The rain was heavy, its drops pattering against the leaves with a constant crackle. At the village entrance stood three people—the Ghost Burial Squad. I knew each of their names intimately, yet I couldn't shake the feeling that something ominous was about to happen. Anxiety gnawed at me from within.
Suddenly, I shot into the air, turning into a stream of black mist amidst the downpour, heading straight for the Dry Well at the top of the village slope.
When I arrived, I found nothing, but I vividly remembered that David Wu had died here. A jumble of overlapping impressions surged in my mind—I couldn't make sense of what had happened; everything was in chaos.
Streaks of lightning illuminated the village in a ghastly white. I turned to see Leo Liu and the others closing in. Raising my hand, three streams of baleful energy surged from the ground, trapping them instantly.
Once Tiger Li and Mason Zhao quieted down and the rain eased, I slowly walked over.
"My name is Ethan Zhang. Old Stone and Tianshu sent me to help you."
I slowly released the three of them. Seeing Tiger Li and Mason Zhao still ready to fight, Leo Liu called out.
"Stop. We're no match for this guy—and he means us no harm."
Under the eaves, a strange sensation crept over me. My right hand wouldn't open; my fingers felt locked in place, clenched into a fist. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't loosen it. There was something inside.
Looking at Leo Liu, something surfaced in my memory, and I blurted it out.
"When you were little, you secretly watched the woman next door bathe—and she caught you, didn't she?"
Leo Liu's face changed instantly. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at me, while Tiger Li and Mason Zhao immediately crowded over.
"Liu, is that true? Your face says it all."
"No... no... What are you talking about?"
Leo Liu stammered, his face flushed with embarrassment. Tiger Li burst out laughing.
"How did you know?"
"You told me yourself."
I spoke each word carefully, but my memory felt fragmented, as if something crucial was missing. The sensation was identical to my right hand—I couldn't open it, and now, I couldn't recall.
After briefly explaining to them, I brought up David Wu. I had seen David Wu die near this well several times.
Tiger Li and Mason Zhao went over and peered into the well for a long time, but still found nothing. I was certain that, despite the chaos in my mind, the memories were real—I'd lived through them myself.
"So we've been repeating the process of entering this village countless times—and you've seen it happen over and over?"
Leo Liu asked, and I nodded. It was the only clear thing in my mind: last night I'd come in with Isabelle Frost. But something felt off—it wasn't last night at all. There was a sense of distance, as if everything from then was far away. I even felt a bit dazed.
"The key is what's in your right hand, isn't it?"
I nodded, raising my right hand and trying several times to open it, but I couldn't. I began talking about the village's unusual Blue Wraith—who was also the village chief. Yet some things were impossible to explain.
All I could remember was that the thing in my hand was written by Leo Liu. He told me to show it to them whenever the cycle repeated. I racked my brain, but part of my memory was still missing.
"Let's check out the cemetery first."
At Leo Liu's suggestion, we headed for the cemetery. But as for the missing David Wu—where was he? I distinctly remembered that David Wu died at the well in the center of the village.
As we prepared to go to the cemetery, I entered a few villagers' homes to investigate. I found everyone asleep, nothing unusual at all. Yet my memory told me that these houses were empty—no one inside.
When we arrived at the cemetery, it was still strange—there was nothing, not even the faintest trace of ghostly energy.
"Hey, Liu, who is this guy anyway? Does our Ghost Burial Squad know a ghost named Ethan Zhang?"
Tiger Li looked at me with obvious displeasure, since everything I said was completely unfamiliar to them. I just smiled.
"Maybe you don't know me now, but thirteen years from now, everyone in the Ghost Burial Squad will be my friend."
Leo Liu glanced at me, then spoke.
"Is that so? Heh, you're quite the odd one."
Leo Liu walked over to a grave and had Tiger Li and Mason Zhao start digging.
"Let's dig it up and see—whether there's a body inside or if it's empty."
As Leo Liu spoke, I looked at him in confusion. He explained that usually, after a person dies, their remains are buried. From those remains, Yin Energy slowly forms and then dissipates. But here—there was neither ghostly energy nor Yin Energy, which was unheard of.
Tiger Li and Leo Liu began digging by hand. I intended to help, using Deathbane Aura—it would have made digging effortless.
But just then, I was startled to find my Deathbane Aura had been cut off, as if the connection had snapped. My power was abundant, but I couldn't release it. It was deeply unsettling.
"Is something wrong?"
Leo Liu seemed to realize something. I nodded and told him that, as a ghost, I couldn't release my power smoothly.
The reason was clear—it was my right hand. My connection to my Ghost Soul was fading in and out. A scene flashed in my mind from last night, but it felt strange, as if the memory was shredded paper, with crucial pieces missing.
(Irrelevant system message about chapter ending—skip translation.)
"Nothing. There's nothing at all."
After Tiger Li and Mason Zhao had dug for a long time, a large pit appeared. This was clearly a cemetery, yet there was nothing—no sign of a buried body, not even a trace of odor.
"What on earth is going on?"
Leo Liu muttered. I stared at my clenched right fist and slowly drew Belle from my back, aiming it at my hand.
"Better not act rashly—just in case."
"No matter what, I have to try."
As I spoke, I raised my right hand. With a swift motion, I brought the blade down—severing my wrist. With a thud, my hand hit the ground. At that moment, Deathbane Aura erupted from the wound, flooding out uncontrollably.
"Such powerful energy."
Leo Liu muttered, while I clutched my severed right hand.
"You three, get back—I can't control this power right now."
As I spoke, the three of them hurried out of the cemetery, retreating to a distant hillside.
Something was seriously wrong—something was wreaking havoc inside my Ghost Soul, beyond my control. Everything within was in chaos.
Deathbane Aura kept pouring out. I could only hold up my right hand, letting the aura dissipate. Strangely, my severed hand didn't heal; instead, the Deathbane Aura tried to gather, but as soon as it left my body, it scattered in all directions.
Enduring the rapid loss of power, I squatted down, picked up my clenched right hand with my left, and tried to use Deathbane Aura to pry it open. Yet the fist remained tightly closed, refusing to loosen even a bit.
Dawn was breaking. Sweat poured down my face as I kept trying to force my hand open with all my strength. Still, it wouldn't budge.
My head buzzed as memories of the past few days flashed through my mind. I'd been in this village for more than three or four days—these memories were real, not false.
Time rewound. Every time it reached January 2, 2000, at dawn, it would start flowing backward, returning to January 1, 2000—repeating endlessly. All this strangeness seemed to follow someone's will. Now I felt it even more clearly—there was something inside me.
Previously, the power within my Ghost Soul was full. But now, something inside my body was hiding like a chameleon, blending into my ghostly energy, trying to push me out of the village—bit by bit.
My severed hand was the best proof—this hand no longer belonged to me. It must have already left the village, returning to thirteen years later.
"Stop disturbing the peace of the Outcast Village. Let go, or you'll regret it."
A mournful, hollow, ancient voice echoed in my ears. I was startled and looked up.
"Who are you? What's in the Outcast Village? Where are the members of the Ghost Burial Squad? Where is Miss Yi? Answer me!"
I shouted, but the only reply was a sinister laugh carried on the wind.
I sat quietly on the ground. I couldn't let this thing inside me succeed. It wanted to send my body back to thirteen years later, bit by bit. If that happened, I'd lose my chance to intervene here—and when my body was gone, my consciousness would leave too.
"Instinct... coexistence..."
I roared, and the torrent of Deathbane Aura pouring from my body began to slow. I kept calling out to my Instinct within, refusing to fall here—I had to endure. Now, the thing inside me was clear: it existed in my Instinctive Space.