"Hey, what are you doing? Who's here?" A woman's voice called out. I gripped Louis Lee by the neck and walked into the bedroom. A female ghost, completely naked, lay sprawled on the bed. Her face, though caked with makeup, was rather ugly.
The moment the female ghost saw me, she screamed in fright.
"Shut up. Get out." I roared, and with my anger, Deathbane Aura spilled from all around my body.
The female ghost just smiled.
"Oh, come on, sir, don’t be so fierce. We’re just doing business here. I’ll leave, but I haven’t received tonight’s overnight fee yet!"
I looked at Louis Lee in surprise.
"There’s money in my clothes," Louis Lee said. The female ghost searched for a while but couldn’t find it.
"Um, could you let go of me first? I’ll go get the money for her."
I nodded and released Louis Lee.
Louis Lee walked over and started bargaining with the female ghost. After agreeing on a price, I kept my head turned away the whole time.
"The money’s by the entrance."
Louis Lee led the female ghost over. Suddenly, he shoved her toward me, darted around, and tried to run.
"Damn it." I shouted. With a crack, the door opened and Louis Lee bolted out. I shoved the female ghost aside and rushed out, crouching down as soon as I got outside, both hands flat on the ground.
A streak of Deathbane Aura shot toward the corridor wall, instantly reaching Louis Lee. With a hiss, it pierced through one of his legs. Louis Lee collapsed to the floor with a thud, screaming in pain. The Deathbane Aura had punctured his thigh, leaving a gaping hole that wouldn’t heal.
Without a word, I grabbed Louis Lee by the hair and dragged him back into the room.
As soon as we entered, the female ghost just glanced at us, said nothing, and held out her hand.
"This is Boss Ma’s turf. Whatever trouble you have, I won’t get involved. But..."
Resigned, I pulled out some Spirit Notes and handed them to the female ghost. She got dressed, then gave me her contact information.
"Handsome, if you get lonely, remember to call this number." The female ghost giggled as she left. I tossed the card away in disgust, but oddly enough, the phone number was still on it.
I dragged Louis Lee and threw him onto the bed.
"Talk. Why did you try to harm Richard Li?"
Louis Lee just shook his head.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know, I don’t know."
Instantly, rage boiled up in me. A Deathbane Blade formed in my hand. I grabbed Louis Lee’s arm and, with a swift slash, chopped it off. Just as he was about to scream, I pressed his head down onto the bed.
"I won’t ask a third time. Why did you try to harm Richard Li?"
"I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Spare me, please, spare me!"
Then Louis Lee started talking. It was a Taoist priest who told him. That’s when I realized: these shadowy figures, who died from illness, can’t just pick any substitute—they need someone whose Eight Characters fate chart closely matches their own.
And the owner of the general store, Richard Li, had a matching fate chart. The Taoist priest was the one who told Louis Lee about it.
Ghosts who died from illness or suicide—those of the shadow class—are endlessly tormented by their pain and the circumstances of their deaths. Once they enter the underworld, they’re sent to the appropriate hell for punishment, suffering until their allotted lifespan runs out, after which they can reincarnate.
So many ghosts just stay in the human world, searching for someone with a matching fate chart. If they find a substitute and kill that person, their suffering can be transferred to the substitute. Then, they have a way to sneak into another part of the ghost realm and cross the Bridge of Remorse to reincarnate directly.
"Tell me about that Taoist priest. What do you know?"
"I don’t know, I really don’t know. Please let me go, I won’t dare again. I’m just in too much pain, really."
I glared fiercely at Louis Lee.
"Why? Richard Li’s daughter is about to have her birthday in a few days. Why did you try to harm him?"
For a moment, I felt a little sympathy. But then I thought of Richard Li’s daughter and her eyes looking at me—I raised the Deathbane Blade.
"Spare me, spare me..." Louis Lee screamed. Suddenly, he grabbed a pillow and threw it at me. I slashed down with the blade, and the pillow exploded with a bang.
Immediately after, there was a sharp crack—the sound of glass shattering. I looked over and saw Louis Lee jump straight out of the window.
I rushed to the window and looked down. On the street, Louis Lee was limping away. I was about to jump down in anger, but then I realized—this was the eighth floor. If I jumped, I’d be a pile of flesh.
Helpless, I ran out of the room and took the elevator down to the first floor.
There wasn’t a soul on the street, just a few places with lights on. I looked around, following the direction Louis Lee had gone.
The clang-clang-clang of a bell rang out. I’d just reached a crossroads when I heard it, and suddenly every house’s lights came on. I looked around, confused about what was happening.
