I had been keeping watch over the father and daughter for almost half an hour. The father's name was Daniel Li, and the daughter's was Nina Li. The intimidating ghost was called Quentin Kwan—a strange name, but as he explained, 'Quentin Kwan' means 'Heaven and Earth.' When he was born and just learning to speak, his parents gave him this name, hoping he would make something of himself in the Ghostrealm one day.
Several of those bizarre black fish had already been decapitated, their bodies scorched—Quentin Kwan had roasted them over fire. But it was a Yin fire, and the fish emitted an unbearably foul stench. The father and daughter couldn't even bear to sit in front of the fish, let alone eat them.
At this moment, Quentin Kwan had returned to the rooftop to continue lying down. Daniel Li sighed helplessly, took the fish out of the room, and the father and daughter shared what little rations they had left. It seemed they'd accepted their predicament—if they wanted to return, their only hope was for Quentin Kwan to take them back.
But judging by Quentin Kwan's attitude, he had no intention of getting involved in such trouble. The father and daughter discussed things in the house, knowing that in this illusion, they could die at any moment.
I had already noticed changes in their bodies. Both had inhaled a large amount of Yin energy. Sure enough, they began to feel cold, curling up in the corner of the room and shivering uncontrollably.
It had been less than an hour since we arrived in the Ghostrealm. Back then, I was captured by Lord Wraith and locked up with other women. Lord Wraith used some kind of ghost array that preserved a certain amount of Yang energy and expelled the Yin energy, so we weren't harmed.
Thinking about it now, I realized a long time had passed. After we were captured and locked up in the Ghostrealm, I was mentally broken. Lord Wraith planned to eat us all on the day of his grand wedding. That terror and helplessness nearly drove me to despair. But unexpectedly, Ethan Zhang led a rescue, and we managed to escape.
I was the only one who survived, thanks to some small skill I had. The other girls weren't so lucky—within days, the Yin energy consumed them. I watched Daniel Li and Nina Li anxiously, worried for their fate.
Sure enough, in less than ten minutes, I saw the father and daughter's faces turn purple. It was clear they couldn't last much longer. The Yin energy was already eroding the Yang energy in their bodies—once it was gone, they would die.
At that moment, with a whoosh, Quentin Kwan landed in the room, looking at the father and daughter in confusion.
"I almost forgot—you two aren't ghosts, you're humans. No wonder you can't survive here."
Quentin Kwan walked over to Nina Li. Daniel Li, beside her, resisted, but he was already completely immobilized.
"It's true. Sorry—I almost got you killed."
With that, Quentin Kwan raised a finger and pressed it to Nina Li's forehead. A faint green glow appeared. Suddenly, his finger twitched, and I watched in shock as he effortlessly drew the Yin energy out of Nina Li's body and tossed it aside.
Nina Li stared in amazement, raising her hands and touching her body in disbelief. Quentin Kwan smiled and moved to Daniel Li, repeating the process. Soon, the father and daughter regained their strength—the Yin energy in their bodies was completely gone, and the rate of Yin energy invasion had slowed.
I had no idea how Quentin Kwan did it. He just smiled and shook his head.
"I'll come back later to help you draw out the Yin energy again. You should eat something—after all, only food for ghosts is edible here. If you don't eat, you might starve to death."
With that, Quentin Kwan left the room. The father and daughter fell silent. The fish Daniel Li had taken out earlier drifted back inside, and the overwhelming stench made them uncomfortable again.
The father and daughter had only a little food left. Just as Quentin Kwan said, if they didn't eat, they'd die—but eating it wouldn't be pleasant, either.
"A little each day is enough. Take your time to get used to it. I've seen people survive in the Ghostrealm before. Once you adapt, you won't need to worry about dying right away—you might still have a chance to go home."
Quentin Kwan spoke at the door, urging them on. I watched him quietly, my mind turning over the fact that ghosts were once human—but I'd never seen a ghost born from two ghosts before.
Except for Dean Ding, I'd never seen any other ghost like this.
