Seeing the confusion on my face, Scarlet Howe sat down. She had the classic features of a Western Region woman—high nose bridge, broad forehead, tall and slender figure, and her hair tied in a distinctive braid.
"If you’re wondering how I know what you’re saying, I can be honest with you. We’ve been here no later than the Ghost Worms, and in the Living World, we have our own eyes and ears. Right now, in the Spirit Realm, you—Ethan Zhang—are the most prominent figure."
I smiled and then sat down, speaking.
"What’s the condition? What will it take for you to tell me?"
Scarlet Howe gave a sly smile, covering her mouth, and walked over step by step. Then she sat beside me, placed one hand on my shoulder, and pointed at me with a finger.
"You only need to return to the Living World and help us with one thing."
"What is it?"
I asked immediately, but Scarlet Howe didn’t answer. She just smiled, and from her expression, I glimpsed a hint of cruelty.
"When this is all over, we’ll naturally send someone to inform you. The thing we need you to do won’t require killing or harming anyone. So, will you agree or not?"
Inside, I hesitated. Whatever Scarlet Howe was talking about, it was unlikely to be anything good. After I return, what exactly will I have to do? I truly had no idea.
"Don’t you want to find your cousin, Howard Zhang? Ethan Zhang, this is your only chance. If you wait until after the Jialan Ceremony, you might never see your cousin again."
"I agree."
I said, and Scarlet Howe burst out laughing. She then stood in front of me, bent over, and pointed a finger at my heart.
"This is your choice, Ethan Zhang. One thing for another—I didn’t force you. As far as I know, there’s no such thing as going back on your word here."
"Hurry up and tell me—where is my cousin?"
Scarlet Howe quietly sat down, crossed her legs, her pale slender thigh resting on mine. I pushed her away irritably, and she giggled.
"Remember, Ethan Zhang, this is just between us. You understand what I mean, don’t you?"
I nodded. Then Scarlet Howe spoke up. Gwen Grant and her team have records—from when Brother Owen took charge here, the number of ghosts who have disappeared has already exceeded five million.
I stared at Scarlet Howe in shock. She nodded.
"It’s not certain, though. After all, we don’t know how these ghosts disappeared. The only thing we do know is: once you forget, everything about being a ghost vanishes."
I’ve felt this way before. As soon as I approached Jialan City, I sensed that something was off. I almost forgot I was a ghost.
"Everything here must be related to Buddhism. Originally, the Buddhist sect was meant to guide souls. People and ghosts are the same—like the Kṣitigarbha Sutra, you’ve heard of it, right? It’s recited for ghosts, to guide them to the Western Paradise. We investigated and discovered something interesting."
I immediately looked at Scarlet Howe intently. She stood up and continued.
"Those ghost monks chanting in the city—you must have seen plenty. Every time they come out to chant, a lot of ghosts follow, and then, they vanish. That’s how ghosts disappear: they follow the monks, and in the blink of an eye, they’re gone."
Suddenly, I remembered—just today, when we left the courtyard, I saw Wendy Wood trying to follow, but Quinn Lee stopped her. When I looked over, I felt something was off. Now, I finally understand what that strange feeling was.
When those ghost monks came up, there were plenty of ghosts trailing behind. But after they arrived, the ghosts who followed simply vanished. It’s bizarre.
"What about my cousin?"
I asked immediately. Scarlet Howe nodded.
"Your cousin isn’t the only one who came here. There are three other suspicious characters."
I looked at Scarlet Howe grimly. She continued speaking.
"You must be familiar with the Immortality Society, Ethan Zhang."
Suddenly, my heart tightened. As expected, the Renegade Monks were already involved with the Immortality Society.
Scarlet Howe told me that on the day my cousin arrived, both sides of the western road were lined with ghost monks, all the way to the Jialan Sanctuary. Other ghosts couldn’t get close. That day, Scarlet Howe personally went over and saw some clues.
Among those who arrived, besides my cousin, there was a Gold-Faced Man and two Blue-Faced Men. The Gold-Faced Man had what looked like a wing on the left side of his face. Scarlet Howe wasn’t sure about the details; she only saw these things.
As for my cousin, he was taken to the Jialan Lotus Platform.
"I heard that to go up there, you have to wait for one of Brother Owen’s disciples to come down and preach. Is that right?"
"That’s not entirely true."
