"Mr. Chen, where is this place?"
I looked at the endless prison. All around, there were ghosts either crying or laughing madly. Some were so terrifying I didn't dare look.
At that moment, the white-clad female ghost beside me stopped crying and stared blankly at us. She drifted over, and I moved slightly behind Mr. Chen.
As soon as I touched the bars, pain shot through my entire body.
"Ethan, don't touch that. This is a special prison made by the Ghost Syndicate. If you touch it, it'll harm your ghost soul."
I had no idea how many days had passed. We could only stay in the prison, and I had grown used to the wailing and shrieking of ghosts around us. My fear of ghosts was fading, because I had become one myself.
Though I had fully accepted that I was a ghost, I still wore a worried look every day. The female ghost beside me was Rainie Mo, who died more than ten years ago and had been locked up here for several months. She was lively by nature, but since an especially vicious ghost used to vent its anger on her every day, she lived in fear. Later, the Ghost Syndicate took that evil ghost away, and now she's alone, afraid of what will happen next.
"Ethan, what do you think will happen to us? I heard the Ghost Syndicate specializes in capturing powerful ghosts and turning them into obedient servants."
I shook my head. Mr. Chen chuckled.
"Well, since we've been caught, we might as well enjoy what's left of our lives."
Just then, the sound of chains echoed. I looked over in surprise—Lily Wu and Nathan Li were being dragged over by a member of the Ghost Syndicate, chained together. Half of Lily Wu's face was a bloody mess, and Nathan Li's head was somehow attached by something, but it still hung limply.
"Didn't you promise that if we helped you bring Ethan Zhang here, you'd let us go?"
Lily Wu screamed, but the Ghost Syndicate member just smiled and threw Lily Wu and Nathan Li directly into the prison.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Rainie Mo cheerfully looked at the new ghosts in the prison. They didn't seem so scary, but I kept my head down, unable to look at Lily Wu and Nathan Li.
"It's all your fault, Ethan Zhang."
Lily Wu sobbed, glaring at me. I sat numbly in the cell, at a loss for words. Faced with her accusations, I had no way to defend myself.
"Forget it, Lily. That's just how he is. We're dead, but he's still alive."
I was shocked. My eyes widened as I stared at Nathan Li, whose head hung low but whose eyes looked at me with contempt.
"What do you mean, I'm still alive?"
"Why won't someone like you just die? You have parents—don't I? Don't I? Ethan Zhang, you heartless bastard!"
Lily Wu screamed.
I sat on the ground, head lowered, unable to meet her eyes. Ever since long ago, whenever she cried, I felt awful inside.
"You know, Ethan, I've always found it strange. It's like you didn't become a ghost from a complete soul—that's why you're so weak."
Mr. Chen said this, and I let out a sound of surprise, looking at him.
Then Nathan Li spoke up. I had saved him—brought him back from the Underworld, rescued him from John Chou, that evil ghost.
Yet I knew nothing about any of this. Lily Wu looked at me with deep resentment, step by step approaching, squatting down in front of me, grabbing my collar with one hand.
"Look at me, Ethan Zhang. Really look at me."
I couldn't look at Lily Wu. Inside, I felt cold to the core.
"Lily, forget it. There's no point talking to someone who doesn't care about you. You've changed, Ethan. Can't you see anything but yourself now?"
Nathan Li spoke, and a wave of bitterness washed over me. Lily Wu leaned into Nathan Li's arms and began to cry—a sound so desolate. It lasted for a long time before finally fading away.
It had been days since I'd spoken. The other four ghosts chatted and laughed; Mr. Chen and Rainie Mo would occasionally try to talk to me, but I said nothing. My heart felt heavy—anger, bitterness, and all those suffocating feelings pressed down on my chest.
"I've heard that some ghosts here have been locked up for hundreds of years and never got out. Just look."
Lily Wu pointed to a white-faced ghost in the cell opposite. He looked vacant, sometimes crying and sometimes grinning foolishly, clearly mentally broken.
