Kongqing's story didn't end there - it became even more horrifying. She was like a vengeful ghost constantly haunting the nunnery.
At first, it was just repeated sightings of Kongqing by the nuns. While frightening, these encounters weren't particularly harmful. That changed when one nun picked up Kongqing's comb.
After taking the comb, the nun strangely brought it back to her room. By the next night, she began acting strangely.
In the dead of night, she would dress in eerie red robes and sit by the door, combing her shaved head. Her normally solemn face took on a coquettish expression, and she spoke in an unnaturally delicate voice. She started bringing men up the mountain, only to kill them and bury their bodies in the wilderness.
When the new abbess discovered this, she had the nun tied up to turn her over to authorities. But strangely, the nun died violently on the spot - her eyes bulging wide, eyeballs bloodshot, face frozen in horror with a ghastly smile, her tongue lolling out nearly a foot long. She looked exactly like someone who had died by hanging.
But how could this be? She had been tied to a stool when she died violently - there was no way she could have hanged herself.
The situation grew increasingly bizarre. The new abbess tried burning both the body and the comb, but the comb proved indestructible. Soon, dozens of identical combs appeared. Anyone who saw them felt compelled to take one, and would gradually become corrupted.
Dreaming Nun recalled returning from a ritual to find the entire nunnery behaving strangely. While normal during daylight, at night all the nuns transformed into different people.
They would seduce men, bring them back, and murder them. Dreaming Nun discovered each possessed a black comb in their rooms - even the new abbess. She recognized them as identical to the comb Kongqing had clutched in death.
Dreaming Nun tried warning the others, but failed. Instead, she was expelled from the nunnery as a madwoman.
She realized the black comb was the source - it contained all of Kongqing's vengeful spirit. Anyone who possessed it would become corrupted.
The only solution was to use an utterly pure dead person's comb, which might comb away the vengeful spirit from possessed individuals.
Suddenly I understood - it was that little ghost girl's comb from the supermarket. I urgently asked Dreaming Nun if the comb she brought back would work.
Dreaming Nun sighed. Though I couldn't see her face in the dark woodshed, I could feel her disappointment.
Clearly, that comb didn't work at all—otherwise we wouldn't have encountered so many supernatural horrors upon arriving.
"Is it because the ghostly resentment in the black comb is too powerful? Couldn't be combed away?" I asked.
"I don't know," Dreaming Nun replied. "I did secretly take that comb and tried using it on them, but the evil within them not only remained—it grew stronger. They turned on me, trying to strangle me, their faces twisted like demons."
Her voice carried utter desperation, as if all hope was lost.
"Then what about the ghost we encountered in our room?" Antonio interjected. "That woman in the wedding dress—it took my form that night. Nearly scared me to death, sitting there combing its hair in the mirror. Would've given me a heart attack if I weren't so brave."
Dreaming Nun seemed to understand. She explained that every room contained a black comb, and each comb housed the same vengeful spirit—her senior sister, Kongqing.
Perhaps all the combs were connected, each carrying Kongqing's lingering resentment. Wherever the combs were, haunting followed.
I began to understand—the key to everything lay with that black comb.
Yet the comb was profoundly evil. It couldn't be burned or destroyed, and could multiply endlessly, just like vengeful energy itself.
At this point, Dreaming Nun said, "Now that you know everything, it's time to honor your promise and leave."
"But what will you do next?" I pressed.
She sighed again. "There's only one solution left—I must kill everyone in the nunnery. Afterward, I'll turn myself in. Otherwise, they'll keep harming others. They've already murdered several men who stayed here. If this continues, more innocents will die. I believe... if they were in their right minds, they'd agree. They never wanted to hurt anyone. They're just... possessed."
Her plan horrified me. An entire nunnery—dozens of lives—just slaughter them all?
The thought was unbearable. For Dreaming Nun to kill her own sisters with her own hands... it would destroy her. No one could endure that psychological torment.
"Enough talking. You need to leave now—before it's too late." With that, Dreaming Nun urgently pushed us toward the exit.
But I had no intention of leaving. This was never just a temporary measure—I wouldn't go until the problem was solved.
Especially not when dozens of lives hung in the balance. How could I abandon them?
Instead of leaving, the three of us pushed Dreaming Nun back inside and shut the woodshed door firmly behind us.
"What are you doing?" Dreaming Nun seemed stunned, as if she hadn't processed that we'd deceived her. It's true—Buddhist practitioners tend to be straightforward people.
Dreaming Nun was like that, and so was Kongqing! How could they trust men's words? Men's tongues might as well be deceitful spirits!
"I'm sorry, but we're not leaving yet. This is something I need to resolve—it's my agreement with Webster," I said.
"You...you..." Dreaming Nun was first speechless, then genuinely angered, calling us dishonorable for breaking our promise.
But she wouldn't let us die here. Determined to make us leave, when words failed, she resorted to force.
Then Antonio suddenly intervened. Placing one palm on Dreaming Nun's shoulder, he forcefully pressed down the nun who was trying to rise.
"Listen to Mr. Roger. Understood?" Antonio said coldly.
In the dark woodshed, we couldn't see each other's faces, but emotions were palpable—Dreaming Nun radiated anger, freezing the atmosphere completely.
Finally, Dreaming Nun relented with a soft sigh. "If you're determined to court death, I can't stop you. But with your abilities, you can't possibly resolve this evil. You'll only get yourselves killed."
I chuckled quietly. "Don't be so sure. I'm not completely unprepared. I'm confident about this."
Dreaming Nun fell silent, even attempting to leave—she thought I was boasting. She'd searched this nunnery thoroughly, consulted numerous masters, yet none could solve its curse.
This nunnery's evil ran deep!
How could I—someone who struggles with ordinary ghosts—possibly fix this?