"We're surrounded." I muttered, while Snowy looked around in fear.
"Don't be afraid." I held her hand and looked around.
"Can you get up there, to the roof?"
Snowy nodded, then floated upward.
"Whatever you do, don't come down."
"Brother, let me help you." Snowy's voice echoed in my mind. I grunted, raised my Deathbane Aura Blade, and charged at the Ghost Commander.
Everything was clear. As I closed in, I twisted my body to dodge the Ghost Commander's sword, then shouted and swung my Deathbane Aura Blade at his head. With a bang, his helmet went flying to the ground.
I blinked, looking at Frank Zhu, who was standing right beside the Ghost Commander.
"Kid, let me see your identity number."
The Ghost Commander walked over and held out his hand. I quickly lifted my shoulder, and he took a look.
"Kid, what did you steal from him?"
"Ethan Zhang, what's wrong?"
"Hmph, I saw you leading her this way. Don't even think about lying."
I pretended not to know anything and stared at the ghosts in front of me.
"Snowy, I'm warning you, you'd better not hide. I have friends in the living world. If you don't come out, I'll notify them. Think about what might happen to your mother, to those little animals you care for. Are you ready for that? You..."
"Scum." I roared, raising my Deathbane Aura Blade and, with a swift slash, cut off Frank Zhu's head. He whimpered and instantly turned to ash.
"You..." The Ghost Commander glared at me, then drew his sword with a sharp motion. Suddenly, fog rose all around, blanketing the area in thick, white mist.
"Hand over the female ghost and I'll spare your life. Otherwise, in this fog, I could kill you and erase every trace, and no one would ever know."
I chuckled, raising my hands.
"Too weak, Ethan Zhang. You'll die, you know? You'll die for real..." Suddenly, Iron Mask Man stood up, grabbed my collar—he was as tall as me—and glared at me viciously.
Snowy stared at me in terror. I kept expanding the range of my Deathbane Aura—I had to deal with these guys first, then carefully check the area around the octagonal pavilion.
With a sharp motion, the Ghost Commander swung his sword at my head.
"Heh, Ethan Zhang, why? Why won't you accept it? Only yourself can be trusted. Why do you rely on others? Why..."
"Brothers, grab him! He's human. If we catch him, we'll be greatly rewarded."
The ghost soldiers swarmed in, brandishing knives as they rushed at me. With a thought, black Deathbane energy surged from the ground where they charged, scattering ash everywhere. In an instant, I dealt with more than a dozen ghost soldiers.
I raised my Deathbane Sword, but the ghost soldier's blade was already coming down. The moment my sword met his, it snapped and turned into black smoke.
"Accept yourself, Ethan Zhang. Only your own strength is real. Whether human or ghost, you can only rely on yourself—only yourself."
"Heh, kid, you're human but you can use Deathbane against us ghosts. Interesting."
I conjured two Deathbane daggers in my hands. As I rose, I dodged the Ghost Commander's sword and slashed at two ghost soldiers coming from the side.
After finishing off the two ghost soldiers, I quickly let go, placing both hands flat on the ground. Deathbane energy poured out from my body. As the ghost soldiers approached, the energy shot upward, forming black spikes that wiped out a large group of them.
With a swift motion, the Ghost Commander sliced through my Deathbane Aura and charged in.
"Kid, you killed so many of my brothers. Soon, I’ll make sure you lose your hands and feet to pay for it."
As he spoke, his sword slashed down, aiming for my arm.
Knowing Deathbane Aura was useless against the Ghost Commander, I quickly rolled to the side.
The scream came from Snowy. I turned my head and saw several ghost soldiers had flown onto the pavilion roof, trying to grab her.
"Get inside me!" I shouted. Snowy flew toward me, with ghost soldiers close behind. I raised my hand, sending a stream of Deathbane energy at them, but the distance was too far—any farther and the energy would dissipate.
The ghost soldiers were already closing in on Snowy. The Ghost Commander charged at me, with more ghost soldiers surrounding us.
No time left—what should I do? My heart raced. Suddenly, I heard birdsong. Wings like those of a small bird sprouted from Snowy's back, and she flew into my body.
