The blinding white light around me gradually faded, and I could finally open my eyes. A vast Grand Bridge stretched out before me, and suddenly, a fierce wind swept across the river, forcing me to raise my hand to shield my forehead.
Cold moonlight shone down as I looked around. On both sides of the bridge, the city was ablaze with lights, radiating brilliance. Strangely, there were no cars on the bridge.
Ken Wang looked utterly lost, staring at the Reality Notebook. I walked toward him. His cold face now barely showed any sadness, a trace of sorrow emanating from him.
The Reality Notebook looked ordinary—A5 size, its cover a riot of colors. On the first page, there was a red dot, as if marked with a red ballpoint pen.
At that moment, the red dot began to move. A red line stretched upward, right in front of Ken Wang, as if guiding us to the left side of the bridge.
Ken Wang seemed petrified, unable to move a single step, frozen in place as he stared rigidly at the red line appearing in the notebook.
"It's strange, Ethan. My dad and I, all these years, barely spoke at home—just simple exchanges, never really talking. Today, maybe it's the first time I've ever heard him say so much to me!"
I reached out and patted his shoulder, looking at him seriously.
"What do you plan to do now?"
Ken Wang lifted his head, dazed, staring at me. He seemed unsure what to do, but clearly wasn't planning to follow his father's instructions and take the path his father pointed out for us.
"I'm not planning to just leave, either. My parents and my wife are still trapped here. If I can't find them, I won't go back."
Ken Wang nodded at me, then a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
With a loud bang, a massive surge of water erupted on our right side.
"Careful, Ethan."
Ken Wang said urgently, instantly grabbing a blue ballpoint pen and writing quickly on the paper.
The attack from the right missed its mark.
A torrent of water spun violently, its tip sharp as a needle, surging toward us. Just as it was about to strike, the flow suddenly changed direction, roaring past my side and crashing with a deafening bang into the bridge's guardrail. The concrete barrier and the iron bars above it were smashed open, leaving a gaping hole.
With a splash, water sprayed everywhere. Both Ken Wang and I were soaked. It was the Drowned Wraith from the first story, completely shrouded in bluish water, only its glowing green eyes exposed, writhing toward us like a mass of mud.
The sound of frantic writing filled the air as Ken Wang continued scribbling in the Reality Notebook. I couldn't release my Deathbane Aura, but he seemed to understand and wrote it down on the page.
Ethan Zhang returned to normal; the suppression placed on him vanished.
Bit by bit, Deathbane Aura seeped out from my body. The tiny words in the Reality Notebook floated up, one by one, and then entered my body.
"Condense—Celestial Chord Sword."
In an instant, a pitch-black Celestial Chord Sword appeared in my hand. I raised it and slashed at the Drowned Wraith. Seeing my attack, the Drowned Wraith's eyes flashed with surprise, and it scattered instantly. But I didn't wait for it to dissolve into a puddle—the sword had already struck.
With a bang, a small floating ice wall suddenly appeared before me. I shattered it with a single blow, and the Drowned Wraith dissolved into water. Instantly, two streams rose up from my feet, thick as ropes, trying to entangle me.
The moment the water touched me, it abruptly changed direction. I quickly thrust my left hand out, sending strands of Deathbane Aura into the ground. With a creak, the ground froze over, and I hurriedly shifted my stance, retreating backward.
Ken Wang was still writing in the Reality Notebook. I knew it was his doing—I hadn't been caught because of him.
"Idiot, deal with that Ken Wang kid first."
Louis Liu's voice rang out behind us. I spun around immediately, and with a sharp crack, an ice spike pierced through Ken Wang's body.
I stared in shock, eyes wide, and lunged at Louis Liu with my sword.
"Where are you looking, Ethan Zhang?"
Peter Wu's voice sounded at my side. As I turned my head, a sharp dagger slashed toward my neck. I stopped and dodged to the side—swish—blood spattered as my cheek was cut open.
"Damn, that kid..."
Louis Liu grumbled in dissatisfaction. Suddenly, I realized Ken Wang was gone. Just moments ago, he'd been bleeding from being pierced by Louis Liu, but now, somehow, he'd retreated twenty or thirty meters behind me. I turned to see Ken Wang, looking shaken but unharmed, writing something with his pen. The wound where he'd been stabbed had miraculously vanished.
