"Why do you know me?"
I looked incredulously at the ones who spoke from the center and the left. At that moment, the woman on the right also spoke.
"Of course we know you. You and your husband used to run Zhang's Barbecue, right? We often ate there."
I immediately willed it, and the three were released. Though my memory was a bit fuzzy, I did recognize these three—they were residents of Ringwood, and regulars at Zhang's Barbecue, the shop I ran with Ethan Zhang.
"How did you all end up here?"
I asked, and the woman who had just spoken answered.
"Everyone here has been given a task. If we don't finish it, we'll die."
I looked at them, puzzled. Then all three began to speak—they go to District 12 regularly every month, entering through a gateway on their creator's orders, and once in the Living World, they report everything they see back.
Each mission lasts a month. Now, most people living in Ringwood know the truth—they were created by the Dark Banquet using ghost souls, and must obey its orders. Seeing that the three weren't lying, I nodded.
"You can go now."
As I spoke, I immediately dispelled the barriers around them that were interfering with their powers. After the three left, Ghost Fiend Star muttered right away.
"You really let them go? By now, the Dark Banquet crowd has probably learned a lot about the Living World through this method."
I shook my head.
"It doesn't matter."
I know the Dark Banquet crowd can't make a move right now. It seems they've completely allied with the Emperor God, but after what happened, their unity is probably shattered. The Emperor God's group was forced to abandon their plan by the Ghost Ancestor's overwhelming power.
I witnessed everything that happened that day. There is now obvious hostility between the Dark Banquet crowd and the Emperor God's group.
I quietly watched the Buddha image formed by Abbot Fortune floating in the air. I have to find a way to awaken Abbot Fortune's consciousness—I need to find the Deathbane Ghost.
I pressed my hand against the Buddha image. At that moment, I could feel everything contained within it, clear as day. I planned to enter the Buddha image and find Abbot Fortune's consciousness.
I closed my eyes and quietly sensed everything inside the Buddha image. Warmth flowed into my body, making me feel light, and my mind began to go blank.
In a daze, I opened my eyes to a bright, vivid world under a clear sky. A vast sea of flowers stretched to the horizon, with bridges made of petals crossing a river—each bridge separated from the flower sea, leading somewhere unknown.