An Qingyu frowned and looked back in the direction they had come from.
A faint rustling sound drifted from beyond the deep, lightless fissure, as if something were slowly approaching.
Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes and placed a hand on An Qingyu's shoulder. At the same time, he drew Zhanbai half an inch from its sheath with his other hand. A faint glimmer flashed, and the two of them instantly vanished into the void.
Within the black-and-white void, Lin Qiye pulled An Qingyu into the rock wall of the mountain. They held their breath and silently watched the dim road behind them.
Rustle, rustle—
A moment later, a pitch-black figure staggered closer.
By the faint red glow, they could make out a gaunt man. His upper body was bare, his ribs protruding clearly beneath pale skin, like a skeleton wrapped in flesh. He wore a pair of tattered black trousers on his lower body and was slowly crawling forward on all fours like a dog.
His eyes were hollow, as though he had no consciousness of his own. As he crawled with his hands and feet, his cracked lips moved as if he were muttering something.
Within the void, An Qingyu gave Lin Qiye a look and asked in a lowered voice:
"A wraith?"
Lin Qiye nodded slightly.
Hell had originally been a place meant to torment the souls of humans who had committed sins in life. When Hell still existed, countless human wraiths had been imprisoned here. Now that Hell was empty and the demons were gone, quite a few wraiths should have survived the God War and continued wandering Between Hells.
The gaunt man before them had no physical body. He was merely a soul that had wandered through Hell for an unknown length of time.
Just then,