A dozen eyes stared at me, especially Cao Wanzhi, whose face brimmed with hope. He looked at me with gratitude, and I gave him a small smile and nodded.
Applause broke out. I glanced at Black Moon—his crescent-moon eyes trembled up and down, and his face was already lit with a wide grin.
“Ha! All for a woman, huh? Not bad, not bad. For a woman, BOSS, you really are something special. That’s just what fits your role, BOSS.”
Zhou Fulai shot me a glare.
“Sigh, whatever, I’ll just go with you. Sooner or later, I’d end up here anyway. Lady Meng, you’d better give me the green light when the time comes.”
Lady Meng glared at Zhou Fulai. I clenched my fist; inside me, a flame of hope was already roaring. The things I didn’t know about this world—the dealings between humans and ghosts—were far beyond my imagination. I had to reach Ethereal Isle.
“Hurry up, Lady Meng. We’re running out of time.”
Deathcurse barked in a rough voice.
“A bunch of fools with no sense of danger. Suit yourselves. Follow me.”
Before us stretched a sea of Red Spider Lilies—endless waves of crimson rolling beneath the sinking sun. There was no boundary, only the dying light far away. We stood behind Lady Meng’s dwelling as she slowly raised her hand, pointing toward the distant, blood-red blossoms.
“Go and pick them. 9,999 Red Spider Lily stems, all exactly the same thickness and length, plus 9,999 petals of the same size, and 9,999 leaves. Not a single one less.”
I swallowed hard, and the others all looked stunned as well.
“Lady Meng, isn’t this a bit much? That’s a crazy amount. And what exactly are we making?”
Lady Meng laughed, glancing at Victor Duan, who looked utterly helpless.
“To build a large boat—a vessel that will let you sail to the other shore. Is anyone among you a craftsman?”
Lady Meng asked.
“I suppose I qualify.”
Ghost Painting Book Immortal spoke up.
“Then let me ask you: if a boat is built unevenly from the start, can it really float? Or are you planning to swim across the River of Forgetfulness?”
We fell silent. One by one, we rose, our ghostly forms gliding above the endless sea of Red Spider Lilies.
“Don’t worry. These Red Spider Lilies never end—they’re infinite. Just gather the materials I mentioned, build your own boat, and you can sail to Ethereal Isle on a vessel made of Red Spider Lilies.”
Lady Meng retreated into her dwelling. A gust of ghost souls surged out from within me, swirling into the crimson air.
“I’m counting on all of you.”
“This is such a pain, Qingyuan. How are we supposed to find ones that are exactly the same?”
“Little sister, with all these Blue Wraiths around, we’ll figure something out.”
Ray Lin smiled as he floated over. In an instant, his spectral threads shot out in all directions, and at the ends of those threads, ghost souls kept appearing—more and more of them.
“I have about 4,000 ghost souls. I can split them off to fight, but for picking flowers, I can send out 5,000.”
In a heartbeat, the sky teemed with ghostly doubles of Ray Lin—hundreds upon hundreds drifting above the Red Spider Lilies, all searching in eerie silence.
“Impressive, Brother Ray Lin. I can only manage 900.”
Victor Duan said, and started doing the same. Isabelle Frost slowly floated into the air.
“The strongest on our side is probably Miss Yi.”
Ghost Painting Book Immortal remarked. We watched as Isabelle Frost slowly lifted her hand—the Red Spider Lilies beneath her feet stretched upward, then, one by one, morphed into her spectral image.
“Impressive, Little Yi. You must have around thirty thousand ghost souls, huh?”
Ghost Painting Book Immortal said. I swallowed hard, my Seven Ghost Souls suddenly feeling small and useless. None of them wanted to help, and after witnessing this display, they slipped back into my body without a second thought.
“It’s fewer, but I can still manage about a hundred ghost souls.”
Cao Wanzhi said, splitting off his ghost souls. The Wraith Enforcer drifted away.
“Ghost Soul technique isn’t really my thing. Good luck, everyone.”
Deathcurse and Zhou Fulai also withdrew. I had no choice but to fall back and wait for them to bring back the Red Spider Lily stems, petals, and leaves—but I didn’t see any leaves.
“Book Immortal, shouldn’t you help out too? You’ve got plenty of ghost souls yourself.”
Black Moon asked, and Ghost Painting Book Immortal floated upward as well.
“Splitting ghost souls isn’t hard. I can probably create about fifty thousand—should be enough to finish quickly.”