"Ethan, I'll support you. Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you. Take them down."
I nodded. Instantly, a surge of Deathbane Aura erupted from my body, bristling outwards like a porcupine in every direction.
The three ghosts dodged immediately. A burst of green light flashed, and my attack missed. Peter Wu grabbed the Drowned Wraith, while Louis Liu, clutching his wounded shoulder, glared at me. His whole body radiated an icy chill.
"Hmph, Ethan Zhang, don't think you can beat the three of us," Peter Wu sneered, shooting a glance at Louis Liu hovering nearby.
In an instant, the air temperature dropped completely. I quickly retreated as the sudden thick fog made it hard to see around me.
"Be careful!" I shouted to Ken Wang behind me. Sword raised, Deathbane Aura streamed from my left hand and pooled around my feet.
They weren't stupid—they planned to take out Ken Wang first. Realizing this, I immediately turned and charged back toward him.
I heard Ken Wang scream in the thick fog ahead and sped up.
"Where are you going, Ethan Zhang?"
A flash of green light appeared before me, along with a sharp dagger slashing toward me. I immediately released Deathbane Aura—swish, swish—the strands struck Peter Wu's dagger, slicing it clean through.
This wasn't my first time fighting a Blue Wraith. I understood that while my Deathbane Aura could hurt him, there were two other fierce ghosts here, both close to becoming Blue Wraiths. I had to deal with them first.
Sure enough, the ground turned slippery. I stumbled, feeling something grab my feet. The fog was thick—I couldn't see a thing.
In the dense fog, a sharp dagger stabbed toward me. I raised my Deathbane Aura sword and swung upward—clang—I blocked the blade.
Gradually, I felt streams of water wrapping around my legs. I quickly focused, releasing Deathbane Aura, and with a startled cry, the water that tried to envelop me flowed back to the ground.
"Useless! What are you afraid of?" Peter Wu cursed, bursting from the fog, eyes fierce. His dagger stabbed at me again. I twisted aside, dodging his blade—he was fast, my eyes couldn't keep up, I could only rely on reflexes to evade.
After dodging one strike, I glimpsed a grin in Peter Wu's eyes. I quickly retreated, but was a step too late—his dagger slashed across my chest, a burning pain flared up, but luckily it was just a shallow cut.
I let go of the Deathbane Aura sword, raised both hands, and strands of Deathbane Aura surged from beneath Peter Wu's feet, weaving into a net. Instantly, black needles shot toward him.
"It's useless, Ethan Zhang."
With Peter Wu's furious roar, wrapped in green light, he suddenly broke through the Deathbane Aura and appeared right in front of me. I raised both hands, sending two strands of Deathbane Aura at him, but Peter Wu dodged easily and thrust his dagger toward my heart.
I lunged sideways, ducking low to evade his attack, then swung my right hand around his abdomen.
"What are you trying to do, Ethan Zhang?"
After missing his stab, he viciously drove the dagger down at me. But in my right hand, I'd already conjured an identical dagger, reversed my grip, and stabbed toward Peter Wu's ribs.
Peter Wu screamed in pain. Suddenly, I felt something strike me, and I was flung backward—the Drowned Wraith, a surge of water rushing toward me.
"Do it, Peter Wu!"
The Drowned Wraith's voice rang out. Instantly, I was enveloped in water, a green glow appeared before my eyes, and Peter Wu, face twisted with rage, stabbed at me with his dagger.
Suddenly, a fierce gust blew the thick fog away. Just as Peter Wu was about to stab down, his dagger instead struck between my legs.
The Drowned Wraith screamed, then burst apart with a splash.
"What are you doing? Trying to kill me?" the Drowned Wraith cried out in grievance.
The moment I hit the ground, I rolled to the side—clangs rang out as throwing knives from Peter Wu struck the hard ground beside me. As I got up, I saw Ken Wang crouched, holding the Reality Notebook in his left hand and writing furiously with his right.
Louis Liu stood panting in front of him.
"Damn, kid, how can you write so fast?"
Ken Wang chuckled, then shouted loudly.
"You forced me into this. For the past two years, I've been writing nonstop, thanks to you. At least now I know how to use this thing. Ethan, finish them!"