Rachel Lan was on the phone. Unease gnawed at me—the thought of digging up a corpse in the dead of night made my skin crawl, a cold dread sinking into my bones.
"Master Ethan, please don’t be like this. Let me help you find it."
Samantha Simons suddenly broke the silence. I startled and turned to look at her.
"They’re not children, are they? Are you their nanny?" John Chou remarked coldly.
I looked around. Suddenly, a burst of fire erupted—a ghost wreathed in roaring flames materialized before me, its eyes burning with fury. All around the cemetery, more ghosts emerged from the shadows, their forms flickering in the firelight.
After Rachel Lan hung up, she looked as if everything had been settled.
"I asked a friend to help me look into it. A while ago, a group of death row inmates were executed and buried in the cemetery at Old Vine Hill. One of them just happened to have died forty-nine days ago."
I let out a sound of surprise.
Suddenly, a cold hand tapped my shoulder. I whipped around, a scream caught in my throat—it was a ghost, its face ghastly pale.
"No," I replied, trying to sound confident. Rachel Lan stifled a laugh behind her hand.
Truthfully, my nerves were on edge. The road ahead stretched into darkness, winding upward with no end in sight.
I followed along.
Panic rose in me, and Rachel Lan caught on, her eyes wide. There was something dangerous lurking here—a powerful ghost. We had to finish quickly and get out before it was too late.
A faint, sinister giggle cut through the air, and a chilling wind swept past. Instantly, the young people fell silent, eyes darting around in fear.
Suddenly, eerie green flames flickered to life across the cemetery, casting ghostly shadows over the graves.
"Be careful, Master Ethan. Forty-nine days is an unlucky number, and that man was a convict. After forty-nine days, corpses can change."
Yuna Ji let out a giggle.
"Don’t scare them. It’s just a regular corpse. Even if it does change, Ethan can handle it now, right, Ethan?"
"Good luck, Ethan! Uncle Chou said, after a while..." Sophie Su seemed about to say something, but when John Chou glared at her, she stuck out her tongue and quickly covered her mouth.
Old Vine Hill lay in the northern outskirts, a forsaken cemetery for the poor. The cheap plots sprawled across the mountain, a bleak resting place for those with nowhere else to go. We drove out, the headlights slicing through the gloom as we headed for the road behind the apartment block.
We stopped at the hardware store and bought shovels, hoes, and two large masks. Rachel Lan then drove to the market to pick up some cooked food for offerings.
With anxious hearts, we left the city as night fell.
Rachel Lan drove fast, her expression grave.
"Did Miss Ouyang tell you something?"
Rachel Lan shook her head.
Around nine o’clock, we arrived at Old Vine Hill. The dirt road was lined with dense woods, thick with vines clinging to sturdy trees.
I saw several private cars parked at the entrance—four in total. What were they doing here at this hour?
Not thinking too much, I got out with the tools. Rachel Lan shone her flashlight as we walked up the dirt path, surrounded by the constant chirping of insects and birds.
"Ethan, are you scared?"
"Nope," I said loudly. Rachel Lan covered her mouth and laughed.
Honestly, I felt a bit creeped out. The road ahead was endless, winding upward.
"We’re here, Ethan."
Rachel Lan stopped, handed me the flashlight, then lit three sticks of incense and held a stack of spirit money.
"Passing through, wandering souls and wild ghosts, don’t take offense. People have their path, ghosts have theirs..." Rachel Lan said as she scattered spirit money along the way.
I looked around—gravestones everywhere, the mountain covered in tombs. Suddenly, I heard laughter and saw lights up ahead.
Judging by the voices, there were quite a few people—mostly young.
I felt confused.
"Found it, Ethan. It’s this one." I looked over. It was a simple grave mound with a plain headstone—David Li, a fat man with a brutish face, about forty or fifty, buzz-cut. An executed criminal, clearly guilty of serious crimes.
"Ignore them. Let’s finish up quickly and get out of here."
I glanced up nervously. There were lots of young people causing a commotion in the cemetery.
"Look, there are people down there." I heard a voice, and the light source moved toward us.
Suddenly, more than a dozen young men and women came over, shining flashlights. Someone asked what we were doing, but Rachel Lan quickly pulled out an ID.
"It’s the corpse of a criminal. There’s been an issue—we need to collect fingerprints," Rachel Lan said. I started digging while the young people watched, curious.
"You all should leave. This isn’t a place for fun."
Rachel Lan reminded them.
"Yeah, you should go. What if you run into a ghost?"
