My mind was in chaos. After a while, I told Past Ethan Zhang some of the dreams I'd had about coming here. He smiled, kept drinking, and then began to laugh.
"Didn't someone tell you not to change the dreams of the past?"
I hummed in response, but now an indescribable sense of discord swirled around me like clouds.
"Could it be from some horror story?"
Past Ethan Zhang shook his head.
"That horror story was burned a long time ago, after the Ghost Sovereigns died."
What I cared about more was the death of the Ghost Sovereigns. Past Ethan Zhang gave a bitter smile, raised his head slightly, and looked up at the sky where the moon had appeared.
"In the world I know, or rather, in the era I live in, the Ghost Sovereigns are gone, the Ten Judges have long since fallen. All this happened ten years ago. Now, the one ruling Hell is the Emperor of the Dead."
I stared at Past Ethan Zhang in shock, unable to believe what I was hearing.
"And what about the Immortality Society?"
"They're all gone. I personally scattered their ashes over the sea."
I held my head, completely lost as to what had happened.
"Did John Chou ever say anything to you?"
Past Ethan Zhang nodded.
"It seems he foresaw his own death long ago, so he often chatted with me about things. After all, we met when I was very young, growing up in the Taoist temple together. We're what you'd call friends across generations."
"How old are you, really?"
I looked at Past Ethan Zhang. He had dispatched that Ironhide Revenant so easily. If I had my power back, I could do it too, but it would take some effort.
"I'm already 109 years old this year."
I quickly fetched a basin of water and looked at my reflection. I had completely turned into Ethan Timms, not Ethan Zhang.
"Why is this happening? I have to get back quickly. What exactly is your instinct?"
Past Ethan Zhang smiled and raised a hand.
"I have no instinct, or rather, I once had one. It was called coexistence. But in the face of the disaster ten years ago, it died. Now, there are no truly powerful beings left in this world."
"Do you know about the Dark Banquet?"
I immediately asked, and Past Ethan Zhang nodded.
"The Dark Banquet was destroyed before I was even born. I went there once for something, but now it's a barren wasteland, with nothing left but darkness itself."
"Since we're here, we might as well accept it, right?"
After a while, Past Ethan Zhang said. I hummed in response, then suddenly asked:
"Have you ever been married?"
Past Ethan Zhang smiled and shook his head.
"I've been a Taoist all my life and I'm still a virgin. How could I get married? Besides, my temperament is odd, and no girl would ever take a liking to me."
"What about Rachel Lan? Rachel Lan should exist in my past, shouldn't she? Do you know a woman named Rachel Lan?"
Past Ethan Zhang shook his head.
"Hades Circle—she's from the Lanworths."
"Is that so? She must have been important to you in your era. I don't know her. The people of Hades Circle died along with the fall of the Ten Judges. Now, the institutions of the underworld are in Necropolis, and the Emperor of the Dead has established a fairly complete reincarnation system."
I swallowed and held my head.
"If, after I go back—or rather, if the era I'm truly in now somehow connects with a past I know nothing about, what would happen?"
"Everything you're familiar with would probably disappear."
I swallowed.
"And what about Yvonne's instinct? Where did it go? You must have hidden it, right?"
I asked with concern. Past Ethan Zhang shook his head.
"After the Ghost Sovereigns died, their instincts vanished with them. It was a war that shook both the living and the dead. In the end, I survived and killed the Wraithlord. But fighting the Wraithlord is what led to the death of coexistence."
I swallowed. Past Ethan Zhang killed the Wraithlord, so his power must be almost equal to Future Ethan Zhang's.
"How did you do it?"
I was completely baffled. Past Ethan Zhang smiled and shook his head.
"Maybe it's because I'm human. Only humans can create miracles, after all. Of course, I had help from these three old fellows."
As he spoke, a golden light radiated from Past Ethan Zhang, and I saw three golden figures gradually appear. One was Li Er, and the other two were elders—one on the left looked furious, the one on the right looked kindly.
"The Three Pure Ones?"
My eyes widened. Past Ethan Zhang nodded.
"It's my power that lets them manifest in the living world: Primordial Sage, Treasure Sage, and Virtue Sage."
