The sound of weeping vanished. Along this Ten Tribunal Road, the white spiritual entities that used to drift close from time to time were now floating on both sides of the road, making no move to approach.
I finally felt at ease. I didn’t know if Rufina Howard and Hu Tianshu had already gone ahead of me; I’d been running for a long time and hadn’t seen them at all.
Thinking it over, I took out my phone and glanced at the time. To my shock, five days had passed—five whole days. I stopped, staring in disbelief at this Ten Tribunal Road. I hadn’t expected that after descending into the Ninefold Abyss and coming back up, five days would have gone by. I put away my phone and hurriedly started running again.
Now, everyone else had already gone to Hades Village. I was the only one still on this Ten Tribunal Road. Looking back, I could still see the two mountain peaks, and the waterfall below looked like a white thread. I had no idea how much farther the road ahead was, so I kept on running.
Watching the mountains sweep past beneath the transparent passageway at my feet, all I saw ahead were endless peaks. The mountaintops were shrouded in white mist, and I had no idea when I’d reach the end. Even if I ran day and night, it would probably still take two or three days.
Fortunately, I was now a ghost, so I didn’t need to worry about food. Most importantly, I didn’t feel tired at all, even after running for an hour.
My body felt strange now. In the past, my ghostly form could only last a short while; some part would always revert to human. But now, after running for over an hour, I felt a steady surge of power rising within me. I picked up my pace a little.
I was deeply worried about Rachel Lan. I had no idea what had happened to her in Hades Village. The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became.
Back in the Ninefold Abyss, the Mourning Ghost and the Resentful Ghost seemed to absorb my baleful energy through the ghost network, becoming my ghost soul. Then, as I soared into the air, it was as if a voice urged me to hurry into the great cavern. I dove in headfirst and returned to the Ten Tribunal Road.
Thinking back now, the feeling was surreal. So much seemed to happen without me consciously willing it—my body could act on its own, releasing baleful energy that condensed into wings.
This time, what caught my attention even more was that I seemed to understand why I needed wings to help me float—weight. Even as a ghost, my body still had some weight, probably because I was originally human.
And about that Resentful Ghost—I’d only met him once in the Wailing Forest on either side of the Hades Road, and he’d saved me. I never expected he’d appear inside my body. I stopped suddenly, staring at myself, and felt more and more as if my body no longer belonged to me.
It was as if my body had become home to a host of tenants. I sighed helplessly—these guys were far too unruly, barging into my body without ever asking my permission.
"Sigh, when will this ever end?"
I looked ahead at the endless mountains and could only keep running.
After running for a while, my eyes felt dry, and a wave of drowsiness came over me. I stopped—not from exhaustion, but from sleepiness. I moved to the edge, sat down, and decided to take a nap. It was already past noon, but the sky was still bright blue, even though the sun was nowhere to be seen.
I moved to the edge, reached out my hand to feel around, then leaned against the invisible wall. With my eyes closed, I drifted off to sleep.
"Ethan, Ethan..."
A familiar voice called out, jolting me awake. The moment I opened my eyes, my mouth hung open and tears spilled from my eyes.
I immediately got up, staring blankly ahead.
Rachel Lan’s hair was tied up, and she wore a red-and-blue casual outfit. A few strands stuck to her face from the sweat on her forehead. She smiled at me.
"Rachel..." I called out, but I noticed her smile looked a bit forced.
"What exactly happened?"
I asked. Rachel Lan shook her head and managed a smile.
"Ethan, I heard you’d gone missing, so I rushed over as fast as I could."
"I’m fine. Tell me, Rachel... who are you supposed to marry? What happened?"
Rachel Lan shook her head again. She looked extremely uneasy, but she clearly didn’t want to talk. She lowered her head, not daring to meet my eyes. Just as I reached for her hand, she turned away.
"Let’s go, Ethan. There’s still a long way ahead."
I didn’t press her any further. I didn’t know anything, but I noticed Rachel Lan looked exhausted. Suddenly, she stumbled and nearly fell. I quickly caught her and held her close.
"You must have run all the way here. Rest for a few hours!"
