Hugh Thompson and I ran in opposite directions for a while before stopping. This place was full of pits and hollows, and the black water on the ground was all formed by Yin Energy. We couldn't run fast, so we had to move slowly, watching for the small pits beneath our feet as we ran.
I was very worried about the others. As soon as we stopped, Hugh Thompson and I climbed up a tree and sat down. The Yin Energy rising from the ground was even heavier up here, and Hugh was already coughing, his face pale.
"Let’s rest for now, Ethan. Get familiar with our surroundings. Look over there."
As Hugh spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at the outline of a distant mountain. I looked over—it was a massive mountain, but I couldn’t make out any details.
"That should be where the Ghost Syndicate is. Ethan, look closely—you should be able to see some lights."
I squinted, trying to see. Maybe it was too far away, but just as Hugh said, there was a faint glow. Earlier, Lao Chongyuan had also run in that direction.
"And over there, Ethan."
Hugh pointed in the opposite direction. I looked over—another vast, dark stretch of forest. At the edge, there seemed to be some buildings, but they were too far away to see clearly.
"What should we do now? Should we go straight over, Hugh?"
I was nervous, especially given our situation. Hugh shook his head.
"Ethan, you can’t beat them. If we go, we’ll just get caught. Their targets are you and me—and maybe the rest of the Ghost Burial Squad, especially Lily Qian and Claire Zhang."
I stared at Hugh in surprise. It was true—Lily Qian was born on the Ghost Festival, and last time, the Ghost Syndicate had come looking for her. Hugh told me that ever since Lily joined the Ghost Burial Squad, she was always accompanied by Mao Xiaoyu or Li Guohao when going out, and usually wasn’t allowed to leave at all, because the Ghost Syndicate likely wanted her soul.
"Ethan, let’s head over there first. Later, you’ll fly up into the sky and head toward that place that looks like buildings. If everyone sees flames in the sky, they’ll know where to meet up."
I nodded. It was a good idea. We had no way out now—the Ghost Syndicate had brought us to this place.
Following Hugh’s instructions, I summoned flames, but instantly, a gust of black wind swept by, snuffing out the fire on my body.
Just like before, the flames I released were wiped out by the black wind.
I tried several more times, but couldn’t form wings from the flames. In this place, the powers of the living world were met with hostility from the forest itself. That’s how it felt—as if no matter how much fire I summoned, I still couldn’t release it.
Whenever flames appeared, the black wind would blow them out. Then Hugh started trembling again. I quickly crawled over the tree trunk and grabbed his hand, channeling Yang Energy into him. He got a little better and kept looking toward the distant place that seemed to have buildings.
"Ethan, let’s go over there and take a look. There’s something I’m really concerned about."
Hugh said, and I glanced anxiously behind us, at the distant forest.