Below me is a vast, white, empty world—nothing remains. Everything above is gradually fading away, and I am falling downward.
Suddenly, I see Lantern's tongue twisting in circles, coming toward me. It wraps around my waist and pulls me upward. Lantern grins foolishly, and I am hauled back up.
"Lantern, Lantern, hehe, Lantern, hurry up, hurry up."
Before I can make sense of it, the tongue rolls me up and pushes me toward the Ghost Burial Squad's black van. With a bang, the windshield shatters, and I am forcibly stuffed inside.
Everything outside is gradually disappearing. Lantern is fading bit by bit, but at this moment, I see his smile—still foolish and goofy, yet he waves at me.
I give him a smile.
"Thank you."
A blinding flash of white light—suddenly, a hand lands on my shoulder.
"You finally made it, Ethan."
"Old Moe?" I mutter. Behind me stands Old Moe, looking every bit the beggar, smiling at me.
At that moment, I'm stunned. I stand atop a high-rise, the sky overcast, heavy black clouds looming overhead, ready to burst into rain at any moment.
I'm in a corner of the city—more precisely, a small area centered around this building. All around are gray spiked balls, massive as mountains, encircling the city.
I glance again at Old Moe, shake my head weakly, and ignore him. It seems this is the Old Moe of the dream.
"Kid, you don't really think I'm just a figment of your dream, do you?"
I let out a sound of surprise and look at Old Moe.
"What's with the surprise? This is Vivian Ouyang's dream—or you could say, her inner world. What a weirdo, that girl. Looks like her heart is full of needles!"
"Are you really Old Moe?" I ask again.
"That Ghost Sovereign has never had a physical form since its birth—existing only in dreams. To appear in the living world, it needs a vessel as a medium. That's why her Nightmare Stone naturally exists in this dream. We must find the Heart Casket. Usually, people hide their most precious things in the deepest part of their soul. The Nightmare Stone is no exception."
I scratch my head, blink at Old Moe, and have no idea what he's talking about.
"Let's go." As soon as Old Moe finishes, he lets out a strip of red silk that shifts in the air, extending downward. Suddenly, he grabs me and pushes me down.
I scream as I slide down a chute woven from red silk, plummeting downward with the wind howling past my ears. Old Moe jumps straight down after me, the red silk behind him billowing like a giant parachute.
Gradually, I can see the ground. I scream again—this is way more intense than any roller coaster. As I near the ground, the red silk suddenly contracts and wraps around me. I crash into a soft layer of white silk, then start to drift gently downward.
I land and stumble, nearly collapsing. My legs are weak, and my heart feels like it’s about to leap out of my chest.
"Hey, kid, what are you so scared of?"
Old Moe lands slowly, gathers up the red silk, and gives my shoulder a hard slap.
"Old Moe, can’t you let me down like a normal person? Damn."
"You can’t fly, and besides, son-in-law, this is training for you."
I glare at Old Moe resentfully. The street is bustling, but nobody seems to notice us. Old Moe looks around, opens up a sewer pipe, and scoops out a handful of black mud. I stare in disbelief—is he really going to smear that on my face?
With a smack, Old Moe slaps a handful of black mud onto my face.
"What are you doing?"
I shake my head in disgust, trying to wipe the black mud from my face. It’s revolting—smelly, wet, and sticky.
“Stay still. Stand up straight,” Old Moe snaps, continuing to smear black mud all over me. Finally, he stops, and I give up struggling. Right now, I look more like a beggar than he does.
“Don’t you think there’s something suspicious going on?”
I sigh and sit down helplessly on the street.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Ugh.” My stomach churns, and I keep spitting to get rid of the sour taste.
“You should’ve heard it clearly that day. The Ghost Sovereign calling herself Mona Ouyang asked the Ghost Syndicate to help her find the Nightmare Stone.”
I nod.
“That one’s got a deep mind—nobody seemed to notice. Lord Shenyan told me: the ghost cores of the other six Ghost Sovereigns all have physical forms, but Mona Ouyang’s ghost core exists only in dreams. Even during the fierce battle with the Ghost Sovereigns, no one realized it, and everyone ended up suffering because of her.”
I listen, intrigued.
