Only Black Moon remained. My Ghost Souls had all left. I quietly watched him as a large black dog emerged from the ground—it was the Celestial Hound. Black Moon sat on the Celestial Hound's back, smiling as he looked at me.
"You seem to be in a good mood."
I laughed, looking at Black Moon.
"What about the Immortality Society? And the things I asked you to do?"
"It's all gone. Completely erased. As for Vivian Ouyang, her role as a spy for the Ghost Burial Squad and her betrayal of the squad—all of it has been wiped from the memories of everyone who knew."
I nodded in satisfaction.
"So, BOSS, does this mean you can give me the fragment back now?"
I smiled.
"That depends on how efficiently you get things done."
Black Moon burst out laughing, while the Celestial Hound grumbled in annoyance.
"Such a nuisance."
"BOSS, how about I give someone in the Ghostrealm or the Arcane Society a little gift to start things off?"
As he spoke, suddenly the wind picked up all around us, howling wildly. The Celestial Hound soared into the sky.
"Have you ever heard of the Celestial Eclipse?"
I looked at Black Moon in surprise. He laughed. The so-called Celestial Eclipse—legend has it that the Celestial Hound devours the old moon, then a new, brighter, and rounder moon appears. But that's just a myth. In modern times, it's merely an astronomical phenomenon.
"But the Celestial Eclipse really does exist."
I stared at Black Moon in astonishment. He burst out laughing. In this world, everything is divided into yin and yang. Moonlight is pure, and at certain times, it becomes extremely pure.
But as the saying goes, extremes breed opposites. When the moonlight is at its purest, the places it doesn't reach become especially dark. All sorts of evil things gather there. So, whenever the Celestial Eclipse occurs, it's the time when those dark things come out.
However, as a holy spirit, the Celestial Hound has a way to use the moonlight to lure those dark things out.
As the wind grew stronger, I slowly began to float upward. The yin energy on the ground grew heavier, swirling like a thin mist, rising and dancing with excitement, as if sensing something.
Gradually, the crescent moon hanging in the sky started to turn black. Small patches of darkness crept across its surface, and the phenomenon of the Celestial Eclipse appeared.
I watched in astonishment as the entire sky gradually turned black—no moon, no stars in sight.
"I suppose tomorrow, most people in the Arcane Society will realize this isn't a natural phenomenon."
It was only a matter of ten minutes or so, but already I could sense many ghosts becoming active all around me. These dark things were the best nourishment for them.
"BOSS, just wait patiently for the Immortality Society to make contact with you."
I nodded. Now, I still needed to find one ghost—Cao Wanzhi. My Ghost Souls had already started searching the city for that haunted photo studio.
Ever since our confrontation two years ago, after Grace Hu's remaining Ghost Soul reacted, Cao Wanzhi had completely disappeared.
I really wanted to find Cao Wanzhi. His Ghost Soul was extremely unique. I feared the Immortality Society was also racing to locate his hiding place. I had to find him before they did.
I wandered around the city for quite some time. I even visited the place where I last fought Cao Wanzhi, but found no clues. I had no idea where he'd gone.
For several days straight, I searched all over the city for any trace of Cao Wanzhi, but I could never find him.
I had nearly visited every photo studio in the city, but still couldn't find it.
Last night, besides the bizarre Celestial Eclipse happening out of season, a new legend arose in the city: every mirror displayed a Blackfang Mark overnight.
But with sunrise, the marks vanished. I knew this was Victor Duan's doing—only he could pull off something like this in a single night.
Just then, Spirit Serpent brought me news: Cao Wanzhi had been seen at a photo exhibition. I rushed over immediately.
At the exhibition, there were black-and-white photos from the early days of photography, modern color photos, and even 3D images. Among them, I saw Cao Wanzhi and Grace Hu.
Cao Wanzhi was dressed in a plaid suit, sitting in a wheelchair and smiling. Grace Hu leaned close to him, both of them wearing joyful expressions.
I took the photo. Though I could sense faint ghost energy, it was weak. It must have been taken by Cao Wanzhi, and not long ago.
I stared at the photo, pondering where Cao Wanzhi might have gone.
Days passed, and I still couldn't find any way to locate Cao Wanzhi. Meanwhile, rumors about the Blackfang Mark spread throughout the city.
Some people developed birthmarks resembling black fangs, and those afflicted suffered terrible luck. The marks even spread from person to person, and misfortune struck many.
This single phenomenon caused a huge uproar. I had already given clear instructions to all the ghosts in Blackfang about what needed to be done. Isabelle Frost was nowhere to be found; besides her, only Ray Lin and the Ghost Painting Book Immortal were silent.
But I wasn't anxious. I wanted to find Cao Wanzhi. After several investigations, I discovered that the photo had been picked up by the exhibition organizer at the entrance of an old photo studio—Cao Wanzhi's studio. But after picking it up, the studio vanished right before his eyes.
Besides the photo, there was also an old camera. I managed to find it and picked it up. Having fought Cao Wanzhi before, I knew all his tricks, and the only place he could be was inside the camera.
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I aimed the old camera at myself. With a click and a flash, I closed my eyes.
When I opened my eyes, I was stunned. Under the moonlight stood a three-story building, surrounded by countless unknown flowers and some orchards. It was Cao Wanzhi's photo studio—I had finally found him.
With a whoosh, I drifted over.
Right then, I heard the click of a camera shutter.
"After all this time, what do you want from me? I wondered who it was—it turns out to be Ethan Zhang."
Cao Wanzhi hadn't revealed all his abilities to the Immortality Society—nor could he. That's why they couldn't find him. He could imprison people in photos, and with his camera, create his own ghost domain within the photographs.