"Qingyuan, are you alright?" Rufina Howard asked, but I stared blankly at Rachel Lan. Her eyes were tightly shut. I should have known—losing two of one's three souls is catastrophic. Hadn't I experienced this before?
I briefly explained to everyone: Rachel Lan's two souls had been taken by the thing parasitizing her body. They'd turned into a purple-black liquid and seeped into the ground.
Only later did I learn that Hugh Thompson was the first to find Rufina Howard. After searching together, they decided to come straight to the Wraith Palace—ghosts don't dare approach here at this time of year.
And they happened to witness Justin Huang's outburst.
"People of the Hades Circle, even if they fail their mission, can't truly die. But if we can't recover the other two souls, she'll suffer for a lifetime—endlessly dying and coming back to life, in constant pain."
"Enough." I held Rachel Lan, watching her suffer. Remembering what happened earlier, I hadn't stopped it in time. When the fake Rachel Lan vanished, I should've done something.
"Everyone, come here. Share your intel—we need to find the Rakshasa Tree's location."
Hugh Thompson spoke calmly. Each of us looked grim—except him, who still seemed relaxed.
"What are you doing? She's not dead yet, is she? Why the long faces—what do you want to do?"
Hugh Thompson spoke sternly. Eyes burning with anger turned toward him.
"Think what you want—call me heartless or cruel, I don't care. Hurry up... We're not here to play." Hugh Thompson suddenly raised his voice, and we all gathered around.
"You start, Mason Yu."
Mason Yu glanced at Rachel Lan, then began to speak.
"I've asked around. I heard the Rakshasa Tree only appears during the full moon. But in the Shadow Realm, as far as I know, the moon is always a crescent—never full. That's what some old ghosts who've lived here for ages told me."
Hugh Thompson carefully took notes, then looked at me.
I nodded and told everyone about the little ghost I'd met who'd seen the Rakshasa Tree.
Hugh Thompson fell into deep thought. Justin Huang was still unconscious—he wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
"As for what I know, the Rakshasa Tree reacts to women."
Hugh Thompson had just finished speaking, and we all stared at him in surprise.
"How do you know that?"
I asked immediately. Hugh Thompson just smiled.
"Just a guess."
"Damn it, Hugh Thompson, don't push it."
Mason Yu shouted, and Hugh Thompson just smiled again.
"Here's how it is. Based on all current intel, my conclusion is: the Rakshasa Tree only reacts to certain women—and there are two prerequisites."
As Hugh Thompson spoke, we all listened intently.
"First, she must be chosen by Lord Wraith. You've heard this before, right? Some women are brought here and only then are implanted with Rakshasa Fruit. Once the Rakshasa Fruit is planted, she's Lord Wraith's forever—no escape. Think about it: in the Wailing Maiden's Den, there are so many female ghosts, but not one can get out. They're all ghosts, aren't they?"
We barely understood, except Rufina Howard, who seemed to know something.
"Right. If the female ghosts in the Wailing Maiden's Den keep killing and devouring each other, over time, their immense resentment could give birth to a Blue Wraith. Is that it, Thompson?"
"Smart girl," he replied.
Thompson said, and I remembered—the female ghost my cousin was holding had supposedly been here for 800 years, but she was still just an ordinary white-clad ghost, unchanged. Even when one of the ghosts from the Wailing Maiden's Den possessed me, I was powerless to resist. Maybe it wasn't just one ghost possessing me at the time.
"Ghosts implanted with Rakshasa Fruit by Lord Wraith can't disobey his orders—their very souls are controlled. No matter how much they resent it, they can't end themselves or kill each other. That's exactly what that old pervert likes, isn't it?"
Thompson spoke, pointing at the Wraith Palace behind him.
"Why do you think Lord Wraith isn't around during this season, and why are ghosts forbidden from approaching the Wraith Palace?"
Thompson glanced at Snowy, who sat beside us like a dazed goose. Then she smiled, showing her sharp little canine teeth.
"Why are you all staring at me? Sure, I'm cute, but don't look at me like that—it's embarrassing."
Thompson smiled and walked over. Suddenly, he pulled Snowy's shoulder, exposing her pale, fragrant skin. Snowy yelped, and Rufina Howard rushed over and kicked Thompson right in the butt.