"Ghosts? We’ve been hanging around here for two or three hours and haven’t seen a thing," one guy scoffed. The others laughed.
Then I saw several of them take out their phones, trying to take pictures. Rachel Lan rushed to stop them, but they were persistent. I wondered how to get them to leave.
Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around—almost screamed. It was a ghost, face pale as death.
"Hey, friend, you seem pretty capable. Find a way to get these kids out of here, will you? They’re too noisy. If they wake up the Fire Wraith, none of them will leave alive."
I swallowed hard. This ghost thought I was one of them.
"I can’t help. I just died recently. Go find someone else—get them to come out and chase these people off."
I was getting anxious, and Rachel Lan noticed too. There was a powerful ghost here—we needed to finish up and get out.
A faint giggle sounded, and a gust of wind swept through. Instantly, the young people stopped making noise and began to look around nervously.
Suddenly, tiny green flames flickered to life all over the cemetery.
"Wow, is that phosphorescence? So pretty," a girl exclaimed.
But as more green flames appeared, the group grew increasingly uneasy.
With a roar, a burst of flame erupted.
Instantly, I dashed over. The flame surged toward the group, and without hesitation, I gathered Deathbane Aura in my hand, gripping a small knife.
In a flash, I slashed through the flame, scattering sparks everywhere.
"What are you standing around for? If you don’t want to die, get out!"
Seeing the terrified group behind me, I shouted. Instantly, they panicked, screaming as they bolted down the mountain.
"Be careful, Ethan. That thing is strong."
"Who’s making all this noise? I can’t sleep." A man’s voice called out.
I looked around. Suddenly, a burst of fire lit up—a ghost wreathed in flames appeared before me, glaring angrily. All around the cemetery, more ghosts emerged.
"Sorry for the disturbance. Those people are gone—we’re just here to pick something up and will leave right away." Rachel Lan stepped forward and bowed.
"Girl, since you’re here, don’t think about leaving." With that, the Fire Wraith swooped toward us. I froze; Rachel Lan raised her hands, sending out two Spirit Shrouds.
Several ghosts in the cemetery lunged at us, their wailing echoing through the night.
"Ha, so you’re with Hades Circle." The Fire Wraith laughed, and instantly, the Spirit Shrouds turned to ash in the flames.
"Don’t move!" I roared, swinging my fists and knocking down two ghosts that lunged at me.
With a boom, the Fire Wraith flew at me, reaching out to grab me.
"Careful, Ethan!" Rachel Lan called out, releasing a Spirit Shroud that wrapped around me. She yanked, pulling me out of the way—but my sleeve caught fire, burning hot. I quickly slapped at it.
I was angry and frustrated. I’d only wanted to grab what we came for and leave, but now we were in trouble.
"Ha! Kid, I thought you were a ghost here to stir up trouble, but you’re human." The Fire Wraith laughed, swooping at me again.
"It was those kids who disturbed you! Why won’t you listen?" I shouted.
"Ethan, don’t bother reasoning with ghosts. It won’t work."
"Ha, she’s right. People and ghosts—what’s the point of reasoning?"
I was furious. The Fire Wraith kept coming, relentless. I didn’t dare touch its flames—my burned sleeve still stung.
Rachel Lan and I could only run around the cemetery, with her Spirit Shrouds trying to restrain it. But this wasn’t working, and stray ghosts kept harassing us.
The Fire Wraith seemed to be toying with us.
Gritting my teeth, I clenched my fists and endured.
After running for a long while, I was nearly exhausted.
"What’s wrong? Tired already? Then I’ll roast you and have myself a barbecue."
The Fire Wraith was right behind me. I gasped for breath, bent over, and raised my hand, shaking it.
"What will it take for you to let us go?" I asked. The Fire Wraith paused.
"Fine. You two aren’t ordinary. I’m actually reasonable. Leave the girl to serve me, and I’ll let you go."
Instantly, rage surged in me. I stood up, fists clenched—I knew it was just playing with us.
"Don’t push us too far."
"I’ll push you as much as I want." With that, the Fire Wraith lunged at me.
There was no other way. My arm might get burned, but I gathered Deathbane Aura in my hand, forming it into a sword. As the Fire Wraith charged, I thrust the sword at its head.
With a whoosh, the Fire Wraith froze, seemingly startled. Without hesitation, I swung the sword down.
A streak of green fire flashed. I saw a withered hand grab my Deathbane Sword. With a slash, I chopped off several of its fingers.