"No, that's not possible, brother. Did you forget? When I entered your body, you were unconscious for quite a while. If..."
But I still looked at Snowy and nodded. She made a sound of acknowledgment and floated over to me.
"Wait a moment."
Hugh Thompson spoke, stopping Snowy, and continued.
"Qingyuan, get some rest. Your body must be feeling it too. Let's all eat now," Hugh Thompson said.
We all took out our food, ready to eat, while Snowy licked her fingers, looking longingly at the snacks.
"Eat up, Snowy," Rufina Howard said with a laugh, taking out a packet of pastries she'd bought at a ghost market. The pastries were beautifully made, bright and colorful.
Seeing Rufina Howard's disappointed face, it was obvious she bought them because they looked good, but the taste must have been different.
"It's delicious!" Snowy said happily as she started eating.
"Qingyuan, you said when that thing turns into a liquid, it's purple-black, right?"
I nodded.
"That's right. That thing absorbed your Deathbane Aura, and the purple part is its true form. So, you have the ability to find it."
I nodded again, and Mason Yu kept casting his bitter, envious glances at me.
There were no other seats around, just a polished black floor. I sensed where the Deathbane Aura had passed and moved toward the back.
With a smack, a small cloth pouch was tossed in. I immediately opened it; inside was a somewhat old Soulbinding Robe.
"His breathing is steady, so he should be fine. He's built like an ox."
As I spoke, I took the Soulbinding Robe and approached Rachel Lan. Suddenly, she lifted her head and looked at me coldly. The seductive aura she emitted made my body flush with heat.
I swallowed nervously and carefully walked over, holding up the Soulbinding Robe, trying to wrap Rachel Lan with it.
I let Rachel Lan lie down, then leaned beside her. Rufina Howard settled on her other side. Soon, we all fell asleep.
I didn't dream at all and slept soundly. When I woke up, it was already daylight. Hugh Thompson was up, scribbling something in his notebook.
"Hugh, why are you already up?" I quietly got up, noticing that Rachel Lan's complexion had improved a bit and her temperature was back to normal. I tiptoed over.
"Ethan, sleep a little longer, it's fine." Hugh Thompson said, closing his notebook. I glanced at it briefly—there were lots of diagrams and small notes scribbled beside them.
"Sorry, Hugh, just now..."
"It's nothing, Ethan. Haha, you're all just a bunch of kids, aren't you? Don't forget, I'm ten years older than you. Haha."
I smiled and sat down beside him.
"By the way, Hugh, you're really smart. You've learned so much in such a short time here. If you hadn't come with us, I'm afraid..."
"People grow, Ethan. You too. Pay more attention to your surroundings. Heh, if you're careful, you'll discover a lot of things."
Mason Yu woke up, then one by one, everyone else woke up too, except Justin Huang and Rachel Lan, who were still lying on the ground.
Then, with a whoosh, Snowy entered my body. The others stayed to guard the area while Hugh Thompson and I entered the Rakshasa Hall to search for the entity that stole Rachel Lan's soul fragments.
My head buzzed, and a strange sensation filled my body. Suddenly, I seemed to sense something—inside Hugh Thompson's body, a pitch-black mass appeared vividly in my mind. I turned to him in surprise.
"What's wrong, Ethan?"
I smiled and shook my head. Now wasn't the time to worry about that. Sure enough, though my eyes couldn't see it, there was a faint black trace on the ground, leading into the Rakshasa Hall.
I led Hugh Thompson toward the Rakshasa Hall ahead. The doors were wide open, and as I stepped over the high threshold, I saw a golden chair at the far end of the hall. On either side, sixteen massive pillars—eight on each side—were decorated with dragons and phoenixes.
There were no other seats around, just a polished black floor. I sensed where the baleful energy had passed and moved toward the back.
At the back of the hall, there were two corridors. Directly ahead was a mural—a spring palace scene, filled with men and women in various poses. In the center, a pale-faced youth was smiling.
"Ethan, interested?" Hugh Thompson joked. I quickly shook my head and went left, down a long, narrow corridor lined with tightly locked doors to small, separate rooms.
With a bang, Hugh Thompson kicked open a door. Inside was nothing but a spotless woman's room. On a wooden rack attached to the wall, all kinds of torture devices were displayed.
Hugh Thompson kicked open several more doors; they were all much the same. It reminded me of what I'd seen in the Wailing Women's Den. I kept searching, and for now, my body felt normal.
