"Rachel Lan, wake up."
A burst of noise jolted me awake. I stared in surprise at everything before me. Moments ago, I’d lost consciousness without knowing why. Now, in front of me was a three-story building—and an evil ghost. Everyone inside had already been devoured by that ghost.
I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened. Over these past days, the evil ghosts brought from the underworld have been causing endless trouble. We, the Underworld Denizens, have been rushing all over Haven City.
"What’s wrong, Rachel Lan? You look pale. Are you tired?"
I shook my head, cautiously surveying everything around me. The Underworld Denizens who went in earlier had already retreated. Walter Wu and I were the closest, so we arrived first. Just now, my nerves tightened—I didn’t know what happened. For a moment, I lost consciousness, and it felt like something was in my head, maybe a familiar voice.
"Rachel Lan, if you’re tired, I’ll go in alone. Especially now, considering what’s inside—it’s probably not something worth seeing."
I shook my head, my gaze resolute as I looked at everything inside. I shook my head to clear it. The hair I’d cut in the Dark Place had grown longer, now reaching my shoulders.
I drew a black machete from my waist and walked over slowly. Standing at the door, I could clearly see the swirling ghostly energy inside. The power of this evil ghost was changing—the density of its ghostly aura kept rising.
"Once this is over, you should take a few days to rest, Rachel Lan."
I said nothing, walking forward slowly. Walter Wu released strands of pale blue spiritual silk, which quickly circled the house. The other Underworld Denizens were busy carrying the wounded inside.
I glanced back—everyone was exhausted, myself included. I found myself missing Ethan Zhang. The thought made the corners of my mouth lift, though I had no idea how he was faring in the Underworld. I was worried, especially since I couldn’t fully trust John Chou. That guy always looked at Ethan Zhang with a sly glint in his eye. I’ve always hated people with deep schemes like that.
It’s always been this way, ever since I was a kid. For some reason, my dad’s old sayings popped into my head again. I shook myself out of it and walked forward slowly.
"Be careful. You’re the head of the Lan family now, Rachel Lan. The evil spirit inside is probably curse-based—it won’t be easy to handle. If you get hurt... I—"
"Walter Wu, when did you get so talkative?"
I glanced back at Walter Wu with a smile. As I reached the doorway, a sharp, menacing aura rushed toward me.
With a creak, I pushed open the door. Instantly, a wave of putrid stench hit me. I knew this evil spirit hadn’t just arrived—it had been here for days, maybe longer. It wasn’t just this family; people nearby had already fallen victim to it.
"Come out."
I scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes. There were traces of lingering curse energy on the walls. I raised my black machete. Suddenly, a piercing shriek echoed—so sharp it hurt my ears. I stepped forward and immediately felt something slick beneath my feet. Blood, still wet.
"Careful."
Walter Wu called out again from behind. Annoyed, I glanced back at him. He’d gotten more and more chatty lately. I remembered he used to be the quiet type, but ever since my mother, Helen Lane, had him follow me, he’d changed. I really didn’t get it—what are they so worried about? I’m not a child anymore.
I felt uneasy, puffing my cheeks in frustration. Suddenly, a streak of black curse energy shot at me from my left. I dodged easily, stepping back, then swung my machete down hard.
A sharp cry rang out. I’d struck part of the ghost lurking inside the house. Ghosts—always the same. To sense their presence, you rely on ghostly energy, but most of the time they hide in the shadows, ready to leap out. It was starting to get on my nerves.
For us Underworld Denizens, sensing ghosts requires more than just natural awareness of ghostly energy. We can also compress our own yang energy and release spiritual threads. But I wasn’t planning to use those now—my threads are still white, never as smooth as others, and honestly, I didn’t need them at the moment.
Back in the Land of Darkness, training under The Founding Emperors taught me a lot. Thinking about it made me uncomfortable, and my mind drifted to my parents again. I really didn’t know what to say—they always treat me like a child.
I sensed the ghost energy fading—it was trying to escape.
"Upstairs, second floor!"
Walter Wu shouted from outside. I dashed forward, pinching my nose against the stench—I could barely stand it.
