"I know where Ray Lin is now."
I muttered to myself, then with a whoosh, flew straight toward South City, a smile appearing on my face. In a restaurant, I found Ray Lin, and at that moment, King Hollowbelly also looked visibly relieved.
"What are you doing?"
King Hollowbelly looked at Ray Lin. By now, all the surrounding ghosts had fled, keeping their distance.
"Don't panic. I'm in a good mood today, so you don't need to bring me gifts for now."
The ghosts looked at King Hollowbelly in alarm. It seems that having to pay him whenever they saw him was a real thing—if you didn't pay, you could end up dead.
"You really are obsessed with money."
I muttered, and King Hollowbelly burst out laughing.
"Of course. Money is a wonderful thing."
Ray Lin was still drinking. I felt something was off, and as I got closer, the feeling grew. Ray Lin stood up and patted me on the shoulder.
"Come on, Ethan, tonight I plan to have a good drink with you."
I let out a surprised sound as Ray Lin pulled me away.
"Hey, you haven't paid yet!"
King Hollowbelly immediately shouted, and Ray Lin turned his head.
"You pay for me."
King Hollowbelly responded with an 'oh,' took out some money from his pocket, and obediently handed it to the owner. Instantly, the restaurant owner knelt down, bowing repeatedly in gratitude. I sighed helplessly.
But I still felt something was off, my mind was a bit muddled. How did I know Ray Lin was here? At that moment, Ray Lin smiled.
"You still have another appointment, Ethan."
I remembered immediately. I had an appointment with William Cheng, nodded, and let Ray Lin wait for me at a restaurant. I went straight to the east side of the city, near the city gate, and found no one around.
Because the city gate was completely sealed, all the ghost wardens had gone off duty. I looked around, and suddenly a ghost approached from behind. I immediately drew Belle—turns out it was William Cheng, hands raised.
"Brother Zhang, you finally made it. Come with me—there's a small opening that leads outside. Someone told me about it."
I responded and followed William Cheng, walking along the city wall. When we reached a patch of weeds, William Cheng parted them.
I looked over but saw nothing unusual. Puzzled, I checked with my Specter Web.
"Brother Zhang, you have to get closer to see it."
I responded, moved closer, and squatted down. Then I saw it clearly—a transparent patch appeared on the wall, almost like water.
"What is this? William Cheng, can you go through..."
Just as I turned my head, I suddenly saw a boot. With a thud, I was kicked in the face and sent flying backward. With a rolling sound, I felt myself pass through something.
"Are you alright, Brother Ethan?"
When I came to my senses, I was stunned. I was in an empty grand hall. Ray Lin wore chains on his wrists and shackles on his ankles, looking out of sorts. The surroundings were pitch black, but only the pool of light before us illuminated everything inside Hollowbelly Manor. Vivian Maple paced back and forth.
"Who exactly are you?"
Suddenly, I realized it—William Cheng was sitting on the wide seat at the top of the staircase behind me. He was the one who kicked me in. My mind cleared instantly; my memories had been manipulated.
"Shut up, Ethan Zhang. Sit still and watch—don’t you recognize it? Look around and see what this place really is."
A commanding voice rang out. I widened my eyes and blinked, gradually adapting. This was a grand hall, and William Cheng sat on a large chair with a table in front of him—on it were a pen, a book, a stone block for slamming the table, and a small wooden box with the character for 'order' stuck in it.
The three characters 'Hall of Lost Souls' were clearly visible. I swallowed hard.
"Judge Bane."
William Cheng didn’t answer; he simply stood up and walked over, his appearance unchanged.
"Ethan Zhang, where’s Ray Lin?"
I stared in astonishment at the scene—a perfect copy of myself appeared. It was truly me, or more accurately, my shadow. Vivian Maple eyed my shadow suspiciously, then sat down, seemingly oblivious to anything unusual.
At that moment, Ray Lin also entered Hollowbelly Manor. The real Ray Lin behind me sighed helplessly.
"Sixth Tribunal Judge, aren’t you being a bit too despicable, dragging Ethan Zhang in here as well?"
"Silence, all of you! Hmph, tomorrow marks the destruction of the Hall of Malice. This menace to the underworld will be eliminated by me."
In that instant, I lost all will to resist. The pale scholar before me was indeed Judge Bane; he could alter my memories without a trace, capture Ray Lin, and even force Ray Lin’s duplicate wraith to take his place, making the fake indistinguishable from the real. My shadow, too, was likely under Judge Bane’s control.
"Who dares defy my command?"
Judge Bane looked at me, approaching step by step. I remembered how, upon entering, he had pressed me into a vat of oil for torture. Now he wore a smug expression, watching King Hollowbelly and Vivian Maple negotiating on the screen.