Scarlet Howe said, leading me to the window. She pointed to the Jialan Sanctuary at the mountain’s summit.
"Why can’t ghosts fly here? No one knows. But after years of investigation, I found only one time when Brother Owen left—more than two years ago, after your conflict with Lord Wraith. That was the only time he left Jialan City."
Normally, if a Green Wraith leaves, the ghost domain moves with them. So Brother Owen put away the ghost domain and went alone to Wraith City. During that time, the ghost domain here was temporarily lifted, and Scarlet Howe took the opportunity to investigate thoroughly.
"There is another way to enter the Jialan Lotus Platform."
I immediately looked at Scarlet Howe with excitement. My top priority now was to find my cousin’s whereabouts—this was absolutely necessary. If the Immortality Society was involved, I couldn’t confront them head-on.
"Graveyard Desert."
Scarlet Howe pointed to the eastern side of Jialan City, where the Graveyard Desert lay. I didn’t understand what she was planning.
"Previously, the Renegade Monk left for several months. During that time, we began investigating everywhere. After all, part of Jialan City is real, but the other part is the Renegade Monk’s ghost domain. He merged his ghost domain with Jialan City."
I gazed at Scarlet Howe in astonishment.
"If you want to reach the Jialan Lotus Seat, the only way is to take a detour and find the gate to the Lotus Seat from within the Graveyard Desert."
I looked at Scarlet Howe, half-believing, half-doubting. She smiled gently, and didn’t seem to be lying.
But searching for the gate in the Graveyard Desert would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. If I rushed in recklessly and couldn’t find it, I’d be finished.
"You can rest assured about that. If you want to enter the Graveyard Desert, take Allen Zhang with you."
I let out a surprised sound as Scarlet Howe explained that Allen Zhang could navigate in the desert and quickly lead me to the Jialan Lotus Seat.
"You even know about him? What... what exactly are you people?"
I asked, but Scarlet Howe just smiled without answering.
"We don’t belong to the Underworld, nor to the Ghost Sovereign. We’re the third faction in the ghost realm, but we’re not on the same level as the other two. Whether you go or not is up to you, but you’ve promised us something—I’ll come to claim it when the time comes."
I nodded silently. Since Allen Zhang could navigate the Graveyard Desert, I had no choice but to ask for his help.
I hurried through the streets. When I saw the chanting ghost monks, I stopped and watched them closely. Sure enough, some ghosts followed behind. I shifted my gaze to those trailing ghosts—they just followed the monks.
I waited quietly as the ghosts followed the monks into the distance. Suddenly, I widened my eyes—in just a blink, those trailing ghosts vanished. How they disappeared, or where they went, I had no way of knowing.
I witnessed the same thing several times and confirmed it—the ghosts here kept vanishing. I returned to my lodgings and began discussing with the three Blue Wraiths. After discreetly omitting the terms I agreed to with Scarlet Howe, the Dragonhead looked utterly shocked.
"Let’s just storm the place."
"I disagree. We’re outnumbered right now, and this is the Renegade Monk’s territory—it’s not easy to act here. Since the monks guarding the place have disappeared, I’ll get my Blue Wraiths to hurry over as fast as possible."
Ye Guyun said this, immediately standing up, looking as if he wanted to leave but hesitated.
I spoke to Allen Zhang, asking him to take me into the Graveyard Desert. He agreed without hesitation.
"Scarlet Howe, that damned woman, really knows how to put on a show. Haha, she usually bosses me around, but she’s known about my business all along. No wonder she’s always so friendly whenever I visit."
Dragonhead stayed behind, watching Mu Wanqing, while Ye Guyun prepared to summon all his subordinates. Allen Zhang and I headed east.
To the east of Sanctuary Peak lies the Graveyard Desert, a vast expanse stretching for thousands of miles. Over there, ghosts can act freely, without any restraints.
"I’ve played in the Graveyard Desert before, haha."
Allen Zhang said, and I was deeply curious. He explained that he’d entered the Graveyard Desert out of boredom and found stone walls covered in Underworld script, which he couldn’t understand. It seemed Allen Zhang really had been there—when I entered the Graveyard Desert before, I’d also seen those weathered stone walls covered in Underworld writing.
While we spoke, we reached the western edge of Jialan City. Just a few hundred meters ahead and we’d enter the Graveyard Desert. Allen Zhang and I descended the steps, and as soon as we did, I noticed Jialan City behind us was completely deserted.