Helen Chen was crying helplessly, and suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind. But right now, I was completely unable to move. Justin Huang was still struggling to hold on, having taken countless punches from the Black-Faced Man. His body had caved in at several spots.
"Rachel, drag me over there!" I shouted abruptly.
Rachel Lan glanced over, and a strip of white silk shot out, wrapping around me and pulling me over to Helen Chen and the others.
"Helen, think carefully about all the torment you've suffered over the years—the pain we've inflicted on you. Remember how Michael Chen tortured you, and after I took you out, how I tormented you again. Try to recall it, hurry..."
Principal Roy Chen called out weakly, but Helen Chen just kept shaking her head and sobbing.
"What are you all trying to do?" The Taoist Elder noticed us, then raised his horsetail whisk and started toward us.
"Come into my body, hurry, Helen Chen!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Suddenly, The Taoist Elder rushed over, brandishing his whisk.
"Ethan, think of something, I can't hold on much longer!" Justin Huang shouted, then suddenly lunged at The Taoist Elder.
Helen Chen lifted her head and stared at me blankly.
"How much longer will you endure this, Helen Chen? The three of them did all this for you. Since you can't make a choice, leave it to me. I won't forgive those people."
I reached toward the thing pinning Helen Chen down, looking at her. Finally, Helen Chen raised her hand and placed it on mine.
With a scream, Justin Huang was struck by the Taoist Elder's ceremonial whisk, his body billowing with black smoke as he cried out in pain, collapsing to his knees.
Suddenly, I felt Helen Chen enter my body. In an instant, my consciousness began to blur.
"Whatever happens, just don't let my internal organs rupture."
A strange itching sensation spread through my body. I could clearly feel Helen Chen's hair slowly wrapping around my blood vessels and organs. I felt a surge of power throughout my body.
The Taoist Elder swung his ceremonial whisk at us, and a silver light flashed. Instantly, a surge of murderous energy erupted from my body—jet-black aura flowed across my skin.
I screamed as the overflowing black aura shrank back into my body. I stretched out a hand, and gradually, my entire arm thickened immensely. The silver glow vanished, and I grabbed the Taoist Elder's ceremonial whisk.
"Help me, quick!" the Taoist Elder yelled. Suddenly, The Masked Man appeared before me, punching me in the abdomen. Aside from a bit of impact, my body didn't budge.
"Die!" I punched The Masked Man in the face and then kicked the Taoist Elder. The two of them flew out, one after the other.
I stomped hard on the ground, launching myself toward them.
"Don't get too full of yourself, Ethan Zhang."
The Masked Man rolled in midair, then tapped the ground lightly with a finger to steady himself, stomping hard as he sprang straight at me.
"Ethan..."
"I got it," Rachel Lan said as soon as I finished. I immediately stopped and retreated. Strips of white silk fluttered out, blocking in front of me. I quickly dodged to the side, and that feeling returned—I could clearly sense The Masked Man's location.
With a tearing sound, the white silk was ripped to shreds. The moment The Masked Man appeared, I charged forward, grabbed him, and drove my knee hard into his ribs.
With a gasp, The Masked Man's mouth flew open from the impact. As he doubled over, I raised my right arm and brought my elbow crashing down on his back with a thud.
With a boom, a large section of the ground caved in, cracks spreading through the concrete around us.
Waves of anger surged through every nerve in my body—including Helen Chen's rage. I could feel it clearly.
"Thunderstrike Spell..."
A surge of silvery lightning instantly struck at me from afar. I whipped my head, throwing a mass of hair in front of me as a shield. With a thunderous boom, sparks flew—the wall of hair was blasted open, a fiery flash tearing a hole through it. The Taoist Elder had already flown over, his ceremonial whisk slicing through the air.
"Palm Lightning..."
As he spoke, the Taoist Elder tossed aside his ceremonial whisk and pressed his palm against my chest. A beam of silver light flared, and with a bang, I was blasted away—my consciousness starting to blur.
"This is my daughter. You two, from now on, remember to take good care of her."
A man in his forties, with a kind face, gently pushed a little girl forward. In front of them stood two boys of similar age—both around ten—staring in a daze.
The young Helen Chen was shy around strangers. Of the two boys, the taller one was Michael Chen, and the shorter one was Principal Roy Chen.
The first time Helen Chen was fed Bloodbane Aura, Samuel Chen, Principal Roy Chen, and Michael Chen all stared blankly at her. Samuel Chen held a small bottle, walked up to the sleeping Helen Chen, pried open her mouth, twisted off the cap, and poured the black-green substance inside.
