to it than that. But how the person lived and died will have an influence on what kind of ghost one has to deal with.

"Sometimes, a good person will die early or maybe they leave behind somebody that they are worried about like a loved one that the ghost fears might not be doing too well without them. Those ghosts can’t find peace in death despite living a good life. They want to make sure that somebody is there to protect their family. Thus, they linger.

"Those ghosts are usually not even noticed because they won’t make trouble. As long as one does not trouble their family, they will keep away from others. If one tries to harm the people they care about though, the ghost will get active and protect them, even to the extent of harming the one wanting to harm them. When this happens though, people will just say that it was karma and not think of ghosts."

Zhan Cheng nodded but furrowed his brows. "I don’t think that the ghost troubling me is that kind. He … sounds angry."

The witch gave a faint nod at that. "Yes, and that is a type of problematic ghost. It might’ve been a person too attached to life, somebody who just does not want to pass on and clings to the world of the mortals. It could also be that before their death, they were wronged, and that resentment lingers. They want to stay behind not to help but to punish somebody, to avenge their grievances, and gain justice. And then they will go and harm people."

Zhan Cheng faintly furrowed his brows. "Why me though? The voice that I hear is not that of a person that I know. If it was that I wronged somebody and they were now haunting me in their death, I could understand. But since that isn’t the case, I’m feeling lost. Why did that ghost come to me?"

Gongliang Ye did not answer immediately. He took a long look at the man in front of him as if he was searching for something.

Zhan Cheng raised his brows but didn’t urge him. He didn’t understand anything about these things. If the witch needed more time to find an answer, then he would give him time. So, he just sat there, letting Gongliang Ye look for whatever it was that he was searching for.

Finally, the witch sighed. "The answer to that is something that is difficult to say without knowing more. There can be many reasons: Maybe this ghost has some kind of connection to you that you’re not aware of. It could be that you are related to the ghost in some way. Maybe they were an ancestor that is trying to connect with the younger generation so they can help them take revenge.

"It could also be that this person was harmed by somebody who is related to you and now the ghost wants to vent their grievances on you. In fact, even if there is no direct relationship, just resembling that person or having acquired something of theirs might be a possibility.

"Also, sometimes, even a regular human can be more susceptible to the spirit realm. Then, they are an easy target for this kind of harmful ghost. I cannot tell you what it is in your case. Maybe you have some guesses yourself?"

Zhan Cheng furrowed his brows but he couldn’t think of anything. Anyway, he had thought about it many times before and that voice didn’t resemble anyone that he knew. "If it is somebody that had to do with my family or something in the past, then it should have been so long ago that I really have never heard about it. As for being perceptible to the spirit realm, I don’t think so either. I mean I never noticed anything … strange before. You know what I mean?"

Gongliang Ye chuckled at that. "You probably don’t have a good idea what the spirit realm is really like." In fact, the differences were sometimes almost imperceptible. Explaining that would take too long. There would also be no benefit in telling him so Gongliang Ye kept quiet.

"Well, no matter what the reason is, the core of the problem is that this ghost has chosen to haunt you and will likely not leave on their own. So there is no way but to banish them back to the place they came from. Now, as you’ve seen with that satchel I gave you there are ways to do that. Contrary to other spirits ghosts are rather easy to get rid of if you know how to do it."

Zhang Cheng gave a humorless laugh. After half a year, this didn’t seem to be true but considering what he had seen so far, it seemed likely that Gongliang Ye would be able to do it. Maybe it was the fact that he was a witch and had more intimate knowledge of the spirit realm but it seemed that it really wasn’t that difficult for him. "So, what exactly are we going to do? I mean … is there anything that I need to do?" He touched his chest, feeling a little worried. He really didn’t know about these things. If he messed up …

Gongliang Ye shook his head though. "No, not much at least. Just a few things here and there but I will guide you through the process. Don’t worry."

Zhan Cheng nodded, giving a sigh of relief. "Well, thank you. You’re my last hope."

The witch nodded and then got up, taking the two bowls and putting them to the side. "I will check the ingredients first and then we can begin in a minute."

Zhan Cheng nodded and opened the chest he had brought with him, letting Gongliang Ye check everything.