Please forgive my harsh words, Ethan. What you see of John Chou is nothing but a faint smile from a vengeful ghost in a hundred years. I only want to warn you.
I was a bit shocked. This wasn’t the first time I’d heard that phrase.
Enough, Qingyuan. Sit down. You're being rude.
Sorry, Quinn Lee." I bowed and sat down.
So, Hugh Thompson, are you planning to go through the Wailing Maiden’s Den and then sneak into Lord Wraith’s territory?
Yes, Quinn Lee. Do you have any advice for us?
That place is strange—you should go around, northwest. It might bring you closer to the Underworld Court, but it's less risky.
"What about the time?" Hugh Thompson pressed.
"It might take half a month."
What? Half a month? That's not enough time! Quinn Lee, why not help us—bring your people and fight with us. I heard you and Lord Wraith have a history.
Howard Zhang’s sudden suggestion drew everyone’s attention, and Quinn Lee’s face grew somber.
Howard Zhang, sit down.
Hugh Thompson shot Howard Zhang a glare. He just smiled and sat down.
How about this, Quinn Lee—send some people to help us. I’ll pay you. How about it?
"Young man, this isn’t about money. These are troubled times—I don’t want to stir up trouble. Things are already far from peaceful."
Then the female Blue Wraith led out Wendy Lee, now dressed in elegant clothes. She looked angry, and after sitting down, glared furiously at Quinn Lee.
"My daughter has been missing for decades—who would’ve thought she was at Trickster Ridge? I must’ve been blind all these years."
We all had the same question about Quinn Lee and Wendy Lee—why was one a Blue Wraith and the other just a Yellow Ghost?
"Here’s how it happened. When my daughter died, I was still alive. After I passed, it took me years to find her. We were reunited here in the Ghostrealm, but since she’s only a Yellow Ghost, finding her was incredibly difficult. Thank you all for bringing her back."
"Quinn Lee, I am not your daughter. I wasn’t before, and I’m not now. Listen carefully—I’m Wendy Wood, not a Lee."
Wendy Lee spat the words out, glaring viciously at her father.
"Hey, what’s wrong between you two, anyway?" My cousin spoke up again. This time, I couldn’t hold back and snapped at him.
"Can’t you just be quiet for a moment, cousin?"
"Wanqing, are you still blaming your father for what happened to your mother?"
"Don’t mention my mother. You’re not my father. My mother’s long dead, and now I’m free. All I want is a quiet life at Trickster Ridge, nothing more. Lord Lee, please, just let me go."
With a bang, Quinn Lee slammed his hand on the table, his face twisted in rage. He stood up and strode over to Wendy Lee.
"Enough, both of you!" My cousin suddenly stood up and walked toward the father and daughter.
I was about to stop him when Hugh Thompson shot me a look. I nodded and said nothing.
"Girl, at least you have a father—cherish that. Someday, you might realize how foolish you’ve been. You’ve both died once already. Shouldn’t you understand more than the living?"
I was stunned, eyes wide as I stared at my cousin. In my memory, Uncle and Aunt worried themselves sick over him, but he never learned his lesson. He was their only son.
But looking at my cousin again, he seemed a little troubled. I smiled.
For a moment, the father and daughter both fell into deep thought. My cousin spoke slowly.
"Maybe it’ll take some time, but you have plenty of it, don’t you? Lord Lee, Miss Wendy Lee, let go of all that old baggage. Spend some time together as father and daughter—it’ll get better. Lord Lee, your daughter’s hundreds of years old now. She’s not a child anymore, so don’t just lash out at her."
After my cousin finished, he laughed. Wendy Lee looked up at him, surprised and impressed.
"I... I didn’t expect you to be such a decent person."
After eating some of the food we’d brought, we prepared to leave Circle City. Quinn Lee had arranged an off-road vehicle for us—spacious enough for Huang Jun to crouch in the back, and the rest of us squeezed into the front.