In an instant, Helen Chen's eyes flew open as she began to struggle.
"Hold her down." Behind the three, a man wearing a black mask—with a red 'Life' character on the right side—stood, slightly taller than Samuel Chen.
Helen Chen's eyes were wide as she thrashed about, her arms and legs pinned tightly by the three men.
"Helen, where are you going?" In a field, Helen Chen hopped along the ridge, running, with Principal Roy Chen chasing behind her. In the woods, Michael Chen watched intently, his gaze never leaving Helen Chen, his eyes full of anticipation.
Time flew by. From childhood to adulthood, Helen Chen was always accompanied by two people. But with the regular feeding of Bloodbane Aura every few weeks, Helen Chen's suffering grew. Each time, the pain for the three of them pinning her down also increased, while The Masked Man behind them watched with joy in his eyes.
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"Alright, tonight it's time to let that woman feel some pain. Hurry up, stop dawdling."
The Masked Man kept urging them on. Michael Chen stood at the door of Helen Chen's house on a stormy, windy night. Principal Roy Chen and Samuel Chen looked on numbly.
Once inside, Michael Chen, without a word, covered Helen Chen's mouth and forced himself on her. From that night on, Helen Chen suffered constant torment, day and night.
Under The Masked Man's orders, the torture grew even more severe.
"We can't go on like this, can we? We just can't." Michael Chen couldn't take the cruelty anymore and was on the verge of collapse. The elderly Samuel Chen looked utterly defeated, while Principal Roy Chen was even more distraught.
In the end, Principal Roy Chen took Helen Chen and escaped from Chenshire. Unfortunately, they couldn't evade the Immortality Society's pursuit. Principal Roy Chen had no choice but to bring Helen Chen back to Chenshire. It was then that memories began to twist—a member of the Nether Syndicate followed Principal Roy Chen to Chenshire.
That night, Samuel Chen died a gruesome death at the hands of The Masked Man while trying to save Helen Chen—tortured beyond recognition. It was then that Michael Chen secretly swore to deal with the Immortality Society, believing it was the only way to end everything.
The solution was for Helen Chen to become a Soul-Devouring Ghost. One night, after being fed Bloodbane Power, Helen Chen lost her life and turned into a vengeful spirit. Michael Chen and Principal Roy Chen also received orders to leave Chenshire. That night, Helen Chen, full of resentment, became a vengeful ghost.
Michael Chen and Principal Roy Chen made a pact: if Helen Chen, full of resentment, devoured three people born on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, she could become a Soul-Devouring Ghost and destroy the Immortality Society. But things didn't go as planned. Deep down, Helen Chen hadn't forgotten them, and in her subconscious, hatred couldn't take root.
Yet, stubborn as ever, Principal Roy Chen and Michael Chen still remembered what Samuel Chen had told them the first time they met Helen Chen. Under the watchful eyes of the Immortality Society, they tried everything to help Helen Chen become a Soul-Devouring Ghost.
"Roy, it's over. Our plan to overthrow the Immortality Society has failed. But don't worry, I was very careful—soon they'll come for me. Roy, if I die, find a way to contact Ethan Zhang and give him all the information. Now that Helen is under his protection, she's safe."
"Michael, don't do this. Let's go find Ethan Zhang together and tell him everything, okay?"
Michael Chen shook his head.
"We're no longer human—we're monsters, and monsters must be destroyed by humans. That's how it is for me, and for you too. Ethan Zhang's stubbornness makes him trustworthy; his beliefs won't waver."
"Roy, take care. I only hope Helen will hate us for the rest of her life. Don't let her know it was our own cowardice and greed that ruined her. If she can truly become a Soul-Devouring Ghost, she won't have to fear the Immortality Society anymore."
"Michael, take care..."
The last scene in my mind was the two men waving goodbye.
Suddenly, my eyes flew open and tears streamed down my face. It was Helen Chen—she was crying, and the pain in her heart kept flooding into me.
I looked up and saw Principal Roy Chen and Michael Chen standing at the edge of the hole I'd smashed through. Michael Chen was dragging Principal Roy Chen, whose face was streaked with tears—he was already dead.
"Sorry, Ethan Zhang. If only we'd met sooner. We dragged you into this, Helen..."
Suddenly, Michael Chen's head flew high into the air—a ceremonial whisk struck at me.