A staircase that seemed to descend endlessly—we’d been walking for quite a while. Each segment of the corridor was lit by white incandescent lamps. Finally, we arrived underground, in a spacious hall. All around, tables were set up, and on them lay all sorts of firearms. Many people were busy with their tasks.
At the far end of the hall hung a silver-gray flag, emblazoned with a crimson dagger thrust into a heart.
“Are you really not under the Emperor God?”
Harvey Zhou asked again. I shook my head.
“I don’t know anything about this Emperor God. We’re here only to find two people—Wu Xiaoli and Li Nan.”
“Minister Zhou, what’s going on? You just dispatched so many people—did something happen?”
A young voice called out. With a whoosh, a figure floated over. My eyes widened—after all this time here, this was the first person I’d seen who could actually fly.
The guy before me had messy purple hair, a red headband tied around his forehead, and a cocky demeanor. He was chewing on a toothpick, but his eyes were sharp and upright. He wore gray-white camouflage and heavy boots.
“It’s nothing, really. Just made a few new friends, that’s all. But you, Julian Zhu—weren’t you supposed to head back tonight?”
As soon as Harvey Zhou finished speaking, Julian Zhu—a young man in his twenties—suddenly appeared right in front of me. The muzzle of his gun pointed at me, and with a bang, he fired.
“As expected, every one of you is as strong as a monster.”
I tilted my head and glared at him. Black Moon caught the bullet between two fingers and laughed with a click of his tongue.
“That was dangerous, kid.”
“How could you do that, Julian Zhu? At least—”
Harvey Zhou started trembling. Julian Zhu pressed the handgun to his forehead.
“Enough. Now, here’s my investigation report: Harvey Zhou, you’ve used Crimson Night’s reputation and power to line your own pockets. Every action you’ve taken was for personal profit. Privately, you’ve even been in contact with the Imperial Police. So, well…”
With a bang, the gun went off. Blood splattered from Harvey Zhou’s forehead, and with a thud, he collapsed to the floor. The people behind him quickly gathered around.
“That’s it—the traitor is dealt with. From now on, I’ll be taking over the 107th Division as the new branch chief.”
Julian Zhu holstered his gun and looked at me.
“Alright, I can see you’re not from this world. If you have something to say, come to my office—I’ll answer your questions there.”
“Aren’t you going to ask about our backgrounds?”
I said, and Julian Zhu burst out laughing.
“If I were stronger than you, I could ask whatever I wanted. But the truth is, even if everyone here teamed up, none of us could beat you. So, you deserve the respect of the strong. Come on.”
We entered a spacious, private room that looked like an office—very large. The ten of us sat on the sofas while Julian Zhu busied himself, making tea for us.
“Getting into this world isn’t easy. You must be ghosts—and two of you are human. I won’t ask about anything else.”
“Kid, you must know what’s going on in this world, right?”
Ghost Painting Book Immortal couldn’t wait to ask. Julian Zhu smiled.
“Sir, when people die, they become souls—the so-called underworld. But what happens when ghosts die? This is the reverse world. You could say we’re another kind of person, just made of Yin.”
Julian Zhu respectfully served us tea, then sat down and began to speak slowly.
When people die, resentment turns them into ghosts—a form beyond just a soul. Simply put, it’s a new way of existence, a life form created by gathered ghost energy. Yin, baleful, killing, and earth energies—all these are essential to ghosts and form the core of ghost energy.
But once a ghost dies, only the Yin energy flows into this world, then undergoes what’s called reincarnation. But it’s not really reincarnation—it’s transformation. They become people, or more accurately, Yinfolk, because their flesh and blood are made of Yin energy. Just like people in the living world, only we’re two sides of the same coin.
Just as people have an afterlife—the underworld—when ghosts die, there’s also a world for them after death. This place is called Endless City, a city without end. The people here are those who died on the road of reincarnation, or ghosts whose Yin lifespan ran out, or were killed in the living world, or devoured by stronger ghosts. When a ghost dies, it turns into a wisp of Yin energy, comes here, and is reborn.
