Phantom Hunters

"Bring me White Yin wine and a plate of Nether fowl breasts. Make them tender and add extra herbs."

David said, taking his eyes off Edward to place his order.

The surrounding ghosts glanced at them again, noticing their choices.

"Tsk... Rich fools, wasting so much money on desires."

Muttered one of the ghosts two tables away. At that table sat four ghosts, three male and one female, who eyed David's group with a mix of disdain and cunningness.

Among them, a bulky and ugly-looking ghost couldn't help but comment on the waste of precious money.

Edward and William couldn't help but glance at the group, as the voice was quite loud. Even David turned to see who was bad-mouthing them.

As soon as David turned, a powerful-looking guy among the four, who seemed to be the leader, frowned upon seeing him.

"Victor! Keep your mouth in control or else you'll get us into huge trouble someday."

The leader chided the big guy, who had commented on David's group. Despite the reprimand, Victor neither apologised nor seemed to care.

"Phantom hunters! What a pain in the ass..."

William muttered, grinding his teeth in disgust at the group of four.

David, on the other hand, ignored them completely and closed his eyes, waiting for his order.

"Who are they?"

Edward asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"They? They're a mercenary group from our town."

William said with clear disgust in his tone, not bothering to lower his voice. The group of Phantom Hunters could hear him clearly.

"The strong-looking guy is Alex, the leader of the Phantom mercenary group. The big guy is Victor, and the lean one is Nathan. Lastly, the vile looking woman is Melissa."

William continued, his disdain evident.

When Melissa heard William describing her as vile-looking, she turned to look at him with innocent, blinking eyes, which only intensified William's revulsion.

"Are they really that bad?"

Edward asked, noticing William's strong disdain towards the group. He couldn't help but wonder, especially since the woman, while not conventionally attractive, seemed quite beautiful in her own way.

"Brother Edward, don't be deceived by appearances. This group does terrible things for their own gain. They torture new ghosts, collaborate with reapers, and even turn on their own kind if it suits their interests."

William explained, his tone filled with concern and disdain.

He glanced at Melissa once more before adding his thoughts.

"That woman even does all kinds of acts with any creature out there and she killed her own daughter before her death. After her husband shot her, she became a ghost and hunted him down with the group's help, torturing him to death and even after. Never ever get close to them."

William warned, feeling Edward didn't understand how awful the group truly was.

Edward glanced at the group again, earning a rude gesture from Victor in response.

"If they're so bad, why hasn't the town commander done anything about them?"

Edward asked, puzzled. In his understanding, there was a form of government in this civilisation.

Even if it wasn't as structured as in the human world, one would expect such a group to be captured and punished by now.

"Killing their own and torturing others is one thing, but collaborating with their natural enemies... Reapers should have never been tolerated."

Edward added, expressing his concern about the group's actions.

"Not as easy as you think. They have their own connections at higher levels, and the witnesses and accusers always seem to disappear before they can be proven guilt."

William explained with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

"Yeah... They indeed seem quite powerful. Let's not get involved with them."

Edward agreed, not wanting any trouble at the moment. His focus was on growing stronger as quickly as possible.

"Don't worry about that. Even though their leader Alex is also a Ghost Captain, he's only Tier 11 and will never catch up to our captain, hehe," William reassured Edward loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Some ghosts looked surprised and glanced at David momentarily, while the Phantom Hunters appeared visibly irritated, except for their leader who seemed unfazed.

"Stop boasting, William. I told you before to not bother with everything that you see."

David interjected, opening his eyes to address them.

"Even though I'm stronger than Alex, what about the other three? Two are at Tier seven and one at Tier nine. If our groups clash, you two will be in danger before I can intervene. So, let's not attract unnecessary attention and focus on becoming stronger."

David's words were firm, aimed at cautioning William and Edward about drawing unwanted attention to themselves.

Edward nodded in agreement, while William, feeling a bit slighted, also nodded along.

After a few minutes of waiting in silence, the waiter ghost returned with their order. He placed the food and drinks in front of each person according to their order with professional efficiency, then stood quietly, awaiting any further instructions from David.

"Alright, that will be all."

David said, waving his hand dismissively without looking at the waiter ghost. The ghost nodded and quietly moved away to attend to other customers.

Edward looked at the plate of beef in front of him, the aroma tempting him in a way he hadn't felt since becoming a ghost. Despite not feeling hunger, the sight of the food made him feel a desire to eat again.

"Let's celebrate the inclusion of Edward in the Boo Crew. Cheers!"

David said, lifting his glass of White Yin wine.

"Cheers!"

Echoed William and Edward, lifting their glasses to clink before taking a sip.

As soon as the liquid entered his mouth, Edward noted its creamy texture, sweetened by the finest honey. A hint of bitterness and an unknown taste lingered in his mouth as he swallowed, giving him a unique and unexpected sensation.

The liquid passed through Edward's throat and into his stomach, quickly transforming into Yin energy that spread throughout his body, leaving him feeling refreshed.

"It would have been nice if these drinks were made of concentrated Yin energy instead of passive Yin energy."

William commented, placing his glass down and smacking his lips in delight.

Edward nodded, easily understanding that drinks prepared with concentrated Yin energy would be more beneficial for their practice, similar to how they gather concentrated Yin through the apparition path.

"Is this wine? I can taste some lingering wine, honey, and an unknown ingredient I can't identify."

Edward asked as he took a bite from his plate. The chop was crispy on the outside, tender and juicy inside, making it incredibly delicious. He could almost feel his nonexistent stomach growling in hunger.

"Haha!" 

"Haha!" 

Both David and William burst into laughter, unable to contain themselves, pointing at Edward.

"What happened... Is there something on my face?" Edward asked, taking another sip from his glass and finishing half of it.

This only made David and William laugh harder, giving each other high fives while Edward watched in irritation.

"What's so funny?"

Edward demanded, his patience wearing thin as he waited for an explanation.

Seeing that he wasn't getting a response anytime soon, Edward decided to ignore them and continue enjoying his meal.

He focused on the delicious food, savouring each bite and sip from his ghostly palate.