"W-what?"

  "Where's the ghost?"

  The crowd panicked, scanning their surroundings, but found nothing.

  "Fang Xiu, what nonsense are you spouting now? There's no ghost here!" snapped a terrified colleague, glaring at him.

  "Yeah, yeah, this is no time for jokes!"

  Fang Xiu remained calm, his handsome, pale face appearing almost doll-like in the darkness, his expression devoid of emotion. His lifeless, still eyes unsettled everyone, and even their angry voices gradually faded under his gaze.

  Suddenly, Fang Xiu spoke.

  "Wang Xiaoli is gone."

  Wang Xiaoli?

  "Nonsense! Wang Xiaoli is right beside me—Wang Xiaoli, say something!" a colleague frantically called out.

  But Wang Xiaoli didn’t respond.

  The man’s heart sank. He quickly shined his phone light beside him—only to realize Wang Xiaoli had truly vanished.

  "Wang Xiaoli! Wang Xiaoli!"

  He called out twice, but there was no answer.

  The crowd erupted.

  "Wang Xiaoli really disappeared!"

  "Was it really a ghost?"

  "Fang Xiu, did you see what the ghost looked like?" Wang Ziteng suddenly asked.

  Despite their past conflicts, Wang Ziteng wasn’t foolish enough to pick a fight in a life-or-death situation.

  Fang Xiu replied flatly, "Visibility is poor in the dark. I didn’t see the ghost—only Wang Xiaoli disappearing."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  His tone was eerily detached, as if Wang Xiaoli’s disappearance meant nothing more than an ant being crushed.

  Anyone else would’ve screamed in terror or at least shown panic, but Fang Xiu recounted the event with unsettling composure.

  The others weren’t fools—years in the workplace had sharpened their instincts. It was obvious Fang Xiu’s calmness was abnormal.

  Wang Ziteng narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Fang Xiu, you don’t seem afraid of ghosts at all. Are you a Spirit Master?"

  Fang Xiu shook his head. "What’s a Spirit Master?"

  Wang Ziteng’s suspicion deepened.

  "Spirit Masters are those who harness their own spiritual power. From what I understand, it’s the power of the mind. My cousin once said that every person’s mind holds immense power, but it’s buried under layers of dust—like a luminous pearl covered in grime."

  "A Spirit Master is someone who wipes away that dust, allowing the mind’s light to shine."

  Wang Ziteng wanted to continue, but Wu Dahai cut in impatiently, "Young Master Wang! This isn’t the time for lectures! People are disappearing! Think of a way to escape!"

  "Shut up!" Wang Ziteng snapped. "Escape? How? Where? Only three people have vanished so far. If we move recklessly and trigger the ghost’s rules, we’ll all die!"

  "Besides, what I’m saying now could save our lives!"

  "You think Spirit Masters are born? No—they’re made."

  "The best chance we have is for someone here to become a Spirit Master!"

  "So, Spirit Masters are forged in haunted domains?" Fang Xiu interjected.

  Wang Ziteng nodded, surprised by Fang Xiu’s sharp deduction despite the circumstances.

  "Exactly. To become a Spirit Master, you need the power of ghosts!"

  "I mentioned that every mind is clouded by dust. To cleanse it, two conditions must be met."

  "First, you must experience the terror between life and death. Only by facing death can the dust on the mind loosen. Alternatively, an extreme emotional shock can also work."

  "Second, you must come into contact with a ghost. Their power invades the mind, acting like a cloth that wipes away the dust."

  "But there’s a catch—ghostly power cleanses the mind but also corrupts it."

  "If the mind is a dusty luminous pearl, then a ghost’s power is a bloodstained rag. It wipes away the grime but stains the pearl red."

  "The so-called ‘spiritual light’ is just the mind’s radiance, distorted by the ghost’s influence."

  After listening, Fang Xiu silently analyzed the information.

  So, this was a world governed by the mind. A Spirit Master’s power came from the fusion of their psyche and supernatural forces.

  The state between life and death acted as a catalyst—like heat in a chemical reaction, accelerating the process.

  Fang Xiu frowned slightly. He had already experienced life-and-death situations and encountered ghosts—so why hadn’t his spiritual power awakened? Or had it, and he simply hadn’t noticed?

  Wang Ziteng continued, "That’s why every one of us has a chance to become a Spirit Master. If even one of us succeeds, we might escape this haunted domain!"

  "What are the signs of awakened spiritual power?" Fang Xiu asked.

  "Enhanced physical abilities, heightened senses, and most importantly—a unique ability, shaped by the individual’s psyche. No two minds are alike, so no two abilities are the same."

  An ability? Shaped by the mind?

  Fang Xiu immediately thought of *Death Rewind*. Was that his power?

  No, that didn’t fit. His body and senses remained ordinary—no enhancements at all.

  Moreover, he had a strong intuition that *Death Rewind* wasn’t tied to spiritual power. It was likely an innate ability from the moment he crossed into this world.

  Conclusion: He hadn’t awakened his spiritual power yet.

  But why? He had met both conditions—unless…

  Fang Xiu suddenly realized something.

  He *hadn’t* fully met the second condition.

  The life-and-death state was satisfied—*Death Rewind* wouldn’t erase that. It was a mindset, like memory, unaffected by rewinding time.

  But contact with ghosts?

  Every time he encountered his "wife," he died. Surviving this loop meant he hadn’t truly interacted with her.

  And the ghosts filling the streets? Fang Xiu guessed they didn’t count—because unless "seen," they didn’t truly exist for humans.

  This time was different. The hidden ghost had crossed from illusion into reality, able to kill without being "seen."

  The disappearances at the mental hospital, the unseen killer ghost, the nature of Spirit Masters—all these clues intertwined in Fang Xiu’s mind.

  There *had* to be a connection. He just hadn’t uncovered it yet.

  Despite the danger, Fang Xiu felt a rare flicker of excitement.

  He had found his path to vengeance—becoming a Spirit Master.

  Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught movement.

  "Another person disappeared," he said coolly.