Hide-and-Seek Trial

"Give it to me. For the sake of fairness, rely on yourself to beat me."

I looked at Coexistence, nodded, reached out my right hand, and removed a Bloodshot Eye, handing it to him. His laughter sounded almost hysterical, like sandpaper scraping across a blackboard.

"Aren't you afraid I'll eat you right now?"

I clenched my fist, held it tight, and pressed it against my chest.

"I'm not the same as I was before."

If I had handled everything just now the way I used to—recklessly and without foresight—I wouldn’t have been able to calmly face the reality of being devoured by Coexistence.

"The game is simple: Hide-and-Seek Trial."

My heart skipped a beat. Coexistence opened his mouth wide in a grin, then pointed toward the front of the apartment building.

"Just the two of us in this Hide-and-Seek Trial. Now, choose, Ethan Zhang—do you want to be the human or the ghost first?"

I immediately understood what kind of game Coexistence wanted to play with me.

"I'll be the ghost first."

I said, and suddenly, I felt my body restore itself. In an instant, I floated into the air, my powers returning. But just as I tried to release ghostly energy, I found it dissipated as soon as it appeared.

"You only have basic ghost abilities: floating, passing through walls, and possession. Just these three abilities. You can't probe memories or use any lethal powers."

I stared wide-eyed. Coexistence was now about a meter tall and looked more human.

"The time limit is one day. Best two out of three wins."

The sound of the clock came from above. I looked up and saw a large black-and-white clock on top of the building, both hands pointing to twelve.

In an instant, Coexistence disappeared from in front of me.

I hurriedly looked down, but couldn't see clearly. It seemed to be an adult figure.

"Okay, count to 100, Ethan Zhang. The game starts when you reach 100."

As this thought appeared in my mind, Coexistence had already run out of the building, exiting from the back.

I started counting.

"One... two... three... four..."

While counting, I was already thinking. The game is simple: as the ghost, I must find Coexistence, now human, in the haunted area behind the building. He will have human traits.

When I reached 100, I immediately floated up and drifted toward the back of the apartment building. The black-and-white clock in the sky began to move, its bell clanging.

"Hey, hey! Are you new here? Why are you flying up there? Get down!"

Just as I arrived at a street, a headless ghost called out to me, carrying its own head, surrounded by many low-level ghosts, all looking as they did at death.

Some were missing arms and legs, some were mangled and bloody, some were rotting all over, maggots crawling from their wounds.

Sorry, I just got here. By the way, has anyone seen someone run in here just now?

I carefully observed my surroundings. Since this was a game, and Coexistence hadn’t devoured me after I surrendered my only remaining eye, it meant the rules were fair.

I couldn’t sense anything supernatural right now, so what I needed most was information. From the rooftop, I’d seen the city sprawling below—towering skyscrapers and low, ordinary streets alike.

I kept asking around on the street, but luckily I ran into a few ghosts who were more friendly. They confirmed they’d seen a middle-aged man rush in through the gate, but this place was so big—how was I supposed to find him?

I’d already walked down six streets in a row, following the clues, until I reached a place with a massive gate. The gate was shut tight, and behind it lay the high-rise district.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Just as I floated up, ready to cross over, a ghost stopped me. I looked over—it was a slightly more normal-looking ghost, dressed in casual clothes, headphones hanging from his ears, jogging toward me.

"You must be new here. You can’t go past that gate—it’s not open yet."

I grunted in response, then looked past the gate. Sure enough, the streets beyond looked perfectly intact—except for the total lack of ghosts.

I listened closely and realized this area was just as big as the six streets I’d already walked. I started asking if anyone had seen a guy in white pass through.

Half an hour had already passed. Now there were no more clues.

"Is something wrong? Tell me about it."

The ghost in front of me finally spoke.

"If a human came in here, what would happen?"

"It’s normal. People from over there cross through from time to time, and we go over too. But lately, something’s been wrong. For now, humans and ghosts aren’t crossing between the two sides."

I grunted. In this first round, I was the ghost, and I had to find the only human in a place full of ghosts. Coexistence must have become fully human now, so how was he avoiding all these ghosts?

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My senses were dull—no advanced ghost powers here, just the ability to feel yin and yang energy.

"Whatever. I should get to know the neighborhood first."

I muttered, standing up and watching the ghost in front of me.

"I just arrived here. Could you help me out and show me around?"

It seemed I’d met a ghost with a good heart. He led me through the six streets, wandering slowly, while I gradually learned my way around.

According to him, there were no powerful evil ghosts here; everything was peaceful. The things they traded came from the living or from people in front of the apartment blocks.

Life here was casual. I saw ghosts playing cards, mahjong, or chess in groups along the street, looking like they were enjoying themselves.

Every time I met a ghost, I’d sniff the air, hoping for the faintest trace of yang energy—maybe then I could catch Coexistence’s scent.

Just then, as I turned a street corner, an old ghost approached, leaning on a cane. Instantly, I widened my eyes—that was yang energy! As a ghost, I recognized that scent anywhere. I grabbed him immediately.

"Found you."

"Young man, what are you doing? I don’t even know you."

For a moment, I felt embarrassed and quickly apologized, saying I’d mistaken him for someone else. But as I looked at the cane in his hand, I noticed the faintest trace of yang energy, already fading away.

"Sir, where did you get that cane?"

"I just traded a set of clothes with a man for it."

My heart skipped a beat. I asked quickly, "Do you know where that man is now?"

The old ghost didn’t know. It was Coexistence—I realized right away how he was hiding.

I looked up at the sky—half an hour had already passed. I asked about the old ghost’s clothes and where he’d seen the man; then I headed straight there.

Near Third Street, in a small alley lined with snack shops, I went in and started asking around. A shop owner told me he’d seen a ghost rush out of the alley and head toward Second Street.

Usually, the simplest way for a human to disguise themselves as a ghost is to carry something that belonged to a ghost—a piece of clothing or a part of a ghost’s body—to mask their own yang energy.

That’s how we did it when we went to rescue Rachel Lan in the Underworld. The Blind Lady and her group soaked in the big wooden tub for days, completely covering their yang energy.

I hurried to Second Street and kept searching. Suddenly, I saw a ghost in coarse gray clothes—the same outfit the old ghost had just described. It stood out.

I grabbed the ghost in front of me. He turned around, startling me—a whole face, completely transformed.

"What do you want?"

A harsh, vicious voice. I quickly apologized—it wasn’t him. This one was a ghost, so I began asking where he’d gotten the clothes.

"What’s it to you?"

This ghost seemed ill-tempered. The others nearby crowded around, eager for trouble, and he was bigger and stronger than me.

Since I couldn’t get answers peacefully, I had to use force to make him talk.

"What, you want to fight, kid?"

Without hesitation, I punched the ghost in the face. He howled in pain, but then immediately fought back.

He swung his huge fist at me. I smiled faintly, dodged in a flash, and avoided the blow.

I began to control my ghost energy. Even the faintest ghost energy, if used well, could become powerful. In my mind, two figures appeared: Yi Xuehan and Min Choujian.

I started to channel my power.