Early in the morning, I got up. Last night, I didn’t go looking for Evan Zhao’s Shadow Realm; instead, I went straight back to Auntie’s house and had a deep sleep. When I woke up, I ate roasted potatoes again. John Chou and Isabelle Frost were also present, but they didn’t show themselves—only I could see them.
"I thought you siblings were heading off somewhere again."
I muttered under my breath. Every time siblings were mentioned, Isabelle Frost’s expression soured, while John Chou just smiled.
"Just tell me how to find it. If none of you can, how am I supposed to?"
As I spoke, Isabelle Frost looked at me and said.
"Didn’t you go in that night?"
I shook my head.
"It was pure luck. I don’t even know how I got in. After I wiped out those wolf-like ghosts, I came back out."
"Was there anything strange that night?"
John Chou asked. I thought for a while, then shook my head.
"I didn’t do anything that night. I just wanted to look outside, but when I came out, I couldn’t find Auntie’s house anymore, and the car was gone. Then I ran into those ghosts. After I destroyed them, I came back here."
As I spoke, I stared at John Chou with some dissatisfaction, then continued.
"It’s all because you never tell me anything. If you’d explained things first, maybe I wouldn’t have destroyed those ghosts and could’ve checked the other place. Maybe I could’ve found Evan Zhao."
John Chou fell into deep thought. Isabelle Frost beckoned to me, as if asking me to follow her. She led me onward in silence, clearly intending to take me to the old Rivers Family estate.
The road up was hard to climb. It took me almost half an hour to reach the old Rivers Family estate, where Isabelle Frost was already waiting for me.
"Why bring me here?"
"If a person is missing one of the seven souls, they cannot step onto the Underworld Path."
Isabelle Frost’s words made me think of Evan Zhao. After his death, no matter what Hell’s Registrar did, they couldn’t get Evan Zhao onto the Underworld Path. Isabelle Frost explained further.
Since its creation, the Underworld Path has been called the Path of Firelight because the red spider lilies on both sides glow like flames, illuminating the road. It’s meant to guide souls toward Hell. The reason souls are drawn to it is because they have seven emotions and six desires; these drive them onto the Path of Firelight and then onward to Hell.
That’s how it was in the old Hell—there was no need for Hell’s Registrar to guide souls, because the power of the red spider lilies on both sides of the Underworld Path would draw the dead. After dying, they would see the Path of Firelight, be attracted without realizing it, step onto it, and as their emotions and desires were revealed and controlled by the lilies, they would proceed to Hell.
When Isabelle Frost said this, I remembered that time at the terminal, in the spectral forest, when she tried to lead me toward reincarnation. Back then, I was drawn in by those flame-like red spider lilies—I wanted to go, and I couldn’t resist.
Isabelle Frost told me that these souls need to have all seven emotions and six desires intact to step onto the Path of Firelight, now known as the Underworld Path.
The peculiarity of this road lies in the masses of red spider lilies on both sides. Some souls are drawn into the flower beds and linger there. If they stay too long, they’re gradually assimilated by the lilies’ power, eventually decomposing and becoming nourishment for the flowers.
Old Hell ignored all of this. They should have sent someone to rescue these souls, but because of the constant infighting among the three rulers, no one cared. More and more souls were drawn in and ultimately became nourishment for the lilies.
Lady Meng noticed, but she couldn’t change anything. She just watched as the lilies grew taller and their colors grew even more vivid, and eventually stopped paying attention.
But as time went on, countless souls became nourishment for the lilies, until one day, patches of black appeared among the flower beds.
A single tall red spider lily turned completely black, but no one noticed. The Path of Firelight was left unmanaged, and more lilies absorbed souls and grew taller, like trees.
These lilies turned black and hard, and more and more of them changed, becoming twisted and tree-like. The surrounding lilies were gradually assimilated by the blackness, and the Path of Firelight was even more neglected. At that time, a fierce conflict broke out between Old and New Hell—souls were left unmanaged, and the lilies, as if alive, dragged them into the flower beds.