"Brother, it's so uncomfortable in here."
Snowy said from inside my body.
"Just hang in there a little longer. Sorry."
It wasn't just Snowy—now I felt it too. Along the right wall, the entire way, were spring palace murals, each different from the last. Every woman depicted wore an expression of sorrow—the one thing they all had in common was the look of despair in their eyes.
The corridor seemed endless. Hugh Thompson and I had been walking for over ten minutes.
"Wait, Ethan!" Hugh Thompson suddenly called out.
Hugh Thompson paused, looking awkward.
"In a moment, you'll have to handle things on your own. I can only watch."
I let out a surprised sound.
"Why?"
"Because what that fruit turned into looks exactly like Rachel Lan."
I made a sound of acknowledgment. As I spoke, I noticed the baleful energy in front of me had broken off at a room on the left. I walked over in surprise; Hugh Thompson didn't follow, just smiled.
"Ethan, you go in and handle it yourself. After all, haha..."
I opened the door to the room. Instantly, I awkwardly lowered my head. The fake Rachel Lan sat in a corner, completely naked. Now I understood why Hugh Thompson wanted me to deal with this alone.
I kept staring at Rachel Lan, who was reclining on a soft couch—one of her eyes was purple.
"What am I supposed to do?"
With a smack, a small cloth pouch was tossed in. I immediately opened it; inside was a somewhat old Taoist robe.
"Howard Lee found it for me. It can wrap around a soul. It's up to you now."
As I spoke, I took the Taoist robe and approached Rachel Lan. Suddenly, she lifted her head and looked at me coldly. The seductive aura she emitted made my body flush with heat.
I swallowed nervously and carefully walked over, holding up the robe, trying to wrap Rachel Lan with it.
Suddenly, Rachel Lan tilted her head, giving me a captivating look. I hesitated, and then she slowly twisted her body, inching closer, her legs wrapping around me.
My heart skipped a beat. It was like my eyes glimpsed something, so I quickly closed them and threw the robe over Rachel Lan. But I missed.
A pair of hands wrapped tightly around me from behind. Two soft, round things pressed against my back. Suddenly, the bed's mosquito net dropped down, and I felt a tremendous force pinning me to the bed.
I almost called for Hugh Thompson to help, but quickly dismissed the idea. I struggled, but couldn't use baleful energy—it might harm Rachel Lan's soul.
A warm hand reached down, and my body felt like a volcano erupting—heat surged through me, and my mind grew restless.
I felt Rachel Lan's head move to my neck, her soft breath brushing against me. Then, her warm tongue slid along beneath my ear.
I raised the Taoist robe again, a voice echoing in my mind. Suddenly, I spun around, and for a moment, I was stunned—Rachel Lan's stunning face radiated charm as she lunged at me.
Suddenly, in Rachel Lan's purple eye, something seemed to flow out—a liquid-like substance trickled from her eye. Instantly, I sensed something was wrong, and baleful energy burst forth.
With a bang, the image of Rachel Lan was flung away from me. I struggled to suppress the heat in my body, my mind filled with the real Rachel Lan's suffering and unconscious form.
I shouted and rushed forward, holding the Taoist robe. Suddenly, the Rachel Lan before me began to melt into a black-purple liquid. Without hesitation, I wrapped it up with the robe—a sizzling sound erupted, and black smoke billowed out.
Once I felt it was fully wrapped, I lifted the robe, now holding the liquid-filled cloth in my hand.
Distracted and flushed, I walked out. Hugh Thompson squatted outside, smoking and watching me, smiling faintly.
"Ethan, fix your pants—your zipper's open."
I let out a sound of surprise, quickly turned around, and fixed myself. It took a while before I calmed down.
After that, Hugh Thompson and I started heading back. Though we wanted to explore the Rakshasa Hall further, we had to return for now, even if we'd have to come back again.
"Ethan, I mentioned earlier—why does the Ghost Rakshasa not return during the seven days of the wedding?"
I made a sound of acknowledgment, still not recovered from everything that just happened. My heart felt heavy and a little downcast.
"There's only one possibility: he can't control all the ghosts during this period, so he hides in the Ghost Domain for now."
I let out another sound of surprise.
"And it's the same every year. After all, he's just a Soul-Stealing Ghost. No matter how strong he is, he can't compare to a Wraith Lord's finger."