"Boss Ma says someone broke in. Everyone get out here and search."
My heart skipped a beat. Wasn’t that me they were talking about?
"Damn it." I cursed, scanning the area. Ghosts started pouring out of their houses. It had to be that punk Louis Lee—he’d found out I wasn’t a ghost, but a living person.
"This way, hurry!" a voice called. I looked over—there was a narrow alley. Without thinking, I ran toward it. A hand grabbed me and pulled me inside without a word.
In front of me was a person with a gray cloth wrapped around his head, gripping me with a strong, powerful hand.
He dragged me through the alley, turning corners again and again. After a while, I saw a rundown two-story house. I couldn’t tell if the person was human or ghost, but he pulled me inside and slammed the door shut.
"It’s safe here. But you—what’s a living person like you doing in Ghostrealm?"
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
There was the sound of footsteps, then the light came on. The man pulled off the cloth from his head, revealing a big bald head and a thick beard around his mouth. He looked about forty.
"Who are you?"
"Of course I’m human. Look, I have a shadow." I checked and, sure enough, under the glow of a small oil lamp, the monk in front of me had a shadow. Around his neck hung a large string of black prayer beads, each bead as big as a fist.
"My name is Owen Zhou. I’m a monk. What about you? With all that Deathbane Aura on you, I noticed you as soon as you came in. At first I thought you were a ghost, haha."
I gave an awkward laugh.
"My name is Ethan Zhang."
"Oh? So you’re Ethan Zhang?" Brother Owen said, looking me up and down before breaking into a smile.
"So skinny, haha. Turns out you’re the famous Ethan Zhang from the world of exorcists. I’ve heard about you. So, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you hanging out with your family’s evil spirits? Did you come here to recruit Lord Wraith?"
At the end, Brother Owen’s tone grew intense. He slammed his hand on the table, eyes glaring at me, his whole body radiating murderous intent.
His questions left me baffled and stunned.
"Master, it’s not like that. I came here for personal reasons. Besides, a friend of mine was captured here by Boss Ma’s Blue Wraith."
After that, I briefly mentioned the Immortality Society. Brother Owen burst out laughing.
"Oh, sorry, Ethan Zhang—I thought you were here to talk business with Lord Wraith. Still, I didn’t expect you’d dare go up against the Immortality Society. That’s some courage!" Brother Owen said. I immediately asked, anxious.
"Master, do you know anything about the Immortality Society?"
As soon as I finished speaking, my stomach growled. My legs went weak and I nearly collapsed.
"Hungry, huh? Come on, let’s go upstairs."
We went up to the second floor, and to my surprise, there was a light. When he switched it on, the room lit up. There was a big fridge, a microwave, and a gas stove. I stared in disbelief.
"Wait a bit. Looks like it’s your first time in Ghostrealm, so you don’t know."
Soon, a delicious aroma wafted over. Brother Owen was cooking. I lay on the table, swallowing constantly, but my lips were cracked and I was terribly thirsty.
"There’s beer in the fridge," Brother Owen said. I grabbed a can, hesitated at first, but after smelling the beer, I started drinking.
"Ah, that’s good." I couldn’t help but exclaim after downing a can of beer in one go.
Soon a table full of dishes was served. I ate like a starving ghost. Brother Owen drank beer and ate meat, but suddenly I wondered—can monks eat meat?
"Oh, I’m from the Renegade Monks sect. Haven’t you heard of it, Ethan?"
I nodded. It was just as the name suggested—the Renegade Monks don’t follow the usual monastic rules.
"By the way, Master, what are you doing here, anyway?"
Brother Owen set down his beer and sighed.
"I just go out now and then to buy some food and drinks. I’ve been here for years. One of our Renegade Monks’ most important relics was taken by Lord Wraith two hundred years ago, and we’ve never gotten it back. Now that the Ghost Sovereign has appeared, we’re even more anxious."
I let out an "ah" and looked at Brother Owen.
As for what the important relic was, I didn’t ask—Brother Owen probably wouldn’t tell me anyway.
"Be honest with me, Ethan—how much of the Sanzu Force have you recovered?"
"It’s still being suppressed by John Chou," I replied.
"Looks like you’ve still got some time. By the way, Ethan, you seem like a good person—how did you end up with someone like John Chou, that wicked ghost?"
I forced a bitter smile and shook my head.
"At first, I was forced. But now, we’re friends."
Brother Owen’s eyes widened suddenly.
"Friends? You and that evil ghost are friends? Haha, that’s the biggest joke in the world!"