Eventually, New Hell prevailed. But when the Ten Judges finally took over and established some order, they found the once-beautiful Path of Firelight had become a sinister, terrifying lane lined with strange black trees. Passing souls were snatched by the resentment in the woods and devoured.
To set up the new institution, the Ten Judges had to seal the road, naming it the Underworld Path. But the resentment in the woods only grew year by year. The Judges tried to channel it into the River of Forgetfulness, hoping it would dissipate in reincarnation.
At first, everything went smoothly. But they soon discovered that the resentment mixed with the lilies’ power couldn’t dissipate into reincarnation through the River of Forgetfulness. Instead, it solidified at the riverbed, polluting the river itself. Souls entering the river were affected and couldn’t reincarnate properly. In the end, the underworld had to completely seal off the Wailing Woods.
"This is how the Path of Firelight became the Underworld Path. That narrow, winding road still retains its original power. If a soul is missing one of the seven souls, they can’t step onto it. Evan Zhao couldn’t enter the Path of Firelight for this reason, and the missing soul made his life full of suffering."
I swallowed and blinked.
"Didn’t he become the Green Wraith? Shouldn’t that mean he’s free from suffering now?"
Isabelle Frost shook her head.
"I used to think he was quite likable, always smiling. But eventually I realized he couldn’t feel sadness. His missing soul was still his own, and all his sadness and helplessness multiplied into power, becoming the strength of his soul. That’s Evan Zhao in a nutshell. He kept coming back, trying to reclaim his soul, but always failed. I came with him once, but the result was the same—even if we suppressed his soul, he couldn’t take it back. It’s been years, and we don’t know his current state. But now, we need his power."
I looked at Isabelle Frost in surprise. I didn’t expect her to say so much to me.
"First, you need a clear understanding of what a soul is. Only then can you communicate it to your instincts. Right now, your coexistence with your instincts might be our only hope. Find Evan Zhao and let him converse with his soul. That’s our chance to solve this and end his suffering. If his soul can’t leave here, this place will keep decaying. The name Fallen Soul Town came after Evan Zhao’s soul settled here—people started calling it that, not the other way around."
I nodded and looked around.
"Why don’t we ask Old Man Rivers? He might know."
Isabelle Frost shook her head.
"There’s no such thing as Old Man Rivers."
My heart skipped a beat. I suddenly recalled last night’s events and felt a chill run down my spine. I quickly asked.
"You mean the Yellow Page Ghost that ran away when you arrived last night?"
Isabelle Frost shook her head.
"We didn’t see any Yellow Page Ghost when we arrived. Maybe that ghost is only visible to you."
I swallowed. Thinking about it still made me uneasy. Now I understood why Old Man Rivers ran off as soon as John Chou and the others arrived, and why he lied about hearing it from John Chou. Could it be that Evan Zhao was trying to use the ghost to tell me something?
I immediately shared my guess with Isabelle Frost, and she nodded slightly.
"Maybe so. Tonight, you should stay here alone again and see if you can meet the ghost."
I agreed and looked seriously at Isabelle Frost.
"Miss Yi, did you sense something after you finished, and that’s why you brought me here? Can you tell me the truth?"
Finally, Isabelle Frost nodded.
"I did sense a trace of soul energy, which is why I brought John Chou here."
I glanced sideways at Isabelle Frost and gave a helpless smile.
After that, I returned to Auntie’s house. At least now I knew a few things and wasn’t completely kept in the dark by John Chou and Isabelle Frost. I spent the whole day at Auntie’s house, went to sleep after lunch, since I needed to act at night.
At night, I waited for Auntie to fall asleep before heading out. Isabelle Frost and John Chou were already waiting outside. This time, I didn’t need to walk over myself—Isabelle Frost used a red spider lily petal to carry me directly to the Rivers Family estate, while the two of them kept watch nearby. I continued to wait.
The temperature kept dropping, and the mountain wind grew stronger. I curled up by the door. Luckily, I’d borrowed a down jacket from Auntie after telling her it would be cold at night.
"It’s freezing. Why hasn’t it come out yet?"
Yawning, I sat behind the door and sighed. Gradually, I started getting sleepy again.