By noon the next day, Rachel Lan and I arrived at Mrs. Blake’s shop, carrying the melted Red Roulette. The once-bright disk was now a charred, black lump.
“What heavy resentment!” Mr. Cooper squinted at the bag as soon as it was opened, his voice tinged with skepticism.
“Looks like you’ve tangled with something truly dangerous this time.”
“Ethan, this thing is a fragment of that ghost’s soul.”
I stared at the blackened mass, puzzled and uneasy.
“Mrs. Blake, what exactly is a Ghost Soul?” I asked.
“A Ghost Soul, as I understand it, is where a ghost stores its resentment—negative emotions from the living world, which then transform into wraith energy, right?” Rachel Lan said. Mr. Cooper nodded.
“That’s the gist of it, young lady. But Ghost Souls aren’t all the same. The Nether Syndicate has studied them for years. The Blue Wraith’s soul, for instance, is corporeal—unlike most ghosts, whose souls are intangible. When a ghost’s soul solidifies, it means its resentment is overwhelming. Such wraiths are nearly impossible to deal with.”
“So what do we do? How exactly is it controlling Lily Qian?”
“Ethan, take it slow. This isn’t something you can rush. You’re badly hurt—I’ll have Mr. Cooper take a look at you in a bit.”
Mrs. Blake spoke as Mr. Cooper gave me a quick grin, extending his hand. I shot him a resentful glance.
“How much this time?” I muttered.
“No bargaining—two thousand. You healed so fast last time thanks to our ancestral secret remedy, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” I grumbled.
“Let me cast a quick divination for you, Ethan,” Mrs. Blake said, as Rachel Lan dutifully fetched the copper basin and coins.
Mrs. Blake used a small knife to scrape a bit of the blackened mass, dropping it into water. She pressed her hands together, clutching a copper coin, then flicked it with a crisp ping—the coin spun and sank into the basin with a soft plunk.
“To know the past and future, Heaven and Earth, the fate is set…” Mrs. Blake began to chant.
The copper coin stood upright at the basin’s bottom, the black mass settling beside it.
“A divination of foundation—submerged but unstained. Ethan, be careful. You’d best ask John Chou for help this time. If that ghost keeps accumulating resentment, it could break through the Styx Gate and become a Blue Wraith. I’ve never seen a ghost so heavy with wraith energy.”
Mr. Cooper began treating me, smearing something cool onto my burning back. Instantly, the pain faded, replaced by soothing relief.