I never thought I would return to that place again, but the world was a small place.

I took a late-night flight to the town where Soleil had gone missing. I would still need to be on the road for about half a day before I reached the mountains.

I arrived at the foot of the mountains at 12:00 pm.

It was a wonder that Soleil had managed to find such a remote place to go hiking.

There was a tent set up near the foot of the mountains.

A man and a woman hurried toward me when they spotted me and politely shook hands with me.

The search and rescue team had given up. Only Soleil's parents, Charlotte Clark and Ashton, were still determined to find her and bring her home.

The man who'd come out to greet me was Ashton. He had cut a piece of Charlotte's clothes as I instructed.

"Thank you so much for your help, Ms. Clearwind. We'll definitely pay you handsomely if you can bring Soleil back to us."

I didn't care too much about the compensation. I just wanted to do the right thing.

I tucked the piece of cloth away, avoiding Charlotte's eyes that were brimming with sorrow.

I knew that Charlotte was in an emotionally precarious state after wallowing in despair for so many days, so I asked Ashton to accompany me into the mountains.

At first, Ashton led the way. However, after a few moments, I silently took the lead and led him down a shortcut.

I knew the way, but I couldn't carry Soleil's corpse, so I needed Ashton to do the heavy lifting.

I glanced at the dark shadows around us before pulling out a few talismans and attaching them to the trees, preemptively preventing the spirits from causing any trouble.

The evil spirits in the forests had been multiplying in the last few years.

I was born with enhanced vision, so I could see things that other people couldn't. Not wanting to scare Ashton, I refrained from telling him that.

"Why are you so familiar with this place, Ms. Clearwind?" Ashton asked curiously.

I looked at the sun-dappled flowers and answered lightly, "I've been here before."

"No wonder you're more familiar with the paths than me," Ashton said with a smile. "We can save a lot of time with this route."

I smiled but didn't continue the conversation, not wanting to reminisce about the past.

This place was called Mt. Ghost Maiden. The entire mountain range looked like a coiled dragon with a valley in the center. Water flowed down from the higher areas and pooled in the lowest point of the valley, creating a shallow lake with pebbled shores.

The scenery was quite beautiful, but it was also a place where evil spirits loved to gather.

According to geomancy, an area like this would be considered a land of abundance, making it the perfect place for one to bury the deceased to bless their descendants.

It was why there was a rather large cemetery in the valley.

We headed toward the cave, which was tucked away in a secluded corner below the lake.

"We never would have found this place without your guidance, Ms. Clearwind," Ashton said gratefully.

He then stepped forward, wanting to take the lead again before I stopped him.

"No need. You can just wait here. All you need to do is carry your daughter later."

Ashton looked like he had more to say upon hearing my words. Finally, he mumbled, "Truth be told, when the search and rescue team found this place, they also found a lot of bones that belonged to children.

"They already got rid of them because they were worried that the mountains' reputation would be affected. They also forbade us from telling anyone else.

"It's so horrible. I heard that the villagers who lived nearby would abandon their baby daughters. How could they do such a cruel thing…"

Ashton let the rest of his sentence trail off, but I could tell that he wanted to ask me if the tragedy that befell Soleil was related to the abandoned babies.

I subconsciously tightened my grip on my backpack as I thought about the past. I said, "There used to be a tower here that suppressed the spirits of the abandoned babies. Someone destroyed it. But I don't think those children are responsible for what happened to your daughter. Wait here."

Ashton nodded. He then sat down on a nearby rock, his expression a mix of despair and anticipation.

The cave was located in the lowest point of the valley, which was also where the negative energy was the strongest. Not only were there tombs everywhere, but there were also countless baby spirits.

Evil spirits loved gathering in a place like this.

Countless evil spirits had surrounded me the moment I stepped foot into the mountains, acting as if they were welcoming me home. They led the way after I entered the cave and stopped in front of the pitch-black pit.

I retrieved a roll of rope from my backpack and secured one end to a rock before descending into the pit.

