The wind howled as Jerry Li moved next to Thousand Hands. With a sharp snap, I saw a pair of crimson handcuffs—Crimson Spectral Shackles—clamp down on Thousand Hands' wrists. He gave a puzzled smile and said:
"Is this really necessary?"
Jerry Li smiled faintly as he spoke.
"During your stay here, I'll be watching you. If you try anything suspicious, don't blame us for what happens next."
Jerry Li glanced at Xu Fu. Xu Fu obediently lowered his raised hands, reaching toward Jerry Li. Another pair of crimson handcuffs appeared in Xu Fu's hands. Soon, the Crimson Spectral Shackles faded and vanished from sight.
"Seriously? We agreed we were just here to help. Between us, this isn't what we discussed at all!"
I watched Xu Fu quietly, still using my powers to probe his body. Xu Fu looked over at me and smiled.
"No need to check, Earthly Soul. I'm the real deal, and so is Thousand Hands. We're not using substitutes this time. I've already explained why we're here—it's just to repay Ethan Zhang for giving us the Blood Jade. No matter how ruthless we are, if someone is willing to make a deal, we always keep our word. You get what you pay for."
But at that moment, I sensed Isabelle Frost's emotions becoming unstable. A chill radiated from her skin, and all of us felt it—a curse energy slowly seeping into our bodies. Isabelle Frost hadn't moved at all, but this force was her murderous intent, infiltrating us.
"Miss Frost, you should rein in that man-eating look. If you kill us here, things will spiral out of control."
With a sudden whoosh, Isabelle Frost vanished from in front of John Chou, only to reappear with one hand pressed against Xu Fu's head. But John Chou gripped her other hand tightly.
"What a disobedient little sister!"
John Chou spoke languidly. Isabelle Frost's eyes began to redden, and the surrounding Green Wraiths' blood pulsed and swelled.
"John Chou, it's only a matter of time anyway. Why not just finish them off here and now? That way we won't have to fight again later. We have eight on our side, they only have two—no matter how you look at it, it's our win."
At some point, Dean Ding had slipped out. I stared coldly at Xu Fu, murderous intent boiling off me. I agreed with Dean Ding; Rachel Lan's situation could wait. As long as we could take down Xu Fu now, we'd gain a huge advantage. Even if our methods weren't honorable, only the victor gets to move forward.
Thinking back on everything the Immortality Society has done, not a single thing was honorable—especially on the shadowy side of the world. Xu Fu used Ethan Zhang to achieve his own goals and even allied with the Corpse Realm. If we don't get rid of him now, when will we?
"We feel the same way, John Chou. There's no need to reason with these guys anymore."
As Jerry Li spoke, a faint green glow emanated from his body. Xu Fu and Thousand Hands glanced around, their expressions growing grim.
"John Chou, this is our only chance. If we miss it, Rachel Lan will really die. Or do you intend..."
Just then, a blood-red vortex appeared not far from us. I heard the roar of an engine—a taxi jumped out, screeching to a halt.
"Just as you predicted, John Chou. Let's all calm down a bit. If a fight breaks out here, it won't end well. We're all adults—let's not be so hot-headed."
I stared in surprise as two figures stepped out of the taxi—Redmond and Yuna Ji. Ray Lin smiled and waved at me, and I nodded back.
"Yvette, there's no need to get angry."
Yuna Ji walked straight to Isabelle Frost and grabbed her other hand.
"Can everyone just stop for a moment? No fighting."
I noticed another person in the car—Rufina Howard. Blood-red veins curled around the car door, and a glow of blood slowly rose from the ground. Luantian Xuekui appeared, her gaze icy as she stood beside Rufina Howard.
"Are you all out of your minds? John Chou, even I know the Immortality Society can't be trusted. If they do something behind our backs and we don't catch it, what then..."
John Chou glared at Dean Ding, who covered his mouth and said no more.
"I think we should all sit down and talk things through. If negotiations fail, then we can fight."
Ray Lin leaned against the hood of the car, smiling as he spoke.
At that moment, Rufina Howard walked toward Xu Fu and the others, but Redmond grabbed her by the collar.
"What are you doing, kid?"
Rufina Howard shook her head, her eyes troubled, then moved to stand beside Isabelle Frost.
"Sister Frost, can you please not fight? Rachel Lan is really in danger. If we don't do something soon, she'll disappear."
