Those blood-red eyes stared coldly at all of us. Right now, I hadn’t managed to restrain Scarlet Hayes; we were suspended in the air, pressed close together, unable to move.
"What do you want?" I looked at Scarlet Hayes, asking in surprise.
The girl before us seemed to be deep in thought, silent. Hugh Thompson suddenly laughed.
"Looks like she doesn’t want anyone to know she exists. But tonight, she had no choice but to save you. Now she’s torn—should she kill us all here, except for you?"
As soon as Hugh Thompson finished speaking, I stared at Scarlet Hayes in shock.
"You..."
"Enough. Let's go down."
As she spoke, all of us slowly descended to the ground. Hugh Thompson smiled, glanced around, then asked tentatively:
"Right now, we're inside your Shadow Realm, aren't we?"
Scarlet Hayes looked at Hugh Thompson, raised her hand, and with a loud bang, followed by crackling sounds, the scenery around us shattered like glass. A fierce wind swept through, cold moonlight shining down—we found ourselves standing on a high platform.
All around us was an endless ancient city, ablaze with lights. The figures below looked like ants, moving slowly one by one.
Howard Lee’s face changed, and he stared around in shock.
“Amazing. Such a vast Shadow Realm.”
At the city’s edges, there were four more high platforms, identical to the one we stood on.
"We won’t tell anyone about you, I promise."
Suddenly, Scarlet Hayes smiled, the wicked charm on her face growing even stronger.
"Do you think I’d trust people’s words so easily?"
Hugh Thompson waved his hand, a helpless look on his face.
"Even so, let me put a little mark on you. If you tell anyone about tonight, you’ll die instantly." Scarlet Hayes said, drifting closer.
I immediately stood up, blocking her path.
"Step aside, Ethan Zhang."
"Are you an enemy or an ally to John Chou?" I asked, looking at her seriously.
"What does it matter if I’m an enemy, or an ally?"
"I won’t let an enemy hurt my friends." As I spoke, Deathbane Aura began to seep from my hand. Scarlet Hayes was likely beyond my ability to handle, but with Chen Hongyan possessing me, I could try to get them out first.
Thinking of the look Scarlet Hayes gave just now—so full of killing intent—it seemed she wanted to kill everyone except for me.
"And John Chou? What about you and him..."
"A friend. He’s my friend."
I said firmly, already gripping a Deathbane Aura Blade in my hand.
"Hahaha..." Scarlet Hayes burst out laughing, clutching her stomach, doubling over with tears in her eyes.
"You really are funny! John Chou, your so-called friend, is just a fantasy. The John Chou you know is nothing more than a fleeting smile from a vengeful ghost over centuries. You’re still too naive, Ethan Zhang."
I raised my Deathbane Aura Blade, pointing it at Scarlet Hayes. She stopped smiling and stared into my eyes.
"If John Chou changes so much you don’t even recognize him one day, what will you do?"
I smiled.
"Then I’ll do what a friend should—help him."
Scarlet Hayes snorted with laughter again.
"Fine, I’ll let them go. You all should leave now. I hope none of you mention my affairs to anyone else."
Hugh Thompson nodded, then everyone else nodded too—including the ghost, and the one teacher who truly wanted to help Helen Chen.
Suddenly, I saw Scarlet Hayes’ expression change drastically. She fixed her gaze on me, then lunged and grabbed my throat.
I let out a surprised gasp, then felt something foreign in my throat. I opened my mouth, and with a pop, spat out a ball of black flame.
A burst of applause rang out.
"Oh my, isn’t that little Yi? Heh, after all these years, you haven’t changed a bit."
"It’s you—damn Redmane, go to hell!"
The black flame grew larger, and soon I saw Redmane’s shadow—dressed in a sharp black suit, wearing sunglasses, with a cigar in his mouth, a thick gold chain around his neck, and rings on every finger. Behind him stood men and women, all in suits and sunglasses.
"Boss..." The short ghost beside him, who called him King, held out a lighter to light his cigar.
Scarlet Hayes looked at Redmane with utter disgust.
"Are you showing off again, Redmane?"
"This week, I’m going for the mob boss look."
I blinked at Redmane.
"Are you mentally ill or something?"
Just thinking about how he’s been locked up in Exile Town for so long...
"You’re the one who’s mentally ill, Ethan Zhang," Redmane retorted, glancing at Scarlet Hayes.
"Little Yi, you were such a good girl—how did you get so violent now? You guys..." I saw Scarlet Hayes shoot Redmane a fierce glare.
"I won’t talk about your business either. The Evil Flame I left in Ethan Zhang’s body only flared up because it sensed powerful malice—The Immortality Society, you know about them?"
All of us stared at Redmane in surprise, and Hugh Thompson’s face went rigid.
"Oh, so you’ve heard a bit, Four Eyes. It’s a group of top politicians, tycoons, and celebrities, all chasing immortality. They’re called The Immortality Society, and their goal is eternal life. These people are close to the Ghost Syndicate, and work with powerful ghosts too. Your Ghost Burial Squad is just one of their subordinate organizations, so there are things you simply can’t touch. It’s not the first time, is it, Four Eyes?"
Hugh Thompson laughed, took off his cracked glasses, and shook his head.
"That’s right. Those people are scarier than ghosts—a pack of evil spirits wearing human skin."
"But it’s thanks to them that I can recover so quickly. Modern times are much more comfortable than the old days. So much malice—delicious."
"So what are you here for?" I muttered, looking at Redmane.
"Hmph, Ethan Zhang, you’re so ungrateful. Here’s some intel: the enemy of the female ghost inside you is a member of The Immortality Society, and this whole mess is connected to them. You’ll have to investigate. And by the way, Ethan Zhang, I’ve helped you over and over—could you ask that bitch Yuna Ji to let me out already?"
Redmane’s tone softened, and I couldn’t help but snicker.
"Alright, alright. I’ll talk to Yuna Ji for you. You’re actually kind of cute when you’re not causing trouble."
Scarlet Hayes chuckled, and Hugh Thompson and the others all smiled.
"You... you... Hmph, forget it. Let’s go, boys, time to collect protection money."
The black flame shrank, then flew back into my mouth, rolling down into my stomach.
"This is the exit. You can go now," Scarlet Hayes said, raising her hand. In the center of the platform, a door creaked open, revealing the cave outside.
We walked out, and as I glanced back, I saw Scarlet Hayes smiling in the ghost domain, her gaze earnest. I nodded, and the door closed behind us.
"So, Ethan, interested?" Hugh Thompson suddenly asked.
I let out a surprised "Ah?"
"Humanity’s enemies aren’t just ghosts—they’re those evil spirits in human skin. I’ll drag every last one of them out."
I smiled, and Howard Lee looked at me with determination.
I nodded.
"I’ll rest for a few days."
Then we prepared to head back. For some reason, Helen Chen inside my body was completely unresponsive. Now I had a mane of long red hair trailing on the ground, and I couldn’t retract it at all.
As soon as we got back to the village, bringing along some wounded members of the Ghost Burial Squad, we all piled into the car.
Just then, Hugh Thompson’s phone rang.
"Old Stone, is that you? What’s up—first day of promotion?"
Then Hugh Thompson helplessly put the call on speaker.
"Hugh, Ethan, let’s end things here, alright? Do me a favor and don’t dig any deeper."
"Oh, Old Stone, have you been brainwashed by The Immortality Society?"