With a sudden scream, Frank Niu cried out. Bang! Bang! The light bulbs in the room exploded, and with a crackling sound, the window glass shattered in one piece.
With a gust, looking out the window, under the eerie green-blue glow, a horde of ghosts surged in, claws bared and teeth gnashing. They floated in from the walls, the ceiling, the floor, emerging one after another—some missing limbs, some without heads, all horribly disfigured—quickly surrounding us.
"Shit."
Justin Huang roared, and with a creak, his already burly frame seemed to grow even stronger. He swung a fist at a ghost emerging from the wall. With a scream, the ghost's body was punched through, leaving a gaping hole, and instantly turned to dust. With a crash, Frank Niu's home wall was smashed open.
"Justin, get this guy out of here first. I'll handle them. If you keep fighting like this, you'll tear the whole house down."
I shouted, crouched on the ground, focused my energy, and placed both hands on the floor.
"Got it," Justin replied, grabbing Frank Niu with one hand and leaping through the hole he'd just punched in the wall. Amid Frank Niu's screams, the two of them jumped from the fifth floor.
With a thud, a loud crash came from below—the two had landed safely.
All around me were ghosts, whimpering as they encircled me. The green-blue light was dazzling.
"Hmph, you little brat. How dare you go against us? You're asking for death."
The ghost Justin Huang had just pinned to the ground seemed to be the leader.
"What exactly do you want?"
I glared at him. He started to laugh.
"What we're doing is none of your business. If you know what's good for you, stay put and don't interfere, or tonight will be your last."
I laughed.
"If you want us to stay put, at least tell us what you want."
The ghost leaned in, mouth wide open, blood constantly spilling from its lips.
"Why do you care so much? We're ghosts, you know. Ha!"
"That's right, ghosts are never reasonable. Guess you'll all die here tonight."
I suddenly raised my head and shouted. Instantly, sharp Deathbane Aura spikes shot out from the floor, walls, and ceiling. A chorus of wails erupted as ghosts were turned to dust.
With a cry, the leading ghost—though pierced through—was a shadow, far stronger than the others. It hurriedly flew toward the window.
"Shit, stop right there!"
I shouted, brandishing a Deathbane Aura Blade, and gave chase. Without thinking, I jumped out after it. But I seemed to have forgotten something—at the moment I leapt out the window, I started falling. The shadowy ghost hovered in the air, grinning wickedly.
I screamed, suddenly remembering—this was the fifth floor! Suddenly, a strong arm grabbed me around the waist. It was Justin Huang. Then I started rising, while the ghost stared at us, eyes wide.
Justin swung his left hand, grabbed the ghost's head, and slammed it toward the ground. I plummeted after him, but just before hitting the ground, Justin raised his hand and tossed me upward. I screamed in surprise.
With a crash, Justin landed on the ground, leaving a huge dent. The floor tiles shattered and lifted. He then reached out, and when he caught me, I felt his hands quickly lower, absorbing the impact and slowing my fall.
I stared at him, my heart pounding.
"Hey, Ethan, you're human, not like me. If you'd fallen with me just now, you might've been hurt."
Applause rang out as Frank Niu danced excitedly on the side.
"Amazing, amazing, Ethan Zhang! And Brother Justin Huang, you're incredible too! I thought I was done for just now. Ha! Let's not waste time—let's ask this ghost where their hideout is, and then go wipe them out!"
Frank Niu smiled, took out a Spirit Charm—the talisman was crudely drawn, just a regular Ghost Suppression Charm, not very powerful—and stuck it to the ghost's forehead.
"What? Weren't you pretty cocky before? Always threatening me—didn't know I'm with the Ghost Burial Squad, huh? Go on, act tough now, damn it."
Frank Niu cursed as he kicked the shadowy ghost several times. Justin Huang kept its head pinned down.
"Speak. What exactly are you planning?" I demanded.
The shadow on the ground shook its head, clearly refusing to talk.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of rushing water. Justin Huang sprang up, grabbing me with one hand and Frank Niu with the other. He stomped hard on the ground, and with a splash, water gushed out. The shadowy ghost cried out in terror.
