"Tyson Starr, you really tried to let them go while I was away. Isn't that a bit underhanded?"
Gus Sage smiled and walked over.
In that instant, my eyes widened. Tyson Starr stood up, a smile in his eyes.
"As you can see, Ethan Zhang, you've been exposed. So, I can't let you go. Sorry, but I didn't lie to you."
"Fuck you."
I cursed, and Gus Sage watched the cell next to me with a smile.
"Who would've thought there are things even we can't see," Gus Sage said as he opened the cell.
"Damn it, where did you take Sophie? Tell me."
My cousin stood up and spoke with conviction. I saw he had already bared one arm, ready to fight.
"Look under your feet."
Tyson Starr spoke, and I shouted.
"Cousin!"
Black centipedes appeared beneath my cousin. He started screaming as the centipedes bit him without mercy.
With a thud, my cousin collapsed to the ground. A strange cackling sound filled the air, and I saw frost forming on his skin, turning him a bluish-purple from the cold.
"What are you doing, damn—" Before I could finish, Gus Sage grabbed me and yanked me out of the cell.
"Didn't the monk just mention it? Brahma Lock. I don't want to get hurt, so I sealed him up for now. It's nothing serious."
As he spoke, a few ghosts entered, dragged my cousin out of the cell, and hung him up a little farther away.
"For now, he's fine. But you'd better hurry and figure out a way to make that girl show herself, or your cousin might freeze to death."
Tyson Starr spoke, and I screamed in agony. Gus Sage, still holding me, stabbed several bloody holes into my body, then opened the cell where the girl was and threw me inside.
I curled up in pain in front of her, but she didn't move at all, only stared at me coldly.
The pain in my body slowly faded. The wounds Gus Sage had made healed quickly, and a warm current flowed through me.
I got up again and looked at Tyson Starr and Gus Sage outside the cell. Earthfang was still lodged in my chest, preventing me from using my Deathbane Aura.
"Hurry up, Ethan Zhang. Your cousin has at most half an hour left to live."
I crouched in front of the girl.
"Miss, can you see those two bastards behind me?"
"What do you mean by 'see'? And what's a bastard?"
"It means they're incredibly vile, rotten to the core. They deserve a thousand cuts."
Just as I finished speaking, sharp pain stabbed into my back as more bloody holes were gouged out.
"Ethan Zhang, are you insulting me in a roundabout way? Are you looking to die?"
Gus Sage glared at me, his face full of anger.
"Just you wait. You'll regret this soon. You have no idea who this girl really is."
When I mentioned the name Yin Choujian, the girl reacted strongly. I was even more certain—she was a Ghost Sovereign, the last Ghost Sovereign. My only hope rested with her.
Just now, I called out to Yin Choujian in my heart, but there was no response. This inn must be the Ghost Domain of this Ghost Sovereign.
"Is that so, Ethan Zhang? By the way, why did you come to the Soulbound Inn this time? What are you really after?"
Tyson Starr asked, but I just smiled and didn't answer.
"Just you wait. Soon, you'll get what's coming to you."
Gus Sage burst out laughing.
"Gus Sage, what are you and the Ghost Syndicate really plotting? Why not let us in on it?"
Two glowing green lights appeared at the top of the ceiling. Then, one tall and one short Blue Wraith slowly descended.
The tall one looked strong, wearing slip-on shoes, jeans, and a black vest, muscles bulging, about thirty years old with short, cropped hair. The short one looked sickly, in his forties, coughing occasionally, dressed in a light blue short-sleeved shirt and black casual pants, with a small ponytail.
"Qin Li, Ji Hongjun, what are you two doing down here? Hurry up and get ready. We're leaving in a few days, aren't we?"
It was obvious: the tall one was Qin Li, and the short one was Ji Hongjun. I began to study them closely.
"Hmph, Gus Sage, we all know how scheming you are. This cell has been here for a hundred or two hundred years, and it's got nothing. Also, Qin Li and I plan to go to the Eleventh Judge and see if we can find some work there."
I stared in surprise. It was the tall one who spoke—he was actually Ji Hongjun, and the short one was Qin Li.
"Listen, I advise you not to go. The Eleventh Judge is a Ghost Sovereign, unpredictable and dangerous. If something goes wrong and he gets angry, we could all lose our lives."