"You double-crossing fat fool, how dare you keep something this big from me?"
I glanced at King Hollowbelly—he grinned smugly, completely unaware that Judge Bane already knew everything he tried to hide. Neither Ray Lin nor Ethan Zhang on the screen were the real ones.
"How did you find out?"
Judge Bane chuckled and looked at me.
"Naturally, I have my own sources of intelligence."
"The Immortality Society?"
I asked, and King Hollowbelly shook his head.
"I'll find a way to get rid of that group eventually, but right now, that red-haired brat is the real problem. He needs to be dealt with first."
"Can't we just sit down and talk this out? Didn't the Underworld already grant him the title of Yanluo? Why go back on your word now?"
King Hollowbelly replied with utter disdain.
"It's just a temporary measure. Hmph, Ethan Zhang, I haven't even settled the score with you and Ray Lin for what happened between Zhang Qingyuan and Lady Bone Wraith. Now that you’ve fallen into my hands, I won’t be polite. Soon, you’ll get a taste of being deep-fried like twisted dough."
Watching King Hollowbelly’s smug expression, I couldn’t help but sigh.
"Still a far cry from the Fifth Tribunal Yanluo."
Ray Lin nodded as well, while King Hollowbelly glared at us furiously.
"Hmph, that fool Judge Bao! He knows you’re enemies of the Underworld, yet he keeps helping you again and again. Tomorrow, I’ll wipe them all out—faster than Emperor Song ever could."
I swallowed nervously. Ray Lin asked a question.
"So the reason Ghostgate has mobilized such a massive force is to go up against the Lord of Hellfire?"
King Hollowbelly spat dismissively, then spoke with rare gravity.
"Do you understand? The real threat now is that red-haired guy. He feeds on malice, and in just two hundred years, he’s grown rapidly in secret. Modern malice far exceeds the ancient—information flows too easily now. People don’t need to travel the world for experience; they can learn everything from home, and endless malice keeps being born. That guy set up the Hall of Malice just to harvest all that negativity. The power he’s gained has already surpassed his expectations. To keep peace between the human world and the Ghostrealm—"
"Then why didn’t you catch the red-haired guy before? Surely you had the power to do it, right?"
King Hollowbelly chuckled.
"It’s true, he used to be the weakest among the seven Ghost Lords. Back then, his followers weren’t as fierce as the other six, not even as strong as that dreamer kid. But now, after years of hiding, he’s become much more powerful. That’s why I plan to wipe them all out in one stroke this time."
Things were looking grim. I glanced worriedly at Vivian Maple. If the red-haired guy really stepped into Hollowbelly’s domain, it could be disastrous. After all, this was the Underworld’s territory, and no ghost could best a Yanluo here. Seeing King Hollowbelly’s confident face, he’d clearly already figured out how to deal with Redhair.
"Will he really come?"
Ray Lin muttered, while King Hollowbelly burst out laughing, clearly in high spirits.
"Of course. That guy may be arrogant, but he treats his people well. Now that his right-hand men are here, Hollowbelly may not be clever, but he knows what matters in a deal. He won’t let anyone go until he gets paid. And he wants to work with Redhair, so he’ll do whatever it takes to get him here."
Time ticked by. I prayed Redhair wouldn’t show up, while King Hollowbelly’s eyes gleamed, growing more and more excited.
Outside Hollowbelly Manor, a blood-red array had been drawn by Hollowbelly himself. He waited off to the side.
"It’s about time," Hollowbelly said, raising a hand. A gold ingot floated out and he tossed it into the center of the array.
"Gold Hell, open..."
A golden storm erupted within the array, a pillar of light shooting skyward. The intense wind pressure shattered the surrounding columns in an instant.
A pair of black leather boots stepped out. Redhair wore a purple suit, his hair unchanged. He ran his right hand through the strands hanging from the left side of his head, wrinkling his nose and sniffing the air repeatedly.
"It stinks in here. I wouldn’t stay in a place this foul for even a minute, right, Little Life?"
Vivian Maple was already standing at Redhair’s left, helping him straighten his boutonnière.
"Boss, you’re so reckless. You actually came."
Redhair burst out laughing.
"Maple, I’m just here to talk business."
As Redhair spoke, he snapped his left fingers. Little Life nodded, raised a hand, and with a crack, a rift opened in space. Immediately, a mountain of ghost money appeared on the ground.
"Wow, money—so much money! Hahaha..."
Hollowbelly immediately dove onto the pile, sniffing greedily.
"Enough sniffing, Hollowbelly. It’s all real. Now that we’re all here, shouldn’t you show some sincerity too?"
Hollowbelly lay atop the cash, a tear glistening at the corner of his eye.
"Having money is good."
"Money really is a wonderful thing."