Li Xin took a step forward, drifting eerily without the slightest effort, not even stirring a wisp of mist as he slipped silently through the white fog.
He had not gone far when a colossal creature emerged in the mist: a ghostly being shaped like a withered old tree, passing by.
Its form was grotesque, its body crawling with barnacle-like growths and covered from head to toe in densely packed eyes and teeth. A bloodthirsty aura emanated from it.
Yet when it saw Li Xin, it made no move, seemingly mistaking him for one of its own.
Before long, Li Xin passed through the throngs of ghostly beings, left the marsh, and stepped onto solid ground.
"Drip," "drip," "drip"... Drops of water condensed from Yin Qi kept falling from the branches. The mist remained thick, but no more ghostly beings appeared along the way, and the surroundings gradually fell silent.
The details all around him grew increasingly familiar. This was the path to the teahouse.
Li Xin suddenly stopped. The teahouse should have been right where he stood, but now there was nothing here except rolling white mist...
He turned his head and looked in one direction. In a calm voice, he said, "Come out!"
The next moment, a pure-white figure appeared. It was a humanoid ghostly being dressed in a white robe, almost indistinguishable from the fog. Every feature on its pale face was white; beneath its brows sat two eyes in a straight line. Only deep in their pupils flickered a glimmer of black flame.
The ghostly being kept one hand behind its back and carried a grass-woven cage in the other as it walked toward him at an unhurried pace.
It fixed its gaze on Li Xin and spoke in a chilling voice. "You trespass in You