In that instant, I saw something in the gushing water—someone, maybe. The water splashed onto the ground, and the shadowy ghost began to smoke, as if melting away. It screamed, its body dissolving and corroding, until only a puddle of pus remained.
The water that had just erupted slowly flowed into the drain.
"What was that just now?"
"It was a ghost, Ethan. After all those years in the Shadow Realm, you know how I survived? Not because I'm strong, but because I learned to sense ghosts. Every time they were about to find me, I escaped—again and again."
Soon, a large group of police officers arrived. The nearby residents, hearing the loud commotion, had called the police, saying there was a fight on the street at night.
"Frank Niu, what the hell is going on here?" Deputy Lowell came over and asked harshly.
"Deputy Lowell, ha, we've got someone from higher up here. Isn't this related to those recent disappearances? We've finally got a lead."
The officer sized us up, especially staring at Justin Huang from time to time. Justin's mask was gone; he kept his head down, buried in his oversized coat.
"Frank Niu, I’m telling you, I don’t care if you’re some special cop or whatever. All that spooky nonsense won’t work. Hmph, and why did they let you handle this case alone anyway?"
The officer looked at Frank Niu with disdain. Frank just smiled and said nothing.
After the police left, we returned to Frank Niu’s house to help clean up.
"Hey, doesn’t it piss you off to let them talk to you like that?"
Justin Huang asked.
"Eh, it's nothing. I've heard worse. You get used to it—it's just the way things are for us. But Justin, I bet it's not easy for you either."
Frank Niu stopped halfway through his words. He'd already seen Justin Huang's appearance and wasn't afraid—instead, he tried to comfort him.
I smiled. After we finished cleaning up, it was already past 2 a.m. Frank Niu set up bedding for us on the floor, and we went to sleep.
"I'll help you look again tomorrow."
"No need, Ethan. You don't have to get involved in this."
Justin Huang said, turning over. I could only close my eyes helplessly.
The next morning, I woke up at ten. I hadn't dreamed at all. Justin Huang was still snoring—his snoring had kept me up most of the night.
My eyes were sore as I stepped out of the room. Frank Niu’s door was tightly shut. My stomach was aching with hunger, but seeing the time, I decided to wait another hour and go straight to breakfast.
The room was tidied up but still shabby. I picked up my phone to call Frank Niu, but the beeping sound came from his room. I walked over, turned the doorknob, and opened the door—Frank Niu was still lying in bed.
"What is it, Ethan? It's so early in the morning."
"Don’t you have to go to work?"
"Work? Please. Unless there’s ghost business, we in the Ghost Burial Squad can rest as much as we want. That’s one perk. Oh, by the way, grab some food later and bring the receipt—I need it for reimbursement."
Frank Niu pulled the blanket over his head and went back to sleep.
I thought about it—staying home wasn’t going to help, so I decided to get something to eat.
Frank Niu lived in a mixed-use building with lots of shops downstairs—mostly selling building materials. I asked for directions and headed down the street to the left.
At the first intersection, I turned right. Soon, I found a busy street lined with snack shops. I stopped at a breakfast stall and ordered soy milk and a fried dough stick—just something to fill me up.
"Hey, Old Su, you still haven’t found your daughter?"
A crowd had gathered outside. A man in his forties, looking exhausted, was handing out flyers on the street.
"Has anyone seen my daughter, Sophie Su? She’s a sophomore in high school—went missing four months ago."
I’d just taken a sip of soy milk and nearly spat it out—Sophie Su? Wasn’t that the name of the little ghost girl in my building? I was still puzzling over it when the man walked over and handed me a flyer.
I took the flyer.
"Excuse me, have you seen the girl on this flyer? She’s my daughter—she went missing four months ago."
I froze. The girl in the missing person flyer was definitely Sophie Su—oval face, cute smile, long hair, sixteen or seventeen years old. She looked exactly like the ghost girl in my building, Sophie Su.
"Sir, sir, have you seen my daughter?"
The man in front of me grew agitated, noticing my reaction. He grabbed my hand, trembling, and asked again.
"I have seen her, but..."
"Where? Where is my daughter? Please, sir, tell me."
The man pleaded, his voice trembling with tears.
I glanced around at the crowd. Sophie Su was indeed dead, but facing this man in his forties, I couldn't bring myself to say it.