"Three-step Soul Ritual, bestowed by Sumeru, Golden Seal Bright Prison, Five Prisons aligned... Separation Technique..."
At that critical moment, a voice rang out. Suddenly, I saw a blue talisman fly in front of me, bursting with blue light like a barrier. Instantly, Ironmask and the Ghost Burial Squad member possessed by a ghost were both repelled.
I lost my balance and fell headfirst from the second floor.
My heart skipped a beat. Just as I was about to land headfirst, a strip of white gauze wrapped around my waist with a tremendous force, pulling me through the air.
Then I felt someone embrace me.
"Ethan, are you alright?"
After regaining my footing, my legs went weak. Just moments ago, my eyes were staring at the concrete floor. Now, filled with anger and sorrow, I lifted my head and looked at Ironmask.
"What? Aren't you coming up?"
The one who cast the spell to save me was a member of the Ghost Burial Squad, about thirty years old, with a square face. I'd seen him before—he was from Team 19.
"What? Aren't you coming up?" Then I saw Ironmask extend his hand; a surge of baleful energy flowed out, instantly transforming into a sharp blade, held against the neck of the possessed man.
"You..." I pointed at him.
"Don't be impulsive, Ethan."
At that moment, something seemed to click in my mind—a sudden buzz, and my head felt as if it had opened up.
I steadied myself and stared intently at Ironmask, who was laughing wildly.
"He's being controlled."
Back at the Hardware Building, I found it strange. In the dream, Ironmask was nothing like this—timid, cowardly, even crying. In just a short time, he seemed to have become a different person.
"Is there any way to break the control?"
I asked.
"Members of the Ghost Syndicate usually control ghosts through the Ghost Soul, but this person here is neither human nor ghost—I can't identify his Ghost Soul."
The square-faced man said this, clenching his fist and glaring angrily at Ironmask.
"How exactly is he being controlled?"
I asked again.
"Though the information is scarce, the most crucial step is this: to control a ghost—what they call 'raising a ghost'—one must use their own blood, combine it with special talismans, and feed them to the ghost. Only then can they use rituals to manipulate it."
"Ethan!" Rachel Lan suddenly called out.
I turned to her. She looked at me, and as if we had the same thought, she handed me a small bottle, which I immediately put in my bag.
"If you don't come up now, I'm going to twist his head off."
Without hesitation, I dashed up again. The sound of swishing followed me—two strips of white gauze at my side, each adorned with a Spirit Lure Orb.
Sure enough, as soon as I reached the top of the stairs, baleful energy pierced out from the walls all around, but I managed to dodge it.
"Living and dead, united at the gate; souls and spirits, fearless and light; Azure Spirit Incantation..." The square-faced man behind me threw out two talismans glowing blue. Mist swirled around me, and suddenly I felt as light as a swallow, running even faster.
"Aren't you afraid I'll twist his head off? You..."
"Wind beneath my feet, light as a swallow, blue shoes to speed..." the square-faced man shouted behind me. Instantly, my body was enveloped in blue light, like a raging wind—I felt as light as a swallow.
A hissing sound echoed behind me, and in an instant, black spikes intertwined. I was already in front of Ironmask.
"Get lost!" I shouted, raising a small bottle I'd already opened. Inside was a mixture of blood, corpse oil, and rotten flesh—meant to break the Voidlock Barrier.
I splashed it onto Ironmask.
"Ah..." As soon as the liquid touched him, Ironmask's whole body steamed with white vapor. With a bang, he collapsed to the ground, rolling around. Suddenly, I saw a green glow.
Inside Ironmask's body, I seemed to see a man wearing a bamboo hat, struggling in pain.
"Ah..." With a scream, Ironmask suddenly stood up, clutching his head. His blood-red eyes returned to normal, and he became timid again, crouching on the ground, holding his head.
"Brother, any formation can be forcibly broken. These forty-nine types of blood, plus the forty-nine days' worth of unlucky items collected from people, can break ordinary formations and rituals. This stuff works every time. But to break the formation inside the Ghost Burial Squad, some extra preparations are needed."
A few days ago, that night, I overheard John Chou explaining how to break formations. I was in a hurry to sleep, but before leaving, I caught what he said.
"One general enters the soul, ghosts and spirits scatter—hya!" Suddenly, the square-faced man pressed a blue talisman onto the forehead of the possessed man.
With a shriek, the white-clad female ghost flew out and vanished into the wall.
