I could hear voices, but I couldn't see what lay ahead. The fog here was thick, shrouding everything in a hazy blur. I couldn't even see my own fingers when I raised my hand. My heart clenched. An ominous premonition welled up from nowhere. This church occupied a vast area. If it hadn't once served as a church, then there was another possibility: perhaps it was a secret base built by some organization to keep people in the dark. Places like this usually heralded danger—and something terrifying. If Red Blood was right, I had to consider whether I should continue forward.
"So what do we do now?" Shang Wanqiu looked at me. I glanced left and right. There were several paths branching through the courtyard, some of which could bypass the other side. I picked one and gestured for Shang Wanqiu to follow me that way. At the same time, I released the Substitute Ghost Gu, sending one down the path to the left and another straight down the middle.
I didn't divide my attention to check on the two substitutes. The area around me was dangerous enough as it was, so I only planned to reconnect with their senses at intervals. The path I chose veered slightly to the right of one of their directions.
"Being with you is so reassuring. You always seem to have everything under control." Shang Wanqiu suddenly spoke from behind me. I smiled bitterly. Reassuring? I was being so cautious I could hardly breathe. If I let my guard down for even a moment, I was afraid I'd be the first one to die.
After we walked for a while, I saw that no ghosts were paying attention to us anymore and said, "I'm going to monitor the condition of my substitutes here. Stand