The chill deepened as night wore on. In the shadowy alley, only a hazy, cold light was visible.
Black mist billowed from several corpses. It was about to fade away unnoticed when a scepter wreathed in crimson flames pinned it in place.
Faces appeared in the black mist, howling madly without pause.
Lola jumped in surprise and couldn't help asking, "What are they?"
"They're human," Gu Qingshan said calmly. "I can clearly sense that they're human, but their souls signed some kind of evil contract long ago. As soon as they die, their souls immediately go somewhere."
"How do you know that so well?" Lola asked.
Gu Qingshan rested a hand on the Ghost King Scepter and focused his mind.
A brief scream rang out in the alley, then silence returned.
"I've done a little research in this area. So when I came across something like this, I knew there was someone in my line of work here." Gu Qingshan's expression turned grave.
—After death, life's souls returned somewhere.
That was the Reaper's domain, and the Ghost King's authority as well. So Gu Qingshan had easily noticed a few clues, though he still wasn't sure of the specifics...
Lola grew interested. "Let's look around the main road and see if we can find any clues."
"Let's go," Gu Qingshan said.
They left the alley and walked along the empty main road.
In the pitch-black night, everything was still.
Not a single passerby was on the entire road; only the patter of cold rain could be heard.
"We didn't come at the right time. Looks like we'll have to wait until dawn to get any information," Lola said with a yawn.
"Listen," Gu Qingshan suddenly said.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal striking the ground came from the end of the