I woke up. Everything around me was purple. I had no idea where I was, my whole body weak and powerless, unable to do anything. Purple walls enclosed me on all sides, sticky and suffocating.
My hands and feet were bound by purple sludge, unable to move. Recalling everything I’d just seen, a wave of sorrow welled up in my heart.
I had to find a way out and warn everyone about what I'd witnessed. Mia Lin might be able to help us; after all, I’d begun to sense that Lord Wraith was no longer David Du. Mia Lin probably wants to use us to wake David Du up.
Back then, the two of them parted ways because of circumstances beyond their control. I don’t want to stand by and watch such a tragedy repeat itself. It’s already been a thousand years.
Suddenly, the purple sludge in front of me burst open with a bang.
"Heh, found her—Miss Lan, it’s my cousin."
My cousin’s voice came from within.
I stared in shock as my cousin suddenly reached in, holding a stack of Spirit Charms inscribed with the word 'Flame.' As he tossed the charms inside, there was a thunderous burst of fire, and all the sticky purple stuff instantly vanished. A strip of white gauze snaked in, pulling me out.
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I was still in the Wraithhold Pit, but Lord Wraith was nowhere to be found.
"Qingyuan, are you alright?" Rachel Lan supported me, looking at me with concern. She seemed much better than before.
My cousin glanced around, smiling broadly.
"Cousin, have something to eat first. You must be starving."
I nodded. The three of us sat in the Wraithhold Pit and began to eat.
"Where is everyone else?"
As soon as I asked, Rachel Lan and my cousin’s faces turned serious.
"Did Lord Wraith leave?"
No sooner had I asked than my cousin sighed. Rachel Lan shot him a glare.
Only then did I learn that Lord Wraith had left early, clashing with Mia Lin in the city. Rufina Howard had become separated from the others, and everyone else had been captured.
"What about Mia Lin?"
"It’s all my fault, cousin… sigh. That woman—she seems to have been killed by Lord Wraith…"
I gasped, staring blankly at my cousin. He looked heartbroken; as he spoke, tears fell from his eyes. I was stunned—I’d never seen him so devastated before.
"Miss Lin sacrificed herself to save the two of us… so…"
"Why?"
I looked at Rachel Lan in shock. She shook her head.
Only later did I learn that Hugh Thompson had told everyone about the discovery of the Rakshasa Tree. After escaping danger, Rachel Lan and my cousin came here. Luckily, when Snowy went up, she left a mark. Seeing the mark, Rachel Lan used Divination Arts to dig through the earth, and that’s how they found me.
Then I told them everything I’d seen in my dream. As my cousin listened, he started crying again, looking even more remorseful.
After I finished, and after a long silence, my cousin stood up and managed a smile.
"How petty of me… as a man—David Du, heh."
I gasped, looking at my cousin. Suddenly, something clicked in my mind.
"David Du—right, cousin. If we can find David Du in here, maybe there’s still hope."
The Lord Wraith now is nothing like the David Du of the past. He was even able to attack his beloved Mia Lin. There must be some reason for this. I instinctively felt that Lord Wraith had become a twisted old fiend, not a trace of David Du left in him.
"Where would we even look? Cousin, if what you’re saying is true, David Du must have merged with the Wishing Tree. His soul might already be gone."
My cousin said this, and Rachel Lan shook her head.
"So long as a person’s resentment and longing persist, he won’t disappear. Qingyuan, you said David Du died under the tree, right? Let’s go to the bottom and check."
With that, the three of us left the Wraithhold Pit. Rachel Lan released three Spirit Shrouds to wrap around each of us, and my cousin handed me and Rachel Lan several Spirit Charms inscribed with 'Flame.'
"By the way, cousin, what just happened back there?"
I remembered the purple sludge—it vanished as soon as the Spirit Charm was used.
"Heh, didn’t know that, did you? It was Hugh Thompson who figured out Lord Wraith’s weakness—fire. Now I finally understand why Mia Lin lost to Lord Wraith."
My cousin’s eyes dimmed as he spoke, as if recalling something painful.
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