Suddenly, my mind buzzed. I sensed the Ghost Commander's sword stabbing at my foot. I dodged to the side, quickly conjured a Deathbane Sword, and with two quick slashes, took down two ghost soldiers.
With a clang, the Ghost Commander's sword struck the ground as I dodged again. It felt almost like when I was possessed by Chen Hongyan—I could sense the movements around me, though not as strongly, just a faint trace.
It was as if my mind could clearly see every movement of the ghosts around me.
Birdsong echoed in my mind, and I felt something shift. The Ghost Commander, furious, swung his sword wildly, but I dodged him again and again.
Deathbane energy kept pouring from the ground, turning every ghost soldier that approached into ash. Finally, only the Ghost Commander remained, glaring at me with hatred.
(Irrelevant system message about reading the next chapter—skip this line in translation.)
"Impossible. You're clearly human!"
"Brother, let me help you." Snowy's voice echoed in my mind. I grunted, raised my Deathbane Sword, and charged at the Ghost Commander.
Everything was clear. As I closed in, I twisted my body to dodge the Ghost Commander's sword, then shouted and swung my Deathbane Sword at his head. With a bang, his helmet went flying to the ground.
"You're human! It's impossible!" the Ghost Commander cried. I pressed my other hand to his chest, and a thick Deathbane spike shot through him with a hiss. He stared at me in shock.
"Ghost network... You really are human. It can't..."
Before he could finish, the Ghost Commander turned to ash and vanished. The surrounding fog began to dissipate bit by bit.
With a whoosh, Snowy emerged from my body, looking radiant and cheerful, flashing her little tiger teeth. But I felt something was wrong—my whole body was cold, and cold sweat kept pouring from my forehead.
"Qingyuan, what's wrong?"
A wave of cold made me feel faint, and I collapsed to the ground as my consciousness began to blur.
A cold wind blew through. I shivered. It felt like I was in a factory, with rings of smoke slowly rising from behind a machine. I looked around in surprise—the lights were bright, and a dazzling beam stabbed at my eyes. I shielded them with my hand and walked forward.
It was the Iron Mask Man, humming one of the songs by Gu Dong I loved as a child. He had a cigarette holder in his mouth, puffing out rings of smoke as the tip burned quickly.
"Is this another dream?"
I muttered, walking over and noticing the excitement in Iron Mask Man's eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
I asked. Iron Mask Man tossed away his cigarette and chuckled.
"Too weak, Zhang Qingyuan. You'll die, you know? You'll die for real..." Suddenly, Iron Mask Man stood up, grabbed my collar—he was as tall as me—and glared at me viciously.
I looked at him with resentment.
"Why don't you teach me how to use Deathbane?"
"Heh, Zhang Qingyuan, why? Why won't you accept it? Only yourself can be trusted. Why do you rely on others? Why..."
I gasped, staring blankly at Iron Mask Man. He let go of me, then suddenly waved his hand. I saw a surge of Deathbane energy, like a giant blade, fly into the distance as he flicked his finger.
In an instant, the Deathbane energy transformed into blades, slicing through the equipment at the far end of the factory with a thunderous crash, cutting it into several pieces.
I stared in astonishment. He was getting even stronger. How was this possible? Could Deathbane really be used like that?
"Accept yourself, Zhang Qingyuan. Only your own strength is real. Whether human or ghost, you can only rely on yourself—only yourself."
Iron Mask Man squatted down, seeming confused again, muttering to himself. I raised my hand and released a stream of Deathbane energy, but it quickly turned to black smoke and faded away.
"How did you do that?"
I asked. Iron Mask Man suddenly stood up, staring at me with vacant eyes.
"How did I do it? What I did, you can do too. Why can't you understand?"
I gasped, staring at him in shock. This guy was getting stronger, but seemed a little unstable.
"Stop relying on others. Only your own strength is real. Listen to me—stop relying on others." Iron Mask Man said, reaching for my cheek.
I slapped his hand away.
"One person isn't enough. You should rely on me more, too. Remember to come find me, okay?"