But then I felt something strange—a pull at my back, as if something was tugging at me. I was startled, but soon that force faded away with a rush of warmth flowing out of my body. I swallowed hard.
Time passed, minute by minute. Quentin Kwan had already helped the father and daughter expel the Yin energy from their bodies twice. Several hours had gone by, and in this cold and hungry state, the two were starving. Nina Li finally approached the black fish, clutching her mouth—she couldn't stand it anymore. She picked up a piece, and instantly, cold vapor steamed off its surface.
Daniel Li rushed over to stop his daughter, but gradually, Nina Li seemed to be getting used to it.
"Father, this is the only way. I want to go home."
After Quentin Kwan expelled the Yin energy from their bodies again, the father and daughter began to try eating the fish. I'd eaten food from the Ghostrealm before—it's hard to swallow, like eating mud, and the stench is unbearable for humans.
Sure enough, the father and daughter nearly threw up. They forced themselves to keep it down, and after a while, they calmed themselves. The rate at which Yin energy was invading their bodies slowed again. Quentin Kwan came over once more to help them expel the Yin energy.
"Be careful, Rachel Lan—the Eye of Time has locked onto this place."
My heart skipped a beat. The voice of coexistence echoed in my mind. I glanced around, noticing Quentin Kwan's movement—he shot a sidelong look at me. Sure enough, he was watching me. Suddenly, Quentin Kwan appeared right in front of me, staring at me with piercing eyes. I jumped back instinctively, and a wave of disorientation crashed over me as my surroundings began to change.
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I had already left the room, caught off guard by the situation. Wisps of white vapor began swirling up from the ground around me, like ropes, surging toward me again and again.
I kept watching in silence as everything started to change. The space-time around me was twisting violently, and my body was being warped along with it. Things felt increasingly wrong—my consciousness was fading fast.
I struggled desperately to resist, but I was powerless. The strength in my body was draining away rapidly. I didn't know what to do—if I fell into that cycle again, I wouldn't have the mental strength to fight against time's regression and escape the loop.
The white vapors wrapped around me, and memories kept spinning in my mind. I felt dizzy and sick, as if the world were collapsing. Cracks began to spread around me, everything shattering like broken glass.
I forced myself to endure, using the last bit of strength I had left to resist. I was at my limit—the sudden sensation of tearing inside my body made it impossible to breathe. Waves of suffocation washed over me, and everything went dark.
Everything retreated. The memories in my mind spun like reflections, racing by. My consciousness couldn't hold on any longer—I slowly closed my eyes.
Suddenly, a hand pressed against my back, and all the pain vanished in an instant.
"Miss, you don't belong to this era, do you? How did you end up in my past?"
Startled, I turned to see Quentin Kwan behind me. The scene around us began to reassemble, gradually becoming whole again. I stared in amazement as Quentin Kwan drew strands of white vapor out of my body.
"The timeline—so that's it. These things are trying to drag you away from here. You must have come for something important. I sense my son's soul in your body. Can you tell me where my wife and child went?"
I stared at Quentin Kwan in surprise, then nodded. He gave a faint smile and spoke with emotion.
"After all these years, do I finally have an answer?"
I looked at Quentin Kwan in disbelief as he separated the white strands in his hand, crushing them one by one.
"It's alright, miss. For now, these threads of time won't entangle you."
I murmured a thank you.
"Are you Eli Lear's father?"
I asked. Quentin Kwan nodded.
"Yes, my child's name is Eli Lear. But I've spent years searching for my wife and daughter, and never found them. After death, we should have reunited in the Ghostrealm, but there was no news. Someone named Zachary Justice once helped me look for them, but despite searching for a long time, he never found them."
I was shocked. I'd heard Zachary Justice's name from Ethan Zhang—he said Zachary was his life's greatest benefactor, but he'd never met him because Zachary had died long ago. Quentin Kwan glanced around and reached out a hand.
"Come over here, miss. I don't want to disturb this past."
I murmured assent and took Quentin Kwan's cold hand. He led me to a small grove outside the lake, sat down, and looked at me with interest, his eyes full of hope.