This time, however, Thompson caught Rufina Howard's foot.
"Girl, I just said you were smart—why are you acting foolish now? Take a good look at this girl's shoulder."
We all looked over. Snowy's face turned red, and she quickly pulled her clothes back, glaring at us in embarrassment.
"No number."
I murmured, noticing there was no number on Snowy's shoulder.
"That's right, the number. I've checked not just ordinary ghosts, but also ghost soldiers and ghost generals. This girl confirmed it—everyone has a number, and they're all different. Ordinary people and ghost soldiers have green numbers; ghost generals have purple ones. Let me tell you something else."
Thompson said, pulling an old photo from his pocket. Instantly, I felt sick—a bloody, mangled corpse with its abdomen torn open, guts like mush. The photo was old and yellowed at the edges.
"Damn it, Thompson, why are you so disgusting? Bringing out something like that," Mason Yu complained.
Thompson tossed the photo into the middle of our group, and we passed it around.
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"This is the only crime scene photo from forty years ago. Take a good look—see anything odd? Mason Yu, you should spend more time in the archives."
"What is that?"
Mason Yu suddenly shouted, pointing at the corner of the photo—near the woman's mouth. We looked closely; a smear of purple. The woman with her belly torn open had something purple at the corner of her mouth.
Thompson crouched down, pulled out a notebook and pen, and drew two circles before speaking.
"After wandering here so long, I've concluded: the Rakshasa Tree used by Lord Wraith bears two kinds of fruit—green and purple. Both make ghosts or humans absolutely obedient to him, except maybe Blue Wraiths. Yesterday, before we split up, I checked when Zhang Hao and Mia Lin were hugging—Mia Lin's shoulder had no number. As for other Blue Wraiths, I can't say."
"I get it!" Rufina Howard cried out, delighted.
"The green fruit is for controlling ordinary ghosts—and fierce ghosts, too. The purple fruit is for ghost soldiers and generals. That's why ghost soldiers charge without fear; they've probably already been implanted with some command."
At that moment, I remembered: when Snowy and I were trapped in that octagonal pavilion, those ghost soldiers charged at me without any sign of consciousness, completely unafraid of death.
"Thompson, hurry up—what's the second prerequisite?"
"Heh, Qingyuan said a woman once found the Rakshasa Tree's roots, as big as a mountain. Combine that with what Mason Yu said, and there's one more thing—Yin Choujian once said something, Qingyuan, do you remember?"
I let out a confused sound.
"I heard it from this troublemaker," Thompson said, pointing at Rachel Lan lying on the ground. I looked at him, even more puzzled.
"Yin Choujian said Lord Wraith is petty. Interesting, isn't it? When I came here and observed Lord Wraith's behavior, I discovered something odd. I'll talk about that later. Right now, we have to figure out how to find the thing that stole Rachel Lan's two souls. Qingyuan, you should have a way, right?"
I let out a confused sound.
Thompson looked at me with a strange expression.
"Hey, Glasses Brother, what's with you? You lied to me, you..."
"Don't worry. What you told me, I won't mention to anyone but Zhang Qingyuan. Right, Qingyuan? You were the first to come here. No need to say more about what happened then."
Thompson spoke, and I suddenly looked at Rachel Lan. The memory of arriving here made my face flush; I glared at Thompson, embarrassed, then glanced at Snowy—she clutched her head, looking afraid I'd scold her.
"It was Glasses Brother who said... that... it concerns this sister's life..."
"Qingyuan, what exactly happened?" Mason Yu asked, looking at me seriously, as if he'd realized something.
"Did you do something?"
Suddenly, I remembered—the fake Rachel Lan had stuck her tongue into my mouth, and I instantly went limp, unable to move or struggle. It was the baleful energy; she drained a lot of it from me.
Then I understood: Thompson was right—I could find the thing that stole Rachel Lan's two souls.
"Snowy, help me out."
I walked over to Snowy, holding her shoulder. She let out a surprised sound.
"Brother, how can I help you?"
"Possess me—I have a way to find it."
In my mind, I recalled that when Snowy possessed me, I could clearly see all the movements around me. That's ghost vision—like a black-and-white film. Even the baleful energy leaking from me was perfectly visible.