"Who exactly are you looking for?" I asked. The Eastern Emperor was still shouting, so I ran over. Aside from the six of us present, I could barely sense anything else in this place.
"Ethan Zhang, those three behind you probably know something. You'd better ask them."
The Eastern Emperor pointed at the Resentful Ghost, Tong Ghost, and Shadow behind me.
"You three, do you know anything?"
"Ethan Zhang, don't listen to his nonsense. We don't know anything."
My Shadow sneered wickedly and spoke up.
"Yeah, we don't know anything."
The Resentful Ghost shouted from the side, and Tong Ghost echoed.
"Yeah, we don't know about that guy's existence."
For a moment, my eyes widened as I looked over. Tong Ghost immediately covered his mouth, and the other two glared at him fiercely. I smiled and walked over. Tong Ghost looked lost, and I put my arm around his shoulder.
"Speak up. What do you know? Who is that guy referring to?"
After spending so much time with these guys, I realized that only Tong Ghost seemed honest. The rest often knew things but never told me.
"I... I really don't know, Ethan Zhang. You should ask your Shadow."
Tong Ghost spoke, lowering his head and glancing nervously at the other two.
"What do you actually know? Tell me, now."
My voice rose as I stared at my Shadow.
"Ethan Zhang, there are some things you're better off not knowing, right? We wouldn't hurt you."
I brushed aside my Shadow's reaching hand.
"I'm the one in charge here. Speak—what do you really know?"
"Heh, what are you three up to? I don't really get it, but look, Ethan Zhang, these three seem pretty lively. Back in the Blue Wraith's domain, they were nearly dead, but after just a short while, they've recovered. You noticed it too, right? They recovered unusually fast."
The Vermilion Bird reminded me from behind.
"Damn it, Vermilion Bird, you—"
My Shadow shouted, and I nodded. It was true—these three were clearly badly injured before, and I hadn't had time to absorb earth energy to recover, yet somehow, they'd already healed.
Feeling the Vermilion Bird and Spirit Snake nearby, both were still weak, their strength nowhere near recovered.
"Tell me, what's really going on? Tong Ghost, you tell me—who is that guy?"
I looked at Tong Ghost again and asked. He kept his head down, saying nothing, but after a long while, he finally blurted it out.
"It's that old Taoist, Zhang Jizheng. He promised that for a while, he'd let us eat the things inside his body. That's why we agreed to let him stay here."
I was stunned for a moment. What the hell? Wasn't Zhang Jizheng the old Taoist I met in Gourd Village—the one who was killed by zombies? How could he be inside my body? I also remembered that back in the Ninefold Abyss of the Underworld, he showed up too.
"How could you three betray me? Didn't we have a deal?"
At that moment, a golden light lit up in the sky and drifted toward us, gradually taking human form—it was Zhang Jizheng. He appeared, swinging his horsetail whisk and smacking the Resentful Ghost and Tong Ghost, while my Shadow nimbly dodged.
"Tell me, what are you doing inside my body?"
I glared fiercely at Zhang Jizheng. He moved in without my permission, blending in so well that I never noticed his presence.
"Ah, Ethan Zhang, what's the harm in one more? After all, your body is already full of all sorts of strange things. What's one more? Unlike these guys, I don't have any ulterior motives toward you—I'm the purest, no hidden agenda at all."
"Enough, just tell me—why are you living inside my body?"
Zhang Jizheng looked a bit helpless and sighed.
"You remember, don't you? You all destroyed my physical body and released my primordial spirit. Without a vessel, my spirit would quickly dissipate, so I had to temporarily stay in your body. And I pay rent regularly. Look at those three—I gave them the purest energy to eat, that's why they're so lively."
"Enough with the nonsense. Eastern Emperor, is he the one you're looking for?"
I glanced over immediately. At that moment, Zhang Jizheng lowered his head, sneaking glances at the Eastern Emperor, then hurried over and bowed.
"East..."
"Enough. Special times call for special measures. I won't blame you for trading with ghosts. They've captured Rufina Howard, and you should know how precious her bloodline is. Find a way to help us locate Rufina Howard. Got it?"
"Of course, Eastern Emperor. As an old Taoist, I will do my utmost."
I looked at them in surprise, especially at their conversation. I knew the Eastern Emperor had said before that even a drop of Rufina Howard's blood was extremely precious, but even if I asked, he probably wouldn't tell me anything.
Then, I started to slowly lose consciousness in this space.
"Hurry up."
The Eastern Emperor sounded anxious. When I opened my eyes, Zhang Jizheng was already standing beside me.
"Understood, Your Highness Eastern Emperor. Don't worry, I'll divine a hexagram first. After all, my spirit doesn't have a physical form, and it's not good to linger too long."
Zhang Jizheng looked somewhat transparent. He took a small bowl from his sleeve, then pulled out two copper coins. I looked over—the coins were engraved with the Bagua patterns.
With a series of crisp sounds, Zhang Jizheng tossed the coins into the bowl and began to shake it.
"The Book of Changes begins with the Supreme Ultimate, which gives rise to the Two Forms. The Two Forms give rise to the Four Images, and the Four Images give rise to the Eight Trigrams. One is Yin and Yang, two gives birth to..."
With two crisp clinks, the coins Zhang Jizheng was shaking rolled to the ground, and his bowl nearly fell as well. The Eastern Emperor rushed over to catch it.