After a short while, Old Nine came out of the room, holding a delicate little cloth pouch and handed it to me.
I let out a surprised sound.
"What are you doing?"
"Take it, Zachary. You’ve helped me so much, I really don’t know how to repay you. This Specter Pearl is for you. It’s just a small piece, but if you bring it to the Ghost Market, it’s worth a lot of money. Quite a few folks have their eyes on this thing."
I responded with a simple "Oh," but still refused.
"Take it, Zachary. And if you ever run into someone you can’t beat, swallow this thing. It’s just a small piece, shouldn’t be a problem. Might even save your life, haha."
I shot Old Nine a resentful look—he was just finding new ways to call me weak.
After thinking it over, I finally accepted it. Then Old Nine ferried me to the opposite shore, and I said my goodbyes.
"Zachary, if I ever get the chance, I’ll come find you. By the way, where do you live?"
I turned my head, smiled, then made up something random and jogged away.
Although the journey was a bit rough, I was in good spirits. Honestly, ghosts can be quite reasonable—sometimes even more endearing than people.
After walking for a while, I started eating. I tied the little cloth pouch Old Nine gave me to my Blood Jade, which made me feel much more at ease.
After a short rest, I continued on my way, wondering how the others were doing. But then I remembered Hugh Thompson and Justin Huang were with them, so I felt reassured. After all, the ghosts at Trickster Ridge weren’t their match.
I quickened my pace as the wind kept whipping up sand. I rummaged through my backpack, found a hat, and put it on.
After about an hour, I finally saw Midway Town, still far off. The problem now was how to sneak in and contact Lee Four.
I gradually drew closer; maybe a hundred meters away. I crouched down, since there was no cover around, and there was a Blue Wraith inside. I wasn’t sure if it was still there.
But then I realized something was off. As I got closer, I saw the whole town looked like it had been attacked—ruined, with the tallest building collapsed and many houses damaged to varying degrees.
Midway Town looked like it had been attacked; there were hardly any ghosts around. When I was about fifty meters away, I suddenly saw a few ghosts wandering near the town. I quickly crouched down and watched quietly.
These ghosts looked lifeless and listless. I crept a bit closer; it seemed like they were searching for something. I saw a few slip into a house with a broken wall.
With a sudden cry, a ghost that was about to enter was thrown out, staring in terror.