The woman's name is Bai Wenqiu, she is Lu Bing's mother. Although she is in her fifties, there are not many wrinkles on her face, making her look like she is in her thirties or forties, showing that she takes very good care of herself regularly.

"Why do you say that? What happened exactly?" Bai Wenqiu responded to Lu Bing's questioning with worry.

"Just yesterday afternoon, you hanged yourself, and now your body is lying in the forensic room. I didn't even have time to hold a funeral for you before entering this hellhole."

He briefly told Bai Wenqiu about what happened earlier, and observed her reaction.

"That person wasn't me, it must have been the work of a ghost." Bai Wenqiu frowned, "What about the company? Does anyone know about this?"

"Basically, all our relatives and friends know about this. Dad said he will fly back home today. The company said they will need to select a new general manager, and if they can't find a suitable one temporarily, they will choose an interim one."

"Lu Bing, once there is a signal on the phone, immediately call your dad, tell him to stay in the U.S., don't come back. In case something happens on the plane, no one can save him."

"And also, ask the hospital to do a DNA test on the body that looks like me, to prove that person is not me. What are those old men on the board of directors thinking? I've only been gone for a short while and they already want to replace me? Tell them you have a reason to delay the meeting."

"Let's discuss these things after we leave this place, besides, I will attend the meeting." Lu Bing suggested.

Lu Bing somewhat believed that this person was his mother. The tone of her speech, expression, and voice... everything was exactly the same as his mother in his memory. If a ghost could imitate even this feeling, then it would be too incredible.

After all, they were family who had been together for more than twenty years.

He looked to Xu Fang next to him, seeking her opinion, "What do you think?"

"Just treat her as a person." Xu Fang casually replied.

"What? Isn't that too hasty?"

In the eyes of the demon, Bai Wenqiu was filled with white dots of light, without a single black dot of light that ghosts possess. Just like Lu Bing, she was a human. However, it was also possible that the ghost disguise was so good that not even Gussy could tell.

Regardless, since Bai Wenqiu appeared in front of Xu Fang and Lu Bing, they were one step closer to unraveling the mysterious events.

Feeling helpless with Xu Fang's unreliable answer, Lu Bing had to use his own method to determine whether his mother was real or not.

"Mom, in order to confirm that you are not an impostor, I want to ask you some questions, okay?"

Bai Wenqiu glanced at Xu Fang and nodded, "Sure, it's right for you to be cautious. Go ahead, I will answer any questions you have."

Lu Bing asked many questions about his life after college, because that period of time was a void when ghosts disappeared, and only he and his family knew about certain things.

Bai Wenqiu answered them one by one, with the same demeanor and tone as his mother. Lu Bing gradually let go of his guard, and in the end, he shook hands with his mother, feeling her warmth. His eyes became a bit teary.

"I really thought you were dead, I was even thinking about how to inherit your money."

Bai Wenqiu glared at Lu Bing, "Can't you say something nice? Just by looking at you, I can tell if you're still a ghost."

Lu Bing smiled and pointed to Xu Fang, introducing her to his mother, "She is Gu Xi, a magical girl who specializes in fighting ghosts. She's even more powerful than the monks in the temple."

"What is a magical girl?" Bai Wenqiu was puzzled.

"You can understand it as a profession specialized in dealing with monsters. I'll explain the details later."

"Alright." Bai Wenqiu smiled and reached out her hand, saying, "Thank you for taking care of my son. I will definitely thank you properly after we leave this place."

Xu Fang shook her hand, "Let's skip the formalities for now. Time is running out. Lu Bing's mother, why don't you tell us what happened to you after you came here?"

After touching Xu Fang's warm hand, Bai Wenqiu's suspicion of her lessened. The villagers in the ghost village had cold bodies, like corpses, but this girl's hand had warmth, so she should be alive. However, her background was unknown, making her suspicious. Why did she appear at this critical moment? Was she a savior or another disaster? They must investigate the truth afterwards.

Bai Wenqiu nodded and took out a diary from her pocket, handing it to Xu Fang.

"This is something I found on myself after I entered this place. I am certain that it isn't mine, and I couldn't have had this notebook in my office. It appeared out of thin air."The diary was thin, without a cover or any pictures.

Xu Fang opened the diary and found some crooked and strange words written inside.

"March 14th

Today we moved to a new house. It has three floors, very tall. Mom and Dad are very happy, but I'm not very happy because this house gives me a bad feeling. I hope it's just my imagination."

"March 15th

The red floor on the third floor and the gray floor on the second floor make me feel uncomfortable. Only the white floor on the first floor makes me feel at ease. So I decided to live on the first floor. Because of work, Dad lives on the third floor, while Mom lives on the second floor.

I miss our old home a little bit."

"March 16th

My bad premonition is getting stronger. I feel like there is something strange about this house. I want to find it but I can't. I can sense its presence."

"March 20th

Today the sky was gloomy. I was awakened by my mother's screams. When I went to the third floor, I saw my father's body. His head was missing.

The room was splattered with blood, staining the walls and turning the floor red.

My mother and I searched for my father's head for a long time, but we couldn't find it. Later, my mother said she had a stomachache, so we called the police and went to the hospital. They found the head in my mother's stomach."

