Netherworld’s Spirit Envoy - -

However, dozens of women in white suddenly blocked their path. In unison, black blood began to trickle from their eyes and mouths. They intended to trap me here.

“Write down… your name…” they all chanted in unison, pressing closer. I had no way out and could only watch helplessly as they pinned me down.

I felt someone prying my fingers open, but I clenched my fists with all my might. At that moment, the women in white transformed into skeletons, their hollow eye sockets fixated on me, and their exposed teeth yellow and black, looking utterly terrifying.

“Let him go!” A soft yet angry voice came through, and the tightly shut door suddenly blew open with a gust of wind, which brought in falling leaves and swept the skeletons off me.

As the wind reached me, it became unbelievably gentle. I seemed to hear Lin Shishi’s voice, “Sir, I’m here to take you away!”

Suddenly, my feet lifted off the ground, enveloped by the wind, carrying me straight outside.

The moment I left, those skeletons reverted to women in white, chasing after us under the command of a woman in black.

“Shishi, they’re catching up!” I yelled immediately.

Lin Shishi seemed a bit anxious too, and I could even see her faint outline. She glanced back and quickly said, “Sir, hold on tight. I’ll get you out of here!”

With a wave of Lin Shishi’s sleeve, a gust of wind blew the women following us back into the building, and the door shut tightly in that instant.

Just as we left the temple, Lin Shishi appeared in front of me, her expression excited. She grabbed my hand, and nervously asked, “Sir, why did you come here? It’s too dangerous. I must get you out immediately.”

As she spoke, Lin Shishi tried to pull me away, but I quickly held onto her, “Shishi, I came to take you with me. We’ll leave together.”

Emotion showed openly on Lin Shishi’s face, her eyes filled with deep affection. But before we could speak further, her expression changed. She looked in alarm toward the end of the memorial archway.

It was pitch black there, nothing visible, yet Shishi grew unmistakably tense, her hands shaking violently as she held mine.

“What’s wrong, Shishi? What are you afraid of? Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, no one will hurt you!” I stood resolutely in front of Lin Shishi, eyes fixed determinedly at the end of the three memorial archways.

Lin Shishi pulled me close to her, looking anxious as she said, “Sir, now is not the time to be brave. That person is too powerful. If you stay here, you’ll only be killed by him. I’ll get you out of here right away. You must leave!”

I grabbed Lin Shishi’s hand, refusing to leave. I came here to take her with me, and now that she’s right in front of me, how could I possibly leave her behind?

Unable to refuse, Lin Shishi gripped my wrist in return and quickly said, “We’ll leave together, Sir. No matter what, I must take you out.”

“Shishi, we’ll go together. Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.” Our eyes met, and Lin Shishi’s gaze was filled with gratitude.

With a graceful movement, Lin Shishi floated upwards, taking me with her. But we hadn’t gone very far when she suddenly froze in mid-air, unable to move.

I turned back to see Lin Shishi looking anxiously at her feet. “Sir, go ahead without me. Don’t worry about me. I can’t move.”

“What do you mean you can’t move, I…” Before I could finish, Lin Shishi screamed and fell towards the ground. Clutching her hand tightly, I was also pulled down.

As soon as we hit the ground, I heard Lin Shishi scream again. Looking back, I saw a giant hand grabbing her, pulling her backward. I jumped up, shouting, and rushed towards her. I was about to grab her hand when a burst of cold wind knocked me to the ground.

I fell heavily onto a slab, feeling as if my entire body was in pieces from the pain. Lin Shishi screamed again, and I looked up to see her being placed into an open carriage, surrounded by a swarm of ghostly black shadows, speeding away.

Shouting my name, Lin Shishi reached out her hand. I quickly chased after her. As I got closer to the black shadows, I suddenly passed right through one of them-they were intangible.

Desperate, I pushed myself to the limit, reaching Lin Shishi’s side and grasping her hand. But just as I did, the carriage sped up dramatically, and Lin Shishi vanished from sight. A strong wind gusted, and the entire convoy disappeared.

What should I do? Lin Shishi is gone. Where can I even begin to look for her? Feeling defeated, I crouched on the ground, holding my head in my hands, unable to think of any solution.