"Young Zhang, I really don’t know how to thank you all, after all..."
"No need, Lord Lee. Giving us a car is more than enough. We’re in a hurry, so we’ll be going now."
"Be careful—the Graveyard Desert is somewhere even I’ve never set foot in. It’s extremely complicated in there. Even with a map, don’t let your guard down."
Hugh Thompson smiled. After I squeezed into the car, we headed north—toward the Graveyard Desert.
Though it was called a desert, after driving for a while, the surroundings grew brighter. Unlike deserts in the living world, the ground here was hard, and every so often we saw plants that looked like dead, weeping branches.
"You okay?" I turned to look at Huang Jun. He was sitting sideways in the back, his neck and hands twisted together, forcing a stiff smile.
"I’m fine."
But I couldn’t stand to watch, so I asked Hugh Thompson to stop the car and opened the back. Huang Jun could finally stretch his limbs a bit.
The car kept moving. Huangfu Ruofei was drooling in his sleep, and the others had also dozed off. Watching Hugh Thompson still driving, I felt a bit sorry for him.
"Thompson, let me drive for a while. You haven’t slept in ages, have you?"
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"Qingyuan, get some sleep. It’s fine—when I get tired, I’ll wake you all up."
Even though the back door was open and the ride was bumpy and noisy, I was tired. After closing my eyes for a bit, I quickly fell asleep.
With a screech, the car stopped. I woke with a start. Outside, the sky was still gloomy, but it was daytime now, and the light was brighter.
"What’s going on? I was sleeping so well." My cousin yawned and muttered.
"Rocks?" I stared ahead in confusion. There was a huge pile of rocks—countless, all round and black, looking almost identical in size and shape.
We all got out of the car. Checking the time, it was already 4 p.m. Hugh Thompson looked exhausted as he stared at the rocks ahead.
"What are these things?" My cousin approached one of the round black rocks—it was as tall as a person’s belly, lined up in front of us, blocking the way.
Hugh Thompson held the map, studying the scene carefully.
"Did we take a wrong turn?"
Mao Xiaoyu squeezed over and glanced at the map.
"Can you even read it?"
Mao Xiaoyu chuckled. Fang Datong walked over to my cousin, crouching down to inspect the rocks.
"These things... don’t seem to be rocks. The material’s different."
My cousin kicked at one. It made a sharp, crisp sound—definitely not like stone. It was more like striking glass.
"What do we do now?"
With no other options, we all got back in the car. I took the wheel, steering around the pile of rocks to the left.
"Don’t get any ideas, or else..."
"Enough, girl. I’m not interested in your undeveloped body."
Huangfu Ruofei sat by the passenger window, with Hugh Thompson beside her. As soon as he spoke, Huangfu Ruofei looked up.
"Enough, girl. Stop the car, Qingyuan."
Hugh Thompson spoke, and I stopped the car.
Ahead, the rocks were gone, but strong winds whipped up sand everywhere, making it impossible to see.
"We can’t go there. There’s a black X on the map—it’s probably not a good place."
"So what do we do?" Mao Xiaoyu asked.
"Qingyuan, drive back. On the set route, we’ll have to move the rocks—drive and clear them as we go."
I let out a sound of disbelief, but right now, that was the only option.
We drove back a bit, then everyone got out and started moving rocks. They were heavy—four people could barely lift one.
"Step aside, let me do it." Huang Jun said, and we hurriedly moved out of the way.
Huang Jun walked up to a black stone, wrapped his arms around it, and with a grunt, his muscles bulged and veins popped. With a loud yell, he hurled the stone far into the distance.
With a thunderous crash, the stone landed on the ground. He looked completely at ease.
Huang Jun kept tossing stones into the distance while we snacked—those rocks were just too heavy for us. Unlike Huang Jun, we couldn’t budge them.
Soon, Huang Jun had cleared a passage more than ten meters long for the car.
"Huang Jun, come eat something first."