“Only one Ghost Sovereign figured something out during the fight—Redmane. His power of malice is somewhat similar to Mona Ouyang’s dream power, so he noticed that her ghost core exists only in dreams. Through Yuna Ji, he forced that troublesome Mona Ouyang to withdraw from the battle early.”
“So what exactly does Mona Ouyang want? Why did she send the Ghost Syndicate to look for that Nightmare Stone?”
“I’m not entirely sure. One thing I heard from Lord Shenyan—there’s a Buddha’s Dream Prophecy, twelve dream visions in total. Over the past thousand years, twelve high monks have received Buddha’s dream prophecies. Lord Shenyan didn’t want to elaborate, and I didn’t ask. But Quentin Kue once said the twelve dream visions are a cycle, symbolizing destruction and rebirth. On unlucky days, they bring ominous signs.”
“All right, all right, Old Moe, just tell me how to find that Nightmare Stone, okay?”
I don’t have time to listen to Old Moe’s riddles anymore. All this sounds like gibberish to me.
“Let’s go, get up.”
I follow Old Moe down the street. We keep moving forward until Old Moe stops me. I look over and see Vivian Ouyang standing at a street corner, wearing her high school uniform and looking anxious.
(This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting content!)
Soon, several classmates walk by—a large group of boys and girls. Vivian Ouyang tries to greet them, but the group just leaves.
“It’s the high school graduation party!”
I nod. The students are all talking about getting their diplomas today and making plans to hang out. But Vivian Ouyang stands alone, isolated from the group.
Old Moe and I are still watching. Then Old Moe starts talking: ever since that incident with Vivian Ouyang and Rachel Lan, no one in senior year has spoken to Vivian Ouyang. Everyone knows that among all the students involved, only Vivian and her boyfriend came back, and her boyfriend went mad.
Word around the school is that Vivian Ouyang caused it.
Vivian Ouyang quietly watches groups of students pass by. Suddenly, she pulls out her diploma, tears it to pieces, and bolts down the street.
Under the gloomy sky, rain begins to fall. Vivian Ouyang, exhausted from running in the downpour, slows to a walk, letting the rain soak her. I chase after her and see her face, smeared with tears.
"This girl, honestly—from childhood, she’s had no friends. It took her years just to make a few at school. Sigh."
Old Moe sighs. We keep following. Ahead is a familiar new apartment building—Rachel Lan’s home. I spot Rachel Lan on the balcony, waiting for Vivian Ouyang.
(Meta passage skipped)
"What happened? Weren’t you supposed to go to the graduation party? Why the long face?" Rachel Lan dries Vivian Ouyang off with a towel.
Vivian Ouyang bursts into tears, hugging Rachel Lan and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Rachel, you’re my only friend. The only one…"
With a gentle smack, Rachel Lan taps Vivian Ouyang on the forehead.
"You’re not alone. Someday, you’ll have lots of friends. I promise."
Suddenly, Old Moe’s expression changes. He grabs me and hurries out of the room.
"I know where the thing is."
We rush downstairs, sprinting all the way to a small, overgrown park. It’s old and secluded, hardly anyone comes here. Broken streetlights dot the place. Old Moe wanders around and stops under an ancient locust tree.
"This is it—the first meeting place for Ghost Burial Squad 17, and my daughter." I stare at Old Moe, confused, as he starts digging.
Soon, under the old locust tree, he uncovers a small box. Suddenly, the sky clears. Time seems to rush forward, light and shadow swirling, memories of this place flickering rapidly.
In these fragmented memories, I see Rachel Lan, Vivian Ouyang, Miles Mao, Fang Datong, and Yu Mingxuan. They once drank happily under this locust tree.
The fast-forwarded memories stop. Old Moe opens the box. Inside is a slip of paper. In the bright sunlight, I read its contents and smile. Old Moe keeps reading it over and over.
Then I snatch the paper, fold it, and close the box.
"You’re such a creepy voyeur. How much do you really know about your daughter’s affairs?"
Old Moe shoots me a look, waggling his eyebrows. Suddenly, the world around us starts to collapse. From the ground, gray, semi-transparent shapes begin to rise.
A swishing sound fills the air. Two Crimson Veils—one whips through the woods, the other wraps around me and follows the first.
"Old Moe..."
I scream, watching those gray shapes coil around Old Moe.
"It’s fine, Qingyuan. Go! I won’t die. Just take care of my daughter, okay, son-in-law..."