I held the iron box in my arms, wrapped tightly in red silk, moving swiftly as gray things kept attacking me. The pounding noises echoed, and masses of gray objects pressed down toward me.
Whenever they hit the ground, deep craters instantly appeared.
"Ethan Zhang..." a mocking, eerie voice came from above. With a thunderous crash, the surrounding houses and skyscrapers collapsed, the ground split open, and a horde of gray things nearly blocked my way forward.
The two strands of red silk—one ahead seemed to be scouting the path, while the one wrapped around me skillfully dodged attacks from the gray objects.
I kept glancing back, worried about Old Moe's situation, especially recalling the strange tone in his voice when we parted. Even though he said he couldn't die, something felt off.
"Trying to escape? It's not that easy. Return what belongs to me." Another mocking voice echoed. I saw Mona Ouyang ahead, identical to Vivian Ouyang, but her face was expressionless. She raised both hands in front of me.
Wailing sounds rose again and again as the gray things transformed into monsters with gaping jaws and claws. I stared wide-eyed at the red silk wrapped around me, watching it deftly dodge the monsters' fangs and claws time after time.
Suddenly, the red silk began to rise, and a swarm of monsters chased after us from below.
"Where do you think you're going, Ethan Zhang?" Mona Ouyang appeared above me, holding a long blue needle. As the red silk moved past, she gave a wicked smile and hurled the needle at me. Suddenly, the white silk in the air shifted its path, and the blue needle grazed past me—I felt a powerful gust nearly tear my cheek open.
"Martin Lane, are you looking for death?"
Suddenly, I saw Old Moe behind Mona Ouyang, barely alive inside a mass of purple energy.
"Old Moe...!" I shouted loudly.
"Son-in-law, don't worry about me. I can't die. Just close your eyes—this one's power can't catch up to my Silk Weaving Arts."
Just as Old Moe said, the red silk floated through the air with grace and agility, never letting those gray things touch it at all as it darted and shifted positions.
Our destination was a place in the sky, glowing with light.
"Ethan Zhang, hand over the item, or I'll kill this man," Mona Ouyang threatened.
Suddenly, I hesitated, loosening my grip on the box.
"Don't let go, Qingyuan...!" Old Moe shouted again. I looked over and saw him inside that purple mass, suffering some inhuman torment, in great pain.
"Old Moe...!" I called out again, my grip on the box loosening. I couldn't just watch Old Moe, who was helping me, be devoured by Mona Ouyang in this dream.
"Qingyuan, are you really going to let everything fail at the last moment? Think carefully—about the Ritual Parchment and the people whose names are on it."
In an instant, I remembered—the entire page was filled with signatures, each with a unique personality. It was Vivian Ouyang's friends' signature book, a whole page of names.
The red silk had almost carried me to the glowing place, while Old Moe's expression shifted from pain to struggle.
"Old Moe, I still can't do it—I can't. You're Rachel Lan's father, I just can't do it."
I shouted loudly, holding the box high.
"You brat, Ethan Zhang, don't give in to this dead freak! If he regains his power, everyone on that page will be dragged into a nightmare. Do you really want to watch that girl kill her own friends with her own hands? Ethan Zhang, no matter what happens..."
I stared blankly at Old Moe, who had been tortured beyond recognition. Then he forced a faint smile.
"No matter... what happens, this is something worth a man staking everything on, right...?"
"Old Moe...!" I shouted, hugging the box tightly and turning my head away, my figure plunging into the light.
"Old Moe, Old Moe...!"
I cried out, pounding the ground again and again. The box in my hands slipped and fell to the floor.
"Brother, what's there to cry about? It's not like you're dead. Get up! You did great this time."
It was John Chou. I looked up, and he smiled, reaching out a hand to me. I was back at the apartment building, staring at him in disbelief as tears kept streaming down my face.
Then John Chou picked up the box, grinning happily.
"Thanks for your hard work, brother. Now that dead freak will have to eat his words."
Gradually, I lost consciousness. After a bout of dizziness, I woke up—it was morning. Rachel Lan was beside me, looking at me with deep concern.
My cheeks felt wet. I quickly wiped away the tears, and when I saw Rachel Lan's worried eyes, I suddenly hugged her and burst into tears.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry..."
Rachel Lan kept comforting me without saying much. After a while, I calmed down, hurriedly sat back, and saw Rachel Lan's cheeks flush as she turned her head aside.
