Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Endless Road

Zhang Yang had not yet said a word when Li Ming brushed his hair back with a flourish. “Hey beautiful, once we’re done here, I could keep you company tonight... Ah! Don’t pinch me!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhang Yang, unable to watch any longer, seized him in a pinching grip and dragged him into the room. He truly could not bear this embarrassment.

Seeing the two of them enter, Niu Ben smiled apologetically at Ruan Miao, then followed suit.

Once the three were inside and had shut the door, Ruan Miao smirked disdainfully in their direction. Did those three clowns really think they could take on her doll-like boss? What a joke.

After closing the door, Zhang Yang and his companions considered it best not to let civilians know about matters involving supernatural beings.

But the moment the door shut, a suffocating pressure seemed to descend on the room.

“What’s going on?” Zhang Yang was the first to sense something amiss. He frowned.

The other two scanned their surroundings but saw nothing unusual. Li Ming was the most nonchalant. “Nothing much, I guess? That ghost is probably just in the bathroom. Let’s get this over with.”

Niu Ben glanced around, clearly uneasy. “It might not look like much, but I can’t shake the feeling something’s off.”

Li Ming, though feeling it too, forced an air of bravado. “We’re Spirit Tamers! What could possibly go wrong? Let’s get to work!”

With that, he strode off toward the bathroom.

Niu Ben looked to Zhang Yang, who gave a helpless shake of his head. “Let’s go.”

With no other choice, Niu Ben followed.

Yet, no matter how far they walked, the bathroom never drew any closer. The three of them quickly realized something was wrong.

“This room isn’t even that big. How can the bathroom be so far away?” Li Ming was dumbfounded. The bathroom had been right in sight, yet after ages of walking, they were still in the same place.

“Something’s not right. Don’t do anything rash,” Zhang Yang warned, narrowing his eyes as he scrutinized the space. But there was no trace of supernatural energy—no sign of a spirit’s power. Why, then, was this happening?

“Could it be a ghost maze? That’s what the old folks in my village used to call it,” Niu Ben whispered fearfully, sticking close to Zhang Yang.

“A ghost maze is when you keep walking but always end up back at the same spot. We’re not even moving from our place!” Li Ming shot him a sidelong, mocking glance. He had never approved of the bureau assigning an E-rank rookie to their team, believing him to be little more than dead weight. Now, at a critical moment, he certainly had no patience for the newcomer’s input.

Niu Ben was at a loss for words.

“Alright, Niu Ben, stay here and don’t move. Li Ming and I will head toward the bathroom and see if the distance between us grows,” Zhang Yang said, stepping up to ease the tension. As the team leader, it was his duty to maintain unity—internal strife now would only make things worse.

Both Niu Ben and Li Ming nodded. It was their only option.

So Zhang Yang and Li Ming set off. Yet, strangely, though Zhang Yang glanced back every so often, he noticed the distance between himself and Niu Ben growing, while the bathroom remained just as close as before—impossible to reach.

Something was deeply wrong.

Li Ming realized it too. “Maybe we should go back and report to our superiors. This is beyond us,” he suggested.

Zhang Yang had wanted to leave from the start, given how bizarre things were, but had kept silent due to his position. Now that Li Ming had spoken, he readily agreed.

“Alright, let’s go back.”

Yet, as they turned to retreat, Li Ming noticed—Niu Ben was gone.

“Damn it! Where did that kid go? Didn’t we tell him to wait here?” Li Ming was furious. That E-rank rookie had dared to defy orders.

“Probably got scared and ran off. The atmosphere in here is so strange—it’s understandable,” Zhang Yang said, forcing a wry smile and signaling Li Ming to continue.

There was nothing Li Ming could do. The kid had run off; all he could do was give him a piece of his mind later.

Their new goal became the door rather than the bathroom. However—

“What the hell?! Not only can’t we get to the bathroom, now we can’t even reach the door?” Li Ming exploded, his fear morphing into rage.

“I don’t know. Still no sign of supernatural energy. Should we release our spirits to scout ahead?” Despite his fear, Zhang Yang kept his cool and made a rational suggestion.

Li Ming had no choice but to nod, and together they summoned their spirits.

Zhang Yang’s spirit was a pair of scissors that spun through the air toward the front, but even when it nearly moved beyond his mental control, it hadn’t reached the end.

At that moment, both their hearts sank. Even a fool could see how dire the situation was. They were trapped.

“Damn it! I don’t believe this!” Li Ming shouted, driving his own spirit—a shard of glass—forward. No matter how Zhang Yang called after him, he paid no heed.

Just like that, the three were completely separated.

Watching Li Ming’s rapidly disappearing figure, Zhang Yang knew they were doomed. In horror movies, this was when the real danger struck—whoever left the protagonist’s side was as good as dead.

But who was the protagonist?

It certainly wasn’t the brash Li Ming or the timid Niu Ben—surely, it was the calm and decisive Zhang Yang himself.

With that thought, Zhang Yang swallowed hard and decided to push forward, testing the ground ahead.

Yet as soon as he stepped forward, he felt something clamp around his ankle. Looking down, he saw a blood-soaked hand gripping him tightly, refusing to let go.

“Damn!” he cried, and in desperation, he sent his spirit scissors slashing at the hand. The blades gleamed menacingly, but just as they were about to strike, the hand vanished, and instead, the scissors grazed his own foot, leaving a gash.

Biting back the pain, Zhang Yang tore a strip from his shirt and quickly bound the wound to staunch the bleeding.

He didn’t dare linger. He broke into a desperate run, too afraid to stop for fear something else would appear.

But no matter how hard he ran, it was as though he were running in place—he simply couldn’t escape.

“What... what is going on?” Zhang Yang gasped, glancing frantically about. Though he kept moving, why couldn’t he get away?

“Who is it? Who’s doing this?” he shouted into the void, but there was no answer.

His instincts screamed that someone was orchestrating this. After so many encounters with supernatural beings, he refused to believe any of them could pull off a feat like this. Even if they had the power, did they have the intelligence?

Yet none of that mattered. He was still stuck in this deadly loop, unable to break free.

But the more hopeless the situation, the less Zhang Yang was willing to give up. He kept running, clinging to the faint hope it offered.

He didn’t know how long he ran before exhaustion finally overcame him.

Leaning over, hands braced on his knees, he panted heavily, eyes wide.

He was utterly at a loss.

Just then, as despair engulfed him, a familiar voice called out, “Over here! Run this way!”

Following the voice, Zhang Yang saw Li Ming standing in a spot that seemed to shimmer with light, waving him over.