In the blink of an eye, the Yin-Yang Notebook appeared before me. I quickly explained Lin Shishi’s situation to it. The Yin-Yang Notebook remained calm, informing me that Lin Shishi had been taken by the Ghost King. If I didn’t act quickly, she might never return.

“How can I find the Ghost King?” I was at a loss.

The Yin-Yang Notebook pointed inside the temple and said, “Inside there, in the urn you saw, there is a ghost puppet. She can detect Lin Shishi’s scent, but to have her help you find Lin Shishi, you must agree to her conditions.”

“I’ll agree to whatever it takes to find Lin Shishi,” I said resolutely. In another instant, I found myself back in front of the temple and rushed in. The urn stood there quietly.

I ran forward and began to pound on the urn vigorously. Finally, there was a response. The slab on top began to shake once more, even more violently than before. When the blood-red eyes appeared from within again, this time I didn’t flinch.

With all my strength, I pushed from outside while the Ghost Woman exerted force from inside. In a matter of moments, the slab and urn had opened up by nearly half a foot. As billowing black smoke emerged, the entire main hall plunged into darkness.

“Come out, I want to see you!” I shouted into the dense black smoke.

“Ahahaha…” Following a sharp laugh, a small figure appeared before me. It was a little girl, no more than five or six years old in stature. She had long hair and was dressed in blood-red clothes, her face a ghastly white with blood-red eyes lacking eyelids, almost causing me to jump in fright.

“What do you want with me?” When the little girl spoke, her mouth was an empty void without teeth or tongue, yet her voice was high-pitched, as if someone were squeezing her throat.

Seeing my expression, her tone suddenly turned fierce. “Don’t waste time; speak quickly, or… if I lose patience, you won’t find anything pleasant.”

She laughed, squeezing some blood from her eyes, wiped her face, and put her finger in her mouth.

Suppressing the disgust that rose in my throat, I explained I needed her help to find Lin Shishi.

The little girl burst into laughter, looking at me as if mocking me. “That woman has caught the Ghost King’s eye, and you actually want to take her from him? That’s quite a bold move. But I like your audacity, even if it means courting death. I can help you, but you need to agree to my condition.”

“What condition?” I asked quickly.

The little girl’s smile was eerie. “I want a breath of your Yang energy.”

Yang energy? How could I find Yang energy in the Serpent Ghost Domain? Oh, right-I remembered that when I entered, the Yin-Yang Notebook had me take a breath of Yang energy and hold it in my body. If that’s what she wants, I might as well give it to her.

“I can give it to you, but only after you help me find Lin Shishi,” I replied, wary of being deceived by the seemingly complex little girl.

The little girl seemed skeptical. “You’re sure about giving me a breath of Yang energy?”

I nodded firmly. “It’s just a breath of Yang energy, I can give you that!”

“Alright, follow me!” The little girl seemed worried I’d change my mind, and in a flash, she pulled me along, flying swiftly ahead.

The little girl moved quickly, and as we flew forward, the already strong winds blew even harder, filling my eyes with dust and making tears stream down my face. The little girl, however, laughed gleefully, a peculiar child indeed.

I didn’t know how long we had been flying when my face started to feel numb. The little girl suddenly landed, and my legs gave way, causing me to collapse onto the ground.

“This is the place,” the little girl said with a delighted expression, her eyes fixed on something ahead.

Peeking from behind her, I saw a large, wide platform ahead, adorned with red carpets and banners. The gilded “double happiness” characters looked glaring. A group of Shadows milled about in front of the platform, with tables and chairs scattered around, holding dishes and cutlery.

Atop the platform sat a bride in red, with a veil over her head. Beside her was the terrifying Ghost King. This was the first time I saw him clearly: emaciated, his skin tightly clinging to his bones and green in color, with a bridegroom’s hat on his head.

“This is bad-the Ghost King wants to marry Shishi!” I shouted in alarm. Instantly, the lively platform fell silent as all the Shadows, including the Ghost King and the little girl, turned to look at me.

Especially the little girl-her eyes seemed to say, “You’re an idiot.”