Isabelle Frost turned her head slightly. Yuna Ji patted her on the back.
"Yvette, think carefully about what Ethan Zhang really did. Or are you planning to abandon his wife? We're here to repay Ethan Zhang's favor. The others wanted to come too, but they're all stubborn, so only Redmond and I showed up."
"Ethan Zhang is already gone. I don't want to see..."
As Rufina Howard spoke, Isabelle Frost let the power drain from her body, and the atmosphere eased.
"Alright."
Isabelle Frost lowered her head, glanced once more at John Chou, then turned and walked away.
After a short while, our group arrived at a small pavilion in the center of the lake. The pavilion began to expand, growing larger and larger until it resembled a grand hall, occupying a vast area over the water. We all sat down.
"Speak, Xu Fu. If you dare lie, don't expect any mercy from me."
Isabelle Frost spoke coldly. Xu Fu smiled and nodded. At that moment, Thousand Hands stood up, moved to the center, and bowed to everyone around.
"No one understands people better than we do. Our techniques for deconstructing humans may not match those of the Dark Banquet, but in some aspects, we surpass them. Because of Rachel Lan's situation, we've conducted extensive human experiments over three hundred years ago."
I sneered as many around us looked on with scorn and contempt. Thousand Hands continued speaking.
"Rachel Lan's current condition is like clay without a skeleton—when the water in the clay dries up, her body will stiffen and eventually turn to dust and vanish. All the methods John Chou tried with Rachel Lan on this isle have failed."
We all looked at John Chou. I understood now—he wanted Rachel Lan and her remains to keep fighting endlessly, hoping to trigger the instinct for coexistence that Ethan Zhang left behind, to merge himself and the remains into one. But no matter what, it was impossible.
"That's why we've brought something that can help Rachel Lan."
As Thousand Hands spoke, he extended a hand. Vivid green spectral veins spread across the ground. My eyes widened as a coffin slowly emerged from beneath the earth. The coffin was pitch black—I couldn't tell what material it was made of, but a deep sword mark ran across its middle.
"What's inside?"
Redmond asked, while Rufina Howard kept holding his hand, her face pale. Luantian Xuekui stood behind, gently patting her back.
John Chou's expression darkened. Yuna Ji glanced at him, seemed to guess the truth, and snorted coldly.
"You really are thoughtful."
"Inside is the corpse of Zhiqing Zhang."
In an instant, all the Ghost Lords and Green Wraiths around widened their eyes. Isabelle Frost pressed her hand against the table, crushing a corner with a snap.
Thousand Hands smiled faintly as he spoke.
"According to the records, this is the corpse of the strongest person we've ever seen in the Living World. Long ago, we noticed something special about Zhiqing Zhang. Let me put it this way—he was the only human to truly reach the pinnacle of humanity. Unfortunately, he was still just a man, and refused all demonic and heretical powers. So, as he aged, his body inevitably declined and died, his power faded. But precisely because of this, he reached the extreme of human potential, even surpassing it. We preserved his body in hopes of using it as a vessel for the Ghost Ancestor, but the experiment failed, costing us over a thousand lives."
I stared wide-eyed, carefully inspecting the black coffin. Thousand Hands continued his explanation.
"If there is any way to save Rachel Lan, it can only be by relying on this body that reached the pinnacle of humanity—because Rachel Lan is human too."
"Huh? Zhiqing Zhang—isn't he the guy who used to drink at our Blood Fiend Hall all the time? That was ages ago. It's a shame he's dead, or I'd have liked to spar with him!"
Dean Ding said, and Jerry Li smiled beside him.
"Indeed, he was a special person among humans. Let's not dwell on the past—talking about this only stirs anger. After all, it was you who ended Zhiqing Zhang's life with your own hands."
At this, Xu Fu stood up and started laughing.
"It was indeed us. But there's something I need to clarify here. John Chou, back then Zhiqing Zhang pretended to be injured, but after arriving at our Immortality Society, he revealed his true colors. Do you know why, when you attacked, we were missing seven people?"
John Chou's face tightened. Xu Fu looked at the coffin and continued.
"He fought all thirteen of us alone. In the end, seven of us were gravely wounded, and the rest fared little better. That's why you found us later—we lost everything overnight. Ha, if that guy were still alive, there wouldn't be an Immortality Society left. He was truly a ferocious one."