I covered my mouth and laughed. Thinking about it, it was true—Red Hair was always unpredictable.
"Do whatever you want. We're splitting up anyway. Times are tough—better choose your boss wisely. If you want to shine Lord Wraith's shoes, that's your business. But remember, that guy crossed Yin Choujian. If Yin Choujian wants him dead, you won't escape either. Think it through."
"I don't need your advice. I'm not as spineless as you two. You say I'm here to shine Lord Wraith's shoes? That's insulting. If you go to the Eleventh Judge, you'll just be lackeys. The Blue Wraiths there are all stronger than you. Who's really the shoe-shiner?"
Gus Sage immediately shot back with a sarcastic remark.
"And don't you know? Lord Wraith is the top candidate to become the eighth Ghost Sovereign among the Blue Wraiths. Once he celebrates his thousandth birthday, things will change. If I join Lord Wraith and he becomes a Ghost Sovereign, I'll benefit too. Unlike you, I'll be a founding hero, while you'll just be shoe-shiners."
Qin Li and Ji Hongjun both shook their heads helplessly and sighed. I sighed too, remembering what Yin Choujian had said: Lord Wraith, as a ghost, is petty and vindictive—a real villain who loves making trouble for others. Just thinking about it made me angry, especially since he got Rachel Lan pregnant.
"Enough, Gus Sage. Your choices are your own. Qin Li and I have made up our minds—even if we end up shining shoes, it's better than this. One day, no one will be able to stay in the Soulbound Inn. After all, six Ghost Sovereigns are already sharpening their blades outside."
As the two Blue Wraiths spoke, they began to float away. Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I called out to them.
"Wait!"
Qin Li and Ji Hongjun turned to look at me.
"I'm Ethan Zhang, and I'm friends with the Eleventh Judge. If you two help me, when we get back, I will..."
Suddenly, before I could finish, something tightened around my neck. I couldn't make a sound.
"What's going on? Gus Sage, why did you bring Ethan Zhang here?"
"You two, just go back if you have nothing else to do. As for Ethan Zhang, do you really think I have the power to capture him from Yin Choujian?"
The two Blue Wraiths glanced at me, then left. I glared at Tyson Starr, who just shook his head.
"Damn it, Ethan Zhang, are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Gus Sage glared at me furiously, came over, and stabbed his glowing green claws into my body—pulling them out, then stabbing again.
I couldn't scream, forced to endure the pain in silence.
"So, who's really going to regret this now?"
After my wounds slowly healed, I was finally able to speak again.
"Damn you..."
"Enough, Ethan Zhang. Twenty minutes have passed—there's only ten left. Your cousin really will die."
Tyson Starr said with a smile. I glared at them fiercely.
"Miss, you're a Ghost Sovereign. Don't you remember?"
Just as I finished speaking, Gus Sage burst out laughing behind me.
"Ethan Zhang, are you kidding me? Trying to scare me with talk of a Ghost Sovereign? I've been in this Soulbound Inn for over three hundred years and never seen a Ghost Sovereign. You think there's one here?"
Tyson Starr, meanwhile, looked at me thoughtfully.
"I can let her meet you, but you have to tell me what will happen to my cousin."
"Here, this is the antidote. If we really meet the girl you saw, I'll give it to you."
As Tyson Starr spoke, he took out a small bottle filled with fiery red liquid.
"How do I know it's real?"
Tyson Starr just smiled.
"Hurry up. Only seven minutes left."
I hurriedly told the girl again and again that she was a Ghost Sovereign.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Three minutes left, Ethan Zhang."
Right, Yin Choujian.
"Do you remember Yin Choujian? She stabbed you, don't you remember? They say she killed you, and that's why you are the way you are now. It was her fault. That manipulative, scheming Yin Choujian who always wants to control everything—don't you remember? Think carefully..."
There was a reaction—the girl in front of me definitely reacted. She lifted her head and stared at me blankly.
"Yin... Yin... Yin Choujian..." Her voice trembled. Then I saw the girl's face twist with hatred, growing angrier and angrier until her whole face was contorted.
"Yin Choujian," the girl spat out viciously, then looked at me.
"That's right, Yin Choujian. He hurt you, and Yuna Ji, and that undead demon. Don't you remember?"
"Yin Choujian... where is he?"