"March 22nd

Mom committed suicide. Now I'm the only one left. Dad and Mom's bodies are in the morgue at the hospital, but the police couldn't find the killer.

I still live in the house every day, but now I'm alone."

"March 23rd

The floor on the second floor of the house turned red at some point, and the first floor turned gray. When I sleep alone at night, I always feel like there is something in the house watching me. It must be the killer who murdered my parents.

Now is it targeting me? Maybe it has been targeting me all along."

"March 24th

Tonight the sky was gloomy. I lay alone in bed, feeling the presence of that thing, and I saw it. I stared at it, too afraid to look away, because I might die if I do.

I stared at it all night until dawn, until my eyes were dry. It disappeared when the sun came up."

"March 27th

The floor on every floor of the house turned blood red, even the walls.

In the evening, I took my father's car to the hospital and stole my parents' bodies. When I got back home, I cut off my father's head and put it back in my mother's stomach, sewing it up with a thread. Then I put my mother's body on the second floor and my father's body on the third floor.

When I cut off my father's head, he opened his eyes and kept looking at me.

Finally, I lay alone in bed, counting time in silence. I know that only by doing this can I be safe. Otherwise, even if I run to the ends of the earth, I can't escape its curse."

"March ■■th

After coming back, many things have changed.

I succeeded, and the curse has been lifted. The floors of the house have all turned back to white, but my parents' bodies have disappeared, leaving no trace of blood."

"April 1st

I feel like I still haven't escaped the curse, so I've decided to hang myself today. If I don't die, I can return to the world where my parents are alive."

...

After this, there were no more entries.

The recorder wrote down their horrifying experiences as if it were an everyday occurrence. The content seemed like the fantasies of someone with severe mental illness, but the writing was clear, indicating that the recorder's mind was clear when writing the diary.

What happened to this person in the end? Does the appearance of the symmetrical world have something to do with them?

The diary is the key to unraveling this bizarre event. Strangely, it didn't appear on Xu Fang or Luo Bing, but instead ended up with Bai Wenqiu.

If Bai Wenqiu is human, why didn't they give everyone a diary or at least part of it? Could it be that Xu Fang's presence disrupted the "game's" balance, so the "game" deemed that with his protection, Luo Bing didn't need the help of a diary to survive?

"This kid who writes a diary must be crazy." Luo Bing flipped through the diary, frowning. "If it were me, I would have run away a long time ago. Why would I continue living in that house? By the way, this story is made up, right? It's too scary."Xu Fang ignored Luo Bing's criticism and turned to Bai Wenqiu. "Have you encountered any monsters before? Like plaster people or something?"

The woman shook her head. "I didn't see any monsters, but I heard footsteps behind me. It kept following me, and when I stopped, it stopped too. When I walked, it followed me. I was terrified, so I found a place to hide... By the way, after reading that diary, I felt that anything red or gray is not safe. So I avoided any red or gray paths along the way and ended up here."

Luo Bing quickly interjected, "Mom, you did the right thing. Red and gray areas are indeed dangerous, but white areas can also become unsafe after a while."

"Ah, meeting you both has made me both sad and grateful," she said, her expression complicated. She was glad to have companions but worried about her loved ones' safety.

"Bai Wenqiu, when did you arrive here?"

"I don't remember. I don't have a phone or a watch, but I think it's been about two or three hours."

"Two or three hours?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Are you sure? Could you have made a mistake?" Luo Bing asked with doubt.

He and Xu Fang had arrived here less than an hour ago. In the real world, Bai Wenqiu had died yesterday at noon, but she had arrived here about three or four hours ago... meaning she had entered this place between yesterday's noon and early morning today. So what was Bai Wenqiu's status during that time?

Seemingly sensing Luo Bing's confusion, Xu Fang calmly said, "If Bai Wenqiu is human and not lying, there are two possible explanations for this phenomenon."

"What are they?"

"The first one is that your memories have been altered. At the moment of entering the symmetrical world, your, yours, and my memories all changed. Perhaps in the real world, Bai Wenqiu is not your mother at all..."

"How could my memories of over twenty years be altered? That's impossible..." Luo Bing recalled his life, and he didn't feel any traces of modification. Could it be that he didn't notice it after it had been altered? Or were all these memories actually someone else's?

"And what's the second reason?"

Xu Fang glanced at Bai Wenqiu for a moment and said, "Let's call this place Ghost World for now. The flow of time in Ghost World often deviates from the real world, so Bai Wenqiu's two or three hours here could be equivalent to over a dozen hours in reality."

"That makes sense. We used to live in that ghost village for several days, but in reality, not a single second had passed." Luo Bing fully agreed with Xu Fang's reasoning. He believed that this should be the correct answer.

Xu Fang lowered his head slightly, his expression invisible to anyone. Even if someone saw it, they wouldn't know what this poker-faced man was thinking.

There were some things Xu Fang didn't say, as speaking them out loud might affect Luo Bing and his mother's emotions.

Perhaps Bai Wenqiu had really died. Because of the peculiar timeline of the mysterious events and their detachment from the real world, even though she was still alive now, she would die in the mysterious events shortly. Even if Xu Fang tried to save her, he couldn't prevent the convergence of the world lines.

So Xu Fang planned to take advantage of Bai Wenqiu's presence to extract some information from her. He needed an effective method to confront ghosts.