Watching Snowy eat her dry ration, I looked at the dry ration in my own hand and took a bite. It was just as tasteless as ever.
"Snowy, what does that stuff you're eating taste like?"
"Huh? Brother, aren't you eating it too?"
"Oh, well, you know, everyone tastes things differently. You look so happy—does it taste really good to you?"
Snowy nodded enthusiastically.
"It's delicious! So fragrant and crispy—it's been ages since I've had anything this tasty."
I let out a sigh, staring at the flavorless dry ration in my hand. With a heavy heart, I stuffed it back into the backpack the ghosts had given me—I'd bought a lot of this kind of dry ration. Strangely, I was already hungry again, even though I'd just eaten.
I kept eating, but this time, with the dry ration so hard and tasteless, I could only force myself to swallow it.
Up ahead, a relay station appeared. I was exhausted and decided to go in and rest. The place was eerily quiet, not a soul in sight—until a Pale Ghost hurried over to greet us.
"Do you have any meat here?"
"Guests, we have excellent chicken, pork, and beef here..."
"I'll have two bowls of beef," I said. Snowy happily sat down, clutching her chopsticks, looking ready to eat.
I smiled and sat down beside her.
"Is it really okay for you to eat so much?" I asked. Snowy widened her eyes at me and giggled.
"Brother, little ghosts like us aren't like you—we can absorb Yin energy, so we don't have to eat. If there's food, though, we eat as much as we can. By the way, when you arrived, didn't you see me in the lake?"
I made a sound of realization, remembering that I did see a female ghost in the lake.
"I was searching the lake for something to eat. I'd been starving for months and couldn't take it anymore. Now that I've eaten so much, I won't go hungry for at least a month or two."
Soon, the beef was served. I swallowed, picked up my chopsticks, and took a sip of the steaming broth. Instantly, I spat it out—it was completely tasteless and cold. Even though it was steaming, it was cool, like drinking tap water with not even the taste of bleach powder.
"Brother, eat slower—it's really hot."
I watched Snowy carefully blowing on her food and sipping the broth in tiny sips. Then I picked up a piece of beef with my chopsticks and tried it, but immediately spat it out—it was still completely tasteless, like chewing on flavorless clay.
Looking at Snowy again, she was eating happily. My stomach was aching with hunger, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat the beef—the feeling was unbearable. I handed the beef to Snowy, and she finished both bowls, not even leaving a drop of soup.
Now I was sure—ghost food not only tasted bland to me, but it couldn't fill my stomach either.
A wave of hunger hit me, and I slumped over the table, swallowing saliva. I couldn't help but curse Howard Lee in my heart—he never explained things clearly! If I kept starving, I might die here in the Ghostrealm. My throat was burning, desperate for water.
The water I'd just drunk felt like nothing. Now that I thought about it, I'd never smelled any aroma in this place—not even when passing food stalls.
"Brother, aren't you in a hurry to find someone? Let's go." Snowy was full of energy after eating, but I was on the verge of collapse—tired, hungry, and parched.
"How far is it to that place called Midway Town?"
"Oh, Brother, it's not far—maybe just an hour or two away."
I shook my head and stood up. I couldn't take it anymore—I had to find that shadow and get out of here, or I'd really starve to death.
It felt like I'd been walking for a day or two already. Even though the food and water couldn't satisfy my hunger or thirst, there was still a tiny bit of effect—just barely.
I trudged on, eating and drinking along the way, but no matter how much I consumed, it only eased my hunger and thirst a little.
After walking for a long while, I finally saw what looked like a town. I rushed over and collapsed at the entrance, completely exhausted.
"Brother, you rest here. I'll go ask around for you," Snowy said, hopping away.
I watched the bustling town, filled with ghosts coming and going. It was unusually lively.
"Hey, did you hear? Lord Wraith is about to celebrate his thousandth birthday. Soon, we'll need to prepare gifts and pay our respects to him."
"You, at your level, are going too? Sigh, Lord Wraith only likes young and beautiful women. If you bring gifts, you probably won't even get through the door."