It was just after six in the morning, and I’d already rested enough. But Rachel Lan stubbornly shook her head, refusing to meet my eyes. She seemed to be deliberately avoiding me.
I smiled easily.
"Let’s rest a bit before we go."
"No, Ethan. I have to get back before noon today."
Rachel Lan looked anxious. I nodded, then walked up to her, crouched down, and held out my hands.
"No need, Ethan, I..."
"Come on, let me carry you. I’ve rested enough, and I promise we’ll get there before midnight. Trust me."
Rachel Lan hesitated for a few seconds, then climbed onto my back. I carried her.
"You’re so light. Haven’t you been eating properly?"
"Of course I have, Ethan. Let’s hurry up and go."
Rachel Lan’s tone returned to normal. I ran with all my might, taking short steps and running on the balls of my feet so she wouldn’t bounce too much on my back.
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"Ethan, if you run like that, your feet won’t be able to take it."
Rachel Lan said, but I shook my head.
"Don’t worry. Just get some sleep, Rachel. Whatever happens, leave it all to me."
A sense of reassurance burned inside me like a raging fire. My whole body was filled with strength, and I ran even harder. Rachel Lan gently rested her head on my shoulder.
At that moment, my emotions were surging—overwhelmingly so. She had come all this way to find me, just like before in the Ghost Rakshasa’s lair; she’d found me in the Rakshasa Tree.
At that moment, I felt my body growing lighter and lighter. My steps became swift and effortless, and soon my feet were completely off the ground, speeding forward.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Rachel Lan had fallen asleep, her breathing soft and even in my ear.
All around us, the white spiritual entities had lined up in a long queue, mouths wide open as if blowing air at me. I only felt myself moving faster and faster.
"Thank you all."
Now, I didn’t need to use my feet at all—I was gliding swiftly along the road ahead, as if by pure instinct.
I gently set Rachel Lan down, then turned and held her in my arms so she could sleep more comfortably.
Compared to running on my own, this was so much faster. I never expected these white spiritual entities would help me.
Looking down at Rachel Lan in my arms, her head resting on my chest, her beautiful face flushed in sleep—she looked so peaceful now, the tension from earlier gone.
I stared ahead, deep in thought—what could have troubled Rachel Lan so much, and what was I about to face? After a long while, I gave up trying to figure it out.
Several hours passed. Suddenly, I was amazed to see a large cluster of buildings ahead. They were all square-shaped and arranged in a bizarre pattern: one stood alone at the far end, six were right in front of me, and I counted thirteen in total, lined up in four rows—1, 2, 4, and 6.
Each building looked identical, with walls of blue-green bricks and pale green tiles. Outside, there were wooden corridors supported by red columns. The structures seemed simple, and I saw many Hades Circle Born, dressed in white, standing guard around the houses as if facing a great enemy.
In front of the houses lay a stretch of green grass and a staircase leading downward. Holding Rachel Lan, I walked down the steps.
Walter Wu was standing in front of the fourth house, as if waiting for us. Beside him was a young man with spiky hair, wearing sunglasses and an orange jacket, chewing gum.
Holding the still-sleeping Rachel Lan in my arms, I walked down the steps toward Walter Wu and the others.
"You must be Ethan Zhang."
The young man spoke, taking off his sunglasses. He looked rather handsome, with a cocky, careless attitude.
"And you are...?"
"The woman in your arms will be my wife the day after tomorrow."
A chill ran through my heart as I stared at the young man before me. In that instant, anger flared up inside me.
"My name is Martin Lin."
Instantly, I glared at Martin Lin, clutching Rachel Lan tightly, my fists creaking with tension.
At that moment, Rachel Lan woke up.
"Alright, don’t be mad. I know you like her, but honestly, I’m not all that interested. Once I’ve had a child with her, I’ll give her back to you."
"Go to hell."
In an instant, I let go of Rachel Lan and clenched my fists, a surge of Deathbane Aura bursting from me as I struck at Martin Lin’s face.
But just then, strips of white gauze appeared out of nowhere, instantly wrapping around my hands, feet, and body.