“Don’t judge me by appearances—I’m actually from the Ming Dynasty. More than twenty years after I died, I bullied a family and was killed by a passing old Daoist. That’s how I ended up here. It’s been hundreds of years now.”
“Oh, I saw you flying just now. How do you do that?”
Deathcurse asked, and Julian Zhu shook his head.
“Even though we’re people who became Yinfolk after ghosts died, some of us can regain a few ghost abilities through training. But we still die. Unlike ghosts, we don’t have ghost souls. We have hearts and brains—if either is damaged, we die instantly.”
Now everything was much clearer. I stood up.
“Leaving already? I didn’t catch your name.”
“I’m Ya. Also, we don’t want to get involved in the affairs of this world.”
I could see the longing for talent in Julian Zhu’s eyes, but all of this had nothing to do with us. We came here only to find a way to resurrect ghosts after death.
“Is that so? Anything else you want to ask? I can use all my resources to help you.”
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Please click next page to continue reading!)
“That won’t be necessary.”
I immediately refused. Julian Zhu’s intentions were obvious—he wanted us to join him.
“I see. Sigh.”
Julian Zhu spoke, then stood up and took out a map colored gold, red, and black.
“This world was built by three rulers together. But to them, everything is just a toy. All the rules—they set them. Crimson Night is made up of those who resist, who’ve gathered to overthrow the three rulers.”
“Isn’t everything fine now?”
Ray Lin asked. I agreed—after a day of observation, things here seemed peaceful. No oppression, and there were even police.
“What you’ve seen is only the surface. In this world, people disappear mysteriously all the time. Crimson Night started forming after we uncovered certain secrets. This place was originally formless, without pain, sensation, or anything at all. We should have died and ceased to exist. But those three rulers used some method to forcibly create us.”
I swallowed and looked at Julian Zhu, who seemed furious.
“So, we’re all just toys for those three rulers. And those three—just like you—are ghosts.”
Isabelle Frost stood up.
“So it’s true? Heh.”
She looked like she’d known all along.
We didn’t ask Isabelle Frost anything. Julian Zhu just looked puzzled, and after a long while, he smiled and left the room.
“Ya, when I helped you in this world before, I sensed three extremely unusual ghost energies here. I’m sure I wasn’t mistaken.”
“Let’s not get into details yet. Ya, aside from finding Wu Xiaoli and Li Nan, and helping Cao Wanzhi resurrect Hu Xiaohui, is there anything else you need to do here?”
I fell silent, pressed my palms together, and after a long while, Ray Lin stood up and sighed.
“Qingyuan, say it. You’ll feel better.”
I stared wide-eyed at Ray Lin. He placed a hand on my shoulder. All around us, pairs of eyes were fixed on me. I gave a wry smile and spoke.
“So, everyone already knew.”
“We’ll still call you Ya.”
Black Moon said. After a long while, I lifted my head.
“Rachel Lan.”
I finally said it—the reason I came here: to find Rachel Lan. Especially after hearing about Xu Fu, I became even more determined. In this world, I could meet Rachel Lan. Back then, her body and soul were destroyed together, so she should have come here.
“If you want to search, we’ll all help you, Ya.”
Felix Zhou stood up, and everyone nodded. I thanked them, then got up and called Julian Zhu back in.
“Let me ask you something. Are the ghosts who come here after death the same as they were in life, or as people?”
“Of course. Everything from their previous life remains.”
Hope lit up in my eyes. At last, there was an answer. Even if it was just a glimpse, as long as I could see Rachel Lan, that was enough.
“If you’re looking for someone, we’ll help. Just say the name.”
“Wu Xiaoli, Li Nan.”
I said, and Julian Zhu jotted it down in his notebook. Then I swallowed.
“Rachel Lan. And...”
With a thud, Julian Zhu’s notebook fell to the floor. His eyes widened as he looked at me.
“Did you say Rachel Lan?”
“You’ve heard of her?”
I immediately grabbed Julian Zhu’s shoulder.
“Ow, ow, let go!”
I started trembling all over, and Julian Zhu fell silent.
“Wait until tomorrow. I’ll take you to see her—Rachel Lan, one of the Five Divine Generals under the Emperor God.”