"What are you two doing?" Vivian Ouyang suddenly burst in, glaring at me fiercely, but quickly hid her expression and walked over to Rachel Lan, whispering something.
"Qingyuan, come down and eat, it's already eleven. No matter what happened, I hope you'll tell me when you have time." With that, Rachel Lan pulled Vivian Ouyang out of the room.
I stood there in a daze for a long time before finally going downstairs. After eating, we left the urban village. Rachel Lan drove me home first, then took Vivian Ouyang back to her team, and asked Hu Tianshuo and the others to look into Li Susu's case.
Around two in the afternoon, I returned to the apartment building, dragging my exhausted body into the courtyard. As soon as I entered, I heard a commotion.
"Just wait till I beat you! Stop right there!" It was Rose Harper, chasing Evan Zhao among the cherry trees.
"Did I say anything wrong? Your makeup looks the same with or without it—ugly as hell."
Already exhausted in mind and body, I was first surprised when I saw Rose Harper's face, then I burst out laughing. She'd slathered on a thick layer of powder with something else smeared on top, making her face a big mess. Some other ghosts were gathered around, watching something.
I put away my smile and sighed, walking over without any interest in this noisy daily life. I just wanted to go back and get some sleep.
"What are you looking at? What's so interesting about the dead? Move along..." Wayne Harris said, shooing the other ghosts away. Suddenly, my eyes widened—Old Moe was lying there, stiff as a board.
I rushed over in a panic as John Chou stepped out of the little pavilion.
"Why is Old Moe here?"
"It was John Chou who asked him to help you, Qingyuan." Out of nowhere, Yuna Ji took off her headphones and said.
"Shut up, you bitch!" John Chou turned his head and roared.
"You..." I pointed at John Chou, but he just smiled slightly.
"Hey, brother, like I said in the dream—it's not like he's dead. That dead freak just trapped him in the dream, that's all. As long as his body is fine, you can go rescue him later."
I responded with a simple 'oh,' staring at Old Moe, who lay motionless.
"Don't worry, Qingyuan. I'll keep an eye on him for you. Find a room and put him inside."
"Thank you, Mr. Wayne." I quickly thanked him, and Wayne Harris smiled, shaking his head.
After that, I moved Old Moe's body to the second floor. Then I called Yuna Ji and John Chou, and we went down to the underground black lake, to the big stone in the center.
"Do you know what the Twelve Buddha Dream Relics are?"
Before, I didn't really understand what Old Moe was talking about, but thinking about it now, I realize these are things I need to know.
John Chou smiled slightly, just about to speak when I interrupted him.
"If you know something, just tell me. Don't say I'll find out later. Don't try to fool me."
"If you get the chance, brother, ask Lord Shen Yan. He knows best. I only know that the Twelve Buddha Dream Relics hold something powerful. I once met two monks who had received dreams from the Buddha, and they were formidable. Back then, I was called the Ghost Sovereign by spirits. Also, that wretched Yuna Ji knows more about this than I do."
Yin Chou spoke as he glanced at Yuna Ji.
"You know about this?"
"Hey, Ethan, let's not get into it. Back then, I burned through my strength fast, just to help Master Mingde and his disciple get locked up in Putian Temple. Even though I lost a lot of power, I was still a hundred times stronger than I am now. In the end, that old monk unleashed the Buddha's Manifestation, and I couldn't withstand it—I got captured. He was badly injured too, though. Once Mingde succeeded as abbot, the old monk passed away."
"Brother, you've been to Putian Temple, right? You must've met Elder Mingde?"
I nodded.
"That old monk is one of the most powerful people left in the realm of the living. He’s the last person to receive the Buddha Dream Relic. The other eleven monks have all passed away."
I responded with a simple "Oh." Indeed, the abbot of Putian Temple, Master Jianyun’s teacher, Elder Mingde, was a high monk and truly formidable.
"As for the remaining eleven Buddha Dream Relics, they're probably kept by certain people in some form. Putian Temple may lead the Brahma Order, but it's just the strongest among them. It can't possibly hold all of the Buddha Dream Relics."
"Enough. I'm tired. Asking or not asking makes no difference."
I said, walking off on my own, while laughter from the two echoed behind me.
But my mind was filled with Uncle Mo’s last words to me.
"Brother, let me give you some advice: in a few days, you should stay outside, or go to a temple for three days. Don’t go home."
"Why?" I turned my head and asked.
"A malignant star is descending, brother. Ghosts will show their true faces. Be careful—especially of those people who are even more wicked than ghosts."