The strange laughter surrounding me vanished. The road ahead twisted and turned, but I could finally see different scenery. I let out a sigh of relief. My Specter Web sensed something—faintly, I could feel something trailing behind me.
The moment I reached the bottom of the slope, I felt a chill.
I glanced around, then hurried forward. After only a few steps, I released a large amount of Specter Web, probing everything around me. Another wave of cold crept up my back—there really was something there.
I kept walking, but no matter where I went, I couldn’t shake the chill lingering at my back.
“Who is it? If you’ve got the guts, get out here!”
I roared, but the surroundings were eerily quiet. Other than the thick fog winding through the woods and those strange trees, there was no sound at all.
I thought for a moment, but I still had important business to handle, so I tried to leave. Just then, my feet felt as heavy as if they were bound with lead—I could barely move. Looking down, I saw black mist wrapping around my legs, seeping out from the woods all around.
Waves of sorrow and resentment surged into my heart. I frowned, gritted my teeth, and clenched my fists. Inside, the fire burning was anger—an intense fury at something I deeply resented.
Yet within that anger, there was unfathomable sorrow. Before I knew it, tears streamed down my face. An inexplicable sadness welled up inside me, and I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Come on, you belong with us…”
Amidst a chorus of ancient, mournful wails, I looked over. On both sides of the Underworld Path, in the woods, shadowy human shapes began to appear. All they had were hollow, white eyes—besides their humanoid forms, everything else was pitch black. A wave of Resentful Energy radiated from their bodies.
I struggled to suppress the anger and sorrow in my heart, but my feet, still bound by the black mist, carried me step by step toward the woods.
I was now right next to the woods. I knew how dangerous it was inside—I absolutely couldn’t go in, or I’d be devoured by those things and become one of them.
I didn’t know exactly what those things were, but whatever was binding my legs and filling me with such sorrow and rage was Resentful Energy. I’d seen it before—in that Horror Stories book, in Ouyang Meng’s story, the Lady Wraith used this very Resentful Energy.
Resentful Energy is even more powerful than yin energy. My mind was being eroded by this overwhelming force. Bit by bit, I stood at the very edge of the Underworld Path’s stone slabs—one more step, and I’d be in the forest.
“Ah…”
I threw my head back and roared, channeling my anger and using my willpower to drive out Deathbane Aura from within me. If I wanted to break free from this predicament, I had to suppress it with an even stronger force.
Deathbane Aura surged out like a fountain, instantly engulfing everything around me. The biting cold made me shudder all over.
My Deathbane Aura completely mixed with the surrounding Resentful Energy, still corroding away. Even my own aura was being devoured by this Resentful Energy, little by little.
My entire body was shrouded in darkness. This despairing chill stabbed at every nerve.
“Think about everything in the Nether Syndicate.”
Suddenly, a pair of golden eyes appeared before me—the ghostly part within my body.
In that instant, I roared, slowly rising up. Now, I was a ghost, and so were all those around me. We were all ghosts, creatures of extreme yin. Either I assimilated them, or they would assimilate me, turning me into part of the woods flanking the Underworld Path.
“Freeze…”
I growled, low and deep. Creaking noises echoed as the intertwining yin energy and Deathbane Aura in the woods gradually froze, turning into black ice blossoms. The crisp sound of ice shattering filled the air.
This was the only way I could think of to block the Resentful Energy from devouring me. Back in the Nether Syndicate, I’d improved my control of yin energy, which produced the freezing effect.
But here, the force at play was Resentful Energy, far heavier and colder than yin energy. Thick layers of black ice instantly covered the woods on both sides of me.
The moment I blocked it off, my feet were free again—I could move. I froze the Resentful Energy flowing toward me, and the shadowy figures around me were frozen too. The laughter stopped abruptly once more.
I retracted a large amount of Specter Web, brushed the shards of ice off myself, then spread my wings and flew forward.
Again, I released Specter Web, edging closer to the woods. Whenever I felt Resentful Energy leaking out, I mixed my Specter Web into it, manipulating and freezing the surging energy. Using only yin energy, which couldn’t form solid Deathbane Aura, I managed to do it skillfully this time.
