Hugh Thompson's hand was finally bandaged. I looked at his face, still wearing a smile. My own wounds had healed thanks to the fire of Yang energy, but Hugh Thompson should be in pain now—yet he seemed to feel nothing.
Downstairs, there was a constant commotion. It was already 3 a.m.—the production crew had returned. After a while, a series of knocks sounded at the door, relentless and persistent.
Hugh Thompson gave a look, and Miles Mao moved to the door, listening quietly.
"Jenny, it's James Zhang. I need to talk to you about something. Open the door, please."
Hugh Thompson shook his head, signaling Miles Mao not to open the door. After a long while, James Zhang finally left.
At 3 a.m., Jenny Rou woke up. The moment she regained consciousness, she screamed, but Hugh Thompson reacted quickly and covered her mouth.
"Don't be afraid, you're safe now." Tears welled in Jenny's eyes. It took a while for her to calm down. Then she told us that after her role was replaced by Leah King through connections, she had been miserable ever since, only landing a supporting role.
"Do you know what happened? I confronted Leah King, and she said she just wanted to take my role. What could I do? Tell me, isn't that going too far?"
We all fell silent. Leah King's actions really were a bit too much.
"Later, one night, I met a man wearing a bamboo hat. He appeared in my room and gave me a small packet of something, telling me to give it to Leah King. When we were paired up for the show, once we reached the middle of the pond, I was to stick a talisman on Leah King—and she would disappear forever."
I walked over to Jenny Rou and looked at her. According to her description, it was a black talisman covered in strange, unreadable writing. The man from the Ghost Syndicate had warned Jenny—he could help her, but if she ever spoke of it, she would disappear instantly.
Afterwards, Hugh Thompson asked Miles Mao to summon ghosts and find a way to drive the production crew away tonight. There was less than an hour left. Miles hurriedly pulled out his prepared tools, and Hugh Thompson called Dalton Fang up to join them, asking the two to protect Jenny Rou while he took me and Justin Huang to Deadwood Pond.
I quickly briefed Justin Huang on the situation, and Hugh Thompson, looking anxious, started running.
"Hugh, what's going on?"
"Now that we know the location, we have a way. It's likely a man-made space, created by sorcery. You've seen it before—the old couple from the Nether Syndicate, their place is a similar kind of space."
I responded, and Justin Huang shone his flashlight. The three of us quickly reached the edge of Deadwood Pond, then walked a bit further to the center.
"What should we do?"
I asked, and Hugh Thompson adjusted his glasses, smiling as he spoke to me.
"You just need to use enough power to split the space apart. It's up to you, Ethan."
I hesitated for a moment, then slowly drew the Phoenix Blade. Flames roared to life. I aimed at the center of the lake and struck hard—a massive fire swept across the water, hitting something like an invisible wall, unmoving.
As the flames gradually faded, we noticed something like a dome shifting faintly.
"I've already warned you. If you still want to interfere, I won't be polite, Ethan Zhang."
That cold voice rang out again.
"Who are you, really?"
"Hmph. I am Starbane. This is your last chance—if you back off now, we’ll mind our own business. Otherwise, I won’t be so lenient."
"Hand her over!" I shouted. A gust of cold wind swept by. Suddenly, with a gurgling sound, a Drowned Wraith surfaced on the lake. As the icy wind intensified, the vanished ghost reappeared, snowflakes swirling through the air.
"Everyone, be careful!" Hugh Thompson shouted, quickly pulling out an Octagram Mirror from his coat. A beam of yellow light shot out, targeting the Drowned Wraith rushing toward us in the water.
"It’s useless. The ghosts held by the Ghost Syndicate are quite special, you know."
As we spoke, Justin Huang rushed forward, swinging his fist at the Drowned Wraith that had reached the shore. With a loud smack, water splashed everywhere.
The Drowned Wraith suddenly turned into a stream of water, wrapping itself around Justin Huang's arm.
I raised the Phoenix Blade and slashed at the oncoming ghost.
Sure enough, as soon as my flames touched him, they were snuffed out. Instantly, ice spikes appeared in the air, shooting toward us—a dense barrage of white, glinting spears.
With a loud shout, Justin Huang broke free from the water wrapping around him and rushed over, grabbing me and Hugh Thompson, leaping high into the air.
"Up the mountain!" Hugh Thompson shouted. After Justin Huang dodged the ice spikes, he jumped toward the mountain behind us. We hid behind some trees.
More swishing sounds—another wave of ice spikes jabbed toward us. I swung the Phoenix Blade with all my strength, breaking several spikes, but the flames on the sword had completely died out, leaving only a fiery glow on its surface.
"Don't get reckless, Ethan. There’s likely more than just Starbane from the Ghost Syndicate here. We need to be careful—let's wait for reinforcements."
Hugh Thompson spoke, putting his phone back into his pocket.
As we talked, I realized it was raining. But the temperature around us was so low that the raindrops tinkled as they fell, and to my surprise, they froze into icy flowers upon touching us. Our bodies began to freeze bit by bit.
"Looks like they don’t intend to give us any breathing room."
Justin Huang looked around.
"Strange, I can't see the true forms of those two ghosts."
We got up and kept running up the mountain, trying to escape the rainfall. Our bodies had nearly succumbed to the extreme cold, shivering as we reached the hillside.
[Irrelevant passage skipped.]
But as soon as we escaped the rain, shaking off the ice shards clinging to us, the rain began to fall again.
Just as we were about to be trapped, I suddenly saw flames burst forth nearby—a Spirit Charm turned to ash. Hugh Thompson immediately shouted.
"That direction, Justin!"
Without hesitation, Justin Huang swung his fist at the spot where the flames erupted. With a bang, I heard a wail and then the sound of something shattering.
A pale figure flew out, crashing through the trees—it was the ghost called Ice Spike. The rain kept falling, but it no longer froze. Hugh Thompson now held a handful of Spirit Charms.
"Just a little trick to force him out. You guys really are clueless—coming so boldly, did you think we’re all fools?"
As Hugh Thompson spoke, he suddenly scattered a stack of Spirit Charms into the sky. I seemed to understand his intent. I raised the Phoenix Blade, igniting a fierce flame, and when I saw a spot burning, I shouted and leapt over a tree, slashing at that point.
A wailing sound arose. In an instant, I saw the Drowned Wraith on the ground, shrieking in pain as it tried to escape below.
I swung the Phoenix Blade as needed, and in an instant, the fleeing Drowned Wraith was engulfed by a sea of fire.
A tinkling sound—like ice blocks colliding—rang out. The flames before me were instantly extinguished. It was Ice Spike. Justin Huang kicked down a tree, his body swelling with power, and punched at the newly appeared Ice Spike.
With a bang, both ghosts before us were knocked down, and then Hugh Thompson and I rushed after them.
"Ethan, don’t be fooled by the illusions before you."
"These people are very good at lying."
I let out a cry as Justin Huang charged down, and we followed close behind. As soon as we landed, Hugh Thompson spun around and threw several Spirit Lure Orbs behind me—crackling explosions erupted.
"Ethan, aim behind us and strike—the direction is reversed!"
Just as Hugh Thompson finished speaking, I turned my head, shouted, and used all my strength. A bird's cry rang out, and a flaming phoenix appeared on my blade, its wings flashing. I swung forcefully toward the mountainside behind us—a sharp cry, and the flaming phoenix surged forward.
With a bang, fire shot skyward, the flames erupting in sync with my emotions. Then everything around us changed. To my surprise, we were facing Deadwood Pond, and at the center of the lake, a rift in space was faintly visible.