Boom!

  John gunned the speedboat and plowed straight through the circle of severed heads closing in beneath them.

  Waves of water exploded in every direction, and the boat cut through with zero resistance.

  “Not as tough as I thought…”

  He raised an eyebrow. He’d expected some kind of paranormal barrier to block them, but it had been way too easy.

  Is the Ghost River’s only power mind warping?

  A guess formed in his head, and a reckless urge suddenly flared up—to go toe?to?toe with these things.

  After all, the Ghost Mask kept his mind completely clear.

  If he could devour ghosts of this level, wouldn’t they refine into some seriously powerful elixir?

  “Nope…”

  He quickly thought of the Faceless Woman’s fate the night before and crushed his greedy impulse.

  When she fell into the river, the Faceless Woman had regained her sanity, yet still couldn’t break free of the Ghost River.

  And Yu Xian had only been underwater for ten seconds. There’d been no struggle at all—just silence, gone in an instant.

  “There’s something wrong with this water… I’m not stepping in it, ever.”

  Staring into the dark, bottomless surface, he didn’t hesitate another second. He sped the boat straight to the shore.

  “Figures only I can save the day when it counts…”

  He shook his head, tossed Ron and Jiang Ziyan onto the bank, then leaped up after them.

  “You still wanna come after me?”

  He glanced back. The severed heads crowded along the shoreline, staring as if they wouldn’t give up until they got him.

  John struck in an instant, snatching one head right out of the water.

  He’d worked his ass off—he deserved some kind of reward, right?

  One hand clamped around the head, the other hammering down nonstop. He beat it until it was barely recognizable.

  But even with the head gravely injured, the Ghost Mask didn’t react at all. It clearly wasn’t interested in this thing.

  “Isn’t this a proper ghost?”

  A flicker of disappointment crossed John’s eyes, though he wasn’t too surprised.

  If every single head was a full ghost, devouring them all would’ve turned him into an unstoppable monster.

  “Useless piece of trash!”

  He tossed the head into the air, then threw a full?power punch. It exploded into tiny, shattered pieces on the spot.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “I’m out of here.”

  He glanced at the darkening sky and didn’t stick around any longer.

  No one knew how much more terrifying Peace River would become once night fully fell.

  Early the next morning,

  John arrived at the staff office of No. 5 High School.

  Jiang Ziyan was already sitting inside, her face heavy, eyes glistening with grief.

  She and Yu Xian had been partners for years, solving paranormal cases side by side, living and dying together.

  His death hit her hard.

  “Just try to move on.”

  John spoke up, trying to comfort her. “That’s just how people are. Sooner or later, we all kick the bucket.”

  “???”

  Jiang Ziyan snapped her head up and stared at John, dumbfounded.

  Is that your idea of comforting someone?!

  “Uh… maybe I should just shut up.”

  John knew he was terrible at this. He quickly turned to stare out the window and went silent.

  Right at that moment,

  Ron walked in, rubbing his neck.

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  Jiang Ziyan perked up a little and asked.

  “I have no idea. My neck hurts like hell when I woke up. Feels like I got beaten half to death.”

  Ron frowned and shot a suspicious glance at John.

  “…”

  John’s mouth twitched. There was no way he was admitting he was the one who chopped him.

  “You were brainwashed by the Ghost River. A bunch of severed heads climbed onto the boat and beat the crap out of you.”

  “...Is that so?”

  Ron frowned, twisted his neck a few times, and let it go.

  “What exactly happened yesterday? Did we all get mind?controlled?”

  Fear flashed in Ron’s eyes.

  He’d thought they’d be safe during the day, but Peace River turned out to be completely unreasonable.

  John nodded. “If it weren’t for me, you two would’ve gotten wiped out for sure.”

  “...”

  The two fell silent, both filled with gratitude and a touch of shame.

  They never expected that veteran Spirit Wardens like them would be saved by a student—a supposedly ordinary student, no less.

  After a long pause, Jiang Ziyan asked, confused:

  “Why weren’t you affected at all?”

  Before John could answer, Ron guessed first:

  “He’s mentally unstable. Probably why.”

  “...”

  John had been struggling to come up with an excuse, and Ron had just handed him the perfect cover.

  He raised an eyebrow, pulled out his medical certificate with confidence, and showed it off.

  “Wait, that actually works?”

  Jiang Ziyan’s eyes widened. She never thought being mentally unstable could be an advantage against ghosts?

  “Alright, drop the subject,” Ron said, shaking his head. “The real question is—how do we deal with the Ghost River?”

  Its mind warping was horrifying, with no warning whatsoever. Anyone who stepped into the water was as good as dead.

  “We’ll file a full report to headquarters,” Jiang Ziyan said, shaking her head. “This is way beyond what a First Curse Spirit Warden can handle.”

  Yu Xian had been one of the top First Curse Spirit Wardens, only a step away from Second Curse, with a Bound Spirit specialized in survival. Yet he’d been killed almost instantly.

  The Ghost River was far too dangerous for them to involve themselves any further.

  “Should we keep sealing off the river?” Ron asked. “I’m worried the paranormal energy inside will fully break out and spread across all of Blackwater City.”

  “Sealing it is all we can do for now,” Jiang Ziyan sighed. “From what we know, its mind warping is weaker during the day and only fully activates at night, and it still has a limited range.”

  If Yu Xian hadn’t gone into the water and drawn the Ghost River’s attention, they might not have been controlled at all.

  And over the years, hundreds of people had walked past Peace River, but only a few dozen had jumped in. That meant the river wasn’t at its most deadly during daylight.

  Of course, that was only their guess.

  The three talked for a while longer and finally organized all the intel they had.

  By afternoon,

  Jiang Ziyan took the report and left No. 5 High School of Blackwater City.

  “Should I just run away?”

  John stroked his chin, a thought popping into his head.

  Blackwater City was starting to feel like a death trap.

  But he’d only just gotten into the Spirit Warden class. Giving up this easily felt like a waste.

  “Don’t even think about it, kid!”

  Right then, Ron turned to him with a sharp, knowing look.

  “Huh? Think about what?”

  John blinked in confusion, but his heart skipped a beat.

  Had Ron seen right through his plan to flee?

  Ron smiled confidently. “Don’t play dumb. You think you can hide that look from me?”

  “Teacher, I just—”

  John tried to explain, but Ron cut him off mid?sentence.

  A wise, knowing glint shone in Ron’s eyes.

  “Let me guess. You’re planning to go take down the Ghost River all by yourself, aren’t you?”

  “Huh?”

  John froze completely on the spot.

  Staring at Ron’s smug, certain expression, John suddenly doubted himself. He mumbled, confused and dazed:

  “Wait… Did I actually think that?”