After Redmond left, the Eastern Emperor transformed into Rufina Howard's likeness, entered her body, replaced her soul, and controlled her as she walked down the mountain.
Waves surged in my heart—I wanted to follow, but I couldn't break free from the scene before my eyes.
A series of giggles echoed from the lake. Then, I saw three swirling streams—gray, white, and black—intertwine and rise from the water’s surface, condensing into three humanoid forms. They grinned, holding hands, laughing together.
"One... two... three..."
The three figures spoke, counting aloud. Their voices were grating, devoid of any emotion.
Gradually, they began to talk about other things—everything Rufina Howard had taught them in recent days.
"I didn't expect you to survive."
A voice came. I looked over—it was Redmond, with Noah Grimm by his side. The two of them had returned to the lakeshore.
"Boss, these things are probably the result of accumulated baleful energy. They have consciousness, but no real thought."
"You don't have to tell me, Noah—I know. Otherwise, they'd have perished in the Fire of Malice long ago."
With a whoosh, the three humanoid figures moved closer to Redmond and his group, clouds swirling around them as they began to mimic again.
"Hmph. They don't understand human gestures or words, yet they imitate them. Just like a bunch of monkeys—annoying as hell. Get lost."
With a thunderous boom, a surge of Ghost Aura instantly dispersed the three figures, erasing them completely.
"Boss, we've been heading south all this way—are we really just here for business? If it’s only business, our men could handle it. After all, there’s no one left who can rival you now."
Redmond sat silently by the lake, watching the distant reappearance of the gray, white, and black streams. He gave a cold laugh.
"This ghostly path has been quiet for too long—so lonely, Noah."
"There's nothing we can do, Boss. Maybe the other six are still alive, but now it's an age of peace. After the last war, I doubt they ever want to come out again."
Redmond said nothing, quietly watching the moon’s reflection in the water, a desolate look in his eyes.
At that moment, the three figures gathered again, squatting next to Redmond, grinning widely.
"Trash..."
Suddenly, Redmond roared in anger, grabbing the white figure with one hand and smashing it to the ground with a boom. The white figure shattered instantly. He sprang up and seized the other two, squeezing them tightly.
"You dare to pry into my state of mind? Courting death, you..."
Black flames ignited. At that moment, the gray figure began muttering something. I stared wide-eyed, watching it all unfold.
Redmond hesitated and let go.
"John Chou—how do you know that name...?"
The gray figure kept repeating the name John Chou, its voice bizarre and unsettling. Redmond kept pressing for answers, his expression conflicted—mostly, he seemed elated.
"Speak! Why do you know?"
"Boss, this thing has no consciousness. Maybe it heard the name from someone else. Just now, when it probed your mind, you thought of John Chou, and that triggered its reflex—it just blurted out the name."
Redmond burst out laughing and let go of the gray figure.
"Looks like we’ll be staying here for a while, Noah. Call for some backup—I need lots of help."
"So that’s it, Boss? You’ve been having our people investigate certain things all along—turns out you want to find John Chou."
"What are you talking about, Noah? I just want to take him out—he’s my rival, after all. Hahaha..."
Back in the county town at the foot of the mountain, the three figures followed Redmond, mimicking his every move and expression.
Redmond looked thoroughly displeased.
"Boss, what’s going on...?"
Vivian Maple saw the three figures trailing Redmond and stared at him in surprise.
"Vivian, go bring that little girl back. I have no patience to teach these trash anything."
A few days later, Rufina Howard returned. She had no memory of what happened on the mountaintop after losing consciousness. When she woke, she was already hundreds of miles away from the county town. In just one day, she felt utterly bewildered.
Vivian Maple found her, explained a few things, and Rufina Howard followed her back to the county town.
"You’re a ghost..."
Rufina Howard looked at Redmond; her previous anger had vanished, replaced by a rising hostility.
