Chapter 37: The Strange Person

Phantom Potion was emitting pink bubbles, and the splashing vapor from the bursting bubbles made Rayan involuntarily hold his breath.

"Become a ghost?"

Rayan was confident and unafraid of any enemy, even without the Twilight Blade. He still had his hands, his teeth, the ceaseless heat of the blood in his veins, and an indomitable will to fight, but ghosts... those were different.

As a child, Duke had scared him with spectral monsters, intangible things. He didn't immediately take the potion from Morien's hand. The fear of poison and spectral monsters was a minor reason; what worried Rayan more was Morien's true motive—

What exactly did he want?

A slight smile made Morien's pale lips appear larger, "What, you don't believe that spectral monsters exist in this world? Spectral monsters can't change anything's shape, but they can influence people's minds. Sometimes people do things they can't imagine themselves doing, all because a spectral monster has possessed them when their spirits were weak."

"I thought that was the Holy Light's blessing," Rayan said sarcastically.

"People always credit the good to the Holy Light, but never blame it for the bad. That's actually not fair."

Morien's hand, resembling a chicken claw, still held up the vial of poison. It seemed Rayan had no other choice.

He had reached this point; there indeed was no antidote for regret. Reluctantly, he took the Phantom Potion. The bubbles stinging his face nearly knotted his stomach. The potion was far from his lips, but his tongue was already filled with a sour bitterness.

Seeing Rayan accept the poison, Morien couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "The Phantom Potion can increase your movement speed by thirty percent, but remember, you only have forty-five minutes. If you don't kill a spectral monster within that time, you'll permanently become a ghost form—in plain terms, you're dead."

Rayan brought the Phantom Potion to his lips, then quickly moved it away. "If I find a spectral monster, how should I deal with it?"

"Simple, kill it with your sword."

Morien casually continued, "Spectral monsters basically have no attack power. The only problem is that they cunningly attach to humans. I advise you to kill the person along with it. The person killed won't have any wounds, and no one will see you, so you really don't have to worry about getting caught. If you can't harden your heart, and you hesitate even a little before killing, the spectral monster will escape and attach to someone else. Then, you'll have to kill even more people."

While talking about killing, Morien's expression was as casual as if discussing how to crush an ant.

"Well, wish me luck then."

Rayan took a deep breath and brought the poison to his lips.

"It should be 'wish us luck' actually, you need life, and I need you to complete this task. In fact, I've been waiting too long, longer than you need luck," Morien said dryly with a laugh.

Rayan didn't have the mind to savor the meaning behind Morien's words. He parted his teeth and swallowed the bitter poison.

Blood immediately rushed to his handsome face, distorting it into a horrific shape. It felt like a rope tightening around his throat, he opened his mouth but couldn't breathe any air, his eyeballs bulged, the pain in his eye sockets was unbearable, his heart solidified in his chest, his legs couldn't support his body, his knees slammed hard into the solid floor, and his limbs uncontrollably twitched—

He still had a clear consciousness, and every pain and torment was as clear as steel colliding in his mind.

This torment lasted only a few seconds, but it felt as long as decades.

When the physical pain subsided, and Rayan stood up, he felt light and full of strength, even the black giant sword on his back seemed much lighter.

"Am I already a ghost?"

Rayan looked down at his body and saw it emitting a grayish-white halo.

Morien didn't respond, but turned and continued to busy himself on the platform.

Forty-five minutes...

Rayan felt his heart beat once a minute; he had already wasted one minute, only forty-four beats left.

He quickly dashed toward the door, reached out to move aside the black curtain hanging on it, but his arm went straight through it.

Rayan was initially stunned, then sighed wryly—already a ghost form, yet still foolishly using human ways to exit.

He passed directly through several thick stone walls, ignoring anything under his feet, using the extra speed from the Phantom Potion, and ran swiftly towards Dusk Village.

It was nearing noon, but a dense fog still enveloped Dusk Village, with only a few chatting women and playing children on the streets. Rayan passed through them like a gust of wind, not lingering long. He analyzed that spectral monsters would likely prefer people with unusual behaviors, and that morning he had indeed seen a person with odd behaviors—the graveyard night watchmen.

When he rushed to the graveyard, only thirty-six heartbeats remained.