Two ghosts chatted as they passed by. I watched them. Lord Wraith—I remembered hearing about him before, back when Damian Chen of the Nether Syndicate and Yin Chou fought fiercely. The old ghost woman and ghost elder we met earlier mentioned Lord Wraith too, and said they wanted to send Rachel Lan to be his wife.
"What exactly is that thing?"
I quietly sat on a large stone at the entrance of the town.
Suddenly, cries and wails echoed over. I looked up and saw a group of fierce, evil-looking ghosts escorting several prison carts from the west. Inside the carts were female ghosts, all sobbing—a chorus of grief filled the air.
There were so many prison carts that I couldn't see the end of them. Each cart held seven or eight female ghosts, huddled together and crying.
I stood up a little, and suddenly realized—I hadn't seen any female ghosts along the way, except for Snowy.
"What's going on here?" I thought. It must have something to do with Lord Wraith's birthday celebration.
Many ghosts on the street gathered to watch, admiring how beautiful the female ghosts were.
"Wow, not bad. If only I could get one or two for myself, haha."
(Irrelevant passage, skip translation.)
"Forget it. These are gifts from Boss Ma for Lord Wraith. Don't even think about it."
"But these women are pretty miserable—once they're sent off, they'll never be reincarnated."
"Huh? If you're so soft-hearted, why don't you cut off your own and make a hole, then go marry Lord Wraith yourself?"
I looked gloomily at the ghosts joking and laughing beside me.
Just then, a voice called out from afar.
"Brother, I found out—Li Gui is over at that hotel, having a good time. You should go check it out."
I rushed over, and suddenly saw a ball of green light floating toward me from afar.
"Haha, this little girl is a good catch—take her too."
A ghost with a thin mustache, big belly, and fancy clothes suddenly appeared next to Snowy. He grabbed her chin and inspected her, then a few of the prison cart handlers came over and seized Snowy.
My heart skipped a beat.
"Let me go! Let me go..."
"Heh, little girl, you're quite pretty. Blame your mother—I’ll dress you up nice and marry you off to Lord Wraith. Then you'll live the good life."
The ghost said this as Snowy screamed, and she was locked in a prison cart.
"Brother, save me, save me..."
I clenched my fists and stared as the prison cart rolled away, torn inside. The ghost floated up, glowing green, and all the other ghosts seemed afraid of him—he was a Blue Wraith.
I gritted my teeth, squatting by the roadside, fists clenched, torn between finding Li Gui to get answers or figuring out how to save Snowy.
Now, I noticed that the street was gradually emptying—night was falling in Ghostrealm, and most ghosts looked ready to rest. The cold wind howled as I sat by the street, replaying everything that just happened.
I wanted to act, but forced myself to hold back.
Suddenly, I stood up and ran down the street. In the end, I decided to deal with Li Gui first.
"Oh, brother, once again you choose to look the other way?"
A voice echoed in my mind—it was John Chou. I smiled.
Not at all. It's just that there's an order to solving things, I replied inwardly.
"Heh, brother, then I'll wait for you to come back. I just received an invitation today—yours is here too. Let's go have a drink together."
I nodded and dashed down the street.
After running for a while, I saw a modern hotel—more than ten stories tall and glittering with gold. I walked into the lobby, and a ghostly attendant, looking annoyed, came over to shoo me away. But when I took out some money, his face lit up with a smile.
After asking where Louis Lee was, I took the elevator up to the eighth floor. I stopped in front of room 8817, fists clenched.
Images of Richard Li's wife and daughter crying flashed through my mind. Killing intent seeped out—I had to be quick and precise. I couldn't afford to make a scene.
Once I made up my mind, I knocked on the door. No one answered, so I knocked harder several times.
"Who is it, damn it?" A young, sturdy-looking ghost with a ruddy complexion came out cursing. Suddenly, his eyes widened as I grabbed his neck—killing intent spilling out. He didn't dare scream, and the skin on his neck began to blister and peel as if burned.
"Don't make a sound, or I'll kill you right now."
Louis Lee nodded, eyes wide with fear as he backed away. I entered the room, kicked the door shut, and glared at him fiercely.
"You know Richard Li, right?"
As soon as I finished speaking, Louis Lee shook his head in terror.