Ghost Painting Book Immortal spoke. I watched as a flurry of spectral pages whirled through the air, each one twisting and morphing into his ghostly image. Soon, the Red Spider Lily field was swarming with figures, all feverishly gathering petals and stems. In mere minutes, heaps of petals and stalks piled up beside Lady Meng’s dwelling—yet not a single leaf could be found.
“It’s said that the Red Spider Lily only grows leaves after its flowers have bloomed and faded. That’s why the flower and its leaves never meet.”
I let out a small 'oh,' finally understanding what it meant for the flower and leaves never to meet.
Sure enough, the picked Red Spider Lilies began to sprout green leaves—long and dark brown.
“Don’t rush to pick the flowers or stems. Gather the leaves first—they’ll wither quickly. Then search for the flowers.”
Isabelle Frost called out, and the ghost souls immediately started collecting leaves. We watched in silence, but I had questions for Lady Meng. Quietly, I slipped away to find her.
“BOSS, take care! We won’t eavesdrop.”
“If you know, don’t say it out loud, Black Moon.”
I muttered, and his crescent-moon eyes narrowed to slits, as if he were smiling.
I returned to Lady Meng’s house. She stood beneath the Sixfold Tree, and as I entered, she looked at me, as if she’d been waiting.
I said nothing, just quietly walked over and sat on the wooden bench beneath the tree.
"Lady Meng, I hope..."
"The sorrow in your heart cannot be dispelled. It’s even etched into your tear ducts—such helplessness."
Lady Meng spoke, her wrinkled hand gently rubbing the red marks on my cheek.
"A heart’s knot is just that—a knot. Yours was tied by two women, and both have left you behind."
I nodded and let out a soft sound. Wu Xiaoli and Rachel Lan—I have to bring them back.
As for Wu Xiaoli, I have to face her myself. Zhang Qingyuan’s Earth Soul may have already reconciled with her, but I am me. Everything between us is just buried for now, surfacing every so often.
But Rachel Lan is my true love. She’s been utterly destroyed. Even if it’s only once, I want to see her again, hear her voice. Every memory of her is carved into my mind, but lately, I can barely recall her. Rachel’s voice was beautiful, but what did it really sound like? I can’t imagine it anymore—it’s been far too long since I last heard it.
"You want to ask me where they are, don’t you?"
I nodded, meeting Lady Meng’s gaze. She held the keys to reincarnation—she must know everyone’s fate. As much as I feared the truth, it was better than drowning in false hope.
"Both of them no longer exist anywhere in this world. Not in the realm of the living, nor in the world of the dead—they’re nowhere."
"What about Ethereal Isle?"
I asked. Lady Meng shook her head.
"That I do not know, so I cannot answer you. Qingyuan, only by reaching Ethereal Isle can you learn the truth. But..."
"Lady Meng, please tell me. You must know something—why are you so certain Ethereal Isle is the burial ground for ghosts?"
"Indeed. When Mr. Wraithshade returned, he brought something back."
Lady Meng sighed, then gave a faint smile.
"Long ago, the Wraith Enforcers were born. They were not humans turned into ghosts, but ghosts from the start—immensely strong, forged by the underworld to govern the living. Their emergence was extraordinary."
I let out a small sound, watching Lady Meng. She stood up, went inside, brought out tea, and asked if I wanted any. I refused immediately.
Wraith Enforcers are like double-edged swords—one slip, and they wound friend and foe alike. Their power is undeniable, rooted in their ghost souls and ghost bodies. Ordinary ghosts have no bodies; what you see is just condensed ghostly energy.
But Wraith Enforcers are different. Their bodies form when ghostly energy overflows from their souls and condenses—creating what’s called a ghost body, almost like humans have flesh. Wraith Enforcers possess ghost bodies.
Their uniqueness lies in being completely unaffected by sunlight from the living world—the finest enforcers of the underworld. They can absorb moonlight to replenish their strength. But their greatest vice is their hunger for human flesh, a trait that made them a nightmare for the underworld.
In hesitation over whether to use them, disaster struck. The Wraith Enforcers rebelled, devouring humans and killing ghost enforcers in the living world, then launching a massive uprising in the underworld itself. They attacked the Palace of Yama, and the first to be besieged was the Sixth Yama King.
I swallowed, looking at Lady Meng.
"With their ever-growing power, the Wraith Enforcers advanced rapidly. Their king rivaled even Yama himself. The underworld was plunged into bitter warfare. Few know of this secret battle, and most who did are dead. That’s why, when evil ghosts appeared in the living world, the underworld couldn’t intervene."