The graveyard night watchmen still maintained the posture Rayan had left him in, sitting in a chair, sound asleep, with shiny drool at the corner of his mouth. Whether it was his appearance, attire, or behavior, even his job nature, he should be the prime target for a spectral monster.

But Rayan circled the graveyard night watchmen three times, and didn't detect anything related to a spectral monster. If even the graveyard night watchmen wasn't considered odd, then what behavior could be considered strange?

Rayan frowned tightly, his heart weakly thumped once more inside his chest.

He suddenly remembered Mina's mother, who harbored unspeakable guilt. After Yin Lisha was nailed into the coffin, apart from Morien, it seemed only she was still suffering in Dusk Village. That might be a place to attract a spectral monster.

Rayan quickly ran to Mina's house. This time, he didn't need to knock, moving directly through the wall using his ghost form.

Mina's mother was sitting in the courtyard laundering clothes, her face and neckline all wet. As Rayan passed through the wall, she just happened to raise her head, looking blankly ahead.

Rayan tensed, then realized that Mina's mother was just daydreaming, not seeing him. He carefully approached Mina's mother, his right hand slowly reaching for the giant sword's hilt over his shoulder.

Mina's mother raised her wet fingers, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and sighed softly, "Mina, that child, where has she run off to play again?"

Her eyes were clear, her expression full of concern, showing no signs of being possessed by a spectral monster.

Rayan lowered his right hand, his expression defeated as he stayed in place.

A single misjudgment could be forgiven, two could be explained, but a third would likely mean he wouldn't survive the forty-five minutes.

Dusk Village wasn't very large, but it was a complete village nonetheless. If he really had to search every house for a spectral monster, not to mention forty-five minutes, even another forty-five wouldn't necessarily be enough.

This task didn't require fierce confrontation, but it was no easier than dealing with a dozen Bandit mercenaries at the same time.

Rayan tried to calm himself, ignoring the frequency of the heartbeat in his chest.

The first two mistakes weren't necessarily bad, at least they made him realize he didn't know enough about Dusk Village. If he could understand more, perhaps—

He suddenly thought of a way. If a spectral monster could attach to a person and influence their actions, then his current ghost form could do the same. He didn't know Dusk Village, but as a member of Dusk Village, Mina's mother definitely knew who the village's most eccentric person was.

However, entering another person's body...

Rayan hesitated briefly, only reaching out with his palm, pressing it against Mina's mother's chest.

Her chest was soaked with laundry water, the cotton fabric clinging to her skin. Rayan could clearly feel the cold moisture and warm body temperature, and the strong heartbeat. His hand could pass through the heart chamber, but he had a good impression of Mina's mother and didn't want to cause her undue physical stress. After a simple touch, he focused, starting to capture Mina's mother's thoughts.

Mina's mother couldn't help but moan in pain, furrowing her brow and rubbing her chest, her palm wet with laundry water. Although it felt strange, she didn't know why her chest was uncomfortable.

Rayan searched for those considered strange in Mina's mother's thoughts.

The name Morien came up first, but that could be dismissed outright because Rayan, after becoming ghost form, had first seen Morien. As an alchemist who hadn't eaten, drunk, or slept for three years, surviving only on medicine, Morien was indeed the most eccentric person, but he had no spectral monster.

The second name from Mina's mother's thoughts was Rayan himself. This was understandable, from Mina's mother's perspective, a "noble" young man coming to a place like Dusk Village, and showing keen interest in Yin Lisha's case, was indeed strange.

The third name from Mina's mother's thoughts was someone Rayan had never met. He carefully understood the background of that person and found it wasn't the spectral monster he was looking for, just Mina's mother's pure prejudice.

The names that came up afterward were about the same, involving trivial matters. Rayan began to suspect he was wasting too much time on Mina's mother, and might as well try his luck on the main street.

Just as he was about to move his hand away, two names suppressed in the deepest part of Mina's mother's heart jumped out at the same time. Rayan was surprised to recognize both names. The first was Mina's father's name, and the second was the prostitute, Rose, mentioned by the graveyard night watchmen.

Even Ravenstorm Inn couldn't afford a striptease dancer, yet a small village like Dusk Village had a beautiful and enchanting prostitute? Yes! That was the most bizarre, most unusual thing!

Rayan immediately felt a sense of clarity.