Looking at the ghosts around me, I realized many of them had lost their minds to varying degrees—crazy, deranged, with eyes that were disturbingly wrong.
I still couldn't bring myself to look at Lily Wu and Nathan Li. They had betrayed me—one was my beloved, the other my closest friend—and yet I felt uneasy.
"You can see ghosts, right, Ethan?"
Suddenly, Lily Wu asked me. I didn't know how to respond, so I stayed silent. She squatted in front of me again, gently pressing her hands on my shoulders.
"Answer me, Ethan."
Every ghost in the cell was staring at me.
"Ethan, go ahead. Whatever you can't let go of, say it. Everything in the world of the living is long gone. We're all dead now—just bones and lingering souls. Even as ghosts, we'll die one day. Say what's on your mind."
Finally, under Lily Wu's gaze, I nodded.
"Is that so? Heh... heh..."
Lily Wu laughed, cold and sharp. Each sound was like a knife stabbing into my heart.
"My dad was perfectly healthy, but after a trip, he suddenly fell ill—multiple organ failure, no known cause. We searched everywhere for doctors and specialists, but nothing helped. My dad still died."
As Lily Wu spoke, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped me hard. The sound rang out—I took the blow.
I still couldn't meet her eyes.
My memories of all this are a bit hazy, but I can recall some fragments. I couldn't see everything clearly, but I remember seeing something dark pressing down on Lily Wu's father. Several times, I thought it was just stress-induced hallucinations.
After Lily Wu's father died, she was devastated. I often comforted her and stayed by her side. It wasn't until a year before our relationship began to crack that she finally recovered.
"Little sister, may I say something?"
Mr. Chen spoke, and Lily Wu wiped her tears, nodding. Nathan Li comforted her.
"There have always been people who can see ghosts, but once you get involved with them, you're haunted for life. Some choose not to believe, and even if they see ghosts, their hearts refuse to accept it—so they stop seeing them. Ethan, did you see things clearly back then?"
I shook my head, answering weakly.
"I could only see Uncle Wu, weighed down by a mass of blackness."
"Ah, what's there to be upset about? You guys have only just died. Give it time, and you'll see—those things from life won't matter anymore."
Rainie Mo said with a cheerful laugh.
"My death was pretty miserable, you know. My husband killed me. I hated him, was furious, and became a vengeful ghost. But when I saw him with that tramp, I suddenly didn't want revenge anymore. In the end, my husband lived a miserable life. By now, he's probably got nothing left—just half a life."
Rainie Mo laughed heartily, but then the cell fell silent again.
At that moment, a member of the Ghost Syndicate walked over to our cell, opened the door, and pointed at me.
"Come out, Ethan Zhang."
I hesitated for a moment, and with a crack, a whip lashed across my body. I screamed, rolling on the ground in pain.
Lily Wu quickly helped me up, looking at me with reluctant concern. I felt a wave of bitterness in my heart.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
The Ghost Syndicate member ordered me to follow him. I had no choice but to go. The sights around the cell were all the same as we walked down a narrow corridor that seemed to have no end.
Suddenly, it felt like I passed through something. When I emerged, I was stunned—surrounded by a vast, black, desolate mountain, with only a cold moon shining overhead.
The place actually had modern buildings. Led by the Ghost Syndicate member, I entered a hall lined with rows of urns on both sides. I felt a surge of fear.
"Lord Fiend Star, I've brought Ethan Zhang."
It was the pale, bluish-faced guy—he looked like the boss of the Ghost Syndicate.
"Ethan Zhang, come here."
Trembling, I walked over, shivering.
"Let me go. I'm just an earth soul, turned into a ghost—weak and fragile."
As soon as I finished speaking, Dreadstar burst out laughing.
"Indeed, you're very weak. But you could become powerful—I have my eye on you."
Just then, a nearby door opened and the sound of wailing echoed out. I was stunned as I watched an old man emerge, leaning on a cane.
"Howling Elder, you're back. Heh, this is Ethan Zhang—the one John Chou fancies. But he only managed to snatch one soul."
"He's good material for ghost refining—not bad."