Upon reaching the summit, a distinct chill pierced the air.
Unbeknownst to Mo Lin, two ghosts had silently materialized behind him.
They were low-level spirits—ordinary in strength and form.
With a casual swing of his sword, Mo Lin dispatched them with ease.
Since arriving here, every ghost he'd encountered had been equally insignificant.
He pressed forward once more, when a sudden clatter of falling stones drew his attention.
Following the noise, he discovered a shallow cave nestled among the rocks.
Inside, a man in a blue denim jacket crouched on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Dried blood crusted his arm, and a dark bruise marred his face.
The moment he spotted Mo Lin, he flinched, his expression taut with fear.
"Are... are you human?"
"Yes," Mo Lin nodded.
The instant Zhao Fei realized Mo Lin wasn't a ghost, he surged forward like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline.
"Brother, are you with the Ghost Handling Division?"
Zhao Fei had been hiding here for hours, physically and mentally drained.
"Yes," Mo Lin replied calmly.
"Who else came with you?" Zhao Fei asked hastily.
"Yun Ling... Lin Xi. They're here as well."
Zhao Fei's face paled. "That's bad! You need to warn them—tell them to run!"
"There's no time. They've already entered," Mo Lin replied, unhurried and composed.
Zhao Fei's heart sank.
He had attempted to warn everyone through their group chat, but his phone had suddenly lost all signal. No messages could be sent, and even calls failed.
Moments earlier, he had narrowly escaped death when a terrifying ghost pursued him—only by sheer luck had he survived.
"Where is the powerful ghost you mentioned?" Mo Lin asked.
Zhao Fei pointed eastward. "That way."
As Mo Lin began walking in that direction, Zhao Fei quickly grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to find that ghost," Mo Lin replied, unfazed.
"Are you insane?"
Zhao Fei, worried Mo Lin hadn't understood him, clarified, "That ghost is incredibly strong. I think it's Nightmare-level!"
"I know."
"Then why are you still going? Don't you fear death?"
"It's fine. I'm here to catch ghosts," Mo Lin said with effortless ease.
A Nightmare-class ghost was nothing new to him. He'd faced worse.
At the very least, he didn't share Zhao Fei's panic.
"You're trying to catch a Nightmare-class ghost?" Zhao Fei looked incredulous.
Capturing a ghost was far more difficult than simply exorcising one.
Exorcism meant destroying the ghost by any means.
But capturing? That required overwhelming power—far beyond the spirit's own.
"Yes, to capture it," Mo Lin said calmly.
"You're serious?"
"I am."
Zhao Fei saw the unwavering look on Mo Lin's face. It wasn't bravado—it was certainty. He swallowed hard.
This man was either completely insane or truly formidable.
It was clearly the latter.
"Do you want me to guide you?" Zhao Fei offered.
"Sure."
"You actually want me to lead the way...?" Zhao Fei had only meant to be polite, never expecting Mo Lin to take him up on it.
After all, he was injured.
"Fine." He braced himself and led the way.
—
"Sister Yun Ling, the number of ghosts is increasing," Lin Xi warned, having just slain another ordinary specter.
Yun Ling's brow furrowed. "I'm aware."
The further they advanced up the mountain, the more ghosts they encountered.
They came in droves, though all were of a lower tier, easily dispatched by their combined efforts.
But then, without warning, dozens more ghosts appeared.
A quick glance confirmed at least forty—perhaps more.
Though individually weak, their sheer numbers made them dangerous.
The team instinctively drew closer, forming a back-to-back formation to fend off the encroaching spirits.
Yun Ling summoned her two contracted ghosts to fight at the front lines.
Everyone present released their own spirit allies, and the battle commenced.
A scream pierced the night.
A man in black had been careless—his arm was torn clean off by a ghost, his cries of agony echoing through the trees.
Yun Ling intervened, rescuing the man and pulling him into the center of their formation.
But the ghosts kept coming, encircling them.
"Something's wrong," Tang Fang said grimly. "It's like we're the ones being hunted."
Her words struck a chord. The others' expressions darkened with realization.
Yun Ling's face turned grim. She wasn't naive—she could sense it too.
They were being deliberately surrounded.
Wave after wave of ghosts sapped their energy and strength.
"Retreat," Yun Ling ordered.
"We can't..." Lin Xi's voice was heavy with tension.
Yun Ling turned toward the path behind them—only to find it blocked by a dense wall of ghosts.
They were trapped, like fish in a barrel.
Yun Ling didn't believe these mindless ghosts could orchestrate something so elaborate.
There had to be someone behind it.
Someone was controlling the situation from the shadows.
And that someone was watching them right now.
"Stop hiding... show yourself!" Yun Ling called into the void.
No answer.
"I know you're there. Come out and face us," she demanded again.
Lin Xi looked around, puzzled. All she saw were ghosts.
"Yun Ling, are you imagining—"
Before she could finish, her eyes widened in shock.
There was someone.
Perched upon a distant boulder stood an old man in a black coat, his face hidden beneath a hood. His weathered face was lined with deep wrinkles.
The moment he appeared, everyone froze.
Yun Ling's heart skipped a beat.
She had merely taken a gamble, but hadn't expected it to pay off.
"Elder... are these ghosts yours?" she asked cautiously.
"They are," he answered in a slow, deliberate tone.
Gasps of disbelief rippled through the group.
To control this many ghosts required not only vast resources, but terrifying strength.
"Why lure us here? What is your purpose?" Yun Ling's voice was steely.
It was a trap—every part of it.
The other ghost tamers who had entered before them were likely dead.
Even Zhao Fei had been spared deliberately—to attract more prey.
"I want all of you to die," the old man said, his voice trembling with fervor. "My precious one hungers for your blood."
"Our organization is backed by the Ghost Handling Division," Yun Ling said coldly. "Are you certain you want to defy us?"
"Once I kill all of you," he said with a twisted smile, "I'll disappear. Not even your Ghost Division will find me."
He feared the powerful tamers within the Division—he had no desire for direct confrontation.
But as long as he slaughtered these intruders and vanished, no one would be able to trace him.
Not even them.