This yin energy seemed contagious—whenever I willed it, the leaking Resentful Energy would freeze.
The condition of the road ahead kept shifting.
Finally, with a crisp snap, I heard the sound of chains. I quickly slowed down. The fog thinned considerably. After a few more steps, I caught up—two Hell's Registrars, one tall and one short, were escorting the weeping Boss Chang.
“Hurry up! We’re only halfway there. You’d better pick up the pace. If you miss the reincarnation hour, your next life will be miserable.”
“Please, Hell’s Registrar, I beg you, let me go back. I don’t want to reincarnate—I want to see my daughter one last time. Please, just let me say a word to her.”
Smack! Smack! The short Hell’s Registrar struck Boss Chang twice with a blue-tipped black club, without a word. The tall one dragged him forward.
I followed the two Hell’s Registrars from a distance. On the Underworld Path, you’re forbidden to look back—I was sure of it. I’d watched for a long time, and neither Registrar had looked back once. I quickened my pace and kept up.
Boss Chang kept crying and shouting, but the two Hell’s Registrars ignored him completely. I watched quietly, feeling uneasy. The pain of separation—of life and death—is something everyone must endure. I’d learned this myself, through Rachel Lan and my parents. I knew just how tormenting it could be.
All the while, I kept releasing Specter Web to freeze the Resentful Energy trying to entangle me. Strangely, the two Hell’s Registrars seemed entirely unaffected by it.
Just as I was wondering about this, Boss Chang suddenly sat down, refusing to move another step.
Thuds rang out as the two Hell’s Registrars, without a word, struck Boss Chang with their clubs. But Boss Chang refused to get up, enduring the pain as his flesh split and swelled.
I stood there, watching quietly, gritting my teeth and clenching my fists. I sent Specter Web toward the two Hell’s Registrars—at least I could do something in secret.
Just as I was about to act, Boss Chang suddenly went berserk and sprang up. The short Hell’s Registrar was stunned, but the tall one still swung his club. With a crack, Boss Chang darted into the woods on the right. Instantly, Resentful Energy in the woods surged ecstatically. I watched as Boss Chang disappeared, running for his life.
I stared in shock—the two Hell’s Registrars made no move to chase him, only slinging their clubs over their shoulders in resignation.
“Let’s go. Now we’ll get our pay docked and chewed out again.”
“Come on, forget it. There are so many like him—refusing good reincarnation, desperate to go back. Once they enter, there’s no coming out.”
As they spoke, the two Hell’s Registrars quickly moved on. I was left in a daze, torn inside. Now, my only option was to catch up to the Registrars and force them—by any means—to take me to the Bridge of Hesitation.
But Boss Chang had already run into the woods. As I hesitated, Rachel Lan’s image flashed through my mind. I roared, turning into mist. When Boss Chang dashed into the woods, my Specter Web wrapped around him.
In my mind, I kept seeing Boss Chang’s daughter, her sorrowful figure keeping vigil for him, her face frozen in grief.
Once inside the woods, I spread out Specter Web. The moment I entered, it felt like plunging into an ice cellar—even I was nearly frozen solid.
I chased after him, using Deathbane Aura to freeze the Resentful Energy around me. The woods were perilous—the deeper I went, the more intense the energy became. Boss Chang seemed to have stopped, and I sensed he was close by.
Rounding a tree, I saw Boss Chang curled up, his body bluish and shivering.
“Don’t catch me, please—I want to go back.”
“Boss Chang, pull yourself together. Didn’t you have something you wanted to say to your daughter?”
I pressed my hand to Boss Chang, then enveloped him completely with Specter Web. Creaking noises echoed as I froze the Resentful Energy trying to invade him.
To keep the Resentful Energy at bay, I surrounded us with a dense web of Specter Web. As soon as the energy approached, it froze into shards that fell to the ground. I realized that, as a ghost, I was helping myself do these things.
But now, what worried me was that behind me—the way I came—was completely gone. Not a trace of the Underworld Path remained.