We didn't pursue her any further.
Suddenly, the Ghost Burial Squad member who had been possessed collapsed stiffly to the ground.
"It's alright. He'll wake up soon."
The square-faced man, panting, looked at Ironmask, who was crouched on the ground holding his head.
"Someone help me, please help me!"
I walked over slowly.
"Ethan."
"It's alright." I glanced back. Two Ghost Burial Squad members lay in a pool of blood behind me. My heart filled with sorrow as I walked over.
"It's alright, it's alright. I'm here to save you."
Suddenly, Ironmask raised his head, his eyes filled with a childlike innocence and a hint of a smile.
"You came to save me, Ethan Zhang, you came to save me..." Ironmask's voice was full of joy.
Then Ironmask, like a child, grabbed my hand, looking delighted. I reached out and touched his iron head.
A chill ran through my fingers—the iron head, I had no idea what it was made of.
"Can you take this thing off?"
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I asked, and then the three of us tried together to remove the iron head, but it wouldn't budge.
"Who are you, really?"
I asked, and Ironmask stared at me blankly, shaking his head.
"Who am I? You tell Ethan Zhang, who am I?"
Ironmask grabbed my hand. Suddenly, he clutched his head in agony and collapsed to the ground.
"What's wrong?"
Before I could finish, Ironmask suddenly stood up. I saw his eye turn blood-red again, and then his body began to swell in lumps, like boils.
With a crash, Ironmask smashed through the balcony and landed below the dormitory building. We rushed over.
The ground was deeply dented. On his body, boils like blisters swelled up, and faintly, faces could be seen within them.
"What's going on? Didn't we already break the connection with the one controlling him?"
"Ethan Zhang..." a venomous voice rang out from Ironmask. Then Ironmask stood up and glared at me viciously.
"You ruined my face, damn it! Just wait, I'll peel your face off!"
"Let's go, Ethan!" Rachel Lan shouted. Instantly, a strip of white gauze dropped from the second floor like a staircase.
"Ah..." Ironmask screamed.
"There's no time!"
Suddenly, Rachel Lan changed the direction of the white gauze, aiming at the opposite dormitory building. With a swish, she released the gauze, and the three of us were wrapped up. The square-faced man carried the unconscious teammate. The gauze contracted fiercely, pulling us straight from the second floor toward the opposite dormitory.
A series of popping sounds erupted as the boils all over Ironmask burst open. Instantly, wails of ghosts echoed, and one after another, red-glowing spirits flew out of Ironmask's body.
We arrived at a place of uncertainty below, where countless ghosts of all kinds were pouring out of Ironmask's body—rotting, faceless, bones exposed.
"There are quite a few fierce ghosts," the square-faced man said. Rachel Lan nodded, and we grabbed the gauze and dropped to the ground, running toward the gate.
The situation took a sudden turn for the worse. Now, we could only gather all our strength to resist this horde of ghosts.
At the gate, Detective Stone looked on in bewilderment. There was no need for words, because behind us, ghosts floated over one after another.
Screams rang out as students panicked. Rachel Lan, upon returning to the Fourfold Beast Array, immediately sat down cross-legged.
"Don't rush out!"
A ghost with exposed bones rushed at the formation. As soon as it approached, it screamed and retreated. The other ghosts stopped, seemingly afraid to come any closer.
“So, it's the Fourfold Beast Array. Impressive, but ultimately, it's just a drop in the ocean.” Ironmask stood among the ghosts. With a wave of his hand, the spirits surged toward the main building.
“Find a way to drag that thing out from below for me.”
Stone's face changed instantly.
More and more ghosts flooded into the main building, while Ironmask, with a sinister smile, walked inside.
“We absolutely can't let them succeed,” Stone said, stepping forward, but Rachel Lan's white veil suddenly wrapped around him, stopping him.
“Rachel, we can't just stand by and watch them release whatever's down there. If that thing gets out, we might all be doomed.”
Everyone looked grim, because we all knew—facing dozens of ghosts with just our small group was nothing but a fool’s dream.
“Brother, it took me a hell of a lot of effort just to talk to you. What's going on?”
Yin Choujian’s voice echoed in my mind, and suddenly, my eyes widened.
“Destroy that array so I can get inside.”
Then I rushed out.
“Qingyuan...”
“Destroy the array.” With that, I strode out, Stone staring at me in stunned silence.
“If gods and buddhas won’t answer, then let’s pray to the ghosts.”