As soon as I reached the second floor, my eyes widened. Broken corpses lay scattered across the floor. In front of me, a ghost shrouded in black mist stared at me with blood-red eyes.
"I finally climbed out of Hell—I’m not letting you catch me! You lackeys of the Underworld!"
As it spoke, the ghost lunged at me with a whoosh, its black claws slashing. I didn’t hesitate—I stepped back. I knew exactly what it wanted: a chance to escape. It already understood it was no match for me.
I was on the west side, near the Ghost Gate. Walter Wu had sealed off the outer perimeter completely. The only way out for the ghost was to break through the weakest point—the Ghost Gate. I took control of it, my yang energy effectively blocking its movements.
With two metallic clangs, I pointed my machete at the vengeful spirit before me.
"Give up. There’s no way you’re getting out of here. I’ll send you back to Hell. These people have no grudge against you!"
The vengeful spirit wailed miserably, but I stood my ground at the Ghost Gate, unmoved.
"Please let me go. I just needed some food—I’ve been starving for so long. Please, have mercy?"
I said nothing, staring coldly at the vengeful spirit. All I felt was anger—this kind of ghost deserved no sympathy.
The spirit whimpered, crawling toward me, its eyes pleading. The black mist around it had faded. It looked about thirty, pale and thin.
"Surrender!"
I advanced slowly, machete raised.
Suddenly, black mist swirled around me. Furious, I slashed with my machete—two swift strikes, scattering the darkness. The vengeful spirit lunged at me. I reached behind and drew a gleaming white arrow, stabbing it into the spirit’s forehead. It howled in agony. Without hesitation, I swung my machete and severed both its hands.
In an instant, the vengeful spirit’s body began to emit blue smoke, burning away bit by bit. The arrows I crafted after returning have a natural lethality against these ghosts—an art taught to me by The Founding Emperors.
"It’s useless. You’re no match for me."
"Rachel Lan, how’s it going?"
Walter Wu’s unsettling voice drifted up. Annoyed, I turned my head.
"It’s fine. It’ll be over soon."
Just as I turned my head, a surge of overwhelming energy struck at me—the ghost had pulled out the arrow and was suddenly right in front of me. I hesitated for a split second and it grabbed my throat. But then, the ghost’s eyes widened in confusion, staring at something behind me.
With a swift slash, my machete split the vengeful spirit in two. I breathed a sigh of relief as it wailed, turning to ash and vanishing before my eyes.
I turned and ran outside, straight onto the lawn. I couldn’t take it anymore. No matter how many times I saw or smelled it, I still couldn’t stand the stench of corpses—it made my scalp crawl. I retched.
"Ah, Rachel Lan hasn’t changed much at all."
Walter Wu smiled nearby. The Underworld Denizens started entering the house to clean up. This work had fallen to us now, and I couldn’t help feeling uneasy—just like with everything that happened before.
"None of your business."
I stood up, wiped my lips, and suddenly found myself smiling.
"Ethan Zhang, what are you doing here?"
I smiled as I spoke, but Ethan Zhang quickly vanished. Walter Wu turned, puzzled, glancing around.
"Are you seeing things, Rachel Lan? Ethan Zhang should still be in the Underworld. There’s no way he could be back, especially with things so dire over there."
I stared in confusion at the empty street. I was sure it wasn’t a hallucination—Ethan Zhang had been right in front of me. When I recalled his gentle gaze, it seemed like he had something he wanted to say.
I walked out slowly, glancing back at the room. Suddenly, my eyes widened. Before I killed the vengeful spirit, it had grabbed me by the throat, but then it looked behind me. Who was behind me? Out of the corner of my eye, I’d definitely seen something.
I shook my head, stretched out my limbs. My whole body was numb—I hadn’t rested properly in days.
Then I noticed something to my left. As I turned, I saw Ethan Zhang standing at the mouth of the alley. I rushed after him.
"Ethan Zhang, you..."
There was nothing there. But I hadn’t been mistaken—it was Ethan Zhang. I pursed my lips in frustration.
"What’s going on, Ethan Zhang? What does this mean?"