Another benefit of having enhanced vision was that I could see even in the darkest of places.

The pit was deep, but my rope was the perfect length. There were lots of rocks and flowing water.

Following the scent of rotting corpses, I eventually came upon a pile of bricks.

It was what was left of the tower that was meant to suppress the spirits of the abandoned babies.

The search and rescue team had only seen the skeletons on the outside. They had no idea that there were countless baby spirits in the pit. The villagers had abandoned all their unwanted baby daughters there over the last few years.

Not wanting the abandoned babies to take revenge on them, they built a small tower and carved runes all over it to suppress the spirits. However, the villagers' fear of vengeance also prevented the innocent babies from being reborn.

The tower lost its power after it was destroyed, so it was nothing more than a pile of broken bricks now.

No one could see the babies' spirits traversing gleefully all over the mountains, playing pranks on everyone who stepped foot into the area.

I kneeled down next to the broken tower and asked, "Can you let me take Soleil home?"

The babies' spirits giggled eerily as they floated around me in a circle.

I knew what they were trying to tell me. "No, Mommy will get angry."

They were more willing to listen to their "Mommy" than me.

I let out a regretful sigh and pulled out my blessed sword that was carved from a tree that was struck by lightning.

"You leave me with no other choice then," I said.

The babies' spirits scattered, not daring to get in my way. Instead, they stuck their tongues out at me from afar.

After all, I used to be their leader, which also meant that I still intimidated them.

Since they weren't willing to disclose Soleil's location to me, I would simply have to look for her myself.

I searched through the entire pit, but I couldn't find Soleil's body anywhere.

I sighed as I stood outside the tomb that had a dragon carved on the entrance, not wanting to enter.

"Do we have to do this? He doesn't like it when people enter his home uninvited. Besides, his people are the ones causing trouble. If you come out now, we can still talk about this. If you don't, I'll have no choice but to go inside."

It seemed that I was out of options when the silence stretched on with no reaction from within.

I gritted my teeth and entered the tomb, ignoring the fact that the owner once told me that he would eat me if I dared to return.

However, he should be able to understand why I broke my promise, knowing that I had no choice but to do so. But truth be told, he shouldn't even be aware of my presence, considering the fact that he was no longer there.

I didn't smell the tomb owner's scent even once when I returned this time.

I navigated past the rooms with familiar steps, dawdling until I made it to the main room. I couldn't help the slight twinge of frustration that bubbled in my chest, wondering why Soleil had to hide here of all places.

As expected, I found Soleil lying in the casket in the main room. Her corpse showed no signs of decomposition, but there was a strong, rotting stench wafting from it.

Her stomach was extremely swollen. Her shirt had ridden up to her chest, exposing her entire belly. The surface of her stomach was covered in green veins, and she looked like she was seconds away from giving birth.

In fact, I could see her stomach moving.

I frowned, feeling fury bubble within me. Still, I suppressed my anger and politely asked, "Are you going to come out by yourself? Or do I have to extend an invitation to you?"

Soleil didn't say a word, but the negative energy in the tomb grew thicker, as if we were in a freezer.

I had obviously angered it.

Still, I tried reasoning with it. "Don't you know that you're crossing the line by lying in someone else's casket? Also, you're not supposed to behave this way. You've been perfectly fine all this time staying here and playing your role as the spirits' mother, no?"

With the existence of a tower to suppress the spirits of deceased babies, there would most certainly be a ghost mother.

A ghost mother who lost her child was a perfect match for abandoned babies, after all. The presence of the babies allowed her to become stronger, while the babies were given a mother.

Unfortunately, the ghost mother had crossed the line by getting a human involved. She was even trying to use Soleil's body to return to the human realm.

I didn't take action immediately. Instead, I pulled out the piece of cloth that belonged to Charlotte and set it aflame along with a talisman.

"She's not an unwanted child. Her parents are waiting for her," I said.

Soleil suddenly bolted up into a sitting position, staring at me with dark eyes.