Then the figures of the Three Pure Ones faded away. I held my forehead, feeling a bit drunk. Everything now felt utterly strange. I didn't even know what was happening—maybe it really was because I'd changed the dreams of the past.
"Rest well tonight, Ethan Zhang. When you're feeling a bit better, I'll help you figure things out. There's still an old acquaintance in the living world—Lady Meng."
My eyes widened in surprise.
"She might be able to help you. Don't you still have a wife? When your wife returns, at least tell her what's happened."
I hummed in response.
I spent the whole night thinking about what had happened. The only thing clear was that both the worlds of the living and the dead had been pulled into a super war. Countless ghosts and practitioners died, all order collapsed. But I remembered that the Emperor of the Dead had died long ago, witnessed by John Chou. Back then, he was just like the Ten Judges—only he ruled Necropolis in the world of the living, judging souls that needed his verdict.
Now the only key clue is the Wraithlord. Everything started with the Wraithlord's resurrection.
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting story!
A day or two passed. In the town, I met some people who hadn't left yet and told them that the Ironhide Revenant had been subdued by a capable Taoist, and everything was fine now.
On the seventh day, the shrew returned, and as soon as she did, she broke down in tears. Past Ethan Zhang hadn't been around these days, nor had he said anything to me.
Finally, after I'd calmed the shrew down, Past Ethan Zhang came back.
I explained everything to the shrew. Because I'd been harmed by the Ironhide Revenant, I wouldn't live past thirty unless I followed this Taoist priest—he had a way to save me.
On the tenth day, I packed up and left the west side of town with Past Ethan Zhang.
"Where exactly is Lady Meng?"
"If we head this way, we'll reach Necropolis. We'll go there first. Only the Emperor of the Dead knows Lady Meng's whereabouts. He once promised me that if I ever needed to find her, I'd have to go in person."
I hummed in response and followed Past Ethan Zhang.
We walked all day. By nightfall, we reached a nearby village. I took some money and asked a family for a room, planning to rest for the night before moving on.
"Don't worry about me. You never seem to get tired, never sleepy, never even doze off."
I hummed in response. Past Ethan Zhang drank some wine and soon fell asleep. I sat in the room, quietly pondering what I'd done to change the past so much. It was nothing like the past I knew—completely unrecognizable. What worried me most was Rachel Lan's situation. If the past really connected with this one, everything would be ruined. Rachel Lan might disappear, too.
Sitting in the room wasn't helping, so I decided to go out for a walk. On the edge of the field under the starlit sky, I sat down, letting the cool breeze blow over me. I was powerless—why was all this happening?
Suddenly, my eyes widened, and I understood. Then I smiled. Why would Past Ethan Zhang make up such a lie and take me to Necropolis? He couldn't possibly not know where Lady Meng was. He was helping me search for Rachel Lan. The Emperor of the Dead, the ghost god who controls life and death, surely has that power.
Early the next morning, we set out again. Past Ethan Zhang kept smiling cheerfully, sometimes telling me things he knew.
Especially when it came to the Wraithlord—the situation was urgent. In the end, he only managed to kill the Wraithlord by following John Chou's instructions, bringing a glimmer of hope to both worlds.
When he talked about these things, I could see a faint sadness on Past Ethan Zhang's face, as if everything that happened was beyond his control.
"By the way, what about Tan Tian? How are things with the undead?"
Past Ethan Zhang looked at me in confusion, then shook his head.
"I've never heard of Tan Tian. Zombies have always existed, but to this day, we still don't know where they come from."
I stared in surprise.
"Are zombies rampant?"
"They show up from time to time. The ones we encounter have no intelligence, and we still don't know where they're from or how they appear."
The rest of the journey, I talked to Past Ethan Zhang about the Nether Syndicate and everything I'd experienced—including Future Ethan Zhang and my daughter.
"That's really interesting. That Tan Tian must be pretty powerful. It'd be nice to meet him someday."
For three days straight, we kept traveling. Past Ethan Zhang only stopped for short breaks and to get something to eat before moving on.
On the third night, we reached a larger city, but it was pitch dark and surprisingly deserted. As soon as we got close, I felt a chill—it was a ghost.
"Don't think about anything. Let's just go straight through the city."