I lay quietly on the ground, gazing at the distant apartment building. The wounds on my body were healing slowly. The Deathbane Ghost had severed my source of power, so I could only use a tenth of my strength—the recovery was agonizingly slow.
Only now do I truly understand what all my fighting has meant. This is the seventh time in seven days that my Ghost Souls have knocked me to the ground, leaving me powerless to get up.
Though I can use the Specter Web to sense my surroundings, I lack the Spirit Snake's eyes, making it impossible to accurately confirm attacks. It's hard even to block them. The recent battle with the Yin Ghost lasted less than half an hour before I couldn't get up again.
Before, I always relied on my Ghost Souls to fight. Now, unable to use them, I truly feel this helplessness—just taking hit after hit. Tomorrow, it's Desire Ghost's turn. I glanced at her, and she giggled.
"Qingyuan, don't tell me you can't even beat Desire Ghost."
Resentful Ghost muttered something. I sighed helplessly and, after recovering a bit, got up. This was the Spirit Snake's idea: I could only use a tenth of my power, and the Deathbane Ghost had cut off my energy supply.
"Think carefully about your strategy. When the Specter Web can't track the enemy, how will you respond to their attacks?"
Spirit Snake spoke as he walked over. I grunted in response and glanced at my pocket watch—it was already past 7 a.m. I needed to buy supplies to prepare for opening the shop tonight.
Back on the busy morning street, my mind was clear. Before leaving, John Chou had told me I could only rely on myself. Now, I think I finally understand what he meant. He'd said long ago that I wasn't the type to think things through. Rather than telling me outright, he'd let me learn with my own body. Maybe that's what suits me best.
When I reached the food market, it was already packed with people. With the recent influx, most of the shops had reopened. I bought a lot of meat and vegetables, carrying heavy bags as I walked off.
Back inside the shop, I resumed my usual routine. At the door, a stranger stood—sharp-browed, piercing-eyed, long-haired, dressed all in black. He had to be one of the Dark Banquet.
"Watcher, sir. The Undertaker sent me to inform you. He hopes you can spare some time to visit Emperor Huang's Domain."
"I understand."
After he left, I tidied up for a while and started marinating food, still puzzled. It had only been a few days, and already the Undertaker wanted me to come over.
"I've been busy these past few days. Maybe I'll go after a while."
I smiled. That initial sense of oppression from entering this darkness was gone. There was no longer any need to worry about enemies showing up. I could finally reflect on the nature of my power and consider how to develop it further.
By nightfall, neither Deathbane Ghost nor Poison Ghost showed up. The shop was still packed, and I found myself busy again.
"Boss Zhang, we haven't seen your wife lately. Is everything alright?"
Regular customers started asking, and others joined in, curious. I smiled and shook my head.
"She had something to take care of and left for a while, but she should be back soon."
To the customers here, Rachel Lan was the gentle, beautiful, and understanding one—she would often chat with them, listening to their troubles.
As for the Dark Residents here, although they were created, from the moment they were given emotions, they became real people. The Dark Banquet collects all this data in hopes of building a place here that resembles the human world, making this darkness less stifling. That may be their greatest concern.
But achieving that is nearly impossible. Only with the Dark Mirror they created might it be realized.
What I know now is that, aside from the five who were named directly by the Dark, everyone else was named by those five on behalf of the Dark. They were all originally people from the Living World.
Recently, I've seen plenty of new faces. The increase isn't just from people returning—The Dark Banquet has created new ones. I don't know how, but I do know this: it's the darkness itself that told me.
At closing time, I locked up and in an instant moved outside the city. I opened the Shadow Realm and went straight in; the Ghost Souls were already waiting for me, restless.
"Are you sure this is safe?"
Standing on the open ground to the left of the apartment building, I looked at a petite, cute Desire Ghost.
"Qingyuan, don't underestimate me. I may not fight much, but think about it—if it weren't for me, your willpower wouldn't be this strong."
Desire Ghost said this, a little annoyed. I smiled and nodded. She was right—my willpower was so resilient because of her. Sometimes, intense emotions would surge inside me, and whenever that happened, Desire Ghost amplified those feelings with the power of desire, making my strength even more solid.
"So how do I actually fight?"
I looked at Desire Ghost, puzzled. She puffed out her cheeks and huffed.
"Qingyuan, have you forgotten everything from the Forest of Desire? The power of desire—do you remember? For example, I can trigger your strongest desire, and then your desire will take shape."
I nodded.
"I really did fight Lao Chongyuan, whose form was shaped by desire, in the Forest of Desire. I still remember that power."
"There's no point in getting tangled up with the Immortality Society. Qingyuan, you should be able to see desire itself."
As Desire Ghost spoke, she suddenly raised her small hand. A stream of fiery red energy shot toward me. I dodged easily and flew at her, swinging my Deathbane Aura Blade.
With a whoosh, Desire Ghost suddenly transformed into a red stream of energy. In an instant, the red energy surged into my body. Rage welled up inside me, impossible to suppress. I swung my Deathbane Aura Blade wildly, but I couldn't find any trace of Deathbane Ghost.
I knew I had to control the anger triggered by Deathbane Ghost, but it was impossible. Scenes that made me furious kept flashing through my mind.
"Pathetic, Qingyuan."
In a daze, my anger cooled. Half my strength was gone. I swallowed and looked at Desire Ghost not far away. I suddenly understood—she'd used my desire to attack her against me, so I couldn't see anything. As the saying goes, 'the onlooker sees clearly, the participant is lost.'
"You catch on quickly, Qingyuan. So, do you think you can easily defeat me?"
Desire Ghost chuckled and attacked again, this time with a stream of icy blue energy. I stared at her, clearing my mind, waiting to strike the moment she made a move.
The icy blue energy wrapped around me. Desire Ghost grinned and reached out. Suddenly, I swung my Deathbane Aura Blade—two sharp slashes. Desire Ghost jumped back, startled, a look of lingering fear on her face.
"Qingyuan, you're so sneaky."
My smile froze. My body cooled, utterly exhausted, with no fighting spirit left. I knew the icy blue energy was a desire opposite to rage—calm.
After a while, I gasped for breath, lying on the ground.
"I lost."
Desire Ghost laughed, looking at me.
"See? Qingyuan, do you really think you can withstand the invasion of desire? This isn't the Forest of Desire. In the forest, your own desires were absorbed by the forest itself, but here, your desires are easily controlled by my power."
"I get it."
I struggled to my feet. I couldn't even beat Desire Ghost. In these eight days, I've lost to every Ghost Soul. Of the eight Ghost Souls, the trickiest is Curse Ghost—I lasted less than three minutes. Then there's Deathbane Ghost and Spirit Snake.
Spirit Snake is a bit different. She doesn't attack directly, but her presence makes me uneasy. As for Deathbane Ghost, his attacks are relentless—he doesn't stop until I'm completely defeated.
The easiest to deal with is Dream Ghost. She doesn't fight much, but her illusions are hard to break.
Desire Ghost came over and patted my shoulder. "Don't be discouraged, Qingyuan. Your willpower is strong—it's just that your desires are too intense."
I nodded. Desire Ghost was right. The stronger my desires, the harder they were to control.
After resting for a while, I headed back to the city.
When I returned, I saw Rachel Lan standing at the entrance, lost in thought. She smiled when she saw me.
"You're back."
I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm back."