"You still don’t understand your situation, do you? You’ve been kept in the dark by some people. Enough—let's talk business. I need you to teach these three trash the basics, then have them take me to find someone named John Chou."
"John Chou?"
Rufina Howard muttered the name in confusion, lost in thought.
"Feels like I’ve heard it somewhere before."
"Enough—are you in or not? In exchange, I’ll tell you the truth about yourself."
Rufina Howard hesitated, reluctant, but in the end she nodded.
The three figures happily swirled around Rufina Howard, but their eyes held the same intent—they wanted to devour her.
"Vivian, stay with the girl. Don’t let those three eat her."
Over the following days, Rufina Howard began teaching them. The three mimicked everything she said, from the simplest pronunciations to basic arithmetic.
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Progress was slow. Rufina Howard seemed distracted, lost in thought most of the time.
"What exactly are you planning? To devour everyone here?"
Rufina Howard looked at Vivian Maple, who was guarding her from the corner of the room, and asked.
"Why eat people? Are humans really that delicious?"
Faced with Vivian Maple’s retort, Rufina Howard was a bit surprised.
"Since ancient times, ghosts have always..."
Suddenly, Rufina Howard began to tremble. Vivian Maple’s gaze turned icy, and the room’s atmosphere shifted.
"You—you’re going to..."
Before Rufina Howard could finish, she went blank. A golden light appeared. The Eastern Emperor and Western Guardian emerged from Rufina’s body. With two swift slashes, two purple scars intertwined. The newly appeared spirits stared in shock as their hands were severed.
"Boss said she’s to stay and help. If you still want to take her away, I won’t be so polite."
"If you don’t care about the Prime Ancestor’s bloodline, why keep her?"
"Once the job’s done, we’ll let her go."
In a daze, Rufina Howard came to. She glanced at the corner, seeing Vivian Maple restored to her usual cold demeanor. She recalled that fleeting moment when Vivian’s eyes had turned—those were the eyes of a demon.
"Since ancient times, ghosts have been feared—dark, man-eating—but do you really understand ghosts?"
Vivian Maple spoke up, catching Rufina Howard off guard—she hadn’t expected Vivian to speak first.
"So what are you really after? You’re ghosts, yet you pretend to be human—doing business in the living world, surely to deceive and profit. My master said even in the ghost world you have to pay tolls. You must be..."
Rufina Howard didn’t finish. Vivian Maple slipped into the wall and vanished, though her presence lingered. Rufina glanced dejectedly at the three mimics beside her—they’d quieted down, simply staring at her.
Everything in the scene left me more and more confused. Looking at the three figures, my heart began to waver—they were neither human nor ghost, just like me.
A week later, Redmond grew impatient—the three mimics still hadn’t developed even basic thought. It seemed the experiment had failed.
"Are you even putting your heart into this?"
"If you think you can do better, go ahead!"
It was clear Redmond was growing impatient—his excitement barely contained, written all over his face.
"Forget it, these things are impossible to communicate with."
Rufina Howard looked exhausted as she watched the three mimics laughing. The gray one suddenly raised its hands and began counting its fingers.
Rufina Howard stood up in surprise. The gray mimic counted over and over, and soon the black and white mimics joined in.
After a long day, the three mimics went over to Vivian Maple and started copying her. Oddly, since the day before, every night, they would gather around Vivian.
"Miss Vivian, you stay and play with them. I’m heading out."
Just as Rufina Howard was about to go for a walk, the gray mimic swooshed behind her. Vivian Maple didn’t follow, as one mimic posed no threat to Rufina.
But as soon as she reached the street, Rufina Howard was drawn by a commotion. She ran over to the main road of the county town, where the sound of hooves echoed—three riders in cloaks entered, agents of the Ghost Syndicate. My heart skipped a beat; Rufina’s face paled. Dark energy swirled around the trio, and Rufina sensed they were special.
Curious, Rufina Howard decided to follow and see what these strange newcomers were up to. As soon as they arrived, they began asking for directions to the lake.